Those Who Know Too Much

Three days since the last message.Three days without real sleep.And now, one more name on Ari's list… was gone.

Rey.

The hacker who had been Ari's digital backbone—disappeared. Phone dead. Apartment empty. His laptop was still on—but the main hard drive was missing.

On Rey's screen, one line of red text glowed in the darkness:

"Those who know too much… must learn to stay silent or vanish."

Ari clenched his jaw.This wasn't just a threat anymore.It was a warning.And the warning was typed using Rey's own keyboard.

Meanwhile, the news quietly hinted at something darker.

A director of an international law watchdog was arrested for alleged money laundering—details redacted.A witness Ari had interviewed anonymously—found dead in a hotel room. Ruled suicide.But Ari knew: the man had a phobia of heights.His room was on the 26th floor.

That night, someone knocked on Ari's apartment door.

Three knocks.No voice.No footsteps.

When he opened it, no one was there—just a small wooden box on the floor.

Inside: a metal pen. Identical to the one Ari used for self-defense.But this one… was stained with blood.

At the bottom of the box, a note:

"Those who know too much… eventually learn to stay silent."

Ari slowly closed the door. Activated every lock. Sat in silence.His hands were shaking. His mind clouded.But somewhere deep inside, a new clarity formed:

If they feared the truth this much, the truth must be far more powerful than he imagined.

He opened the last folder he hadn't touched yet. One name stood out.Not a judge. Not a tycoon.

Just a young woman.A former secretary at the rival law firm—who resigned suddenly after an "internal warning."

Beneath her name, a handwritten note from Rey—left before he vanished:

"If every door is locked… she might be the key.But don't let them know you found her."

Ari stood up.Faced the mirror. His face was tired.But his eyes—were focused.

Tonight, he wasn't just defending justice.

Tonight, he was going to hunt back.

Ari walked down the apartment corridor in silence.He wasn't sure anymore if the security cameras were still working—or if they had already been tampered with.

His mind raced.If Rey could be taken down that fast, who else was already under silent surveillance?

His phone rang.Regular ringtone. But this time, there was no number.Just one word on the screen:"Unknown."

He answered.Silence.Then a woman's voice. Calm. Soft. But every word cut like a scalpel.

"They've started mentioning your name in closed-door meetings, Ari.You're no longer just a disturbance.You're now considered an 'anomaly.'"

"And anomalies… must be erased."

Click.The call ended.

Ari stood frozen. His hand clenched the phone so tightly his knuckles turned white.He knew that wasn't a threat.It was an execution notice.

He rushed into a small, hidden workspace tucked behind a false bookshelf.Fired up a laptop that had never been connected to the internet.There, he stored his most sensitive files—and one newly added name:

"Nadine Salma — Former Secretary, PPI Legal Division."

She wasn't a power player.Not a judge. Not a tycoon.But she had seen everything: who sat with who, who transferred what, who gave which orders.

People like her never made headlines.But in games like this—they were the pulse of the system.

Ari searched for her last known address. Nothing on public databases.But Rey had once backed up internal HR records.There it was: an alias, a Bandung address, and a short note:"Resigned due to mental health pressure. Not recommended for external contact."

Ari closed the laptop, pulled out an old paper map from the bottom drawer.He circled a spot—a rundown lodge in Lembang, not even listed on Google Maps.

He grabbed his pen-weapon, prepared to leave.

That's when the power cut out.

Not the whole building.Just his apartment.

Emergency lights glowed red.Silence.

Then—three knocks.

But this time, from the 10th floor balcony.

Ari reached slowly for the metal pen.Stepped toward the glass door.

But deep down, he already knew...

They were inside.

The knocks on the balcony weren't a dream.Three times. Slow. Steady. Like a code.

But who knocks... on the 10th floor?

Ari held his breath, silenced his phone, and crept toward the curtain.

Through a tiny gap, he saw the silhouette—Someone in a black hoodie and mask, standing motionless on the narrow ledge.

Too quiet to be a burglar.Too calm to be law enforcement.

Then he saw it.A red dot.A tiny laser on the window's edge—It moved… to his chest.

Ari dropped to the floor instantly.

CRASH!Glass shattered. A bullet tore through the curtain.

Silence returned.

He crawled to a metal drawer under the desk. Inside: his licensed handgun—untouched until today.He loaded it fast, scanning the room.

The shadow on the balcony was gone.

Then his phone buzzed.Not a call.

A message.No name. No contact.

"Surrender tonight, you live.Resist tonight, we bury you before dawn."

Ari stared at the screen… then gave a cold, sharp smile.

He reached beneath the desk and pressed a hidden switch.Behind the bookshelf, a panel slid open—An old evacuation tunnel, built decades ago, now forgotten.

Narrow. Musty. Unlit.

He crouched and slipped inside.

But before the panel closed, he left one card on the desk.No names. No logos.

Just a single line:

"Truth can't be killed.But it can kill back."

Minutes later, two men in black gear rappelled from the rooftop and breached the apartment.

They swept the room.Clear.

Too late.

Ari was gone.But he wasn't running.

He was on his way to find Nadine.And this time, not just to ask questions—

But to unlock the final door.