Jordan dropped into the chair beside Adrian, exhaling like he'd been holding his breath since sunrise.
"Hey, guys."
Adrian glanced up from his tablet. "What's good, bro?"
"Presentation's in two days," Jordan said flatly.
Johnson groaned, dragging both palms down his face. "I just want it to come and go. That thing is depriving me of my sleep."
Zoey nodded. "I can relate."
Adrian leaned back. "You know, whatever happens there… we all have to root for each other."
"Oh, that's the plan," Nadia said softly. "Regardless of competition."
Jordan nodded. "Exactly."
Johnson shrugged. "It's going to be alright. Eventually."
Jordan's eyes shifted to Nadia. "Nadia."
She looked up. "Yeah?"
"Come with me."
---
They walked side by side down Echelon Dynamics' long glass corridor. Engineers and interns passed them in quiet blurs.
Jordan explained the project in precise, clipped sentences, already planning to send a full video breakdown later. Nadia countered with her own ideas, seamlessly merging her concepts into his framework.
Jordan slowed to a stop.
"That's… actually impressive."
Nadia smiled. "High praise from you."
"I've got something in mind," he added. "A twist. Maybe a show."
"A show?"
"It's a secret," he said, winking.
She laughed. "I'll be looking forward to it."
"Oh, you should."
---
Vivienne sat alone in her bedroom later that night, the city glowing faintly through floor‑to‑ceiling windows. She opened her laptop to review documents for the interns' presentation.
A hidden directory flashed open.
And vanished.
Her breath hitched.
She tried to replicate it.
Nothing.
Her fingers moved to the system logs.
Then she saw it.
A block of code that hadn't existed before.
A security patch far more advanced than anything her in‑house cybersecurity team used.
And embedded inside it—a digital signature.
Not a name.
A cipher‑tag.
RAVEN_0X7.
Her pulse thudded.
Jordan didn't just secure her laptop.
He rebuilt part of its architecture.
---
The next morning.
Jordan glanced up from his desk when a stranger walked past carrying a black equipment bag.
"Who's that?" Adrian muttered.
Sarah paused beside them. "Oh, that's Imran. Ms. Cross' top internal cybersecurity engineer."
Jordan stiffened.
"…Is there a reason for that?" he asked casually.
Sarah shrugged. "No idea."
Jordan turned back to his screen, jaw tight.
---
Vivienne folded her arms in her office as Imran examined her laptop.
"Been a while," she said.
"Oh, well. You called and I answered."
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I need you to check something."
"Worried about anything?"
"I'm not sure yet."
He reviewed the patch.
Went quiet.
"Is everything alright?"
"Ma'am… whoever did this didn't just block an attacker. They counter‑infiltrated them."
Her stomach dropped.
"This is military‑grade stuff. Whoever wrote this didn't learn it in school."
"Could one of my interns do this?"
Imran hesitated.
"No offense, ma'am… but whoever did this has done it before. In real, hostile environments."
The words sliced into her.
---
That afternoon.
"Sarah, send Jordan to my office."
"Yes, Ms. Cross."
Jordan walked in tense.
"Have a seat."
She slid files toward him.
"I want you to review these."
He did. Efficient. Perfect..
"Thank you again for fixing my laptop," she said lightly. "My cybersecurity lead said whoever patched it had a very… aggressive defense style."
Jordan's jaw tightened.
"That's just how I code."
"And where did you learn to code like that?"
"Online. Same place everyone else did."
A lie.
"You can leave now, Jordan."
---
That night.
She couldn't sleep.
His hands on the keyboard.
The speed.
The calm.
She opened his intern file again.
Too clean.
No references older than three years.
No social footprint.
She whispered, "Who were you before Echelon, Jordan Blackwood?"
---
2:17 a.m.
Unauthorized access attempt — blocked.
Counter‑intrusion executed.
Threat neutralized.
You're safe now.
Vivienne stared at the screen.
Protected.
Terrified.