Chapter 8 - The Poison Pill
""You want the offline network, Julian?"" Leo said softly, his round cheeks relaxing into a calm, unnerving smile. ""You spent twenty billion dollars chasing a ghost.""
Cross's audio paused for half a second. ""What did you do?""
""In corporate governance, there is a concept known as the 'poison pill,'"" Leo explained, his tiny shoes clicking softly as he took a half-step toward the glowing green terminal. ""When an aggressor attempts a hostile takeover, the target dilutes the shares until the asset becomes completely toxic.""
Leo hit the spacebar.
Across the globe, the private server didn't surrender its data. Instead, it dumped thirty petabytes of raw, unredacted corporate correspondence into the open internet. Decades of price-fixing schemes, private island visitor manifests, suppressed scientific patents, and manipulated stock trades flooded every search engine simultaneously.
""You fool!"" Cross screamed through the comms. ""You’ve destroyed the entire economic foundation! The market will crash before dawn!""
""The market was an illusion,"" Leo stated flatly. ""I’m resetting the ledger.""
The blast of Vance's rifle ripped through the subway car—not toward Leo, but directly upward into the ceiling. The concussive blast dislodged tons of ancient concrete and brick. Vance ripped the compliance collar from his neck, blood smearing his collarbone.
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""Move! Now!"" Vance bellowed, grabbing Leo by the back of his suit collar with one massive arm and hauling Martha with the other.
The tunnel began to collapse, crushing the automated hounds beneath tons of rubble as the ceiling came roaring down.
