Harry Potter : The Trinity of New era

~ Next day ~

"Doesn't the bridge feel strange today?" Sriman asked, his voice laced with unease.

"Aww man, everything feels off for me," I replied, trying to shake off the lingering discomfort. "Maybe that weird vibe from the guard rubbed off on me." I still couldn't get past the guard's odd reaction when he saw Grandpa. When I asked about it, he muttered something about Grandpa looking like a ruffian because of his build and style.

"Do you think he mistook your Grandpa for a terrorist? Maybe he got spooked because your grandfather's an Army General," Teja suggested with a half-hearted chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

"Don't jinx it, idiot," Sriman snapped, clearly annoyed by Teja's flippant comment.

"Relax. Grandpa has already taken him into custody. There's nothing to worry about," I reassured them, though the tension in my voice betrayed my anxiety.

The bridge felt unnaturally warm beneath our feet—a strange sensation, considering we were in a region known for its cold climate.

"The bridge is probably warm because so many people have walked on it today," Teja reasoned, trying to quell Sriman's rising paranoia. "There's a big event at the temple, remember?"

"Yeah, that makes sense," Sriman finally conceded, though not entirely convinced. "Half my fear is probably from that stupid terrorist movie we watched last night."

As we continued walking, our chatter gradually faded, drowned out by the swelling noise of the crowd.

Unknown POV:

'The plan was flawless, bombs were supposed to be in place by tomorrow. The dome on the bridge, made of glass, would make it difficult for snipers to aim, as it would be blurred due to the winter mist. Hijacking a bridge and exchanging the safety of the hostages for release of our boss — it was a brilliant move.'

'But all of it… ruined by that old man and his son. I hope Omar and Khalid can take over the operation without me. They are new to these things.'

'Ugh! I should have got the main team here. I didn't even have time to give a signal to them. ' 

'I hope they will be careful with the remote. '

"AH!" I screamed as pain shot through me. The old man had just ripped off another nail.

"Nabir Kasim," the voice from the speaker growled, cold and relentless, "I won't ask you again. What is the operation, and how many of you are here?" The man on the other side of the glass stared at me with cold eyes.

"Vijay Kumar," I spat back, blood dripping from my mouth. "You should have gone to that meeting in Delhi. You made a mistake and it will cost you, the lives of your family."

I saw his face tighten at my words, his composure cracking for just a moment. "Your wife, your son, your grandchildren…" I hissed. His eyes darkened at the mention of his grandchildren. "Ah, yes, your grandchildren—they will die too."

'He has a grandchild?? Doesn't matter. The more I rile him up, the better.'

"They will die," I mocked, pushing the dagger deeper.

A sudden, searing pain exploded in my head as I was struck hard with a steel spike. My vision blurred, and my consciousness slipped away. But before darkness claimed me, I mustered the last of my strength and shouted, "Tum kitne Afzal maroge, har ghar se Afzal niklega! Kashmir is ours!"(No matter how many of us you kill, more of us will come from every house!)

General Vijay's POV:

"Damn these dogs," I muttered, the venom in the terrorist's words still gnawing at me. "Karthik, where are Vimala and the children?" I asked, my voice thick with urgency.

"They should've reached the temple by now," he replied, his expression grim.

We were getting nowhere with this bastard, and I didn't have the luxury of time to wait until he regained consciousness. We had no idea how many of them there were or what their objective was. I couldn't wait for them to make the first move, to voice their demands. The temple… The temple…

"Are they planning to hijack the temple?" I asked, the question tasting bitter on my tongue.

"No, Dad, I think we need to consider more possibilities. But just in case, I'll have the choppers land at the temple. They should be there in a few minutes," Karthik said, already moving to execute the plan.

But something kept gnawing at me. What else could they do? The temple… no, it's not an easy target. What's the path they took to infiltrate… the path… THE BRIDGE!

"THE BRIDGE! They're going to either blast or hijack the bridge!" I shouted, the realization crashing over me like a tidal wave. ' It made perfect sense—narrow, difficult for snipers, and cloaked in fog.'

"Call Anitha ma, I'll inform Sravan," Karthik said, urgency now matching mine as other officers scrambled to update the reinforcements.

Ring… Ring…

"Hello, Vijay. What happened with that guard?" Anitha's voice came through the phone, calm but curious.

"He's a terrorist. Where are you right now?" I demanded, my concern sharpening my tone.

"Oh Bhagawan, I'm just outside the counter, taking offerings from the luggage. Where are the children?" she asked, her voice tinged with growing worry.

"I'll call you back," I said hastily, ending the call before she could reply.

"Karthik, did you reach Sravan? Where is he?" I barked.

"He's on another call. I called Vimala instead," Karthik responded, the tension mounting.

The call connected.

"Karthik, where are you?" Vimala's voice was casual, blissfully unaware of the storm brewing.

"I'm with Dad. Where are you?" Karthik asked his tone tight.

"I'm on the bridge. People have stopped—something's happening ahead," she replied, irritation creeping into her voice.

"The children, where are the children?" Karthik's voice was rough, barely masking his fear.

"He's talking to Honey Beti," she replied, her voice softening when she mentioned our goddaughter.

"You need to get off the bridge, NOW!" I shouted into the phone, my heart racing.

"What's going on? Why are you so anxious? Is it about that guard?" she asked, anxiety starting to seep into her voice.

BOOM!

The explosion ripped through the air, followed by the shrill beep of a disconnected line.

"Damn it! Move! Get the guns from the locker!" I yelled at Karthik, who stood frozen in shock.

Vimala's POV:

I felt anxious as my father-in-law ordered us to move away from the bridge. I was just about to inform Sravan when—

"BOOM!!!!!"

An explosion erupted at the far end of the bridge, shattering the exit point. Everything vanished in a deafening roar, and my senses were overwhelmed by the panicked screams of the crowd. I couldn't see or hear anything but chaos.

Suddenly, the sharp sound of gunfire cut through the noise.

"Quiet!!" a voice barked, menacing and cold.

The crowd fell silent, fear tightening its grip on every soul.

"The bridge is under our control. Silence your damn devices. I don't want to hear a single sound!" the assailant commanded.

My heart pounded in terror as the reality of our situation sank in. I turned , searching desperately to find Sravan.

"Where are the other two?" I whispered, my voice trembling.

"I think they're ahead of us. I hope they've reached the temple. Are you okay, Ma? Are you hurt? What did Grandpa say?" Sravan asked, his words rapid and filled with concern.

"I'm fine, beta. Grandpa ordered us to move back and maybe board the car," I replied, trying to steady my voice.

"Don't worry, Ma. We'll get out of this. I promise," Sravan said, pulling me into a protective embrace.

"We will, my child. We will," I murmured, resting my head on his shoulder, trying to draw strength from his resolve. I remembered how Karthik had sent Sravan through a rigorous two-month military camp. Perhaps it was that training that gave him this confidence now.

'Bhagwan Krishna, please help us,' I prayed silently.

"Sravan, Aunty, are you both alright?" Sriman's voice called out as he and Teja crawled toward us. We were all forced to crouch, hands on our heads, obeying the orders of the terrorists.

Then, a sound pierced through the stillness—wee-woo, wee-woo—the unmistakable wail of police or military sirens.

'I hope we get out of this alive. Please, don't let this become another Taj Hotel,' I prayed fervently, feeling the icy grip of fear tighten around my heart.

General POV:

There were five assailants, each armed with rifles, their faces hard as they communicated with their superiors over the phone. Despite the crowd's attempts to stay quiet, the collective murmurs filled the air, growing louder as time passed without any official response.

Then, something happened—a device slipped from one of the terrorists' pockets and hit the floor.

"BOOM!!!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!!"

Explosives detonated beneath the bridge, nearly collapsing it. The blast obliterated most of the terrorists, all except for their leader, who was hurled back into the crowd.

Panic surged like wildfire. The crowd began to stampede, the bridge swaying under the sudden, desperate movement. Sravan, with his aunt in tow, was nearing the entrance when he heard consecutive shots ring out. Without knowing where the bullets were headed, he instinctively dropped to the ground, shielding his aunt with his body. The bullet struck his shoulder, pain exploding through him, but he didn't falter. Steeling his nerves to bear the pain, he lifted his unconscious aunt and pushed forward, staggering toward the entrance.

Meanwhile, Sriman and Teja struggled, children in their arms, their small bodies marked with bruises and shoe prints from the stampede's chaos.

"We made it, barely," Teja gasped as they reached the entrance, his voice trembling from fear and relief.

"I told you not to jinx it," Sravan replied, trying to lighten the situation, ignoring the throbbing pain in his shoulder, adrenaline dulling the agony.

"There are still children on the bridge!" a desperate voice shouted.

"My son! He's missing!" a mother wailed, her voice cracking with despair.

"Come on, we can still find them!" Teja yelled, sprinting back toward the bridge without a second thought.

"This is suicide! I told you Kashmir was a bad idea for a vacation!" Sriman muttered, despair coloring his words, but he followed anyway, knowing he couldn't let his friend go alone.

"Hurry, let's make this fast," Sravan urged, his training kicking in, guiding him through the fear.

As they rushed back, Sravan noticed a device lying beside the unconscious terrorist . It looked like control device. His mind raced—this could be an opportunity. He fished a USB stick from his pocket.

"I'm putting SOLIS (Self-Optimizing Learning Intelligence System) into this thing," Sravan said, doing something he thought if successful could help damage the satellite it is connected to.

"That is the company's new project, isn't it? We haven't even tested it! That's an half finished piece an it might damage the system." Sriman reminded him, panic rising.

"If it fails, it's their problem, not ours," Teja retorted, his focus unyielding.

Sravan inserted the device and got back to rescuing the kids.

Lot of young guys like them were doing the same.

They gathered the remaining children, hoisting them onto their shoulders, and began moving away from the still-breathing terrorist.

"Guys, one of them is moving!" Teja shouted, his voice sharp with fear. The small group still on the bridge panicked, their terror renewed.

"To the entrance! Don't look back!" Sravan ordered, his training dictating their best chance for survival.

They ran, but it was too late. The terrorist triggered another explosive, the bridge collapsed in their wake.

"Throw the kids! Now!" Sriman screamed, hoping that the children would be saved from the damage.

They hurled the children forward with everything they had, praying they would reach safely without harm. But they didn't have time to see if it worked.

"Well, this is it. We're all going down together," Teja said, a resigned smile playing on his lips, masking his fear.

"Five more seconds, and we'll see each other in the heaven. Teja, this is your fault—you jinxed it, so you're going to hell," Sravan said, managing a weak laugh despite the gravity of their situation.

The friends closed their eyes, bracing for the inevitable. There was no smile, no defiance, just the heavy weight of despair settling over them as they accepted their fate.

Thud.

Thus ended the lives of three brave friends, and many young people, who, unbeknownst to them, helped the world. Their act of insert a half finished mechanical intelligence of their company had caused the safe pointsof terrorist group to be stored back in their personal server. Which was found by their families and sent to the governments. Countless awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, would later be bestowed posthumously upon them. But these events would unfold only after their sacrifice.