Elias didn't hesitate. He slipped out of his car, keeping low, his boots splashing quietly in the puddles. He needed to get close enough to clone the transmitter signal from the suspect's pocket.
Before Elias could process the sight, the mask emitted a blinding flash of strobe light. He stumbled back, shielding his eyes as a high-pitched frequency tore through the air, scrambling his scanner and sending a piercing ache through his skull. s070_041_lg.jpg
By the time Elias blinked away the white spots and regained his footing, the street was empty. The black sedan was gone, leaving nothing behind but tire tracks filling with rainwater and the smell of ozone. Elias didn't hesitate
It was the only physical evidence left behind from the digital heist that had crippled the city's power grid. Before Elias could process the sight, the mask
The face staring back at him was not a person at all. It was a smooth, featureless ceramic mask, painted with the exact same glitched, neon-streaked patterns from the photograph.
Right on cue, the heavy iron doors of the warehouse groaned open. A figure stepped out into the downpour, wrapped in a dark, high-collared trench coat. The figure didn't look left or right, but walked with absolute purpose toward a black sedan waiting at the curb.