The old Victoria Textile Mill in Dadar was a massive, rotting structure from the colonial era. Its brick chimneys rose like black fingers into the dark Mumbai sky. Dadar was completely in the dark, the streetlights dead, the silence broken only by the sound of rain hitting the rusted iron roofs.
Vikram, Rohan, and Rahul left the bike in an alley, running toward the internet café.
The windows of the café were shattered, the computers inside covered in a layer of thin white frost. The users had fled, leaving their bags and coffee cups on the tables. Rhea was gone, but her phone lay on the floor, its screen cracked, displaying a map of the mill next door.
"They took her inside the mill," Vikram said, looking at the large iron gates of the complex.
They ran to the gate. It was open, swinging slowly in the wind.
Inside, the courtyard was pitch black. The air was freezing, their breath misting heavily.
"Three targets," Vikram's Tenebrous Sensing warned. "Dadar Node is active. The cold voids are moving behind the rusted machinery."
Three Vow scouts stepped out from the shadows, their masks glowing with gold lines. They raised their hands, forming solid shadow blades.
"I'll take the left," Rohan said, stepping forward. He took a deep breath, focusing on the heat in his chest.
A bright blue spark flared from Rohan's right fist, the electrical hum lighting up his face. He lunged forward, throwing a hard right hook directly into the lead scout's shadow shield.
*Crack!*
The electrical charge shattered the shield, throwing the scout back into a pile of metal pipes. Rohan stood there, his hand smoking, his chest heaving. "It worked!"
"Don't lose focus, Ro!" Vikram yelled.
Vikram ran toward the remaining two scouts. He willed his Prana to ignite, his knuckles glowing with a steady blue light. He ducked under a shadow slash, driving a quick jab to the second scout's ribs and a hook to the third's jaw. The electrical shocks knocked both of them out before they could fold.
"Rhea is inside the main chimney building," Rahul said, his scanner pointing to the tall brick tower in the center of the yard. "The node's energy is rising. If they connect her to the transmitter, they will lock the Dadar sector."
"Let's move," Vikram said, heading toward the brick tower. "Rohan, keep the light ready. We're going to break their node."