Frozen Rebirth: I Will Outlive You All

The Transaction

"Coal and weapons?" Harper whispered. She stared at Logan as if he had lost his mind.

​Greenfield Industrial Energy was a massive corporate entity. While they publicly focused on clean energy investments, their parent holding company controlled vast industrial resources. Harper knew she could procure exactly what he requested.

​Harper quickly composed her bruised face. She nodded eagerly, playing the role of the desperate, grateful friend perfectly.

​"I will go check our physical inventory right now, Logan," Harper said softly. She rushed out of the executive office.

​Logan stood in total silence. He ignored the murderous glares coming from Madison and Mason in the corner of the room.

​Harper returned ten minutes later holding a sleek corporate tablet. She cleared her throat nervously before speaking.

​"We can secure five thousand tons of premium anthracite coal," Harper said. "We also have direct access to private security armaments and heavy thermal plating."

​She tapped the screen, projecting the itemized invoice onto the mahogany desk. "The total comes to exactly thirty million dollars."

​It was an astronomical markup. She was deliberately quoting him prices thirty percent above the current market rate.

​Madison and Mason stood completely frozen by the door. They held their collective breath in agonizing silence.

​They were terrified. If Logan realized the price was intentionally inflated, he might walk away entirely. They would lose millions in direct commission.

​"Draw up the contract," Logan said instantly. "I will transfer the funds right now."

​Harper gasped in shock. She nearly dropped the expensive tablet. She scrambled to print the physical documents.

​Logan signed the heavy stack of paperwork without reading a single page. He pulled out his phone and wired the thirty million dollars directly into the Greenfield Industrial Energy accounts.

​"Have it all delivered to the Hawthorne estate by Friday," Logan commanded.

​He turned and walked out of the office without looking back.

​The heavy glass doors swung shut behind him. Harper, Madison, and Mason immediately huddled together around the desk.

​"Thirty million dollars in cash," Mason breathed. His eyes were wide with pure, unfiltered greed. "He actually paid it without negotiating."

​"But why coal?" Harper asked. She wiped a smudge of fake blood from her chin, her innocent act vanishing instantly. "Why does he need military grade weapons?"

​Madison narrowed her eyes as the puzzle pieces finally clicked together in her mind.

​"He bought the Hawthorne estate last night," Madison muttered. "He hired construction crews to pour reinforced concrete."

​Madison pointed at the signed contracts resting on the desk. "Now he is buying thermal plating and thousands of tons of coal."

​Madison let out a sharp, mocking laugh that echoed through the office. "The absolute idiot is building a doomsday bunker."

​Mason stared at his mother in disbelief. "A bunker? Does he actually believe the world is going to end?"

​"He has always had a remarkably low IQ," Madison sneered. She crossed her arms in smug satisfaction. "He probably read some pathetic internet conspiracy theory and panicked."

​"Let him believe whatever he wants," Mason laughed darkly. "If he thinks the apocalypse is coming, we will happily milk his paranoia for every single penny."

​Logan sat in the back of his private town car. He pulled out his phone and opened his secure banking application.

​The bright screen illuminated his face in the dim cabin. He reviewed the massive outgoing wire transfers from the past twenty four hours.

​He had paid the architectural firm a fortune for the extreme bunker construction. He had funded Sienna to completely buy out multiple wholesale food warehouses across the state. Now, he had just handed thirty million dollars to Harper.

​A very substantial sum of money still remained in his primary account. He had more than enough liquid capital to finish his final doomsday preparations.

​He knew exactly where that thirty million dollars was going. Greenfield Industrial Energy was deeply tied to the Bennett family financial portfolio.

​Madison and Mason would definitely take a massive cut of that payment. They probably thought they had successfully scammed him out of a fortune.

​Logan smiled coldly at his phone screen.

​In fourteen days, the global temperature would violently plummet to negative eighty degrees. The electrical grids would fail entirely.

​That thirty million dollars would become completely useless digital numbers on a dead bank server.

​But the anthracite coal and heavy weapons would keep him alive.

​"Take me to the Vanguard Fitness Club," Logan told his driver.

​Surviving the new ice age required far more than just thick walls and stockpiled canned food. The apocalypse was a brutal hell.

​In his past life, prolonged starvation and freezing temperatures had withered his muscles away to nothing. He had been too weak to fight back when Mason broke into his shelter.

​He needed to rebuild his physical strength immediately.

​The luxury town car pulled up to a massive glass building in the center of the financial district. Vanguard was the most elite, exclusive gym in the entire city.

​Logan walked through the sliding doors and approached the pristine marble front desk.

​"I want an annual VIP membership," Logan told the receptionist. "And I need your most ruthless personal trainer available right now."

He swiped his heavy black card. He paid the exorbitant fifty thousand dollar membership f*e without a second thought.

​"Right this way, Mr. Carter," the receptionist smiled eagerly. She led him past the security gates and onto the sprawling, state of the art training floor.

​Logan changed into premium athletic gear in the locker room. He stretched his limbs, feeling the unfamiliar warmth and health of his reborn body.

​He walked out to the free weight section. A few minutes later, confident footsteps approached him from across the rubber mats.

​Logan turned around. A strikingly attractive woman stood before him.

​She had a fierce, athletic build and piercing dark eyes. She wore a tight, professional Vanguard training uniform that highlighted her physical perfection.

​"I am Maya," she said. She offered a remarkably firm handshake. "I hear you want to be pushed to your absolute limit today."

​"I want to survive," Logan corrected her calmly. He gripped her hand firmly. "Show me what you can do."

​Maya offered a sharp, approving smile. She did not waste time with small talk. She immediately directed him toward the heavy squat racks.

​Logan got to work cheerfully. For the first time since his agonizing rebirth, he felt a genuine sense of physical progress.

​The heavy iron plates clanked loudly as he pushed through the grueling sets. Maya barked precise, encouraging orders. She corrected his lifting form with expert precision.

​He was sweating profusely, but his mind felt incredibly clear. The burning in his muscles was a welcome distraction from the looming doomsday clock.

​Maya stepped in close to spot his final repetition. She placed her hands lightly on his waist to guide his posture.

​Suddenly, a sharp, familiar cry rang out from the gym entrance.

​"Logan!"

​Logan paused mid rep. He racked the heavy barbell and turned his head slowly toward the front doors.

​Sienna stood at the edge of the training floor.

​She was clutching a thick binder of wholesale warehouse contracts tightly to her chest. Her hair was messy from running around the city all morning.

​Her eyes were wide. They darted wildly between Logan and the beautiful, sweating trainer standing intimately close to him.

​Her face twisted into a mask of pure, jealous panic.