Veer's fingers tightened around the grip of his pistol. Smoke curled in the air, screams echoed across the burning street, and he could feel the rage rising in him like fire.
One shot… one of them has to fall tonight.
He stepped forward—
A hand grabbed his shoulder.
"Veer!" Raja hissed, breathless and terrified. "Snap out of it. We have to leave. Police are surrounding the place. In minutes they'll start identifying the main culprits — we can't be standing here when that happens."
Veer blinked, pulled out of the blood-red haze clouding his head. But even as reality returned, the anger didn't fade.
He scanned the chaos. Arjun had vanished into the smoke. And Dilip…
Dilip had slipped away too.
Veer's jaw clenched. "He's running."
They both turned, searching. Riot police pushed into the circle, rally workers scattered, Arjun's gang retreated into the alleys. But Veer had sharp eyes — sharper than Dilip expected.
Among the beggars stumbling away from the chaos… one figure moved too quickly, head lowered, robe wrapped tight.
"That's him," Veer muttered. "Bloody rat is heading toward the slums."
He pulled out his phone.
"Veer, what are you—?" Raja began.
"Don't worry," Veer said, voice low and cold. "Tonight, Dilip pays. Very dearly."
The call connected.
"Ajay," Veer said, "pig's heading toward the slum area. Don't lose him."
Across the city, Ajay — Radhe's younger brother — snapped to attention.
"Copy," he said, gesturing to his crew as they piled into a van.
They sped out, hunting through the maze of alleys until they spotted them — five "beggars," hunched on the roadside, glancing around nervously. Four were decoys. One was Dilip Topi.
Ajay smirked. "Mil gaya saala."
The masked men moved fast. Within seconds the four decoys were beaten to the ground, and Dilip, trembling and trying to crawl away, was grabbed by the collar.
He barely got out a muffled, terrified scream before Ajay shoved him into the van.
Ajay called Veer.
"Package secured."
"Bring him to base," Veer answered. "Make sure he still remembers how to breathe."
The Base
The small warehouse was dim, lit only by a single hanging bulb. Dilip was tied to a chair, blindfolded, duct-taped across his mouth, thrashing wildly. Ajay and his friends stood around him, knuckles bruised, breathing hard after giving him a "welcome beating."
A few steps away, Raja paced nervously. Veer leaned against a table, calm but exhausted.
"Veer… what are we going to do?" Raja asked. "The whole plan failed. Arjun will come after Jatin. And Gani Bhai's men won't care about anything except their goods. God knows what they'll do when they find out."
Veer exhaled slowly, thinking.
"Don't stress. Even if things went sideways, we still achieved what we needed."
Raja frowned. "We needed the goods… and Dilip… and Arjun arrested. We only got Dilip."
A faint smile tugged at Veer's lips.
"That's where you're wrong. I knew something would go wrong. Trust me — I added a twist to the plan."
Raja blinked. "Twist?"
Before Veer could explain, a loud HONK echoed through the base. Everyone turned.
A truck backed into the yard. The driver door opened — Radhe stepped out. Jatin jumped down beside him, still breathing hard from the chaos.
Behind them stood a second truck.
Raja's eyes widened. The truth hit him like lightning.
"You… you had Radhe watching the trucks," Raja whispered. "All four."
Veer nodded.
"Three are ours now. Three trucks, all loaded. Only the one Dilip hid men inside got away. And Arjun… well, he'll slip away for today. But we'll get him."
Jatin climbed down, shaking his head. "Bro, that truck was a damn sardine can of killers."
Ajay muttered, "Forget that. Gani Bhai… when he finds out—"
Veer cut him off with a grim smile.
"He'll come for us. Like a hungry dog."
The room fell silent.
Goosebumps crawled up Raja's arms. Ajay swallowed hard.
The real war was just beginning.
.................
Radhe rubbed the back of his neck, staring at the chaos around them — Dilip tied to a chair, three stolen trucks parked like trophies, everyone tense and trying to breathe.
He finally spoke, voice steady and practical.
"The more we think, the more we'll panic. Forget all that. Let's find answers. Let's open the damn trucks and see what Gani Bhai was really moving."
No one argued.
Everyone wanted the truth — but everyone was scared of it too.
Ajay snapped his fingers at his boys. "to the First crate."
They climbed into the first truck. Wood creaked as they dragged a massive crate toward the edge. It was nailed shut, thick, heavy. Ajay's friend brought out a hammer.
THUD. THUD. THUD.
Each strike echoed through the warehouse like a warning.
Veer stood a few steps away, arms folded, face unreadable. Raja's breath grew shallow. Jatin shifted nervously. Radhe crossed his arms.
Finally, the last nail popped out.
The lid came free.
Everyone leaned in.
Inside —
a dark, oiled shape gleamed in the dim light.
Veer already knew.
Guns.
But the others—
Their necks stretched forward, eyes widening, breath stopping all at once.
Inside the crate lay military-grade AK-47s. Not rusted junk. Not homemade copies.
Full metal, freshly oiled, high-tier weapons.
Alongside them — magazines, attachments, cleaning kits, and folded bandoliers.
Raja whispered, voice trembling,
"Bhai…this is definitely used in army"
Even Ajay — who'd seen every kind of street weapon — took a step back.
This wasn't local crime anymore. This wasn't petty smuggling.
This was war material.
But Veer?
He let out a slow whistle.
"Expected."
Radhe shot him a sideways look, eyebrows raised. "How are you this calm, kid? Even Raja's sweating."
Veer didn't answer. His mind was already running calculations, threads connecting, questions forming. He checked the serial numbers, the condition, the count.
After inspecting the first truck, they moved to the second.
Ajay cracked open another crate — and everyone's breath caught again.
Bundles of cash, tightly wrapped, stacked like bricks.
Underneath — packets of drugs, neatly packed in vacuum-sealed blocks.
Raja stepped back, whispering,
"This… this is too much. Drugs, money, guns… all in one shipment?"
Veer stared into the crate.
Now he was shocked.
Gani Bhai never mixed categories like this.
Guns were transported separately.
Money had its own network.
Drugs had a different chain.
Putting all three together meant something else entirely.
Radhe folded his arms. "What does it mean?"
Veer's mind raced.
If there were guns, I figured he was arming his men in Mumbai.
But money… and drugs… all together…
He looked at the crates again, realization dawning.
"He's not equipping his own people," Veer murmured. "He's preparing to fund someone else… or to arm a new branch."
Jatin frowned. "You mean… he's setting up a new gang?"
"Or," Veer said slowly, "he's planning to take over an area that already belongs to another don. He wants loyal soldiers — men who get steady income and proper weapons."
Raja swallowed. "So Gani Bhai is expanding."
Veer nodded once, expression darkening.
"And he's preparing for a war."
The room fell silent.
Because now they knew exactly what they had stolen.
Not just crates.
They had stolen a gang's future.
And Gani Bhai would come for them.