Mehdi did not reply. He deleted the message, wiped the app, and recited Ayat al-Kursi twice before sleeping.
On a rainy night in February 2021, Mehdi received a private message on a legacy encrypted platform—one that intelligence had quietly tagged as “under observation, no action.” The message contained three lines: Rijal Al Kashi Report 176 -2021-
“Khalid al-Barqi’s shadow archive.” Mehdi did not reply
Report 176 was never closed. It remains in a grey box in a basement archive, stamped “For internal use only – Do not cite.” wiped the app
But Report 176 said otherwise.