The MasterMind

✯𝐶𝒉𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 1: 𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑡𝒉 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑠 𝐵𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑀𝑒

The night was endless-heavy, unrelenting, alive.
A single lamp flickered in the corner, its dim glow barely slicing through the shadows. The air was stale, untouched, as if the room had been waiting...waiting for something to begin.

A man stood by the window, just a silhouette against the distant city lights. He didn't move. Didn't shift. Just watched.
Below, in the dimly lit garden, a few strangers wandered past...unaware, unbothered.

His phone was pressed to his ear, the low hum of static filling the silence. His grip tightened.
The darkness masked his face, but the tension in his stance-rigid, coiled like a predator-spoke for him.

Then he spoke.
A deep, measured voice. Dangerously calm.

"I found him."
A pause. A slow inhale.
"He's on the deserted road past Dwarka Sector 9 Metro Station."

The reply didn't matter. He already knew what had to be done.

He tapped lightly on the glass-slow, absent-minded.
The call ended. Silence again.

He exhaled, fingers still resting on the cold pane.
City lights blinked in the distance, but his focus was elsewhere.
Eyes sharp. Unblinking.
Locked on the night-as if he could already see the blood-soaked trail waiting for him.

It was time.

---
Delhi
Dwarka Sector 9

The night was thick with silence. Even the wind seemed to hesitate, carrying only the distant hum of the sleeping city.

A man, around 45 or 50, staggered down a deserted road, his breaths coming in short, ragged gasps. His chest heaved, his movements sluggish-one of his legs was badly injured, the deep wound staining the pavement with every step. Blood pooled, then stretched into a thin, broken trail behind him.

He was exhausted. Trembling. But he couldn't stop.

Because something-someone-was behind him.

And he knew that if he stopped now... he wouldn't survive the night.

His wide, nervous eyes scanned every shadow suspiciously. There was no one on the street-only he, and the terrible darkness that was engulfing him.

And then, there was a sound.

Slow, but very clear. Familiar, but so cold that a shiver ran down his spine. His ears perked up immediately. His breath caught. He felt someone. Someone very close.

He looked back in a hurry, but there was nothing. Only fear, only uneasiness.

Then there was a light.

Bright, white, unseen. So powerful that everything blurred for a few moments.

The intensity of the light was so intense that he had to immediately cover his eyes with his trembling hands. But the glow still burned, even behind his eyelids. Slowly, as he tried to open her eyes a little, his pupils dilated and things started to become clear.

And then, he saw...

A figure, clad entirely in black. Trench coat stretched to the ground, hockey stick dragging across the pavement, with a cold, dragging sound. Gloved hands. A white mask, concealing the identity.

But some hair was peeking out from beneath the cap.

As the figure was coming forward, it looked like...
it was a woman.

Something about her presence sent an icy jolt down his spine, sharp and unforgiving. His breath hitched as he stumbled back, barely managing to stay on his feet. This wasn't just any pursuer. This was something far, far worse.