Chapter 125
Hannah Zhao stared at her computer screen, the blue light reflecting off her glasses as she analyzed access logs to the Phoenix Grid’s secure database.
“I found it,” she said as Camille approached with coffee. “The leak in our team.”
Camille set down the cups, suddenly alert. “Show me.”
Hannah displayed a series of highlighted entries. “Someone’s been accessing our secure servers between 2:00 and 3:00 AM three times weekly. Always the same nights, always looking at Grid specifications, safety protocols, activation sequences.”
“Do you know who?” Camille asked, leaning closer,
Hannah nodded grimly. “I installed a silent tracker last week.” She opened another window showing screenshots. “It’s Walsh.”
“The maintenance technician who installed the modified circuits?” Camille’s eyes narrowed.
“The same. We were watching his physical access, but overlooked his digital footprint.” Hannah pulled up financial records. “He’s still receiving payments from an offshore account.”
“Rose,” Camille said, the name like a curse.
“I’ve prepared termination paperwork,” Hannah continued. “Security can escort him out today.”
Camille didn’t respond immediately, her expression shifting from anger to calculation.
“Don’t fire him,” she said finally.
“What?” Hannah looked up, startled. “But he’s leaking critical information!”
“Exactly. And now that we know, we can control what information he leaks.” Camille straightened. “We’ve been on the defensive with Rose and Herod for too long. It’s time we took control.”
“You want to feed him false information?”
“Not just false, misleading. Information that serves our purposes.” Camille pulled up a chair. “What if Walsh received access to files suggesting vulnerability in the Grid’s west junction? Nothing that would actually endanger the system, but enough to make Rose and Herod think they’ve found a weakness.”
Understanding dawned in Hannah’s eyes. “We create a trap, and they walk right into it.”
“Better yet, when they act on this information, we’ll know exactly where they’ll be and what they’ll be targeting.”
“We can track them,” Hannah said, fingers already moving across her keyboard. “I can create dummy files with embedded trackers. When they’re opened on another system, we’ll know the location.”
“How soon can you set it up?”
“By tonight,” Hannah promised. “I’ll create a special portal that looks identical to our regular system but contains only the files we want Walsh to find.”
“Don’t tell anyone else yet. Not even Alexander,” Camille instructed. “We need to brief Victoria first.”
Victoria listened silently as Camille and Hannah explained their discovery and proposed response, her fingers steepled
beneath her chin.
“Instead of eliminating the threat,” Victoria said finally, “you want to manipulate it. Use their own weapon against them.”
“Yes,” Camille confirmed. “Walsh is more valuable to us as an unwitting double agent than as a fired employee.”
Victoria’s lips curved slightly. “And the risk? If he discovers your trap, or if the information he passes causes unexpected problems?”
“We’ll control every bit of data he sees,” Hannah explained. “The files will appear genuine to anyone who doesn’t know our actual systems intimately.”
Victoria rose, moving to the window where the Phoenix Grid control center was visible in the distance.
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