Unknown Location – Elder Chamber
The screen glowed in cold blue light.
Agent Code: AK-17
Origin: Pakistan Intelligence Division
Status: Embedded – Long-Term Deep Cover
The strategist swallowed.
"If this goes public—"
"It won't," the elder said calmly.
"Not yet."
He zoomed in on the first recruitment record.
Age: 16.
Assessment: High cognitive intelligence. Exceptional emotional control.
Assignment: Cross-border infiltration pathway.
The strategist looked uneasy.
"She was a child."
"Yes," the elder replied quietly.
"That is why this phase matters."
Geneva – Private Archive Room
Akanksha felt it before she saw it.
A secure archive request pinged her console.
Origin: Unknown.
Authorization Level: Beyond Oversight.
Her fingers hesitated before opening it.
The first image appeared.
A younger version of herself.
Training uniform.
Expression hardened far too early for her age.
She closed her eyes.
Memories returned like silent lightning.
She had buried this.
Not because she was ashamed.
But because survival required forgetting.
Flashback – Years Ago
A dim intelligence academy room.
A senior handler speaking calmly.
"You will not hate your mission," he had said.
"You will become it."
Young Akanksha had nodded.
No tears.
No protest.
Because loyalty was taught before choice.
She had been sent across borders.
Given a new identity.
A new loyalty.
A new life.
And somewhere along the way—
That new life became real.
Southern Command – 01:12 AM
Preyajeet received a restricted call from Adrian.
His voice was unusually careful.
"There's a file about Akanksha."
Preyajeet's jaw tightened.
"What file?"
"Her original recruitment. Full documentation."
Silence stretched.
"Is it real?"
"Yes."
A heavy pause.
"Does she know?"
"I believe she does now."
Geneva – Rooftop
Cold night air.
Akanksha stood alone.
Her communicator vibrated.
She answered.
Neither spoke for several seconds.
Then Preyajeet's voice, steady but quieter than usual:
"AK-17."
She didn't ask how he knew.
"Yes."
Another pause.
"Is there anything in that file I don't already know?"
Her breath slowed.
"No."
That was the truth.
He had known she once served Pakistan intelligence.
He had known she was deep cover.
But the file revealed how young she had been.
How calculated the infiltration was.
How perfectly she had executed it.
"Why didn't you tell me about your age?" he asked softly.
"Because I didn't want you to look at me like I was a weapon."
His chest tightened.
"I never have."
"I know."
Unknown Location
The strategist looked confused.
"This won't destroy them?"
The elder watched biometric data carefully.
"Trust built under illusion collapses."
He leaned closer to the screen.
"Trust built after truth becomes unbreakable."
The strategist frowned.
"You're strengthening them again."
The elder didn't answer immediately.
"Or I'm measuring them."
Geneva
Akanksha finally spoke again.
"I didn't fall in love as a spy."
Her voice was calm.
"I fell in love after I chose who I wanted to be."
Preyajeet closed his eyes briefly.
He remembered the missions.
The sacrifices.
The separation.
The blackout.
The exposure.
And now this.
"They recruited you at sixteen," he said.
"Yes."
"That wasn't a choice."
"No."
"But loving you was."
Silence.
Not uncomfortable.
Just real.
He spoke slowly.
"You weren't sent to destroy my country."
"No."
"You were sent to understand it."
"Yes."
"And somewhere… you understood me too."
A faint, emotional smile touched her voice.
"Yes."
Zurich
Adrian analyzed global reaction patterns.
The file had not been released publicly.
Yet.
The elder was holding it.
Waiting.
Testing.
Southern Command
Preyajeet looked at the night sky.
"When this goes public," he said quietly,
"they'll question everything."
"I know."
"They'll question us."
"Yes."
Another pause.
"Will you still stand beside me?"
Her answer came without hesitation.
"I already am."
Unknown Location
The strategist finally asked what he had feared.
"What is Phase Eight?"
The elder turned toward the world map one last time.
"Choice."
"Whose?"
The elder's eyes hardened.
"Theirs."
The AK-17 file began preparing for global release.
This time—
No blackout.
No manipulation.
Just truth.
And the world would decide:
Is a former enemy allowed to become its protector?
And can love survive when loyalty is questioned?