END OF IT

Chapter Two#A Slide of Revenge

The theft was discovered an hour after the group study session broke up. Panic, sharp and undiluted, laced Allen’s voice as she frantically emptied her backpack in the library atrium. “It’s gone! My laptop is gone!”

The group froze. Chloe peered into the bag. “Maybe you left it at the carrel?”

“I didn’t! I put it right here before we got coffee. I know I did!”

Anthony’s gaze immediately found George, leaning against a pillar. “Damn, that sucks,” George said, his tone a blend of concern and casual detachment. “Probably some townie who snuck in. They’re always casing the library during exams.”

The word “townie” was uttered with practiced disdain, an easy narrative for the group to accept. Lisa insisted they go to security.

The campus security office was dim and smelled of stale coffee. Officer Higgins, moving with weary resignation, took the report. After prodding, he pulled up the security footage. On the grainy monitor, they watched their group leave. For ten minutes, the carrel was still. Then, a figure in a dark, hooded sweatshirt, face completely obscured, moved with swift, deliberate purpose. They slid into the carrel, unzipped the backpack, removed the laptop, and walked calmly away. The entire act took fifteen seconds.

“See? A townie. Knew it,” George said, a note of vindication in his voice.

“Can you follow them? See if another camera got a face?” Anthony asked.

Officer Higgins sighed, tapping keys. “The camera at the west exit… huh. System says the footage for that time period is corrupted. Glitched out. Nothing there.”

A cold certainty settled in Anthony’s gut. A conveniently timed, geographically specific digital anomaly.

Back at the apartment, Allen was on the verge of tears. “My whole semester project was on that laptop. It’s due in two weeks. I’m screwed.”

George clapped a hand on her shoulder; she flinched. “Don’t worry, we’ll all help you redo it,” he said, the offer feeling hollow.

Later, Anthony knocked on Allen’s dorm door. He held up a USB drive and a paper bag. “The tech shop next to the pizza place stays open late. We can get you logged in and salvage your cloud files. And I brought a brownie.”

For two hours, they worked side-by-side in the cluttered shop, recovering most of her notes. It wasn’t everything, but it was a lifeline.

“Thank you,” Allen said as they walked back. “You’re the only one who actually did something. You saw it too, didn’t you? The ‘glitch’ wasn’t a glitch.”

“Yeah,” Anthony said, his voice low. “I saw it.”

“He’s starting,” she whispered. “This was the first shot.”

As Anthony walked home, he remembered the fleeting, triumphant smirk on George’s face in the security office. The war had begun, and the first battle was a silent, digital one.