That night, Caleb Vaughn was still in his office.
The room was dim, lit only by the glow of a single monitor. He scrolled through files—buried mission reports from Kinshasa 2017, data from vanished black ops teams, and a rejected proposal labeled "Neuro Imprinting—Human Trials."
His coffee had gone cold.
His eyes were tired, but his mind wouldn't rest.
"If Tyler's memories were tampered with… how long before all of us become pawns in a game we don't even know we're in?"
He stared at the screen.
A name popped up.
Dr. Vahl Edevane — former CIA neuropsychologist, expert in memory engineering. Disappeared in 2018.
Caleb typed fast.
Only one message appeared on the screen:
"Find him before he finds us."
Elsewhere, Ayla Rivera sat in a cozy corner of a late-night noodle bar.
One hand held chopsticks. The other held a slim tablet displaying neural activity patterns from Tyler during the day's briefing.
A small TV above the counter played the news.
A reporter's voice cut through the background chatter:
"Breaking News: Former CIA scientist spotted near the France–Switzerland border. While unconfirmed, sources say he was once involved in controversial experiments regarding consciousness manipulation."
Ayla paused mid-bite.
Her eyes narrowed.
"So you're back…"
She scribbled on her tablet:
"Subject reappeared: V. Edevane. Possible link to Palimpsest?"
Meanwhile, Mina Ashford sat on the edge of her bed, laptop open but untouched.
She wasn't typing. She wasn't even reading.
She was just… thinking.
Tyler's words from earlier echoed in her head:
"Or maybe… I do know you. But you're the one who's been reset."
She leaned back slowly. Eyes on the ceiling.
"No. I remember my life. I know who I am. I know where I studied. I—"
But the seed of doubt had been planted.
And in a world like theirs, truth and memory weren't always allies.
Somewhere downtown, Jesse Lorne had just climbed into his car.
He adjusted his AI headset, reviewing encrypted data from the day. But something outside the windshield pulled his attention away.
A sleek black sportbike pulled up at the red light next to him.
The rider—casual posture, confident stillness—was instantly recognizable.
Tyler Reeve.
Without a word, Tyler turned his head.
Even through the visor, Jesse could feel the smirk.
Tyler raised a hand and waved lazily.
Jesse rolled down his window, unimpressed.
"Where the hell have you been, Reeve?"
Tyler pushed his helmet up just enough to flash his signature smirk.
"Just out… breathing. Sometimes, the night air's more honest than people."
The light turned green.
Tyler twisted the throttle.
The engine roared to life, and he vanished into the city.
And somewhere deep in a CIA server no one was supposed to access…
A file came alive.
Pulled from a directory marked "Highly Restricted / Class-9 Memory Engineering."
Filename:
RESET_CANDIDATES_VER.3
And underneath it, five names:
1. Caleb Vaughn
2. Jesse Lorne
3. Mina Ashford
4. Ayla Rivera
5. Tyler Reeve
Uploaded by:
V.E.
That morning, the Helix team was already in the office early.
Mina sat reading a neuro-mapping report from the 2017 experiments.
Ayla was adjusting the brainwave fluctuation data from Agent Blake's scan.
Jesse typed out three reports at once while talking through his AI earpiece.
But one chair was empty.
Tyler's.
At exactly 8:11 AM, Caleb Vaughn walked in—slightly disheveled, coffee in one hand, his badge still clipped sideways. He looked like someone who'd argued with a vending machine on the way in.
"Morning. Sorry I'm late. Access system glitched. Thought I was a security threat for a second," he muttered, setting his coffee down.
No one said much.
Then Caleb frowned.
"Where's the kid in red?" he muttered under his breath.
He looked around again, louder this time.
"Where's Tyler?"
Jesse replied flatly without looking up.
"He called me this morning. From an unregistered number. Said he's sick. Took the day off."
Caleb raised an eyebrow. "Sick? Just like that?"
Jesse gave a lazy shrug.
"Yeah. But funny thing... I saw him last night. At a red light. Riding his sportbike. Looked perfectly fine. Waved at me like he was going to a party."
Caleb paused.
His mind drifted back to the night before.
[FLASHBACK]
Last night, Tyler had tracked down the hideout of the small-time gang that broke into his apartment.
He fought two masked men—both highly trained, not just street thugs.
They were after a stolen file:
"Case No. 08 – Kinshasa, 2017 – Unconfirmed Tech."
He retrieved it.
But Tyler knew if he reported the incident, he'd be in deep trouble.
He wasn't supposed to have the file.
Wasn't supposed to hide the break-in.
Definitely not supposed to go rogue.
So instead, he did what Tyler always does—
Fixed it himself.
Then spent the next day in bed, eating cereal, watching conspiracy docs, and pretending the world could wait.
Back at the office, Caleb muttered,
"That kid…"
He sighed and sat down, tension clearly building beneath his calm.
Just then, Ayla looked up.
"Did any of you watch the news last night?"
Mina glanced over. Jesse paused mid-typing.
Ayla tapped her phone and projected a news clip onto the shared screen:
> "Breaking News: A man believed to be former CIA neuroscientist Dr. Vahl Edevane has resurfaced in the Rhône-Alpes region of France. Missing since 2018, Edevane was once involved in controversial research into consciousness manipulation and memory engineering. Officials have not confirmed the report."
Caleb straightened instantly.
"Vahl Edevane… I dug into his records last night. He was one of the architects behind Project Palimpsest. If he's resurfacing now…"
He pulled up an old file and placed it in front of them.
"He might've perfected it. The memory imprinting. The emotional rewiring. The same thing Tyler might've been subjected to."
Mina looked up, voice steady.
"So if he's back… maybe the tech isn't just alive. Maybe it's in play right now."
Ayla added quietly,
"And maybe Tyler isn't the only one who's been reset."
Silence.
The empty chair where Tyler usually sat seemed heavier than usual.
As if the secrets he carried… were still sitting there, watching them.