6:58 a.m. – Channel 7 News Studio – New Orleans
Emily Bruce adjusted her earpiece as she reviewed the teleprompter for the morning broadcast. Her hair was perfect. Her blazer was sharp. Her patience? Already hanging by a thread.
"Cue in 3... 2..."
The red light blinked on.
"Good morning, New Orleans. I'm Emily Bruce. And in today's headlines—wait, is that..."
The monitor glitched. A flicker. A flash.
For exactly 1.6 seconds, the screen cut to static. Then:
A digital wolf head—snarling, glitching, blinking. It tilted its head... and winked.
Emily's jaw tightened.
"That's it," she whispered into her mic. "I want every tech in the building grilled like a burger."
Behind the camera, her producer whispered, "That's the third time this week, Em. Same wolf. Same exact time. 6:59 a.m."
Emily turned slowly. "And you thought this wasn't personal?"
—
Meanwhile... Somewhere below Bourbon Street
Ryan crouched in a dank ONYX CORE surveillance hub hidden behind a jazz club. The place smelled like old gumbo and burnt microchips.
Reese's voice came through the speakers. "We caught the Glitch Wolf signal again. Channel 7. Same time. Broadcast spike originated... from the sky?"
Ryan raised an eyebrow. "You're telling me Larsen hacked a news feed... from the clouds?"
"No. A drone blimp. Flying directly above the station. Old Cold War tech. Only ONYX CORE used that transmission grid."
"Of course we did," Ryan groaned. "Why use a server when you can fly a giant floating USB stick over your enemy's head?"
He pulled up Larsen's last transmission from the vault. Embedded deep in the video file, like a hidden message, was a pattern of blinking lights.
Ryan played it in slow motion. It translated into Morse code:
"SHE'LL SEE ME SOON."
Ryan blinked. "...She? He means Emily."
Reese responded grimly, "This isn't just psychological warfare anymore. He's targeting your family and your public life."
Ryan grabbed his gear. "Then it's time I start glitching him back."
—
7:41 a.m. – Channel 7 Parking Garage
Emily's car exploded.
Not into flames—into confetti.
Colorful sparkles, streamers, and a note that read: "Don't worry. This one's just a warning shot. Love, Larsen."
Emily stood frozen, covered in red glitter, her jaw twitching.
Her co-anchor, Mitch, strolled by with a coffee. "Festive!"
She didn't blink. "I'm going to kill Ryan. I just don't know why yet."
—
9:17 a.m. – ONYX CORE Emergency Briefing Room
Ryan burst in with a stack of recovered files. "Larsen's not just trying to expose ONYX CORE. He wants to ruin my family, live on TV. He's hijacking signals to taunt Emily."
Reese tapped the map from the vault. "These locations—each one's tied to a broadcast relay or tower. And the next one's..."
Ryan looked. His heart sank.
"Faith's daycare."
—
Elsewhere – In the Sky
A massive weather balloon drone hovered above the city, its undercarriage outfitted with advanced jammers, hacked satellites, and a plushie of a wolf hanging from the antenna.
Inside the cockpit? Larsen. Wearing aviators. Grinning as he watched Emily's reaction on five different screens.
"Smile for the camera, Mrs. Bruce," he said, to no one. "This is only Act One."
[To be continued...]