Chapter 5 — Someone Is Watching

“Because the people who find me first…”

Elara’s grip tightened around Lucas’s arm.

“…won’t ask questions.”

Lucas followed her gaze.

Across the far edge of the plaza, two figures had just stepped into the open space between the crowds.

They looked ordinary at first glance.

Dark coats.

Calm posture.

Walking with steady, purposeful steps.

But something about them felt… wrong.

They moved too smoothly.

Too precisely.

Like machines trying to imitate human movement.

Lucas narrowed his eyes.

“Friends of yours?” he asked quietly.

Elara didn’t answer.

Her attention was locked onto their wrists.

Each of the figures wore a thin metallic band identical in shape to the one on her own arm.

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

“Temporal agents.”

Lucas glanced back at her.

“…that sounds illegal.”

“Very.”

The floating AI sphere rotated quickly.

“Warning. Temporal tracking signatures confirmed. Two agents . Probability of capture within current location: 87%.”

Lucas stared at the two approaching figures again.

They were now pushing calmly through the crowd.

People stepped aside without noticing anything strange.

The agents’ eyes scanned the plaza methodically.

Searching.

Lucas rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“Okay,” he said.

“New question.”

Elara didn’t look away from the agents.

“Yes.”

“Are they the kind of people who politely ask you to come with them?”

She shook her head.

“No.”

Lucas nodded slowly.

“Good to know.”

The agents suddenly stopped walking.

Both of them turned their heads at the exact same time.

Their eyes locked directly onto Elara.

Even across the plaza, Lucas could feel the shift.

Like two spotlights had suddenly turned on.

The AI sphere beeped sharply.

“Agents have confirmed visual identification.”

Elara swore under her breath.

Lucas pointed behind them.

“My apartment’s three blocks that way.”

She looked at him.

“Can we lose them?”

Lucas gave a crooked smile.

“I make a living confusing people.”

He grabbed the fallen red top hat from the ground and shoved it onto his head.

“Follow me.”

He stepped onto the wooden crate again and clapped loudly.

“Alright everybody!” he shouted.

“Thank you for attending the most dangerous magic show in Neo-Veridian!”

The crowd laughed.

Several people applauded again.

Lucas pointed dramatically toward the agents.

“And now for my final trick…”

He leaned closer to the crowd and whispered loudly:

“The Disappearing Magician.”

Before anyone could react—

Lucas grabbed Elara’s wrist and pulled her straight through the crowd.

They burst through the circle of spectators and into the moving river of pedestrians crossing the plaza.

Behind them—

The two agents began walking faster.

Their pace was calm.

Controlled.

But unstoppable.

Elara glanced back once.

“Lucas.”

“Yeah?”

“They’re not going to stop.”

Lucas weaved between people and street vendors.

“Good,” he said.

“Because neither am I.”

Far Above the Earth — Year 2091

A massive orbital command station drifted silently in space.

Inside a dark control chamber, holographic displays floated in the air like blue ghosts.

One screen flashed red.

TEMPORAL FRACTURE DETECTED

A technician turned toward the tall figure standing at the center of the room.

“Director Virex.”

The man slowly turned.

Director Kael Virex had the stillness of someone who never wasted movement.

Cold gray eyes studied the glowing timeline map projected in front of him.

A blinking signal pulsed seventy-five years in the past.

“Unauthorized displacement confirmed,” the technician continued.

“Elara Quinn has entered the 2026 timeline.”

Virex stared at the signal for a long moment.

Then he spoke quietly.

“Deploy retrieval agents.”

The technician hesitated.

“Sir… if she alters the timeline—”

“She already has.”

Virex turned away from the display.

His voice remained calm.

“Bring her back.”

The screen zoomed in on Neo-Veridian City.

Two blinking signals moved through the plaza.

Closing in.

Back in 2026 — Neo-Veridian Plaza

Lucas and Elara sprinted down a crowded side street.

Behind them—

The agents stepped out of the plaza and began the pursuit.

The hunt had officially begun.

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