CHAPTER 4 — SHADOWS THAT MOVE WITHOUT SOUND
1207 Words
The call stayed with Divya long after the screen went dark.
She sat frozen on her bed, phone still pressed to her ear even though the line had disconnected. The room felt too quiet, the ceiling fan too loud, her own breathing too sharp in the stillness.
It was probably nothing.
A prank call. Wrong number. Network glitch.
But her heart refused to believe that.
Because the breathing on the other end had not sounded accidental.
It had sounded… intentional.
Slow.
Listening.
She locked her phone and placed it on the bedside table, but sleep never returned. Every small sound outside her apartment — a scooter passing, a dog barking, the elevator doors opening — made her eyes snap open again.
By morning, dark circles rested under her eyes like bruises she couldn’t explain.
Meanwhile — Moscow
Rurik Morozov did not like surprises.
And he liked unknown variables even less.
The moment he received the alert that an unregistered number had contacted Divya, something inside him went cold and razor-sharp.
He stood in the security operations room of his Moscow headquarters, screens glowing in the dim light. His presence alone made the air heavy.
“Trace it,” he ordered.
His tech team worked quickly, fingers flying across keyboards.
“Burner phone,” one of them said. “Signal bounced through multiple towers. But the origin… Mumbai.”
Rurik’s jaw tightened.
Not random.
Not coincidence.
Someone else had eyes on her.
“Cross-check with known contacts of my enemies operating in India,” he said calmly.
Calm — the kind that came right before destruction.
Back in Navi Mumbai — Evening
Divya tried to distract herself the only way she knew how.
Routine.
College, notes, assignments, helping her mom in the kitchen. But the unease clung to her like humidity before a storm.
By 7 PM, her mother handed her a small list.
“Beta, can you get these from the medical store? Your father’s tablets are finished.”
Divya nodded, grateful for the excuse to step out and clear her head.
The streets were lively, shop lights glowing, the smell of street food floating through the air. Normal. Safe. Familiar.
She told herself she was being dramatic.
Until she noticed the bike.
Black. No number plate visible from the front.
It had been at the signal when she crossed earlier.
Now it rolled slowly behind her.
Maybe coincidence.
She turned into the pharmacy lane.
The bike turned too.
Her fingers tightened around the paper list.
Don’t panic.
Don’t look scared.
She stepped into the brightly lit medical store, exhaling quietly. From the corner of her eye, she saw the bike stop across the street.
The rider didn’t remove his helmet.
Didn’t check his phone.
Didn’t move.
He just… watched.
A cold wave slid down her spine.
“Madam?” the pharmacist asked. “Which medicine?”
She fumbled with the paper, hands slightly shaking.
When she stepped back outside five minutes later, the bike was gone.
But the feeling of being watched remained.
Moscow — 15 Minutes Later
Rurik’s phone buzzed.
His head of surveillance in India spoke immediately.
“Boss, we detected unusual movement near her location. A rider stayed stationary for six minutes outside the pharmacy she entered.”
Rurik didn’t blink.
“Face?”
“Helmet. Covered.”
“Follow?”
“We lost him in traffic.”
Silence stretched.
Then Rurik spoke, voice low and lethal.
“Deploy ground team.”
“Boss, that will expose—”
“I didn’t ask for commentary.”
“…Yes, boss.”
He ended the call and turned to Mikhail, who had been watching silently.
“Someone is testing the perimeter,” Rurik said.
Mikhail nodded. “You think it’s Petrov?”
“Petrov is greedy,” Rurik replied. “Greedy men don’t watch. They grab.”
A pause.
“This is someone patient.”
And patience, in their world, meant war was coming.
Navi Mumbai — 8:12 PM
Divya walked faster than usual on her way home, clutching the medicine packet close to her chest.
You’re overthinking. You’re safe.
She turned the corner toward her apartment complex.
That’s when the streetlights flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then went out completely.
The lane fell into semi-darkness, lit only by distant shop signs.
Her breath caught.
The power cuts were common — but the timing…
Footsteps sounded behind her.
Not close.
But deliberate.
She didn’t turn around.
Didn’t want to confirm her fear.
Her heartbeat pounded in her ears as she quickened her pace.
The footsteps quickened too.
Her chest tightened.
She was not imagining this.
She was not safe.
She broke into a run.
The medicine packet slipped from her hand, scattering strips of tablets across the road.
She didn’t stop.
Didn’t look back.
The apartment gate was just ahead.
Just a little more—
A hand grabbed her arm.
She screamed.
Loud. Sharp. Pure fear.
But before she could be pulled back—
Another sound cracked through the darkness.
A dull thud.
A man’s grunt of pain.
The grip on her arm vanished.
She stumbled forward, turning just in time to see two shadowy figures.
One on the ground.
One standing over him.
The standing man looked at her briefly.
His voice was calm, firm.
“Go inside.”
She didn’t argue.
Didn’t question.
She ran through the gate, heart racing wildly, security guards rushing toward the commotion behind her.
By the time she dared look back again…
The stranger who had helped her was gone.
Only a groaning man remained on the ground, clutching his arm at an unnatural angle.
Moscow — Moments Later
Rurik listened to the report without interruption.
“Attempted grab,” his man said. “We intervened before extraction.”
Rurik’s eyes closed briefly.
Not in relief.
In calculation.
“They moved sooner than I expected,” he murmured.
“Orders, boss?”
Rurik stepped toward the window, Moscow’s cold skyline reflecting in his dark gaze.
“Find out who sent him.”
A pause.
“Alive.”
Because whoever had dared to touch what he now considered under his protection…
Was going to learn exactly why the underworld feared the name Morozov.
Navi Mumbai — Divya’s Room
Divya sat on her bed, wrapped in a blanket though she wasn’t cold.
Her mother kept asking what happened. Security guards had caught the injured man, but he claimed it was a misunderstanding, an accident.
Divya knew better.
Her arm still tingled where he had grabbed her.
And her mind kept replaying the other man.
The one who had saved her.
His voice.
Low. Certain.
“Go inside.”
Not panicked. Not angry. Just… in control.
Like he had expected this.
Like he had been watching.
A strange thought surfaced, sending a shiver through her.
What if someone really was watching her?
Not to harm her.
But to protect her?
She didn’t know which possibility scared her more.
Far away, in a city of snow and steel, Rurik Morozov gave a single command that set multiple dark machines into motion.
A command that would bring blood to the streets of men who had never even seen Divya Gupta’s face.
Fate had stopped being patient.
Now it was moving.
And it was moving violently.
- Writer
