Val's P.O.V

The “Ronan Termination Protocol” group chat didn’t simmer down; it ignited into a full-blown five-alarm fire that burned straight through the night. What began as a tense text exchange swiftly escalated. Reynolds, a ghost in the machine we’d accidentally summoned, was a relentless taskmaster.

Reynolds: Voice is inefficient. Video conference. Now.

A link appeared. It wasn’t a Zoom or Teams link. It was a string of alphanumeric characters that redirected to a sleek, ...