Pyro

X

Unknown

"We have a breach!" The tech's voice carries beautifully through the ventilation shaft. I should really send Maintenance a thank-you-note - these ducts are pristine. Perfect acoustics for enjoying their impending meltdown.

My portable screens cast a lovely blue glow across my cosy little spy nest. The holographic keyboard responds to each touch like we're dancing. - honestly, it's probably the most action I've gotten all week.

"Code red! I repeat! CODE RED!"

Oh honey, your panic is adorable. I can't help but grin. Red alert for the girl in red. The irony is just chef's kiss.

The door nearly flies off its hinges - enter Mr. Dramatic himself, serving us try-hard vibes in all black with those indoor sunglasses. Like, seriously? Who does he think he is, Men in Black? "What the fuck is going on? Why are we screaming code red?" His voice booms through the room like he's auditioning for a B-grade action movie.

I bite back the urge to slow-clap. Save the theatrics, darling. We'll have our moment soon enough.

My fingers pause their dance as I study his feed. "Well, well, well," I whisper, leaning closer to the screen. "Looking a bit different there, princess." The new brunette look is... a choice. Last time I had eyes on him, he was rocking blonde - and not very well, might I add.

Time to update his file. Under 'Notable Changes': Finally ditches the dollar store bleach job. Upgrade to basic white boy brunette. Still wearing sunglasses inside because apparently his ego needs the shade.

My other programs are having a field day with their firewall. It's like they left the front door open and put out welcome cookies. My algorithm slides through their system, snatching everything juicy - meeting schedules, contact lists, their sad attempts at encrypted files. The biggest challenge is not yawning while I work.

"Sir, I've never seen coding like this," one tech whimpers. Poor thing sounds like he's about to cry. "It's... it's completely new."

I roll my eyes so hard they might get stuck. Honey, your computer science degree is showing - and it's clearly from University of Phoenix Online. Weekend course, maybe?

My fingers fly across the keys, planting so many backdoor their system's basically a revolving door at this point. They'll be finding my little presents for months. If they're smart enough to find them all - which, based on current evidence, is a big if.

"The encryption is unlike anything-" Another tech starts.

"Then BREAK IT!" Mr. Sunglasses-Inside bellows.

Break it? Sweetie, you can't break what you can't even see. I'm not just in their system - I'm redecorating, rearranging the furniture, and putting my feet up on their coffee table.

The best part? These amateurs think they're dealing with some run-of-the-mill hacker. A simple breach. They have no clue that while they're running around like headless chickens, I'm not just stealing their data - I'm becoming their system.

If only they know who was pulling their strings...

But that's the thing about puppet masters - we prefer to stay in the shadows. Or in this case, the suspiciously clean ventilation system.

Now, let's see what other skeletons Mr. Wannabe-Smith has in his digital closet.

"I don't give a shit if you haven't seen this before, fix it now!" Nathan's fist meets an innocent table. Poor table. The tech boys practically levitate from their chairs. "Get Apla Team ready. Prepare for anything"