Chapter 444: A Hacker Without a Network!!
The ice rink was louder than Miles had expected.
Music played softly through the speakers.
Children moved across the ice in groups.
Some struggled near the railings.
Others raced each other as if they had been skating their entire lives.
Nick came gliding toward Miles from the other end.
A little too fast.
Miles watched him approach.
Nick managed to slow himself just before reaching the edge.
"This is crazy."
Miles looked amused.
"Never been to an ice rink before?"
Nick caught the railing.
"First time."
Miles raised an eyebrow.
"Didn’t take you long to learn."
Nick looked proud.
"I skate sometimes."
Miles stared.
"Regular skating?"
"Yeah."
Nick smiled.
"With Evelyn."
Miles laughed.
"Really?"
"Really."
Miles nodded slowly.
"At least you have one physical activity."
Nick looked offended.
"One?"
Miles said nothing.
Nick narrowed his eyes.
"That silence was insulting."
Miles smiled.
Nick turned toward the middle of the rink.
Hope and Asher were skating together.
Hope was slightly ahead.
Asher followed close behind.
And beside them...
Stella moved with far more confidence than either of them.
She shifted smoothly from one foot to another.
Turned.
Then glided backward for several seconds while talking to Hope.
Nick watched.
"Look at those three."
Miles followed his gaze.
"They look like experts."
Nick pointed toward Stella.
"And their friend."
"Stella, right?"
Miles nodded.
"Yeah."
"She’s really good."
Miles watched the little girl complete another clean turn.
"Her mother was a professional."
Nick looked toward him.
"A skater?"
"Champion."
Nick smiled.
"That explains it."
Then Miles added quietly,
"She passed away."
Nick’s expression immediately changed.
"Oh."
Miles nodded.
"Stella wants to become like her."
Nick looked toward the girl again.
This time with a different expression.
Stella had already moved toward the twins.
She corrected Asher’s footing.
Then took Hope’s hand and pulled her gently forward.
Nick smiled faintly.
"She’s hardworking."
"Very."
"At that age..."
Miles’ voice softened.
"Yeah."
Nick slowly turned toward him.
Then smiled.
Miles noticed.
"What?"
Nick’s smile widened.
"Nothing."
"What?"
Nick gestured toward him.
"Look who’s talking."
Miles stared.
Then understood.
He laughed.
"Very funny."
Nick leaned against the railing.
"Seriously."
He looked toward Miles for a moment.
"I don’t think I have any friends like you."
Miles raised an eyebrow.
"That sounds dramatic."
"It’s not."
Nick’s voice became more sincere.
"You’re probably the first one who never ran away because of all the security around me."
Miles stopped smiling slightly.
Nick continued,
"My whole life..."
"There were agents everywhere."
"School."
"Events."
"Trips."
"Restaurants."
"Even when I tried going somewhere casually."
He looked toward the ice.
"People wanted to be friends with the President’s son."
"Or they were afraid of becoming friends with the President’s son."
Miles listened.
Nick smiled faintly.
"Your family doesn’t care."
Miles looked toward him.
Nick continued,
"Your Mom scolds me."
"Your Dad jokes with me."
"The twins steal my things."
Miles smiled.
Nick looked toward the rink.
"And nobody acts like I am Nicholas Abbott every second."
He glanced back.
"Your family makes me feel like a normal human being."
Miles stared at him for a second.
Then asked,
"Was that a compliment?"
Nick laughed.
"Of course it was."
Miles nodded.
"Good."
He looked ahead.
"I’m glad I have a friend like you too."
Nick immediately became suspicious.
"Are you?"
"Yes."
Miles’ expression became completely serious.
"Very unique."
Nick stared.
Then sighed.
"That’s definitely not a compliment."
Miles shook his head.
"No."
Nick looked offended.
"Miles."
Miles laughed.
Nick pushed himself away from the railing.
Then immediately returned.
"I’m tired."
Miles glanced at him.
"Already?"
"All my pancake energy is gone."
Miles checked the time.
"Well..."
"It’s lunch time."
That immediately restored Nick’s energy.
He turned toward the rink.
Then shouted,
"Hey, professional skaters!"
Hope turned.
Asher looked over.
Stella slowed down.
Nick cupped his hands around his mouth.
"Want something delicious?"
𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦
Hope immediately skated toward them.
"Yes!"
Asher followed.
Nick smiled proudly.
"Your Brother Nick is treating you."
Asher’s eyes widened.
"Really?"
"Really."
Hope reached the edge first.
"Let’s go."
Nick laughed.
"That was fast."
Stella stopped a little farther back.
Nick pointed toward her.
"Little Stella."
She looked toward him.
"You come too."
Stella hesitated.
Nick continued,
"Miles can drop you home afterward."
Miles nodded.
"I already spoke with your father."
Stella looked toward him.
"Okay, Big Bro Miles."
She smiled.
"Thanks."
Nick slowly turned toward Miles.
His expression flattened.
"Excuse me."
Miles looked innocent.
"What?"
"Aren’t I the one treating her?"
Miles smirked.
"Yes."
Nick pointed toward Stella.
"Then why did you get the thanks?"
Miles shrugged.
"Maybe because I saved her from bad people."
Nick stared.
"What?"
Stella covered her mouth while laughing.
Nick looked genuinely shocked.
"Already a superhero?"
Miles laughed.
Nick sighed dramatically.
"Then Big Brother Nick has no chance of getting appreciation."
Stella looked toward him.
Then smiled politely.
"Thanks, Brother Nick."
Nick immediately brightened.
Miles looked at him.
"Now..."
He smiled.
"Who looks immature?"
Nick ignored him.
"Come on."
He pointed toward the exit.
"Food."
Hope and Asher cheered.
Stella smiled.
Miles shook his head.
Then followed them.
...
Sterling Private Security Base.
The atmosphere inside the cyber operations room was completely different.
Quiet.
Focused.
Controlled.
Rows of monitors filled the room.
Network diagrams.
Live connection logs.
Access records.
Security alerts.
Several members of the cyber team sat behind their systems.
One agent suddenly looked toward the door.
Charles had just entered.
"What is it?"
The agent turned his monitor slightly.
"They accessed the Convention Center server again."
Charles walked closer.
"Again?"
"Yes, sir."
He looked at the logs.
"The first time they touched the surveillance side."
Charles nodded.
"The cameras."
"Exactly."
Charles folded his arms.
"So what now?"
The agent switched windows.
"They accessed the security-check configuration."
Charles’ expression became more serious.
"Detection systems?"
"Some of them."
"Access-control metadata."
"Entry screening."
"Device-check workflow."
Charles leaned closer.
"What else?"
The agent clicked again.
"Employee database."
Charles looked toward him.
"Specific employee?"
"No."
The agent shook his head.
"First, they opened the list."
"Scrolled through sixteen records."
"Then filtered for cleaning staff."
Charles stared at the screen.
"Did they modify anything?"
"Not yet."
"Any additions?"
"No."
"Deletions?"
"No."
Charles’ eyes narrowed.
"But they will."
The agent nodded slowly.
"That’s what I think too."
Charles turned toward the security agent who had entered with him.
"I want eyes on all sixteen."
The man immediately straightened.
"Sir."
"Full protection."
"Quietly."
Charles continued,
"Boss said NULL isn’t bloodthirsty."
"But that doesn’t mean whoever hired him thinks the same way."
The agent nodded.
"Understood."
"Background."
"Home."
"Family."
"Daily movement."
"Anyone approaches them, I want to know."
"Copy that."
Charles looked back at the cyber team.
"Keep watching every change they make."
"Schedules."
"Personnel."
"Inventory."
"Temporary passes."
"Deliveries."
He pointed toward the display.
"Anything they add or remove."
"I want full details before it reaches Launchpad."
The cyber agent nodded.
"I’ll set alerts on every change."
"Good."
Charles looked toward another monitor.
"Kill switch?"
"Working."
"You tested it?"
"During their last session."
Charles raised an eyebrow.
The agent smiled.
"We cut the session."
"What happened?"
"They lost connection immediately."
"How long before they recovered?"
"About a minute."
"We restored it ourselves."
Charles smiled faintly.
"They probably thought it was a network issue."
The agent nodded.
Charles looked at the network map.
"Network issues are real."
The agent waited.
Charles smiled.
"Especially when Sterling Enterprises owns the entire ISP."
A few people chuckled.
One of the cyber agents grinned.
"A hacker without a network returns with NULL in his hands."
Silence.
Charles stared.
The agent slowly stopped smiling.
Charles looked toward him.
"That was terrible."
"Sorry, sir."
Charles tried not to laugh.
Then failed slightly.
"Concentrate on the work."
"Yes, sir."
The room returned to silence.
Then another agent entered quickly.
"Sir."
Charles turned.
"Our team in Citadel is active."
His expression changed immediately.
"Good."
He left the cyber room.
...
Operations Room.
The main display wall was already active when Charles entered.
Several feeds covered the screens.
Exterior cameras.
Street cameras.
Traffic views.
Private surveillance.
One label stood above the largest set.
CAPITAL BANK OF HAVEN
CITADEL CITY
Charles walked toward the central desk.
"You have interior feeds too?"
The agent beside the controls nodded.
"We do."
Charles looked toward him.
The agent continued,
"Agents with spy cameras."
"Multiple angles."
Charles nodded.
"Good."
He looked toward another screen.
"Keep our entry team on standby."
"Yes, sir."
"And run facial recognition."
The agent looked over.
"Against Military Funeral records."
The agent paused.
Then understood.
"Dead soldiers."
"Exactly."
The system began processing.
Faces appeared one by one.
Employees.
Customers.
Security.
Visitors.
The recognition engine worked through the feeds.
Then...
A match.
One face turned red.
Another.
Then another.
Charles’ expression changed.
"Wait."
The system continued.
Fourth.
Fifth.
Sixth.
Seventh.
The room became silent.
The agent stared.
"Sir..."
Charles stepped closer.
"Oh my God."
He looked at the results.
Seven people.
Seven faces.
Seven men who officially should not exist anymore.
Charles’ jaw tightened.
"Boss was right."
The agent looked toward him.
Charles continued,
"Bjorn is nervous."
"He failed to get Ivy."
"He doesn’t fully trust Thea anymore."
"And now..."
His eyes moved across the dead soldiers hidden inside the bank.
"...he is watching his own channels."
The operator checked the results again.
"Seven confirmed."
"All matched to deceased Haven Army personnel."
Charles leaned toward the central display.
"Show me the locker area."
The feed enlarged.
A man stood near the entrance leading toward the private locker bays.
Security uniform.
Calm posture.
Sharp eyes.
Charles pointed.
"Zoom."
The image sharpened.
The system identified him.
JAMY HOLS
Charles frowned.
The agent checked the file.
"Former soldier."
"Officially deceased."
Charles looked around the bank layout.
"What about the other one?"
"Near the teller?"
"Yes."
The agent checked.
"He won’t be a problem for us."
Charles nodded.
"We’re not withdrawing anything."
His attention returned to Jamy.
"But this one..."
He tapped the screen.
"He’s directly guarding the locker bay."
The agent sighed.
"Only real hurdle."
Charles stared at Jamy for several seconds.
Then smiled slightly.
"Then we don’t remove the hurdle."
The agent looked toward him.
"We distract him."
"How?"
Charles pointed toward the screen.
"Pull Jamy’s personal file."
The agent started typing.
"Family."
"Past residence."
"Old photos."
"Anything personal."
The file opened.
Charles scanned it quickly.
Then his eyes stopped.
"Here."
The agent looked.
Charles continued,
"He agreed to disappear for his family."
"That’s why he’s pretending to be dead."
The agent slowly understood.
Charles smiled.
"So..."
"What’s the biggest distraction for a dead man?"
The agent thought.
Then smiled.
"Someone recognizing him."
"Exactly."
Charles straightened.
"Prepare a script."
"Give our field agent enough details to sound believable."
"Not too much."
"Just enough to make Jamy think..."
Charles looked toward the feed.
"...someone from his old life found him."
The agent nodded.
"That’s genius."
Charles ignored the compliment.
"How long?"
"Few minutes."
"Do it."
...
Several minutes later.
The operator looked up.
"Sir."
Charles turned.
"We’re ready."
He moved toward the communications station.
"Bring Delta online."
A green indicator appeared.
"Delta connected."
Charles looked toward the map.
"And Echo?"
"Standby."
"Good."
He pointed toward the safest route.
"Guide them one at a time."
"No improvisation."
"No shortcuts."
"Every step based on live feeds."
The operator nodded.
"Copy."
Then pressed the communication key.
"Base to Delta."
A calm voice replied through the speaker.
"Delta to Base."
"You’re cleared to move."
The operator looked toward Charles.
Charles nodded.
The instructions continued.
"Follow the marked route."
"Do not look toward the locker bay until instructed."
"Echo will move behind you."
Delta replied,
"Copy that, Base."
A pause.
Then his voice became amused.
"Ready to become a clingy relative."
Charles smiled.
He leaned toward the microphone.
"Go ahead."
On the large screen...
A man outside Capital Bank adjusted his jacket.
Then started walking toward the entrance.