Meanwhile, at FBR HQ
The "Digital Jinn" kept surfacing.
Reports were being auto-emailed to ministries, donors, and audit offices—each revealing new layers of "manual adjustments" linked to real estate tycoons and politically connected sugar barons.
In two departments, officers resigned quietly.
In one, an internal server was mysteriously fried.
---
Mehtab Qureshi's Intervention
The seasoned bureaucrat sat down with Rayan over a dimly lit dinner.
"You're moving too fast."
"I have to."
"You're opening the vaults that fund our political class. They won't fight you with press releases, Rayan."
"So what do I do?"
Mehtab tapped the table gently.
"Don't just burn their bridges. Offer better ones."
---
Public Appearance #2
To manage pressure, Rayan agreed to one calculated public step:
A surprise visit to the FBR data center—with cameras.
He made no speeches. Just walked, observed, asked quiet questions.
But the images went viral:
A 32-year-old, in sneakers and rolled sleeves, inspecting the nerve center of Pakistan's finances.
Hashtags like #NayaCollector and #DigitalJinn took over Twitter.
---
Final Scene: Dark Room, Open File
At an undisclosed office, a senior man lit a cigarette.
He looked at Rayan's FBR performance dossier and muttered:
> "This child thinks he's rewriting the script."
He picked up a phone.
"Activate Option 6. Discredit. Not eliminate. Yet."