Alex couldn't quite remember what had happened after Kai's final words. The only thing he could recall was the sharp pain that pierced through his head, followed by darkness swallowing his vision. Time had betrayed him somehow, leaving behind only blurry memories.
As he blinked and looked around, he realized he was between familiar walls—he was home. But something felt off, strangely foreign.
The gun… Yes, that was the last thing he remembered. It was lying on the cold bathroom floor—dangerous but now motionless. With weakened steps, he crawled toward the sink, ending his nausea with vomiting. Each tremor drained his body a little more, while his mind sank deeper into the void.
When he came to, he was in front of the mirror. He looked at his reflection—it was a mess.
"Damn it," he whispered, his voice hoarse. "How is this possible? I still remember every moment… but this can't be real. Maybe they were right when they called my father crazy. God, what is happening?"
Once Alex managed to pull himself together, he decided to call Jessy again. When he found his phone, he noticed several missed calls from the precinct and that the date was wrong. He dialed Jessy's number, and after a few attempts, someone finally answered.
"Hello, who is this?" Alex was stunned when he heard Jessy's voice. A wave of relief surged through him, followed immediately by a burst of excitement. The words tumbled out of his mouth uncontrollably.
"Jessy; A-h, damn it, I can finally hear your voice! We need to talk right now!"
But the voice on the other end wasn't as familiar and warm as he expected. Jessy's tone was unusually harsh and distant—almost threatening.
"Excuse me, do I know you?" The thick edge in her voice made Alex pause for a second.
"Jessy, cut it out. This isn't the time to play games! We need to meet at the precinct immediately!" Alex was losing his patience. Panic rose inside him as his voice grew louder, and his heart pounded faster.
"I don't know who you are, but you'd better not call this number again, you sick freak!" Jessy's last words came out with an icy sharpness. But Alex hung up before even hearing them fully and began to dress hurriedly. He had to get out—now.
As soon as he stepped outside, the world began to feel strange. The buildings, the cars, the people… everything looked oddly unfamiliar. The colors seemed faded, and the sounds muffled."How long have I been unconscious? When did I even get my car cleaned?"While trying to make sense of the questions swirling in his head, he was already on his way to the New York Police Department.
When he arrived at the precinct, Alex learned that Mark hadn't yet left the building. He went straight to Mark's office, and as soon as he entered, Mark ended his phone call abruptly and started talking.
"Where the hell have you been, you damn punk!"
He thought Mark had stopped calling him "punk" years ago. And more curiously, this man had been promoted to Regional Chief years back—so what was he doing here now?
"I'm right here. What's going on, Mark?"
Mark looked Alex over, sensing something was off about him."So, you solve a couple cases and now you're too cool to call me Chief, huh? I figured you would be the one explaining things to me. I'm not the one dealing with the feds."
"I don't understand you. We'll deal with that later. Have you seen Jessy? Do you know where she is?"
Mark's expression said it all—he could've sworn he had never even heard that name before.
"Jessy who?"
"My intern detective—who else could it be?"
Mark slammed his hand on the desk."An intern being assisted by another intern. Damn it, when did things get this sloppy? I'll deal with this, but first go talk to the feds waiting outside that door."
Alex was struggling to understand what was happening. Everything was blurry—as if he were inside a dream hiding beneath a thin layer of reality. Nothing around him made logical sense. When he looked toward the door, he felt a chilling aura coming from two federal agents standing in their official uniforms. Instinctively, he stood up and walked toward them. The agents, without answering any of his questions, silently led him to the interrogation room.
Before entering, he heard Mark shouting angrily on the phone at the end of the hallway. He couldn't catch the exact words, but he could've sworn he heard his name mentioned. The thought lodged itself in Alex's mind like a thorn. What was Mark playing at?
As the heavy door of the interrogation room shut behind him, the lights focused squarely on Alex. The silence made him feel like a criminal. He took a deep breath, but the knot in his chest only tightened.
"Look," he said, his voice tense and hoarse. "I don't know what's going on, but you can't judge me like this. I didn't do anything!"
But his words just hung in the air. The faces of the agents were like stone, their gazes piercing and interrogative. At that moment, Alex felt he had made a terrible mistake—they hadn't brought him here over some simple misunderstanding. A creeping sense of paranoia began to grow inside him, like a spreading shadow.
"They know about the murder on the street," he thought.But how could he explain that? How could he describe that man with white eyes?The images in his mind were becoming more distorted, and he could no longer tell what was real.
When the cold voice of the British-accented agent filled the room, Alex's scattered thoughts vanished. Suddenly, everything felt real again.
"Mr. Brown, you are here for attempting to leak classified government information."The agent's voice was sharp and commanding.
Alex frowned and immediately interrupted, still reeling from the chaos in his mind.
"What are you talking about?"
"Do not interrupt me, Mr. Brown! About three hours ago, we received intel about an unauthorized data transfer from the Washington servers. Along with that, we learned there was an armed confrontation between the suspect and security in the server room. The perpetrator escaped, but we were lucky enough to confirm he was injured. That allowed us to trace a biopsy trail. Which brings us to why you're here. Doesn't it seem strange to you that the DNA matched yours?"
"So you're saying I was in Washington three hours ago? This is insane!"Alex's voice trembled as he tried to cope with the absurd accusation that pushed the limits of his sanity.
The agent's anger was no longer hidden. The hard lines on his face became more defined with each word, as if even he was cornered by a situation he couldn't comprehend.
"We're hoping you can explain that, Mr. Brown!"His voice cracked through the room like a whip, each word pressing heavier on Alex.
As the agent continued pressing Alex, the door suddenly burst open, cutting off the interrogation. All eyes turned toward the stranger who entered—a grey-haired man in sunglasses. His presence commanded immediate attention. With quiet authority, he slowly popped a piece of candy into his mouth and walked up to the edge of the table.
"Well, well, look who we have here."His voice echoed with a sarcastic ease."Agent Carter, Agent Brad…" he said, then lowered his sunglasses slightly, looking directly at Alex with a small smile."And… my best student, Alex."
Seeing Kai, Alex suddenly believed all of this had to be real—and he started laughing uncontrollably until everyone in the room was staring at him.
"Go ahead, don't mind me. I just couldn't handle how fast everything is happening."
Agent Carter, whose long black hair partially covered her face, stepped forward and stood directly in front of Kai.
"You're not supposed to be here. This is a top-level classified investigation."
Kai lowered his sunglasses another notch, smiling slyly."So, Miss Carter graces us with her presence. But you know as well as I do, Carter—my clearance outranks yours in every state… hell, every continent. Now you're going to hand over the boy and end this investigation. Understood, sweetheart?"
Carter, hiding her anger, stepped back and began making a phone call. After about a minute, she returned and stood squarely in front of Kai.
"You're one of the men I hate the most, Marco. If you ever interfere with my department again, even the President won't be able to save you."
"Then I guess our next meeting will be at the White House. Let's go, Alex."
Kai opened the door and walked out. Alex followed behind him like a child, giving the agents one last look as he left. But the door didn't lead back to the precinct.
After walking through a dark corridor, Alex found himself standing beneath a sign that read:"Welcome to Washington, D.C."