Silence, the fourth-level estimator at the bottom of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, has been working for four years.
He correctly identified a Class C asset as Class S - and was fired on the spot for a "gross miscarriage of justice".
The moment he walked out of the building, his eyes changed.
In the C-class warehouse lay A-class, the B-class file was marked S-class, and the contents of the destroyed records were... Still alive, in his pocket.
The system says everything is under control. What he saw was that every downgraded asset was a bomb with a countdown.
But every time he sees the truth clearly, his existence becomes diluted.
Colleagues began to forget his name. He was nowhere to be seen on surveillance. The photo on file became blank.
When all the time bombs are counting down at the same time, who else can value a disappearing person?
