Chapter 15

Taking on Vulture Capital head-on? Just Alex and me wouldn't even make a dent.

Vulture Capital was a giant. They managed over 10 billion dollars, and Jack Warren, their partner, had a reputation for being absolutely ruthless in the business. Going up against them directly would be like charging headfirst into an unwinnable battle.

But that wasn't my plan.

I was going to wage an information war.

Kevin Bright, CloudBuild's tech lead, had a background I never knew about.

Back when he was working on his PhD at MIT, his mentor was David Mason, an academician at the National Academy of Engineering and the head of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development's Green Building Expert Committee.

Kevin was tight with his mentor.

I had a chat with Kevin.

"Is your mentor, Mr. Mason, still keeping an eye on the green building standards for real estate these days?" I asked.

Kevin adjusted his glasses.

"Yeah, Mr. Mason's been working on the industry standards for carbon-neutral buildings. Why do you ask?" he said.

"I need you to help me set up a meeting with someone," I said.

"Who?" Kevin asked.

"Mr. Mason himself," I replied.

Kevin stared at me for a long moment.

"Mr. Chandler, what exactly are you trying to do?" he asked.

"Vulture Capital's been hoarding land in Harbor City. The terms of their land deals require them to build according to green building standards. But knowing Jack's style, he's not going to actually follow through. He'll just put on a show and fake it," I said.

"So?" Kevin asked.

"So if we can get someone with real clout to crack down on those standards at this critical moment..." I said.

Kevin got it.

"You want to choke them right where it hurts," he said.

"It's not me putting the squeeze on them. It's the industry standards doing the work. I'm just making sure the right folks notice what's happening," I said.

Kevin was silent for ten seconds.

"I'll set it up for you. But Mr. Mason isn't someone you can mess with. If he thinks you're playing him..." he said.

"I'm not using him. I'm helping him do what he's always wanted, just never had the real evidence for. Next week, we'll have the first batch of numbers from CloudBuild's Prime Tower project.

"If the energy savings really hit forty percent or more, that's the kind of proof Mr. Mason needs to push the new standards," I said.

Kevin stared at me for another five seconds.

"You really planned this far ahead?" he said.

"If I'm doing something, I go all the way," I replied.

The meeting with Mr. Mason was set for next week.

But before that, there was something else I needed to take care of.

News had already spread through the industry that Michael Ford had been taken in by the police for questioning.

Inside Sunrise, everyone was on edge. Several execs were already preparing to jump ship.

Things were even worse for Julia than I'd expected.

On Wednesday afternoon, I was in a meeting at CloudBuild when my phone buzzed.

It was a message from Julia. Just four words.

Julia: Vulture Capital's here.

I replied with two words: Stall them.

Then I opened another chat and sent a message to Alex.

"Ready?"

Alex replied almost instantly.

"Anytime."

I put my phone down and told everyone in the meeting room, "Let's call it a day."

Walking out of CloudBuild's office, I slid into my car and started it up.

I headed straight for Sunrise Realty's headquarters.

This wasn't about helping Julia.

This was about taking down Vulture Capital.

Just as I got onto the highway, my phone rang.

It was an unknown number.

I picked up.

"Mr. Chandler, long time no see," a voice said.

His voice was unhurried, with a kind of unsettling confidence.

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel.

"Jack Warren," I said.

"Glad you still recognize my voice, Mr. Chandler. I'm honored," he replied.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Nothing important. Just heard you've been snooping around where you shouldn't. Thought I'd give you a little warning..." Jack said.

He paused.

"Some moves were set in motion the day you sold your company. Now that you're trying to get involved, it's way too late," he said.

My fingers tightened on the steering wheel.

"Is that so?" I replied.

"Yeah. So here's my advice. Just keep running your little business and stay out of Sunrise's mess. Otherwise..." Jack said.

"Otherwise what?" I asked.

He gave a low, chilling laugh.

"Otherwise, that CloudBuild of yours..."

The call disconnected abruptly.

It wasn't just a hang-up. It was a hard disconnect.

I glanced at my phone, full bars, but the call was already dead.

Just then, a message from Alex popped up.

Alex: Luke, CloudBuild's servers are under attack! All the Prime Tower project data...