CHAPTER 7: THE BLACKOUT PROTOCOL
Maya ordered the company’s systems taken offline.
Hospital administrators resisted immediately.
Aster’s software coordinated thousands of appointments, emergency shifts, surgical teams, and patient transfers. Shutting it down without warning would create chaos.
Leaving it active could be worse.
Maya contacted every hospital personally.
Some executives cooperated.
Others threatened lawsuits.
Charles Whitmore called before sunrise.
His voice was smooth and measured.
“Maya, I’ve been informed that you canceled our scheduled test.”
“We discovered a security threat.”
“I have cybersecurity experts who can assist.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
“You’re making a serious mistake.”
“I’ve made more serious mistakes by trusting people who insisted they were helping me.”
Charles paused.
“I heard about the envelope.”
Maya sat straighter.
“I never told you about it.”
“Dr. Pierce did.”
“Of course he did.”
Charles sighed.
“Rebecca Hale attended dozens of my events. I barely knew her.”
“You were the beneficiary of Meridian Strategies.”
The silence that followed was brief but unmistakable.
Then Charles laughed.
“You’re reading records you don’t understand.”
“Explain them.”
“I don’t conduct private financial discussions over unsecured calls.”
“Then speak to Detective Cole.”
“I’m trying to protect your company.”
“No. You’re trying to control the conversation.”
Charles’s tone changed.
The warmth vanished.
“Be careful, Maya. Your company survived one scandal. It may not survive another.”
He ended the call.
At Aster’s headquarters, Priya’s team worked through the remaining encryption.
The countdown could not be disabled from inside the company’s network. It was linked to an external command server that changed locations every ninety seconds.
Gregory had designed the encryption.
But someone else had modified it recently.
The new code used a sophisticated signature belonging to Halcyon Defense Systems, a private technology contractor that handled cybersecurity for government agencies and hospital networks.
Charles Whitmore served on Halcyon’s advisory board.
“This is bigger than Rebecca,” Marcus said.
“It was always bigger,” Maya answered.
Ten minutes before the countdown reached zero, Aster successfully disconnected forty-five hospitals.
One hospital refused.
North Atlantic Memorial.
Charles Whitmore’s flagship institution.
Its administrators claimed disconnecting would endanger patients and violate their technology agreement.
Maya called the hospital directly.
Dr. Owen Pierce answered.
“You need to shut down the system,” she said.
“We’ve reviewed the threat.”
“Then you know what will happen.”
“Our experts believe the code is harmless.”
“Your experts work for Halcyon.”
“And yours are employees trying to protect their jobs.”
Maya stared through the glass wall of the operations center.
“Owen, disconnect the hospital.”
“I won’t create panic because of a theory.”
The countdown reached zero.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then every staffing screen inside North Atlantic Memorial changed at once.
Doctors disappeared from schedules.
Nurses were assigned to departments where they did not work.
The emergency system reported that the hospital had no available trauma surgeons.
Ambulances began receiving automatic diversion notices.
Maya’s team tried to regain control.
The remote command server locked them out.
Then a second attack began.
Patient appointment data poured onto public websites.
News stations received anonymous messages claiming Aster had concealed a massive security breach.
Within minutes, reporters gathered outside Maya’s office.
Charles Whitmore appeared on television from North Atlantic Memorial.
He spoke calmly as hospital staff rushed behind him.
“Aster Health Technologies has failed the patients who trusted it. We are taking immediate action to protect the public.”
Maya watched in disbelief.
“He knew exactly when it would happen,” Priya said.
The federal government suspended Aster’s access to several medical networks pending investigation.
The company’s value fell by half before the stock market opened.
At nine o’clock, federal agents arrived with a search warrant.
The warrant stated that the attack had originated from Aster’s headquarters.
More damagingly, the authorization certificate had been issued using Maya’s own executive key.
The same credentials David had once stolen.
Maya surrendered her laptop and phone.
An agent approached her with a sealed evidence bag.
Inside was a handwritten note recovered from Gregory’s abandoned office.
It read:
Maya approved the protocol.
She just doesn’t remember signing it.
Elena stepped forward.
“That’s a lie.”
The agent looked at Maya.
“We need you to come with us for questioning.”
As Maya was escorted through the lobby, cameras flashed outside.
Reporters shouted her name.
Then Priya pushed through the crowd.
“Maya!”
An agent stopped her, but she raised a tablet above her head.
“I found Gregory.”
Maya turned.
Priya’s screen showed footage from a traffic camera near Boston Harbor.
Gregory was being forced into a van by two men.
May you like
One of the men turned toward the camera.
He was Dr. Owen Pierce.
