Six miles below Flight 808, across the financial capitals of New York, London, and Frankfurt, the invisible gears of global commerce were turning at a violent pace.
In a glass tower located in the heart of Manhattan's financial district, the headquarters of Montgomery Holdings was in absolute chaos. Sirens of financial panic were blaring through corporate communications. Telephones on every floor were ringing simultaneously, executives were sprinting down corridors with armfuls of legal documents, and the board of directors had taken over the main conference room.
At the head of the long mahogany table stood Richard Vance, the Senior Vice President and Arthur’s long-time business partner. Richard’s tie was loosened, his sleeves rolled up, and his face was red with frustration as he stared at the wall-mounted monitors displaying the stock tickers.
"What do you mean their line of credit is gone?!" Richard shouted into his speakerphone. "We had an explicit agreement with Ramsey Capital for the logistics merger! The documents were scheduled to be signed at three o'clock today!"
On the speakerphone, a calm, automated voice from the Ramsey Syndicate's clearing house responded.
"The directive came directly from the office of the Chairman. All agreements, pending negotiations, credit facilities, and operational support associated with Montgomery Holdings have been terminated with prejudice under Section 9 Clause B of the Sovereign Override Agreement."
"Clause B?!" Richard gasped, sinking into his chair. "Clause B is the nuclear option! That's only used for acts of corporate warfare or high treason against the Syndicate! What did Arthur do?!"
"No further details are available," the automated voice replied cold. "Good day, Mr. Vance."
The line went dead.
Richard slammed his fist onto the table, looking at the board members who sat in stunned silence around him.
"Where is Arthur?" one of the board members demanded, her voice shaking. "He was supposed to be in London by noon to finalize the deal! Has anyone reached his plane?"
"He's on Flight 808," Richard said, rubbing his temples in despair. "He's thirty-five thousand feet over the ocean right now. Whatever happened, it happened on that plane."
Just then, Richard’s personal assistant rushed into the conference room, her face pale as she held an iPad out to him.
"Mr. Vance... you need to see this," she stammered. "A leaked memo just hit the internal wire from Ramsey Aviation."
Richard snatched the iPad and read the short, brutal message displayed on the screen:
INTERNAL DIRECTIVE: RAMSEY AVIATION / GLOBAL COURIER SERVICES
Effective immediately, passenger Arthur Montgomery is designated non-grata across all subsidiaries, partner airlines, and private lounges. Furthermore, all commercial entities maintaining primary equity held by Arthur Montgomery are subject to immediate audit and liquidity withdrawal.
Reason: Personal offense against the Primary Estate.
Richard dropped the tablet onto the desk. The room fell into dead silence.
"Primary Estate..." a junior partner whispered, his voice trembling. "That... that means he didn't just anger an executive. He went after a member of the family."
Richard looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows at the skyline of New York. "He didn't just ruin himself," Richard said quietly, his voice hollow. "He ruined all of us. Call the legal team. Start filing for bankruptcy protection before the European markets open."
Chapter 14: Whispers in the First Class
Back onboard Flight 808, word of the outside world's reaction was slowly trickling into the cabin through the aircraft's high-speed satellite Wi-Fi network.
Passengers in First Class, all of whom possessed custom financial terminals and private communication apps on their personal devices, began receiving updates from their respective offices. The news of Montgomery Holdings’ sudden and catastrophic collapse was spreading like wildfire through the global financial network.
In Seat 5A, a tech billionaire named Marcus Sterling stared at his tablet screen in disbelief. He looked up, glancing over his shoulder at Arthur Montgomery, who was sitting head-in-hands in Seat 4K, completely unresponsive to the world around him.
Marcus turned to his wife, who was sitting next to him in 5B. "Look at this," he whispered, tilting the screen toward her. "Montgomery Holdings just lost eighty percent of its market cap in forty-five minutes. Their foreign assets are being seized by debt settlement agencies as we speak."
His wife gasped softly, covering her mouth. "Because of what happened ten minutes ago?"
"Because of what happened ten minutes ago," Marcus confirmed. "He picked a fight with a kid who holds the keys to the kingdom. He thought he was the biggest fish in the pond, and he didn't realize he just splashed water on the ocean."
"It's terrifying," she whispered, looking up toward Seat 2A. "She looks so calm. So gentle. You would never guess she has that kind of power."