It began in Tokyo.
First, a major ISP went down without explanation.
Then Seoul.
Then Frankfurt.
And finally, New York City.
The media blamed "coordinated cyberattacks."
Jason knew better.
This was Maxwell's dress rehearsal.
---
WyldeNet Goes Active
Jason activated WyldeNet's dormant defense layer: Aegis Protocol—a decentralized swarm of AI monitors that tracked, predicted, and neutralized cyber incursions before they began.
The system came online in milliseconds.
Jason's screen lit up with data from across the globe.
Intrusion Source: Unknown.
Attack Vector: Quantum Spoofing.
Countermeasures: Deployed.
Status: Contained.
But the fact that the attack even happened meant Maxwell had access to tech beyond what Jason had imagined.
Someone was funding him.
---
Cass at Risk
At that exact moment, Cass was scheduled to speak at a UN conference in Vienna. She never made it.
As her convoy reached the city outskirts, a black SUV sideswiped the lead vehicle.
The second car exploded.
Cass's driver pulled a hard turn, tires screeching, bullets pinging off reinforced glass.
Cass didn't panic.
She pulled a custom WyldeTech tablet from her bag and activated "Omega Beacon."
In thirty seconds, three drones descended from the sky and deployed a counteroffensive.
One of the attackers was captured.
The others disappeared like smoke.
---
Interrogation
Jason arrived within hours.
The captive—a wiry man with Eastern European tattoos—refused to talk.
Until Jason sat across from him and dropped a small chip on the table.
"Recognize this?" Jason asked calmly.
The man's eyes widened.
Jason leaned forward.
"You think Maxwell recruited you. He didn't. You're just another chess piece. Same as I used to be."
The man stayed silent, but his hands trembled.
Jason stood. "You're going to tell me everything. Not because I'm threatening you—but because you finally understand who's really playing this game."
---
Maxwell's Next Move
In a Swiss ski chalet high in the Alps, Maxwell looked at a photo of Jason and Cass taken two years earlier.
He turned to his assistant. "He's better than I expected."
The assistant replied, "Should we fall back?"
Maxwell's smile was cold. "No. It's time for Phase Two."
He opened a secure terminal and typed one line:
> Activate the Revenant Protocol.