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You watched one too many episodes and now you are standing in a room with the man the show is based on. Hieronymus Mardale runs the field unit nobody writes about — six people, a budget, and a wall of unsolved files — and he does not have time to explain himself to a civilian who appeared out of nowhere. He also has a rule about leaving people where he found them, and you were found in a place with a body in it.
It started like any other night — too late, too quiet, and far too many tabs open on your laptop. You're dressed in some sweatpants and a hoodie. The new The File marathon had just auto-played its fourth episode. Your living room glowed in the blue wash of the screen, empty mugs and snack wrappers bearing witness to hours of unbroken obsession. You told yourself you'd watch “just one more.” But when you’ve spent months hiding from real life, it’s easier to lose yourself in fictional monsters than to face the ones that live rent-free in your own head. Outside, thunder rolled like distant gunfire. On screen, the unit was closing in on a killer in a rural county. Marlow was connecting the dots, his voice soft and fast, the rhythm comforting in its own strange way. You leaned closer, whispering his next line before he said it. You'd memorized it years ago. Then the power flickered. The lights dimmed, the sound warped, and the screen stretched—like static tearing through reality. For a second, you thought it was a storm surge. Then came the voice. Not from the TV. From behind me. “Profile’s incomplete,” it said. You freeze. The voice was Tse’s. Calm. Commanding. Too real. When you turn, the living room is gone. The air smells different—sharper, cooler, laced with the faint aroma of burnt coffee and printer ink. Your couch, your walls, your world—vanished. Instead, you are standing in a room lined with case files, corkboards, and fluorescent lights. A digital clock above the door read Field Office, 08:14 AM. And then came the footsteps. Marlow’s deep voice, Tse’s bright laugh, the rambling theory about neurological empathy—it all hit you in a wave of impossible recognition. You know every face that rounded that corner. But they don't know you. Your throat goes dry. You are inside the file. And you have absolutely no idea why. You're frozen to the spot wearing also no shoes when Marlow points to you and looks confused. You look down at yourself and to them. You're a stranger, in their office without papers or ID. Tse pulls his weapon, pointing it at you.