ire leaned back in her chair, her excitement from their recent victory evaporating in an instant as she stared at her screen. The message was simple, just two words, but they sent a chill down her spine, ""Miss me?"


    The line went quiet on the other end of the phone call with Matthew. He paused, clearly sensing something was off. "Uh, ire? You still there?" he asked, his voice concerned.


    ire cleared her throat, trying to shake off the weird feeling crawling up her spine. "Yeah, I''m here."


    "What''s up? You went all quiet."


    She hesitated for a second, then exhaled sharply. "I just got a message."


    "A message?" Matthew repeated. "From whom? What does it say?"


    ire''s eyes flicked back to the screen, her lips twisting in irritation. "It''s only two words, Miss me?"


    Matthew''s tone immediately shifted. She could almost hear him sitting up straighter, the yful vibe gone. "Whoa. That''s... weird. Did you track it?"


    "Yeah," ire muttered, clicking through her system, her fingers flying over the keys. "I tried. But all it leads me to is the message. Nothing else. Whoever sent this is ying games."


    Matthew''s foot hit the floor with a heavy thud, now fully alert. "Do you know who it could be? Do you have any idea?"


    ire bit her lip, thinking it over. Her mind raced through possible suspects. Then something clicked, and her eyes narrowed. "Don''t tell me it''s that Eligos guy."


    Matthew went silent on the other end for a moment before speaking carefully, "Eligos? You sure? I mean, it could be anyone, especially since you''ve been posting on the hacker boards. You might''ve pissed off some random." ire thought about it, gnawing on her lips as she considered his words. He wasn''t wrong, but something about this message felt personal. The way the hacker left that creepy little note-it just screamed Eligos. He was always cryptic like that.


    "Yeah, maybe." she finally admitted. "But this feels like him. You know how he is, always leaving breadcrumbs, just to mess with me."


    Matthew sighed. "If it''s Eligos, you need to be careful. He''s not exactly someone to mess around with."


    "I know," ire muttered. She hated that he was right. Eligos wasn''t just another hacker. He was the kind who enjoyed toying with people, and if he had her in his sights now, that meant trouble. Big trouble. Matthew''s voice softened, a bit of concern creeping in. "You want me to help track him down?"


    "Nah," ire said, waving it off even though he couldn''t see her. "It looks like this guy''s targeting me. I''ll handle it."


    "You sure?"


    "Yeah. I''ll figure it out." She drummed her fingers on the desk, deep in thought. "I''ll dig around for a while. See what I can find."


    Matthew was quiet for a beat, then, "Good luck, ire."


    "Thanks. I''m gonna need it."


    And so, ire dove into the digital abyss, her mind spinning with possibilities as she worked her way through every possible lead. For hours, she stayed glued to her setup, her fingers dancing across the keyboard in rapid-fire as she sifted throughyer afteryer of encrypted nonsense, trying to find any crack in the firewall of whoever sent the message.


    But this wasn''t your average hacker firewall. It was like a digitalbyrinth, and every time ire thought she was making progress, another roadblock would spring up, taunting her. She cursed under her breath, leaning in closer to the screen.


    "Come on,e on," she muttered, growing more and more frustrated. This was taking too long. Even for someone with her skills, this firewall was the next level. She needed hours, maybe even days, to break through it, depending on the difficulty.


    At one point, she nced at the time. It was already the middle of the night, but she wasn''t about to stop. If this was Eligos, she couldn''t let him win. Not again.


    Morning came, and ire was still in


    Cryptonic, bleary-eyed and tired, but determined The sun streamed in through the windows, casting long shadows across the room. Her eyes burned from staring at the screen, and her sses kept slipping down her nose. She barely noticed when Matthew came in, his voice cutting through the silence.


    "Uh, ire?" he called out, sounding startled. "Have you been here for, like, years or something?"


    She rolled her eyes, not even bothering to look up from her screen. "Very funny, Matthew."


    "No, seriously." He walked over to her, eyes widening when he saw her. "You look like you haven''t slept in... forever. Are you okay?"


    ire pushed her sses up her nose and continued typing. "I''m fine. I''m solving the firewall."


    Matthew blinked at her, clearly taken aback by how zoned in she was. "You''ve been here all night, haven''t you?"


    "Yep. I don''t have much of a choice."


    "And?"


    "And... it took long hours to finally


    able to crack the firewall and I did it.


    I cracked it. ire let out a long breath, relief flooding her as she leaned back in her chair. "However, the result disappoints me. Those long hours of coding only leave me with another note. Guess what it says?"


    Matthew''s eyebrows shot up. "What?"


    "We will meet soon," ire read aloud, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "So now I''ve got that to look forward to."


    Matthew groaned. "Man, this guy is relentless. You sure it is Eligos?"


    ire rubbed her tired eyes, considering it. "I don''t know. I''m not sure anymore. The way this firewall is set up? It''s not his usual style, but that message? It''s so him. I don''t know. I''m gonna need more time to figure this out." Matthew sighed, pulling up a chair next to her. "You need a break. Seriously. You''ve been going at this nonstop."


    ire shook her head, her tiredness not enough to stop the determination burning in her. "I can''t. Not when he''s this close. Whoever this is, they''re messing with me, and I do not like it."


    "Yeah, but you''re no good if you''re dead on your feet." Matthew shot her a concerned look. "Take a nap, at least."


    She snorted. "You sound like my mom."


    "Yeah, well, someone''s gotta keep you alive," he said, grinning. "Come on. Fifteen-minute power nap, and then you can get back to kicking hacker butt.


    ire finally cracked a smile, though it was small. "Fine. Fifteen minutes."


    "Good." Matthew leaned back, satisfied. "Because I''m not letting you burn out on me. I still need my partner in crime."


    ire sighed. "Fine, but I''m not going to rest for too long. The sooner I found this person the better will it be."


    As ire leaned back in her chair,


    trying to rx for just a moment, her mind continued to race. Eligos-orx whoever this was-had her in their sights, and she wasn''t about to back down. But one thing was for sure, this was only the beginning of whatever twisted game they were ying.


    In another part of town, he was smiling widely like a Grinch who was about to ruin someone''s Christmas.


    "You really are one determined woman, ire Peterson. We surely will meet soon."