On Penelope, across the desk, the screen flickered violently. Echidna had found the network bridge. It was trying to jump. If it infected Athena during the transfer window, it would inherit the new license too. It wouldn't just survive—it would thrive.
She couldn't see the code.
The command prompt on Athena froze. Then it spat back: kaspersky transfer license to new computer
She grabbed a magnifying glass and pressed it against Penelope’s screen. Through the static, she saw fragments: . She typed it into Athena. On Penelope, across the desk, the screen flickered violently
30 seconds.