Sami and the File
Night had settled over the city by the time Sami finally sat down in his apartment.
The place was quiet again. Too quiet.
He loosened his tie, poured himself a glass of water, and placed the file the man had given him on the table.
For a moment he just looked at it.
Then he opened it.
Inside were legal documents, neatly organized.
Project contracts.
Land purchase agreements.
Company letters.
At the top of the first page was the project title:
"Redevelopment Plan — Shantipur Industrial Zone."
Sami's eyes moved slowly across the document.
The project involved the demolition of an old candy factory in the center of Shantipur, a small town that had once been known for its traditional sweet production.
According to the documents, the company planned to destroy the old factory and build a new modern manufacturing plant in its place.
At first glance, everything looked routine.
Corporate expansion.
Industrial redevelopment.
Legal approvals.
But Sami kept reading.
And something began to feel wrong.
He turned another page.
Then another.
Property acquisition records.
Lists of landowners.
Compensation forms.
But several pages had missing signatures.
Others had signatures that looked… strange.
Too similar.
Too neat.
He flipped to another section.
Eviction notices.
Entire blocks of homes around the old factory had been marked for forced removal.
Families relocated.
Properties transferred.
But the payment records didn't match the land value.
Some owners had been paid almost nothing.
Others had no confirmation at all.
Sami leaned back slowly in his chair.
"This doesn't make sense," he murmured.
He scanned the final page.
The redevelopment company.
The investors.
And several names connected to the project.
Some of those names…
He recognized.
Not from the legal world.
From criminal investigations.
He closed the file slowly.
Something about this project was very wrong.
And suddenly the man's words from the restaurant echoed in his mind.
"Make sure everything gets erased."
Sami stared at the file.
This wasn't just a redevelopment project.
It looked like land theft hidden inside legal paperwork.
Leena at Night
The alley behind the old market was almost empty at that hour.
A weak streetlight flickered above the cracked pavement, throwing uneven shadows along the walls. Somewhere in the distance a dog barked, then everything went quiet again.
Leena stood near the edge of the light.
Her hands were tucked into the pockets of her jacket, her posture relaxed but her eyes alert. She had arrived earlier than him and had already scanned the street twice.
A motorbike engine hummed briefly before stopping at the corner.
A young man stepped off.
He wasn't much older than her—maybe twenty-five. Lean build, dark hoodie, restless eyes that kept checking the street behind him before he walked toward her.
"You're Leena?" he asked cautiously.
"Yes."
For a moment neither of them spoke.
The wind pushed a loose strand of hair across Leena's face, but she didn't move to fix it. She was studying him carefully.
"You came from Central, right?" she asked.
He nodded once.
Leena tilted her head slightly.
"How long have you been working for Uncle?"
"Six months," he said.
She gave a small, almost amused chuckle.
"Six months," she repeated. "Not much."
The man shifted his weight slightly.
"Why are you asking?"
Leena looked at him calmly.
"Does he hurt you?"
The question caught him off guard.
"Not much," he said after a second. "Sometimes… if I mess something up."
Leena let out a quiet laugh.
"So he gave me the new one," she said. "The one who just started."
The man frowned.
"What do you want?"
Leena stepped a little closer, lowering her voice.
"We make a deal."
His eyes narrowed immediately.
"What kind of deal?"
"I know how the work runs," she said calmly. "And I know how to make extra money."
The man stiffened.
"Without Uncle knowing."
He stared at her now.
"You mean stealing from him?"
Leena shook her head slowly.
"No."
Then she added quietly,
"That's the mistake people make."
The wind rustled a plastic bag somewhere down the street.
The man's voice lowered.
"You know what happens if he finds out?" he said. "Next time he won't just beat someone. He'll kill you… and me."
Leena's expression didn't change.
"That won't happen."
"How can you be so sure?"
She leaned against the wall, her voice steady.
"Because we'll still give him his money."
The man looked confused.
Leena continued.
"We sell his packages like usual."
A pause.
"But we process them first."
He stared at her.
"What?"
She watched his reaction carefully.
"Just a small amount," she said. "Enough to make more than what he's earning now."
The man ran a hand through his hair nervously.
"You're crazy."
"Maybe."
"But it works."
He took a step back.
"Why are you telling me all this?"
Leena studied him.
"Because you're new."
"And because you said something interesting earlier."
He frowned.
"What?"
"You said you worked for free for a month just to deliver packages."
His expression tightened slightly.
Leena nodded slowly.
"Exactly."
Silence settled between them for a moment.
Then she said quietly,
"You came from Central."
The man's eyes sharpened.
"So?"
"You know better than me what kind of things they use there," Leena said.
His jaw tightened.
"You shouldn't talk about things like that."
Leena's voice softened.
"I just need something from your contacts."
He stared at her.
"I'll pay you," she continued calmly. "And I'll show you how to make more money than Uncle ever gives you."
The man looked torn now.
Greed.
Fear.
Suspicion.
All at once.
"What exactly do you want?" he asked slowly.
Leena didn't answer immediately.
Instead she looked down the empty alley… then back at him.
Her eyes were calm.
But cold.
"Something small," she said.
"Something Central uses for their work."
The man swallowed.
"You're playing a dangerous game."
Leena's lips curved into the faintest smile.
"Only dangerous for the people who think they're in control."
The alley had grown even quieter.
The streetlight above them flickered again, casting a pale yellow glow over the cracked pavement. Somewhere far away a car passed, its sound fading quickly into the night.
For a moment neither of them spoke.
The young man kept watching the empty street, still uneasy about being seen. Leena, on the other hand, looked completely calm—almost too calm for someone planning something this dangerous.
Finally she broke the silence.
"What's your name?"
The man hesitated for a second before answering.
"Alok."
Leena nodded slowly, as if filing the name somewhere in her mind.
"Alok," she repeated.
Then she reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a slightly crumpled cigarette pack.
She held one out toward him.
Alok looked at it, surprised.
Leena raised one eyebrow.
"So," she said quietly, "do we work together?"
He studied her face carefully.
She wasn't joking.
She wasn't scared either.
After a moment, he took the cigarette.
"Yeah," he said. "I want to get out of here."
Leena gave a small smile—one that didn't show too much emotion, but enough to feel like an agreement.
She lit the cigarette first, then leaned closer so he could light his from the same flame.
For a few seconds they stood there, smoke drifting slowly into the cold air.
Two strangers.
But now connected by the same risk.
Leena exhaled slowly.
"I'm usually free after nine," she said casually. "You can come to my apartment."
Alok looked at her.
"You trust me that much?"
Leena shrugged lightly.
"You already know where I live."
He nodded once.
"Yeah."
She flicked the ash from her cigarette.
"Good."
The conversation was over.
Leena dropped the cigarette to the ground and crushed it beneath her shoe.
Then she turned and started walking down the street without looking back.
Within seconds she disappeared into the darkness.
The walk back to her apartment felt longer than usual.
By the time she reached the building, the exhaustion from the entire day had begun to settle into her body.
Too many conversations.
Too many memories.
Too many decisions.
She unlocked the door and stepped inside.
The apartment was silent.
The same faint smell of coffee from the morning still lingered in the air.
Leena dropped her bag on the table and sat down on the edge of the bed.
For the first time all day, she allowed herself to breathe.
A deep, tired breath escaped her.
"Long day," she murmured quietly to herself.
She leaned back slightly, rubbing her temples.
Her head still throbbed faintly.
After a moment she reached for her phone and checked the time.
Her eyes softened just a little.
"He'll be fine," she whispered to herself.
"And safe… out of here."
A small smile appeared on her face.
Just for a second.
Then it disappeared again.
Leena stood up slowly and pulled the yellow-and-white striped dress over her head, letting it fall onto the chair nearby.
She stepped into the bathroom.
The shower water ran hot, steam quickly filling the small space.
For a few minutes she simply stood there under the water, letting it run over her face and shoulders as if trying to wash the entire day away.
When she finally came out, she wrapped herself in a loose T-shirt and sat back down on the bed.
Her bag was still open.
The medicine boxes from the pharmacy spilled slightly out of it.
Painkillers.
Migraine tablets.
Sleeping pills.
Leena opened one of the boxes and shook several tablets into her hand.
She stared at them for a moment.
"I need to sleep," she said softly.
She swallowed the pills with water from a glass beside the bed.
Then she lay down, pulling the blanket halfway over herself.
Within minutes, the heaviness of the medicine began to pull her into sleep.
The apartment returned to silence again.
Outside the window, the city lights flickered in the distance.
And somewhere down the corridor…
Behind another closed door…
Sami had no idea what kind of storm was slowly forming next door.