Chapter 3: Echoes of the Past: The Midnight Phantom Strikes

The Neo-Chicago Police Department buzzed with an energy Jack Thorne hadn't felt in years. Holographic displays flickered with timelines and data streams, while officers huddled around floating 3D crime scene reconstructions. At the center of it all stood Kate Rivera, her augmented eyes darting from one readout to another.

"Impressive, isn't it?" a gravelly voice said from behind Jack.

He turned to see Captain Rodriguez, looking as worn and world-weary as ever, despite the rejuvenation treatments that kept most of the force looking decades younger than their actual age.

"If by 'impressive' you mean 'completely insane,' then yeah, sure," Jack muttered.

Rodriguez chuckled. "I knew you'd love it. That's why I paired you with Rivera. You could use a little future shock, Thorne."

Before Jack could retort, Kate's voice cut through the chaos. "We've got another one!"

The room fell silent as a new hologram materialized in the center of the bullpen. It showed another crime scene, this one in the historic Old Town district. The victim lay sprawled across the cobblestones, surrounded by the same eerie sphere of suspended time they'd seen in the Apex Tower.

"That's impossible," Dr. Reeves breathed, stepping closer to the projection. "The energy required to create even one of these fields... to create two in such a short time span..."

"Looks like our killer's been busy," Jack said grimly.

Kate nodded, her fingers dancing through the air as she manipulated the hologram. "The victim is Thomas Langley, 63. He was a historian, specializing in mid-21st century Chicago."

"Any connection to our first victim?" Jack asked.

"None that I can find yet," Kate replied. "But look at this."

She zoomed in on an object suspended in the time-frozen sphere — an old-fashioned paper note. The words scrawled across it sent a chill down Jack's spine:

"THE PAST IS PROLOGUE. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN. — THE MIDNIGHT PHANTOM"

"Great," Jack growled. "Our killer's got a flair for the dramatic."

"It's more than that," Kate said, her voice tense. "This note... it's not just suspended in the field. According to our scans, the paper itself is over 70 years old."

A murmur ran through the assembled officers. Jack felt a headache coming on. "So what, our killer's not just jumping through space, but time too?"

"It's a possibility we have to consider," Dr. Reeves interjected. "If someone has found a way to manipulate temporal fields to this degree, limited time travel might not be outside the realm of possibility."

Jack ran a hand through his graying hair. "And here I thought retirement was going to be my biggest problem this year."

Kate shot him a look that was part amusement, part determination. "No time for retirement, Detective Thorne. We've got a time-traveling serial killer to catch."

As the room erupted into action around them, Jack couldn't shake the feeling that he was standing on the edge of something monumental. The world he knew was changing, faster than he could keep up.

"Alright, Rivera," he said, squaring his shoulders. "Where do we start?"

Kate's eyes gleamed with the thrill of the chase. "We start by digging into the past. Both victims have connections to Chicago's history. That can't be a coincidence."

As they headed out, neither detective noticed the shadowy figure watching from a darkened corner of the precinct. The observer's form seemed to flicker and distort, as if not fully present in this time and place. A slow, satisfied smile spread across their face.

The game was indeed afoot, and the Midnight Phantom was just getting started.