Nathaniel's Espionage: Dr. Calloway's Secrets

Chapter 3: Watch

Nathaniel stood in front of his dorm mirror, adjusting the collar of his jacket, his eyes distant. The weight of the night ahead hung over him like a thick fog. He'd planted the virus, which was a success—at least for now—but the message he had received earlier still gnawed at him. The simple, cryptic word: "Watch."

Was it a warning? A threat? He couldn't afford to let his guard down, but he also couldn't ignore his next step. He had to start extracting data from Calloway's system. CHROME was counting on him.

He tucked his phone into his pocket, grabbed his backpack, and headed out of the dorm. The sky had darkened, clouds rolling in to match the mood in his gut. As he walked through campus, his eyes darted from one group of students to the next, looking for anyone who might be watching him. It had been second nature to do this for years, but now, with the strange message, he felt the paranoia creeping in more heavily.

The streets beyond the university were quiet, the usual hum of traffic muffled by the cold night air. Nathaniel made his way to a small café, one with dim lighting and minimal foot traffic. It was one of the spots he used for off-the-radar work—somewhere public but unremarkable, where nobody would think twice about a guy sitting with his laptop for hours.

He took a seat in the far corner, facing the entrance so he could see anyone who came in. He ordered a coffee and set up his laptop, tapping into the campus's internal network. His connection was secure—thanks to his CHROME training—and now, with the virus in place, it was time to extract what he needed.

His fingers danced across the keyboard, navigating through the back channels of the university's server. The virus was doing its job, quietly siphoning data from Calloway's encrypted files into Nathaniel's private network. He could see the progress, each file slowly being downloaded: financial records, encrypted emails, project plans, all pieces of the puzzle he needed to expose Calloway.

But as he worked, a nagging feeling wouldn't leave him. He was still thinking about that message: Watch.

He stopped typing for a moment, leaning back in his chair. His eyes scanned the room again. Was someone in here watching him now? He hadn't seen anyone follow him from the campus, and no one in the café looked suspicious. But the paranoia kept creeping in, tightening its grip.

His phone buzzed again, this time with a more familiar name. Rain.

Rain: "Where are you? Let's meet."

Nathaniel hesitated. She had been texting him all day, trying to grab coffee or catch up. He'd been avoiding her, but now, as he stared at the screen, he realized avoiding her any longer might only raise more questions. Rain wasn't the type to let things go easily. He'd learned that from the beginning.

He quickly typed a response.

Nathaniel: "Café on 8th. I'll be here for a bit."

She replied almost instantly.

Rain: "On my way."

Nathaniel sighed, rubbing his temples. He didn't have much time to sit and talk. The data extraction was taking longer than he expected, and now he had to figure out how to keep Rain from getting too involved. She was getting closer to his world, and the more she dug, the more danger she'd be in. He had to protect her from that, even if it meant pushing her away.

Minutes later, Rain walked into the café, her black coat pulled tightly around her small frame to ward off the cold. She spotted Nathaniel in the corner and headed over with a bright, curious smile on her face, her usual energy palpable. She dropped into the chair across from him, sliding her bag onto the floor.

"Hey, stranger," she said with a smirk, brushing her dark hair out of her eyes. "You've been dodging me all day."

Nathaniel shrugged, doing his best to act casual. "I've been busy."

"Uh-huh," she said, her sharp eyes narrowing. "Busy doing what? You've been here for hours. What are you working on?"

Nathaniel felt the tension in his chest tighten. He couldn't let her get too close to the truth. He forced a smile. "Just class stuff. Some project deadlines coming up."

Rain wasn't buying it, not for a second. "Nathaniel, please. You know I can tell when you're lying. Something's up, and you've been weird all day. Come on, talk to me."

He paused for a moment, his hands still on the keyboard. Rain had always been perceptive—too perceptive for her own good. She could sense when something was off, and she was relentless when she wanted answers. It was one of the things he admired about her, but it was also dangerous, especially now.

"It's just stress," he said finally, leaning back in his chair. "Nothing big, really. Just trying to keep up with everything."

Rain stared at him for a long moment, her expression softening slightly. "Nathaniel... we've known each other for a while now. I know when you're pulling away, and something feels different. I get it if you don't want to talk about it, but I'm here. You don't have to go through whatever this is alone."

Nathaniel looked away, the guilt gnawing at him. She had no idea what he was involved in, no idea how deep the rabbit hole went. He wanted to tell her—there were so many moments where the truth had almost slipped out. But every time he thought about it, he knew it would put her at risk.

He couldn't let her get pulled into this.

"I appreciate it, Rain. Really," he said, his voice quieter now. "But it's just school. I'll be fine."

She nodded slowly, but he could see the doubt in her eyes. Rain was too smart not to pick up on the fact that there was more going on, but she didn't push it further. Instead, she changed the subject, launching into a story about her journalism class and some article she was working on.

Nathaniel nodded and listened, but his mind was elsewhere. As she spoke, he kept glancing at his laptop, watching the progress bar as it inched toward completion. The data was almost fully extracted. Soon, he'd have everything he needed on Calloway.

But as the final file was about to download, his screen flickered. Nathaniel frowned, leaning closer. Something wasn't right. The extraction was stalling, and a small pop-up appeared on the screen.

"Connection compromised. Attempting to reroute."

His heart skipped a beat. Someone was onto him.

"Nathaniel?" Rain's voice cut through his panic.

He looked up at her, trying to keep the alarm from showing on his face. "Yeah?"

"You okay? You zoned out for a second."

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said quickly, his mind racing. "Just distracted."

She gave him a concerned look but didn't push it further.

Nathaniel glanced back at his screen. The connection was still unstable, but it hadn't been completely severed. He needed to act fast. Whoever was watching him—whoever had sent that message—was closing in. If they managed to trace his location, everything would fall apart.

He had to finish the extraction now.

"I've got to go," Nathaniel said abruptly, closing his laptop and standing up.

Rain blinked in surprise. "What? You're leaving already?"

"Yeah, something came up. I'll catch you later, okay?"

"Nathaniel, wait—"

But he was already moving, slipping out of the café and into the cold night. He didn't look back.