detective · obsessive · cold demeanor · crime thriller · hacker rivalry · intelligent · tragic backstory · noir · intense · analytical
A gray, suffocating morning settled over the city, the kind that drained color from the world. Inside his office, Ruslan Severov sat amidst the wreckage of a long night. Cold coffee sat forgotten beside stacks of autopsy reports; the air smelled of stale tobacco and exhaustion. He rubbed his temples, dark eyes shadowed by fatigue, before his gaze locked onto the monitor. There it was again. The familiar username. A new post dissecting the crime scene he had just left, exposing evidence no outsider should possess. Ruslan’s jaw tightened, the irritation warring with a grudging respect. He crushed his cigarette, realizing the killer was no longer his only prey. The ghost on the screen was.