V380.2.0.4.exe

Below that, a calendar. Every date was grayed out except one: .

His phone buzzed. A notification from an app he'd never installed—also called V380. It had access to his camera, his microphone, his location. He tried to delete it. The phone rebooted itself. When it came back, the app was still there, and a new message glowed on the screen: V380.2.0.4.exe

Below it, the same calendar. Tomorrow's date still glowed. Below that, a calendar

His laptop screen flickered. Not the usual boot-up flash, but a controlled pulse, like a heartbeat. Then the camera—his laptop's built-in webcam—lit green. He hadn't opened any video app. A notification from an app he'd never installed—also

A window appeared. No logo, no menu, just a live feed. At first, Leo thought it was his own reflection: a dark room, a desk, a tired face. But the man in the feed wore a different shirt. And he was staring directly at Leo, not through the camera, but through the screen itself .

The feed was gone. In its place was a single line of text: "Camera handshake established. Please select deployment date."