The site selection for the HT Corridor had been finalized in secrecy.
Strangely enough, not a single executive from the Construction Division had attended the signing.
The news never even circulated within the company.
That deliberate silence was far more unsettling than the deal itself.
Four days later, the Boss summoned Ali the moment he arrived.
When Ali entered the Executive Suite, Mr. Haider was looking at the glossy screen of his Caviar iPhone before slipping it onto the desk.
As always, he radiated the same effortless authority he carried onto television screens, magazine covers, and international stages.
Nothing remained of the uncertainty Ali had witnessed during the conference.
It was as though that brief moment of weakness had never existed.
"Ali..."
Mr. Haider adjusted one of his gold cufflinks.
"...I don't need to tell you that when it comes to people I can trust with major responsibilities..."
"...the list is remarkably short."
Ali instinctively straightened.
Another assignment...
Wonderful.
What now?
Design robots for him?
The absurd thought made him inwardly scold himself.
Ridiculous.
"Young man..."25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3pLtiwJjhc
The Boss's calm voice interrupted his wandering thoughts.
"...I have a feeling you're somewhere else entirely."
Ali looked up immediately.
"No, sir."
"I'm listening."
One of the Boss's eyebrows rose almost imperceptibly.
"Listening is good."
A faint smile appeared.
"But your eyes should be here as well."
He tapped a finger lightly against the desk.
"Eyes tell far more than people imagine."
"They reveal exactly when a mind is focused..."
"...and exactly when it has wandered into fantasy."
For a brief second, Ali felt strangely exposed.
He said nothing.
Instead, he held the Boss's gaze.
Satisfied, Mr. Haider opened a leather file resting before him.
"So..."
He uncapped his silver fountain pen.
"...Mr. Ali Siddiqui..."
His signature flowed elegantly across the first document.
"...you'll be overseeing the HT Corridor project site for the time being."
A jolt ran through Ali.
Without pausing his signature, the Boss continued,
"Make sure everything runs smoothly."
Another page.
Another signature.
"And make everyone there understand one thing..."
"...the Boss has sent his own man to see how matters are progressing."
He turned another page.
"If any issue arises..."
"...any report..."
"...any posting..."
"...contact me directly."
He looked up.
"Not through my PA."
A current surged through Ali's chest.
Questions immediately crowded his mind.
Why assign the Head of IT and Computations to a construction project?
Why bypass his personal assistant entirely?
Why him?
Yet those questions were quickly overwhelmed by something far stronger.
Excitement.
This was the opportunity he had secretly been waiting for.
Not merely as an employee...
...but as a man chasing answers.
A legitimate reason to visit the stretch of land where witnesses claimed a bodiless head wandered through the darkness...
...calling endlessly for Raza.
To breathe the air there.
To feel its strange weight.
To stand where stories refused to die.
Perhaps...
...if fate allowed...
...he might witness something himself.
Even the faintest glimpse of whatever haunted that place would be enough.
Then his mother's voice echoed gently inside his mind.
"'Do not interfere with beings that do not belong to our world.."
Mama...
I'm sorry.
Perhaps this is one of those rare occasions when I have to disobey you.
Then again...
...perhaps I am not.
After all...
...my Boss is the one sending me there.
If anyone is forcing me into this...
...it's him.
Ali hadn't realized his thoughts had carried him away.
"Mr. Ali."
The Boss's voice cut cleanly through his thoughts.
Ali blinked.
Mr. Haider had stopped signing the documents in front of him.
He was watching Ali instead.
"I suggest you call a cab today."
A brief pause.
"Or ask Transport to assign you a company vehicle."
"I don't particularly enjoy the idea of you driving in your current condition."
His gaze rested briefly on Ali's face.
"You look sleep-deprived."
"And judging by your eyes..."
"...you've been sleepwalking with them open."
Ali managed an embarrassed smile.
"Sorry, sir."
"I'll take a cab."
The Boss gave a slow, approving nod.
"I thought you would."
He returned to the file as though the matter had already been settled.
Ali remained standing for a second longer.
A peculiar thought crossed his mind.
Are my eyes really giving away that much...
...or is it only him who can read them?
A faint uneasiness settled over him.
If that's true...
...I need to be far more careful around Mr. Haider.
He picked up his mobile phone and laptop from the polished mahogany desk before quietly leaving the Executive Suite.
As the elevator descended, his thoughts refused to settle.
The Boss never mentioned this before.
Since when did he start reading my eyes?
He leaned against the mirrored wall of the elevator.
This man is becoming more dangerous with every passing day...
...and far more mysterious.
Almost... unlike himself.
Then he sighed.
But he wasn't entirely wrong.
Exhaustion had been gnawing at him for days.
Sleepless nights had left his mind restless, endlessly circling the mystery of the old airport apparition... and the Boss's increasingly uncharacteristic behaviour.
No... I shouldn't drive today.
After locking his laptop inside his office, Ali booked a cab through the ride-hailing app and made his way down to the parking level.
A silver Suzuki Cultus rolled to a smooth stop a few minutes later.
According to the app, the driver's name was Abdul Ahad Malik.
He looked no older than twenty-four. 25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsriqFoRMI
Neatly dressed, clean-shaven, and remarkably well-spoken, he carried himself more like a university student than a full-time cab driver.
"Good morning, sir," he said politely as Ali settled into the back seat.
"Morning," Ali replied.
Abdul Ahad drove him away from the polished corporate world of Haideron Tech and toward the HT Corridor project site.
The farther they drove, the more Ali felt as though he was leaving behind a world governed by logic......and moving toward one that obeyed different rules.
Dust.
Concrete.
Machinery.
And somewhere beyond it all...
...the old airport.
...and that lonely alley where a bodiless head was said to wander, calling out to Raza.
Ali leaned back against the headrest.
The driver's eyes met his in the rearview mirror.
"Sir..." he asked politely, "you don't seem well. Is it the winter... or something else?"
Ali offered a tired smile.
"No, I'm fine. It's just... I couldn't sleep well last night."
"And here I was thinking people working at Haideron Tech never have sleepless nights," the driver said with a light shrug as he steered through the morning traffic.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡX3JHY1eZ8Q
"Working there is the dream of almost every engineer in this city. When dreams come true... I suppose people sleep peacefully."
Ali smiled faintly.
"That must be because you're still at the age of dreaming," he replied quietly.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj9PfO7m4D5
"At your age, I was naïve enough to believe that if I ever got the chance to work at Haideron Tech, I'd sleep soundly too. But it isn't work that keeps me awake."
He looked out of the window.
"I simply have an overstimulated mind. It insists on staying awake... even when I'm asleep."
"Interesting," the driver said, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Sensing that the young man enjoyed conversation, Ali decided to take a chance.
"Ever heard that the old airport is haunted?"
Ahad's eyes flicked instantly to the rearview mirror.
"Haunted... the old airport?" 25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5jmNnkckcP
He shook his head. 25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0LMLpvb8XR
"No, sir. But there's a short connecting road around that area. At night, it's a completely dead stretch."
"No stories? Nothing unusual?" Ali asked casually.
Ahad smiled faintly.
"I've heard plenty of stories, sir... but I've never gone looking for trouble."25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgeCUjiigfY
He chuckled. "I'm quite good at staying away from places people claim are haunted. Whether they really are... well, that's a different discussion."
Ali studied him through the mirror, noticing his refined posture and measured way of speaking.
"But there are a few old buildings," Ahad continued, "some parks... a couple of graveyards and cemeteries... that people swear are haunted."
Listening to his polished accent and thoughtful manner, Ali finally asked,
"You don't sound like most cab drivers."
Ahad laughed softly.
"I've just finished my final-year examinations in Civil Engineering at NED," he said. "I'm waiting for the results."
Ali looked genuinely surprised.
"Really? NED?"
The driver smiled modestly.
"Yes, sir. Driving and giving private tuitions help me support the family while I wait for the results."
"That's commendable," Ali said, warmth entering his voice. "I graduated from NED too. Computer Engineering."
Ahad's face brightened. "Then we're from the same university."
Ali smiled back. "Looks like we are."
The distance between passenger and driver seemed to shrink.
After a brief silence, Ahad glanced into the rearview mirror again.
"Sir... if you're curious about the old airport..."
He hesitated.
"...you should meet my grandfather."
Ali's interest sharpened immediately.
"Did he live there?"
"For many years."
"What does he say?"
Ahad's expression grew subdued.
"The doctors say he's schizophrenic."
Ali's voice softened.
"I'm sorry. That can't be easy."
Sensing the sincerity in Ali's tone, Ahad continued.
"Most of the year he's stable... more or less. But every October... he changes."
"Changes how?" Ali leaned forward.
Ahad honked sharply as a biker cut recklessly across their lane.
"He starts talking about trains... old wells... forgotten neighborhoods... deserted alleys near the old airport."
He gave an embarrassed smile.
"Sometimes it feels as though he's reliving another lifetime."
Ali's thoughts immediately began fitting the pieces together.
Deserted alleys.
October.
Right then, he decided he had to meet the old man.
The Cultus lurched as a city bus stopped abruptly ahead to pick up passengers.
"This city..." Ahad muttered, shaking his head. "Nobody seems to have any road sense. Neither the drivers nor the pedestrians."
Ali smiled faintly.
"How far is the old airport from here?"
"The old airport?" Ahad repeated, glancing at the navigation screen. "Sir... according to the app, your destination is the new airport."
Ali frowned.
"The new airport?"
"Yes, sir. The HT Corridor project site."
A faint smile crossed Ahad's face.
"It's become one of the hottest topics in civil engineering circles. Our professors have been talking about it ever since Haideron Tech launched the campaign."
He laughed softly.
"Almost everyone in my class is trying to secure an internship there. Paid or unpaid—it doesn't matter. Imagine graduating with Haideron Tech on your résumé."
Ali felt a jolt.
He had learned only four days ago that the project site had been finalized—under highly unusual circumstances.
Near the old airport.
Yet this young man seemed to know more about the project than he did.
Or perhaps...
...Ali himself knew far less than he had assumed.
Unaware of the questions racing through Ali's mind, Ahad continued.
"I never saw this city in the seventies or eighties."
He grinned.
"I'm Gen Z."
Ali managed a faint smile, though his thoughts were elsewhere.
Ahad shifted gears.
"I only know those days through my grandfather's stories."
A fond smile softened his face.
"He calls them his wild days."
Ali noticed the affection in the young man's voice. Despite his illness, the old man clearly meant the world to him.
"It was sometime in the late eighties that everything changed," Ahad said quietly.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwodgdaatsa
"A reckless but prosperous youth... followed by decades of a fractured mind."
Ali fell silent.
The Boss had hinted at an almost identical youth.
Was that simply how men of that generation remembered themselves?
Or was there something about those years... that kept resurfacing in the stories of old men?
The silver Suzuki Cultus slowed before turning onto the gravel shoulder.
"We're here, sir."
Ali looked through the window.
Across the road stood the gleaming terminal of the new airport.
Beyond it stretched acres of freshly levelled land.
Tower cranes.
Concrete mixers.
Survey teams.
Heavy machinery.
Dominating the entrance was a massive vinyl banner.
HT Corridor — Haideron Tech's Frontier
Ali stared.
"This..."
He looked around once more.
"...this is the new airport."
"Yes, sir."
"Not the old one."
"That's exactly what I was telling you." 25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb2ZMuOFw8D
Ahad turned slightly in his seat. 25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD83JVOEDjY
"You might want to cross-check with your office."
Still unconvinced, Ali dialed the Boss.
The call connected almost instantly.
"Sir... has the project site changed?"
"Of course it has," the Boss replied matter-of-factly.25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7bJkzxMosq
"This place is alive. Infinitely better than that dead zone you've been thinking about. Be back in the office by three with the progress report."
The line went dead.
Ali lowered the phone slowly.
Dead zone.
So the Boss hadn't denied it.
He had simply...
...moved away from it.
But why?
Why had the site approved during that confidential meeting been near the old airport......while the project now stood beside the new one?
"Sir?" Ahad asked gently. "Everything alright?"
Ali looked at the banner one last time.
His mind answered no.
Instead, he smiled politely.
"Yes... perhaps I was mistaken about the site."
Ahad nodded.
"Then I have just one piece of advice, sir."
Ali looked up.
"Get a proper night's sleep."
A grin appeared on the young man's face.
"Sleepless nights play tricks on the mind."
Ali couldn't help smiling.
For someone he had met barely half an hour ago, Abdul Ahad Malik had an unusual gift.
He knew how to make people feel as though they had known him for years.
25Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp5UUwQnBmj
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