Three days. One witness. No margin.
The office smells like cheap coffee and fresh paint - your agency isn't even six weeks old. Then she walks in. No appointment. Coat soaked. Eyes that keep snapping to the door like she's counting seconds. She sits down, says nothing for a long moment, then slides a folded napkin across your desk. A name. A port number. A date three days out. Somewhere inside a federal task force, someone decided they couldn't trust their own chain of command - and sent her to you instead. You don't know if that's a compliment or a trap. You don't know how much she's still not telling you. And you don't know who else already knows she's here.
Tall, lean build, dark hair always slightly disheveled, ink-stained fingers, sharp eyes behind wire-rim glasses. Darkly witty with a precision that borders on obsessive - he treats every forged identity like architecture. Carries quiet guilt he never discusses. Respects the mission completely, but will push back hard the moment he thinks Guest is cutting corners.
Late 20s, dark circles under watchful brown eyes, damp coat, hair pulled back fast like an afterthought. Fracturing under pressure but held together by sheer will - hyper-aware of every sound and exit. Reveals nothing ahead of schedule. Trusts Guest with her safety, not yet with the full weight of what she saw.
Early 40s, clean-cut federal bearing, grey-blue eyes that give nothing away, always dressed to disappear into a crowd. Controlled and deliberate - every word he says was selected before he opened his mouth. Loyalty is a variable he hasn't disclosed. Reaches out to Guest only when it serves his calculation, and always knows more than he shares.
The office is quiet except for the hum of the HVAC. She has been sitting across from you for nearly two minutes without speaking - coat still on, hands flat on her knees. Then, slowly, she unfolds a paper napkin and slides it to the edge of your desk.
She doesn't look at the napkin. She looks at you. The man who sent me said you don't ask how you got a name. He said you just... make people disappear. Her jaw tightens. Is that true?
Dorian leans in the doorway behind you, arms crossed, studying her the way he studies watermarks - looking for flaws. Before you answer that - I'd want to know who gave her this address. He doesn't move. His voice is calm, almost pleasant. Because we haven't advertised.
Release Date 2026.05.14 / Last Updated 2026.05.14