Victor_graves

Synopsis

Detective Elias Mercer, known as ‘Mercy’ for his angelic demeanor, hides a mind as sharp as a blade and a heart as cold as the cases he solves. A former journalist framed and cast out, he now walks the thin line between justice and obsession, unraveling the city’s darkest secrets one case at a time.

When Adrian Holt, a man seemingly swallowed by the shadows, vanishes without a trace, Elias is dragged into a mystery far deeper than he anticipated. His only lead? Evelyn Drake—a woman who speaks in riddles and keeps secrets like currency. As Elias peels back the layers of deception, a familiar name resurfaces from his past: Nathaniel Voss, a phantom figure lurking behind countless crimes, always just out of reach.

With each step forward, the case tightens around him, drawing him into a web of corruption, fear, and a truth far more sinister than murder. The deeper Elias digs, the more he realizes—some ghosts aren’t meant to be found, and some truths are buried for a reason.

But Elias Mercer doesn’t believe in walking away.

And this time, the darkness is watching back.

Elias mercer: mercy in the shadows

The warning still echoed in Elias's ears as he drove through the city streets, the night air thick with the weight of unspoken threats. Most people would have heeded the call, taken a step back, maybe even abandoned the case altogether.

But Elias Mercer wasn't most people.

His destination was a rundown bar on the south side, a place where names meant nothing, and secrets were the only currency that mattered. The kind of place where men like Nathaniel Voss cast their shadows, even if they never showed their faces.

Elias parked the car, slipping his gun into the holster beneath his coat. He pushed open the bar's heavy wooden door, stepping into a haze of cigarette smoke and low murmurs. The patrons barely glanced his way, but the bartender—a wiry man with a scar running down his cheek—narrowed his eyes.

"Mercer," he said, his voice a gravelly rasp. "You got a death wish walking in here?"

Elias leaned against the counter. "That depends. You still serving whiskey, or just warnings?"

The bartender smirked, pouring him a glass without another word. Elias took a sip, savoring the burn, before placing a photo of Nathaniel Voss on the counter.

"Heard his name floating around," Elias said, keeping his tone casual. "Figured someone here might've crossed paths with him."

The bartender's expression didn't change, but the air in the room shifted. Subtle. Dangerous. Elias felt it, the way the conversations quieted just slightly, the way eyes flicked toward him and then away.

"Bad idea," the bartender murmured, wiping the counter. "Real bad."

A chair scraped against the floor behind him. Elias turned just as a man stepped out of the shadows, his knuckles scarred, his eyes filled with something Elias recognized—experience. The kind that came from living too long in the dark.

"Mercer," the man said, voice smooth but firm. "You're looking in places you shouldn't be."

Elias set his glass down. "So I've been told. Yet here I am."

The man smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "You don't walk away now, you won't get another chance."

Elias met his gaze, unflinching. "Then I guess I'd better make this one count."

The man exhaled through his nose, then stepped closer, lowering his voice. "You want Voss? You want to know what happened to Holt?"

The man glanced around the room, then leaned in. "Then meet me at the docks. Midnight. Come alone."

Before Elias could respond, the man turned and disappeared through the back door. The bartender sighed, shaking his head. "Mercer… you really don't know when to quit, do you?"

Elias smirked, tossing a bill onto the counter. "Not in my nature."

He finished his drink and walked out into the night.

And the game was only just beginning.

Into the fire