The laboratory seemed deserted as Ava stood at the threshold, her thoughts whirling. She had been here but a handful of times before, always when her uncle had requested that she come by, but tonight it was not the same—dark, oppressive. The air was heavy with questions left unasked, and the muted hum of the fluorescent lights overhead was unnerving.
She looked over at Rohit, who was already a few steps ahead, his dark eyes sweeping the room. Ava wasn't certain what to make of him yet—he had been cool, professional, but there was something about him that unsettled her. Perhaps it was the fact that he had known her uncle himself, and yet he was so secretive. Or perhaps it was the odd attraction she felt when he was near.
"So, what are we searching for, exactly?" Ava asked, attempting to calm her nerves.
Rohit did not respond immediately, his attention on the scattered documents and unusual machinery before him. He was not an easy person to read, and she could sense that he didn't trust her yet, not completely. But that was okay. She didn't trust him either. Not after everything that had occurred.
He finally had a word, his tone low. "We're searching for anything that links your uncle's work to the individuals who abducted him. If we can even find a small hint, it might just lead us to the truth."
Ava nodded, but her thoughts were still back at the phone call she had received earlier. "You don't have much time," Rohit had told her. Why was he so anxious? She couldn't help but feel that there was something more going on here, something larger than they both understood.
She brushed the thought aside as she moved deeper into the room. Her uncle's work had always been strictly classified, and the more deeply involved she became, the more perilous it seemed. But if there was any possibility of finding out the truth, she had to do it—no matter what.
The sound of her name snapped her back into awareness. "Ava?
She whirled around to find her older brother, Anish, standing in the doorway, looking concerned. "What are you doing here?" he asked, sounding worried.
Ava's heart missed a beat. She had not thought that anyone would trail behind her. "Anish, what are you doing here?"
"Maybe you could ask me the same thing," he answered, entering the lab and looking around uneasily. "Mom and Dad were getting concerned when you didn't come home. I tried to call, but you didn't answer."
"I had to come," Ava replied hastily, attempting to keep the fear out of her voice. "I need to know what happened to Uncle Vikram. You don't get it—there's something they're not saying."
Anish moved closer, his eyes relaxing. "I understand. But this. this isn't safe. You can't just walk around here at night, Ava."
"I have to. You don't know what he was doing," she shook her head. "And I have to complete it. I have to find him."
Anish sighed but did not argue. He had always been careful with her, but tonight his worry felt different. Perhaps it was the same nagging sensation that she couldn't get out of her head. That something greater was involved, and they were all at risk.
Anish didn't have a chance to answer before Rohit cut in, his tone stern. "You need to go. This is not a location for anyone who isn't part of the investigation."
Ava felt a sudden surge of irritation. She wasn't a child. She didn't need Rohit to tell her what to do. But she knew he was right. There were too many risks, too many unknowns.
She glanced at her brother. "I'll be fine. Just. go back home. Tell Mom and Dad I'm okay."
Anish hesitated, clearly torn. But after a moment, he nodded. "Just. be careful. Please."
After her brother had departed, the tension in the room seemed to fade away. Ava returned to Rohit, who was now studying a batch of files on the desk.
"There's something not right about all this," Ava murmured, speaking more to herself than to him.
Rohit didn't react immediately, his focus entirely on the documents before him. But when he did speak, his tone was low, a whisper. "Your uncle wasn't just a scientist, Ava. He was involved in something much more sinister. Whoever abducted him knew precisely what they were doing.
Ava felt a chill run down her spine. "What do you mean? What was he working on, exactly?"
Rohit hesitated, his eyes locking with hers. "I don't know yet. But if you want to find your uncle, you're going to need more than your uncle's research. You're going to need to trust me."
Ava didn't appreciate the way he put it. The prospect of trusting him, a stranger to her, was not sitting well with her. But she was desperate for options, and the more she gazed down at the documents scattered over the desk, the more she understood she was way out of her depth.
"I don't trust anyone at this point," Ava said in no uncertain terms. "Not even you."
Rohit wasn't offended by what she said. To the contrary, his face relaxed a little. "That's understandable," he said. "The fact is, Ava, we both need each other. We're too far in for both of us to turn around now.
.....
The next day, Ava came back home, her mind weighed down with the burden of all that she had discovered. She hadn't got any concrete leads at the lab, but she was sure of one thing—Rohit wasn't lying. There was something wrong with the case, and it wasn't a matter of her uncle's vanishing anymore. It was a matter of the people who were manipulating things from behind the scenes.
As she entered her house, the familiar sounds of her family's voices reached her ears. Her mother, Priya, was in the kitchen, humming as she prepared breakfast. Ava's father, Raj, was in the living room, reading the newspaper.
"Good morning, dear," Priya called out as Ava stepped into the kitchen. "You're up early."
Ava forced a smile, trying to hide the exhaustion she felt. "Yeah, couldn't sleep."
Her mother gave her a concerned look. "What's going on, Ava? You're not yourself lately. Is this about your uncle again?"
Ava hesitated, unsure of how to respond. She couldn't tell her parents everything. Not yet. But they were getting too close to the truth, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized how much danger they were all in.
"I'm just trying to figure out what happened," Ava said finally. "I'll be fine, Mom. Don't worry about me."
Priya didn't seem convinced, but she let it drop. "Okay, but if you need something, you know where to find me."
Ava nodded, thanking her mother, even though she didn't necessarily get it. But Ava did know that there were answers out there, and she wasn't going to rest until she had them.
And whatever secrets her uncle had been hiding, she was going to find out.
......