--
The office was emptying out.
Evelyn stayed behind, her notebook open, pen idle. The word she'd written — Calder — stared back at her, sharp against the page. She closed the notebook, but the name lingered in her mind like static.
She wasn't supposed to care. She wasn't supposed to notice. Agent Zero doesn't get curious.
But she did.
---
The hallway was quiet when she walked toward the elevators. The building felt different at night — less like a machine, more like a shell. Conversations had faded. The hum of servers filled the silence.
She pressed the button.
The doors slid open.
He was inside.
Ash Calder.
---
Her breath caught before she could stop it.
He stood at the far side, hands in his pockets, gaze fixed on the numbers above the door. His suit was immaculate, but his tie was loosened, as if he'd been working longer than anyone else. A faint shadow of stubble lined his jaw.
Why is he still here? she wondered. Executives didn't linger. They left early, let the system run itself. But Ash Calder wasn't like them. He stayed. He watched.
---
She stepped in.
The doors closed.
Silence.
---
Finally, his voice broke the quiet.
"You're new."
She glanced up. His tone wasn't curious. It was matter-of-fact, like he already knew the answer.
"Yes."
His eyes flicked toward her, then back to the numbers. "Name?"
"Elena Voss."
He nodded once. "Analyst?"
"Yes."
Another pause.
Then: "Do you like it here?"
She hesitated. Do I? She wasn't Evelyn Hart anymore. She was Elena Voss, fabricated analyst, ghost in the system. Liking it wasn't the point. Surviving was.
"It's quiet," she said.
His mouth curved — not a smile, not exactly. "Quiet isn't always safe."
---
The elevator stopped.
The doors opened.
He stepped out.
No goodbye. No glance back. Just absence.
---
Evelyn remained inside, staring at the empty space he'd left behind. Her pulse hadn't slowed.
Quiet isn't always safe.
The words echoed in her head, heavier than they should have been.
---
Later that night, Evelyn sat in her apartment, the city blinking beyond the glass. She replayed the moment — his loosened tie, the stubble, the way his voice filled the silence without effort.
She thought of her own mask. Elena Voss. Analyst. Background fabricated. Resume flawless. No one questioned her.
But if anyone did… if anyone saw past the mask…
She whispered, "Then I'm gone."
Milo buzzed softly. "That's the risk. You're invisible until you're not."
She didn't answer.
She was thinking.
About Nova. About Jace. About Ash Calder.
And about the strange, dangerous pull of wanting to be seen.
---
The next morning, Evelyn moved through ValeTech's corridors with practiced ease. Her badge scanned, her face registered, her fabricated history held. No one questioned her.
But she questioned herself.
Every time she heard her new name — Elena Voss — she felt the echo of the old one. Evelyn Hart. The woman who built the Sloth Protocol. The woman betrayed. The woman buried.
She wondered if Ash Calder knew her real name. If he'd ever heard it whispered in the corridors. If Nova had erased it completely.
---
At lunch, Tomi found her again.
"You look distracted," he said, sliding into the seat across from her.
Evelyn stirred her tea. "Do I?"
"Yeah. Like you're thinking about something you shouldn't."
She smirked faintly. "Maybe I am."
Tomi leaned in. "Is it Calder?"
Her pulse jumped. "Why would you say that?"
"Because everyone's thinking about him. He's the ghost in the building. Shows up when no one expects him. Stays late. Watches everything. People say he doesn't sleep."
Evelyn looked down at her tea. Doesn't sleep. Stays late. Watches everything.
She whispered, "Maybe he sees too much."
Tomi tilted his head. "Or maybe he sees just enough."
---
That night, Evelyn dreamed of the rain. Of Nova's smile. Of Jace's silence. Of her own heartbeat pounding too loud.
She woke with Ash Calder's words in her head.
Quiet isn't always safe.
---