The terminal beeped once.
Then again.
Charles leaned closer, his confidence fading as lines of data began to scroll uncontrollably across the screen.
His fingers froze.
Charles (quietly):
“…What is this?”
Behind him, the entire bank fell into uneasy silence. Even the veteran didn’t move.
The screen refreshed.
A single balance appeared.
Charles’s face slowly changed—confusion… then disbelief… then something closer to fear.
Employee (whispering):
“Sir… what does it say?”
Charles didn’t answer.
He couldn’t.
His voice finally cracked.
Charles:
“This account… it doesn’t exist in our system.”
The veteran stepped closer.
For the first time, his voice softened—but carried weight.
Veteran:
“That’s because your system was never meant to see it.”
The terminal suddenly beeped again—louder this time.
A hidden security alert flashed red across every screen in the bank.
ACCESS LEVEL: UNKNOWN
OVERRIDE INITIATED
Alarms began to rise.
Charles stepped back slowly.
Charles (shaking):
“Who… are you?”
The veteran looked at him for a long moment.
Then—
The screens all went black at once.
And in the silence that followed…
a single encrypted message appeared on every monitor:
“PROJECT WAR ACCOUNT REACTIVATED.”
CUT TO BLACK.
