Chapter 7 – The Government's Hunt
Two floors beneath the city's central administration tower, a sealed chamber buzzed with cold fluorescent light.
No windows. No sunlight. Only the hum of surveillance screens—hundreds of them—each one showing a different face, a different corner of the world.
And in the center of it all stood Director Armand Keller, the man whose orders didn't just move soldiers, but shaped the fate of nations.
He leaned forward, eyes fixed on one screen — a paused frame of Andrew Blake walking through the Dockline fog.
> "That's him," Armand said quietly. "The one who saw it."
Around him, agents exchanged uneasy glances. Dr. Evelyn Cross, head of forensic analysis, adjusted her glasses and brought up a digital map on the table. "We've confirmed it, sir. Blake's ledger was marked with one of those symbols."
The image magnified — the black sigil, still faintly glowing in the photo.
> "It appeared after the Vesk assassination," Evelyn continued. "No human tech can explain the energy signature. It's not digital, not chemical... more like a resonance."
Armand's jaw tightened.
"Same as the Prague incident, then. And the Shanghai case."
Silence filled the room for a moment. Everyone remembered.
The Prague incident—a corporate syndicate slaughtered overnight, hearts turned to ash.
No signs of forced entry.
Just that same mark left behind.
From the shadows, a calm voice spoke up.
Kellen, Andrew's handler, stepped forward. "You're wasting your time chasing ghosts. Blake doesn't even know what he's caught in."
Evelyn shot him a sharp look. "And you do?"
Kellen hesitated, then said, "I know he's not the threat. He's the bait."
Armand's eyes narrowed.
"Explain."
Kellen tapped the table. The holographic city map zoomed out, revealing a red circle—Dockline District—and dozens of smaller marks surrounding it.
"These killings follow a pattern. Every victim had committed major classified crimes—war crimes, corporate-level atrocities, political corruption. Someone—or something—is passing judgment."
Evelyn's voice dropped. "You think it's divine retribution?"
"No," Kellen said. "Something worse. Something designed."
Armand turned toward him.
> "You think this is man-made?"
Kellen hesitated before answering, "It was… once."
The silence that followed was heavier than the concrete walls around them.
Armand finally spoke.
> "If these... 'things' are active again, then we don't have much time. Bring Blake in. Alive."
Evelyn frowned. "And if he resists?"
Armand looked back at the frozen screen — Andrew's shadowed face under the neon rain.
> "Then pray he doesn't. Because if the creatures find him first... none of us will have the luxury of resistance."
The lights dimmed as the screens flickered, each one showing a single black sigil pulsing in unison — as if listening.