Ch.35Work Record 007 – Hostile Takeover (1)

There was no hangover. Probably because hangovers are inefficient. When trying to understand how Bellwether’s creations work, it’s much better to consider efficiency.

Instead, what woke me up was the buzzing alarm of an emergency alert. I fumbled for my phone to check the message. It was lengthy. Not the usual smog concentration warning, it seemed.

After properly coming to my senses, I got up to check. It was a message from Bellwether. Seems like a merger was in progress. Unnecessary bloodshed is inefficient. Bellwether was quite a friendly acquiring company.

Thinking it better to check my weapon first, I pushed the phone aside and set it to voice playback. Stephanie’s familiar voice began to speak.

“Hardworking and efficient employee-citizens of the Greater Los Angeles area, we at Bellwether consider efficiency our greatest virtue and mission to accomplish. Therefore, our company intended to acquire and merge with our partner company, Vinas Meditech, whose productivity has been gradually decreasing, to restore productivity under Bellwether’s management.”

Is this a notification that sporadic combat might break out downtown? Though less intense than yesterday, rain was still pouring today. Not exactly ideal weather for engagement.

“However, Vinas Meditech rejected Bellwether’s offer. The reason was their endless demands for merger ratio adjustments. In response to their pursuit of profits beyond reasonable levels, our Bellwether Los Angeles branch’s legal assassination team was planning to switch the merger method from acquisition merger to non-acquisition merger.”

The strange term “non-acquisition merger” referred to seizure through force. It meant they would eliminate dissenting shareholders until the proportion of those in favor exceeded the resolution threshold.

It might seem ridiculous to call it a “non-acquisition merger” when it ultimately ends in acquisition, but after the non-acquisition merger process, the remaining shareholders’ attitudes became much more compromising and amenable.

Bellwether would have promised appropriate compensation. If it was Meditech, it would be a company producing medical supplies, and Bellwether was not a company that skimped on pharmaceuticals for its security team.

That’s why I’m alive. Thanks to the excellent quality preservatives provided even to entry-level newcomers like me, I could now listen to what Stephanie was saying.

“So we gave Vinas Meditech a two-day grace period, which ended at midnight today. But there’s still a chance. This is mercy.”

They’re trying to avoid creating more bloodshed in an already unstable internal situation. Bellwether already had plenty of enemies after the branch manager rejected Chairman Hollowwood Creek’s proposal.

“Today, our company will not assign non-acquisition merger tasks to the security team and legal assassination team, and will issue public notices to all 107 affiliated mercenary companies to arrest Vinas Meditech’s dissenting shareholders and bring them to Bellwether’s Los Angeles branch headquarters, permitting only non-lethal suppression.”

Why be greedy? The stock value of Bellwether’s contracted companies and Bellwether itself were worlds apart. Just by agreeing to the merger, one would become a Bellwether shareholder.

They gave up the opportunity to enjoy shareholder rights, which guaranteed far broader privileges than employee-citizenship, and ended up with bounty notices on their heads due to greed. A foolish decision.

“However, after midnight today, the content of the public notice will change to the elimination of dissenting shareholders, and tasks will be assigned to the security team and legal assassination team.”

Bellwether could play tricks. For those dissenting shareholders who resist to the end, they would keep them waiting in front of the headquarters until midnight, then send the legal assassination team to shoot them dead.

Bellwether was certainly a patient and gentle company, but… when patience was no longer efficient, it was also a company willing to resort to other measures.

“Bellwether prefers to conclude deals with a clean signature and a handshake, not a bloody non-acquisition merger. But if that’s what you want, our company will handle this unpleasant task efficiently and diligently. That is all.”

Afterward, Bellwether’s motto that sheep should be led by sheep, not wolves, played, and then the voice broadcast ended. My habitual weapon maintenance was also complete.

I also prepared my bulletproof mask and combat uniform. I removed the damaged armor plate from where I’d been shot in the side and inserted a new one. I also packed two bundles of non-lethal flash grenades.

This was its own kind of emergency assignment. After changing into my combat uniform, I went into the shower and washed my body with water containing odorless additives that absorb smells, leaving no scent.

I change into my combat uniform. After putting on the bulletproof plates, gaiters, and arm guards, I grabbed my face cover and bulletproof mask and headed to the office. President Yoon was waiting.

Her prosthetic hand, which usually had a porcelain-like shine, now had a rain-like color. She was also wearing a different sniper prosthetic eye than usual. Her eye-smile remained the same, but her eyes were different.

“I’ve already called the other personnel, so it won’t take long. They probably contracted a mercenary company not affiliated with Bellwether, or maybe even requested protection from gangs. If they were really smart, they would have chosen to become Bellwether’s minority shareholders, even as small shareholders. I don’t understand why they refused.”

“The mercenaries and gangs who agreed to protect them and get on Bellwether’s bad side must be even more stupid to take the contract. And you know, greed has no end.”

Greed has no end, but life does. Life has an end. People often forget this very simple principle.

Soon Volla arrived, fully armed. His full-body prosthesis, with its internal mechanisms covered by steel plates, had quite a few more bullet grazes than before. Seems he worked hard yesterday.

It didn’t take long for the others to arrive. Mr. Enzo, soaking wet despite wearing a raincoat, was the last. Still clutching his briefcase and nervously looking around, Mr. Enzo spoke up.

“I, I… as soon as the alert arrived, I spread the word around. Naturally, thinking it would be faster to find those guarding Vinas Meditech, I reported to Bellwether that it was a sting operation, then acquired and released a batch of anti-reinforced suit sniper rifle ammunition and indoor surveillance cameras… there were a few places that showed particular interest…”

At this time, those who would suddenly sweep up anti-reinforced suit ammunition and indoor cameras would likely be mercenary companies facing combat this morning due to Bellwether’s ultimatum.

“I dragged out the price negotiation a bit, then cut off contact saying if they wanted to buy at that price, they should forget it, and then…”

Kay, who was stroking three round drones flying around her, made a large V-sign with her fingers.

“I connected them to a fake page with the same UI as the encrypted messenger Enzo uses. Did they really need it that badly? They clicked accept right away. I reconnected them, but of course, their heads were already infected with our cute, well-behaved malware that knows how to distinguish between small and large traffic. Offliner, remember what I told you? Say that cool thing!”

“That security vulnerabilities are always in reality?”

Kay wiggled her V-sign fingers and continued.

“Yes! That’s it. What good is a well-built firewall if you click accept with your own hands? It’s all for nothing. Anyway, so they can see it. Using the same method repeatedly might get us caught, but would mercenary companies guarding Vinas Meditech contact each other right now? Even if they did, they wouldn’t talk about such incidents!”

Even if the companies Kay had worked on contacted each other, they wouldn’t discuss suspicious purchase items that would obviously raise suspicion. Kay’s eyes gleamed quite wickedly.

She placed a hologram projector on the office desk. The hologram showed… footage captured from human eye level. We could see worlds viewed through prosthetic eyes.

As I was checking each view while lightly turning them, my senior poked one and pushed it toward the boss. She seemed to have come today fully in the mood to work.

When I briefly turned toward my senior, I caught a glimpse of her smiling with satisfaction. After sensing my gaze, she pressed her lips together again, but I had definitely seen it.

The screen she pushed toward President Yoon showed the face of a man who had completely removed both eyes and replaced them with a row of displays. President Yoon captured the screen and compared it with Vinas Meditech’s employee directory.

The employee directory provided by Bellwether scrolled by itself before stopping in the middle. A hologram appeared showing a man with exactly the same face as in the captured screen. The boss gave a short applause.

“Louis Weathers, Vinas Meditech’s sales team leader… 1.83% stake and a dissenting shareholder. One of our mission targets. Could you show his location, Kay?”

This is happening all over Los Angeles right now. Everyone is using their IT staff’s abilities to track down dissenting shareholders, so Bellwether doesn’t even need to move directly.

What made us different was that our accounting staff had started the operation. It was also a smart choice since Mr. Enzo’s record would be clean, making it unsuspicious until Kay got involved.

After checking a few more details, Kay opened a map app and marked the location. Louis was in Pasadena. He seemed to think they wouldn’t pay attention to places closer to Bellwether.

The location was… a KSC kitchen storage in Pasadena. Did he refuse Bellwether’s deal just to hide in a fast food restaurant storage and worry about mercenaries coming for him? Stupidity is worse than incompetence.

They probably plan to hold out for a few more days. They hope the cost of this operation will exceed the amount needed to satisfy their greed, forcing Bellwether to restart negotiations. This is their final raise.

But there was one thing they didn’t consider. Requesting negotiations again with someone who said there would be no more negotiations damages Bellwether’s image. Lowering brand value is a loss.

Why would Bellwether take a loss for corporate executives from another company trying to fill their own pockets? From the moment they threw their chips for that final raise, they were as good as dead.

“Location confirmed. There are two entrances, but the rear entrance is wide for delivery trucks, while the front is narrow for employee drones. It would be best to have Volla wait at the front entrance and then infiltrate from the rear. Did you find out which company is guarding them?”

Mr. Enzo, wringing his hands as if he had anxiety, nodded.

“Of course. When I asked if this was a Bellwether sting operation, they showed me their business card not long after. Kay?”

The field operatives had nothing to do right now. All we could do was memorize as much of the information wall in front of us as possible. Louis must not be killed. Bellwether gave no instructions regarding anyone else.

A surrender-inducement operation might be effective, but they would have received the emergency alert too, and if so, they would know they couldn’t surrender. We need to clear them out thoroughly without killing Louis.

Kay brought up a hologram screen with a rabbit-shaped logo. When you look at other companies’ logos, you realize how clean Bellwether’s logo of a circle and two lines in the night view is.

“A witness protection specialist company! I’m not sure why it’s a rabbit… Do they work wearing bunny girl outfits? No, don’t look at me like that! I can’t just show you a loading screen while extracting employee data!”

As she finished speaking, an employee directory with nine people filled the screen. There was nothing particularly outstanding about any of them. All had ordinary modifications, ordinary faces… and ordinary mercenary backgrounds.

They must have chosen their jobs well until now. Even someone being threatened by gangs could safely escape Los Angeles by hiring just one mercenary company, and they would have had a string of successes.

The end of a successful streak often turns into a terrible fall. If you can’t fly, you couldn’t climb to a height that would kill you if you fell. This time, they’ve reached the falling point. This time, their opponent wasn’t a gang but Bellwether.

One other notable point… Yes. The reason for the rabbit logo wasn’t because they wore bunny girl outfits. The codename “Rabbit” was for the driver who would escape with only the client if witness protection failed.

When fleeing from the rabbit hole to the snow field where they won’t be noticed, rabbits find value in their timid nature. Tina scratched her cheek while looking at the man in the photo and said:

“This guy’s a road racer? And apparently a crazy one at that. This is a modification mostly done by bikers.”

In the photo Tina pointed to, there was a small metal ring circling the ear cartilage.

“There are these crazy guys who say that if you wrap your ears in some kind of… streamlined thing, your head becomes more streamlined, reducing air resistance when racing. He must be an excellent driver. That’s how he survived riding bikes. If we let him drive, even I can’t keep up with a van. But we can’t take another vehicle either…”

As if it were a serious concern, Volla smirked. With a snap of his wrist, he opened the side of his arm and showed several old coin-sized explosives stored inside.

“While I can understand everything else… I absolutely cannot stand flesh messing up the job. If I push this into the hood and detonate it, the back seat should be fine, and an escape vehicle would have a back seat, right?”

“Of course it will. Even road racers, if they’re sane enough to work, or crazy enough to work, do their jobs well.”

Satisfied, Volla nodded, then carefully examined the storage size and personnel before tapping the office desk with his fingertips. It seemed he had something difficult to say.

“If we spray chemical rounds into the storage first, do we need to compensate KSC, boss? Like if customers are endangered, or you know… if the ingredients spoil.”

“I don’t think so. Even though KSC is a fast food giant, if asked why they were hiding Bellwether’s enemies, they’d have to say they didn’t know the fugitive was there, don’t know how he got in… and since they couldn’t cooperate in that situation, they’d have to say they’ll absorb some losses on their end.”

KSC wasn’t that aggressive a company. All their ingredients were food substitutes, and they used minimal staff, so even if a branch was completely destroyed, the loss wouldn’t be great.

That was their business model—minimizing all costs while maximizing profits. They wouldn’t sue us for damages over turning one branch upside down.

President Yoon, who had been quietly listening, nodded firmly as if a decision had been made.

“We’ll spray vomit gas and go in. Everyone grab gas masks. Use B-type purification canisters with green markings. Arthur…”

“Oh, I’m fine. It would be strange for a Posthuman Type IV to vomit from vomit gas or cry from tear gas. The filters attached to my airways filter all that out.”

The hunting preparation ended with this frivolous remark. People will see those who acted arrogantly as if they were something special being captured like criminals, and that sight will be the reward for their diligence.