Echoes in the safe house

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Echoes in the Safe House

By Faraz Parvez
Professor Dr. (Retired) Arshad Afzal
Retired Faculty Member, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, KSA
(Pseudonym of Professor Dr. Arshad Afzal)

Prologue

A thick fog curled over the hills of Murree like a lingering secret. The safe house stood still — worn-out, isolated, and buried in snow — much like the truths it was meant to contain. Tonight, it would witness betrayal, madness, and the final exhale of silence.

Chapter 1: The Vanishing

When Colonel (R) Azhar Qureshi didn’t show up for his weekly call with Rameen, she felt the unease in her gut twist like a dagger.

Rameen, a seasoned investigative journalist based in Karachi, had always been at odds with her father. He was stoic, fiercely patriotic, and secretive — trained in Pakistan’s deep intelligence services. She, on the other hand, stood for press freedom and accountability. Their calls were formal, mostly polite. But never missed.

When she arrived at his Islamabad farmhouse, it was empty. His books were neatly arranged. His jacket was still on the chair. And on his desk was a flash drive with one phrase engraved:

“You must finish what I could not.”

Chapter 2: The Safe House

The flash drive contained an encrypted document and a set of coordinates — leading to a now-abandoned ISI safe house near Patriata. Rameen had heard whispers of it before. A place once used to debrief agents, or keep “problematic assets” out of public view.

Despite the snowstorm warnings, she made the climb.

The house looked derelict, but inside, it had working solar backup, surveillance monitors, and a thick steel basement door — locked.

Suddenly, headlights cut through the snow.

Three people stepped in:

  • Jibran, her ex-fiancé, now head of a private intelligence firm — claiming Azhar had summoned him.
  • Dr. Hira, a behavioral psychologist, citing a project involving Azhar’s last mental health evaluations.
  • Inspector Fawad, from Islamabad Police, presenting a warrant — suspiciously vague.

But the blizzard struck hard. No one could leave. The house, once a sanctuary, became a cage.

Chapter 3: The Files and the Paranoia

Rameen accessed the decryption tool from the flash drive. Files revealed the existence of a covert program: “Project Chimera” — a joint shadow operation between rogue ISI elements and foreign mercenaries, allegedly tied to orchestrated unrest in Baluchistan and Afghanistan.

Colonel Qureshi had planned to expose it.

The names in the files included a prominent senator, the owner of a media house, and — shockingly — someone inside the house.

That night, the power flickered. One of the solar batteries failed.
Moments later, Inspector Fawad was found unconscious in the pantry — an injection mark on his neck.

The safe house turned hostile.

Chapter 4: All the President’s Traitors

Jibran and Hira accused each other of foul play. Rameen noticed something strange — Hira was overly familiar with the safe house layout, as if she had been here before. And Jibran’s briefcase had a burner phone with texts:
"Keep her talking. Find the hard drive. Terminate if needed."

Rameen realized: her father's message wasn’t only about unveiling the truth — it was about survival.

The storm intensified. Panic set in. Fawad vanished from his room. The CCTV showed nothing — someone had wiped the tapes.

One final file unlocked itself — a video of Colonel Qureshi.
He looked pale, aged beyond recognition.

“Rameen... if you’re watching this, then I’ve failed. You’re trapped. One of them killed me. Finish this. Don’t trust anyone. Not even... Jibran.”

Chapter 5: The Blood and the Blizzard

The safe house became a battlefield.
Fawad reappeared, bleeding but alive, claiming Hira had attacked him. Hira laughed it off, drugged him again, and turned on Rameen:

“Your father was noble... but naïve. These secrets protect the nation. You? You're just a reporter who pokes into shadows.”

Jibran tackled her, but not before she triggered a self-destruct timer in the basement.

In the final struggle, Rameen shot the lock off the basement, retrieving the original Chimera files. Hira escaped through a hidden tunnel.

By morning, the snow had eased. Rangers found Rameen alone, frostbitten, clutching a backpack full of secrets.

Epilogue: The Broadcast

One week later, under an anonymous source clause, Alif News aired the explosive Chimera exposé. High-level resignations followed. A senator was arrested.

Jibran vanished. Hira was never found.

Rameen now lives under protection in a safe location — writing a book called “Echoes in the Safe House”.

But sometimes, late at night, she receives a blank envelope…
Just a note:
“You think it’s over. It never is.”

📌 Liked this suspense-packed story?
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