The filing went in at nine AM through a secure channel that Arjun's contact at the Enforcement Directorate had established for exactly this kind of referral — evidence complete, political dimension requiring handling above the routine investigation chain.
He had told Priya about the filing at seven AM. She received the news with focused calm: the question of the timeline, the question of the ED's mandate, the question of whether her own testimony would be required. All practical questions. All useful. He answered them as completely as he could.
"And Rohit," she said. "When does he know something is happening?"
"Forty-eight hours at the outside. Possibly less — the political network is well-connected enough to get whispers early." He paused. "Between forty-eight and seventy-two hours is the window."
The forty-eight hours were tense in the specific way of waiting for something that was coming. He was very good at sustained attention. He was trained for it. She was, he discovered, also very good at it — not from training but from the temperament that made her good at the long, meticulous work of her profession. She did not pace. She did not spiral. She worked — she had brought her laptop, she had the water project data, and she worked on it with the focused energy of someone who found purpose in work and was using work to stay centred.
