Beeping. Soft, rhythmic, insistent. Raymond drifted toward it as though rising through heavy water. His body was a continent of pain, but it felt distant now,muted, cushioned. He opened his eyes to brightness, not the harsh gray of the alley but sterile white that hummed faintly, as if the light itself was alive.For a moment, he didn’t know where he was. Then came the scent,antiseptic, clean linen, the faint trace of alcohol. A hospital.He swallowed, wincing at the dryness in his throat. When he tried to move, a sharp tug stopped him. Wires trailed from his wrist, his chest, a tube taped near his hand. His fingers brushed fabric that wasn’t his own: a hospital gown. “Easy, Mr. Richmond,”The voice was calm, female, practiced. A nurse appeared beside the bed,mid-thirties, dark curls pinned neatly back, eyes tired but kind. She adjusted a drip and gave him a professional smile.“You’re in Mount Sinai Hospital,” she said. “You’ve been unconscious for three days.”“Three…” His voice

New York was still wet from the night before. Rainwater crawled down the alleys in silver ribbons, reflecting the sodium haze of the streetlamps. Raymond kept his hood low and his hands buried in the pockets of the new coat he hadn’t bought. The System had arranged it, same as the phone that wouldn’t stop pulsing against his thigh. Each vibration matched the rhythm of his heartbeat.“TARGET SIGNAL: ACTIVE. DISTANCE: 0.8 MILES.”The words flickered across the screen as he stepped into a subway entrance. The late crowd was thin,office ghosts, delivery drivers, a few men whose eyes lingered too long. Every sound pressed on him, magnified: turnstile clicks, shuffling shoes, the whine of a train arriving far below. He whispered, “You’re really doing this, aren’t you?”“CONFIRMATION: COLLECTION PROTOCOL IN PROGRESS.”“Stop talking like a machine.”“REQUEST DENIED. Precision is a requirement.”Raymond clenched his jaw. He hadn’t slept since the penthouse. He’d spent the morning checking h

Rain streaked across the skyscrapers like liquid mirrors, reflecting the neon chaos of New York below. Raymond stood on the roof of an abandoned warehouse in Queens, phone in hand, the System humming through him like a living pulse.“NEXT TARGET: Kiera Lawson – 2.4 MILES.”“STATUS: ACTIVE. PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP DETECTED.”Raymond exhaled. “Personal, huh?” he muttered. “Guess I’ve got a family reunion after all.”“WARNING: EMOTIONAL INTERFERENCE HIGH. CONTROL RECOMMENDED.”He flicked his eyes toward the street. The city moved oblivious to the invisible chess game unfolding above it. Cars honked. Pedestrians argued over umbrellas. Somewhere, a siren wailed. And somewhere else, Kiera was walking, unaware that the System’s red pulse tracked her heartbeat as surely as her shadow.Raymond stepped off the ledge, landing lightly in the alley below. Water splashed around his boots. He moved like a ghost between dumpsters and parked vans, weaving through the night. A voice in his head: “MET

The city hummed with late-night life, oblivious to the invisible war unfolding above its streets. Raymond moved with predatory precision through narrow alleys and fire escapes, the System thrumming beneath his skin, every step calculated, every sound amplified.“TARGET ESCAPED: CENTRAL PARK. NEW TRAIL DETECTED. DISTANCE: 1.2 MILES.”Kiera ran beside him, panting, her coat soaked, eyes wide. “Raymond… are we… chasing ghosts now?”“Ghosts can kill,” he muttered, voice low. “And these aren’t ordinary people.”“SYSTEM ALERT: MULTIPLE THREAT SIGNALS DETECTED. POTENTIAL AMBUSH.”Raymond scanned the rooftops. Shadowed figures moved above, watching, waiting. His pulse synchronized with the System’s rhythm.“RECOMMENDATION: ENGAGE ONLY IF NECESSARY. OTHERWISE, PURSUIT OPTIMAL.”Ahead, a faint red glow flickered in a window of a high-rise overlooking the East River. The escaped figure from Central Park had paused, unaware that every heartbeat was being traced. Raymond’s lips tightened. “Ther

Rain slashed through the streets of Manhattan like needles. Neon signs flickered against wet asphalt, reflecting off puddles that shimmered like fractured mirrors. Raymond’s crimson eyes glowed beneath his hood. The System pulsed through him, threading into every nerve, every muscle, every thought.“THREAT: MASSIVE ADVERSARY DETECTED. MULTIPLE HOSTILES CONVERGING. SYSTEM ALERT: MAXIMUM ENGAGEMENT REQUIRED.”Kiera stumbled behind him, voice trembling. “Raymond… we can’t… there are too many!”“Count them,” he muttered, voice low, “then erase them one by one.”The massive shadow loomed ahead, its presence radiating suffocating force. Smaller attackers flanked it like predators circling prey. The central figure from the park stood just behind, smirking, watching the storm about to break.“SYSTEM ALERT: TARGET CONNECTION HIGH. PRIORITY: MAXIMUM.”Raymond’s lips tightened. “The network… I see its threads now.”“OBSERVATION: MULTIPLE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN ADVERSARIES. DATA INCOMPLETE. RECO