Date: September 1, 2012Location: Nova Tech Headquarters – Security Operations Center, Salt Lake Sector-V, KolkataTime: 5:30 AM IST
Rain-slicked palms brushed against the neon glow of console screens in the subterranean Security Operations Center. Behind tempered glass, rows of analysts peered at cascading logs and live network graphs. The overnight storm had passed, but its echoes remained—satellite relays in Dhubri still reported intermittent connectivity, and one curious stream of transactions drifted like a phantom through the blockchain ledger.
A flicker on the central dashboard drew Arnav Basu from his slumbering cup of coffee. "Priya," he called over the rumble of cooling fans, "look at Node 7's audit feed."
Priya Menon leaned in, brows furrowing. "Node 7? That's our Lagos pilot. It was stable at 99.8% uptime—until 3:12 this morning. Now I'm seeing reversed entries: funds marked 'disbursed' are showing back as 'pending.'"
A murmur rose among the analysts. Rajat Kapoor strode over, fingers tapping his tablet. "That shouldn't be possible without a block reorganization. Check the timestamp—see if it matches any maintenance window."
Priya's eyes darted through the logs. "No maintenance. And those entries bounced through at least four proxy hops—Geneva, Zurich, then two Solaris tunnels. Viktor's signature routes."
Arnav's jaw clenched. "Protocol Orion," he muttered. "I warned him." He spun in his chair and raised his voice. "Initiate deep-packet inspection on all cross-continental links! Lock down the smart contracts—freeze any ledger modifications until we can audit line by line."
Analysts spread across terminals in a coordinated flurry. Lines of code scrolled, firewall rules snapped into place, and the hum of generators kicked in as power surged to backup clusters.
At the edge of the room, Ishita Roy closed her tablet. "I'll draft the forensic notices for the board. And… should we loop in Katherine?"
Arnav nodded. "Yes. We need her political cover. Patch her through on the secure channel." He tapped a headset. "Katherine, are you available?"
Location: Blackwood Manor – East Wing BalconyTime: 6:10 PM CEST
Dusk draped the Alpines in violet shadows as Katherine Naskar stepped onto the manor's east balcony, phone pressed to her ear. Raincoats lay draped over marble balustrades, evidence of an earlier shower.
"Arnav, what's happening?" she asked, voice hushed against the wind.
He answered with clipped urgency. "Lagos pilot's ledger was tampered. Reversed entries flagged. It passed through Blackwood proxies."
Her heart tightened. "You mean Viktor—he's behind this?"
"Protocol Orion is active. We're in lockdown mode. But we can't call it sabotage—yet. We need a clean audit trail."
Katherine scanned the manicured courtyard below, its statues dripping with rain. "I'll speak to him tonight. He's in the War Room."
Location: Nova Tech Headquarters – War Room, 12th FloorTime: 6:00 AM IST
A low, urgent briefing had drawn the Executive Committee at dawn. Monitors displayed world maps dotted with blinking alerts: Lagos, Bern, Dhubri. Aritra Naskar stood at the head, trench coat replaced by a simple white shirt, sleeves rolled up. His expression was grim.
"Katherine's on standby," he told his team. "Once we confirm code provenance, we'll move to public disclosure. Transparency is our defense."
Felix Reinhardt—one of the Blackwood directors—leaned forward from his seat. "We can't accuse without proof. If this leaks prematurely, we risk diplomatic fallout in Nigeria."
"Katherine will gather confirmation from Bern." Aritra tapped a remote. "For now, we isolate and contain. Arnav?"
"Containment in progress," Arnav replied. "We've frozen the suspect entries, and backups are running."
"Good." Aritra turned to Priya. "Notify the Lagos task force—swarm me a status in twenty minutes. And keep the local press on standby: we'll need them when the audit concludes."
Priya's nod was crisp. "Understood."
Location: Blackwood Manor – War RoomTime: 7:45 PM CEST
Katherine entered the suite where Nathaniel Blackwood and Viktor Lehmans waited amid polished oaks and flickering screens. Viktor's dark suit contrasted with the crimson war map displayed behind him—global nodes marked in glowing red and amber.
"Father," Katherine began, voice echoing on marble floors. "We've got evidence of ledger tampering in Lagos. Node 7's entries were reversed—fund allocations undone."
Nathaniel folded his hands. "We're aware. Viktor told me it was a test—a resilience probe."
She stepped forward, eyes blazing. "A test? They're live disbursements—food programs, infrastructure grants. You're messing with people's livelihoods."
Viktor's expression remained unreadable. "Resilience requires adversity. We needed to see how quickly Nova Tech could respond under attack."
Katherine's lip curled. "By breaking your wife's company? That's cowardice masquerading as strategy." She advanced. "You promised no clandestine operations. Now you've broken the Naskar Accord."
Nathaniel's voice was sudden, cold. "You overestimate your moral high ground. In power's crucible, weakness is fatal."
She stepped between them. "I'm done being your pawn. If you end Protocol Orion now, I'll believe in this 'partnership.' If not… I'll have no choice but to expose everything."
Silence rippled, heavy as storm-laden clouds. Viktor studied her, then inclined his head. "We'll stand down—temporarily. But know this: you cannot curb destiny with idealism."
Katherine's gaze didn't waver. "Then destiny will meet scrutiny." She turned on her heel and swept from the room.
Location: Nova Tech Headquarters – War RoomTime: 8:20 AM IST
Katherine dropped into the videoconference booth, rain still speckling the glass. On the other side, Aritra's face appeared, eyes red-rimmed with exhaustion. She called up the forensic logs—IP traces, proxy hops, signature hashes.
Aritra exhaled. "This is enough to prove Orion's role. I'll convene the Transparency Council under emergency clause—full public disclosure."
She nodded. "I've just extracted a commitment from Viktor: stand-down order, pending review. But he warned me—this won't end our conflict."
Aritra's lips twisted in a wry smile. "Then we fight in sunlight, not shadows."
He stared at her, admiration shining through weariness. "Your courage keeps me honest."
Her eyes softened. "And your vision keeps us relentless."
They shared a moment—roles as CEO and board partner dissolved into something steadier than any protocol.