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Episode 99 – "The Return"
Prologue – Flashback: A Year Ago
Deserted snowfields of Ladakh.
ZAIN QAZI escapes from a shootout between his syndicate and a special task force. Injured, bleeding, he limps into the wilderness. He collapses under a cliffside, the voice of his father haunting him:
> A.C.P. Sulaiman Qazi (memory): "You still have a choice, Zain. Even devils can change."
As the memory fades, we see Zain open his eyes in the present, standing in the rain, Mumbai.
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Present Day – Black Squad HQ, 11:49 PM
A.C.P. Sulaiman Qazi, now reappointed but carrying the weight of the past, walks through the dark halls of HQ. The city is quiet, but his mind isn't.
Suddenly, an alert flashes on screen. The outer perimeter camera captures a lone figure walking through heavy rain.
The guards rush out.
> Guard (on radio): "Sir, it's… it's Zain Qazi."
In a moment of disbelief, Qazi steps outside. Time feels frozen.
Zain stands with his hands up, eyes hollow yet determined.
> Zain: "I came to surrender. No tricks. I'm done running, Abbu."
Qazi says nothing. His eyes say everything — rage, grief, relief, betrayal.
He slowly raises his service revolver… but doesn't pull the trigger.
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Interrogation Room – 1:20 AM
Zain sits opposite his father. The room is still. Rain taps on the windows. A CCTV camera watches silently.
> Qazi (coldly): "Speak."
Zain slides a flash drive across the table.
> Zain: "This has names. Routes. Contacts. Locations of arms dumps. I helped build that empire… Now I want to help dismantle it."
Behind the one-way mirror, Imran, Arjun, Zoya, Kabir, and Mahira watch.
> Arjun (whispers): "He's playing a game. He always does."
Zoya: "No. He looks… broken."
Zain turns to the glass, sensing their presence.
> Zain (to Qazi): "You trained them well. Black Squad's your legacy, not mine. But maybe I can save what little is left of us."
Qazi is silent. A tear nearly forms… but is blinked away.
> Qazi: "Put him in lockdown. He stays under watch."
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Later – Squad Briefing Room
An anonymous tip arrives: a smuggling operation in a dockyard at Navi Mumbai. Coordinates received. Urgency marked.
> Imran: "We can't ignore it. If it's legit, we stop a big consignment."
Arjun: "Let's move out in two convoys."
The entire team gears up — tactical armor, rifles, comms. Zoya gives Qazi a brief nod before stepping into the SUV.
Zain, watching through a cell camera, mumbles:
> Zain: "It's a trap…"
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Dockyard – 3:15 AM
The squad's vehicles roll through the empty yard. Fog covers the area. Cargo containers form a maze. All feels… too quiet.
Suddenly:
Gates slam shut behind them.
All lights go dark.
Red flares launch into the air.
Flashbangs explode.
> Arjun: "AMBUSH! TAKE COVER!"
But it's too late.
Masked assailants swarm in using night vision, tranquilizer guns, and shock batons. In a matter of two minutes, every member of the Black Squad is out cold — including Imran, Arjun, Zoya, Kabir, Mahira, and the junior staff.
They're loaded into transport trucks, vanishing into the night.
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Black Squad HQ – 3:45 AM
Qazi is reviewing Zain's intel when an emergency beacon cuts through.
A voice crackles on the line. Modulated. Threatening.
> Caller: "We have your precious Squad. 12 hours. Come alone. No police, no rescue… or they all die."
Qazi's knuckles tighten.
Inside the cell, Zain hears the same. He looks at the guard.
> Zain: "He won't find them without me. I know these people. I know their traps."
> Guard: "You think we'll trust you?"
> Zain: "You want your team back alive, or not?"
Qazi storms into the holding area. The father and son lock eyes.
Flashback overlays of Zain as a child running into Qazi's arms… cut to Zain standing with a gun against Black Squad.
> Qazi: "You don't deserve redemption."
Zain: "I'm not asking for it."
Beat.
> Qazi: "…Get your gear."
The last shot: Zain opening an old tactical locker, dust-covered, marked "Z-Alpha Unit". He straps on gear for the first time in years — not as a criminal, but as a man trying to make things right.
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TO BE CONTINUED IN EPISODE 100: "LEGACY"