Love Algorithm

The Counter-Hack

WHAT HAPPENED TO LYRA?

The cursor blinked.

Five seconds. Ten.

Then—
@thealgorithm: You should ask Nova. She's next in line.

Her stomach dropped. "What does that mean?"

But before she could move, her phone buzzed—screen lighting up on its own.
Images began flashing: selfies, texts, private DMs, even deleted drafts.
Everything she'd ever thought was gone.

Aiden lunged forward, yanking the cable free. "They're dumping your memory cache!"

Nova's hands shook. "They have everything."

He slammed the laptop shut. "Not for long."

He dragged over another monitor, the glow turning his face pale blue.
"I can reroute through an offline kernel. If I mimic their handshake code, I can—"

"Aiden," she interrupted softly. "You're talking in robot again."

He paused. Then, with a small, tired laugh: "I'm trying to steal their signal before they steal us."

"Then steal fast."

The lights in the garage flickered.
A loud crack of thunder rattled the metal roof.

On screen, a progress bar appeared: TRACE INITIATED — 37%

Nova whispered, "Please work."

40%... 48%... 52%...

Then everything went black.

The hum stopped.
The screens went dark.

A single sound filled the silence—
a mechanical ding.

The laptop turned itself back on.
The background had changed: a live-feed window showing them.

Nova stared at her own terrified reflection.
"They're inside your laptop."

Aiden slammed the lid shut again. "No—they're inside me. That trace used my old log-in credentials. They back-doored through my ID."

Her pulse spiked. "So what do we do?"

He looked up, eyes burning. "We go analog."

She blinked. "As in—?"

"As in destroy everything digital we have."

Nova hesitated. "Even my phone?"

He held out his hand. "Especially your phone."

Reluctantly, she placed it in his palm.
He stared at it for a moment—then smashed it against the floor.

Glass cracked, circuits hissed, the light died.

For a second, silence again.

Then the garage radio—one that hadn't worked in years—crackled to life.

A distorted voice came through, metallic and calm:

"Signal loss detected. Counter-move acknowledged."

Nova froze. "That's them."

Aiden stared at the radio. "They're broadcasting now."

"You think deleting data erases guilt?" the voice continued. "You can't delete what you've already done."

Nova's throat tightened. "What does that mean, Aiden?"

He didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on the radio, unblinking.

"Level 6 unlocked," the voice said. "Location verified."

Aiden whispered, "They just triangulated us."

He grabbed his backpack. "We need to move. Now."

Nova stood. "Where?"

He shoved open the side door. Outside, the rain had slowed, but fog rolled thick across the lot.

"Somewhere without Wi-Fi," he said.

They sprinted across puddles toward his car.
But halfway there, another car engine started—one they hadn't heard before.

Headlights flared behind them.

Nova turned. "Someone's here!"

A black SUV rolled out from behind the storage units.
Windows tinted. No plates.

Aiden cursed under his breath. "They found us faster than I thought."

He grabbed her hand and ran.

The SUV accelerated, tires hissing over wet asphalt.

They cut behind the building, ducking between dumpsters.
The SUV screeched to a halt. Doors opened.

Footsteps. More than one pair.

Aiden pushed Nova behind a stack of crates. "Stay low."

Through the fog, shadows moved—three, maybe four figures.
One held a phone that glowed faintly blue.

A robotic voice echoed again, louder now, coming from a portable speaker.

"End of test sequence. Proceed to extraction."

Nova's pulse crashed against her ribs. "Extraction?"

Aiden's eyes widened. "They're taking us."

He reached for the metal pipe on the ground, tightening his grip.
"If they want us," he said, "they're going to have to earn it."

Before Nova could reply, the fog lit up—
a flashbang-bright burst of white light.

She threw up her hands, blinded.
The sound was deafening.

When she opened her eyes, the figures were gone.
So was Aiden's laptop.

Only one thing remained on the wet pavement—a single phone, screen cracked, still glowing.

Nova picked it up.
A new message blinked:

@thealgorithm: "Your move, Nova."

Her hands trembled. "They took everything."

Aiden's jaw clenched. "Then we take it back."

He looked up at the gray morning sky, rain dripping down his face.
"Level 6 isn't the end," he said quietly. "It's the invitation."