The Man Who Wasn't There

Jessica leaned forward, studying the man across from her desk. His clothes were simple — jeans, a washed-out t-shirt, boots that had seen better years. But there was something in the way he sat, too still, too careful. Like a man who didn’t quite trust the shape of his own body.

Leanna stood by the window, arms crossed. "Start from the beginning."

The man exhaled, rubbing a hand over his face. "Three years ago, I woke up in a hospital in Mexico City. No ID, no belongings, just a concussion and a doctor telling me I was lucky to be alive. They said I’d been found unconscious in an alley. No record of how I got there. No one came looking for me."

Jessica frowned. "And you don’t remember anything before that?"

He shook his head. "Not a damn thing. But sometimes I get these… flashes. Muscle memory, instincts I can’t explain. I dream about places I’ve never been. And then… there’s this."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, aged metal tag. Jessica took it carefully. It was a Vanguard ID chip.

Jessica’s pulse didn’t just spike, it knotted cold in her chest. There weren’t supposed to be any left. Not floating around in the world like loose bullets.

Leanna took the tag from Jessica and turned it over, her expression unreadable. "Where did you get this?"

"It was in my pocket when I woke up. It’s the only thing I had." He met Jessica’s gaze. "I heard about what you did. About Vanguard. If anyone can tell me who I am, it’s you."

Jessica exchanged a glance with Leanna. This wasn’t just another lost soul. This was a walking, talking, living Vanguard experiment. And the question wasn’t just who he was. It was what Vanguard had turned him into.

---

Olivia had her laptop open before the man had even finished speaking. "We’ll start with the tag. If this was Vanguard-issued, there’s a chance I can track where it came from."

"And what about DNA?" Leanna asked. "If he’s one of their subjects, we might find him in old records."

Jessica nodded. "I know someone who can run a private scan."

The man shifted uncomfortably. "And if you find something?"

Jessica studied him. "Then we figure out what Vanguard did to you—and why."

His jaw tensed, but he nodded. "Okay. Whatever it takes."

Jessica stood. She had spent years hunting Vanguard’s ghosts. Now, one had walked right into her office. Vanguard built him. Fine. Now he was hers to break.