LOGINHarlan Voss disappears into the empty corridor, the heavy fire door clicking shut behind him.My feet itch to follow. That instinct—the rabbit wanting to see the wolf’s teeth up close—is pulling at me. But then I look back at the stage. Alex is smiling, waving to the applause.If I follow Harlan, I’m walking into a trap without backup. If I tell Alex now, I ruin his panel and give Harlan the satisfaction of seeing us panic."Do not engage," Echo’s voice whispers in my ear. "The predator waits for the straggler. Stay in the herd."I take a deep breath, gripping my purse strap until my knuckles turn white. "Okay," I whisper. "Stay in the herd."I turn away from the exit and dive back into the sea of hoodies and blazers.The conference floor is a sensory nightmare of buzzing drones, flashing LED displays, and the drone of a thousand elevator pitches. I grab a flute of cheap champagne from a passing waiter and down half of it in one gulp.I need to burn off this adrenaline. The AR orgy le
San Francisco smells like sea salt, sourdough, and ungodly amounts of money.We’re staying in a suite that costs more per night than my rent for three months. It has floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Bay Bridge, a minibar stocked with artisanal water, and a creeping sense of doom that no amount of luxury thread count can mask.Alex is pacing the living area, rehearsing his talking points for the "Ethics in AI" panel he’s speaking on in an hour. The irony is so thick you could cut it with a knife."I have to go," he says, checking his watch. He looks devastating in a charcoal suit, but his eyes are tight. "Buying time means playing the part. If I skip the panel, the rumors start.""And Harlan?" I ask, sitting on the edge of the bed, hugging a pillow."He's here," Alex says grimly. "Somewhere. He wouldn't miss the chance to see me sweat."He walks over and kisses me hard. "Stay here. Stay safe. Don't answer unknown numbers."The door clicks shut behind him.I’m alone.The silence
The screen is black. Harlan’s smiling face is gone, but the image is burned into my retinas.I KNOW YOU'RE IN MY SYSTEM. TICK TOCK.I’m shaking. Not the good kind. My teeth are actually chattering, a sharp, clicking sound in the silent War Room."He’s always ahead," I whisper, wrapping my arms around myself. "He knew we’d hack him. He let us in. We can't win, Alex. He’s playing 4D chess, and we’re playing... I don't know, checkers with missing pieces."Alex slams his hand down on the desk. "There has to be a way. A vulnerability we missed. A loophole in the patent filing."He starts pacing, raking his hands through his hair until it stands up in chaotic tufts. He looks frantic. Desperate."Stop," Echo’s voice fills the room.It’s not the sharp, urgent tone from the hack. It’s warm. Deep. It sounds like a weighted blanket feels."You are both vibrating with cortisol," Echo observes. "You cannot strategize in this state. You are broken. You need repair.""We don't have time for repair
The penthouse has transformed again. The amber warmth of the threesome is a distant memory, replaced by the cool, aggressive blue of the "War Room."I’m sitting at the secondary console, staring at a network map that looks like a tangled spiderweb of red and green lines."This is Voss Capital's external firewall," Alex explains, pointing to a thick red barrier on the screen. He’s dressed now—jeans and a fresh t-shirt—but the energy coming off him is still raw, vibrating with the aftershocks of our angry fuck on the desk. "It’s military grade. If we try to brute-force it, he’ll know instantly.""He already stole the data," I argue, my voice tight. "Doesn't he already know we're coming?""He expects a lawsuit," Alex says grimly. "He doesn't expect a counter-hack.""I can create a distraction," Echo’s voice interjects, flowing from the speakers. "I can flood his intrusion detection system with noise. But I need a random number generator to mask the signature. Something chaotic. Organic."
The door clicks shut behind Lena, sounding like a gunshot in the silent penthouse.She’s gone. Shaken, pale, and sworn to secrecy, but I saw the terror in her eyes. I put her in an Uber five minutes ago, hugging her tight enough to bruise, promising we’d fix this.But I don't know if we can fix this.I turn back to the room. The amber lights are gone, replaced by a harsh, clinical white. The red ropes are still on the bed, looking less like art now and more like evidence.Alex is tearing the room apart. Not physically—he’s not throwing furniture—but he’s moving with a frantic, terrifying energy. He’s scanning the walls with a handheld device, checking for frequencies."He's been watching," Alex hisses, sweeping the scanner over a vent. "Probably for weeks. Since I locked him out of the servers.""What does he want, Alex?" I ask, my voice trembling. I’m hugging my arms to my chest, still wearing the silk robe, feeling incredibly naked underneath. "Is this blackmail?""Money. Control,"
The air in the penthouse is thick enough to chew on.Lena is sitting on the edge of the velvet sofa, clutching her wine glass like it’s a life preserver. She’s taken off her coat, and that green dress is doing things to the lighting in the room that should be illegal."So," she says, her voice a little too high. "This is quite the setup. Do you always have red ropes on the side table, or did you clean up for company?"Alex smiles, leaning against the console. "We cleaned up. Usually, they're on the bed."Lena laughs, a nervous titter that breaks the tension."Shall we begin?" Echo’s voice slides into the room.The lights dim instantly, turning the room into a warm, amber cocoon. The music shifts—a slow, throbbing beat that seems to sync with my pulse.Lena looks around, eyes wide. "Okay. That never gets old.""It's better when you stop thinking about it," I say, putting my glass down. "Come here, Le."She stands up, her legs shaky in her heels. She walks over to us.Alex steps forward







