The wooden fishing boat creaked as it cut through the choppy waters of the Arabian Sea. Monsoon rain fell in heavy, blinding sheets, hiding the Mumbai skyline in a gray haze.
Rahul stood at the bow, his hand shielding his eyes as he peered through the darkness. Rohan was at the motor, keeping the engine to a low, quiet hum.
"Malhotra patrol boat at two o'clock!" Rahul hissed, ducking down.
Vikram crawled to the edge. Through the rain, he saw the sleek, black hull of a corporate security boat. A high-intensity searchlight swept across the water, cutting through the storm.
"Rohan, cut the engine," Vikram whispered.
The hum died. The boat drifted, tossed by the rising waves. The searchlight beam crawled closer, illuminating the white crests of the water just yards away from them.
Vikram closed his eyes and breathed slowly, performing the Pranayama. He focused on his bio-electric Prana, expanding his aura. He reached out to the surrounding darkness, calling the dark photons to align.
A sudden, freezing cold settled over the small boat. Rohan shivered, his breath turning to mist. The moisture on the wooden deck froze into thin crystals of ice.
The searchlight swept directly over their boat—but the light bent. To the patrol officers, there was only a patch of dark, empty water. The boat had vanished into the shadow.
A few seconds later, the patrol boat moved past, its searchlight pointing toward the harbor.
Rohan let out a shaky breath, rubbing his freezing arms. "Damn, Vikram. That was too close. The air felt like a freezer."
"It's the thermal drain," Vikram muttered, his hands trembling slightly from the effort. "We're close. Keep going."
The rocky silhouette of Elephanta Island rose from the sea ahead of them, dark and silent under the storm.