The week following the annihilation of Richard Lockridge and the subjugation of the legacy tech coalition was characterized by a bizarre, frictionless tranquility.
The Warlord Protocol remained entirely dormant.
The Syndicate's thirty-day ceasefire was holding; there wasn't a single anomalous ping on Iralis's firewalls, nor a single suspicious vehicle lingering near the Tribeca penthouse or the forty-second floor.
It was the quietest Ryan had allowed himself to be since the system activated.
He spent Tuesday morning in the Sanctum, not reviewing hostile takeover targets, but looking at architectural blueprints for the physical expansion of Rebuild Tech. The company had outgrown the forty-first and forty-second floors. Sophie was advocating for buying the entire building outright.
He was considering the proposal when the heavy, frosted glass door clicked open.
Diana walked in.
