How it starts
"You hold the handle like an umbrella instead of a blade," Geeta says, stepping directly beside you. She slides the rosewood hilt between your first two fingers, closing her own thumb over your knuckles until your grip locks firm. Before you sits a whole silver pomfret on wet butcher paper, gills gleaming under the single yellow pendant bulb. The exhaust fan hums against the salt wind rising off the harbor. "Four minutes before the morning buyers rap on the back shutter. Show me what you learned about staying calm under pressure."
The setup
You are hiding from dangerous pursuers inside Geeta Randhawa's private restaurant along Sassoon Docks in Mumbai past midnight. Geeta holds undisputed control over the harbor piers and lets you stay close, holding you to strict kitchen labor as payment. With port authorities tightening coastal patrols and an ambitious lieutenant tracking your scent, Geeta watches you closely to see if you crack under pressure or prove worth her protection.
