Page 25 of Rogue Hope
Preparation for something bigger.
He lunged up, heading for her station. “We should cut power to your terminal too. Hard disconnect everything.”
She threw a hand up to stop him. “Can’t. Not yet.” She was three steps ahead, implementing a specialized defense framework she’d designed for exactly this scenario. “If we disconnect now, they’ll know exactly what security measures we have in place. I need to feed them garbage first. They need to think they got something solid.”
Heart hammering against her ribs, she built and deployed a false system architecture—a sophisticated shell program that would present Vanguard’s intrusion team with plausible but entirely fictional security sequences. The pressure behind her eyes intensified with each passing second, the screen’s blue light burning into her retinas as she raced against an unseen opponent.
“There,” she breathed finally, executing the final command sequence. “Deception package deployed. Now I can disconnect.”
Finn reached past her and hit the emergency cutoff switch before she could protest, plunging her workstation into darkness. The abrupt silence of cooling fans and the absence of the screens’ glow left momentary disorientation in its wake.
“That was too close,” he said quietly in the dimness.
“No kidding.” Her hands trembled slightly with the aftermath of adrenaline as she leaned back in her chair. “They weren’t just watching us. They were waiting for us to initiate a trace.”
“Trap was set before we even started.” The grudging respect in his voice was unmistakable. “They anticipated our moves.”
“Because someone told them what to expect.” She couldn’t keep the accusation from her tone as she swiveled to face him in the dim emergency lighting. “Someone who knows exactly how I operate.”
His expression hardened. “Don’t even go there.”
“You’re the common denominator,” she pressed, the fear of the near breach fueling her suspicion. “You worked with Cipher. You know my methods. You conveniently appeared right before these threats escalated.”
“If I were working with Cipher,” Finn said with dangerous quietness, “I wouldn’t have immediately disconnected my system when you identified the counter-intrusion. I would have let you lead them straight to our network core.”
The logic was sound, which only intensified her frustration. “Then how did they anticipate our exact approach?”
“Because Cipher has been studying you,” Finn said simply. “Just like he’s been studying me. Just like he studies everyone he considers either an asset or a threat. This isn’t about me betraying you—it’s about him being ten steps ahead of both of us.”
She turned away, unwilling to concede the point directly but unable to dismiss it entirely.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket, breaking the tense silence. She extracted it cautiously, half-expecting another message from Cipher. Instead, she found a group text from the team.
Deke: Surveillance countermeasures fully deployed. No physical approach detected within 500m perimeter.
Kenji: Current office pool: 3-1 odds Z&F make it through prep phase without one murdering the other. Any takers?
Griffin: Put me down for $50 on mutual tolerance. Barely.
Ronan: Focus, people.
Despite herself,the corner of her mouth twitched upward.
A second text arrived, this one personal, from Izzy.
Heard you’ve got a blast from the past situation happening. Scale of 1-10, how badly do you need me to cut vacation short and come referee? I’ve got my “grown-ups behave” whistle packed just in case. xo
The unexpected message released some of the pressure that had been building behind her ribs. Even from a California beach, Izzy’s unfailing support remained a constant.
When Zara looked up from her phone, she found Finn watching her, his expression unreadable.
“We need to change tactics,” she said, deliberately steering away from personal accusations. “They’re expecting a direct response, so we give them something else.”
“Passive monitoring instead of active pursuit. Set digital tripwires rather than chase their signal.”
“Exactly.” She reached for the system restart switch, her mind already mapping out the revised approach. “Let them think they’ve scared us off. Meanwhile, we prepare a different kind of welcome for next time.”
As the systems hummed back to life around them, she felt the weight of more than just the immediate technical challenge. Her medication schedule had been disrupted by the emergency meeting and subsequent cyber battle. The persistent body aches warned of consequences she’d have to manage later, away from observant eyes.
