“How’s it looking, team? We set to wow the tech world with the Airdrop launch tonight?” Jordan asked, grinning as he strode around the bustling office.

Alex hunched over swirling code on a monitor and gave a quick thumbs up without glancing back.

“We’ll be ready to revolutionize secure data transfer by dawn, boss,” they muttered, fingers flying across the keyboard.

By midnight, only Alex and new intern Riley remained, toiling away quietly. Until a blood-curdling scream shattered the silence.

Riley burst into Jordan’s office, face pale with shock. “It’s gone! The entire codebase is just gone!”

Jordan leaped up, files sliding off his desk. “What?! Gone?! It was fully encrypted, and password protected! Explain, Alex!”

Alex paced rapidly, tugging at his hair. “It doesn’t make sense! I stepped out for a call, and when I got back, the remote server was just wiped clean!”

Moments later, Head of Security Sam arrived, his face grim. “An inside job looks likely. Building security system shows no external breaches but does register Alex badging out for a period moments ago when the attack occurred…”

“Whoa there!” Alex held up both hands. “You think I would sabotage two years of blood, sweat, and tears?! No way!”

Riley spoke up hesitantly, “Well, actually you did seem quite on edge when I saw you leaving, Alex…”

Shooting Riley a glare, Alex countered, “You try working these crazy hours under constant pressure to be perfect!”

Jordan stepped between them. “Enough accusations! We solve nothing by turning on each other. Sam, walk us through the investigation process.”

Taking charge, Sam thoroughly questioned each team member. But no clear leads surfaced, only tightening nerves as the launch deadline neared. Until Riley timidly raised his hand again during a lull.

“Sorry to interrupt… But Alex, why did you take your bike bag with you on your break?”

All eyes swiveled to focus intently on a sweating Alex.

“I…I didn’t think it worth mentioning…” he stammered, backing away.

Jordan advanced steadily. “Let’s have a peek inside that bag then shall we?”

Moments later, Sam held up the external hard drive with the entire codebase stored safely inside.

Alex sank into a chair, head in hand. “I just wanted more time to fix lingering bugs…the pressure to perform perfectly grew so intense that I panicked.” Glancing up remorsefully, Alex continued, “But hiding the critical code nearly destroyed this team. I won’t make that mistake again.”

Jordan clapped a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “The flaws in Airdrop likely run deeper than any coding bugs. We pushed hard when we should’ve paused and listened. But the best innovations arise from teams that learn from stumbles, lift each other, and step forward stronger together.”

Riley smiled quietly, making a mental note about the critical role small observations can play in revealing difficult truths, especially amidst the deafening silence of pressure.