1

Detroit. Industrial corridor stretching along the river. Abandoned factories mixed with biotech startups. Smokestacks and glass towers. Old America dying next to new America being born.

Perfect hunting ground.

Six months after the bank heist.

Who would have thought I could fall so far?

The Lansing job netted $2.3 million in sold customer data. Clean extraction, zero detection, flawless execution. AnalystGhost47 earned quiet respect in the right circles.

Viktor thinks he discovered a criminal asset worth cultivating.

I think I discovered something darker about myself.

I created the Detroit pharmaceutical opportunity myself. Posted it as AnalystGhost47 - industrial espionage disguised as data liberation. Vaccine research, clinical trial data, proprietary formulations worth hundreds of millions.

Viktor found my post and fell in love with the concept.

Secure Message to Richardson: New assignment. High-value pharmaceutical target identified by reliable source. Detroit area. Extended reconnaissance required - minimum two weeks on-site.

Source provided excellent intelligence on vulnerability windows. This could be significant.

Private Message from Architect_V to AnalystGhost47: Your pharmaceutical proposal is brilliant. The systematic approach, the data classification methodology - exceptional work. My organization is very interested in collaboration.

Viktor's courting me while assigning me my own job.

Emma helps me pack for the "consulting contract."

"Two weeks in Detroit," I tell her. "Major pharmaceutical client. Could lead to more work."

"You've been traveling so much lately."

"Business is good."

She smiles, proud of my success. If she only knew what kind of business.

The mind fuck is complete now. Viktor assigns me work I created while praising my creativity as AnalystGhost47. He's recruiting his own asset, admiring someone he already controls.

Multi-dimensional chess where I'm playing every side of the board.

This is what I was born to do.

2

3:47 AM. Detroit apartment. Rain against windows.

In the dream, I’m standing on a bridge. Stone arches, old European architecture. Prague, maybe. The sound of water below, traffic distant.

Rachel is there, but different. Younger. Before whatever happened to her happened.

She’s leaning against the stone railing, looking out over dark water. Not talking. Just waiting.

I know I should say something, but the words won’t come. There’s weight between us. Something unsaid, something that matters.

She turns toward me finally. Eyes sad but not accusatory.

“You could have chosen differently,” she says.

The scene shifts. Same bridge, but now it’s raining. Rachel’s gone. I’m alone, watching something sink beneath the surface of the water below.

I wake tasting copper again.

-----

4:15 AM. I sit by the apartment window, looking out at Detroit’s industrial sprawl.

The dreams are getting more frequent. More specific. Prague wasn’t just about Viktor’s torture. Rachel was there too.

Whatever I did to Viktor, it cost Rachel something. Maybe everything.

The dreams feel like loss. Like choosing one path meant losing another forever.

Tomorrow I begin surveillance on our target. Viktor thinks he’s assigning me a job but I am simply executing an operation of my own design.

The sadness is that I know she won’t forgive me for what I have become.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

3

MediCore Pharmaceuticals. Glass tower rising from concrete. Security checkpoints, badge readers, cameras tracking every angle.

I sit in the parking garage across the street, laptop open, watching.

7:23 AM: First shift arrives. Researchers in lab coats, support staff in business casual. Badge swipes, routine entry, predictable flow.

8:15 AM: Executive parking. Reserved spots filled by German sedans and electric SUVs. Corner offices, decision makers, access to restricted data.

9:47 AM: Loading dock activity. Deliveries, supply chains, service contractors. The soft underbelly every facility tries to protect.

I photograph license plates, catalog faces, map the human geography.

Day two. Coffee shop across from the main entrance.

Research personnel flow in and out. Routine schedules, predictable lunch breaks. I catalog faces, identify potential pressure points.

A lead researcher emerges at 12:34 PM. Mid-forties, expensive briefcase, walks three blocks to a sandwich shop. Routine. Predictable.

I follow at distance. Order after she orders. Sit two tables away.

Her phone buzzes. She answers immediately.

"The clinical data? No, that's restricted. FDA regulations." Pause. "I understand the timeline pressure, but..."

She hangs up, frustrated. Stares at her sandwich without eating.

Someone wants her data. Someone with deadlines.

Perfect leverage point.

Day three. Service entrance surveillance.

6:15 AM: Cleaning crew arrives. Universal access, invisible presence, minimal security screening.

I photograph uniforms, company logos, shift schedules posted by the employee entrance.

Hartwell Janitorial Services. Local contractor. Probably background checks, but not intelligence-level vetting.

Employment application downloaded from their website.

James Richardson needs a second job.

4

Messages flow both directions. Operational intelligence for leverage analysis.

From: Architect_V to AnalystGhost47: Government health databases. Similar access, higher value. Timeline flexible for right partnership.

To: Architect_V: Municipal systems experience. Different security requirements.

Viktor wants government data. Specific interest. Not random criminal opportunity.

Secure Message to Richardson: Target surveillance continues. Timeline: 48 hours maximum.

Reply: Multiple access vectors confirmed. Social engineering viable.

Different pressure levels. AnalystGhost47 gets courted. Richardson gets deadlines.

Viktor's communication timestamps cluster between 2-6 AM Eastern. Either insomniac or different timezone. European hours.

Writing style: Formal. Slightly non-native constructions. "Very interested" instead of "very interested in." Germanic phrasing.

Photo analysis from Prague memories: Slavic features. Dark hair, angular face. Early thirties then, late thirties now. Eastern European accent in recovered sessions.

Government database interest suggests former state actor background. Not freelance criminal - freelance operative. Someone with intelligence training operating independently.

Prague wasn't random assignment. Viktor was operational asset who got burned. Now he's selling expertise to highest bidders while settling personal scores.

The question isn't who he works for.

It's who he used to work for.