Chapter 23: The Accused
The field assignment was officially over. As the sun began to dip, painting the Nilgiri skies in bruised shades of orange and violet, the students straggled back into the main clearing. They were exhausted, covered in a mix of mud and forest dust, but buzzing with the low-level energy of a task completed.
Professor Das, ever the martinet, stood before a folding table, impatiently tapping a pen against a clipboard. "Assignments! Form an orderly queue! No comparing notes! I want to see the soil samples and the analytical reports, immediately!"
One by one, the students approached, dropping their field kits and dossiers onto the table. Akash came first, giving Aarav a quick, relieved nod. Pooja and Kiara followed, their faces smudged but satisfied.
Aarav approached the table, placing his meticulously labeled samples and detailed analysis. He glanced at the professor, then subtly scanned the area, his anxiety spiking despite his earlier certainty. He was ready for the expected ambush—the professor being 'tipped off,' the demand to search his bag, the satisfying revelation of the harmless decoy. He felt a tense, almost excited readiness for the dramatic confrontation.
Just as the line was thinning, and Ayushi was about to step forward, a sound cut through the forest stillness that was far more jarring than Professor Das's whistle: the distinct, rising wail of police sirens.
Three official-looking jeeps, emblazoned with the state police insignia, skidded to a stop near the lodge entrance, kicking up a cloud of dust. Half a dozen officers, led by a severe-looking Inspector in a crisp uniform, marched directly toward the bewildered group of students.
The whole camp froze. The atmosphere instantly shifted from tired relief to terrified silence.
"Which one of you is the professor in charge?" the Inspector demanded, his voice ringing with official authority.
Professor Das, bewildered and slightly pale, stepped forward. "I am Professor Das. What in the name of God is this commotion about, Inspector?"
"We have received a complaint," the Inspector stated, his eyes sweeping over the students. "A serious complaint concerning corporate espionage and the illegal transfer of highly confidential data. The report states this activity is centered right here, within this group. We have a warrant to search every student's belongings."
The news hit the camp like a physical blow. Students began whispering frantically, their confusion quickly turning to fear.
The search began immediately. The officers moved with cold, professional efficiency, ripping through backpacks and field kits.
Rajat, standing near the back, watched the proceedings with a look of barely contained, manic delight. This is it. The execution. He kept his expression innocent, even slightly shocked, but his heart was pounding with the realization that his plan—the complete destruction of Aarav's future—was now in motion.
The officers checked Akash's bag, then Pooja's, then Kiara's. They found nothing.
Then, they reached Aarav's navy-blue backpack.
Aarav watched, ready for his moment of vindication. The officer unzipped the laptop sleeve and reached into the hidden compartment. Aarav braced himself for the officer to pull out the benign, photographic decoy.
The officer removed his hand. It was empty.
Nothing.
Aarav's breath hitched. His eyes narrowed in shock. The decoy USB was not there. The expected evidence, harmless or otherwise, was completely absent. His foresight, his careful preparation, had suddenly encountered a massive, unexplained hole.
He glanced at Rajat, whose face was a mirror image of his own confusion—a mask of profound, bewildered disbelief. Rajat, too, was certain that the device, decoy or not, was supposed to be in Aarav's bag.
What happened? Aarav thought, the panic starting to churn in his gut. I saw the patsy in the distance. I checked the spot. The exchange was made. But… where did it go? He felt a sudden, chilling certainty: something had gone terribly, drastically wrong. A ripple had become a tidal wave, and it was heading somewhere he couldn't see.
The search moved on, and a heavy, palpable sense of doom settled over Aarav. He knew the threat was still live; the police were here, the accusation was real, but the bomb hadn't exploded where he predicted.
The Inspector signaled the last student in the line: Ayushi.
The officer approached the final backpack—the university-issue, navy-blue bag that Ayushi had used that morning.
As the officer unzipped the laptop sleeve, Aarav's blood ran cold. He recognized the bag immediately; it was the identical one Ayushi had briefly placed near his tent. The realization hit him with the force of a physical blow, clarifying the chaos in a single, agonizing flash of understanding: The Mistake. The identical bags. The nervous patsy. The wrong target.
The officer's hand went into the hidden sleeve of Ayushi's bag. This time, the hand did not come out empty.
He held up a tiny, dark object—a flash drive.
"Found it," the officer stated flatly, holding the device aloft for the Inspector to see.
Ayushi gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. The blood drained from her face, leaving her ghost-white.
The Inspector snatched the drive, his gaze turning razor-sharp as he fixed it on Ayushi. "Is this your property, Miss? This is the highly sensitive data leak we were looking for. We will be asking you some very serious questions about this evidence."
"No! I—I don't know what that is! I've never seen it before!" Ayushi stammered, her voice thin and choked with rising hysteria. "My bag was only left for a minute! I don't deal with data! It must be a mistake!"
The Inspector was unmoved. "Lies will not help you, young lady. We found it in your possession. You have been caught red-handed."
Ayushi's world shattered. She was a woman driven by ambition and integrity, who valued her clean record above all else. To be publicly branded a corporate criminal, to have her future—her MBA, her dream of creating a startup, her very reputation—destroyed in front of her peers, was too much. She sank onto the forest floor, her body trembling uncontrollably.
"My future…" she whispered, tears finally escaping and running hot tracks down her dusty cheeks. "It's over… it's gone…" Her explanation was lost in heavy, heartbreaking sobs.
The students erupted in a cacophony of gasps and terrified murmurs. They stared at Ayushi, some whispering accusations, others simply shocked. Akash rushed forward, only to be held back by an officer.
Rajat's smug triumph vanished, replaced by a ghastly, sickening horror. He stared at Ayushi, then back at Aarav, his mouth slightly open. He hadn't just hit the wrong target; he had hit the one person Aarav cared about. He had accidentally engineered a far greater catastrophe than he intended. The realization of his profound mistake—and its devastating consequences—left him momentarily paralyzed.
Aarav, however, moved past shock and confusion straight into pure, focused rage. He looked at Ayushi, crumpled on the ground, her body racked with sobs, and a cold, dark fury boiled up from the depths of his soul. His second chance was supposed to save her, not lead her into a far worse fate than his own past. He could not stand idly by and watch the one person he was fighting destiny for be destroyed by a plan meant for him.
The Inspector was signaling his men to escort the sobbing Ayushi.
Aarav stepped forward, pushing past a bewildered Akash. His black eyes, usually holding a quiet depth, were now blazing with a dangerous, absolute certainty.
He locked eyes with the Inspector and spoke, his voice cutting through the noise with a cold, terrifying authority that silenced every single person in the clearing, including a now-terrified Rajat.
"Inspector," Aarav stated, taking two deliberate steps closer to the table where the evidence lay. "I believe there has been a grave misunderstanding regarding that evidence. I suggest you hold all action against Miss Ayushi immediately."