Tabhi Imran unke piche se aaya, bilkul bina noise ke, jaise corridor ne khud use bheja ho. Uske haath mein ek chhota sa crumpled strip tha. “Yeh dekho.”
Arjun aur Rohan dono ne ek saath dekh liya. Strip off-white thi, uspe faint blue print tha—*INSTITUTIONAL PROPERTY* ke letters ka aadha hissa.
“Yeh kahan mila?” Arjun ne poocha.
Imran ne chin se archive wing ki taraf ishara kiya. “Dustbin mein. Archive ke paas. Fresh lag raha tha. Pura tape nahi, bas torn strip. Kisi ne sealed area khola hoga, phir jaldi mein cover up kiya.”
Rohan ne strip ko do ungliyon se pakda, jaise woh evidence ho ya infection. “Archive wing? Wahan toh usually koi jaata bhi nahi.”
“Exactly,” Imran bola. Uski awaaz low thi, almost flat, par usmein alertness साफ़ थी. “Aur bin ke aas-paas footprints the. Clean nahi, but recent. Koi jaldi mein tha.”
Arjun ne corridor ke end par nazar daali. “Kisne dekha?”
Imran ne sirf ek second ke liye shoulders shrug kiye. “Maine.”
Usi pal opposite side se campus guard aaya, uniform crisp, face blank. Woh seedha unki taraf aa raha tha—phir achanak ruk gaya. Uski nazar boys par tiki, phir usne route badal diya, jaise pehle se decide path ko kisi invisible line ne kaat diya ho. Woh archive wing ki jagah side staircase ki taraf mud gaya.
Rohan ki aankhon mein concern chamka. “He saw us.”.
Hostel common room mein shaam ka light pehle se hi dull tha, aur khidki ke bahar pehli baarish ki boondein glass par tik-tik karne lagi thi. Fan dheere chal raha tha, jaise room khud bhi kisi baat ko soch raha ho. Sofa par Arjun ek haath mein chai ka cup pakde baitha tha, Rohan floor par apni notebook khol kar kuch dates compare kar raha tha, aur Imran chupchaap wall ke paas khada rainline ko dekh raha tha. Kabir, jo zyada der tak ek jagah nahi tikta tha, apna phone uthaye balcony ke paas aaya aur screen par naam dekhte hi thoda sa eyebrow raise kiya.
“Riya,” usne short sa bolkar call pick ki.
Udhar se uski awaaz aayi, crisp aur thodi teasing, “Itni formal? Kya baat hai, rebel boy.”
Kabir ne halki si hansi dabayi. “Seedha bol. Mere paas time kam hai.”
“Wahi toh. Tumhara time kam hai, meri news bhi kam hi aati hai,” Riya ne kaha. Background mein traffic ka faint shor tha, jaise woh kisi canteen ya road-side corner par khadi ho. “Sun. Ek cheez ghumm rahi hai. Tumhare campus ke bahar wale logon mein.”
Kabir ka tone instantly serious ho gaya. “Kya?”
“Old service road ke paas, us raat, ek faculty-linked vehicle dekha gaya tha.” Riya ne words ko carefully pack kiya, jaise extra syllable bhi risk ho. “White color, dark window tint. Number plate clear nahi tha, but log bol rahe the professor-type access tha. Aur haan, ab ye baat student circles se scrub ki ja rahi hai. Jaise kisi ne feed clean kar diya ho.”
Kabir ne ek second ke liye silence rakhi. Phir bola, “Faculty-linked ka matlab?”
“Matlab jo tum soch rahe ho, maybe usse thoda zyada dangerous.” Riya ki awaaz mein mazaak ab kam tha. “Koi nahi chahta ye rumor zyada chale. Ek-do bachche ne mention kiya tha, ab sab bol rahe hain unhone kuch dekha hi nahi. Convenient, no?”
Kabir ne balcony ke railing par ungli tap ki. “Kyun bata rahi ho mujhe?”
“Kyuki tumhari memory zyada kharab nahi hoti,” Riya ne dry tone mein kaha. “Aur kyuki Kunal ka naam ab bhi log softly lete hain. Jaise loud bolenge toh problem ho jayegi.”
Kabir ki nazar seedha andar sofa ki taraf gayi. Arjun ne uski face-reading dekh li aur seedha baith gaya. Rohan bhi notebook band karke uth aaya. Imran ne sirf ek baar aankh uthayi.
Kabir ne phone speaker thoda cover kiya aur pucha, “Kunal ne kuch bola tha before he went quiet?”
Rohan turant bol pada, “Usne last week service road ka zikr kiya tha. Yaad hai? Bola tha, ‘jo dikhta hai, woh hota nahi.’”
Arjun ne cup neeche rakha. “Aur faculty gate ke paas kisi car ka late-night movement bhi mention kiya tha. Main usko joke samajh ke ignore kar diya tha.”
Imran ki awaaz low thi. “He wasn’t joking.”
Kabir ne phone phir kaan ke paas lagaya. “Riya, ek aur cheez. Kya rumor mein kisi naam ka hint tha? Faculty side se?”
“Direct naam nahi,” Riya ne kaha..
Seminar room ka light dusky orange tha, jaise building ne khud bhi thak kar saans chhodi ho. Bench ke upar files, printouts aur ek half-empty marker padhe the. Wall clock ki tick-tick itni clear thi ki har second ek chhota sa pressure ban raha tha.
Dr. Meera Kapoor front table ke paas khadi thi, ek hand mein attendance sheet, dusre mein pen. She didn’t sit. She never seemed to sit when she wanted answers.
“Okay,” she said, voice calm, almost pleasant. “Simple revision. Kunal last seen kab, kis route se, aur kis ke saath?”
Arjun ne apni sleeves thodi si adjust ki. Uska charm usually room ka temperature badha deta tha, but abhi kuch kaam nahi kar raha tha. “Ma’am, official version toh hostel se nikalte dekha gaya tha. Around late evening. Uske baad—”
“Official version.” Dr. Meera ne word ko aise repeat kiya jaise usme dust ho. “Good. Aur unofficial?”
Rohan ne apne notebook ke corner ko press kiya. “Unofficial mein sirf assumptions hain, ma’am. Access logs ke bina kuch confirm nahi hota.”
“Then let’s talk logs.” She turned to him immediately. “Restricted wing ki back entry ka swipe record kaun maintain karta hai?”
Rohan blinked once. “Security office. But the data export… delayed ho sakta hai.”
“Delayed by system, or delayed by someone?” She asked it casually, but the room tightened.
Kabir back chair mein thoda sa fold ho gaya, one foot tapping. “Ma’am, agar kisi ne key use ki hogi toh sign-in toh hona chahiye.”
Dr. Meera finally looked at him. “Should. That word is doing a lot of work in this case.”
Imran, jo ab tak chup tha, bas table ke edge ko dekh raha tha. Meera ki nazar us par aayi toh he straightened a little.
“Imran,” she said, “tumhara room 69 hai na?”
Kabir snorted under his breath before stopping himself. Arjun ne ek warning glance diya, but Meera’s expression didn’t change.
“Yes, ma’am,” Imran said.
“Funny number,” she said dryly. “But not funny situation. Tum logon mein se kisi ne bhi last week restricted corridor ke paas kisi unknown face ko notice kiya?”
Arjun answered first. “Campus mein unknown faces ka count kaafi high hai, ma’am.”
“Smart answer,” she said. “Not useful, but smart.”
Rohan flipped a page. “Ma’am, if someone was managing logs, they’d know exactly which gap to create. A small one. Enough to look like a glitch.”
“Exactly.” She tapped the sheet once. “And who benefits from a glitch?”
No one spoke.
Outside, dusk aur dark ke beech ka line aur thin ho gaya. Corridor mein footsteps guzre, phir door ke bahar silence wapas aa gaya. Seminar room suddenly felt sealed.
Kabir leaned forward just enough. “Ma’am, are you saying this is inside campus?”