Agent Sarah Jenkins hated messy files. Not physically messy – she kept her workspace within the sterile, grey confines of the Public Security Intelligence Agency (PSIA) meticulously organized. She hated conceptually messy files. Cases with loose ends, unexplained anomalies, and the lingering scent of things not adding up. The file currently displayed on her secure terminal, flagged 'URGENT – SPECIAL INCIDENT RESPONSE', was the messiest she'd seen in months.
Case File: SI-2023-04B – Serpens-Epsilon Node Incident.
Initial report: Possible industrial accident / attempted arson at commercial tech building, Chuo Ward. Findings: One deceased male (building cleaner, blunt force trauma), evidence of forced entry, significant targeted destruction of server equipment within Suite 407 (leased to 'Serpens-Epsilon K.K.'), neutralized sophisticated incendiary device found at scene. Perpetrators unknown. Motive unclear.
Jenkins leaned back, tapping a pen against her chin. Her sharp eyes scanned the preliminary forensics. Blunt force trauma wasn't an 'industrial accident'. A neutralized sophisticated incendiary device wasn't 'attempted arson' by some random disgruntled employee. This was professional. Extremely professional, except for the dead cleaner. That was sloppy. Or ruthless. Or both.
Serpens-Epsilon K.K. – initial background checks showed it was likely a shell corporation, barely more than a registered name and a server rack. Why the violent data destruction? And who had the skill to neutralize that specific type of thermite charge after the perpetrators had fled? The EOD team's report addendum noted the deactivation sequence was non-standard but highly effective, suggesting familiarity with advanced ordnance, not just a lucky guess by a responding officer.
"Something smells," Jenkins muttered to herself, taking a sip of lukewarm tea from a regulation PSIA mug.
Her job, as a senior analyst in the Cyber-Physical Threats division, was to find patterns in the static, to connect the dots others missed, especially where digital intrusion intersected with real-world violence or espionage. This Serpens incident felt like a major intersection.
She pulled up related flagged incidents from the past few weeks, searching for anomalies involving shell corporations, data breaches, or unexplained professional-level activity.
Flagged Item 1: Internal Report – PixelForge Games Security Breach. Classified 'Minor'. Initial assessment: Low-level SQL injection, minor user data compromise. Jenkins' Addendum Request: Further analysis revealed probe utilized non-standard obfuscation techniques. Depth of penetration inconsistent with stated data extracted. Possible reconnaissance masked as vandalism? Analyst Note: Intrusion vector analysis inconclusive, but signature distinct from known hacktivist groups or common cybercrime profiles. Current Status: Dormant.
Flagged Item 2: Customs Anomaly Report – Nocturne Logistics K.K. Minor irregularities noted in shipping manifests from Shenzhen leading to targeted inspection. Small quantity of counterfeit electronics seized. Company flagged as probable shell. Investigator Note: Origin of initial suspicion triggering customs check unclear – system flagged for review based on an anonymous internal algorithm hit with no traceable source. Current Status: Closed – Minor Offense.
Jenkins stared at the three items on her screen. Serpens-Epsilon (violent data destruction, neutralized bomb, shell corp). PixelForge (sophisticated probe disguised as minor hack). Nocturne Logistics (smuggling via shell corp, flagged by unknown means).
Individually, they were minor blips or confusing outliers. Together? A pattern started to emerge, faint but distinct.
Methodology: High level of skill demonstrated in both digital (PixelForge probe, Serpens data wipe) and physical domains (Serpens lock bypass, bomb neutralization, Nocturne's logistical obfuscation). Suggests specialists are involved.Targets: Seemingly disparate – a gaming company, a logistics shell, another shell linked to finance/tech. But all involve data, finance, or the infrastructure connecting them.Anonymity: Perpetrators leave minimal traces. The Nocturne flag came from nowhere. The PixelForge probe was expertly cloaked. The Serpens fixers were gone before anyone arrived, save for the ghost who disarmed the bomb.Motive: Utterly opaque. Not standard corporate espionage, not typical organized crime. Too skilled, too targeted, yet seemingly reactive in the Serpens case.
It felt like… like someone was pulling strings from the shadows, someone highly capable but perhaps not entirely in control. Or maybe multiple actors whose paths were crossing?
"Run cross-correlation," she instructed her terminal. "Keyword filters: shell corporation, data breach, anomalous intrusion, untraced flag, neutralized device. Geographic filter: Kanto region focus, past 60 days. Cross-reference against known domestic and foreign threat actor profiles."
The system processed, databases whirring silently in some climate-controlled room deep within the agency. Jenkins waited, drumming her fingers. She hated waiting almost as much as she hated messy files.
Her desk comm chimed. "Agent Miller for you, ma'am."
"Put him through."
Agent Miller was her go-to tech analyst, young, perpetually caffeinated, and brilliant in a way that often made traditional intelligence officers uncomfortable.
"Jenkins," Miller's voice crackled slightly. "Got that trace analysis you requested on the Serpens network traffic logs – the ones pulled before the servers were slagged."
"Anything useful, Miller? Or just digital ghosts?"
"Mostly ghosts," Miller admitted. "Standard encrypted traffic, bounced through multiple anonymizing layers. But… I found something weird in the residual fragments from the counter-intrusion sweep Oracle mentioned - wait, not Oracle, I mean the other Oracle, the internal alert system-" Jenkins mentally filed away the slip; Miller spent too much time on weird forums "-the one you flagged from Argent's network. The sweep Argent ran after the initial breach…"
"Get to the point, Miller."
"Right. The sweep Argent used? Aggressive, yeah, but clumsy in one specific way. It left behind faint harmonic distortions in the packet headers from the original intrusion it was trying to erase. Almost like digital fingerprints smudged but not wiped clean."
Jenkins leaned forward. "Fingerprints? Can you trace them?"
"Not directly. But the type of distortion? The specific encryption layering and obfuscation methods used by the original intruder… I've seen something similar before. Cross-referenced it with the PixelForge incident."
Jenkins felt a jolt. "It's a match?"
"Not identical, but the underlying methodology, the core signature? It's like the same composer writing two different pieces of music. Highly probable it's the same actor, or at least the same group or toolkit. Extremely sophisticated. Definitely not script kiddies or usual suspects."
"And the source?" Jenkins pressed.
"Still digging. Initial probe seems to have routed through layers, including nodes associated with… well, with the Umbral Net and similar deep-web forums."
Jenkins frowned. The Umbral Net. A cesspool of conspiracy theories, fringe ideologies, and occasional genuine black market activity. Not typically associated with this level of sophisticated, targeted intrusion and real-world follow-up like the Serpens incident.
"Anything else?"
"One more thing," Miller said, his voice dropping slightly. "While cross-referencing signatures and chatter related to these incidents, I kept hitting fragments… forum posts, encrypted messages intercepted from fringe networks… mentioning a specific codename."
"Which is?"
"Uh, it sounds kinda… chuuni," Miller hesitated, using the slang for adolescent delusions of grandeur. "But it keeps popping up in relation to skilled anonymous ops and anti-establishment rhetoric. The name is… 'Nightingale'. Sometimes just 'Zero'."
Nightingale. Zero. Jenkins typed the names into her search parameters. Fictional-sounding. Like something from a spy novel. Yet Miller, her best tech analyst, was linking it, however tentatively, to the digital fingerprints left at two major incidents.
"Keep digging, Miller," Jenkins ordered. "Monitor any mentions of 'Nightingale' or 'Zero' on relevant networks. See if you can isolate a command structure or specific actors. And run these new codenames against the Nocturne Logistics anomaly – see if that untraced flag correlates at all."
"Will do, ma'am. Miller out."
Jenkins disconnected the call, her mind racing. Nightingale. Zero. A highly skilled entity, possibly a group, operating online and offline, capable of sophisticated cyber intrusion, physical reconnaissance, bomb disposal, and connected somehow to shell companies involved in smuggling, data analysis, and potentially high finance (Argent/ChronoCorp links were still speculative but implied by the Serpens data wipe). They had poked Argent Syndicate hard enough to trigger a violent cleanup operation that resulted in a murder.
Who were they? Whistleblowers? A new breed of hacktivist? Foreign intelligence using a deniable cutout? Or something else entirely?
They were skilled. They were dangerous. And now, they were on her radar. The static was resolving into a clear signal, and Agent Sarah Jenkins did not like the sound of it. She opened a new file, designation: Threat Entity Profile – Codename: NIGHTINGALE / ZERO. Priority: HIGH.
Akira finally managed to peel himself off the bathroom floor. His reflection in the cracked mirror showed a pale, hollow-eyed young man who looked like he hadn't slept in days, which wasn't far from the truth. The initial shock and nausea had subsided, replaced by a gnawing, bone-deep dread.
He'd killed someone. Indirectly, accidentally, through stupidity and hubris, but the fact remained. The blood was on his hands.
He had to respond to Wraith's report. He couldn't leave his most capable agent hanging after reporting a casualty and a critical intervention. He stumbled back to his desk, the flickering monitors seeming to mock him.
What would Zero say? Zero wouldn't panic. Zero would be cold, pragmatic. Zero understood the cost of the shadow war. The thought made Akira feel sick again, but he forced himself to type, channeling the detached persona that felt like sandpaper scraping against his raw nerves.
// Acknowledged, Wraith. Casualty noted. Regrettable but necessary collateral in hostile environments. Your intervention was decisive. Prevented wider escalation. The Serpens node is now compromised; cease all activity related to it. Maintain vigilance. The device you secured may provide valuable intel. // Zero Out.
He stared at the words. Regrettable but necessary collateral. It sounded monstrous. It sounded exactly like something the villains in his stories would say. It sounded like Zero.
He sent the message, feeling a piece of himself wither inside. He saw Wraith's status flicker to 'Acknowledged' almost immediately. No questions. No condemnation. Just acceptance.
Akira shut down his main monitor, plunging the room into near darkness, lit only by the faint standby lights of his equipment. He couldn't face the Umbral Net right now. He couldn't face Zero. He curled up on his futon, pulling a thin blanket over his head, trying to block out the image of a dead cleaner on a cold office floor.
But the static was on the line now, not just from the conspiracies he chased, but from the real world pushing back. He didn't know it yet, but Agent Sarah Jenkins was already listening, her sharp ears picking Nightingale's call sign out of the noise, her methodical investigation beginning to draw a net around his accidental, terrifying creation. The game was over. The hunt had begun.