Maher sat alone in his dimly lit room, the faint glow of his phone screen reflecting off his face. He held a book open in his lap, pretending to read, but his attention was entirely on the live feed from the camera he had secretly planted on Sam. His parents had been suspicious lately, and he didn't want them asking questions about what he was up to. The book was just a cover—his real focus was on the investigation unfolding miles away.
On his phone screen, Sam was in the investigation room, interrogating the financial manager of the fake company. The man was thin, dark-skinned, and looked to be in his early thirties. He nervously fidgeted in his chair as Sam and Ziyad interrogated him.
Sam leaned forward, his voice calm but firm. "Tell us again how you got involved with this company."
The man swallowed hard. "I swear, I didn't know it was fake. I heard about it on social media. They were offering good salaries, and I needed the job. I didn't know it wasn't licensed."
Ziyad, sitting beside Sam, narrowed his eyes. "And the businessman who started this company—do you know his real name?"
The man hesitated, glancing between the two investigators. "I... I think so. One day, we were discussing business over coffee, and I heard someone call him by his name. He seemed startled and told the guy he was mistaken, that he wasn't who he thought he was. But I'm sure I heard the name right."
Sam exchanged a glance with Ziyad. "What's the name?" Sam asked, his voice steady but with an edge of urgency.
The man took a deep breath. "Sameer Samara."
The room fell silent. Sam and Ziyad froze, their expressions a mix of shock and disbelief. Maher, watching from his room, felt his heart skip a beat. Sameer Samara? The name echoed in his mind. He knew that name—everyone did. Sameer was the son of the prime minister, a rising star in the business world. Why would someone like him be involved in something like this?
Maher's mind raced. Why would Sameer Samara create fake companies? Why disappear when his employees got arrested? He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling as he pieced it together. Sameer wouldn't just vanish unless he was hiding something big—something that could ruin his reputation, his family's legacy, maybe even the government. If this was just a misunderstanding, he would have stormed into the police station, demanded the release of his employees, and called his father to punish the officers who arrested them. But he didn't. He disappeared.
Maher muttered to himself, "This isn't just about fake companies. This is bigger. Much bigger."
Back in the investigation room, Sam broke the silence. "Sameer Samara. Are you absolutely sure about this?"
The man nodded vigorously. "I swear on my life. I'm not lying."
Ziyad slammed his hand on the table, making the man flinch. "If you're lying to us, you'll spend the rest of your life in jail."
"I'm not lying!" the man insisted, his voice trembling. "I heard the name. It was him."
Sam stood up, pacing the room. "This doesn't make sense. Sameer Samara has everything—money, power, influence. Why would he risk it all for something like this?"
Ziyad crossed his arms, his expression grim. "Unless it's not just about money. Maybe it's about something else—something we're not seeing yet."
Sam stopped pacing and turned to Ziyad. "We need to dig deeper. I bet this jerk is lying and thinks that if he says the name of someone with influence we would get scared and stop the investigation."
Maher, still watching the feed, clenched his fists. He couldn't just sit here and watch. He needed to do something. He grabbed his laptop and started typing furiously, pulling up everything he could find on Sameer Samara—his businesses, his connections, his recent activities. If Sameer was hiding something, Maher was determined to find out what it was.
As he worked, his phone buzzed. It was a message from Ameer: "We need to talk. Meet me at the usual spot."
Later that evening, Maher met Ameer at a secluded café. Ameer looked exhausted but determined. "You know something right?" he asked as soon as Maher sat down.
Maher nodded. "Sameer Samara. This is huge."
Ameer leaned in, lowering his voice. "We need to find out why he's involved. If he's running fake companies, it's not just for money. There's something else going on—something big enough to make him disappear."
Maher's eyes gleamed with determination. "I've already started digging. If there's anything to find, I'll find it."
Ameer nodded. "Be careful, Maher. If Sameer's involved, this could get dangerous."
Maher smirked. "Since when has The Officers job been easy?by the way, how did you find out?"
Ameer sighed. He leaned back in his chair and said, "I was doing my usual night shift. I felt bad about leaving everything to Sam and Ziyad, especially since I knew how cruel their investigation was. So, I went to the investigation room and heard everything the financial manager said without Sam and Ziyad noticing."
__
Maher and Ameer sat in a dimly lit room, their faces illuminated by the glow of a laptop screen. After hours of discussion, they had finally agreed on a plan. They would investigate the whereabouts of Sameer Samara and revisit the company's location to search for any evidence that might have been overlooked.
"We need to be careful," Maher said, his voice low but firm. "If Sameer's involved, he's not going to make this easy for us."
Ameer nodded, his expression serious. "I know. But we can't just sit around and wait. If there's something hidden in that building, we need to find it."
The next day, Maher and Ameer arrived at the abandoned company building. The place was eerily quiet, the air thick with dust and the faint scent of decay. They moved cautiously, their footsteps echoing through the empty halls as they began their search.
After what felt like hours, Ameer called out to Maher. "Over here! I found something."
Maher hurried over, his curiosity piqued. Ameer was kneeling on the floor, examining a block of concrete that looked slightly different from the others. The edges were uneven, and it seemed out of place compared to the rest of the flooring.
"This doesn't look right," Ameer said, running his fingers along the edges. "It's like it was placed here recently."
Maher crouched down beside him. "Let's see if we can move it."
Together, they pried the block loose, revealing a hidden set of stairs leading downward. The air grew cooler as they peered into the darkness below.
"What the…?" Maher muttered, his voice tinged with disbelief. "A tunnel? Why would there be a tunnel here?"
Ameer stood up, his eyes narrowing with determination. "Only one way to find out."
They grabbed a flashlight and carefully descended the stairs. The tunnel was narrow and damp, the walls lined with rough stone. As they walked deeper, the silence was broken only by the sound of their footsteps and the faint drip of water echoing in the distance.
"This doesn't make sense," Maher whispered, his voice barely audible. "What could Sameer possibly be hiding down here?"
Ameer shook his head. "I don't know, but it's clear this isn't just about fake companies. There's something bigger going on."
As they continued down the tunnel, the air grew heavier, and the sense of unease deepened. Whatever they were about to discover, it was clear that the mystery of Sameer Samara was far more dangerous than they had imagined.