Chapter Two: The Woman Missing from the Recording

After the call ended, her number was absent from his call history. At 10:50, Lin reached the archive. Green construction mesh covered the building. Lamps illuminated one side of the rear alley; the other was dark. Remembering Xu’s warning, he chose darkness. A gray car without license plates stopped on the lit side. Two people in black coats emerged, their movements as identical as duplicated footage. They did not search. They walked directly toward the corner Lin would most likely have used. Lacuna labeled them: [Correctors. Carrying memory-overwrite equipment.] One of them abruptly turned and stared straight at Lin’s hiding place. “The target deviated from the predicted route,” he said. “Que is assisting him.”