Last ti, I had a mask on, but now Soros already knew that Kirstie Allen was gone, and the man who took the favor for faking soone's death wore a tiger mask.
I needed to look like soone else—soone new in the club.
A few hours later, as the skies had darkened, the helicopter touched down softly on the Freewinds yacht near New York Harbor.
I stepped off the helicopter and onto the deck.
It was quite warm outsite despite the late hour. I could see a few of the mbers still lingering outside.
As I walked around the deck, I noticed sothing peculiar.
There were two n standing near the railing and talking with each other. One was wearing a dark red suit while the other wore a black mask with a white suit.
I couldn't hear much, but I caught a word that stood out—Soros.
My ears perked up at the ntion of that na.
What were they talking about?
I made a ntal note of it as I headed inside the yacht.
Inside, I made my way up to the balcony, choosing a different table from where I sat last ti. The balcony was already filled with people, all dressed sharp, talking and making deals.
A model approached with a nu, and I ordered a plate of the seafood special.
As I waited, I looked around. That's when I spotted the man in the dark red suit again. He was heading toward the balcony, and my eyes followed him.
He sat down at a table—a bit bigger than the others.
And then I saw Soros, sitting right there.
'He seed to have been absent last month.' I thought.
There were six other people around the table with him.
My food arrived just as I was still watching the scene, but before I could take a bite, soone approached my table.
"Excuse , I believe I know you," the man said.
I looked up at him, a guy probably in his early 50s. His sharp suit scread private wealth. "Sorry, I don't think we've t before," I said, keeping it formal.
He gave a confident smile. "Benjamin Harper, I run Hudson Capital. A private fund. We've crossed paths, indirectly, I believe."
We did so talking while eating. He mostly talked about how he'd heard about , curious about how I picked my stocks, wondering what my secret was. It was harmless enough, but I made sure not to give away too much.
After all, knowledge was power in this circle, and I wasn't about to give away mine for free.
...
Not long after, Emily Heart showed up at my table. She had her hair styled in waves and was wearing a bright red dress.
She looked surprised, but her smile was surprisingly warm, not hostile.
"Who do we have here... Jack Somnus... I didn't know you were part of the club," she said.
"That's good. You weren't supposed to know."
"Hey, hey. Forget about the past for now," she said dismissively, waving her hand like she was shooing away a pesky fly.
"Mrs. Emily Johnson, am I right?" Benjamin started. "I'm Benjamin Harper, it's nice to et you." he introduced himself.
Emily glanced at him. "It's Emily Heart... not Emily Johnson." she said, and then turned her attention back to , ignoring Benjamin. "Anyway... I'm looking for a dance partner... You interested?"
'Where was this going?' I paused. "What kind of dance are we talking about?" I asked.
She laughed lightly. "Dance is a dance. What are you thinking? Co on, just for a few minutes."
I decided to take her up on the offer. I had sothing I wanted to ask her.
Even before we started dancing together, I watched her enter the dance floor with sultry dance steps.
I was quite sure that she was doing that with everyone. Knowing that she could make n desire her with just a look or a touch, she was manipulating them.
"Co now, Jack," she said, as she ca closer to and put her hands on my shoulders. "There's no use in fighting against each other."
The music was soft and smooth and as we danced, I leaned in, whispering in her ear. "What's the connection between Arnold and your family?"
For a mont, she gave a strange look. Then she smiled again and stood up on her feet, her lips close to my ear. "You really want to know?" she purred. "I can tell you, but you'll have to promise to make it worth my while."
"I don't have ti for your antics, Emily." I said. "You don't need to tell . I'll find out on my own."
She made a disappointed expression at that and then said, "And what's your connection with Derec Johnson? Hmm? If you don't know why, then the answer is probably money, isn't it?"
She didn't answer at all, but I didn't push it.
Instead, I whispered back, "If you really care about money, you should make sure not to stand against Sam and especially not against ."
I pulled away, leaving her standing on the dance floor and going right back to the balcony.
...
After a few dozen minutes, the auction began.
The lights dimd slightly as soone took the stage.
It was the sa person as the one from the last eting. The scientist of the club. A woman with boyish, I could even say manly features. She looked more like a pretty boy than anything.
I had this thought in my mind: did the live prelonging procedures have so side effect of making soone's gender unrecognizable? If so, I wanted no part of it—not my thing.
And then sothing clicked in my mind. She was wearing a white suit. Her height... Was she the sa person who had been talking to the man in the red suit earlier?
The woman did her exciting, squicky welcoming ceremony and then the supermodels ca from behind the stage and delivered the plaques to each table.
'Theoretically, I should have 9 points available to ask for a favor...' I thought, and then I raised the pen to the plaque.
I didn't need money.
I also didn't need to request any shady things. If needed, Liberation would take care of that.
What I needed and what Liberation was expecting of was to gain control. That included not only financial but also political control.
I wrote down my favor.
A few minutes later, an auctioneer ca to the scene.
All the plaques were already gathered in front of him.
"Let the auction begin," he announced.
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