ARC Operations, underground level two.Cold white lights filled the conference room.
On the screen, Jeff's location marker glowed green.
The operations lead set his pen down on the table, expression steady as ever.
"The procedure is now in an executable state.""Recovery hasn't taken over.""For now, we're only handling scheduling and resource allocation."
The research representative flipped through her report without looking up.
"My assessment remains continued observation.""Operations may prepare, but execution cannot be advanced."
She paused.
"These two judgments do not conflict."
No rebuttal. No debate.
Only the faint sound of paper shifting echoed through the room.
When the meeting ended, the green dot on the screen hadn't moved.
But a new line had appeared beside it.
Procedure status: Executable.
—
Jeff stood on the apartment balcony.
The air felt heavy, as if the entire space had been pressed downward.
His eyes stared forward without focus, pupils dull, his gaze landing nowhere.
The discomfort hadn't eased.
He knew that if he stayed, the sensation would only deepen.
He turned back into the living room and picked up his jacket.
As he put it on, his movements were slower than usual.
He hadn't decided where to go.
When the door closed, Patch was already at his feet.
Following close behind.
—
By the riverbank, afternoon sunlight slanted across the water, breaking into scattered reflections.
Jeff walked without direction,as if simply continuing forward might reveal the next path.
Turning into a narrow alley, he saw the woman.
A small wooden table. Dark red velvet.The cards stacked neatly, none out of alignment.
She looked up at him.
The look felt like confirmation — that some condition had already been met.
Jeff had intended to walk past.
His steps slowed, stopping two paces from the table.
Neither of them spoke.
The woman flipped the top card.
A falling tower. Lightning striking down. Figures tumbling from above.
She spoke quietly.
"Not going there would be worse."
Her voice was soft.
Jeff didn't ask where she meant.
Yet that "there" settled into his mind like a marked coordinate.
She turned over another card.
Blank.
Nothing on its surface.
She looked at it, her brow shifting slightly, then said,
"Italy."
Jeff didn't respond.
He turned and walked away.His pace didn't quicken, but it didn't hesitate either.
—
At dusk, Emilia waited for him downstairs.
She spread a map across the car roof.
The two of them looked down at it together.
Lines intersected. Distances between cities flattened into thin stretches.
Their fingers paused in the same direction.
—
ARC Operations. Location feed updated.
On the screen, the green dot began to move.
The operations lead glanced at it and slid a resource allocation sheet to the center of the table.
"Continue preparation.""No execution for now."
The Black Book turned to a new page.
Location status: Gray ZoneProcedure status: Executable, not initiatedNotes: Recovery division not yet involved
On the screen, the trajectory line slowly extended.
All systems were synchronized.
Waiting for the next instruction to be formally issued.