The Chairman summoned Karan to the mansion in the hills.
Aarohi watched from a safe house across the valley, a pair of binoculars pressed to her eyes. Rohan had tapped into the mansion's security feed. They watched Karan walk through the doors.
They watched him enter the Chairman's study.
They watched the doors close.
"What is happening in there?" Rohan asked.
"I do not know. But I can guess."
The Chairman's voice came through the security feed. Old. Dry. Full of rage.
"You have been plotting against me."
Karan's voice was calm. "I have been planning for the future. There is a difference."
"You have been meeting with my enemies. You have been sharing Council secrets. You have been planning to kill me."
Karan laughed. "You are old. You are weak. You are dying. Someone has to take your place."
The Chairman's voice dropped. "Someone will. But not you."
Gunshots.
Two of them.
Then silence.
Aarohi lowered the binoculars. Her hands were shaking.
"It is done," she said.
Rohan stared at the screen. Karan's body lay on the floor of the Chairman's study. Blood pooled around his head.
"The Chairman killed him."
"The Chairman eliminated a threat." She stood up. "Now we move to the next phase."