You Mocked Me I’m The One You Fear Chapter 08
“Round Two, 4-0!”
The official’s voice boomed through the arena.
“Final score of the International Collegiate Cyber Defense Invitational: Westbridge 4, Kestrel 3. Westbridge wins!”
The rest was almost drowned out by the crowd.
Nearly everyone in the stands got to their feet. People slapped the backs of seats, shouted, waved Westbridge flags, and raised their phones to capture the final score beside my account ID.
Someone on one side of the arena shouted, “Maya!”
Another voice answered with “G!”
Then came applause, whistles, and scattered chants from every direction.
I stood there while the noise rolled over me.
Vanessa was off to one side, white-faced, jealousy burning behind her eyes no matter how hard she tried to hide it.
Ethan stood several feet away.
Pride. Regret. Shock. Resentment.
All of it was written across his face at once.
I sat back down at the main console.
Then I placed my hands on the keyboard again.
The final score vanished from the main screen.
In its place appeared a set of decrypted files.
“Kestrel seemed to enjoy putting our information on display in Round One,” I said. “So I thought I’d return the courtesy.”
Training reports.
Competition-environment configurations.
Vulnerability inventories.
Indexes of unreleased scripts.
The files filled the giant screen.
The cheers that had only just started to fade surged again.
“Oh, that’s brutal.”
“She really said fair is fair.”
Several Kestrel competitors sat motionless, like the fight had drained straight out of them.
Damian’s eyes were bloodshot. His mouth tightened as though he were trying to hold on to whatever dignity he had left.
Finally, he stood. His chair scraped hard across the floor.
“Wait.”
My voice carried through the microphone.
Damian stopped.
“You forgot something.”
He turned slowly.
“What?”
I tapped one key.
“An apology.”
His expression hardened.
“We already lost. What else do you want?”
I met his eyes.
“I said apologize.”
Someone in the stands yelled, “Apologize!”
Boos followed. The live chat filled just as fast.
“He had plenty to say before.”
“Say sorry and leave.”
Damian clenched his jaw.
For a moment, he looked as though he might do it.
Then he scoffed, turned, and started walking away.
I let that sit for a beat.
“Fine.”
I typed a few commands.
Almost immediately, alarms shrieked from Kestrel’s side of the stage.
Their core database status panel flashed red.