Chapter 7: The Chase

The next day after school, the four teens walked together down the crowded streets of Dhaka. Vendors shouted from stalls, buses honked, and the humid air clung to their skin. Yet beneath the ordinary chaos, Arman felt something was wrong.

He slowed his pace, lowering his voice. “Don’t look now, but we’re being followed.”

Riya’s eyes flicked nervously to the side. “Followed? By who?”

Arman adjusted his backpack strap. “Two men. They’ve been behind us since we left the gate.”

Zara glanced over her shoulder, her expression tightening. “They’re not students. Too old. Too deliberate.”

Kian clenched his fists. “What do we do? Run?”

Arman shook his head. “Not yet. If we panic, they’ll know we’ve noticed.”

The group turned into a narrow alley, hoping to lose the men in the crowd. But the footsteps behind them grew louder, more insistent.

Riya whispered, “They’re closing in.”

Zara’s eyes darted around. “Split up. If they’re after us, we’ll make it harder.”

Reluctantly, they scattered—Arman and Riya heading toward the main road, Kian slipping into a side street, and Zara sprinting deeper into the alley.

The men hesitated, then one broke off after Zara.

She ran, her breath sharp in her chest, weaving between parked rickshaws and crates stacked against walls. The man’s footsteps thundered behind her.

Zara’s mind raced. Think. Don’t just run. She spotted a half-open gate leading into a construction site. Without hesitation, she darted through, climbing over scaffolding and ducking behind steel beams.

The man followed, but as he rounded the corner, Zara swung a loose metal pipe she had grabbed from the ground. It clanged against the scaffolding, startling him just long enough for her to slip past and vanish into the crowd outside.

Heart pounding, she pressed herself against a wall, trying to steady her breathing. She had escaped—for now.

But as she looked back, she saw the man pull out a phone, speaking quickly into it.

Zara’s stomach dropped. They weren’t just chasing us. They were coordinating.