Rain tapped at the pavement.
The feet behind Sam stopped.
They stood in silence for three seconds.
The stranger was the first to speak.
“…You’ve known I was following you.”
“I did.”
“Since when?”
“The library.”
The man smiled.
“I was more careful than that.”
“You were.”
Sam took another sip of his coffee.
“You weren’t trying to hide.”
“…I was waiting for you to notice.”
The stranger’s smile vanished.
“Interesting.”
He stepped out of the alley into the street.
Mid-forties, gave or took a few years.
Black coat, black gloves.
Clean-shaven.
His face was nothing special, nothing that would linger in your memory after the first glance.
Except his eyes.
They didn’t blink.
“My name is Elias.”
“I didn’t ask.”
“I know.”
A gust of wind blew past them.
Cars drove by, people walked past their door on their way home from work.
No one took any notice of the two men standing in the street.
London had a certain talent for that.
“I have an offer.”
“I’m not interested.”
“I haven’t told you what it is yet.”
“I know.”
Elias chuckled.
“I was told you were difficult.”
“You were told correctly.”
For the first time, his expression softened, almost amused.
“You know why I’m here.”
“No.”
“But I know why you think you’re here.”
Silence.
That answer surprised him.
“You believe you’re observing me.”
Sam adjusted his glasses.
“In reality…”
“I’m observing you.”
Elias’ fingers curled into fists inside his gloves.
For the first time in years…
Someone had taken control of the conversation.
“Tell me something.”
Sam continued.
“How many people were watching me today?”
The question was innocent enough.
Elias answered without thinking.
“…Three.”
The moment the word left his mouth, he realized his mistake.
Sam smiled.
“Thank you.”
“You…”
“You never knew.”
Sam turned to leave.
Elias frowned.
“What?”
“I never asked whether anyone was watching me.”
“I asked how many.”
“You answered as though you’d already accepted the first part.”
“…I did.”
“You confirmed it yourself.”
The rain suddenly seemed colder.
Elias watched Sam’s back as he walked away.
He trapped me…
With one question, one careless remark.
That was all it took.
“You planned that.”
Sam stopped walking.
“No.”
“I noticed you were eager to prove something.”
“You proved it for me.”
Elias laughed softly.
“So that’s your talent.”
“No.”
“It’s yours.”
Without turning around, Sam asked,
“Do you know why Holloway gave us that classroom test today?”
Elias frowned.
“…No.”
“Neither do I.”
“And that bothers me.”
That was the most surprising thing of all.
“So there are things you don’t know.”
“Of course.”
“I simply dislike remaining ignorant.”
Sam continued walking.
“I have one question.”
Elias waited.
“Who told you to find me?”
Silence.
“I’m afraid I can’t answer that.”
“I know.”
“Then why ask?”
“To see whether you’d lie.”
“…And?”
“You didn’t.”
Sam nodded once.
“Good.”
As they neared the end of the street, Big Ben began to chime.
Six times.
A flock of birds suddenly took flight from one of the nearby buildings.
Elias looked up at them, Sam did not.
“You never look up.”
Elias watched them go.
“I do.”
“When?”
“When there’s a reason.”
“…There are birds.”
“They’re irrelevant.”
Elias smiled.
“No.”
“They’re frightened.”
Sam finally stopped walking.
The birds weren’t flying away from something.
They were flying from something.
He slowly looked up at the sky.
There was nothing there.
Just the occasional gray cloud, the rain, and the silence.
“…Interesting.”
For the first time that evening, something had happened…
That Sam hadn’t expected.
Elias noticed.
“So…”
“You can be surprised.”
Sam said nothing for a long time.
Then he spoke softly.
“…This city changed.”
“What do you mean?”
“Someone moved the pattern.”
Before Elias could ask him to clarify, a black car turned the corner at the end of the street.
It did not slow down, it did not stop.
As it drove past them, a folded white envelope landed neatly at Sam’s feet.
The car disappeared around the corner.
Neither man moved.
Sam picked up the envelope.
There was no address, no return, just a small symbol drawn on the paper.
A perfect circle, with seven fine lines crossing through the middle.
Elias’ face darkened.
“…Impossible.”
“You know this symbol?”
“No…”
He whispered.
“I know it isn’t supposed to exist.”
Sam studied it for another second before folding the envelope and slipping it into his pocket.
“You aren’t going to read it?”
“Not here.”
“Why?”
Sam glanced at the busy street.
“Because…”
“If someone wanted me to read it right now…”
“They wouldn’t have given it to me in public.”
A small smile formed on his lips.
“They want to know whether I’m patient.”
He tucked the envelope into his coat.
“…Let’s not disappoint them.”
As Sam walked away into the rain, Elias remained where he was.
For the first time in twenty-three years, he wasn’t thinking about his mission.
He was thinking about one horrifying possibility.
What if they had been watching the wrong man all along?
End of Chapter 5
TO BE CONTINUED…