~ MUQAABIL ~

~ Aaghaat ~

ADHRIT'S POV

I drove as fast as I could, my mind racing as quickly as the car beneath me. The 45-minute deadline hung over me like a storm cloud, each passing second amplifying the urgency that had settled deep in my chest. The roads blurred into a tunnel of lights and shadows, but the questions in my mind were sharper than ever.

What does Mr. Ravishankar want to tell me? Why this secrecy, this insistence on coming alone?

The thoughts churned relentlessly, refusing to leave me in peace. Every scenario I could imagine only deepened my sense of unease, and the cryptic messages from Mr. Ravishankar played over and over in my mind like a broken record.

The journey felt both endless and too short, a paradox of time that reflected the turmoil within me. Finally, the imposing structure of the beta base came into view, its stark silhouette cutting through the night. I checked the clock—a mere two minutes to spare before the deadline. My hands tightened on the steering wheel as I navigated through the entrance, my heart pounding in sync with the engine's roar.

The base was eerily quiet, the kind of silence that makes you aware of your own heartbeat. I walked quickly, my footsteps echoing off the cold walls as I navigated the familiar corridors. The sterile environment did nothing to calm the storm inside me. If anything, it heightened the tension, each step taking me closer to whatever revelation awaited me.

Finally, I reached Mr. Ravishankar's cabin. The door loomed before me, a barrier between me and the answers I desperately sought. I hesitated for the briefest moment, my hand hovering just above the wood. What could be so critical that he demanded this kind of secrecy? What truth was I about to uncover that required such mental preparation?

With a deep breath, I pushed those thoughts aside and knocked on the door, the sound reverberating through the corridor. The wait felt eternal, the seconds stretching out as I stood there, anticipation coiling tighter around my nerves. My mind raced, a flood of possibilities swirling in the murky depths of my thoughts.

And then, from the other side of the door, I heard the faintest shuffle, a sign that Mr. Ravishankar was there, waiting. The door slowly creaked open, revealing the man whose words could either unravel the mystery or plunge me into further darkness. I steeled myself for whatever was to come, knowing that the answers I sought were just a few steps away—and that those answers could change everything.

He turned to me, his expression unreadable, a mask of calm that only made the tension thicker in the room.

"What I am about to tell you may greatly affect you. Are you ready for it?" Mr. Ravishankar asked, his voice steady but tinged with something I couldn't quite place—was it pity? Concern?

I didn't hesitate. There was no time for hesitation, not when Kaainaat's life was hanging in the balance. "Yes, I'm ready," I affirmed, my voice firmer than I felt inside. All that mattered now was the truth, no matter how devastating it might be.

He took a deep breath, as if steadying himself for what he was about to reveal. "Kaainaat has been arrested under the crime of breaching the data she was trying to recover."

For a moment, I couldn't breathe. WHAT!? My mind reeled, struggling to process the words that had just come out of his mouth. Kaainaat—arrested? But she was the one trying to fix this, trying to recover the data, not breach it! This couldn't be happening. It didn't make any sense.

But before I could even begin to voice my shock, Mr. Ravishankar continued, his tone growing more serious, more ominous. "But that's not it. The part for which I was warning you about is yet to come."

My heart sank further. What could possibly be worse than Kaainaat being falsely accused and arrested? "Please, proceed," I managed to say, though my voice trembled with barely contained dread.

"We have found suspects for the data breach," he began, "but we have no evidence against them."

The news hit me like a jolt of electricity. My heart leaped with a sudden surge of hope. Suspects! That meant we were close to finding the real culprits, to clearing Kaainaat's name. "That's great! That's awesome!" I exclaimed, unable to hide my excitement. "Just give me their names, and I will have them behind bars, where they belong."

Mr. Ravishankar's eyes darkened, and he hesitated, his gaze dropping momentarily as if he couldn't bear to look me in the eye. When he spoke again, his voice was as low as a whisper, each word heavy with significance. "Their names are: Aasha Shekhawat and Raghunath Shekhawat."

I felt as if the ground had disappeared beneath me. My world, already shaken by the news of Kaainaat's arrest, now seemed to crumble entirely. I stared at him, my mind refusing to comprehend what I had just heard, as if he had spoken in some alien language. "What did you just say?" I asked, struggling to keep my voice calm, though inside I was anything but.

He didn't flinch, didn't waver. His eyes met mine, filled with a sorrow I hadn't noticed before. "You heard me, Mr. Shekhawat," he stated, each word a dagger driving deeper into my heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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