I shut down the screen displaying Lianna’s face, letting the digital darkness reclaim the Zurich command center. While my suspicion of Elara and the Northern Faction was a growing priority, the immediate threat to Valerian couldn't be ignored. I had to set aside the internal Syndicate conflict, at least for now.
"D," I called out, my voice reverting to the tone of authority I had perfected in Budapest, a sharp contrast to the panic I’d felt when seeing the fire at Valerian.
"Yes, Mr. North?" Agent D responded instantly, as if he had been standing by my side all along.
"What's the status of Valerian's systems following the *zero-day* attack thwarted by Phoenix?"
"Full stability, sir. The Coven attack was a complete failure. All they got from the heavy-handed hacking attempt was noise. H
