Chapter 2 No.2

The scooter rolled up the driveway, the tires humming on pavement so smooth it felt like glass. The driveway was heated; she could see the steam rising where the light flurries of snow melted on contact.

The house-if you could call it that-was an assault on the senses. It was Brutalist architecture at its most aggressive: raw, imposing concrete slabs and sheets of black glass that reflected nothing but the darkness. It was devoid of warmth, devoid of life. It looked less like a home and more like a mausoleum for the living.

She parked the scooter near the entrance. The engine cut out, and the silence that followed was absolute. No crickets. No distant traffic. Just the oppressive weight of money and isolation.

She noticed the landscaping first. It was perfect, geometric, and manicured to within an inch of its life. But nestled among the black shrubs were lenses. She caught a flicker of movement, a glint of coated glass where no light should be. Her training screamed optics, but her face only showed a shiver from the cold. Her instincts told her they were military-grade, tracking her every move as she swung her leg over the seat, their tiny red eyes blinking in the shadows.

She adjusted her posture, forcing a limp into her left leg, favoring an old "injury" that didn't exist. She walked to the massive front door. There was no doorbell, no knocker. Just a glowing red circle at eye level, part of a seamless biometric array.

Before she could even raise her hand to knock, she found herself staring into the unnerving red light, and the heavy door slid open. It made no sound. It was like the house was inhaling.

A robotic voice, smooth and genderless, echoed from hidden speakers. "Delivery. Foyer. Table."

She stepped onto the marble floor. The air inside was scrubbed clean, odorless, and freezing. It hit her sweat-dampened skin like a physical blow. The foyer was cavernous, with ceilings that vanished into shadow. Minimalist art hung on the walls-slashes of red on black canvas that looked like wounds.

In the center of the room stood a sleek, black table. It was the only furniture. On it lay a single white envelope.

"Hello?" she called out. Her voice sounded thin, swallowed by the acoustics of the space.

No answer.

She walked to the table and placed the thermal bag down. Her fingers brushed the cold surface of the table, and a shiver ran down her spine. It wasn't the temperature. It was the distinct, prickling sensation of being watched.

She glanced up at the mezzanine level. It was shrouded in darkness, but the shadows seemed to shift. Someone was up there.

She reached for the envelope, expecting a check or a few singles. It felt thick. She opened the flap and peered inside.

Cash. Five crisp, one-hundred-dollar bills.

She froze. This wasn't a tip. This was five hundred dollars for twenty dollars' worth of mediocre Kung Pao chicken. It was an absurdity. It was a test.

If she were Maya, the desperate immigrant, she would be ecstatic. She would be greedy.

She stuffed the money into her pocket quickly, her movements jerky. She let her eyes widen, scanning the room with feigned awe and fear.

"Thank you, sir," she whispered to the empty room, letting her voice tremble.

A mechanical whirring sound came from the ceiling corner. She looked up. A camera lens rotated, zooming in directly on her face. It stared at her, unblinking, like the eye of God.

She gasped, backing away towards the door, clutching her pocket as if she were afraid he would change his mind.

"Thank you," she said again, louder this time.

The door began to slide shut before she had fully exited. She had to slip through the narrowing gap sideways, rushing back to the scooter. She fumbled with the keys, dropping them once on the gravel before jamming them into the ignition.

As she drove away, speeding down the driveway faster than she should have, she checked the rearview mirror.

A silhouette stood at the high window on the second floor. A man. He was watching her leave.

High above, in a room filled with monitors, Hugh Bradford studied the screen. The image was frozen on her hands as she gripped the handlebars of the scooter.

The overlay on his screen flashed data in cool blue text.

Subject: Female. Heart Rate: Elevated. Micro-expressions: Inconsistent.

Bradford zoomed in on the image. He studied the angle of her wrists, the tension in her forearms. It wasn't the white-knuckled grip of fear. It was the controlled, ready grip of someone who knew how to handle a machine.

"Interesting," he murmured to the silence.