Super Hero Rhapsody II: 1980

Portland’s late light slants through the blinds of the Oversight Commission office. Dust hangs over stacked case files, a dead coffee pot, and a city map pinned with red string.

Sally sits at the desk, boots planted, badge on her hip, when the front door slams wide.

A Hooded Ex-Villain rushes in, civilian coat half-buttoned, eyes wild. He throws a thick manila folder onto the desk so hard it skids near Sally’s hands.

The folder flops open. Inside are printed screens, a hand-drawn route map, and a time stamp from a remote server access point.

He takes one shaky step back, glancing at the window as sirens wail somewhere far off. Outside, a car door slams, then heavy boots hit the hallway floor.

Sally snatches the folder off the desk and yanks it against her hip as she moves. Her other hand catches the Hooded Ex-Villain by the coat and drives him toward the back hall in one hard shove.

The man stumbles through the office threshold, boots scraping the floor, and the side door swings open under the force of Sally's shoulder.

A sharp, wet crackle pops from the front hallway, and one page slips free of the folder, skittering under the desk before Sally can catch it.

He looks back once, pale under the hood, then keeps retreating toward the back exit as the hallway boots stop outside the office door.

Sally gets the hooded man through the back exit in one hard, clean burst, her shoulder first and her body guarding the opening behind him.

He clears the threshold, stumbling into the alley light, while the office door swings wider and the hallway noise presses closer from the front.

The loose page under the desk lies where it fell, half-shadowed, its corner just visible from the doorway like a warning Sally cannot ignore.

The back exit stands open behind them, the alley beyond waiting, while the front hall remains occupied and the decision to run or hold is no longer delayed.