Zara sprinted into her apartment, shutting the door behind her and locking it twice. The city outside buzzed with life, oblivious to the storm that was about to land on her doorstep. She fumbled with her laptop, her hands shaking as she slid the metallic flash drive into the USB port.
The screen blinked once, twice, then erupted in lines of glitching code. Symbols danced across the screen like a secret language she couldn't read. Her eyes widened. Her expectations of files or schematics were nothing compared to this.
A circular logo appeared, red and pulsing like a heartbeat: CIPHER CLAN.
"What… what is this?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
Before she could react further, her laptop fan roared violently, as if it were alive, pushing her back from the desk. Then the screen went black.
Her phone buzzed sharply, cutting through the panic. An unknown number flashed across her screen. She hesitated before answering, but the text appeared without delay:
RETURN THE DRIVE. YOU HAVE 24 HOURS.
Her stomach dropped. She pressed the phone closer to her chest, staring at the message as if it might dissolve the fear that crawled up her spine. Then another message came:
WE KNOW WHERE YOU ARE.
Zara's mind raced. Who were these people? And why were they threatening her?
The apartment felt smaller, suffocating, as if the walls themselves were pressing in. She paced, trying to make sense of the chaos she had accidentally stepped into. That's when she realized—the only person who could possibly know anything about this was Adrian Voss. The man she despised, whose arrogance made her blood boil.
Her fingers shook as she grabbed her coat. She had no plan, only a desperate hope that going back to him would somehow keep her alive.
As she reached the window, movement caught her eye. A shadow flickered across the alley below. Her heart raced. Someone was outside. Watching. Waiting.
Zara swallowed her fear and slipped out the front door, keeping low, hugging the walls. She didn't know if it was luck or fate, but the city streets were crowded enough to hide her for now. Her destination was clear: Adrian Voss and the answers she needed.
Every step she took felt heavier than the last. The drive burned in her pocket, its significance a dangerous weight. She was stepping into a war she didn't yet understand.