Chapter 203
Chapter 203:
“Exactly. And now that we know, we can control what information he leaks.” Camille straightened. “We’ve been on the defensive with Rose and Herod for too long. It’s time we took control.”
“You want to feed him false information?”
“Not just false—misleading. Information that serves our purposes.” Camille pulled up a chair. “What if Walsh received access to files suggesting vulnerability in the Grid’s west junction? Nothing that would actually endanger the system, but enough to make Rose and Herod think they’ve found a weakness.”
Understanding dawned in Hannah’s eyes. “We create a trap, and they walk right into it.”
“Better yet, when they act on this information, we’ll know exactly where they’ll be and what they’ll be targeting.”
“We can track them,” Hannah said, her fingers already moving across her keyboard. “I can create dummy files with embedded trackers. When they’re opened on another system, we’ll know the location.”
“How soon can you set it up?”
“By tonight,” Hannah promised. “I’ll create a special portal that looks identical to our regular system but contains only the files we want Walsh to find.”
“Don’t tell anyone else yet. Not even Alexander,” Camille instructed. “We need to brief Victoria first.”
Victoria listened silently as Camille and Hannah explained their discovery and proposed response, her fingers steepled beneath her chin.
“Instead of eliminating the threat,” Victoria said finally, “you want to manipulate it. Use their own weapon against them.”
“Yes,” Camille confirmed. “Walsh is more valuable to us as an unwitting double agent than as a fired employee.”
Victoria’s lips curved slightly. “And the risk? If he discovers your trap, or if the information he passes causes unexpected problems?”
“We’ll control every bit of data he sees,” Hannah explained. “The files will appear genuine to anyone who doesn’t know our actual systems intimately.”
Step into fiction with . com
Victoria rose, moving to the window where the Phoenix Grid control center was visible in the distance.
“There’s elegance in your approach,” she said. “It reminds me of a strategy I used early in my career. A competitor had placed someone in my company—much like Rose has done with Walsh. Everyone advised me to fire him immediately.”
She turned to face them. “Instead, I kept him close. Fed him exactly what I wanted my competitor to know. When they moved against me based on that information, they found themselves outmaneuvered at every turn.”
Camille felt a rush of pride at the comparison.
Victoria studied her for a long moment. “You’re not just reacting anymore. You’re anticipating, planning three moves ahead. Good.”
Hannah displayed her preliminary design for the false portal. “Everything Walsh accesses will be logged and tracked. Any files he copies will contain hidden…”
.
.
.