Chapter 8 - The Final LedgerMalcolm looked up into the helmet camera, smiling directly at the lens as if he knew Nathaniel was watching from the tower.
"Welcome to the engine room, brother," Malcolm’s voice echoed clearly through the audio feed.
"Put your hands where we can see them!" the operative shouted, aiming his weapon directly at Malcolm's chest.
Malcolm didn't raise his hands. Instead, he pressed a large, red button mounted on the armrest of his chair.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.
A high-pitched alarm began to wail throughout the subterranean bunker.
"What did you do?" Nathaniel roared into the communication channel.
"Just a little parting gift," Malcolm smiled, standing up slowly and adjusting his cuffs. "You see, Nathaniel, this building isn't just an apartment complex. It’s the central node for the entire city's smart-grid infrastructure—a project I funded and built in secret twelve years ago using Elena’s trust capital."
On the wall screen in Graves Tower, a digital map of the city began flashing bright red. District by district, power grids were shutting down. Traffic lights blinked out. Hospitals switched to emergency generators. Half the city plunged into sudden, terrifying darkness.
"You're shutting down the city?" Nathaniel said in disbelief. "Are you insane?"
"I'm bankrupting you," Malcolm corrected smoothly, stepping backward toward a reinforced glass emergency tunnel at the back of the room. "The board thinks you're a hero, Nathaniel. But when the city goes dark, when the hospitals lose power, when the public realizes that Graves Energy's primary infrastructure was built on a crumbling, illegal slum... your stock will hit zero before the sun sets."
"Stop him!" Nathaniel yelled.
The operative lunged forward, but a heavy steel security gate slammed down from the ceiling, blocking the doorway and trapping the operative inside the bunker.
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Through the reinforced glass, Malcolm picked up a briefcase from the desk, turned toward a private elevator shaft hidden behind the server racks, and gave a mock salute to the camera.
"Enjoy the dark, brother."
