Chapter 7 - The Hostile Takeover
The skull dissolved into the smiling face of Julian Cross—the billionaire tech mogul who controlled ninety percent of global social architecture.
""Good evening, little Leo,"" Cross purred through the subway speaker, his voice dripping with condescension. ""Magnificent show. Really, top-tier theatrics for someone who still requires an afternoon nap.""
""Cross,"" Leo spat, leaning close to the crackling microphone. ""I knew you were behind the algorithm squeeze.""
""Of course I was,"" Cross laughed smoothly. ""You built an unmonetized sanctuary. An entire network of people thinking without algorithmic steering. Did you really believe I’d let a toddler maintain forty percent of the free bandwidth? Your fifty followers weren't consumers, Leo. They were rebels.""
The heavy steel door at the back of the subway car gave way with a sickening shriek of tearing metal. Cross's personal paramilitary forces stepped in, led by none other than Officer Vance—now wearing an electronic compliance collar around his throat, his eyes glazed and unseeing.
""Vance,"" Leo said, his voice dropping an octave. ""Look at me. You're an officer of the law, not a mercenary for a cloud platform.""
Vance raised his rifle, aiming directly at Leo's small chest. His hands trembled slightly, fighting the neural collar's command inputs, but his finger tightened on the trigger.
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""He can't hear you, child,"" Cross spoke through Vance’s collar speaker. ""He belongs to the ecosystem now. Hand over the master key to the offline network, or your tenure ends tonight.""
Leo glanced at the keyboard. One keystroke remained. But using it would destroy everything he built.
