O C T A V I O
“I don't care, I paint the town red”
The operations room was awash in the harsh red light of the emergency alarms. Red. Every screen displayed the grim reality of Roman's latest move: one: our financial holdings were under attack. Two: Bank accounts were frozen, three: crucial transactions blocked. Red. It was a direct strike at the heart of our operations, and we needed to respond with everything we had. And all I could see was Red.
"Octavio, we need those funds released now!" Zayn’s voice was like a whip crack, cutting through the controlled chaos of the room. He was the leader, and his calm under pressure was the only thing keeping the rest of us from losing our heads. Yet all I could see was Red.
"I'm on it," I replied, my fingers already moving across the keyboard in a blur of motion. My mind raced through the myriad of layers and protocols that Roman's hackers had thrown up to hinder us. I had to be faster, smarter, more relentless. But I would blame everything to that damned wedding. If we hadn't gone there we would have been living our not so ass fucked life somewhat peacefully.
Leo, our chief financial advisor, was working alongside me, sweating as he directed his team to handle the less intricate parts of the attack. "We’re getting some funds released, but it’s slow. This is a sophisticated hit," he said, his voice tinged with stress. He used to be a fucking cop.
"We can't afford slow," I shot back. "Roman’s playing for keeps."
As the cyber team and financial experts worked furiously, I focused on the more complex challenges. One: Each blocked transaction had to be traced meticulously. Two: Every frozen account needed to be unlocked with precision.
This was a battlefield where our enemies were invisible, their weapons intangible lines of code. I was gonna paint that invisible fucker Red.
"Ace, I need any leads you have on the origin of this attack," I said, addressing our strategist who was busy analyzing the digital signatures.
"Not much yet," he replied, frustration evident in his voice. "Roman’s covered his tracks well."
A sudden beep from my console interrupted our exchange. I had found a trace, an IP address that Roman’s hackers had failed to completely mask. It was a crack in their otherwise impenetrable façade, and I intended to exploit it fully.
"Boss, I’ve got something," I announced. "A lead on the origin of the attack. Adrian’s intel might be paying off."
Yes Adrian the asswipe as Boss called him. Dude was like a fucking twitter. Knew what had happened, was happening, will happen.
Zayn’s eyes were fixed on me, a steely determination in them. "Good. Leverage it. We need to hit back, and hard."
I turned my full attention back to the screen. My fingers moved with a precise, almost mechanical grace. Passwords shattered like fragile glass under the weight of my assault, firewalls melted away, and Roman’s digital fortress began to crumble. I was methodical, relentless, and driven by a deep-seated fury. The gifts sent to Nyx had lit a fire in me— that fucker had to go down, and I would make sure of it. Poor thing I've been suffering ever since we had met. It was her fault anyways, who told her to fucking break into someone's apartment just to steal some papers. She couldn't even manage to steal the right papers.
"Zayn, we’re in," I said, my voice steady despite the adrenaline coursing through me. "Roman’s security systems are compromised."
Zayn gave a single, sharp nod. "Good work, Octavio. Now, finish it."
YOU ARE READING
BLOOD AND HEART
Mystery / Thriller"He had many people's blood on his hands and one woman in his heart." She woke up with a pounding headache, a strange tattoo, and memories of her family being brutally attacked. All because of the documents she stole. Now, protected by one of the wo...
