Chapter 7 - The Cyber Siege
The control room of Blackwood Global looked like a military command center during an active invasion. Blue and red warning lights flashed across dozens of giant monitors as specialized cybersecurity teams worked furiously to reclaim control of the hijacked fleet.
Ethan stood in the center of the room, his jacket off, his sleeves rolled up, his eyes fixed on the map showing the three drifting container ships. If those vessels crossed into the restricted North Sea military zones, international naval authorities would be legally forced to seize the cargo, triggering a financial default that could bankrupt Blackwood Global within forty-eight hours.
“We can't break the encryption, Mr. Blackwood!” the chief technology officer shouted, his forehead covered in sweat. “The Cerberus Group is using a military-grade quantum cipher. Every time we try to bypass their firewall, they rewrite the code blocks in real-time!”
“Then stop trying to fight them through the front door,” Ethan snapped, walking over to the main terminal. He typed a specialized code sequence into the command line—a legacy system code from his days in military intelligence. “Julian, where is the physical server farm that Cerberus is using to broadcast the hijack signal?”
Julian looked up from his secondary monitor, his fingers flying across his keyboard. “We traced the primary satellite uplink to an abandoned offshore oil rig located fifteen miles off the coast of Scotland. It’s registered under a fake maritime salvage company. That’s their operational base for this region.”
“They think they’re safe because they’re sitting in international waters,” Ethan said, a dangerous, cold smile appearing on his face. He reached over, picking up a secure satellite phone and dialing a private number he hadn't used since leaving the special forces.
“Colonel Vance,” Ethan said into the phone, his voice carrying an absolute authority. “This is Ethan. I need a specialized tactical transport helicopter and an authorization code for an emergency maritime strike package. The Cerberus Group is interfering with international shipping lanes.”
The voice on the other end cracked through the static, crisp and resolute: “You have the authorization, Ethan. The strike team is already idling at the naval base in Aberdeen. Show them how the Blackwoods handle pirates.”
Ethan hung up the phone, turning to Julian. “Keep the firewalls up as long as you can to buy us time. I’m going to personally shut down their broadcast.”
May you like
“I’m coming with you, Boss,” Julian said, grabbing his tactical vest from the locker.
“Load up,” Ethan said, his face transforming into the warrior he had been before the corporate world pulled him in. “Let's show Margaret what happens when you try to sink my family's ship.”
