“Come on,” he whispered, sweat beading on his forehead. The malware he’d accidentally triggered an hour ago was spreading through the company servers like a digital oil spill. He had minutes before the entire network went dark.

Nothing.

With shaking hands, he flipped the laptop over. Eleven tiny screws. His fingers felt like sausages. Pop. The back cover hissed open. He unclipped the thin white ribbon cable connecting the battery to the motherboard. The screen went black. He plugged it back in. Once. Twice. Three times.

He tried again. Shift first, then F10. F10 first, then Shift. The screen mocked him with the same serene, blue wallpaper.

Arjun exhaled, slumping in his chair. The USB drive with the backup key was still useless—he’d never needed it. What he’d needed was the willingness to ignore the broken button and break the machine open instead.