Chapter 11 - The Ping
The sharp, piercing notification tone cut through the hum of the idling federal cruisers, startling both Agent Vance and Bryce as they stood on the manicured campus lawn. Maya pulled her phone from her pocket, the screen flickering back to life after the electromagnetic shock as a single, unread message popped up across the lock screen. The sender field was blank, but the attached file was a high-resolution security camera still image timestamped just three minutes ago, showing the interior of the very same server room where she had been trapped earlier that evening.
Maya stared down at the screen, her blood running cold as she recognized the figure standing in the background of the server room photo, leaning casually against the exact rack where she had found the hidden maintenance hatch. It wasn't Dean Sterling, and it wasn't one of the guards currently being handcuffed by federal agents on the administrative steps.
“Maya? What is it? Did another alert come through?” Bryce asked nervously, pushing himself up to his feet and peering over her shoulder at the illuminated display.
Agent Vance stepped closer, her sharp eyes scanning the screen with immediate professional concern. “What are we looking at, Miss Vance? Is there another active node we missed?”
Maya didn't answer immediately; she zoomed in on the background of the photo, focusing on a silver wrist watch worn by the shadowy figure standing near the server racks. The watch bore a distinct, custom-engraved crest—the exact same crest worn exclusively by the university’s board president, a man who was supposed to be currently attending a diplomatic conference three time zones away in Geneva.
“The data packet we transmitted to the federal oversight node wasn't the master archive,” Maya whispered, her voice dropping to a harsh, resonant register of pure realization. “It was a secondary decoy proxy configured to trigger an automated trap response.”
Before Agent Vance could issue a tactical command, the entire campus power grid flickered and died, plunging the quadrangle and all surrounding buildings into absolute, suffocating darkness. The emergency generators failed to kick in this time, silenced by a localized EMP burst that crackled faintly in the evening air, smelling sharply of ozone and scorched copper wiring.
From the steps of the administrative building, the sound of heavy boots echoed through the dark, accompanied by the cold, metallic clatter of handcuffs hitting the concrete. A low, distorted laugh echoed from the public address speakers mounted on the surrounding light poles, filtering through a high-end digital voice modifier that completely masked the speaker's true identity.
“You’ve secured a very impressive decoy, Maya, but the real master archives are currently being wiped clean from the offshore backup servers as we speak,” the synthesized voice grated smoothly through the night.
Agent Vance drew her sidearm instantly, scanning the dark perimeter with tactical precision while motioning for her team to secure the perimeter. “All units, lockdown the quad, nobody enters or leaves the campus perimeter!” she barked into her shoulder radio, but the static hiss of heavy jamming interference was the only response she received.
Maya spun around to face Bryce, grabbing him by the shoulders with a grip so fierce he winced in pain. “Where is your laptop, Bryce? The one you used to download the prank app link the CampusGhost sent you?”
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Bryce’s eyes widened in sheer terror as he realized the horrifying implication of her question, his hands shaking violently as he fumbled for his backpack zipper. “It’s... it’s still sitting on the desk inside my dorm room, right next to the campus router!”
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