Paper Ghosts

The air inside Black Orchid Investigations was thick with tension as Jessica, Leanna, Olivia, and Daniel gathered around the map of the Vanguard black site. Spread across the table were blueprints, access routes, and security schematics—courtesy of Olivia’s hacking skills. Daniel's intel wasn't just maps and names, it was leverage. Proof so dangerous, people vanished just for getting near it.

"The facility is located beneath an old industrial complex in Eastern Europe—near the border of Ukraine and Moldova," Olivia explained, pointing to a dimly lit satellite image on her laptop. "Heavily fortified, tight security, and no outside network access. If we want in, we’re doing this the hard way."

Jessica groaned. "At least it’s not Argentina again. I was starting to wonder if we qualified for local residency."

Daniel leaned forward, tracing a path with his finger. "There’s an underground maintenance tunnel that leads to an older section of the site. If it’s still intact, we can use it to bypass the main security checkpoints."

Jessica crossed her arms. "And what are we looking for exactly?"

Daniel’s face darkened. "Paper ghosts," Daniel said. "Evidence that says Vanguard's still breathing under a different name. Proof that won't matter unless we live long enough to show it."

Leanna sighed, adjusting her glasses. "And if we get caught?"

"Then we disappear," Daniel said grimly. "Like the others."

---

Two Nights Later – The Black Site Perimeter

The team crouched in the shadows just beyond the fence line of the industrial complex. The facility loomed before them, a relic of brutalist architecture, its concrete walls reinforced with layers of high-tech security.

Jessica exhaled, adjusting her earpiece. "Everyone ready?"

Leanna tapped her comm. "Ready."

Olivia secured her bag of hacking tools. "I still think this is insane, but yes."

Daniel glanced toward the facility, his expression unreadable. "Let’s move."

They slipped through the fence undetected, weaving through the abandoned outer buildings toward the underground access tunnel. The entrance was rusted over, the metal hatch barely visible beneath years of dirt and overgrowth.

Leanna worked the lock with a quiet efficiency, muttering, "This better not be a dead end."

With a final twist, the hatch gave way, revealing a narrow shaft leading into darkness. The air that rushed out was stale, tinged with something metallic.

"This is it," Daniel said. "Stay close, stay quiet."

One by one, they descended into the tunnel, flashlights flickering against the damp walls. The deeper they went, the more the world above seemed to vanish, swallowed by the underground labyrinth.

Jessica gritted her teeth. She had spent her life running from shadows—this time, she was stepping straight into them.

Ahead, a dim glow illuminated the end of the tunnel. For a heartbeat, the world held still. No sound. No movement. No mercy. And then, just as they reached the threshold— a soft, mechanical—click

Alarms wailed.

"Move!" Jessica shouted, as floodlights burst to life, bathing the tunnel in a blinding white glare.

Footsteps pounded above them. Security was coming. Their window was closing fast, and Vanguard was waiting.

Light swallowed the dark. The tunnel became a cage. No more running. Not this time.