Re: Life - Business & Technology

Vince arrived at the penthouse, still confused about the information Dr. Sera revealed regarding his condition.

He found Hailee resting on the living sofa, looking much better than earlier in the morning, and asked, "How are you feeling after visiting Future Med?"

The young and beautiful actor smiled and replied, "Dr. Sera was wonderful and found out the issue so quickly. Aiya mentioned you went to the hospital, so were you looking for me?"

Hailee carefully held his hand and directed him to sit on the sofa before he replied, "I just needed to check on a few things with Dr. Sera about work. Let's get something to eat, I'm famished from sparring with Marco earlier."

Vince didn't show any signs of sickness like frailty, so he asked the good doctor to keep his condition a secret from his mother and friends until they knew more about it through further appointments.

Dr. Sera skipped dinner but thanked Hailee for the invitation over NetServ text as she had a more important task of reviewing Vince's test results and discussing them with her old colleagues working at the Kandahar branch.

Leah joined the young couple for dinner as she was home for the weekend and caught up with small talk while eating.

Leah ate a piece of lamb cooked to perfection by Chef Tony before saying, "Our NGO efforts in Syria are a mess, Vince. The United Nations is practically useless, and the US government won't lift a finger until its military intervention proposal is approved by Congress. I can't believe how frustrating it is just trying to help people."

Vince and Hailee chuckled from Leah's ranting, then he replied, "Mom, I'm sure you'll figure something out in that front. Though, I'm more interested in your other project. Future Couture's net profits have been rising, the last time I heard from Ralph and his accounting department."

Future Tech was the only business capable of manufacturing exotic materials like carbon weave into clothing using the specialized Hive Mind Dresser Vince instructed Patel to develop for Leah, so Future Couture practically monopolized the highest-end of the fashion spectrum.

Not even Christian Dior could charge up to $100 thousand for a non-exclusive coat available at any Future Couture branch that anyone who can afford it can purchase.

Leah proudly stated, "Our margins are much higher than any product sold by Future Tech, so it's natural for my department to be earning more than expected."

Hailee was fond of Vince's mother, so she curiously asked, "Besides running your fashion brand and NGO, what else have you been doing the past week?"

Leah amicably replied, "I've been spending time curating models and outfits for our New York Fashion Week event in two weeks. Our candidates hail from many different countries like South Korea, Nigeria, and Afghanistan. I find the process quite enjoyable compared to dealing with international agencies and their red tape."

Hailee was very interested in the topic and excitedly said, "Amazing! I believe it's natural for Future Couture the find itself among the elites in fashion. I've always wanted to attend, but tickets aren't even sold and are only available to people with connections."

Leah laughed in surprise and replied, "That's no problem for me, darling. I could get us tickets to every show in the week if you wanted. Future Tech is one of Fashion Week's biggest sponsors, so my generosity will go a long way during the event."

Hailee was ecstatic and asked, "Vince, you should join us! You'll have two weeks to reschedule your calendar, and I'd love to spend time with you in New York."

Though not as romantic as Paris, The Big Apple had its fair share of beautiful scenery mixed with an industrial metropolis aesthetic.

Vince wasn't sure if all his medical tests would be done by then and replied, "I also want to join you, but I can't make any promises. You know how busy it gets around here sometimes."

Hailee gave him a peck on the lips and said, "As long as you consider it, that's enough for me."

The two women discussed their plans for Fashion Week after dinner while Vince retired to his bedroom for the night.

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It was already early morning in an area twenty minutes away from Moscow where a home fit for an oligarch stood with all its luxury.

Kadrovik, a Russian-native power broker and Anarchy's primary contact in the country, was busy going over documents about his various legitimate businesses and other tasks related to the Illuminati-esque organization led by Enigma.

It has already been more than a month since the Ashkan prison break that he facilitated through his Russian government acquaintances in the SVR RF, an operation that earned him a pretty penny.

Kadrovik had deep ties to the local authority as his family had always been staunch supporters of the Soviets, like his grandfather. The latter served as an army general under Mikhail Gorbachev before the Soviet Union's dissolution.

Though his family lost prestige and authority after the fracturing of the USSR, their remaining power enabled them to plunder Soviet institutions for personal gain, similar to many of Vladimir Putin's oligarch lackeys.

Kadrovik did business with anyone so long as it paid well and had no issues dealing with hidden organizations, corrupt politicians, and infamous criminal syndicates such as the Solntsevskaya Bratva.

He was also a regular patron of Madam Francesca and the Assassin's Guild and even received discounts for their services as an upper-echelon member.

Enigma's right-hand man, Hades, reached out to him a few days prior about a potential arms deal he could broker between Fawdaa and the Bratva in exchange for cash and full rights to land demarcated for producing illicit drugs.

The Emir, Abu Bakr, was very confident in the eventual invasion of Iraq as most of the US soldiers had already been reassigned to different fronts, leaving only a small number of private security contractors to keep the peace with a dilapidated Iraqi military.

Bakr knew the exact status of the country due to the recruitment of former Iraqi intelligence officers personally trained by CIA operatives during the war, many of whom were happy to fight for his cause to gain a position within his new government.

The order was a variety of armaments enough for fifteen thousand combatants worth around $95 million, with more to come when the war to dominate the Levant began in full force.

Solntsevskaya Bratva recently received a huge blow losing two officers and more than a hundred soldiers from their illegal drug business. So they immediately agreed with Kadrovik's proposal to sort out their current liquidity issues.

The Russian business magnate could have easily procured the weapons using his government contacts but decided against the idea as it was an excellent opportunity to gain the Bratva's good graces and support while following along with Anarchy's plans.

Kadrovik assumed he'd need it, considering the growth of his new business venture, Nikonov Industries, which utilized the exorbitantly expensive re-engineered generation-1 manufacturing drones that Anarchy only sold to its most trusted members.

Anarchy's production suite was incomparable to the newest version of Future Tech's Hive Mind systems. However, it was still capable of manufacturing a wide range of valuable goods such as small arms, ammunition, and even rudimentary AVs.

Russia was shadowbanned from importing Future Tech products, so Kadrovik would fill the gap in the market by purchasing schematics from Anarchy and manufacturing what the local industries required to compete economically with the United States steadily.

Nikonov Industries was Kadrovik's most ambitious project. Still, he slowly pushed on to achieve success as he envied a young CEO across the world and craved more money, power, and authority.

After spending a few hours performing his Anarchy duties, Kadrovik kept busy searching for potential employees for his new company to expedite its growth and quickly compete with other corporations.

What Anarchy lacked the most was Artificial Intelligence technology that Vince Dalton protected like a doting father amongst the stars in Future Tech satellites, so Kadrovik spent most of his accrued fortune recruiting AI specialists and supporting university programs focusing on advancing practical AI functions.

Nikonov Industries have been around for roughly a month but had already received highly profitable contracts from the Russian government to produce munitions and a bid proposal for developing an improved version of the current AVs the Russian military purchased from Anarchy with Kadrovik as an intermediary.

Vladimir Putin was impressed with the primitive AVs' performance in combat tests compared to traditional helicopters, so he decided to invest a large portion of the annual military budget in procuring more advanced versions for his armed forces.

It was apparent the Silicon Valley suits that purchased Anarchy schematics on the black market and dark web like Apple, Intel, and IBM received the raw end of the deal, ultimately only increasing their sales metrics by a tiny amount, in contrast to Kadrovik, who had access to buy almost all of Anarchy's products and pivoted his company to become the fastest growing business in Russia.

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