Chapter 109. The Canary

“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” Beck muttered, his brows raising almost to his hairline as he took in the multiple blinking warning lights on his monitors.

He reached his desk and tapped the space bar on his main terminal, and immediately, the red warning banners from the night before flooded the monitors, reflecting in the glass of his spectacles.

ALERT: SYSTEM PERSISTENCE DETECTED. SECONDARY BREACH ATTEMPTS IN PROGRESS…

STATUS: THREAT NEUTRALIZED… FIREWALL WEAKENED.

“What an exciting way to wake up,” he drawled, rubbing his hands together in excitement, practically vibrating with restless energy. “Better than coffee.”

Instead of the panic or frustration one might expect, a slow, predatory smirk spread across his face. He sat down in his ergonomic chair, leaning back and crossing his arms