Raka stood frozen.
The black file folder was in his hands.
From behind the door, Bayu's voice came again.
“Raka, listen to me. Don't open the door.”
Seno stared at Raka.
“He came with them.”
Raka raised a hand.
“Quiet.”
He approached the door slowly.
“Bayu.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you bring them?”
Silence lingered for several seconds.
“I came looking for you.”
“Why?”
“Because the message you received was a trap.”
Raka looked at Seno.
Seno gave a small shake of his head.
“Don't trust him.”
Raka looked back at the door.
“Then who am I supposed to trust?”
Bayu answered from outside.
“No one.”
The answer left Raka speechless.
“Not even me.”
Raka gripped the file folder tighter.
Bayu continued,
“But if you come out now, I can still keep you alive.”
Seno smiled bitterly.
“He's lying.”
Suddenly, approaching footsteps sounded outside.
One of the men said,
“Bayu, time's up.”
Raka realized it immediately.
Bayu wasn't alone.
But Bayu's voice was firm.
“Don't come in.”
The man replied,
“Bram's order was clear.”
Raka looked at Seno.
“Bram's order?”
Seno nodded.
“Then Bayu really isn't working for them.”
Raka was confused again.
If Bayu wasn't part of that crew, why had he come with them?
Then another voice rang out.
“We're going in.”
The door began to push inward.
Seno pulled Raka away.
“Hold on to that file folder.”
“What's inside?”
“The truth.”
The door opened slightly.
Seno shoved a small cabinet toward it.
They both backed away.
A few seconds later, something crashed to the floor.
The men outside tried to force their way in.
Raka looked around.
There was no way out.
Then his eyes settled on the back wall.
There was a narrow gap.
He moved closer.
“Here.”
Seno looked too.
A small door was hidden behind an old shelf.
Seno immediately unlocked it.
“An exit.”
They entered a dark passage.
Raka glanced back once.
Bayu was still outside.
Their eyes met through the gap in the door.
Bayu said only,
“Go!”
Raka finally understood.
Bayu had deliberately held them back so Raka could escape.
The passage was narrow and damp.
Raka walked behind Seno.
The black file folder was still inside his jacket.
After several minutes, they found an exit behind the building.
Rain was still falling.
Seno stopped.
“We're safe for now.”
Raka looked at him.
“Bayu helped us.”
“Yes.”
“So he isn't a traitor.”
“Not necessarily.”
Raka frowned.
Seno continued,
“Someone can help you today and betray you tomorrow.”
Raka fell silent.
He took out the black file folder.
“Then let's see what made everyone chase him.”
They took shelter beneath an old building.
Raka opened the file folder.
Inside were several documents.
An operation report.
Photographs.
Transaction records.
And a list of names.
Raka read the first page.
His eyes widened immediately.
“This is impossible.”
Seno moved closer.
“What?”
Raka showed him the document.
It listed the names of people involved in an operation years ago.
Some were military personnel.
Some were businessmen.
And some were officials.
But one name left Raka unable to speak.
Adrian Wibawa.
Seno nodded.
“That’s why those documents are so dangerous.”
Raka turned the page.
There was a record concerning a secret project.
The project’s name was:
OPERATION RAVEN.
Raka looked at Seno.
“That’s the name of our operation.”
“Yes.”
“Why was Adrian involved?”
“Because that operation wasn’t just a military operation.”
Raka read the next page.
There were records of money transfers and several aliases.
Then he found something even more shocking.
A photograph.
A photograph of himself.
Below it were the words:
PRIMARY SUBJECT: RAKA ADINATA.
Raka froze.
“What does this mean?”
Seno didn't answer.
Raka turned to the next page.
There was a medical report.
Several psychological evaluations.
And one sentence that made his blood run cold.
THE SUBJECT'S MEMORY MUST BE CONTROLLED TO PRESERVE THE OPERATION'S SECRECY.
Raka looked at Seno.
“Did they do something to me?”
Seno shook his head.
“After the operation, you suffered severe trauma.”
“Why don't I remember?”
“Because part of that night was deliberately kept from you.”
Raka clutched his head.
Voices began to surface again.
Arman.
Bayu.
Seno.
Gunfire.
And a man shouting,
“Don't let Raka see those documents!”
Raka opened his eyes.
He stared at Seno.
“I remember.”
Seno fell silent.
“I remember someone taking the file folder.”
“Who?”
Raka stared blankly ahead.
“I don't know.”
Then his phone vibrated.
A message came in.
DON'T READ THE LAST PAGE.
Raka stared at the message.
Instead, he opened the last page.
There was one name.
A name he never would have expected.
BAYU ADINATA.
Raka froze.
“Bayu?”
Seno moved closer.
“Don't trust it right away.”
But Raka had already seen the bottom of the page.
There was a signature.
Bayu's signature.
Below it were the words:
INTERNAL SUPERVISOR — OPERATION RAVEN.
Raka stared at the rain.
All this time, he had thought Bayu was his friend.
But the document showed that Bayu's role was far greater than anything he had ever told Raka.
Seno said quietly,
“Now you understand why I told you not to trust anyone.”
Raka closed the file folder.
But before he could stand, the sound of a vehicle came from the road.
A car stopped.
The door opened.
Bayu got out.
Alone.
He walked toward them, his face covered in wounds.
Raka immediately stood.
“You.”
Bayu looked at the file folder in Raka's hand.
Then he said,
“You've read it.”
Raka clenched his fist.
“Explain.”
Bayu stared at him for a long moment.
“I can explain.”
“Then start now.”
Bayu drew a breath.
“But before that, there's one thing you need to know.”
“What?”
Bayu looked at Seno.
“Seno isn't the one who saved you.”
Raka frowned.
“He's the one who caused Operation Raven to fail.”
Seno didn't deny it.
Raka looked at them both.
And for the first time, he realized that perhaps all this time, he had known only half of a story.
While the other half had been deliberately buried alongside the people who should already have been dead.