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Chapter 122 - EPISODE 122 — “Inferno Protocol”

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BLACK SQUAD: EPISODE 122 — "Inferno Protocol"

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SCENE 1 — MUMBAI STREET — DAY

EXT. CROWDED STREET — AFTERNOON

Vendors call out. Rickshaws honk. Children chase a football. The camera weaves through the bustling Mumbai crowd, coming to rest on a bench.

CLOSE UP: A BLACK BRIEFCASE lies unnoticed under the bench.

SFX: Tick… tick… tick…

The screen tightens on a digital timer inside the case.

TIMER: 00:00:05… 00:00:04…

WOMAN (shouting)

Arrey yeh kya…?!

BOOM!

The street is torn apart by a thunderous explosion. Smoke. Screams. Bodies flung. Windows shatter. A child's toy flies through the air.

CUT TO BLACK.

TITLE CARD: BLACK SQUAD: EPISODE 122 — "Inferno Protocol"

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SCENE 2 — BLACK SQUAD HQ — BRIEFING ROOM

INT. HQ — BRIEFING ROOM — DAY

IMRAN storms in, holding a printed report.

IMRAN (urgent, grim)

Blast confirmed. 12 dead, 18 injured. Civil hospital overwhelmed.

ARJUN (already suiting up)

We have a suspect?

QAZI stands at the head of the room, a somber look in his eyes.

QAZI

Not yet. But get this — control room received an anonymous mail minutes after the blast.

(holds up tablet)

ON SCREEN:

"Tick-tock. Two more clocks set to bleed your city."

ZAIN (checking rifle)

Locations?

IMRAN (grim)

Nothing. It's a bloody scavenger hunt.

QAZI (commanding)

Listen up. This isn't some small gang. This is coordinated terror. No mistakes. We find those bombs before they do.

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SCENE 3 — BOMB SQUAD BRIEFING

EXT. HQ COMPOUND — DAY

BOMB SQUAD OFFICER MEHRA arrives with his team.

MEHRA (brief, professional)

Pattern suggests next targets: major public spaces. Mall, railway station, hospital. Maximum damage, minimum warning.

ARJUN (tight jaw)

We secure them all.

QAZI (nodding)

Alpha Team with me. Bravo, you cover Marine Lines. Charlie, you're on Andheri Junction.

SQUAD (in unison)

Yes, sir.

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SCENE 4 — ANOTHER EMAIL ARRIVES

INT. HQ — OPERATIONS DESK — DAY

IMRAN leans over his laptop. Another encrypted email pings.

EMAIL:

"Born by the sea, I breathe in numbers, bleed in letters. I am the heart you forget."

IMRAN (to himself)

Born by the sea… numbers… letters…

THINKING FAST

IMRAN (to QAZI, urgent)

Marine Lines Telecom Control. It's a telecom relay. Fits the riddle.

QAZI

Move!

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SCENE 5 — TELECOM BUILDING RAID

EXT. MARINE LINES TELECOM BUILDING — DAY

BLACK SQUAD VAN screeches in. Doors open mid-motion.

ZAIN

On me!

The team breaches the entrance. Inside — empty.

ARJUN (checking corners)

It's too clean.

SFX: Beep… beep… beep…

A MOBILE PHONE on the floor. Timer: 00:00:05

ZAIN (urgent)

Get out!

They dive just as a controlled blast shakes the room.

IMRAN (furious, coughing)

Bastards are baiting us.

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SCENE 6 — ROGUE INSIDE THE FORCE

INT. TELECOM OFFICE CCTV ROOM — MINUTES LATER

Footage rewound.

CCTV FOOTAGE:

A police officer in uniform placing the mobile bomb.

ARJUN (stiffening)

That's… a cop.

QAZI (jaw clenched)

One of ours.

IMRAN (angry)

I swear I'll find him.

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SCENE 7 — FINAL RIDDLE, FINAL LOCATION

INT. HQ — WAR ROOM — DAY

Another email arrives.

EMAIL:

"The sun watches me, the waves salute me. I'll bleed the heart of the city under stone lions."

IMRAN (realizing)

Gateway of India.

ZAIN (loading mag)

Crowd's huge right now.

QAZI

We move. Now.

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SCENE 8 — FINAL SHOWDOWN

EXT. GATEWAY OF INDIA — EVENING

Thousands of tourists, laughter, boats at bay. Hidden among them — SUB-INSPECTOR NILESH, adjusting a bag at the base of the monument.

ARJUN (spotting him)

I see him. Left flank, navy-blue jacket.

BLACK SQUAD converges. Tourists oblivious.

IMRAN (into comms)

Eyes on the bag. Bomb timer active. 2 minutes.

QAZI (over comms)

Take him alive.

They move in.

NILESH (noticing them, unhinged grin)

Too late, Rathore. This city betrayed me.

ARJUN (raising gun)

You betrayed it first.

NILESH

My brother died in that 2019 slum raid. Left to bleed by his own men. Now Mumbai will pay.

IMRAN lunges in, tackles him. Fight breaks out. ZAIN covers the bag.

IMRAN (struggling)

We don't kill innocents for vengeance!

SFX: Beep… 00:00:03

ZAIN (cutting wire)

Almost…!

Beep… click.

Timer stops.

SILENCE.

QAZI (over comms, relieved)

Bomb neutralized.

ARJUN (cuffing Nilesh)

Mumbai stands. You don't.

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SCENE 9 — EPILOGUE

EXT. MARINE DRIVE — NIGHT

IMRAN and ARJUN lean against the squad van. Sirens fading in the distance.

IMRAN (softly)

It's not just criminals we fight. It's our own ghosts.

ARJUN (nodding)

And we'll keep fighting. Every damn day.

The city skyline glows, bloodied but unbeaten.

FADE OUT.

TITLE CARD: BLACK SQUAD WILL RETURN

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