The meeting with Rohan's father, **Appa Gawde**, took place in the back office of an illegal distillery near the Mithi River. The air was thick with the smell of fermenting molasses and wet earth.
Appa Gawde was a broad, heavy-set man with a thick mustache and gold chains hanging over his black shirt. He sat behind a desk covered in ledgers, two armed guards standing behind him.
"You failed at Malhotra Tower, Rohan," Appa Gawde said, his voice a low rumble. "Devendra Malhotra has the police and the city-state grid. And you bring me this injured boy, asking my men to die for him?"
"Appa, the blackout is just the beginning," Rohan argued, stepping forward. "Malhotra isn't just taking the grid. The Vow is going to control everything. Your docks, your ships, your warehouses. Once their Tenebrous Grid is fully online, they won't need to bribe you. They will just take it."
Appa Gawde looked at Vikram, his eyes sharp. "I knew your father, Vikram. Amar Rathod was a strong man. A fighter. But he died alone. Strength without numbers is just suicide."
"That's why I'm here, Appa," Vikram said, standing tall despite the sharp pain in his ribs. "My father fought to keep the Vow from using this city. If we stand together, we can shut down their nodes. But I need your men to create distractions and secure the perimeter."
Appa Gawde tapped his fingers on the desk, the gold rings clicking. "I have five hundred boys in South Mumbai. They are good with knives and iron rods. But they are baseline humans. How do they fight Javed's enforcers, who can slide through walls and stop bullets with a wave of their hands?"
"I will deal with Javed and the shadow enforcers," Vikram promised. "But I need to unlock my next Resonance Band. I need to reach Band IV shadow-folding."
Appa Gawde stayed silent for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "There is a place. The ancient caves under Elephanta Island. Before the Vow became a corporate mafia, they used the caves to train their acolytes. The dark-matter density there is high. If you survive the chambers, Vikram, I will give you my boys. If you die, then this fight ends with you."