Whispers from Noir Haven

The sunlight barely pierced through the thick blinds of the CBI's Special Operations War Room. Morning had technically arrived, but no one inside the office had felt it. The air still smelled like stale coffee, half-eaten food, and burning data from exhausted servers.

Kiaan was bent over a file, eyes sharp despite the obvious fatigue pulling at the corners of his expression. Across the room, he saw Dev passed out on a chair, head tilted back awkwardly, snoring softly. Rehaan was curled up on the couch with a folder still resting on his chest—fast asleep, dead to the world.

Kiaan's lips twitched in amusement, but the moment passed quickly as his eyes moved to Tara—still typing, shoulders tense, face lit up by the pale glow of her laptop screen. She hadn't gone home either. The woman had worked through the night, coordinating backup teams, logging raid data, sending out threat assessments.

> "Tara," Kiaan said, standing beside her now. "You haven't gone home?"

She looked up at him, startled for a second, then smiled faintly. "There's still too much to file."

> "And your husband and son? Don't they miss you?" he asked, his tone softer now.

She paused.

> "They're used to this," she said quietly. "But yeah… my son always asks if I'll be there in the morning. I wasn't."

Kiaan nodded silently, then sat on the edge of the table, looking at her.

> "Tara, you need rest. Take at least a couple of hours. I'll handle it till then."

Tara opened her mouth to protest, but he raised a hand, cutting her off gently.

> "That's an order. From your captain, not your friend."

She hesitated, then finally nodded. "Two hours. Then I'm back."

As she closed her laptop and picked up her jacket, Kiaan opened a new file that had landed on his desk only fifteen minutes ago—an encrypted report flagged under Level Red by the internal intelligence wing.

His eyes narrowed as he read the name: "Noir Haven – Unknown Underground Entity"

> "Noir Haven?" he muttered under his breath.

Kiaan began typing rapidly. This wasn't a regular club. It wasn't even on legal records. No taxation logs. No licenses. No owners. Nothing on paper.

But the whispers online were dangerous.

Rumors spoke of illegal auctions, private arms dealings, anonymous foreign bidders, and encrypted entry codes that changed every two nights. This wasn't just a club—it was a veiled criminal hub—camouflaged as high society pleasure.

He picked up the intercom.

> "Tara. Delay your nap. Come back in."

Seconds later, she entered again, curious.

> "What now?"

Kiaan turned the monitor to face her. "Noir Haven. Exclusive. Undocumented. Highly secure. The kind of place where people don't just party—they plan empires."

Tara leaned in, reading quickly.

> "You think it's one of Rex's covers?"

> "No. I think it's worse," Kiaan said darkly. "I think this is where the network meets. The people we've never seen, the names we never hear. I want surveillance inside today. If this is real, it's not just a lead—it's a damn goldmine."

Tara began typing beside him now, fully alert again.

> "This place is encrypted. We'll need cloaked trackers and silent entries."

> "Then get the best. Use ghost protocol. No badges. No uniforms. I want eyes inside before nightfall."

Kiaan stood up, walking to the large city map plastered on the wall with pins and strings.

> "If Noir Haven is where they gather... Rex won't be far behind."

And in the silence that followed, the air felt colder. He wasn't chasing shadows anymore—he was about to walk into the very heart of the dark.

Outside, the city thrummed like a sleeping beast.

Tonight…

They were going to wake it up.