THE BLACKLIST SYSTEM: REBIRTH OF NOAH VALE

CHAPTER 4 – TEN YEARS EARLIER

"Hey. Noah. You alive over there?"

Noah's head snapped up. His heart slammed against his ribs.

Mark stood beside his desk, coffee in hand. "Damn. You look like you saw a ghost."

Noah couldn't speak. His throat was too tight. He stared at Mark's face. The scar on his eyebrow. Still fresh. Still pink.

In ten years, it would fade to a thin white line.

Noah knew because he'd watched it fade. Over lunch breaks and late nights. Back when Mark was his….

Friend.

Back before Mark destroyed him.

"You okay?" Mark asked.

"I died," Noah whispered.

Mark laughed. "What?"

Noah pressed his hands to his chest. His heart was beating. Strong. Steady.

But he remembered the crash. Glass shattering all over his face,his body. His chest caving in. Blood in his mouth.

"I need some air," Noah said.

He stood so fast his chair scraped across the floor. Heads turned.

"Yo, what the hell is wrong with you?" Mark grabbed his sleeve.

Noah yanked free. "Don't touch me."

He pushed past the desks and headed for the hallway. His pulse roared in his ears.

This wasn't possible. He was supposed to be dead.

The fluorescent lights fluttered.

Once.

Twice.

Then he heard the voice.

"SYSTEM INITIALIZING."

Noah froze.

"What?" he said aloud.

The hallway was empty. No one else heard it.

"BLACKLIST SYSTEM ONLINE."

"HOST IDENTIFIED: NOAH VALE."

"SCANNING TIMELINE..."

A translucent screen appeared in front of him. Blue. Glowing. Hovering in the air like a cartoon, except, this felt real

Noah stumbled back against the wall. "No. No no no. I'm seeing things."

"SCAN COMPLETE."

"TARGETS IDENTIFIED."

Names appeared in a vertical list.

THE BLACKLISTED

MARK ELLIS

Status: Active Threat

Betrayal Index: 87%

MARTHA REED

Status: Active Threat

Betrayal Index: 94%

LINDA CYRIL

Status: Active Threat

Betrayal Index: 76%

CLARA WHITE

Status: Active Threat

Betrayal Index: 81%

The list scrolled on by itself. More names. More percentages. All the people who had destroyed him.

"What the hell is this?" Noah said.

"REVENGE PROTOCOL ACTIVATED."

"MISSION: DESTROY ALL BLACKLISTED TARGETS."

"FAILURE PENALTY: PERMANENT DELETION."

Noah's breath caught. "Deletion?"

"HOST WILL BE ERASED FROM TIMELINE IF MISSION FAILS."

His hands shook. "I…I don't understand."

"YOU DIED. YOU WERE BROUGHT BACK BY THE BLACKLIST SYSTEM. NOW YOU MUST PAY THE PRICE."

The screen shined brighter.

"RULE 1: DESTROY EACH TARGET BEFORE THEY BETRAY YOU."

"RULE 2: COMPLETE ALL MISSIONS WITHIN TEN YEARS."

"RULE 3: DO NOT REVEAL THE SYSTEM TO ANYONE."

"VIOLATION OF RULES RESULTS IN IMMEDIATE DELETION."

Noah pressed his hands over his face. "This is insane."

"FIRST MISSION ASSIGNED."

"TARGET: MARK ELLIS."

"OBJECTIVE: EXPOSE HIS THEFT OF YOUR WORK."

"TIME LIMIT: 48 HOURS."

"REWARD: +10 LIFE POINTS. UNLOCK NEW ABILITIES."

"FAILURE: -50 LIFE POINTS. RISK PERMANENT DELETION."

A progress bar appeared at the bottom of the screen.

LIFE POINTS: 100/100

MISSIONS COMPLETED: 0/12

"Noah?"

He flinched. Mark stood at the end of the hallway.

"You ran out like a lunatic," Mark said. "You sure you're okay?"

Noah stared at him. The screen was still there. Floating. Glowing.

MARK ELLIS

Status: Active Threat

Current Action: Manipulating host for personal gain.

Knowledge flooded Noah's mind. Not words. Just certainty.

Mark had stolen his work. The Henderson project. Three months ago. Noah had done everything. The research. The analysis. The presentation.

And Mark had presented it to the senior partners. He barely mentioned Noah's name.

That was why Mark got promoted. And Noah got passed over.

"You stole from me," Noah said quietly.

Mark blinked. "What?"

" The Henderson project. You took my work."

Mark's face shifted. He stared at Noah with calculating eyes. "I…I don't know what you're talking about."

"LIES DETECTED."

"MARK ELLIS BETRAYAL INDEX: 87% → 89%."

Noah's jaw clenched. "I'm going to prove it."

He walked past Mark and headed for the elevator.

"Noah, wait," Mark called.

Noah didn't stop.

Outside, the city noise felt too loud. Cars honked. People yelled. Everything was too bright, too sharp, too real.

He walked three blocks before stopping at a small park. Sat on a bench. Pulled out his phone.

The screen appeared again. Hovering over his phone.

"MISSION TIMER ACTIVE: 47 HOURS, 52 MINUTES REMAINING."

"SUGGESTED ACTION: SEND EMAIL TO SENIOR PARTNERS. ATTACH PROOF."

Noah opened his email. His fingers moved across the keyboard.

TO: Senior Partners

CC: Linda Cyril, Department Heads

SUBJECT:Henderson Project - Credit Clarification

Dear Partners,

I wanted to follow up on last quarter's Henderson presentation. While the pitch was successful, I believe there may have been some confusion regarding project ownership.

The initial research, data analysis, and strategic framework were completed by myself over a four-week period. I've attached the original drafts with timestamps for your reference.

I want to be clear that Mark Ellis did an excellent job presenting the material. However, for the sake of transparency and accurate performance reviews, I thought it important to clarify the project's origins.

Please let me know if you'd like to discuss this further.

Best regards,

Noah Vale

He kept it short. Professional. Attached the original files with timestamps.

His finger hovered over send button. His hands shook.

The old Noah wouldn't do this. The old Noah would stay quiet, Play nice. Allow himself to be trampled upon.

The old Noah would die in a car with tampered brakes.

Noah clicked send.

The screen pulsed.

"ACTION REGISTERED."

"MARK ELLIS STATUS: DISRUPTED."

"BETRAYAL INDEX: 89% → 72%."

"MISSION PROGRESS: 25%."

Noah leaned back on the bench. His hands had stopped shaking.

"So that's how it works," he murmured.

His phone buzzed. A reply from David Harmon, senior partner.

Noah, thanks for flagging this. We'll review the files and follow up. Let's talk this week. – David

"MISSION PROGRESS: 25% → 45%."

"KEEP GOING."

Noah stood up and walked back toward the office.

The screen followed him. Always there. Always watching.

When he got back, Mark was at his desk. His face was red with anger.

"Did you send that email?" Mark asked.

"Yeah, I did," Noah said.

"Why would you do that?"

"Because it's the truth."

Mark stood up. "You're making this a problem."

"It already was a problem," Noah said. "You just didn't think I would notice."

"MARK ELLIS BETRAYAL INDEX: 72% → 68%."

"TARGET DESTABILIZING. CONTINUE PRESSURE."

Mark's jaw clenched. "We'll talk about this later. This isn’t over."

He grabbed his jacket and walked out.

Noah sat at his desk. Opened his laptop.

The screen pulsed.

"MISSION PROGRESS: 45% → 60%."

"WARNING: TARGET MARTHA REED APPROACHING."

Noah looked up.

Martha was walking toward him. Her smile was bright. Familiar.

Three years together. Three years of which he thought was real.

But she would betray him. Hand over his passwords. His credentials. Everything they needed to destroy him.

"MARTHA REED."

"BETRAYAL INDEX: 94%."

"CURRENT THREAT LEVEL: MODERATE."

"Hey babe," Martha said. She leaned against his desk. "You okay? Mark said you were acting weird."

Noah looked at her. Really looked.

"I'm fine," he said.

"You sure? You seem... off."

"LIES DETECTED. SHE KNOWS SOMETHING."

Noah's chest tightened. "Do you have my passwords?"

Martha blinked. "What?"

"My work passwords. Do you have them?"

"You gave them to me,babe," she said slowly. "For that file transfer last month. Don't you remember?"

"CONFIRMATION: SHE HAS ACCESS TO HOST CREDENTIALS."

"WARNING: HIGH RISK TARGET."

Noah stood. "I'll need them back."

"Why?"

"Because I do."

Martha frowned. "Are you…mad at me?"

"No, babe," Noah lied. "I just need to change them. For security purposes." He touched her cheeks.

"MISSION UNLOCKED: SECURE YOUR CREDENTIALS."

"TIME LIMIT: 24 HOURS."

Martha studied his face. "Okayy…. Whatever you want."

She walked away. Noah watched her go.

The screen pulsed.

"MARK ELLIS MISSION PROGRESS: 60%."

"MARTHA REED MISSION: ACTIVE."

"LIFE POINTS: 100/100."

"CURRENT STATUS: STABLE."

Noah sat down. His heart was racing but his hands were steady.

This was real. The system. The missions. He was reborn, given a second chance at life.

He had ten years to take them all down.

Or he would be erased.

"Alright," Noah whispered. "Let's do this."

The screen flickered.

"GOOD LUCK, HOST."

"YOU'RE GOING TO NEED IT.”