Before he could think, the screen exploded into light. The familiar sight of the Silver Lake district shimmered into view—except the sun was setting in the wrong direction. And the traffic was… wrong. A pink stretch limo idled at an intersection. A garbage truck with a shark painted on the side. A police car that wasn't chasing anyone, just waiting.
Then the power went out.
The handling was perfect. Too perfect. He drifted through a corner at 180 mph, clipping a taxi by inches, and felt the controller vibrate in a pattern he'd never felt before: long-short-short-long. His phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number: Nice save. But the shortcut on Baker Street is faster.