Kodi sat motionless, hands cuffed, staring down the new FBI lead across the table — a man named Evan Rourke. Pressed navy suit. No tie. Eyes like cold chrome.
The room was sterile. No clock. No windows. Just surveillance and suspicion.
But Kodi? He smiled.
That eerie, dead-eyed smirk that made Evan subtly tense.
"So smug…" Kodi said softly. "NullSyntax probably has full access to Eden right now. Your little hamster finally got a bite."
Evan didn't flinch. But he didn't deny it, either.
Kodi leaned forward, cuffs clinking like an insult.
"You probably think you've caught something rare. The boy who broke the world. Maybe the labcoats wanna see what happens if they poke me with sticks."
He paused.
Then:
"But I can make you rich overnight."
Evan raised an eyebrow.
"You offering me a bribe?"
Kodi's grin widened — but it wasn't warmth. It was madness with a plan.
"Twenty-three million. Offshore. Your choice of location. Quiet. Untraceable. I'll even show you how I clean it. Think of it as… payment for one thing."
Evan crossed his arms. "What?"
"A laptop."
The silence hung like fog.
Kodi leaned back, relaxed — far too relaxed for someone who just admitted he could funnel millions at will.
"Don't act like you don't know carding was child's play for me. You want results. I need keys to the kingdom. Let me in."
Evan stared for a long beat.
Then he walked to the door.
"I'll be back in ten minutes."
Kodi's eyes flickered with something between hunger and inevitability.
"I knew you were smart."