Meera didn't move for a long time after hearing him.
Not because she was confused.
Because for the first time… she had direction inside her pain.
"Tell me everything," she repeated.
Her voice wasn't loud.
But it was final.
The boy nodded once.
"My name is Aarav."
A pause.
"And I was part of the transport system… before I left."
Meera's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You worked with them?"
He shook his head quickly.
"Not with them."
A pause.
"Inside them."
Silence.
That was worse.
Because insiders know where the walls are weakest.
Aarav pulled out a folded paper.
Old.
Marked.
Edited many times.
"This is not a building," he said.
"It's a chain."
Meera stepped closer.
Rani's name echoed in her mind again.
Aarav pointed.
"There are multiple holding locations."
A pause.
"But only one central control point."
Meera whispered:
"Where they take people…"
Aarav nodded.
"Yes."
A silence followed.
Heavy.
Real.
Meera asked slowly:
"Did you see her… Rani?"
Aarav hesitated.
That hesitation said everything.
Meera's breath stopped.
"Don't lie to me."
Aarav lowered his voice:
"I didn't see her."
A pause.
"But I saw where similar cases were sent."
Meera's hands clenched.
"Then tell me."
Aarav pointed to a marked zone.
Not a city.
Not a building.
Something hidden behind layers of control.
"They call it the Processing Unit."
A pause.
"But inside… people call it The Quiet Room."
Meera frowned.
"The Quiet Room?"
Aarav nodded.
"Because once you go in…"
A pause.
"Your identity stops being yours."
Silence.
Meera felt something cold spread inside her chest.
But she didn't step back.
She stepped forward.
"How do we get there?"
Aarav looked at her carefully.
"You don't just walk in."
A pause.
"You become something they already expect."
Meera frowned.
"Explain."
Aarav leaned closer.
"They don't fear outsiders."
A pause.
"They fear exposed insiders."
Silence.
Then realization slowly formed.
Meera whispered:
"So we need to look like part of them."
Aarav nodded.
"Yes."
A long silence followed.
Meera sat down slowly.
Her mind working faster than her heart could catch up.
"I need to get her back," she said quietly.
Not as a wish.
As a decision.
Aarav replied:
"Then you need more than courage."
A pause.
"You need timing."
Meera looked up.
"What timing?"
Aarav pointed at the map again.
"There's a transfer cycle."
A pause.
"Tomorrow night."
Meera's breath tightened.
"They move her?"
Aarav nodded.
"Not just her."
A pause.
"Several detainees."
Silence.
That was the window.
Small.
But real.
Meera stood instantly.
"Then we go tomorrow."
Aarav shook his head.
"Not 'we'."
A pause.
"You."
Meera frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Aarav looked away for a second.
"I can't go back inside."
A pause.
"I'm already marked."
Silence.
Meera understood.
Traitors don't get second chances.
Even if they switch sides.
Aarav continued:
"But I can get you close."
A pause.
"And once you're inside… you're on your own."
Meera didn't hesitate.
"That's enough."
Aarav studied her.
"You're not afraid?"
Meera whispered:
"I already lost her."
A pause.
"Fear is what I feel after that."
Silence.
That night, Meera didn't sleep again.
But this time…
it wasn't emptiness.
It was preparation.
She kept hearing Rani's last words.
"Find me."
Now she finally knew where to look.
Aarav came back before dawn.
Handing her a small device.
"One last thing," he said.
A pause.
"If you hear nothing inside… don't trust silence."
Meera nodded.
"I won't."
Aarav looked at her one last time.
"Then don't disappear inside it."
Meera answered softly:
"I'm not going in to disappear."
A pause.
"I'm going in to bring her back."
And for the first time…
the mission had a shape.
Not just love.
Not just pain.
But infiltration.
Somewhere far away…
a facility lit up its night systems.
Unaware that one broken heart was walking toward it.