Author: Lee
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The ghost at the table – Draft 03 – Chapter 6
Logan, a former RAAF member, has become a vigilante hacker seeking justice for his deceased partner, Lily. Disillusioned by a failure of justice, he infiltrates Adelaide’s vulnerable businesses, escalating his cyberattacks as a tribute to Lily. Meanwhile, Stephanie McBride, a savvy investigator, notices his precision amidst the chaos. Drawn into the digital underworld, she begins…
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The ghost at the table – Draft 03 – Chapter 7
Logan, a solitary figure consumed by his screens, seeks the mentorship of a digital legend, D@@Mladen. Despite the odds, D@@Mladen defies expectations and challenges Logan to a midnight meeting in Adelaide. At a shabby bar, he discovers D@@Mladen is an adept woman, defying his expectations. Thrust into an intensive hacking boot camp, Logan learns about…
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The ghost at the table – Draft 03 – Chapter 8
Venturing into D@@Mladen’s underground hacker lair, I, Logan, am thrust into an intense apprenticeship emphasizing coding and encryption as the backbone of hacking. Despite feeling awkward and oversized, this world values intellect over appearance. As D@@Mladen rigorously coaches me through Python, system understanding, and social engineering, a deep partnership forms. Fletcher keystrokes become a weapon…
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The ghost at the table – Draft 03 – Chapter 9
Logan The server room hummed like a nest of hornets. Stephanie McBride stood at the threshold, her sharp gaze sweeping across the banks of blinking machinery. She was the new blood at SAPOL, fresh talent with a sniper’s precision for cybercrime detection. Early forties, hair the colour of wet earth pulled back in a no-nonsense…
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The ghost at the table – Draft 03 – Chapter 10
Stephanie The gentle clinking of glasses and the murmur of contented conversation enveloped my husband and I as we sat in the warm glow of a Melbourne eatery, a rare oasis of calm amidst the relentless pace of our lives. A soft amber light played on the white tablecloth, casting elongated shadows of the wine…
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The ghost at the table – Draft 03 – Chapter 11
Stephanie Fingers danced across the keyboard, a staccato rhythm in the near-dark. The glow from the screen was the only light, casting an eerie pallor on Stephanie’s face. She delved deeper, layers of security peeling away under her relentless assault. Dark web, darker motives. Australia’s underbelly was throbbing with digital pulses of crime, and she…
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The ghost at the table – Draft 03 – Chapter 12
The warehouse loomed ahead, a hulking monument to illicit dealings and cyber shadows. I took it in, the rust on the corrugated iron cladding, the silence that hugged its walls too tight. No goons on watch, no cameras winking their red eyes at me. Odd. I swallowed hard, the pulse in my throat ticking like…
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The ghost at the table – Draft 03 – Chapter 13
Logan The phone buzzed, a low grumble on the hardwood table. I eyed it, knowing who it would be before the screen lit up with Dragon’s codename. His calls never meant good news. “Logan,” his voice was a hiss, quick and urgent, “they’re onto you. The cops. Your digital trails.” “Damn.” My fingers drummed against…
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The ghost at the table – Draft 03 – Chapter 14
Logan I hunched over my laptop, the screen’s glow the only light in the room. Fingers danced across keys with military precision—a skill that stuck from RAAF days. Information streamed down the monitor: farms, assets, security protocols. A Chinese conglomerate, vast as the outback and twice as ruthless. Their cyber defence was a fortress. Advanced…
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The ghost at the table – Draft 03 – Chapter 15
Stephanie Sweat mixed with grime on Stephanie’s brow as she hunkered down behind the crates. Bullets sang their deadly tune overhead, each one a reminder of how close death was. Her heart thrummed against her ribs, a frantic drummer keeping time with the chaos. The warehouse, once a place of orderly rows and crated secrets,…