The walk to the telecom building felt longer than it should have.
Aldric kept his hands in his pockets, head slightly lowered, eyes sharp. He wasn't tense—he moved with the quiet confidence of someone who had already mapped the streets, counted the blind spots, and timed the traffic lights. But his mind was firing.
That building.
That exact window.
Someone was there—watching him, observing, taking notes.
And not just anyone.
The same ghost who slipped into his files.
The same anomaly Sky and Varron whispered about.
Now the building looked… normal. Too normal. A river of people flowing in and out. Workers in badges, students buying SIM cards, security guards scrolling on their phones. Eleven—or maybe twelve—floors of buzzing activity.
If someone wanted to hide in plain sight, this was perfect.
Aldric approached the entrance.
And froze.
Standing right beneath the glass awning was Ms. Vos—perfect posture, cream blouse tucked neatly under a fitted blazer, glasses reflecting the afternoon light.
Of course.
Aldric walked directly to her and stood at her side.
"Ms. Vos."
She turned. A slow, warm smile curved her lips.
"Aldric."
He glanced at the building, then back at her, expression unreadable.
"You know," he said with a faint snort, "it's a little suspicious seeing you here."
"Oh?" She raised a brow. "And why do you think that?"
Aldric didn't hesitate. "Two reasons," he said calmly. "Either you were the one watching me…"
Her smile deepened.
"Or," he continued, "you're here to catch the person who was. Which would mean you're LCO—Law Correction Officer."
For a second, she didn't speak. She just stared at him with that small, amused grin.
Then she exhaled, soft, almost proud.
"You know, Aldric… this is exactly why I've been observing you." She angled closer, voice low. "Your mind. Your ability to read situations. Predict outcomes. See threads others ignore."
She tilted her head slightly. "I knew you'd figure it out. The question was when. And apparently, the moment someone watched you, you caught it."
Aldric's lips twitched. "Care to tell me who it is?"
"That's what you came for?" she teased lightly.
"That's what I came for," Aldric replied. "I'll oblige."
Ms. Vos nodded once. "Very well."
They entered the lobby together. Shoulder to shoulder.
People rushed around them—lines, customers complaining, keyboards clacking—but their footsteps stayed slow, controlled. Less than a whisper. Not a single word carried beyond the two of them.
Not even to the cameras.
"The person watching you…" Ms. Vos began, eyes scanning the crowd without turning her head, "is an anomaly. One we picked up months ago. Someone who shouldn't even exist in our system."
Aldric's jaw tightened slightly.
"But," she added, "and this may surprise you… even with his intelligence and how far out of reach he is…"
They stepped near the elevator. No one else was close enough to hear.
"…he's not the mastermind."
Aldric snorted softly. "Figures."
Ms. Vos's eyes glimmered. "His name is—"
She leaned closer and whispered it.
Aldric's expression sharpened instantly. That name…
He had seen it before. Somewhere buried in one of the corrupted case files from years ago. A ghost. A myth. A shadow with no face and no fingerprints.
"And something else," Ms. Vos continued, lowering her glasses slightly. "He may have been watching you, but remember this carefully: he was only a foot soldier. A pawn."
Aldric slowly exhaled through his nose. "Then who," he asked quietly, "were the people watching us from the courtroom?"
Ms. Vos stopped walking. Just slightly. Just enough.
Then she let out a quiet laugh—light, but edged with truth.
"That was us," she said. "When I say 'us,' I mean the LCO group."
Aldric nodded. That part he expected.
"But…" she added, turning her gaze toward the upper floors, voice now barely a breath, "I'm not saying we're the only ones watching. Even we don't know who else is out there. Not fully."
A pulse went through Aldric's chest.
So there were more eyes. Higher eyes. Unmapped eyes.
Behind him, the glass doors slid shut.
Ahead, the elevator chimed.
Somewhere on one of these floors, the anomaly was still watching.
Aldric smiled—cold, slow, dangerous.
Things just got a little more interesting.