Chapter 4
The red light pulsing from Dr. Vance’s scanner cast an erratic, bloody glow across the sterile white walls of the laboratory. Goliath whimpered softly, a low, guttural sound that caused Elena to tighten her grip on the dog’s harness. Vance tapped rapidly against his wrist-mounted terminal, his eyebrows drawing together as he analyzed the incoming data stream. The air in the room felt heavy, charged with the quiet panic of professionals confronting a catastrophic failure they had neither anticipated nor prepared for.
"It’s worse than a localized pulse," Vance muttered, his clinical detachment slipping away to reveal genuine professional dread. "This isn't an external dampener. The frequency originated from within the harness itself. Someone recalibrated the internal relay nodes while the dog was standing in the grand hall."
Jax stepped forward, his massive frame casting a long shadow over the doctor. His voice dropped an octave, cutting through the hum of the diagnostic equipment with chilling authority. "Explain."
"The brass rings," Vance said, pointing a trembling finger at the heavy metal loops integrated into Goliath’s leather gear. "They aren't just decorative or structural anchor points. They act as an antenna array. Someone used the proximity of the champagne glasses—specifically the lead crystal content in the stemware—to amplify a remote override signal. They were trying to download the primary encryption keys stored in the dog’s cranial bio-chip."
Elena gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "The toast. The man who poured the champagne near Goliath... he wasn't just being clumsy. He was establishing a resonant frequency."
"Precisely," Vance confirmed, turning away to pull a heavy metal tray of surgical instruments toward the examination table. "Whoever designed this exploit knew the exact architecture of our security network. They knew that Goliath’s bio-chip syncs with the estate's primary server every time he enters the grand hall. By bouncing the signal off the crystal glass, they bypassed the firewall without triggering the automated tripwires."
Jax stared down at the mastiff, his jaw clenched so hard a muscle twitched in his cheek. For years, he had operated under the assumption that his inner circle was impenetrable. Every man who wore a tuxedo in that grand hall had passed months of vetting, background checks, and psychological profiling. Yet, treason had worn a black bow tie and smiled while pouring sparkling wine over a poisoned beast.
"Can you extract the chip without killing him?" Jax asked, his voice dead flat.
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"If I try to physically remove it now, the fail-safe will detonate a micro-charge of thermal paste, destroying the data and frying his brainstem," Vance said grimly, picking up a long, needle-nosed laser scalpel. "Our only option is to rewrite the root directory via the manual diagnostic port hidden beneath the harness collar. But to do that, someone has to hold him completely still while I bypass the firewall manually. One twitch, and the system locks permanently."
Elena didn't hesitate. She moved forward, sliding her knees onto the cold metal grating beside the dog’s massive chest. She wrapped her arms securely around Goliath’s shoulders, pressing her cheek against his warm, fur-covered neck. "Do it," she said, looking straight into Vance's eyes. "We're ready."
