THE FAI INTELLIGENCE UNIT, DIRECTOR NASH'S OFFICE
"Director! Agent Clove's report has been successfully sent in and compiled just as you asked!"
Director Nash didn't even look up. His eyes were glued to the stack of files in front of him, the dark bags under his eyes practically having their own zip codes.
"I've told you to drop the formalities with me," he muttered without looking up.
Nathan didn't flinch. "A soldier never treats those above him with disrespect, sir! I won't stop no matter what!"
Nash finally raised his tired gaze, staring at Nathan still frozen in salute. This guy was like a malfunctioning robot .....overly loyal, overly loud, and impossible to turn off.
He rubbed his temples. "Na…than."
"Yes, sir!" Nathan stomped again even harder this time, like he wanted the entire building to salute with him.
"You can drop the salute now."
"But sir—"
"It's an order!" Nash snapped, cutting him off.
That finally did it. Nathan slowly dropped his arm like it weighed ten tons.
Nash turned back to his papers, flipping through them absentmindedly until a certain name caught his eye. His fatigue melted instantly. "Wait a minute…" He grabbed his mug, took a big gulp of coffee — then grimaced. "Ugh. Cold. Disgusting. Perfect."
He looked up, energized for the first time in days. "You said Clove's report is in, right?"
"Yes, sir!" Nathan was already halfway back into a salute.
Nash waved his hand dismissively. "Good! Finally, some progress. You know what, Nathan? You've earned it. Take the day off! Go hang out with your girl! Breathe some non-office air! Go!"
For the first time, Nathan hesitated. His hand twitched, the salute faltering midair. "Um… sir… Agent Clove is also… busy."
Nash's brow furrowed. "Busy? What do you mean busy? Wait....your girl? don't tell me you both are—"
Nathan broke. Sweat rolled down his temple as he forced an awkward grin. "Affirmative, sir."
Nash froze, then leaned back in his chair and smirked. "Heh." A beat passed. "You poor bastard."
Nathan coughed. "I… should leave now, sir."
"Yeah, you do that." Nash chuckled, shaking his head as Nathan practically moonwalked out the door.
As soon as it shut, Nash burst out laughing, slapping his knee. "Agent Clove and Nathan?! Oh, this is something I gotta see."
He leaned back in his chair, still chuckling. "Guess even spies fall for the wrong people sometimes."
The laughter in Nash's office had barely died when the monitor on his desk pinged. A small red dot blinked in the corner of the screen.
He frowned. "What the—"
He leaned closer. The system had automatically decrypted a file tagged under Level Zero Access. A clearance level even he rarely saw.
"Who the hell unlocked this?" he muttered.
With a single click, the file opened. Lines of encrypted data spilled across the monitor—names, timestamps, blacked-out paragraphs, and a small image thumbnail labeled 'SUBJECT: N.D.001 – NIGHT DEMON'.
Nash's heart skipped. "No way."
He slammed the intercom button. "Clove! My office. Now."
Director Nash's Office — 11:43 p.m.
The door slid open a few hours later, and Agent Clove walked in . crisp uniform, hair tied back, expression unreadable as usual. Her boots clicked softly against the marble floor.
"You called for me, Director?" she asked, voice calm, professional.
Nash didn't look at her right away. He was still staring at the screen, the blue light reflecting off his glasses. The room felt colder now, quieter.
"Clove," he said finally, his tone heavier than before. "This file... you didn't send it, did you?"
She blinked. "No, sir. My report was sent to the usual FAI database. Nothing above Level Three access."
"Then why," Nash said slowly, "is there a classified feed tagged Level Zero sitting on my screen right now, showing me him?"
Clove moved closer. Her eyes caught the image, grainy, low-resolution — a dark figure crouched on a rain-drenched rooftop, mask reflecting faint streetlight. NIGHT DEMON.
For the first time, a flicker of emotion crossed her face. "...Where did that come from?"
Nash's fingers flew across the keyboard. "Unknown origin. Encrypted with a military-grade cipher. And get this—" He stopped, turning the monitor toward her.
"The metadata says it was transmitted by a FAI satellite drone. Model A-90. But the drone was destroyed six months ago."
Clove's expression hardened. "That's impossible."
"Oh, I'm way past impossible, sweetheart," Nash muttered, leaning closer to the screen. "The message contained an attached report. Look at this."
He opened the document. Names and short notes appeared:
Subject: Lyra Gabrialo. Final year student. Connection: Zaviel Nocturne.Relationship confirmed. Recommendation: Observation pending.Secondary file: Zaviel Nocturne — marked HOLD by MASTER.
Clove's breath hitched. "Master…?"
"Yeah." Nash leaned back, rubbing his jaw. "Whoever this 'Master' is, they've got deeper access than we do. And I don't like that one damn bit."
He stood, pacing. "Tell me, Clove. What do you know about this Night Demon? You saw him up close in your last report."
Clove hesitated. "He's not ordinary, sir. The way he moves... it's almost inhuman. And his eyes..." she paused, choosing her words carefully "I've never seen anything like them. One gold, one violet. Like they're... alive.....different from all heterochromia suspects I investigated, including this Zaviel"
Nash tapped his pen against the desk, thinking. "And the girl? Lyra? Any info on her?"
"Lyra hmm....." Clove placed her hands on her face. "She's the girlfriend of Zaviel, the boy I tagged as "to be watched. He is related to the night demon in a way or two.
Nash's face instantly stiffened "Place her under watch!"
"Why sir?"
Nash turned round, gently tapping the table with his fingers "It may seem there isn't just one demon!"