Sovereign of the Seven Armies

Buying the Street

"That is a very nice plastic toy."

Sterling Ho laughed so hard he had to wipe a tear from his eye. "Did you buy that novelty card at a cheap magic shop?"

Sterling pointed a manicured finger at the solid black card in Ryker's hand. He turned to the two heavy corporate security guards standing by the entrance.

"Throw these two beggars out onto the sidewalk," Sterling ordered. "Break his legs if he resists."

The security guards cracked their knuckles and stepped forward.

Ryker did not even blink. He completely ignored the approaching guards. He slowly put the black card back into his shirt pocket.

He reached into his trousers and pulled out a highly encrypted military phone. He dialed a single number.

"Vesper," Ryker said calmly into the receiver. "I am standing in the main lobby of the Lin Logistics Tower. Buy the entire building."

Sterling snorted loudly in pure disbelief. He crossed his arms over his expensive tailored suit.

"Then initiate a total hostile takeover of the Ho Corporate Group," Ryker continued smoothly. "Liquidate all their public assets completely. Leave them with absolutely nothing."

Ryker disconnected the call after exactly eight seconds. He slipped the phone back into his pocket.

Flint Lin shook his head and let out a mocking sigh.

"You are completely delusional," Flint said. "Do you know how much this tower costs? It is a two billion dollar commercial property."

"My parent corporation is worth ten times that amount," Sterling bragged proudly. "We control the entire coastal shipping network. A crippled stray dog like you could not afford to buy a single brick of my empire."

Chloe gripped Ryker's arm tightly. Her heart pounded painfully against her ribs.

She looked up at the massive portrait of her grandfather hanging above the main reception desk. She felt sick to her stomach. She felt like she was watching her family legacy burn to the ground.

"Ryker maybe we should just leave," Chloe whispered nervously. "I do not want you to get hurt by these guards. Grandpa would not want us to bleed for this building."

Ryker looked down at his wife. The cold harshness in his eyes melted away instantly.

He reached out and gently tucked a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear.

"He built this company for you," Ryker replied softly. "He wanted you to rule this city. I am not just buying back concrete and steel right now. I am buying back your stolen dignity."

Chloe felt a warm tear slide down her pale cheek. She squeezed his arm tighter. She decided right then to stand by him no matter what happened next.

Sterling checked his solid gold watch impatiently.

"Your little comedy routine is officially over," Sterling said. "Guards I told you to throw them out right now."

Before the guards could take another step forward a sharp electronic chirp echoed through the lobby.

Flint reached into his suit jacket. He pulled out his phone and stared at the bright screen. His smug confident smile vanished instantly.

"My bank," Flint stammered in sudden terror. His hands began to shake violently. "The federal reserve just froze my personal accounts. They flagged my entire portfolio for corporate fraud."

Sterling rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Calm down Flint," Sterling said dismissively. "It is just a stupid banking error. My legal team will fix your accounts this afternoon."

Immediately after Sterling spoke his own phone began to ring loudly.

The custom ringtone echoed off the marble walls. The caller ID displayed his father Chairman Drake Ho.

Sterling answered the call with a confident smirk. He wanted to show off his new acquisition.

"Dad I just secured the Lin shipping routes for absolute pennies," Sterling boasted loudly. "We completely own the harbor now."

A frantic hysterical scream erupted from the phone speaker.

"You arrogant stupid boy," Drake Ho roared. "What did you just do?"

Sterling felt his stomach drop instantly. The absolute terror in his father's voice was something he had never heard before in his entire life.

"What are you talking about?" Sterling asked weakly. "I just closed the deal."

"An international sovereign fund just bought fifty one percent of our voting shares in exactly seconds," his father screamed. "They seized our entire shipping fleet. They froze all our global offshore assets. We are entirely bankrupt."

Sterling stopped breathing. The blood completely drained from his face.

"That is impossible," Sterling whispered. "We have billions in cash reserves."

"The reserves are gone," his father sobbed through the speaker. "The feds are raiding my office right now. Who did you provoke? We are completely ruined."

The phone slipped from Sterling's sweaty fingers. It shattered loudly against the hard marble floor.

Sterling stared at Ryker in pure absolute horror. The tall quiet soldier was no longer a joke. He was a terrifying monster of infinite wealth.

"You," Sterling gasped out. He fell hard onto his knees. "You actually bought my family."

Ryker looked down at the ruined billionaire. His expression was completely blank.

"I told you that you owned absolutely nothing," Ryker stated coldly.

The heavy glass doors of the lobby suddenly slid open again.

Twelve men in sharp black suits walked into the building. They moved with lethal terrifying military precision. They did not look like standard corporate security.

The two original corporate guards immediately backed away in pure fear. They raised their hands in quiet surrender.

Vesper Nguyen walked at the front of the formation. She held a thick leather folder securely in her hands.

"Sovereign," Vesper announced loudly. "The financial acquisition is complete. You are the sole legal owner of this entire fifty story tower and all its associated corporate subsidiaries."

Flint dropped to the floor next to Sterling. He began to weep openly like a frightened child.

"Chloe please," Flint begged desperately. "I am your uncle. I am your family. Tell him to give me my money back."

Chloe looked at the pathetic man crying on the floor. She felt absolutely no pity for him.

"You stopped being my family the day you locked me out of my grandfather's office," Chloe said firmly. Her voice was steady and strong.

Ryker nodded slightly at her words. He turned his attention back to his lethal lieutenant.

"Fire the current corporate security staff immediately," Ryker ordered Vesper. "And remove this garbage from my lobby."

Vesper gestured sharply with her hand.

Two Vanguard operatives stepped forward without hesitation. They did not gently escort the ruined men out of the building.

The operatives grabbed Flint Lin and Sterling Ho directly by their customized haircuts.

"Let go of me," Flint screamed in pain as he was dragged across the polished marble. "I am the chief executive officer. You cannot touch me."

The Vanguard operative punched Flint sharply in the ribs to silence him.

Sterling sobbed openly as his silk suit tore violently against the hard floor. He reached out blindly toward Ryker but was dragged forcefully away.

The operatives threw both men through the front glass doors. They tossed the ruined billionaires onto the cold filthy city sidewalk like literal bags of trash.

The lobby was perfectly quiet once again.

Chloe stood frozen in pure shock. Her traitorous uncle and the arrogant billionaire had been completely destroyed in less than five minutes.

Ryker took the thick leather folder from Vesper. He opened it carefully and pulled out a heavy parchment document. It bore the official gold city seal.

He placed the property deed directly into Chloe's trembling hands.

"Welcome back to your office Madam CEO," Ryker said gently.

Chloe looked down at the heavy parchment. The entire commercial property was now fully registered in her name. 

Before she could even say thank you the massive digital billboard across the street suddenly flashed bright red.

It was an emergency city wide broadcast overriding all local channels.

The sweating face of Mayor Jett Ishii appeared on the massive screen overlooking the city square.

"Citizens," the Mayor announced nervously into the microphone. "Tonight we will host a Grand Banquet to welcome the new supreme owner of our financial district."