The lotion bottle sat innocently on Agent Sarah Miller’s desk, its pearly white surface gleaming under the dim office lights. She picked it up, examining the label with narrowed eyes.

“Strange,” she muttered, unscrewing the cap. “I don’t remember ordering this.”

The scent hit her first - not the expected floral fragrance, but something sharply saline. Her fingers tingled where they touched the cream.

“Careful with that,” came a silky voice from her doorway. Marcus Chen, her new colleague, leaned against the frame with an unreadable expression. “Some things aren’t what they seem.”

Sarah’s heart quickened. After fifteen years in counterintelligence, she’d learned to trust her instincts. Something was wrong.

“Speaking from experience, Marcus?” She kept her tone light, casual, even as her mind raced. The lotion had arrived the same day as Marcus’s transfer. Coincidence?

He smiled, all teeth. “Let’s just say I’ve seen what happens when people get… careless.”

The tingling in her fingers intensified to burning. Sarah fought to keep her expression neutral as panic bloomed in her chest. The cream was already absorbing into her skin.

“You know,” she said, forcing herself to meet his gaze, “it’s funny you should mention that. Because I’ve been meaning to ask about your credentials.”

Marcus’s smile didn’t waver, but something cold flickered in his eyes. “Oh?”

“Yes. You see, I made some calls. The Beijing office has never heard of you.”

The temperature in the room seemed to drop. Sarah’s vision began to blur at the edges.

“How unfortunate,” Marcus purred, stepping into her office. “I had hoped we could work together longer. You’re quite good at your job, Sarah. Too good, perhaps.”

She tried to stand but her legs wouldn’t cooperate. “The lotion… what did you…”

“A lovely little compound. Absorbed through the skin, virtually untraceable. You’ll simply appear to have had a heart attack. Stress of the job, they’ll say.”

Sarah’s legs gave out. As darkness crept into her vision, she pressed the emergency button under her desk - the one Marcus didn’t know about.

“You really should have been more careful,” he said, watching her collapse.

She smiled through numb lips. “So should you.”

The last thing Sarah saw before consciousness fled was Marcus’s expression changing from triumph to confusion as armed agents burst through her office door.

In the following investigation, they never found Marcus’s body. But sometimes, on quiet nights, Sarah swears she can still smell that sharp, saline scent - and her fingers begin to tingle.