Maxwell's footsteps bounced along the white walls as the man stormed through the corridor towards Lena's office, his green eyes ablaze with fury as he shoved past employees in his way. People stared as the white haired young man in the blue bespoke suit and burgundy red shirt and tie barged past them, ignoring their questions as he marched past Eveline Price's desk. She shot up from her seat dropping the phone she had in her hand to shout at him, telling him her boss was unavailable and in a meeting. She dismissed the excuse and ducked through the sliding glass doors into Miss Luthor's office.
Lena sat comfortably in her chair facing the window with her legs crossed, her elbows on the arm rests as she spoke confidently into the headset hooked over her right ear. She saw Maxwell's reflection in the glass as he stomped in, pausing her phone call to spin the chair casually around and greet him. "What is the meaning of this?" he bellowed, slamming a small stack of papers on her desk angrily.
Lena's face was calm as her eyes looked at the papers and them back to Maxwell's angry expression. "Forgive me, may I call you back?" she asked her caller, apologising for the interruption before disconnecting her meeting. She removed the earpiece and sat back in her chair silently. "What can I do for you Mr Davies?" she asked politely.
His eye twitched as a snarl flashed briefly across his face. "What can…? I rather think it's what have you done that's more important" he barked, jabbing his finger at the paper on her desk. "I was interrupted in the middle of a very important meeting with a client of mine by my lawyer who told me the Department of Defence has suspended talks with TITAN Industries because of pending investigations. And then when I return to my office I find federal agents rifling through my files demanding my cooperation, asking questions about my knowledge of recent terror attack in the city? They think I am connected to domestic terrorism? The absurdity!"
"Oh dear" Lena muttered flatly, staring back at him patiently. "What's this got to do with me?"
"Because I know you are behind this…fabrication" he spat. "Because no sooner have I finished answering their questions then my lawyers receive this" he said, reaching into the paperwork and pulling out a print out on yellow paper, a red stamp over the company logo. "A cease and desist order, demanding I halt all production of the Samaritan pipeline. By order of the mayor at the behest of L-Corp!" he slammed the form down in front of her and glared into her stoic face. "So I ask again, what is the meaning of this?" he hissed.
Lena remained neutral and clam, but allowed a tiny hint of a smile to escape her lips as she picked up the order and examined it. "I think it's rather straightforward, Mr Davies" she replied, fixing her gaze back on him coolly. "I've demanded a full investigation into your company on the belief that your technology was built using stolen schematics and patents belonging to L-Corp. my lawyers have requested access to your network, your database and your files, and all production on your prototype and the pipeline you've been building for the DOD has been suspended for review. And as for your visit from the FBI, it sounds like they have you in their sights for more than just fraud" she smirked, dropping the form back onto the pile. "You didn't really think your lawyers could stonewall mine forever did you?" she asked, leaning over her desk to sneer at the furious man.
Maxwell's glared at her, his eyes dancing on the verge of hate and respect before he composed himself and released a slow breath. "Fine" he chuckled. "You got through the red tape. No matter. There's nothing you can find that'll prove those designs belong to you Miss Luthor. And I've dealt with the FBI before. These accusations are absurd. I have faith my lawyers will get them thrown out. I'll accept an apology when this is all over" he said, straightening his tie and moving towards the door.
But Lena broke into a smile. "My lawyers already have the schematics you took from my apartment" she told him. "Found in a folder in your company's network. And you're right, I can't prove they belong to me. But they do belong to my brother." That gave Maxwell pause for concern as he came to a stop and turned back to her. "You were right" she chuckled. "Lex was a genius. He was also arrogant, with an ego bigger than a planet. The last thing he'd abide is plagiarism, so he made a point of documenting and patenting every piece of technology he ever invented or constructed, including the nefarious ones." Maxwell's face went pale as she broke into a wide grin. "A mad genius indeed. Wouldn't be caught dead allowing competitors stealing his designs, so he ensured every schematic was marked, every digital copy hiding his signature in the metadata." She brought her eyes to his with a proud twinkle. "Which means everything built from his technology is his property, and by extension the property of L-Corp."
Maxwell stood there dumbfounded as Lena rose out of her seat, slowing walking around the desk watching the weight of the man's failure fall upon his bringing his world crumbling around him. He clenched his fist at his side, closing his eyes stifling a scream of anguish. "What do you want?" he asked in a pained voice.
Lena stood before him appraising the intelligent young man, her cold stare analysing him like a predator. "For you? Nothing. I've already taken back everything you took from me" she said. "That includes possession of the Samaritan project and all of its technology. I'm shutting it down, like I suggested you should've when we last spoke on it."
"You can't" he pleaded, his expression frantic as he begged her "think about all the good it could do for the world. Arming our police force, our military. You know what threats are out there. The Samaritan can save lives!"
"And what about the lives you sacrificed to build it?" he asked. When he flinched in confusion she strolled over to a cabinet and pulled out another folder, handing it to him. "I know about the acquisitions your company made. One of them was Cadmus, if you recall. Amongst their research was an alien organism they were experimenting with" she said, watching Maxwell closely as he refused to look in the folder. "Why would TITAN be interest in such an organism, which coincidently resurfaced a few days ago in National City Park? Five people were killed, more were injured, including Supergirl and Dreamer. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" she asked, not expecting a response. She just wanted to watch his reaction.
His reaction was one of cold humiliation, of someone who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Yet he attempted to deflect suspicion anyway. "Mere coincidence" he said.
Lena scoffed. "What about Kronos Limited?" she asked, pulling out another folder and passing it to him for him to resist reading. "A shell company linking back to another one of your acquisitions. This one invested heavily in Axis Environmental and coerced them into manufacturing the mechanical army you used to debut your Samaritan suit. Is that just another coincidence?"
Maxwell turned his gaze back to her, drawing a slow breath as their glares met charging the room with electricity. "You can't prove any of those accusations" he snarled.
"I don't need to" she replied. "My interest is in my property. But the FBI and DEO will be very interested. They already have copies of those folders" she noted, gesturing to the files in his hands.
He skimmed the pages, throwing them onto the desk. "How did you come to have these files?" he queried out of curiosity. "Given the run around my lawyers were stonewalling you with, I can't imagine they came from somewhere reputable."
Lena gave nothing away as she smirked. "You're welcome to prove it, assuming you can afford it."
"TITAN has an army of lawyers who make it their business to dismantle case like this" he boasted.
"Maybe, but I don't expect they'll be available to help you" she replied. "That phone call you interrupted when you walked in? That was the chairman of the board from TITAN Industries, expressing their deep-felt apologises for any misconduct you have committed without their knowledge. They assumed me your actions bear no reflection upon the company" she said, taking great pride in watching Maxwell's confident demeanour crumble as the unspoken facts dawned on him, just as it had with her. The board of directors were already hanging him out to dry. She envisioned he'd be outed as the CEO by the end of the day.
"You can't do this" he said, shaking his head in denial even as he walls closed in.
"It's already done, Mr Davies" Lean said, enjoying the sensation of once more conquering an opponent with such ferocity. No doubt her mother would be proud. She leant back against the desk, crossing her arms confidently, her eyes no longer hiding the distaste she held for the man.
He fixed his gaze on her, his body shaking uncontrollable as he stepped forward. "We could've been the perfect partners" he said, disappointment in his tone quickly replaced by anger. "You were…you will regret this."
"I already regret meeting you" she muttered, just as Eveline finally returned with two security guards. She inhaled calmly and addressed them. "Kindly show Mr Davies out of the building. And make sure he leaves without anything he didn't come in with" she added.
Maxwell kept his glare on her all the while he was dragged out of her office, his hatred burning through his green eyes until they were the last thing she saw as the glass doors slammed shut in his face.