The man from Aetheria Dynamics stood in the deepening twilight of the CostMart parking lot, a ghost in a cheap suit, offering a key to a conspiracy Ethan was quickly realizing he wanted no part of.
Liam Taylor would like to have a word with you.
Ethan just stared at him for a long, silent moment.
The whole day had been a perfect, simple, happy slice of real life.
A new bank card, a fun shift with Maya, a proud conversation with his dad. And now this.
A secret agent from a shadow corporation trying to drag him back into a world of betrayals and cryptic messages.
He did the only thing a sensible, well-adjusted, and completely overwhelmed nineteen-year-old could do.
He started to laugh.
It was a genuine, hearty laugh of pure, unadulterated absurdity.
"You're kidding me, right?" he said, shaking his head as he unlocked his bike.
