Jackson's POVI looked at the email notification that blinked on my encrypted screen—a letter from a overseas author at a European agency. My pulse beat faster as I opened it. The letter was brief, but its words sent shivers down my spine: there was increasing evidence to suggest that the sabotage of Bhutan was not a one-off. It was plotted by a influential, shadowy network with influence in multiple countries.I took a deep breath and dialed my safe line to catch a call with Ingrid in Frankfurt, a person I knew who had good information. As the connection clicked on, I told her, "Ingrid, it's Jackson. I need your latest opinion on the latest news about the consortium."Her level voice came over, "Jackson, I've been following some big-time financial transfers, and there's a pattern building that suggests a concerted effort. The numbers, the timing—they all yell that this is no anomaly."I grabbed my notebook, writing down points as she spoke. "What kind of pattern are we seeing?"In br
Kylie's POVI sat in my private meeting room, a hidden space in our headquarters, and watched as the scrambled video connection reached out to worldwide partners from around the world. Today was do or die—I had arranged a covert meeting with our most trusted global partners to form an integrated alliance against the rival consortium. My heart pounded, but I knew this was one move to help save Bhutan.I coughed and went on, "Good morning, all. Thank you for coming at short notice. I know we are all under tremendous pressure, but our cooperation is more crucial than ever. We meet today to build a world union against an extremely real menace."The people on my screen were of diverse cultures and jurisprudence. There was Ingrid in Frankfurt, Alessandro in Milan, Mei Ling in Singapore, and Rajiv in Mumbai. They all had their own accent, own sets of laws, and different viewpoints—and each one was a pillar in the battle against the consortium.Ingrid was the first to speak, her tone calm and
James's POVI journeyed to Frankfurt with a purpose.a quest to dig deeper into the money center that had become the hub of rumor and off-the-record talk. Movement thrummed in the atmosphere at the central station, and I strode with purposeful resolve. Our opponent was not acting alone, I was sure. Rumor had led me thus far, and I was determined to uncover secret links between movers and shakers and consortium members.I checked into a modest hotel on the edge of the financial district, and then I set off with my locked phone. I had one definite strategy: attempt to blend in, stay on the beaten path, and pick up any on-the-record interview cautiously. I had arranged a sit-down with one of my reliable sources, a low-key journalist by the name of Lars who wrote about financial scandal. There were whispers of clandestine meetings between high-ups and consortium officials, Lars told me. I may be able to dig up these secret links if I could get closer.Lars met me in a dingy, backstreet caf
Jackson’s POVI sat in my quiet office at headquarters, the only light coming from the softly humming server rack and my computer screen. I had been tracking a series of suspicious wire transfers for days now, and something told me that the true financial backbone of the conspiracy was waiting to be uncovered. My focus was absolute; every transfer, every account, was a potential clue.I opened the secure database and began my investigation. “Let’s see where these threads lead,” I murmured, rubbing my temples. The screen displayed a series of offshore accounts, interlinked through a maze of corporate shell companies. One account, in particular, caught my eye—a conduit that seemed to relay funds from a well-known foreign country. I typed in a series of commands to pull up the transaction history.Almost immediately, a list of large transfers appeared. The amounts were astronomical, each transfer carefully time-stamped and routed through multiple intermediaries. I leaned forward, eyes na
Kylie's POVI was in my office late one afternoon, working, when the tip arrived—a secret message from one of our external sources. I nearly spilled my coffee cup as I read the message: an international investors' secret summit was being called. The summit was not another industry conference; it was secret, open to only a very select few. There were rumors that these investors were the masterminds behind those groups that undermined the stability of Bhutan. I shivered.I called my Chief of Strategy, Elena. "Elena, I need a meeting now in my office. It's about an underground meeting of international investors."In minutes, Elena was in my office, her eyes narrowed. "Kylie, what's wrong? You're tense.".I leaned forward, not in the least reluctant. "I've just received word of a summit that no one's publicly listed. It's by invitation only, for the crème de la crème of foreign investors, and I believe they're being courted by our enemies—by the other consortium to undermine us from the i
James's POVI leaned back in the busy corner of the exclusive meeting room at the conference, going out of my way to keep up my cover. The room was dark, lighted only by the gentle glint of a few strategically-placed lamps. Top investors and business giants moved in quiet clusters around me. I'd been undercover here nearly two days now, and what I'd heard was now shaping up to be so much hotter than I could ever have imagined.I had introduced myself as a consultant seeking general market strategy, an experienced individual to advise on corporate mergers. During the last day, my subtle conversation with some of the participants had already begun to say something ominous. During one of the discussions with an illustrious investment strategist—I shall refer to him as Mr. S—I had discovered that the consortium was gearing up to make its ultimate push: a concomitant bid to acquire control of leading companies across various industries. And Bhutan was among them.My heart pounded inside me
Jackson's POVI was back at my desk at headquarters in Bhutan, the hum of computers and soft pecks of keyboards sounding almost hypnotic. The trail of our recent operations placed me on high alert. Every intercepted message, every new anomaly in the electronic trail, made me more confident that our opponent was active. I realized we had to act fast; time was crucial.I opened the monitoring program and issued commands, cranking up our online watchfulness on all things offshore and in-house messages. "Come on, give me something," I muttered as I waded through a maze of jumbled logs and financial data. My fingers danced across the keyboard as I applied filters that would flag any out-of-pattern activity.My phone buzzed with a secure text from Mia: "Jackson, increased activity noted on channel B-21. Suspect hostile maneuver. Please consult." I scowled. This could be the cue I'd been waiting for.I quickly grabbed the secure conference button and called Marcus, our lead on financial surv
Kylie's POVI lingered late last night in the dimly lit conference room, my inner circle of people gathered around the long table. The atmosphere was heavy with fatigue and concern—each of us weighed down by recent double-crosses and the increasing unease of an enemy whose power seemed to seep into every facet of our lives. I looked at the sheets of paper laid out on the table, the confidential reports, coded messages, and in-house memos that talked of a grand conspiracy.I swallowed hard and began, "Thanks for coming on such short notice. We all understand what has brought us here." I paused to meet the eye of each trusted counsel as I fought to hold back the storm of emotions. "We stand at a crossroads. Our most recent intelligence has given us a glimpse at the enemy's strength, and now we must decide what to do.".My chief security officer, Mark, was the one to break the silence. "Kylie, it appears that the case is mounting. But there's still much that we don't understand. I think
Kylie's POVI was at the podium in Bhutan's Grand Conference Hall of Annual General Meeting. The auditorium was electric, and everyone's eyes were fixed on me. I took a deep breath, for I knew that the time was now to speak out loud before our adversaries. I had to remind everybody why we established Bhutan – on trust, courage, and shared vision that no betrayal could break."Good morning," I began, my own voice steady in spite of the tremble of feeling under it. "Today we are at a crossroads. Our company has been betrayed, sabotaged from the inside out, and tear after tear assaulted by those who would love to destroy us. But I ask you each: what did we build here in Bhutan? We built something of infinitely more value than the sum of our losses.". We founded a heritage in trust, in innovation, and the unconquerable faith that together we are capable of any achievement. I broke pause, eyes on the audience, looking from board to staff to meeting every face. "I know some of you are anxi
Kylie's POVI sat in the quiet of my office, staring at the coded messages on my computer screen. The proof we had gathered in the past weeks was all too much, but now another turn of events had been revealed. Reports were emerging that Emily might be innocent—that everything that had been said against her was part of a larger scheme to frame her. My heart pounded with uncertainty as I tried to keep up with it all.I picked up the phone and called Jackson. "Jackson, is the latest news on Emily verified? There are whispers that she is not the leaker after all."The soothing voice of Jackson came back, "Kylie, I'm analyzing the logs. Preliminary results show inconsistencies that contradict the finding that Emily is a leaker. The intercepted information that we received could have been altered."My head reeled. "Manipulated? That would mean that someone is orchestrating a setup. Who would have a stake in that?"There was silence on the line before Jackson said, "We believe it may have so
Emily's POVI woke up to the persistent ringing of my phone. My secure channel glowed with urgent messages. My heart sank as I read the title of one of them: "Corporate Theft Allegations – Immediate Action Required." I couldn't believe it. The evidence that Austin had passed to me, the one that I had kept with so much precaution, had been leaked. I was accused of corporate theft.I sat up, my heart pounding, and called Kylie right away."Kylie, we have a problem," I tried to say matter-of-factly.Her voice was frosty on the phone. "What is it, Emily?"I hesitated for just a split second before continuing, "Some inside information has been leaked out. They say it's proof that I've stolen company money. I didn't do it, Kylie—I swear I would never."There was a terribly lengthy silence on the line before she finally spoke back with, "Emily, you are going to have to tell me what is happening. This testimony—if it incriminates you as an abettor to theft, then you know what that would be li
Austin's POVI walked back and forth beneath the harsh lights of the empty, frigid parking lot outside an old industrial facility, the weight of my choice bearing down on me. Tonight was my only chance to break up the syndicate operation—a chance that would finally redeem my choices. I glanced at my secure phone; the message from my informant confirmed the time. One of the offshore accounts of the syndicate was poised to send them a huge quantity. If I can capture that transaction, chances are high I can shut their business down.I took a deep breath and muttered to myself, "This is it, Austin. For Bhutan. For Kylie. For everything we built." I zipped my coat, mopped the sweat from my brow, and walked toward the building. My hands were shaking as I gripped the tool I had made. I had devised a specific tool to temporarily cut off the data stream of the account for a few seconds—five minutes should be enough to create havoc.Inside the building, I crept quietly down the corridors in low
James's POVI remained at my station long after the buzz that had developed since the latest internal strife. Austin was gone—removed from the inner echelons—and the betrayal seared me. Although he left a void, our mission did not shift: protect Bhutan at all costs. I needed to piece the fragments together and ensure our unit was intact. No time for regret; we had a job to do.I opened my encrypted email and scanned the messages that had poured in since the board meeting. Messages from Marcus, Ravi, and Elena painted a picture of a company fighting to keep up with external sabotage and internal betrayal. I breathed deeply and began composing my response to the crisis update.Team, we must increase immediately," I typed: "Austin's betrayal is confirmed. Our systems have recorded a number of intrusions. We must focus on beefing up our web and legal protection. I require full reports on all anomalies by 0800 GMT. Let's show them that Bhutan stands united.".I sent it and reclined, allowi
Kylie's POVI couldn't shake my mind of the nagging sense that something actually was amiss. For weeks there'd been a growing gnawing bad feeling about Austin's behavior. I'd relegated it to the back of my mind—Austin and I had worked together for years and created Bhutan into being, for Pete's sake.—but information seepped in gradually, as hairline cracks in concrete, until I found the fact: Austin lied to me.I was sitting in my office late one evening, dazed and trembling as I got my faithful men's report. It had within it suspicious actions and messages that indicated Austin's affair with the syndicate. Every piece of information was like a dagger to my heart. I had no time to lose.I grabbed my secure phone and called Austin. It rang twice or three times before he answered, his voice tense, "Austin here."I swallowed. "Austin, I need to tell you something. Now."There was a silence on the other end of the line. Then he spoke at last, "Okay, Kylie. We can talk."I've chosen all th
Austin's POVI stood outside the courthouse, my hands shaking as I read the deal for the umpteenth time on my encrypted tablet. Today was the day I signed with the syndicate. It was a risk, I knew that. I didn't have a second option, though, so it appeared. The syndicate stood over an ultimatum threat: sabotage Kylie's next negotiation or lose everything. I could feel the seriousness of this choice hanging over me as I looked at the paper. My mind was filled with questions and memories of our past together, of the trust we once had with Kylie. But I also knew that by signing on the dotted line, I had the power to silently retaliate.I took a deep breath and entered. The waiting room was cold and antiseptic. I approached the counter, and the woman behind it smiled politely at me. "Good morning. How can I help you?""Good morning," I whispered. "I'm here to sign. I'm Austin Price."The woman rummaged through the visitors' register. "Yes, Mr. Price. Please sit down. Your contact will att
Emily's POVI leaned back in my office chair, rubbing my temples. My mind reeled with worry over the heightened threat from the consortium and the surprising turns in our own internal infrastructure. I knew that I had to take a gambler's risk if we were ever going to regain control. Then I remembered a plan I had been working on for some time: trying to contact one of Rachel's large contributors. I had been informed he maintained a string of off-the-books deals for her. If I could get to know him, perhaps I might have inside knowledge at my fingertips.That night, I attended a business mixer at trendy downtown lounge. I dressed in my finest attire, trying to look confident and comfortable. I scanned the room for the financier, working my way through the tight crowd. I spotted him near the bar. He was in a discussion with some co-workers. I was nervous and breathed in deeply before approaching."Hi, I'm Emily," I extended with a friendly smile, offering my hand.The man smiled and took
Jackson’s POVI was hunched over my workstation late one night when the encrypted communication arrived. The screen glowed softly as the ciphered text scrolled across. My instincts told me that this was important…more than the usual noise from the enemy’s channels. I leaned forward and opened the decryption module."Come on, show me what you’ve got," I muttered under my breath as I fed the encrypted string into the system.The code slowly unraveled on the screen, and I caught sight of familiar keywords: names I had seen before, including an alias associated with one of our Bhutan insiders. My eyes widened when I read that the message linked this insider to Rachel’s new startup…company that had come up in several of our intelligence reports as part of the rival consortium’s latest moves.I grabbed my phone and messaged Mia, "Mia, I need you to run a full check on the encryption logs for this file. It mentions an insider at Bhutan and Rachel’s new startup. Confirm details ASAP." Her r