As the file hit 100%, the interface didn't launch the media player. Instead, the screen bled into a deep, visceral crimson.

A voice, synthesized and cold, echoed through his neural link. "You seek to see the world of the blind, but you are the one who refuses to look."

Kael realized then that ION10 wasn't a pirate group. It was a sleeper cell. And he had just opened the door for them.

The episode didn't end with credits. It ended with his front door clicking unlocked.