S070_041_lg.jpg -

The face staring back at him was not a person at all. It was a smooth, featureless ceramic mask, painted with the exact same glitched, neon-streaked patterns from the photograph.

The rain had been falling for three days straight, turning the narrow alleys of the city into slick, reflective rivers of neon. Detective Elias Thorne sat in his parked car, the rhythmic sweep of the windshield wipers doing little to clear his view of the warehouse across the street. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a worn, glossy photograph labeled simply . s070_041_lg.jpg

As the figure reached for the car door, Elias stepped out from the shadows of a stack of shipping crates. He held up his scanner, his thumb hovering over the execute button. "Freeze! Police!" Elias shouted over the roar of the rain. The face staring back at him was not a person at all

He looked down at the physical photograph still clutched in his shaking hand. The corrupted pixels seemed to shift and dance in the low light, as if laughing at him. The Architect hadn't just left a clue; they had left a warning. And Elias was now squarely in their crosshairs. Detective Elias Thorne sat in his parked car,

Right on cue, the heavy iron doors of the warehouse groaned open. A figure stepped out into the downpour, wrapped in a dark, high-collared trench coat. The figure didn't look left or right, but walked with absolute purpose toward a black sedan waiting at the curb.

Elias didn't hesitate. He slipped out of his car, keeping low, his boots splashing quietly in the puddles. He needed to get close enough to clone the transmitter signal from the suspect's pocket.

By the time Elias blinked away the white spots and regained his footing, the street was empty. The black sedan was gone, leaving nothing behind but tire tracks filling with rainwater and the smell of ozone.