Chapter 6 - THE FOOTAGE THAT SHOULDN’T EXISTThe timestamp said 2:13 a.m.
The night Marcus died.
On the screen, Marcus stood in an empty corridor.
Across from him stood a man wearing my uniform.
My face.
My posture.
My voice.
At least, that's what the recording seemed to show.
Cole stared.
“How?”
“I don't know.”
The fake version of me handed Marcus a small case.
Marcus shook his head.
“You promised the ledger would stay protected.”
The fake me answered.
“It will.”
Then Marcus looked directly into the camera.
“Where's Mason?”
I froze.
My own voice answered.
“On the roof.”
Marcus hesitated.
He looked afraid.
Then the video cut.
Cole rewound it repeatedly.
“This is edited.”
“Probably.”
“Your face could be deepfaked.”
“Three years ago?”
Cole didn't answer.
I suddenly remembered the night.
I had been on the roof.
Or at least I thought I had.
There had been smoke.
Gunfire.
A hostage shouting.
Titan barking.
And Marcus falling.
But now something felt wrong.
I searched my memory.
There was a gap.
Maybe thirty seconds.
A blank space.
I had always blamed trauma.
Now I wasn't sure.
Titan walked toward the monitor.
He watched the screen.
When my face appeared, he growled.
Not at the man.
At the recording itself.
He pawed the floor.
Then looked at me.
I followed his gaze.
Under the monitor was a loose vent cover.
I removed it.
Inside was a tiny memory card.
Cole plugged it into a laptop.
One video loaded.
Marcus was speaking directly into the camera.
“This is for Mason.”
My throat tightened.
“If you're seeing this, I didn't make it.”
He took a breath.
“Don't trust the person who knows how Titan was trained.”
The video ended.
Cole stared at me.
“Who knows?”
I answered immediately.
“Mercer.”
Then another possibility hit me.
“Or someone trained under him.”
Titan barked.
The hallway outside went quiet.
Then my radio crackled.
A voice came through.
“Unit Twelve, respond to emergency.”
It was dispatch.
But the words were wrong.
The frequency was wrong.
And the voice belonged to Marcus.
“Mason.”
I froze.
“Mason, come alone.”
Cole reached for the radio.
“Don't.”
The voice continued.
“If you bring anyone else, Sophie dies.”
I stood.
Cole blocked me.
“No.”
“She's in another wing.”
“We have officers there.”
“I know.”
The radio crackled.
“Look out the window.”
I did.
A figure stood across the street.
Holding something.
A small pink backpack.
Sophie's backpack.
The voice returned.
“You have ten minutes.”
Then the figure disappeared.
Cole cursed.
He called the hospital.
Sophie was still inside.
But her room was empty.
Her mother was unconscious.
A nurse was missing.
And on Sophie's bed was a note.
TITAN KNOWS WHERE SHE WENT.
May you like
I looked at my dog.
Titan was already running.
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