The days following the meeting were filled with a sense of urgency. The cadets of KMA had no time to waste; the network surrounding Lala Gehlot was far larger than anyone had anticipated, and the deeper they dug, the more tangled the threads became. With each new piece of information, the stakes grew higher, and Naina knew that every move they made from here on out would be crucial.

As Naina sat in the training hall, going over the documents they had retrieved from Lala’s hidden caches, a sense of unease settled over her. The information was scattered, like pieces of a shattered mirror, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone in their midst might be working against them.

Rajveer’s words echoed in her mind: "Trust no one until you have all the answers." She didn’t want to believe it, but something in her gut told her that the fight ahead wouldn’t be just against external enemies. It might involve betrayal from within.

---

"We need to infiltrate the remaining circles Lala was involved in," Rajveer said during their strategy meeting that afternoon. The group was assembled in the KMA briefing room, their faces grim as they stared at the massive map of connections on the screen in front of them. "Our next step is to track down these individuals and find out who is still loyal to him. We need to move quickly before they regroup."

"But how do we know who we can trust?" asked Yudi, his voice laced with doubt. The pressure of the mission had begun to weigh heavily on him. "If Lala had connections everywhere, how do we know someone here isn’t still working for him?"

The room fell silent. It was a question that had been on everyone’s mind but had yet to be addressed. "We trust no one until we have all the facts," Rajveer said, his voice steady but stern. "We’ll be working in pairs from now on—keeping things tight, no room for mistakes. And we’ll keep a close eye on each other."

Naina glanced at Rajveer, noticing the tightness in his jaw. She knew the burden of responsibility weighed heavily on him, and she could see the stress in his eyes. The mission had gone from being about justice for Naveen to something much larger—something far more dangerous.

---

As the team moved forward with their plan, Naina began to notice subtle shifts in behavior among some of the cadets. Ali, who had been particularly close to Pooja, seemed distracted. He often found himself deep in thought, his interactions with the others growing more terse. Aalekh, usually the most level-headed of them all, appeared increasingly restless, as though something was gnawing at him. Even Amar—who had always been the cheerful one—seemed lost in his thoughts, withdrawn at times.

"Something isn’t right," Naina muttered to herself, her eyes scanning the room as the team gathered for their next mission briefing. "I can feel it."

---

Later that night, after the meeting had adjourned, Naina decided to take a walk around the academy grounds. She needed to clear her mind, but her thoughts kept circling back to the unease she felt about their team. Was it just stress? Or was something more sinister happening?

As she walked down the dimly lit corridor near the barracks, she froze. She heard muffled voices coming from a corner near the storage rooms. Slowly, she crept toward the sound, her instincts telling her to be cautious.

When she reached the corner, she saw Ali and Aalekh in a heated discussion. Their voices were low, but the tension between them was palpable.

"You don’t get it, Aalekh," Ali said, his voice urgent. "We don’t have a choice. Lala’s network runs too deep. We need to make a deal with them."

"Are you out of your mind?" Aalekh snapped. "We can’t just sell out to save ourselves! We’ve been through this, Ali. We’re in this together. We expose Lala’s people, not join them."

Naina’s heart pounded as she eavesdropped, trying to piece together what she was hearing. Was this a moment of weakness, or was something more serious going on?

"You’re not seeing the bigger picture," Ali’s voice dropped lower. "This isn’t just about Lala. It’s about survival. If we don’t make a move now, we’ll be left with nothing. The system will crush us, just like it did with Naveen."

Naina’s breath hitched as she realized the gravity of the conversation. Ali and Aalekh—her friends, her comrades—were talking about turning on their own. Ali seemed to be willing to betray everything they had fought for in order to save himself.

Naina’s mind raced. She couldn’t confront them directly—at least, not yet. But she knew something had to be done before they jeopardized the mission.

---

The next morning, Naina approached Rajveer with the troubling news. They met in the privacy of his office, away from the rest of the team. She recounted what she had overheard, her voice laced with concern.

"I don’t want to believe it," she said, her eyes filled with uncertainty. "But I think Ali might be trying to make a deal with Lala’s people. Aalekh doesn’t seem on board, but the tension is real."

Rajveer’s face grew serious. "This complicates things," he muttered. "If Ali’s intentions have shifted, we need to address it before it spirals. I’ve been watching him closely—there’s something about his behavior that hasn’t been sitting right with me."

"What do we do?" Naina asked, her voice strained with the weight of the situation. "If we confront him directly, we risk tipping him off. But we can’t let him betray everything we’ve fought for."

Rajveer thought for a moment, then spoke with resolve. "We gather proof. We need solid evidence before we can act. But we can’t let it go unnoticed. Keep an eye on him. If he’s truly working for the enemy, we’ll find out, and we’ll stop him before it’s too late."

Naina nodded, her gut telling her that they were on the edge of something far bigger than they had anticipated. But she also knew this: no matter what happened, she couldn’t let her team be torn apart from within.

---

The next few days were tense. Naina watched Ali closely, tracking his movements. She noticed his increasingly erratic behavior—small things like late-night meetings, secretive conversations, and hushed phone calls. It was clear that something was brewing beneath the surface, and she was determined to uncover the truth before it was too late.

The cadets were on the brink of something enormous, and Naina knew that the hardest battle they would face wasn’t going to be against Lala Gehlot's associates—it would be against the darkness that lurked within their own ranks.

---

As she prepared to confront Ali, Naina realized that the line between friend and foe had blurred. The true fight was no longer just about bringing down the corrupt—it was about protecting the bond they had built, no matter the cost.

To be continued...