Zark'thul stood motionless before the central console in his command room, the only movement the subtle rise and fall of his chest—an unnecessary biological function he maintained out of habit rather than need. His eyes, unnaturally blue and faintly luminescent, tracked data streams that cascaded through the air—security footage, audio recordings, financial analyses, all flowing from the intelligence Squad 1 had secured mere hours ago.

  To a human observer, the sheer volume of information would have been overwhelming. For Zark'thul, it was merely adequate. His mind, operating on planes beyond human cognition, parsed each data point with cold efficiency, assembling a comprehensive understanding of the scenario that had unfolded at Metcom Solutions.

  His Thousand Eyes of the Dark Beyond, now recalled and reabsorbed into his being, had provided additional perspective—images of the warehouse battle, the precise movements of the Argent Shield operatives, the efficiency with which Squad 1 had adapted to the situation. This pleased him, in the detached way that a craftsman might appreciate a well-functioning tool.

  The footage from Warren's recording device played in the center of the display—Victoria Chandler, CEO of Metcom Solutions, speaking with Lieutenant Varik Orwin of Argent Shield and their head of security, Marcus.

  The captured Argent Shield operative's report about the Thousand Eyes was particularly interesting.

  "...it completely neutralized our tactical advantage," the operative was saying, her voice betraying a hint of frustration. "They had some kind of technology that could see through our camouflage. Glowing eyes appeared out of nowhere."

  Lieutenant Orwin's voice filled the command room. "And yet you're the only one who managed to escape. The situation was unprecedented." It was followed by more posturing—Orwin attempting to salvage the situation, the operative justifying her escape, Marcus evaluating the new threat posed by the Tower's Agents.

  When it concluded, Zark'thul replayed the recording. Then again. And again, each time his expression unchanging, his gaze unwavering.

  "A rudimentary plan," he observed, drumming his fingers on he desk. "Effective in its simplicity, but unimaginative."

  Elspeth stood at his side, her green eyes reflecting the holographic glow as she monitored the data streams. Her fingers danced across the console, enhancing, clarifying, isolating details at Zark'thul's silent direction.

  He gestured, and the display shifted to financial data. "What do we know about Metcom Solutions?"

  "Founded eighteen years ago as a small security consulting firm," Elspeth replied, a series of graphs appearing in the air. "They expanded rapidly over the last decade, moving into resource acquisition and management. Their current market valuation is approximately 73.6 million credits, making them the third-largest security provider in Avalon and a rising power in resource distribution."

  "And their CEO?"

  "Victoria Chandler, age 47. Former military, with connections to Avalon's political elite. She's known for aggressive business tactics and has been investigated twice for anti-competitive practices, though no charges were ever filed."

  Zark'thul nodded once, processing this information against what he'd observed. "And Argent Shield's involvement?"

  "Ostensibly a competitor, but the evidence suggests a clandestine partnership. Argent Shield provides the enforcement muscle while Metcom handles strategic planning and resource allocation."

  The command center doors slid open, admitting Xashai and Alice. The Gixiet negotiator moved with quiet elegance, her blue skin shimmering subtly under the lights, while Alice clutched a pad of her own, looking slightly disheveled despite the early hour.

  "Xashai, I was expecting you. And Alice." Zark'thul raised an eyebrow. "You're up early."

  Alice ran a hand through her hair, shooting him a tired smile. "I set an alert for any high-level operations. Your Agents pulled off something last night; I figured you might be up to something."

  "Efficient," he noted.

  "Isn't it?" Xashai murmured, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "She's learning your patterns."

  "What's going on, boss?" Alice asked, leaning over to peek at the displays. "Something about 'Synergy'? Are we working with a new marketing agency? And these... 'Resurgents?' What are those, a band?"

  "Terrorists, probably." Zark'thul glanced at her briefly before returning his attention to the holographic data. "Elspeth, summarize what we've discovered."

  Elspeth nodded, hands clasped behind her back as she addressed the group. "Last night, our Agents on squad one extracted valuable intel from Metcom Solutions. The company, led by Victoria Chandler and working with Argent Shield, has been involved in a long-term scheme of corporate extortion."

  She activated a holographic display, a timeline unfolding before them. "Over the past eleven months, Metcom has forced multiple smaller corporations into contractual servitude by leveraging manufactured legal vulnerabilities. At least seven companies have been coerced into using Argent Shield security services or providing covert access to their resources, all controlled by a central project named Synergy."

  Alice's eyes widened. "And we have proof of this?"

  "Audio and visual," Elspeth confirmed. "Sourced from the CEO herself."

  Xashai raised an elegant hand. "If I may," she began, stepping forward. "Avalon law prohibits this kind of coercive corporate dominance. The penalties for even suspicion of anti-competitive behavior are severe."

  "Then we'll report it," Alice proposed, looking to Zark'thul.

  "It's not that simple," Xashai countered, shaking her head. "Metcom Solutions isn't some minor player. Their political influence runs deep, and Argent Shield is a major defense contractor. If we throw these accusations without considering their power and reach, we will find ourselves embroiled in a legal quagmire."

  "So, what?" Alice threw up her hands in frustration. "We just let them get away with it?"

  "They consider us a 'non-entity,'" Zark'thul quoted from the recorded conversation. "A nuisance. This underestimation provides an opportunity."

  "To do what, exactly?" Alice asked, brows knitting together. "We can't just storm their offices."

  "Sir," Elspeth interjected, "Squad 1's report indicates that Vex Mercantile may have been a specific target due to its strategic location and resource connections. The evidence of tax fraud they're using to blackmail Mr. Vex appears substantial."

  "Which suggests that Vex Mercantile is a stepping stone in their broader strategy," he concluded. "They target businesses that provide essential services or control key resources, force them into compliance through blackmail or intimidation, and gradually expand their influence."

  "A corporate takeover disguised as a protection racket," Xashai summarized. "Or, rather, protection as corporate takeover."

  "Oooh, and with the Resurgents serving as a convenient distraction," Alice added. "Classic misdirection. Create a threat, then position yourself as the solution."

  "Indeed." He turned back to the holographic display, hands clasped behind his back. "This 'Synergy Project' they mentioned—I want it fully analyzed. Every reference, every connection, every possible interpretation."

  "Already underway, sir," Elspeth confirmed.

  A notification flashed across the display—a security alert from the Tower's ground floor entrance. Elspeth checked the feed, eyebrows lifting fractionally.

  "Sir, Jullian Vex is here. He's requesting an immediate meeting."

  Zark'thul considered for a moment. "Bring him to meeting room three. Ensure he's scanned for surveillance devices."

  Elspeth nodded and departed to handle the visitor, while Zark'thul turned to Xashai and Alice. "We will convene in four hours. I want preliminary assessments of our options—legal, financial, and marketing."

  "Understood," Xashai replied. Alice nodded vigorously.

  Alone, Zark'thul allowed himself a moment of contemplation. This corporate intrigue was such a small thing compared to the cosmic conflicts he had once navigated. The games mortals played, the machinations and manipulations they wove, all for such ephemeral gains.

  It was... not uninteresting, this game of strategy with limited powers. Perhaps there was value in constraint, in having to calculate and manipulate rather than simply overpower. A different form of dominance, but dominance nonetheless.

  He pushed the thought aside and left the command center, making his way to the meeting room where Vex awaited. Time to see what the man had to offer.

  ***

  Jullian Vex looked like he hadn't slept. His expensive suit, no doubt immaculate the previous day, was rumpled, and the beginnings of a beard darkened his chin. There was a hunted look in his eyes that wasn't there before, and a sense of desperation that even his attempts at a suave facade couldn't entirely mask.

  When Zark'thul entered, followed by Elspeth and Xashai, Vex stood abruptly, nearly knocking over his chair.

  "Mr. Mycroft," he said, using Zark'thul's human alias. "Thank you for seeing me. I realize after last night's... incident, you probably don't think very highly of me."

  "Your behavior was uncharacteristic," Zark'thul replied, taking a seat at the head of the table. His posture was perfect, inhuman in its stillness. "You hired our team specifically to stop the thefts, yet when we apprehended one of the perpetrators, you intervened to release them."

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  Vex flinched, sinking back into his chair. "I had no choice."

  Xashai watched him intently, her dark eyes focused.

  As a Gixiet, her psionic abilities allowed her to sense emotional undercurrents and inconsistencies in human behavior—not mind reading, but an enhanced perception of micro-expressions and stress indicators. Zark'thul had positioned her strategically for this purpose.

  "Perhaps you should start from the beginning," Xashai suggested, her voice melodic with a subtle, soothing lilt. "When did your troubles with Metcom Solutions actually begin?"

  Vex glanced at her, momentarily caught by her piercing gaze before looking away. "It started about three months ago. I approached them initially for a legitimate business arrangement—security consulting for some of our more valuable shipments. Metcom has resources Argent Shield doesn't, especially for specialized cargo."

  "This was after the initial thefts?" Zark'thul clarified.

  "Yes," Vex confirmed. "We'd already experienced a few minor incidents. Nothing major—a crate missing here, some equipment damaged there. I suspected Metcom might be behind it, as I told your team when I hired them. They've been trying to force me out of certain markets for months."

  "So you approached your suspected saboteur for help," Zark'thul observed, no judgment in his tone, merely cold analysis.

  "It sounds foolish now," Vex admitted. "But I thought... well, if they were behind it, bringing them in might make the problems stop. A way of acknowledging their dominance without actually surrendering my business."

  "A common negotiation tactic," Xashai noted. "Offer a concession to prevent further aggression."

  "Exactly," Vex said with evident relief at being understood. "And for a while, it seemed to work. The thefts stopped. We established what appeared to be a mutually beneficial relationship."

  "Until?" Zark'thul prompted.

  "Until I discovered they were using our shipping infrastructure to move materials to the Resurgents," Vex said, his voice dropping despite the secure room. "About a month ago, one of my inventory managers noticed discrepancies in our manifests—items being added to shipments after our initial checks but before final delivery."

  Xashai leaned forward slightly. "What did you do with this information?"

  "I confronted Victoria Chandler directly," Vex said, a flicker of his usual stern demeanor showing through. "I've built my business on legitimate operations. I don't deal with extremists."

  "An admirable stance," Xashai commented, her eyes never leaving his face.

  Zark'thul noted the subtle shift in her posture—she'd detected something in Vex's response.

  "That's when everything changed," Vex continued. "Chandler didn't deny it. Instead, she showed me records of tax discrepancies from our operations three years ago. Irregularities that could ruin me if they reached the DIR."

  "And these irregularities—were they your doing?" Zark'thul asked directly.

  Vex hesitated, clearly uncomfortable. Xashai's eyes narrowed fractionally.

  "Not directly," he finally admitted. "My former CFO implemented some... aggressive tax strategies without my explicit approval. But as CEO, I signed off on the final documents. The liability is mine, regardless of whether I understood the details at the time."

  Xashai caught Zark'thul's eye with a subtle nod. This aligned with what she was sensing—partial truth, with elements of self-justification.

  "So they blackmailed you," Zark'thul stated. "And yet you still hired our team to investigate the thefts."

  "Because they started again, worse than before!" Vex's frustration broke through. "After I agreed to look the other way on their shipments, they began demanding more—access to our client lists, our supplier networks, exclusive shipping rights for certain materials. When I resisted, the thefts resumed. Larger shipments, more valuable cargo."

  "You were testing their hold on you," Xashai observed. "Seeing if you could find a way out without triggering their threat."

  "Yes," Vex admitted. "I thought if I could catch them in the act, get concrete evidence of their illegal activities, I might have some leverage against their blackmail."

  "Which explains your actions last night," Zark'thul concluded. "When we succeeded beyond your expectations and actually captured one of their operatives, Metcom escalated their threat."

  "Orwin showed up at my office twenty minutes after your team made the capture," Vex confirmed. "He had copies of the tax documents and a very clear message: either I shut down your investigation immediately, or the evidence goes to the DIR by morning."

  "And now?" Zark'thul asked. "What has changed to bring you here, knowing they would disapprove?"

  Vex straightened in his chair, something of his usual stern demeanor returning. "Your team found something in Metcom's headquarters. Something important enough that they've gone into crisis mode. I have contacts within their organization—people who don't know about my... arrangement with Chandler. They're reporting emergency meetings, secured communications, documents being destroyed."

  "You're taking a significant risk coming to us," Xashai noted. "If Metcom discovers this meeting..."

  "They're going to destroy me anyway," Vex said with grim certainty. "I've seen enough of their operation now to know how this ends. They use businesses like mine until we're drained of value, then discard us. The blackmail is just to ensure compliance during the process."

  Zark'thul studied the man for a long moment, assessing his sincerity. Everything in Vex's posture, tone, even his scent communicated genuine desperation. "What exactly do you want from us, Mr. Vex?"

  "Protection. And a way out." Vex leaned forward, his voice gaining strength. "I built my company from nothing. I've made mistakes, yes, but I won't watch it be dismantled by corporate thieves. If you can help me counter their blackmail and stop their operation, I'll provide everything I know about their activities—shipping records, meeting notes, financial transactions."

  "A partnership of necessity," Zark'thul observed.

  "Yes," Vex agreed. "One that benefits us both. You get insider information on Metcom's operations, and I get a chance to save my company."

  Xashai's eyes met Zark'thul's again, and she gave an almost imperceptible nod. She sensed genuine resolve beneath Vex's fear—a man backed into a corner but finding his courage.

  "Your knowledge of their operations would be valuable," Zark'thul acknowledged. "However, direct confrontation with Metcom poses significant risks, both to your company and to ours."

  "I understand the risk," Vex insisted. "But after seeing what your team accomplished last night—those floating eyes that revealed their camouflaged operatives, the efficiency with which your agents handled the situation—I believe you have capabilities that Metcom doesn't fully appreciate."

  "A correct assessment," Zark'thul confirmed. Though the human couldn't possibly comprehend just how true that statement was. "We possess resources beyond what is apparent."

  "Then let me help you," Vex pressed. "Together, we might stand a chance against them."

  Zark'thul turned to Xashai. "Your assessment?"

  The Gixiet's blue-skinned fingers formed a steeple as she regarded Vex. "I sense genuine resolve, though understandably tempered with fear. Mr. Vex believes what he's telling us, and his offer of cooperation appears sincere." She paused, her dark eyes somehow seeming to look through Vex rather than at him. "There are, however, aspects of his situation he hasn't fully disclosed—likely not out of malice, but self-preservation."

  Vex shifted uncomfortably under her piercing gaze.

  "Such as?" Zark'thul prompted.

  Xashai smiled thinly. "Mr. Vex has already taken steps against Metcom that he hasn't mentioned. Haven't you, Mr. Vex?"

  The businessman paled slightly. "How did you—" He stopped himself, then sighed. "Yes. I've been gathering my own evidence against them for the past three weeks. Financial records, shipping manifests, recordings of meetings when possible. Insurance, I called it."

  "Which Metcom would consider a significant betrayal if discovered," Zark'thul noted.

  "Hence his current level of fear," Xashai concluded. "He's not just worried about what they might do—he's worried about what they might have already discovered."

  Vex looked between them, clearly unnerved by Xashai's insight. "Are you... is she..."

  "Ms. Xashai has exceptional skills in negotiation and behavioral analysis," Elspeth explained smoothly. "Her observations are typically accurate."

  Zark'thul considered the situation, weighing variables with cold precision. Vex's information could accelerate their timeline against Metcom significantly. The risk of deception existed but appeared minimal given Xashai's assessment. The optimal path was clear.

  "We will cooperate, under specific conditions," Zark'thul decided. "First, you will transfer all evidence you've gathered on Metcom's operations to us—completely and immediately. Second, you will maintain your normal business activities to avoid alerting them to our arrangement. Third, you will follow our strategic guidance precisely, without deviation."

  "Agreed," Vex said without hesitation. "And in return?"

  "Protection for your key personnel and facilities. Technical assistance in securing your communications against Metcom's surveillance. And," Zark'thul added, "a legal strategy to mitigate the tax issues they're using against you."

  Hope flickered across Vex's face. "You can help with the DIR situation?"

  Xashai smiled, though there was a predatory edge to it. "There are established protocols for voluntary disclosure of past tax irregularities, particularly when they occurred under previous financial management. The penalties are significantly reduced compared to what would happen if the DIR discovered the issues through investigation."

  "And if these disclosures happen to coincide with evidence of Metcom's illegal activities," Elspeth added, "the authorities tend to be even more accommodating."

  "We help you, you help us," Vex summarized, looking more composed than he had since entering the room.

  "A mutually beneficial arrangement," Zark'thul confirmed. "Elspeth will coordinate the secure transfer of your evidence and establish encrypted communication protocols. Xashai will advise on the tax disclosure strategy. In the meantime, you will continue as if nothing has changed."

  "I understand. What's our next step?"

  "Information gathering," Zark'thul replied. "The full extent of Metcom's operation remains unclear, particularly their connection to the Resurgents and the purpose of this 'Synergy Project' they mentioned."

  "I've heard that term in meetings with Chandler," Vex said, frowning. "Always in passing, never with details. Whatever it is, it's their highest priority. She's redirected significant resources to it over the past two months."

  "Then it shall become our priority as well," Zark'thul decided. "We will identify its nature, purpose, and vulnerabilities."

  As the meeting concluded and Elspeth escorted Vex out to begin the evidence transfer, Zark'thul remained in the meeting room with Xashai. The Gixiet waited calmly, sensing he wished to speak further.

  "Your assessment was valuable," he told her. "His hidden activities could have complicated our strategy had they remained unknown."

  Xashai inclined her head slightly, accepting the rare commendation. "He's more complex than he appears. Genuinely opposed to corruption in principle, yet willing to bend when his own interests are threatened. A common human contradiction."

  "And one we can exploit," Zark'thul noted dispassionately. "His hatred of being controlled will make him a dedicated ally against Metcom, at least until their threat is neutralized."

  "After which his utility will need to be reassessed," Xashai finished with a wink. "Right, boss?"

  A thin smile touched Zark'thul's lips. "You're really embracing the corporate vernacular."

  "Adaptation is a Gixiet's greatest strength," she reminded him. "That and our exceptional negotiation skills."

  "I'm guessing you're hoping for a raise or a vacation soon."

  "Or a few days off with no 'urgent summonings' from my boss," Xashai replied lightly, clasping her hands behind her back as she sauntered closer. "Boss, please? Out of everyone in the company, I've spent the longest time in that archaic realm talking with, well, every single idiotic royal, official, and influential person. If you hadn't been the one to give me the order, I would have said no!"

  With a slightly annoyed expression, she went on. "Imagine the trauma I endured. Every hour, someone wanted to flirt, thinking I was some rich man's companion or something worse than that, while others gave me patronizing grins. It was utterly ridiculous!"

  Zark'thul sighed. "Okay, fine."

  Her eyes glittered with a pleased glint at having achieved her objective, and her slender hand grabbed his tie and pulled him in. Before he could react, her soft lips pressed against his in a quick, chaste kiss. Afterward, she quickly released him, still smiling with a touch of mischief.

  "Thank you, thank you! I'll go prepare the documents, then," Xashai said before turning to leave.

  Zark'thul stared after her, nonplussed by the unexpected display of affection. Perhaps adapting to humanoid customs too much carried its own set of complications.

  However, considering his origins as a higher dimensional being, Zark'thul quickly adapted, dismissing the fleeting incident. He straightened his tie and exited the meeting room to return to his office.