Black Market District - The Sunken Garden - 5:51 AM
The dealer who called himself "Merchant" sat in a booth at the back of the underground bar, counting money.
Real paper money, not digital credits. The kind of currency that left no traces.
Across from him, a woman in a hood waited silently.
"Information like this doesn't come cheap," Merchant said, not looking up from his counting. "You understand that, yes?"
"I understand." The woman's voice was flat. "You have the Damascus files?"
"Fragments. About 40% of the complete Protocol." Merchant finally looked up, revealing a face covered in burn scars. "Enough to identify active seed recipients. Enough to know their weaknesses. Not enough to know where the full archive is stored."
"Who's selling?"
"That's the interesting part." Merchant smiled, showing gold teeth. "I don't know."
The woman leaned forward. "You're the best information broker in Seoul. You expect me to believe—"
