Chapter 2: NPC
Caffeine in his veins, power in his ride and speed at his disposal, Shadow was ready for an eventful day. Dark Rider whizzed past the morning traffic on the way to the tallest skyscrapers in Station Square.
The hedgehog clad in leather motorcyclist gear looked out of touch with the district's startling opulence. Suited narwhals and fat cats sneered at the deviant who dared to enter their domain without a limo.
For the better. Shadow preferred inconspicuous travel to avoid detection before the deal was struck. Those who had to know were already aware of his arrival.
A smiling face greeted him at the entrance. "Welcome to Eggnamco, Mr Shadow. Please, follow me to the meeting room."
"I wish to speak to Robotnik first."
"He is available in the meeting room, sir."
The remark brought Shadow's eyes down. He scanned the owner of the voice, a young orangish fox, whose naïve features did not yet succumb to Eggnamco's influence. Shadow was used to seeing bankers as sacks of greed with household debt running through their bloodstream. As a reward for being different, the fox got to carry the visitor's hardened backpack.
Shadow continued walking until they reached the lift. The doors closed, allowing the hedgehog to interrogate his companion in private.
"Are you Robotnik's personal assistant?"
"Mr Robotnik is my mentor, sir."
The answer piqued his interest, so he decided to test the waters. "Perfect. You must tell me of his schedule for the rest of the day."
"That information is confidential, sir."
He knew. Robotnik trusted the fox enough to let him handle sensitive information. Shadow scowled despite being amused.
"You are rude. I will forward this remark to Mr Robotnik."
"I'd rather not say…"
Shadow saw him tremble. The way it worked was that a single negative remark could permanently blemish a protégé's résumé. That was the current term Shadow had for the fox, who spent the time scrawling something on a piece of paper. A scrap containing names with time stamps appeared in Shadow's hand.
Just as he had expected. Robotnik still wanted to milk Shadow Corp dry. The hedgehog crumpled the paper into a tight ball and concentrated on the floor numbers lighting up.
"You are helpful. What is your name?"
"Tails…but Mr Robotnik prefers Miles Prower."
The fox looked away, blushing. Getting a straightforward compliment from someone like Shadow T. Hedgehog caused a feeling of euphoria an inexperienced person would have trouble containing. To make matters worse, the fox had no possibility of release while stuck in the same lift.
Shadow continued, "Mr Robotnik will benefit from a smooth meeting. Should the circumstances allow, you will receive my patronage."
His chaperon understood the purpose of the remark. "Dr Nega and Monsieur Mephiles arrived accompanied by no less than twelve lawyers half an hour ago. They were discussing an article in today's Bullion State. Mr Robotnik requested heart pills." He would have continued, but the curve of Shadow's lips told the fox it was enough.
This gave Shadow a fiendish idea. He didn't want to formulate it properly in his mind, so it just lay there in pre-foetal form. Shadow wanted it this way; it was his guarantee to resist temptation.
"When the meeting is over, you will come with me."
They reached the designated floor. The doors slid aside.
"I will, sir." Tails bowed and returned the backpack.
Shadow had to enter the meeting room alone. Robotnik's orders, no doubt.
He encountered a pair of sour grapes sat next to Robotnik. At least three lawyers stood behind each of them. Dr Nega, an old crone of an oil baron confined to a wheelchair, stared at him with indignation. Mephiles did the same, his eyes complimented by a creepy faceless grin.
Meh, Shadow's encountered them before, so another chilly welcome didn't change his demeanour.
"To what do I owe the sophisticated audience?" Shadow asked.
One of the lawyers flung a magazine at him. It was a copy of Bullion State with a doctored picture of Shadow crying on the cover. He shrugged and put his backpack on the long table to take the laptop out. The ones sitting at the opposite end were not impressed.
"The press received the transcript of a confidential meeting between you and Mr Robotnik," Mephiles began.
"Smoke and mirrors," Shadow shrugged it off, logging onto the laptop.
"Your information flow has sprouted leaks, Mr Shadow. I have expressed this regret during our previous conversation, and it appears you have not searched for a suitable solution."
"Hearsay can hardly be considered a leak. Your face may be a source of gossip as disingenuous as a competitor's tongue."
A laminated card landed next to his computer. It contained unintelligible angry-looking scribbles. Nega threw it. He must have thought Shadow's comment about Mephiles' face exceeded certain boundaries of politeness.
"Wingdings? Dr Nega should fire his typist." Shadow tossed the card aside carelessly.
Everyone watched it tumble on the floor until Mephiles broke the awkward silence. "Allow me to take the lead, gentlemen. Dr Nega refuses to speak to you, Mr Shadow. He has contracted a terrible disease and must conserve his valuable voice, you see. Might be tonsillitis or even angina."
"Angina is a terrible disease for a man like Dr Nega to contract. Condolences and consideration should be made readily available," Shadow scoffed.
Mephiles let the insult fall on deaf ears. To him, the meeting was a formality. "Mr Robotnik has been most considerate and available to our plight. Unlike you, Mr Shadow."
Upon those words, the scrawniest of their legal cadre delivered a document file to Shadow's end of the table. The hedgehog didn't pay attention until the package poked the bezel of his laptop. He perked up an eye ridge.
"You have been served. The dissolution of our consortium is your responsibility. I suggest signing the enclosed parting agreement on the spot," Mephiles ordered. He had never provided Shadow with a pen.
Shadow guffawed heartily. "Ah, so the twelfth apostle was a court bailiff. I see the consortium picked up frugality since inception."
"Our time is costly. If you'd kindly sign the agreement, we shan't meet again under misgiving relations."
"I value your acquaintance, Mephiles. Being associated with a renowned financier is an asset few companies can contemplate resigning from."
"Your flattery is unmatched, as is the unique status of your enterprise. This venture must reach fruition, lest I fly home with a weather forecast instead of a guarantee." Mephiles scowled.
Shadow checked his email, clicking through ever so slowly to annoy the crystalline hedgehog more. "My Operations Department confirmed that you have put clause 34 of the acquisition document into action by converting your preferred shares into common stock, an undertaking we cannot fathom the economic reason of."
Mephiles rose from his seat and pointed at the magazine. "One of the reporters handling this story disappeared under suspicious circumstances. You're the scapegoat."
"I am a hedgehog; I do not bleat. If that is their expectation, they should request a press conference and see how Shadow Corp deals with lies and slander."
"You can count on my assistance, should your signature honour the peaceful dissolution drafted by our legal team. A collective press conference would show the public our venture is defined by trust and mutual respect." Mephiles wouldn't sit down.
"That is an excellent thought I am willing to allow my lawyers to look into." Shadow smirked, still focusing on his laptop. "Should you agree to explain how the leak connects to the aforementioned share conversion a week before I had the meeting with Mr Robotnik."
The performance didn't bring Shadow any closer to looking at the documents. Mephiles decided to use more forceful measures to level the entrepreneur by putting his crystalline hand on Robotnik's shoulder. The lawyers fidgeted as if the move was an agreed signal. Shadow kept his cool, but he didn't like where this was going. If Robotnik had switched sides overnight, things got uglier than anticipated.
If the green-eyed tycoon had a facial expression for glee, he was expressing it now. "Mr Robotnik has been elected as the sole administrator of the consolidated line of credit to your enterprise. We have no interest in conducting nebulous business based on second-rate derivative values."
So, the rats found a sacrificial lamb to buy them enough time to bail. A fitting confirmation of their nature: society's vermin.
"Looks like my fancy presentation will have to wait for a more suitable occasion." Shadow switched the laptop off.
"I tire of your beautifully structured content-free presentations, Mr Shadow."
Shadow folded his arms and grinned. "You will have an exceptional time deliberating that remark when we meet in court."
In return, Mephiles snapped his fingers. The lawyers behind Robotnik scuttled into action.
"If your business survives the upcoming fire sale. Bankruptcy is the easiest option for you, Mr Shadow. You should have responded to our generous offers while you had the luxury of choice. Now, every speculator in the federation will feast on your company's lifeless husk."
Robotnik was offered two identical sheets of paper, which he signed promptly. The lawyers took one of them to a fax machine while Robotnik kept his hand on the other. It was a sell order to Eggnamco's stake in Shadow Corp.
The lawyers nodded to Mephiles, who approached Shadow with the document in hand. He wanted to be sure Shadow saw the magnitude of the flood the market would endure on the opening auction. Releasing millions of shares into the wild without a buyer in sight would put immense pressure on the price, which habitually snowballed into rapid degeneration of investor sentiment. A meltdown.
"As you can see, Eggnamco wants none of your business as well. The share price will dive a quarter of its value, prompting NASDAO to halt trading. When it surfaces to the newsmakers, trading will not resume. Ever." Mephiles stopped to return to his seat and shake Robotnik's hand. "Thank you for the cooperation, Mr Robotnik. I look forward to working with you on the next securitised package deal. I would express my condolences to your impending losses, but it's only business. You'll recover by withholding dividends this fiscal year."
Robotnik put his face in his hands as the crowd dispersed to leave.
Nega whispered something to Robotnik, but that didn't seem to lift the man's spirits. During the transition, Shadow pulled two bottles of Chaos Cola out of his backpack and opened them. Nega's hands trembled at the sight.
"Want some?" Shadow asked Robotnik.
Seeing that they finally had the privacy, Robotnik kicked back in his leather chair and put his legs on the table. "I have everything I want right here," he said and picked up his copy of the sell order.
"That was not very gentlemanly of you."
"Who cares?" Robotnik laughed in short consecutive bursts. He then reached under the table to pull out his secret weapon. "I want you to deliver this to Espio."
Shadow walked up to the banker with soda at the ready. Robotnik treated himself to a drink while Shadow read the contents of the man's document. The hedgehog huffed, having barely scratched the first page. There had to be 150 of them.
"Reverse repo? Your Capital Markets Department can handle this," Shadow said.
"The market maker must receive the right message. If there is any doubt, our gamble will backfire. Consider this a firewall against unaccounted losses."
"And if he refuses?"
"His days are numbered. There are large leftover sell orders, which are due today. If he provides insufficient liquidity, his licence will be revoked." Robotnik guzzled down most of his drink and met Shadow's gaze with honest concern. "I have no illusions about the ordeal. Hence, the nominal interest rate he's getting is very generous, current market trends in mind. The NPC company will shoulder the fine. We have no choice in this matter."
Shadow picked up the document to put it in his backpack along with the laptop. "The choice is always there, Mr Robotnik. Only it has variable opportunity costs."
"Humour me after the fact, Shadow." Robotnik pressed a button at his seat. "Mr Shadow needs to be escorted out."
Tails entered the meeting room. He didn't look as bashful upon being formally introduced.
"Have you met my nephew Miles?" Robotnik asked.
Of course, he did. Tails was ordered to meet Shadow downstairs for a reason. If it wasn't a backhanded favour on Robotnik's behalf, the word gamble really did summarise the man's disposition towards Shadow. Or he just hated the Mobian vulpine enough to press him into a stranger's hands.
"Yes. He is coming with me," Shadow announced.
"Is that so?"
Tails looked away at first, but his gaze slowly shifted towards the hedgehog. "I've always wanted to go on an adventure…and I am sure to have one with Mr Shadow."
"Humour comes after the fact, Mr Robotnik."
Robotnik waved his hand at them. They were free to leave.
Tails bit his lower lip as they exited the safety of Eggnamco's skyscraper. The world seemed much colder without a reliable role model. Tails hoped his gut feeling about picking Shadow as his new mentor was right, but that was all he had on the table, a gut feeling.
"Have I done the right thing, Mr Shadow?"
Shadow ushered him to the motorcycle. "Call me Shadow, Tails."
"I understand." He smiled, being handed a motorcycle helmet. He had never ridden a motorcycle before.
Shadow checked his watch. They had a few blocks separating them from Espio's corporate HQ. He decided to call home to check if his plan was going ahead.
"How is the weather, Charmy? Perfect as always. When they finish unloading, distribute the memos. Good. Great to hear. Make sure Rouge is around for a chat. I'll be there in forty."
Tails got only bits and pieces of the conversation, but the images they conveyed let him think Shadow had a busy schedule ahead of him, and the day has only just begun.
Deep in thought, he didn't notice how they reached the location. Tails read the logo at the entrance. He'd been there before on a few errands and had interesting conversations with the clerks downstairs. Judging by how Shadow just left his motorcycle near the front door without alerting security, they were heading to the very top.
"Ninja Partners Consulting is your trading specialist?" Tails asked.
"The partners used to have unlimited liability before they incorporated. Shadow Corp got a heavenly deal after its NASDAO flotation. There are bigger market makers available, but their bids are dictated by fringe benefit as opposed to goodwill."
Shadow was allowed into Ninja Partners Consulting's employees-only space, a large matted meditation hall with stock tickers on each wall. More than fifty lizards sat on the floor, humming.
"Why are you taking me with you?" Tails whispered, reluctant about intruding into the meditation area.
"To do business yourself, you must have the skill and the know-how. Enjoy the moment, Tails, because I will be doing business with you when we return to my office. Listen..."
Espio had taken the central seat, his voice booming in every direction. The echoes made a firm impression on Tails.
"CFDs," Espio chanted.
"Give us riches," the lizards replied in unison.
"Futures."
"Give us riches."
"ETFs."
"Give us riches."
"Chi." Espio exhaled, prompting the crowd to disperse. Once he had the necessary solitude, he addressed Shadow, "I sense a disturbance in the cash flow."
The hedgehog walked up close. "Is that how you call a client these days?"
"Shadow, you are early," Espio said. Each word laced with hesitation.
"At least there is that."
"Let's go to my office. We have urgent business to discuss." Espio stood up and turned to face the listener, spotting Tails. "Who is this spy?"
"My new protégé."
"What happened to the old one?"
Shadow smirked. "Humour me."
The host did not question him further. Shadow soon found himself on the top floor next to Espio's workstation, a feng shui-styled space with four monitors showing different parts of a single trading platform. Espio logged on and concentrated on what he saw, flipping through graphs and reports.
"My ninjas have been working throughout the weekend to ease your pain, Shadow." He turned to the visitor. "Won't happen. The rate will fall."
The hedgehog shrugged. "Share prices fluctuate daily. What is so different about today?"
Espio pulled out a copy of Bullion State from one of his desk drawers. "Eggnamco does not believe in the future of Shadow Corp. I've sensed betrayal in the news, but when the order came via fax this morning… Shadow, the dam will burst and innocent people will drown."
The chameleon pointed at a list of orders. Bids to sell outgunned the buyers' volume a thousand to one. The proportion was changing rapidly, not in Shadow Corp's favour. To any CEO, this would have been a horrific experience.
Shadow looked amused. "Nonsense. You have the money. Just buy the shares yourself as a market maker should, and sell them when the brouhaha subsides."
Commotion filled the building as the NASDAO opening bell rang. The graphs started moving on every coffee-stained monitor and silent TV. For most employees, it was a regular start to a trading day. For Espio, it provided a disorientating experience.
"The tide…" he whispered. The curve had taken a steep dive compared to Friday's closing price. Espio tried to fathom the reason when Mephiles' image appeared on one of the TVs.
"Mephiles! What is he doing…" Shadow noticed it, too, and turned the volume up.
"I did not say we are issuing a 'sell' recommendation for Shadow Corp's shares. Recommendations are issued when the market is closed to avoid disrupting investor sentiment. I merely expressed a very personal, very grave concern about its managerial practices and inability to negotiate with creditors and stakeholders alike. The Investor Consortium has been disbanded and we will pursue remuneration in federal court, should Shadow Corp fail to honour its commitments. That is all, thank you."
Espio put a headset on and was already making numerous calls to his comrades while Shadow stared at the screen. Mephiles' speech took place in an airport. The reporter kept talking after the financier entered his private jet, but Shadow didn't pay attention to it. Tails, on the other hand, swallowed every word.
"Other members of the Investor Consortium were unavailable for comment. Shadow Corp has been burdened with financial woes throughout the last quarter, a condition industry insiders believe to be connected with the company's latest rival acquisition, Chaos Inc. We will cover more on the story as soon as new developments arise."
Espio had a weak smile on his face by the time the broadcast finished. He turned the mic on to address his troops. "All right, ninjas. It is time to show the market what you're made of! Liquidity must flow."
Change happened in an instant: the share price stopped falling. It evened out before climbing. The partnership succeeded in securing enough funds to stay true to its promise of keeping pending order times at the minimum. A company like Shadow Corp didn't normally need a specialist to match buyers with sellers, but investors always felt more at ease when there was a guarantor who would scoop any leftover requests up and act as a counterparty. That day, Ninja Partnership Consulting appeared to be a lone soldier. Everyone else, as if coordinated by an unknown evil, played against the market maker.
And so, the change Espio hoped to snowball into a profit backfired completely. The slide became a tumble, and the chameleon looked back at his client.
"Shadow, our system can't auto-match this many orders."
"Relax. The buyers will come."
Espio stared at the screen blankly. At that rate, they'd need to borrow money to keep one client alive, and they've had hundreds of companies under their care! "That's what we prayed for since Friday. It got worse. Five percentage points in the red. Seven. Nine. It is behaving like junk. We are not dealing with an investment-grade asset…"
"So, financial speculators are having a period of exuberant sentiment. Happens to the best of us." Shadow casually pulled a document folder from his backpack, pretending to read.
"We are tapping into our own bank account now. This cannot continue. You must call NASDAO and request that trading is ceased."
"Trading will cease," Shadow mumbled.
"Negative thirteen," Espio replied just as absentmindedly. Then, he thought he understood Shadow's statement. "Hold all Shadow Corp orders! What you say?"
"Trading will cease at 10 AM when we make another product announcement."
9:20 AM. Espio faced the screen again. "Hmph. For once, I thought you were serious. Carry on, ninjas."
A noise came from Espio's computer. Despite having little interest in music, Shadow could tell it was a distress call.
Espio's on-screen inbox became packed with unread messages. Colleagues, clients, close friends: everyone wanted a piece of him when things got bad. He folded his arms and took up a deep breathing exercise. "We've just gone into overdraft. The price won't pull till 10 AM. If we let it slip too far below 20 in the red, NASDAO will issue a warning and take action for you, Shadow."
"But you will not let that happen. It is part of your contract as a market maker: preserve the price from deviating above the threshold. This is not a force majeure situation, you know."
"They will fine us for last week, anyway. What did you do, Shadow? OTC customers are reaching into the secondary market…"
Shadow walked up right behind Espio and put a gloved hand on the chameleon's shoulder. He rubbed it gently. "Relax. Keep buying."
The connection became more forceful as Shadow continued talking and Espio's fingers – pushing buttons.
"That is right. Buy. Buy."
At one point, Espio took his hands off the keyboard. His own company's brokerage account was in the red. Missing out on more large orders meant allowing the price to slip further, growing the market maker's exposure. He'd be buried in losses regardless of what course of action he picked.
Espio shook his head. "There is no one who would buy…"
"Oh, but there is one," Shadow said as he placed Eggnamco's offer on the table.
The chameleon felt his dharma evaporate upon seeing the bidder's name.