The External Influences

The air in the command center was thick with tension, an invisible weight pressing down on Ada Sobowale as she stared at the streams of data flashing across the screens. The once-chaotic signals were finally forming a coherent picture, but what they revealed was worse than she had feared. Lagos wasn’t just being torn apart by internal factions; there were external forces at play, and they were far more organized than anyone had realized.

"Look at this," Femi said, his voice rough from sleepless nights spent dissecting encrypted transmissions. He pointed at the screen, where a web of data points flickered with increasing intensity. "These communications—they’re too advanced for any of the rogue groups inside the city. They’re using strategies we’ve only seen from external players during the rebellion. Someone beyond Lagos is pulling the strings."