Ghosts in the System

The security footage was useless.

Idris sat in the dimly lit control room of the observatory, his jaw clenched as he replayed the footage over and over. The body had been there—clear as day—until it wasn't. No one moved it. No one touched it. One frame showed the dead man on the floor. The next? Just empty space.

Elise stood beside him, arms crossed, watching the screen with a grim expression. "I hate this," she muttered. "Every rule of physics, every law of reality—just thrown out the window."

Lane, still standing guard at the doorway, shifted uncomfortably. "So what now? We just… pretend it never happened?"

"No," Idris said, shutting off the monitor. "We find someone who can explain this."

As if on cue, the door to the control room swung open, and a tall woman in a sleek, high-collared jacket strode in. Her hair was cropped short, her expression unreadable, and she moved with the kind of confidence that only came from knowing things others didn't.

Elise tensed. "Agent Nyla Mercer," she said warily.

The woman's sharp gaze flicked to her. "Dr. Harrow. Detective Vale." She glanced at Lane but dismissed him immediately. "This case is now under the jurisdiction of the Temporal Anomaly Division."

Lane scoffed. "The what?"

Idris leaned forward, his instincts screaming at him. "That's not a real division."

"It is if you know where to look," Nyla countered smoothly. She pulled a small device from her coat and set it on the table. A holographic interface flickered to life, displaying a file labeled PROJECT PARADOX.

Elise's eyes narrowed. "You knew this would happen."

Nyla's expression didn't change. "We knew something would happen. The watch—" she nodded at the device in Elise's hand "—has been lost for decades. And people who touch it don't tend to live long."

Lane took a step back. "That would've been useful information before now."

Idris ignored him, his mind racing. "Who was the dead man?"

Nyla sighed. "His name was Elias Kade. Or at least, that's the name he was using. He was a rogue operative, someone who tampered with timelines for personal gain. And it seems…" She glanced at the empty footage screen. "…he finally crossed the wrong threshold."

Idris frowned. "You're saying time itself erased him?"

"Or something did." Nyla's expression darkened. "Something that doesn't like loose ends."

A slow, tense silence settled over the room.

Elise exhaled sharply. "Well. That's horrifying."

Idris glanced at the watch in Elise's hands, then back at Nyla. "If Kade was running, that means something was chasing him."

Nyla nodded. "And now, Detective Vale, it's chasing you."

The room suddenly felt much colder.