Chapter 24: Sparks, Smokes, and a Shocking Revelation
Location: Secret Island Bunker – Control Room
The room buzzed with flickering lights, old circuitry, and the smell of dust meeting electricity for the first time in years.
Old man Krishnan and Siddharth were a dream team.
Krishnan — despite forgetting what he had for breakfast (or Akash's name; he kept calling him "Murugan, biryani, Nivetha, etc.") — had decades of war-tech experience wired into his fingers.
Siddharth followed his moves like a natural.
Focused. Sharp. Calm.
Their hands moved over the tangled circuits like seasoned surgeons performing open-heart surgery on the island.
Meanwhile…
Akash.
With all the concentration of a child solving a Rubik's cube blindfolded — while wearing boxing gloves.
> Akash: "Guys… this says connect tire to terminal port-7… right?"
Siddharth: "…Akash, that's wire. WIRE."
Siddharth's inner monologue was screaming.
> (Narrator Voice)
"Even giving Akash a smartphone to charge is dangerous.
Giving him access to a nuclear power supply?
That's a national-level threat."
But somehow — through a miraculous cocktail of luck, old screws, and a few slaps from Krishnan — the main power supply hummed back to life.
Siva, sitting at the console, tapped into the now-active controls.
He was tracing signals, trying to see if any communication relay or satellite line could connect.
> Siva: "Nothing outgoing yet… but internal sensors are online."
The screens around them blinked awake — glowing red, orange, green.
Siva pumped a fist.
> Siva: "We're back online, boys!"
They celebrated briefly.
Until…
A red notification popped up on the central screen:
> "DEFENSE MISSILE LAUNCHER – OFFLINE"
"STATUS: STRUCTURALLY DESTROYED"
Siddharth froze.
Siva's smile faded.
Akash… was chewing a biscuit.
> Akash: "Wait… what now?"
Krishnan's face darkened.
> Krishnan: "The launcher… I forgot… during the attack, it was hit directly by a bomber plane. It's beyond repair."
Silence.
> Siva: "So even if we have power… we can't launch anything?"
Everyone was sad and disappointed.
> (Narrator Voice)
"They powered up a dead island.
But the final weapon to save their nation… is broken."