The bright light dissipated, and Alex suddenly found himself in the master bedroom of the Lotus Crown Villa once again.
The transition felt almost seamless now after the upgrade of the system.
There were no more waiting periods or energy drain that forced him to return. The upgrading of the system had completely changed everything about how he was going to carry out his operations in the future.
Alex took his mobile and checked the ti. It was 2:47 AM. Early morning in Mumbai but still night. Normally it was the ti for people to sleep in their hos.
Still thinking of Lucy, he could not afford to waste even a minute, never mind waiting for the morning.
He scrolled through his contacts and found the na he was looking for: Sahil Sinha, his trusted lawyer from Khapar Law Firm and one of the few people in Mumbai he genuinely trusted with sensitive matters.
The phone rang three tis before a slurred yet awake voice replied to the call.
"Boss? Do you have any idea what ti it is? I’m off duty right now; let’s talk in the morning."
"Sahil, I need your help. Urgently."
The sleepiness in Sahil’s voice lted away in an instant. This was the first ti in all these months they had been working together that he had called Sahil with such pressing, genuine urgency in the middle of the night. Sahil was quick enough to sense when his client was serious.
"Is everything fine? Are you in so kind of trouble?" Sahil imdiately asked in concern.
"I’m okay, thanks. However, I’m searching for a rather specific person," Alex said, his words steady and businesslike despite the turmoil in his mind. "Soone with military experience. Forr commando, if possible. Soone who takes private security contracts."
There was a short pause on the other side. Alex could practically hear Sahil’s legal mind weighing whether to ask more probing questions about why his client needed an ex-commando at three in the morning.
But true to his professional nature, Sahil simply moved forward without prying.
"I have a guy in mind," Sahil replied after a brief mont of deliberation. "Forr client of mine from a while back. Sahu Reddy, he’s an ex-National Security Guard commando. Served twelve years active before he decided to go freelance in private security work.
He takes high-risk private contracts but maintains a strict no-kill policy for personal reasons. So religious principle, I believe, though he never discussed it in detail."
"Perfect," Alex said, experiencing a fleeting mont of relief. "Could you send his contact information?"
"I’ll text it to you right now. But Boss, whatever you’re planning—"
"I’ll be careful. I promise. Thanks, Sahil."
"You pay enough to worry about you," Sahil said, but his tone belied the fact that he had plenty more questions, but was deliberately choosing not to ask any. "Good luck with this."
Alex rang off and waited. A minute passed, and his phone vibrated with an incoming ssage that included a phone number and a ssage that read:
Sahu Reddy - Ex-NSG. Professional and dependable. Works in utmost discretion. Refer to my na for authenticity.
Alex gazed at the number for a long mont, rehearsing his pitch in his mind. This conversation was absolutely crucial. His cover story had to be sold with absolute conviction.
He breathed deeply and dialed the number.
The phone rang four tis before a deep, gravelly voice responded in a professional, alert tone.
"This is Reddy."
Professional. Straight to the point. No beating around the bush. Alex was impressed by him from the very start.
"Mr. Reddy, let introduce myself. My na is Alex Carter. Your number was provided to by Sahil Sinha of the Khapar Law Firm. I have a job opportunity that may interest you. It’s highly lucrative, short-term, and though unusual in circumstance, the goals are straightforward."
"Sahil Sinha," Reddy echoed, a note of recognition and respect creeping into his voice. "He’s a good lawyer. So what sort of position are we talking about?"
"I’m producing a reality television show," Alex began, his voice smooth and confident. "Think of a high-end adventure challenge program. The concept is a rescue mission challenge where a trained professional has to locate and extract a participant from a remote location designed to look like an ancient settlent."
"A reality show," Reddy said, his tone neutral.
"Yes, but hear out. The production value is extrely high, and by high it ans we’re talking a fifty million dollar budget.
We’ve built an elaborate set on a private island that looks completely authentic. Ancient buildings, primitive surroundings, the whole works.
The challenge is that our participant gets ’kidnapped’ as part of the scenario, and a professional has to find and rescue her."
Alex paused briefly before continuing. "Now, here’s where you co in.
We already have an actor cast as the hero of the show, a well-known television personality with a huge following.
Great for marketing, but between you and , the man has zero tactical skills that we all know, he can’t handle weapons authentically, doesn’t know proper breach-and-clear protocols, can’t move like soone with actual military training, so here cos you in the equation."
"I see," Reddy said slowly, interest growing in his voice.
"The show’s credibility depends on authenticity," Alex continued. "We need the rescue to look real not like so actor fumbling around pretending to be tactical.
So here’s the deal: you would be the stand-in for all the actual operational footage. You’d be wearing the sa gear, sa mask, sa outfit as our actor, but you’d be the one doing the real work.
All the tactical sequences, weapon handling, the actual rescue that’s you. Then we cut in shots of our actor’s face for close-ups and dialogue."
"So you want to hire as a stand-in for your actor," Reddy said, processing the information.
"Exactly."
"What’s the compensation?"
"Five million dollars guaranteed, paid upfront before you even set foot on the island," Alex said smoothly.
"If you complete the challenge within our filming tiline and the footage ets our quality standards, the total compensation goes up to ten million."
There was a pause on the other end. Alex could sense Reddy processing the offer, weighing the unusual nature against the substantial paynt.
"That’s exceptionally generous for what sounds like a few days of stunt work," Reddy said carefully.
"Of course It needs to be this much," Alex replied smoothly. "We’re aiming for international distribution Netflix, Amazon Pri, the major platforms.
The authenticity you bring is worth every dollar because it’s what will separate our show from every other reality program out there.
Plus, you’d be the real star of the entire season, even if our actor gets the credit publicly. You need to be compensated like the professional you are."
"When would this filming take place?"
"We’d need you starting later today. I know it’s short notice, but our production schedule got moved up unexpectedly. You’d co to my location this morning for a briefing, then we’d transport you to the island location imdiately."
"I see." Reddy’s voice was thoughtful. "What about contracts? Legal docuntation?"
"Everything will be handled properly. Sahil will draft the contract himself if that makes you more comfortable. Paynt terms, confidentiality agreents—all standard entertainnt industry stuff. You’d sign an NDA because we can’t have show details leaking before it airs, but nothing unreasonable."
"NDA is fine. I’m used to confidentiality agreents in my line of work."
"Excellent," Alex said, feeling montum building. "There’s one unusual requirent I should ntion upfront.
For security and to maintain the show’s mystique about the island location, we administer a mild sedative during transport.
You’d be asleep during the helicopter ride to the island. When you wake up, you’re imdiately on the mission. It adds to the disorientation and makes your reactions more authentic for the challenge.
"This is definitely unusual," Reddy finally said. "But I’ve done stranger jobs. The money is good, and if Sahil trusts you enough to give you my number, that counts for sothing. The concept makes sense too—I’ve seen enough reality shows where the ’experts’ clearly don’t know what they’re doing. If you want it to look real, you need soone real."
Alex felt a surge of triumph but kept his voice level. "Does that an you’re interested?"
"I’m interested," Reddy confird. "I want to see the contract and the dical docuntation for the sedative before I commit fully. But assuming everything checks out legally, yes, I’ll do it."
"Perfect. Can you be at my office at 9 AM? I’ll have everything ready for review."
"Text the address. I’ll be there at nine."
"One last thing, Mr. Reddy. I want to be upfront about the tiline. We need to complete filming within the next forty-eight to seventy-two hours due to our production schedule and location permits. That’s why the compensation is so high—I’m asking you to drop everything on short notice."
"Understood. I’ll see you at nine."
"Excellent. Looking forward to working with you."
The call ended.
Alex set his phone down and allowed himself a mont of satisfaction. A small smile played across his lips.
Brilliant, if he did say so himself.
Now ca the execution phase. He had approximately six hours before Reddy arrived.
Alex opened his laptop and began drafting an email to Sahil with contract specifications that were discussed, then hit the send button and leaned back in his chair.
Everything was falling into place.
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