Shadows of Doubt

After the meeting ended, Furqon and Zafran walked down the long corridor of Fortex Intelligence headquarters. The environment buzzed with activity—scientists passed by, holographic screens displayed complex data, and technical discussions echoed from various corners. Yet both men remained silent, lost in their own thoughts.

"Zafran, did you feel something was off back there?" Furqon broke the silence.

Zafran nodded slowly, his gaze sharp. "Yeah. Dr. Jarir is usually more thorough in discussions. But today, he just gave brief directives without digging deeper into our report. That's not like him."

Furqon paused, turning to face Zafran. "You know how he usually is. Always wants every detail, always making sure everything runs perfectly. But today… it was like he just wanted the meeting to end quickly."

Zafran leaned back against the wall, his expression thoughtful. "There's a chance he's hiding something. But what? And why?"

Furqon tried to recall the moments from the meeting. "There was a point when he seemed uneasy—especially when the Strategic Intelligence Division mentioned interdimensional threats. Did you see his expression? He immediately shifted the discussion to something else."

Zafran nodded again, folding his arms. "We can't ignore this. If something is being kept from us, it could jeopardize the entire operation."

Furqon sighed. "But we also can't jump to conclusions without proof. If this is just a gut feeling, I don't want to disrupt team stability."

"We need a strategy," Zafran said, eyes narrowing. "Maybe we start by checking the meeting records. If something strange happened, there's bound to be a trace."

Furqon nodded in agreement. "I'll try accessing the meeting log from the central server. You look into whether anything suspicious has come up with the Strategic Intelligence Division. They were the first to mention the dimensional threat."

Zafran gave a thin smirk. "How about I also keep an eye on Dr. Jarir? If he makes any odd moves, we need to know."

"We do this carefully," Furqon replied, patting Zafran's shoulder. "If something really is wrong, we can't be reckless."

The two continued walking, minds occupied with plans. They didn't yet know what was truly going on, but one thing was clear: a shadow of doubt now hung between them and Dr. Jarir.

As night fell, Fortex headquarters remained active. But behind the hum of ongoing work, Furqon and Zafran began taking their first steps—aware that the truth they sought might be more complicated than they ever expected.