Chapter 2: The Hunter

Morning sunlight crept through the thin curtains of Elliot Lane’s apartment, landing directly on his face.

He groaned and rolled over, pulling the pillow over his head.

For a few seconds, everything was quiet.

Then reality returned.

The hack.

Elliot’s eyes snapped open.

He sat up quickly, reaching for his laptop on the bedside table. The screen flickered to life as he powered it on, his heart beating a little faster than usual.

“Relax,” he muttered to himself.

If there had been any serious problem, he would have noticed by now. Corporate security teams usually reacted fast. If Blackwood Technologies had somehow traced him during the night, his internet would already be cut or authorities would be knocking on his door.

The laptop finished booting.

Nothing unusual, no alerts, no strange traffic.

Elliot exhaled slowly.

“See? No big deal.”

Still, he ran a quick system scan out of habit.

Every hacker had a survival instinct. Paranoia came with the territory.

The scan returned clean.

His proxies were intact. His VPN tunnels were stable. No suspicious packets were trying to trace him.

Satisfied, Elliot leaned back in his chair.

“Guess Blackwood’s system isn’t as perfect as everyone thinks.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

Last night’s breach had been dangerously close to becoming a disaster, but he had handled it. Stabilized their entire system, even.

Honestly, they should be thanking him.

He stood up and stretched, his joints popping slightly as he walked into the tiny kitchen area of the apartment.

The place was barely bigger than a shoebox.

A worn couch sat against one wall, opposite a small TV that Elliot rarely used. Books and tech magazines were stacked everywhere, mixed with scattered cables and circuit boards.

It looked chaotic.

But Elliot knew where everything was.

He grabbed a mug and poured instant coffee into it before filling it with hot water.

“Another beautiful day of unemployment,” he announced to the empty room.

Being a freelance coder meant freedom.

It also meant his income fluctuated wildly.

But Elliot didn’t mind.

He liked the freedom.

No bosses, no schedules. No one controlling what he did.

His phone buzzed suddenly on the counter.

Elliot glanced at it.

A spam call.

He ignored it.

Outside his apartment building, however, something very different was happening.

Across the city, the headquarters of Blackwood Technologies was already alive with activity.

Employees moved quickly through the sleek hallways, whispering nervously to each other.

Something had happened overnight.

Something big.

Inside the executive conference room, several high-level security analysts sat around the long glass table.

None of them looked comfortable.

At the head of the table stood Timothy Blackwood.

Thirty years old.

CEO.

Owner.

And the most feared man in the global tech industry.

His dark suit was flawless, his posture relaxed as he studied the holographic projection floating above the table.

The display showed the full trace analysis of the hacker’s entry path.

One of the analysts cleared his throat.

“We’ve reconstructed most of the intrusion path, sir.”

Timothy didn’t look at him.

“Most?”

The analyst swallowed.

“The attacker used extremely sophisticated proxy chains. Over twenty nodes across multiple countries.”

Another analyst quickly added, “But we managed to isolate three companies that unknowingly hosted relay servers.”

Timothy finally turned his gaze toward them.

“And?”

“They’re being investigated now.”

Timothy’s expression didn’t change.

“Investigated.”

The word sounded unimpressed.

The analysts exchanged uneasy glances.

One of them carefully asked, “Would you like us to contact law enforcement?”

Silence filled the room.

Timothy walked slowly toward the projection.

He studied the digital trail.

Clean.

Elegant.

Whoever had done this knew exactly what they were doing.

For the first time in years, someone had touched his system.

His lips curved slightly.

“Shut them down.”

The analysts blinked.

“Sir?”

“The companies hosting the relay servers,” Timothy clarified calmly.

“Shut them down.”

A few seconds of stunned silence passed.

Then one analyst said carefully, “Sir… those are legitimate businesses.”

Timothy looked at him.

Just one glance.

Cold.

Unemotional.

The analyst immediately lowered his eyes.

“Understood.”

Within minutes, Blackwood Technologies began executing its response.

Financial pressure.

Legal actions.

Market manipulation.

Cyber counterattacks.

By noon, all three companies were collapsing.

Servers seized, accounts frozen, executives facing investigations.

All because their networks had unknowingly helped a hacker route traffic.

Back in the conference room, Timothy watched the progress without emotion.

He wasn’t angry.

This wasn’t revenge.

It was simply how he operated.

Anything that threatened his empire was removed.

Completely.

An assistant approached quietly.

“Sir, we’ve identified the final proxy node used before the hacker disappeared.”

Timothy raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Oh?”

The assistant tapped a tablet, projecting the location onto the screen.

A small apartment complex appeared.

Timothy studied it for a moment.

Then he picked up his coat.

“Prepare the car.”

The room froze.

One of the analysts spoke carefully.

“Sir… security can handle this.”

Timothy slipped on his coat with calm precision.

“I’m aware.”

“But—”

His gaze silenced the room.

“I prefer to meet interesting people personally.”

Several hours later, Elliot sat cross-legged on his couch, scrolling lazily through a coding forum on his laptop.

The afternoon sun filled the room with warm light.

He had completely forgotten about last night’s hack.

Life had returned to normal.

Or so he thought.

A black luxury car stopped quietly outside his apartment building.

The vehicle looked wildly out of place in the rundown neighborhood.

The driver stepped out first.

Then the rear door opened.

Timothy Blackwood emerged.

He looked up at the aging building.

Cracked walls.

Rusting fire escapes.

Dim hallway lights.

It was the last place anyone would expect to find the person who had breached the most secure system in the tech industry.

Timothy walked toward the entrance.

Inside the apartment, Elliot yawned and stretched.

“Maybe I should actually get groceries today,” he muttered.

His stomach growled in agreement.

Then—

Knock.

Knock.

Knock.

Elliot looked toward the door.

He frowned.

“I’m not expecting anyone.”

Another knock.

Louder this time.

Elliot stood up and walked toward the door cautiously.

“Yeah, yeah, hold on.”

He unlocked it and pulled it open.

The words died in his throat.

Standing in the hallway was a tall man in a perfectly tailored black suit.

Behind him stood two silent bodyguards.

The stranger’s sharp grey eyes studied Elliot calmly.

Elliot blinked.

“…Can I help you?”

The man tilted his head slightly.

Then he spoke.

“Elliot Lane.”

It wasn’t a question.

Elliot’s stomach dropped.

Something deep in his instincts screamed danger.

He slowly began closing the door.

The man placed one hand against it effortlessly.

Stopping it.

His voice was calm.

Cold.

Controlled.

“Good afternoon.”

A faint smile touched his lips.

“I believe we need to talk.”