Back in prison, Victor Fernando sat alone — his thumbs tapping a familiar rhythm on a tablet he wasn’t supposed to have.
A voice rang through the secure phone.
“She gave them the server location. She’s decrypting it now.”
Victor’s face slowly twisted into something less than human.
“Monica…” he whispered. “I made you.”
He stood and spoke calmly into the encrypted line:
“Initiate Protocol Phoenix. Phase 2. Redirect stored malware to civilian nodes. City infrastructure. Burn everything.”
The voice on the other end hesitated.
“That wasn’t part of the plan—”
Victor roared,
“DO IT NOW!”
***
Monica froze mid-keystroke.
A warning flared on the console.
>> MALWARE REDIRECT DETECTED. TARGET: CITY POWER GRIDS.
>> INITIATOR: REMOTE ADMIN OVERRIDE.
Her eyes went wide.
“H
