Patricians: Power Politics (2 of 9)

Chapter 20: Keeping Enemies Close

The Muse Command Center was working nonstop since the attack in Moscow. Every single system was dedicated to searching the memories Achilles extracted. Ivan's connections were being assembled into a codex by hundreds of intelligence operatives. Henry ordered his people to assemble a list of all the people his rival had dealings with. Assessing threats to Muse remained the highest priority. Achilles notified Henry about the affiliation between to Ivan and his partner, Zhou Yun Sun, and now everyone worked to unravel the web of intrigue. Thousands of strands were interlinking business deals, yet the links between Sun and Romanov were few and hard to trace.

Achilles had already been sent back into the field to conduct intelligence gathering on Zhou Yun. Muse intelligence agents reported that Sun was travelling abroad since the Midnight Massacre. Each visit from the Dragon was intended to ensure the stability of the criminal empire. Achilles still hadn't managed to locate his target. Muse intelligence analysts were crunching the data sent back to them. Determining a pattern from the reports would be time consuming but critical. Operatives around the planet worked together collecting data. All the data was channelled back to Muse Central Command deep beneath the William's estate, and Muse hackers were probing world governments' intelligence agencies.

Henry sat in the War Room of the Command Center. Holoemitters in the table projected the image of the world map into the center of the room. Various dots were marked on the globe, showing sightings of Zhou Yun, according to reports. Achilles last report showed he was headed to Beijing to infiltrate Dragon Enterprises. Henry and his team were waiting for Achilles to report in. Maj. Lee and Cpt. Anderson felt that Henry should have seen this coming. Both men felt this was the first strategic error their commander had made.

Now everyone was focused on correcting that mistake. Intelligence agents reported Zhou Yun was returning to Beijing for a meeting with the criminal underworld. Every crime family, cartel, and gang boss would be assembled to discuss the future of the business. Zhou Yun had increased the wealth and power of the criminal underworld since his conquest. Time had transformed the criminal organizations into professional criminals true to that name. Crime was just another form of business and took cues from corporate and military organization under Sun. Dragon Enterprises represented the legitimate front for the criminal business. Henry needed the Dragon infrastructure and protection Zhou Yun offered, but the attack on Julia forced him into a confrontation to gain the truth. Everyone paid the Reaper, and the Dragon would be no different.

"Operative Kincaide is reporting in, sir." The message came across the Muse neural network.

Henry patched the neural transmission into the holoemitter on the table. The world map disappeared. Achilles' image appeared over the table. Once the figure was fully formed, the features began to move.

"Sir, I have arrived in Beijing and have managed to infiltrate Dragon Enterprises. Zhuge Sun's personal messages contained the date and time of Zhou Yun's meeting. I am uploading the information now."

Downloading the information, Henry sent it to for analysis. Achilles' information had provided a complete workup of Dragon Enterprises' organization. Thorough was an insult to how precise Agent Kincaide hunted his prey.

Maj. Lee noted that most of the transportation infrastructure could be incorporated into Muse with ease. Data showed the routes, corporate assets, and shipping information below the image of Agent Kincaide. Henry knew that the real power behind Dragon enterprises wasn't its shipping capacity. It was in controlling the criminal underworld to ensure shipping remained safe. Zhou Yun hadn't lied when he proclaimed his ability to ensure safe transportation. Dragon's reports to Muse showed that none of Muse's goods had been stolen or damaged since the corporation took over shipping. Zero percent was beyond impressive to Henry, and that was not something that needed deep consideration. The behaviour spoke to the nature of the man himself.