Riya stared at the anonymous message, her tea growing cold.
"Officer Sharma. We need to talk. About Verma. About what he's really planning."
The words glowed on her screen, a digital ghost from the very man she was hunting. Her first instinct was to trace it—run it through CIB's systems, triangulate the location, send a team. But something stopped her.
Verma.
The name echoed in recent intelligence reports. A shadowy corporator with fingers in everything from neuro-tech to political lobbying. What was Arav's connection to him?
"Ankit," she called out, not taking her eyes off the screen. "Pull everything we have on a man named Verma. Corporate records, financials, known associates."
Ankit looked up from his console. "Verma? As in the Mr. Verma? The one who practically owns half of Mumbai's tech sector?"
"That's the one. And keep it quiet. No official requests yet."
10:00 PM - Arav's Temporary Hideout
Arav watched the clock tick, his nerves stretched thin. He'd sent the message two hours ago. No response. Maybe it was a mistake. Maybe she was already tracing his location. Maybe—
His burner comm buzzed. Unknown number.
"Talk. But know this—one wrong move and I bring the entire CIB down on you."
Arav let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. She'd responded.
He typed quickly: "Verma is forcing me to break into the National Dream Archive. Project Chimera. Do you know what it is?"
The response was immediate: "Where and when?"
"Luna Café. 11 PM. Come alone. I'll know if you don't."
10:45 PM - Luna Café, Old Delhi
Riya stood outside the café, watching the rain-slicked streets through the hover-taxi's window. This was against every protocol. Meeting a suspect alone, without backup, without even telling her team. But something about Arav's message felt genuine. Desperate.
She entered the café—a cozy place with retro 2050s decor and the smell of real coffee, a rarity in this age of synthetic substitutes. And there he was, sitting in a corner booth, looking younger and more vulnerable than in his file photo.
"You're alone," he said as she approached.
"So are you," she replied, sliding into the seat opposite him. "Start talking."
Arav pushed a data chip across the table. "Verma's operation. He's been recruiting dream hackers for months. Project Chimera is some kind of mass dream manipulation program."
Riya didn't touch the chip. "Why come to me? I'm the one trying to arrest you."
"Because Verma is going to do something terrible. And because..." He hesitated, looking down at his hands. "Because I saw something in Director Kapoor's dream when I was doing reconnaissance. About your father."
Riya froze. "My father?"
"The official report says he was killed in the line of duty. But Kapoor's memories... they're different."
The world seemed to tilt around Riya. Her father's death was the reason she'd joined CIB. The reason she believed in justice so fiercely.
"What did you see?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
But before Arav could answer, the café's windows exploded inward.
11:07 PM - The Ambush
Arav reacted first, pulling Riya under the table as stun grenades filled the air with blinding light. Through the chaos, he saw black-clad figures with advanced weaponry—not CIB, not police. Private security. Verma's men.
"They found us!" Arav shouted over the alarms.
"How?" Riya demanded, drawing her service weapon.
Arav's eyes fell on the data chip still on the table. "The chip! It must have a tracker!"
They moved in sync, Arav grabbing the chip and Riya providing cover fire. They burst out into the back alley, the rain now coming down in sheets.
"This way!" Arav pulled her toward a maintenance ladder. "I know these streets!"
They climbed to the rooftops, the sounds of pursuit close behind. Across the neon-lit skyline, they ran—thief and cop, bound together by circumstance and growing trust.
On a secluded rooftop, they finally stopped to catch their breath.
"You saved my life," Riya said, leaning against a ventilation shaft.
"You would have done the same," Arav replied, handing her the data chip. "This is yours. Do what you think is right."
Riya took the chip, her mind racing. Everything she believed about procedure, about rules, was being tested. But looking at Arav—soaked, breathing heavily, but with honest eyes—she made a decision.
"We work together," she said. "You help me take down Verma and find the truth about my father, and I'll make sure you get protection. A fresh start."
Arav studied her face, looking for the trap. Finding none, he nodded. "Partners."
Somewhere in the city, Mr. Verma watched the footage from the failed capture attempt. He wasn't angry. He was intrigued.
The dream thief and the dream detective, working together. This changed everything. And it made his plans for Project Chimera even more perfect.