Dry Run test

The grilled cheese barely had time to settle in Rae’s stomach before she was back on her feet, juice box in one hand, the other already flying across the keyboard of her laptop.

“Alright,” she muttered, voice low and focused. “Let’s see what you rats were playing with.”

Remi came up behind her, setting down a plate of cut fruit on the table just within Rae’s reach. “Try not to get crumbs in the hard drive this time,” she said, her voice light but her eyes scanning the screen.

Rae didn’t look up. “That was one time. And it was popcorn.”

Trey leaned over her shoulder while Will and Elijah flanked either side of the couch. Del sat cross-legged on the floor beside Aspen, who was watching Rae intently, ears twitching.

A soft chime echoed from Rae’s laptop. Her eyes narrowed.

“There,” she said, tapping rapidly. “That’s it. I found a cluster of redirected IPs and abnormal system pings that originated inside the medical database logs—but it doesn’t stop there. They wormed through the hospital’s scheduling system and rerouted protocols for emergency lockdown drills.”

“Wait,” Will said, straightening. “They were simulating a lockdown?”

“No,” Rae replied, her tone grim. “They were creating one. Not just for practice, but to see how long it would take to isolate specific wings of the hospital. Particularly the research ward.”

Elijah’s brow furrowed. “So if they triggered it…”

“They could trap someone,” Remi finished, her voice going tight.

Rae nodded. “And here’s the kicker—Pierce’s credentials were used in the override, but the code? It’s a shadow fork. Someone cloned his access to test the lockdown without tripping alarms.”

Del’s fingers curled into fists. “And no one noticed this?”

“They weren’t meant to,” Rae said. “Until now.”

Aspen gave a low growl, pacing once before sitting again. Rae glanced at her, then back to the screen.

“Whatever they were planning, it was meant to trap someone specific. Or maybe several someones. I’m pulling logs now to see which names or IDs were targeted. If they pre-marked anyone…”

Trey’s voice was sharp. “You think it was a trial run for a pack-wide lockdown?”

Rae nodded. “Or worse—segmented isolation. Cut off the Luna, Alpha, council… pick them off one group at a time.”

Will’s jaw clenched. “We need to find out who had access to this test and when it was launched.”

Rae was already way ahead of him, eyes locked on her screen, fingers flying. “You’ll have names in fifteen.”

Remi’s hand landed on Rae’s shoulder, grounding her. “We’ve got your back.”

Rae didn’t look up, but her voice softened. “I know.”

Then her tone sharpened again as her screen flashed a name.

“Oh, hell no.”

Everyone leaned in.

“Guess who accessed the simulation protocol during that test window?” Rae said.

“Who?” Elijah asked.

Rae turned the laptop so they could all see the name flashing on screen:

Dana Halloway – Council Communications Officer.

The room fell silent.

Del muttered under her breath, “We need to move fast.”

Rae’s fingers resumed their rapid rhythm. “Then let’s give them a real glitch to worry about.”