INDUSTRIAL ALLEY
Rain tapers off into a misty drizzle.
The neon overhead buzzes like a dying heartbeat.
Jaxon Steel stands alone now, the perimeter officers pulled back to give him space. His coat is wet, boots sinking slightly into shallow puddles reflecting electric blue.
The hovering forensic drone projects a faint cone of light as it analyzes the ground.
Steel kneels again, brushing his fingers across a burn-like marking on the wall — a thin, curved slash pattern.
[Agent Steel] (under his breath) :Same pattern from the dock murders last month… but refined.
His Neuro-Link pulses lightly at the base of his skull — not in warning, but as if recognizing something.
He steadies himself.
---
STEEL'S POV — DIGITAL OVERLAY
The Neuro-Link overlays glowing tracers across the alley walls.
Three distinct paths flicker:
Path A — chemical residue trail
Path B — faint footprints, almost erased
Path C — microscopic metallic dust particles
Steel follows the metallic dust trail first — it spirals unpredictably, almost like something corkscrewed away at high speed.
[Agent Steel]: (thinking)No mechanical prints. Whatever did this didn't touch the ground…
He walks deeper into the alley, where the light fades and sound dampens.
ABANDONED LOADING DOCK –MOMENTS LATER
Steel steps into a cavernous space. Rusted hooks, crates, and chains hang like skeletal remains.
The drone's light cuts thin beams through the darkness.
A faint hum echoes.
Not mechanical — electrical.
Steel raises his firearm instinctively.
The hum grows louder.
He approaches a sealed refrigeration container.
It's locked with a digital clamp bearing a triangular glyph.
He wipes the frost from it.
The symbol pulses once.
[Agent Steel]: (muttering)Not INN tech… not city-standard… who are you?
He pulls a multi-tool from his belt and pries open the clamp.
The lock hisses — decompressing.
The container door swings open.
Cold vapor spills out.
Steel steps inside.
REFRIGERATION CONTAINER –
Rows of suspended vials lining both walls.
All unlabeled.
All glowing faint blue.
Steel's breath tightens.
[Agent Steel]:…biotech samples.
He taps one vial with a gloved knuckle.
A faint serpentine coil symbol appears, dissolves.
He frowns.
[Agent Steel]:(thinking) Same symbol from the victim's chest.
Suddenly — the drone emits a sharp warning beep.
Steel spins around.
Movement behind him.
A shadow detaches from the far corner.
Someone stands there — hooded, masked, breathing slow and controlled.
Steel's hand goes to his weapon but he stops — something about the figure's stance is familiar.
[Agent Steel]:INN? Civilian? Identify yourself.
The figure doesn't move.
The hum from the vials builds — resonant, synchronized.
The masked figure lifts one hand slightly — almost like a warning to stay back.
Steel narrows his eyes.
[Agent Steel]:You were here when the victim died, weren't you?
No response.
[Agent Steel]:You left the slash pattern. The metallic dust. Why?
Still nothing.
Steel steps forward—
The drone flashes red.
ALERT: BIOFIELD DISTORTION DETECTED
The figure suddenly flickers — their outline glitching like corrupted video.
Steel freezes.
[Agent Steel]:(whispers)…holographic decoy.
But it's not projecting from any visible device.
The figure raises its chin — and speaks with a voice distorted beyond recognition.
[MASKED FIGURE]:You are early.
Steel braces, gun raised.
[MASKED FIGURE]:Stop chasing echoes, Agent.
Steel's grip tightens.
[Agent Steel]:What are you? Who sent you?
The figure tilts its head.
[MASKED FIGURE]:Truth is not ready for you.
And then—
they dissolve entirely.
Not vanished.
Not cloaked.
Just gone — like a projection with no emitter source.
The drone sputters, systems destabilizing.
Steel stands motionless, chest tight.
[Agent Steel] (soft, shaken)…I'm not hallucinating. That was real.
He stares down the empty corridor of the container.
[Agent Steel]:What are you people hiding?
He pockets one of the vials carefully.
The faint coil symbol pulses again as he closes his fist.
---
LOADING DOCK – LATER
Steel exits the dock, rain kicking up under his boots.
He looks up at the towering skyline of New Atlantis, lit by millions of lights.
A city full of answers — and full of lies.
His voice is low, determined.
[Agent Steel]:I'll find you.
Just Jaxon Steel, the Neuro-Link humming faintly, and the first true lead in a case that feels bigger than the city itself.
TO BE CONTINUED...