Part 18
The back-trace program tore through the hackers' proxy servers like a bullet through tissue paper.
Marcus watched as the IP addresses bounced wildly across the globe—from Russia, to Brazil, to a server farm in Eastern Europe.
But Marcus’s custom algorithms were relentless, unpeeling the layers of encrypted routing in mere seconds.
"Trace complete, sir," Aegis announced. "The command signal is originating from a luxury yacht currently in international waters off the coast of Monaco."
"Thorne is on the move," Marcus noted, projecting the yacht's satellite coordinates onto the main screen.
The old man was trying to flee the jurisdiction before the authorities could freeze his physical assets.
But Thorne hadn't realized that Marcus’s reach extended far beyond the limitations of traditional law enforcement.
"Aegis, the hackers used a unified network to launch their attack, correct?"
"Yes, sir. Their systems are currently tethered to ours through the honeypot trap you created."
"Reverse the data flow," Marcus commanded, his voice cold as ice. "Send a localized EMP pulse through their own connection architecture."
"Initiating counter-measure," the AI replied smoothly.
Thousands of miles away, on a multi-million dollar yacht, the screens of the mercenary hackers violently sparked and went permanently black.
"Their hardware is completely fried, sir," Aegis confirmed.
"Now for Thorne," Marcus said, pulling up the global banking network interface.
If Thorne was on a yacht, he was surviving on digital credit and offshore liquidity.
Marcus accessed the international banking mainframe, utilizing backdoor protocols he had built a decade ago and never used until now.
He located the twelve numbered accounts Thorne was using to fund his escape.
With a series of rapid keystrokes, Marcus didn't just freeze the accounts; he permanently zeroed them out.
He redirected the stolen three hundred million dollars back into the Sterling Hospitality Group's employee pension fund, down to the exact cent.
"Thorne's liquid assets are now zero," Aegis reported. "His yacht's communication and navigation systems have also been remotely disabled."
"Send his GPS coordinates to Interpol," Marcus said, finally stepping away from the console.
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Elias Thorne was now stranded in the middle of the ocean, without a penny to his name, waiting to be arrested.
Justice had been served, efficiently and ruthlessly.
