“Speaking of the devil,” Rex nodded toward the warehouse entrance where Colonel Camden Brett stood waiting, his imposing figure backlit by the industrial lighting, dressed in jeans and a white shirt.They only wore tactical gear for operations.On site, to maintain their cover, they dressed informally.
“Gentlemen,” the colonel’s deep voice carried across the distance.“Welcome to my humble abode.And yes, Axel, we have coffee—the good stuff, not that instant crap you usually drink.And the a/c is cranked up just for you delicate flowers.”
“He knows you too well.”Dexter jabbed an elbow into Axel’s ribs.
“Kiss my ass, Dex,” Axel retorted, but there was no heat in his words, just friendly bantering.
The colonel’s eyes crinkled with amusement as he held the door open.“I also had my people grab some breakfast.Can’t have Jax passing out from hunger during the briefing.Though I suggest we eat before he wilts in this heat.”
“See?”Jax grinned triumphantly.“The colonel knows how to treat his guests.”
Rex shared a look with Max as they followed the others inside.Despite the banter, he could feel the underlying tension among his friends.They all knew what was at stake.The bait they had set for The Consortium had been implemented.One wrong move, one misplaced detail, and it could potentially anger the syndicate to turn threats into reality.
The warehouse door closed behind them with a metallic clang, sealing them into the colonel’s blessedly cool domain.The smell of fresh coffee and a hot breakfast wafted through the air.
The boardroom in Camden’s office flooded with early morning sunlight streaming through the windows.Linda Gunn, his PA, moved efficiently around the table, setting down plates of steaming farmhouse breakfast consisting of hash browns, eggs, bacon, sausage, grilled tomatoes, and toast.The decadent aroma of premium coffee floated through the room.
“Linda, you’re an angel,” Jax moaned appreciatively, already piling his plate high.“I might have to steal you away from the colonel.”
Linda’s eyes twinkled as she topped up his coffee.“Sorry, Mr.Crowthorne.The colonel’s retirement package is too good to pass up.”
“She’s immune to your charms, Jax,” Dexter smirked, helping himself to coffee.“Besides, little Nanja would kill you.”
The room filled with comfortable laughter as Linda left, closing the door behind her.Despite the serious nature of their meeting, the familiar camaraderie lit the atmosphere.
Rex waited until everyone had settled, watching as Jax attacked his breakfast with characteristic enthusiasm.
“Alright, let me break down what The Consortium is really after,” he began, absently stirring his coffee.“They want access to my QuantumSecure banking algorithm, but not for extortion as you might expect.”
“How so?”Dexter leaned forward, his breakfast temporarily forgotten.
“They’re planning to skim small amounts from billions of personal checking and savings accounts worldwide on a weekly basis, disguised as bank charges.”Rex’s expression hardened.“Small enough that most people wouldn’t bother questioning it, but multiplied across billions of accounts...”
“Fucking brilliant,” Axel muttered, then quickly added at Max’s sharp look, “In an evil genius kind of way, of course.”
“Rex and I threw out some bait to see if we could draw them out without raising suspicion.”
“So, what bait did you angle out?”Axel asked, reaching for more toast.
Camden and Rex exchanged glances before Camden explained their strategy with the fake vulnerability in the authentication protocols and the carefully placed exposure on the development server.
“And how do we know if your bait worked?”Dexter asked, pushing his empty plate aside.
“By keeping a 24/7 vigil on every click on the bait link we implemented,” Camden replied, his expression satisfied.“Even though it took only a couple of minutes, it worked.”
Rex nodded, leaning back in his chair.“We needed something compelling enough to trigger action without actually compromising the system.So, we fabricated documentation about a theoretical backdoor in the quantum key distribution.Made it look like we missed a potential weakness in the entanglement verification process, which would allow them a gateway past the security systems.”
“I’m a little lost,” Axel muttered.“Give it to me in layman's terms.How exactly would that bait be triggered?”
“The gateway access triggered multiple silent alarms,” Rex explained, leaning forward.“Every click, every keystroke they made trying to exploit the fake vulnerability left digital fingerprints.Our tracking system captured three distinct access points before they caught on and pulled back.”
“Like watching a trail of breadcrumbs appear in real time,” Camden added.“We’ve reconfirmed the original three hubs, and now, the fourth one right here in Louisiana.Each one seems to operate independently but connects through a sophisticated relay system from the main hub in New Orleans.”
“Which must make it damn near impossible to nail down their central command,” Max interjected, frustration evident in his tone.
“Yes,” Camden growled.“They’re using some kind of rotating proxy system that makes it look like they’re everywhere and nowhere all at once.”
“But in their eagerness, they slipped up,” Rex said, a predatory gleam in his eyes.“The Louisiana access wasn’t as clean as in the past or as the others have been lately.They left traces that suggest they’re operating somewhere within a fifty-mile radius of the New Orleans city center.”
