"Rachel," Susie's voice startled Lucy, drawing her gaze to the woman that was suddenly standing and walking toward her.

Lucy had been distracted for a long moment, the relief had having the two doctors she trusted available to help her with both work and the baby taking a weight off her shoulders she hadn't even realized was crushing her.

She blinked, standing to greet Susie instinctively, her mind still far away as she walked around Wyatt to stand before the woman that had just given her more peace of mind than she could imagine.

It was that very distraction that delayed her reactions, not expecting Susie to reach out and grasp Lucy's hands in her own. Rather than dodging like she may have any other day, she simply flinched at the unexpected contact.

The three men with Lucy had already bolted to their feet, but hesitated when Susie held Lucy's hands while looking at her seriously - Susie's eyes filled with tears.

"I'm glad you're okay and you didn't die that day," Susie rushed, squeezing Lucy's hands to emphasize that she meant it, "I'm sorry I got so upset and lashed out. I didn't know."

"Wha-" Lucy gasped, but a chime in her mind made her blood run cold and anything she was about to say evaporated.

"Unauthorized intrusion attempted. Malicious code detected. Initiating security protocols and notifying security officers in your contacts," Octavia's voice sliced through Lucy's thoughts like a hot knife through butter, rendering her completely speechless.

She stood there, frozen and gaping open mouthed at Susie - who mistook her speechlessness for surprise, and continued rushing her words out even as she held Lucy's hands tightly.

"You're right, we should leave the past in the past. Why don't we swap contacts, like the old days? We could start over and..."

Lucy didn't hear anything she said, staring at the woman as Octavia continued to speak.

"Entry point isolated as secondary device watch-22468R. Disconnecting device access to primary device. Please do not dispose of the device as it can be used for evidence."

The door to the door opened suddenly, and Stanley's eyes found Lucy instantly. One look at the jumpy Susie, and Stanley put the pieces together quickly.

"Mrs. Morgan. Lieutenant Colonel. Sergeant. There is a situation that requires our immediate attention. I'm afraid we need to leave," Stanley's formal tone and hard look left no doubt that it was time to go.

Right now.

"Wait, what?" Susie asked, clearly startled - though still not releasing Lucy from her grip, "Is-is everything okay? What-"

"I'm afraid the situation is classified, Mrs. Houst," Stanley said firmly, his gaze locking onto their hands, "I must ask you to release Mrs. Morgan. I apologize for cutting your meeting short."

Susie hesitated, but Lucy didn't. Regaining her wits, Lucy all but yanked her hands away from Susie and rushed toward Stanley - her face pale but her eyes raging with a fire he rarely saw in the kind woman.

He couldn't blame her.

Wyatt, Rory, and Lieutenant Colonel Zhang didn't waste time on pleasantries, and followed behind Stanley and Lucy - Susie's stuttering questions and gasping indignation quickly left behind.

Lucy didn't touch anyone or anything as she raced behind Stanley, only pausing to hiss in frustration when she was inside the elevator.

"Octavia said to collect it as evidence," Lucy whispered angrily, holding her hands out in front of her awkwardly, "I don't want to ruin anything. How do we do this?"

While they were confused, Wyatt and Rory stood nearby quietly - letting Stanley and Lucy speak and deal with whatever was going on. They already had their suspicions, but knew it was best to wait.

Lieutenant Colonel Zhang, however, was just now opening his holo and seeing Octavia's ping. His eyes darkened and snapped to Lucy's wrist where the device in question still rested.

"Don't touch anyone or anything," Stanley instructed, clicking several buttons on his holo, "We're going to get you to the SUV. There's an evidence collection kit inside. Once we've done that, we will sanitize your arms from elbow to fingertips, to be safe."

Lucy nodded, keeping her hands out to prevent contamination while turning her head to face Lieutenant Colonel Zhang.

"I assume we are going to take action," Lucy said, her voice low and her eyes hard.

"Absolutely," Lieutenant Colonel Zhang nodded sharply, anger clear in the tightness around his mouth as he forced himself to remain composed.

They'd prepared for a lot of things, but this was not something they had expected out of Susie.

Thankfully, the potential of data attacks had been on General Hao's mind since the moment Lucy arrived home, and updating Octavia with the military security packages had been a given when she got the mod.

The doors to the elevator slid open, and the five of them were greeted by a very tense security team that quickly surrounded them and led them out of the building.

Unsurprisingly, a cluster of nobbles was waiting for them just outside the doors - but Rob had received the same notification Stanley had and was in absolutely no state of mind to give anyone leniency.

He shoved forward like a plow, shoving hybrids that cried out in surprise at the ferocity of the man's actions. They reached the SUV in seconds, and Rob held the door open so that Lucy could slide in awkwardly. She sat there, her arms held out in front of her like she was afraid they'd turn on her and attack her - eyeing her watch warily as the others quickly rushed to join her.

The moment the doors were closed, Mack handed Stanley the evidence collection kit with a sharp nod - the small silver suitcase having been stored under the front seat.

"Please stay still, Rachel," Stanley murmured, his brow furrowed and his focus entirely on the watch on her arm.

The SUV didn't move, and the nobbles swarmed around the vehicle - their muffled shouts hardly registering to the panicked people inside. The military grade vehicle was well designed to ensure no one could see or hear what happened inside, so there was no need to rush.

"Would someone be willing to explain?" Wyatt finally asked, his voice nearly a growl as he watched Stanley remove the watch on Lucy's wrist with gloved covered hands.

"When Susie grabbed my hands, she put her hand over my watch," Lucy said tightly, allowing Stanley to move on to rubbing some liquid covered swabs on her arms, "Octavia alerted me that the second she did, some malicious code or something tried to hack into my primary device through it."

"What?" Wyatt hissed as Rory's eyes clouded in fury.

He had suspected it, of course, from the moment Stanley walked in the room... but to have it confirmed was a different matter entirely.

"The security team, the General, and the Lieutenant Colonel are all listed as security contacts in Rachel's mod," Stanley noted, "So we were notified with the same warning seconds after Rachel."

"Is there surveillance in that room," Rory asked, looking toward the Lieutenant Colonel - who was typing away furiously on his virtual keyboard.

"No," Lieutenant Colonel Zhang said with a dark smirk, "because we didn't need it. We ensured that all devices on the floor were disabled the moment we arrived."

"What do you mean, we didn't need it?" Wyatt asked, his anger bleeding into his voice as he glared at the solider.

"Because Octavia has been recording since we stepped out of the SUV," Lucy said smoothly, looking toward Wyatt with a small smile, "It was the Lieutenant Colonel's idea when we scheduled this in the first place."

"I thought we might use it if Mrs. Houst attempted to slander Rachel in the media," Lieutenant Colonel Zhang admitted quietly, "I had no idea it would end up being evidence of a planned attack."

"Is the form still valid?" Lucy asked, looking toward Lieutenant Colonel Zhang tensely, "Can she revoke it when she realizes her plan failed?"

"No," Lieutenant Colonel Zhang shook his head, "The form specifically released the decision to Dr. Roshur Jr. He decides if and when he wants to terminate the arrangement, not her."

"So she can force him," Lucy said frowning, "She's his primary."

"She doesn't know her plan has failed yet," Rory reminded Lucy, "If we move quickly, we can buy time to come up with a plan."

"What are you thinking?" Lieutenant Colonel Zhang asked, his frown still firmly in place.

"Have Dr. Roshur go to the hospital," Rory said quickly, "Right now. She can't get to him on base. Have him remain there until we can regroup. He can stay in the barracks if he has to."

Murmurs of agreement surrounded them as, at last, Stanley gave Lucy the all clear after sanitizing her arms.

The second she was good she lunged toward Rory, who wrapped his arms around her quickly and tucked her into his chest protectively.

"I got you," he murmured gently, petting her head softly, "We got you. You're safe."

"We should head to the matching bureau as planned," Wyatt said quietly, eyeing Lucy, "Eliminate as many risks as fast as possible."

"I'm not sure-" Rory began, but Lucy's nodding head cut him off before he finished.

He paused for a moment, then nodded once - turning to Stanley to give him the order.

"The matching bureau," Rory said firmly, his eyes drifting over the men who were all about to become bonded to his primary, "Then straight back to the castle."

"They're already set up and ready," Stanley nodded, opening his holo, "I'll let them know we're coming in and we're in a hurry. We'll get in and get out quickly."

"Just a little finger stick," Lucy muttered to herself quietly, "Then we go home."

Rory tightened his hold, willing the SUV to get them there faster so they could get back to the safety of the castle.

Is it ever going to be safe for her to leave the house again? Rory found himself thinking as his eyes drifted down to the woman in his arms.

He pressed his lips together, genuinely not sure if he had a good answer.

--

The men sat around the sitting room in a tense silence, Rory having just recounted the events of the day.

Lucy was snuggled up in Wyatt's lap, a fuming Evan on one side with his hand on her thigh and Jasper on the other - running his fingers through her hair in a calming motion. Flynn knelt in front of the couch, as was becoming his habit, his head resting on Wyatt's knee beside Lucy as she wove her fingers through his hair. Zachary was pacing across the room, clearly agitated but without anywhere to aim it - instead glaring at the floor as he walked.

Lucy's anger had finally faded after Flynn brought her a piece of apple pie that tasted so much like her mom's she teared up. Flynn had nearly burst with pride when she clung to the cat for several long moments until she got her bearings.

Unfortunately for the others, apple pie didn't quite have the same magical effect as it did on Lucy.

They were all still ready to rampage across the city to drag Susie in for questioning.

"The General will be here soon," Lieutenant Colonel Zhang said seriously, "He will collect the evidence himself and escort it back to base for proper processing."

"What are our next steps here, Lieutenant Colonel?" Rory asked, too agitated to sit and thus standing behind the couch near where Wyatt was holding Lucy.

"Understanding first, action second," Lieutenant Colonel Zhang sighed, leaning back slightly and looking at Lucy on the couch across from him for a long moment, "The tech Mrs. Houst used isn't just illegal, it's virtually impossible to get ahold of. The size alone - it must have been miniscule, whatever it was. When we looked at the watch, there was no physical indication that something had been done to it. We need to understand how she even got ahold of something like that."

"She used the meeting as a trap," Lucy said slowly, not moving from where her head rested on Wyatt's chest even as she spoke, "but that meeting was only recently scheduled. It seems unlikely she'd have had it before then. We should track her movements from the moment the meeting was scheduled until the moment she arrived in the restaurant."

"Agreed," Lieutenant Colonel Zhang nodded, "I will also be checking the restaurant security back two days in case it was waiting for her when she arrived."

"The likelihood is low," Rob said from nearby, eyeing his primary - struggling to contain a grin as the words ran through his mind, "but it might be wise to follow her trail back a day or two further. Anyone that knew the plan to contact and set up the meeting in the first place could have reached out proactively."

"She did agree to the meeting more readily than we expected," Lieutenant Colonel Zhang said slowly, his brow furrowing, "Yes, that's good advice. I'll go back even further, then."

"Who all knew of our plan to schedule the meeting?" Lucy wondered, taking Evan's hand gently and playing with his fingers in her lap, "I'm not even sure. That might be a good place to start while we wait for answers. Good thinking, Rob."

Evan's shoulders eased slightly, her familiar habits calming him instinctively.

Meanwhile, Rob was once again thankful for being an elephant hybrid. Otherwise he'd be the same color as a cherry right now.

"What would have happened if Rachel hadn't had the mod, Lieutenant Colonel?" Jasper's question nearly sucked the air right out of the room, and a long tense silence followed as Lieutenant Colonel Zhang considered how to answer.

"We don't know everything yet," he began slowly, "but I believe it was a nesting code."

Nearby, Kofi sucked in a sharp breath - while everyone else looked between the two in confusion.

"A nesting code," he continued, his voice tight, "Must be physically introduced to an electronic device. It burrows deep into the base code, then begins a replicating process. Once it's entire code is replicated, it is sent out to find and burrow into a new, connected device. Then this repeats. It continues until it runs out of connected devices. Whatever the code contains can be triggered in one of two ways. Either it's designed to trigger after the replicated code leaves leading to a chain reaction or it all triggers at once in a one massive attack."

He didn't have to explain that 'running out of connected devices' in the modern times of walled cities and high technological dependence was like saying 'running out of ocean.' Almost every technological device in use was connected to some network, some system, or some other device in order to function properly.

He crossed his legs, his brow furrowed as he continued, "A version of it was released decades ago. It wiped out the tech of half a city before it was discovered. The nesting code's orders were simple - shut off whatever it was connected to. When they'd power it back on, it'd shut right back off. It effectively crippled technology - cars stopped working, plants shut down, and the walls' defenses crumpled. It had just infiltrated their city servers when they pulled the plug to prevent it from making it to the net."

He didn't mention that they had timed their attack to specifically coincide with a triple conjunction storm, eventually leading to the city's destruction.

Everyone on Wurther learns from a young age exactly how moon alignment affects the weather on the planet - the storms that result are simply part of regular life. However, most modern societies rely on a city's wind shields to divert the worst of it - especially when all three moons align with the sun simultaneously.

When the shields failed the day before the storm, there simply wasn't enough time to dig out the nesting code and restore the defenses before it hit. Even if the citizens managed to survive the storm by waiting it out in the bunkers - if the walls fell, the monsters would be in city within moments.

In the end they'd had to abandon the city entirely and seek refuge in other, nearby cities.

Rumor had it that the last two ships filled with citizens never arrived, lost to the early winds of the storm because they had delayed the evacuation too long.

"The Conch City disaster," Stanley breathed, more familiar than some of the others with the story of the city's fall, "You're saying Mrs. Houst wasn't just trying to target Rachel... She was going after the entire city?"

"I'm saying," Lieutenant Colonel Zhang said seriously, "that if I'm right and that's what it was, then if Mrs. Morgan hadn't had the military security protocols to protect her... It could have become a city wide issue. Your unit's network would have been first, then it would have spread from there. If it went undetected long enough, even the city's wind shields would have eventually been affected."

"Now," he added, lifting his hand as if to calm them all preemptively, "that's based on a lot of assumptions. We don't know for sure it was a nesting code. We also learned a lot from Conch City, so it likely would have been detected long before it reached a critical point. We even have security measures in place to detect and prevent those kinds of things from making their way into the net to safeguard other cities now. So, it could have become a problem, but it's unlikely it would have escalated to the worst case scenario."

"Susie wouldn't know that though," Zachary pointed out, a frown etched deep in his face, "In fact, I'm not sure that most of that is common knowledge. So, when Susie planted it... She, or whoever gave it to her, wouldn't have expected it to be detected right away. Possibly at all, until the code started causing real damage."

"Intent versus impact," Jasper nodded, smiling slightly despite the topic as Lucy nuzzled into his hand, "They intended to threaten the entire city, even if the impact wasn't as severe because of the security measures in place."

"Let's wait until the investigation reveals more," Lieutenant Colonel Zhang sighed, not disagreeing with the bird but nervous to say something like that out loud about a primary without more evidence, "For now, we keep this quiet and don't react. If they think they succeeded, it may make them overconfident enough to make a mistake."

--

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