The days soon settled into a disciplined rhythm. Veer divided his time between intense physical training and deep intellectual study. His performance in school had already started turning heads; his latest exam results were high enough to gain the teachers' attention, but not so high that they felt impossible.
Veer was playing it smart. He knew that if he produced word-for-word recreations of the textbooks, he would be hauled into the principal's office for suspected cheating. Instead, he strategically left a few difficult questions blank and answered others in a "short-hand" style—getting the core logic right but using his own vocabulary rather than the book's dry prose. It made him look like a brilliant but slightly lazy student, which was the perfect cover.
However, his mind was often miles away from the classroom. Whenever he had a free moment in his **Book Club**, his notes weren't about history or science. Instead, he was filling journals with observations on **Bollywood and cinematography.**
He began studying the "Golden Age" of Indian cinema, deconstructing how legendary directors framed their shots and how scriptwriters paced their dialogues. To Veer, the world was becoming a series of camera angles. He wasn't just learning to be a student or an athlete; he was training his eye to see the world through a lens, preparing for a future that no one in his school could yet imagine.
***
The training ground wasn't always a dojo.
Sometimes, it was a broken street behind a half-lit bar.
Radhe leaned against a rusted railing, rolling his shoulders after a rough spar. Jatin sat nearby, nursing a bruised jaw, irritation written all over his face.
Veer stood between them—calm, observant.
Learning.
Not just how to throw a punch—but how to end one.
"Again," Veer said quietly.
Jatin scoffed. "You don't even hit hard. What are you watching for?"
Veer's eyes didn't leave Radhe.
"Timing," he replied. "You both fight like you want to win. That's the mistake."
Radhe smirked. "And what should we fight for?"
Veer stepped forward, demonstrating—not with speed, but precision. He mimicked Jatin's stance, then subtly shifted his weight.
"You fight to finish it before it begins."
In a blink, he tapped Jatin's knee, nudged his balance off-center, and pressed two fingers lightly against his throat.
Jatin froze.
"…dirty," he muttered.
Veer gave a faint smile. "Effective."
But Veer wasn't just learning from them.
He was shaping them.
Every conversation, every spar, every suggestion—carefully placed.
Like scenes in a film.
Later that night, the three of them sat in silence, the city buzzing faintly around them.
Radhe broke it first. "You've been thinking. Say it."
Veer didn't hesitate.
"Gani Bhai won't recruit randomly," he said. "He'll look for someone reckless… but useful. Someone who can cause chaos—but still follow orders when it matters."
Radhe raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like you're describing me."
"I am."
Jatin let out a low whistle. "So what, he just walks up and offers him a job?"
Veer shook his head.
"No. He tests him."
That was the part Veer didn't say out loud—
That he had already seen how men like Gani Bhai operated. Power didn't trust easily. It provoked. Observed. Waited.
But instead of calling it memory…
He framed it as instinct.
Veer turned to Radhe.
"You'll get noticed if you make noise in the right place. Not random fights—controlled ones. Step into situations where people are watching. Let it look natural."
Radhe grinned slowly. "You want me to perform."
"Yes."
"Like a show?"
Veer's expression didn't change.
"Like bait."
Then his attention shifted to Jatin.
"You're thinking too small."
Jatin frowned. "Meaning?"
"The police inspector," Veer said. "You told me about him. The one who acts clean but isn't."
Jatin's eyes narrowed. "Yeah… what about him?"
"It's not him you go after."
Veer paused—letting it sink in.
"It's his wife."
That got both their attention.
"The hotel she runs," Veer continued, "that's where the real power is. Influential people don't meet in police stations. They meet where no one's watching."
Jatin leaned forward now. "And you think he's involved?"
"I think," Veer said carefully, "that a man like him doesn't survive without… arrangements."
A beat of silence.
Then—
"And if you get close to that place," Veer added, "you're not just helping Radhe get noticed…"
He looked between them.
"You're building leverage."
Radhe let out a low chuckle. "You talk like you've done this before."
For a split second—
Veer's mind flickered.
"Just thinking ahead," he said.
What neither of them realized—
Was that Veer wasn't just predicting events.
He was directing them.
Carefully adjusting variables.
Pushing Radhe toward Gani Bhai.
Positioning Jatin near influence and corruption.
And keeping himself—
Right in the middle.
Unseen.