A Ghost With No Name- Bl- Officer and Thief

Chapter Thirty- The Weight of a Name

Zev.

Elias had said it once, just to see. Just to test. And in that moment, Zev had looked at him like the ground beneath his feet had shifted.

Like no one had spoken his name in a way that meant something in a long, long time.

Elias clenched his jaw, his grip tightening around the steering wheel as he drove toward the precinct. His routine had changed, yes, but his discipline hadn't. He wouldn't allow himself to get careless.

Still, as he parked and stepped out of his car, as he made his way into the station, something gnawed at him.

He had never been the kind of man who wanted something for himself. He had always been content with duty, with discipline, with the certainty of knowing his place.

But now, for the first time in his life, he wanted something.

And that something had sharp blue eyes, a cynical mouth, and a name Elias was finding harder and harder to forget.

---

The station was already alive with movement when Elias arrived. Phones ringing. Officers talking. The smell of burnt coffee lingering in the air. As he walked through, conversations quieted just slightly—subtle, but noticeable. He carried an authority that demanded respect, not just because of his rank but because he earned it.

He nodded to a few officers, his posture as rigid as ever. He liked the weight of responsibility. Liked having things to do, objectives to complete.

Today, however, he found himself staring at his desk longer than usual.

A case file sat open in front of him—one of the many unsolved crimes still hanging over the department. A string of robberies in the Lower West Side. They weren't violent, just precise. Wallets, watches, prescription medication. Small things. Taken by someone who knew exactly what they were doing.

Elias exhaled through his nose.

Zev.

He didn't have proof, but he didn't need it. He had seen how Zev moved—how he scanned crowds, how his fingers twitched just slightly before slipping into a pocket. He was good. Too good. If Elias hadn't been trained to notice the little things, he might not have caught it at all.

He should turn the file over. Let someone else deal with it.

But he didn't.

Instead, he closed it. Tucked it away.

"Commander," a voice called from across the room. "Captain wants you on the Phantom case."

Elias nodded once, already standing. His movements were automatic, practised. Routine. Duty. That was what mattered.

And yet—

As he made his way to the briefing room, his gaze flicked toward the windows. Toward the city beyond them.

Somewhere out there, Zev was probably in another alleyway, hands in his pockets, eyes sharp, watching for his next opportunity. Elias hated thinking about it. But he also couldn't stop.

Because Zev was alone.

And Elias didn't want him to be.

---

The meeting was a long one. The "Midnight Phantom" had escalated, leaving bodies behind now. The victims were always the same—people like Zev. People no one would miss.

New patterns were showing. He wasn't just stealing. Some of the bodies left behind weren't even robbed. This meant that they were dealing with a serial killer that wanted to kill.