Chapter Nine: Black Monday
Arc Three: The Big Show
Opening: "Kikai Jikake no Cinderella" - Eliza
Pendragon crawled along slowly, feet trudging down pedestrian paths lined by heights reaching for the clear, California skies in the dry hotness of the day. From ground level, it seemed to go on forever. It was an appropriate home for the Holy Britannian Empire, full of grandeur, and the pride of generations. It served as the economic hub of the world, and for General Upson Thompson, a breath of fresh air from his life working with the Navy's new Floating Battleships. The fat, yet sharply edged man chuckled to himself. It would never catch on.
Not that he minded; so long as the government sank funds into its development, the Sakuradite rose and all was well in the world, which, given that he had stowed his livings into Sakuradite holdings, suited him nicely. War for fun and profit as it were. He had applications on his phone to monitor his funds, not that money held in the material that kept the world currency afloat needed much monitoring. Even so, Upson knew there was nothing quite like the scrum at the Stock Exchanges on St. Darwin Street, and so he headed straight there after touching down. It was a huge building, chock full of people looking up at screens and roaring and yelling at decimal points. It was a sport, a religion, it was the world.
There was nowhere else Upson loved more.
He moved up to grip the railings on the balcony overlooking the mosh pit, joining in the overall chatter as he looked towards the figures. He knew the people about the place very well, what with his close friends often competing and betting against one another in the best kind of cordial humour. Here was where, in Upson's unhumble opinion, the spirit of Britannia was to be found; competition and prosperity in equal. The very best and brightest were exclusively represented here, unsullied by the shackles of those who were not as able, as it should always be.
"Upson!"
Upson turned to see his good friend Thomas, and shook his hand with great vigor, his stiff but wallowing movement made in both parts manly boast and welcome, as he bellowed "Hello my man! How are you?"
"Very well! Have you met my protege Jacobson? He's third son of the Duke of Devonshire, he's got a healthy dose of potential!"
"I can't say I have! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!"
They shook hands and laughed as they placed bids on more and more, with not a care in the world as tens of thousands flew from phone to phone, page to page and tablet to tablet over a case of wine.
After a while, he was pulled aside by his assistant, with distressed skin and an even more distressed face, well liked and trusted by Upson.
"Pray, what is it Harris?"
"Sir, I noted your holdings in Ashford KMF Research, so I thought for the future notice, I'd just mention I have just heard they are reporting severe underproduction and industrial issues."
This surprised Upson. He actually rather liked the former Earl of Ashford, with his relaxed attitude and slight maverick streak for having lost his Earldom, and so this development rather disappointed him. "Unfortunate. May I ask why?"
"Preliminary reports show that the Eleven workers are striking, and several production lines have shut completely. One demonstrator wrecked several standing units, in total putting their production back months."
Upsons hefty brow raised itself in surprise, as he concluded the thought. "Reuben's Frame was meant to replace the Sutherland, correct?"
"Indeed. If I recall correctly, that's why you put money on him."
Upson sighed, and rubbed his rich, brown beard. The Sutherland had needed urgent replacing, and Ashford's return to the fray with a simple model that could be quickly made the industry standard was nothing if not embraced. Recent upticks in military industries and Sakuradite prices had been predicated on the assumption that there would soon be brand new Knightmares to purchase and run. This not being the case could cause them to drop back to conform with reality. Upson sight, quickly concluding "Alright, pull the chute. What about Sakuradite?"
Harris paused, uncertain. "Sir?"
"Well if the Britannians aren't getting their Knightmares, they're not about to invade Europe are they? The only thing that comes out of that is a drop in Sakuradite!"
Neither man spoke for ten seconds, before Harris said "I'll divest in Sakuradite immediately, just to be safe. It'll probably sink a tad, so let's not be onboard for that."
"It's for the best."
This rapid and decisive scene replayed throughout the building, as stockbrokers and businessmen and playboys all decided to hop off the sinking gravy train. The trickling flood of men leaving the market sent the Sakuradite down and down, as everyone got the same idea at once. Once the sinking caught steam, everyone who saw the dip fled, accelerating the descent. By the end of the day, the precious resource had dipped 28% at rock bottom. The government shut down the counters three hours after Upson dropped out, in a hurried and collective 'Oh crap' moment that sent the entire computer system into collective meltdown.
While the Dollar was a fiat currency, Britannian economic success was directly correlated with Sakuradite, being the biggest driver of its militaristically focused economy, and so a loss of faith in the pink rock resulted in a loss of faith in the Dollar, as people removed their investments in Britannian debt to avoid instability, which then caused it to become unstable. It was the worst kind of self fulfilling prophecy, and while it was nowhere near as bad as the crash a century ago, the gears of industry ground to a halt as the chain of cash slowed to a trickle. Everything was founded on faith, and Britannia's infamously low rates was built on historical precedent and confidence. If a trader was told the economy was less stable than the public thought, they would increase their rates. In this way, the supposedly invulnerable was in fact despicably fragile.
Possibly the worst hit were the Sakuradite mines themselves, now unable to even hire their own workers, as the precious mineral was just left in the ground for the simple reason no one would buy it.
All this resulted in an unprecedented disaster, as all confidence was lost. It was incredible that something so small, in a position so unassuming, could cause as much damage as it had, however what was generally attributed to idiocy was in fact an act of economic vandalism.
Lelouch, the biggest vandal in world history, chuckled gently into his coffee as he sat against a park bench with a long, woollen coat and gloves in the quintessential image of a student who had done nothing wrong. The plan literally couldn't have gone better. It still made him pause that 20 billion Dollars in borrowed money and a few whispers of uncertainty could do so much. This was to be how The Long War was to be fought, he supposed.
He sipped down the last dregs of his drink, before placing the styrofoam cup in the rubbish bin and resuming his morning stroll round Ashford in the grey dusk. The weather was cold, but just bracing, with little bite to the winds bark. His collar was turned up to his back, hiding the hairs on the back of his neck from reach as he spied the gate to the school.
It was lined with picketers and angry protesters, believing Reuben responsible for the crisis. LLS had disappeared along with their Sakuradite, but unlike the corporation that had no more substance to its existence than as a figment of Lelouch's existence, the Ashfords weren't going anywhere, and everyone knew it. The mob shouted fierce obscenities to Lelouch, failing to grasp the sheer irony of the fact they were in fact yelling at the real culprit, rather than just a student.
He must not laugh. Laughing now would give the game away. But oh, it was tempting.
Instead, he turned back towards the building, and resumed walking, his boots clacking off the loose concrete ground, his hair blowing back. He imagined he looked relatively badass, what with a thick, long coat and smart shoes, but he also wanted to keep a low profile, and so turned his head down. Last thing he wanted now was to be recognised.
"YOU'RE SCUM ASHFORD!"
The can was poorly thrown and landed over a foot away, but it gave him brief pause. People really were affected by this. He had to remember that. He had to provide an alternative to the Britannian economy for people to live under, and fast, as the longer it took for Lelouch to execute stage two of their plan, the longer the Britannians had to restore faith in the Dollar. This return to reality allowed Lelouch to recall another victim; Reuben Ashford, who would likely be lynched if he ever left the property, and the was a not insignificant chance he may be lynched even so. While he did nothing illegal per se, everyone and their mother knew who was responsible for their money losing so much value.
The character assassination of Reuben Ashford had been swift, thorough, and depressingly personal, attacking everything from his school to his business, even claiming he had an affair with Marianne Vi Britannia, and Reuben could not counter it. He was the scapegoat, and yet he only feigned mild annoyance, seemingly too beyond it to care. Lelouch didn't know what Suzaku had promised Reuben, but Reuben had earned whatever he was promised, performing exactly to their will.
The only thing that was in any way difficult was the hiding of the Knightmare Frames themselves. He would hate for such a potentially useful arsenal to go to waste, and so he'd had them hidden in the premises, bribing the workers before hinting to investors the project was going badly. This in fact was illegal, but in the grand scheme of things the lesser wrong. Britannian priorities in a nutshell, as far as Lelouch was concerned.
Still, he was in an amiable mood as his stroll brought him to the school foyer, where he spied his sister and Sayako, returning from a stroll of their own.
"Clap, your hands if you beliiieve…" he hummed to himself in light of recent events, as he approached, waving to Sayako before squatting down beside Nunnally's wheelchair and greeted her with a "Hey there, Nunnally!"
The crippled girl smiled as she heard her brothers deep, soothing tones, grabbing his hand in hers to confirm his presence as she responded "Brother…"
Lelouch traded welcoming glances with Sayako as he asked "How are you feeling today?"
"I'm fine big brother… but…"
Lelouch recoiled slightly in surprise, asking hurriedly "But?"
After a moment of apparent thought, Nunnally spoke slowly, choosing words carefully.
"I heard, on the news a bad thing happened, the one you were involved in. I know you want to make the world a gentler place, but it seems like people are upset."
Lelouch placed his arm on Nunnally's back and spoke to reassure her, whispering "We have hurt the nobility of Britannia, and they are responding using their grip on the media to fight back. They serve as the propaganda arm of the Britannian government. Make no mistake; we are absolutely not bringing long term harm to anyone who is already suffering. The nobles training horses and sponsoring hedge funds are the only ones suffering, but they have influence. It'll be okay, I promise. I'm taking care of it."
It was only partly true, and it set a bad precedent for Nunnally in terms of her knowledge and autonomy, but Lelouch's priorities lay with protecting his sister. She seemed to cheer, her grip on his hand not failing as she nodded "Oh I see. Thank you. Could you stay with me up to the class?"
Lelouch smiled in turn and replied "Of course!", as he stood up and mouthed to Sayako 'Take the day off.', allowing her to return home, maybe talk with Ohgi and relax. She had been overworked of late, and Lelouch hoped she could take the opportunity to rest, so that when she returned she would be better than ever.
Perhaps Suzaku was right; ever pragmatic.
Still, it made little difference, as Sayako gave a slight bow of the head to show appreciation before leaving the pair of them alone in the room. Lelouch's eyes fell, as he returned briefly to thought. This was a major blow, but there was still work to be done. Their money had been moved away of course, converted to Euros before the Dollar lost value, then converted back once it bottomed out. Less the taxes on conversion, they still had huge amounts of money, which they could now put to work putting others to work, but time was not on their side.
At the same time, it wasn't as if Schneizel and co could just amend their problems instantly; righting their financial crisis required monetary investment to kick start it, which would not happen until faith was restored. No investor wanted to be the first to dip their toes back in the water, and that 'Who blinks first' mentality of greed and self preservation would hamper their progress, at least for the time being.
"Lelouch?"
He shook himself. He was lost in thought again, and forgotten Nunnally entirely. He'd have slugged himself if it wouldn't distress Nunnally further. This was totally irresponsible.
"Brother?"
"Yes? Sorry… I was distracted. Don't worry, I'm back."
"I'm worried about you, you've been distracted a lot lately. I think you're overworking yourself. Have you been sleeping well?"
Now was an exceptionally bad time to tell Nunnally he hadn't slept in 36 hours, but putting that aside Lelouch was shocked, and furiously angry with himself. Nunnally, worry about him? This disgrace, this disappointment, the sense of every goal and aim inverted in intent and result, he was the one to look after Nunnally! He had to be strong for her, but here she was worried about him!
He sighed deeply, tipping his head back to the sky, drawing air through his lungs and nostrils slowly, channelling it down his throat and chest, cooling his flaming passions as he returned his head to rest. He opened his eyes and spoke slowly.
"Nunnally… while I have been working for you and all of us, I'm fine. I'm worried about you. Stop worrying about me, I'll be fine."
"But I don't want to!"
Lelouch's eyes lit up as Nunnally continued "You're always working hard for me, but I'm still worried about you! You're out there, fighting for the people, but if it goes wrong you'll go away and I'll be alone!"
"I'm fighting for you, the gentler place you talk about!"
After an awkward pause where both participants realised they were close to shouting, Nunnally replied, more quietly.
"Brother, the only gentler place I need is a safe one with you. Don't worry about me, nothing can happen to me in Ashford. You on the other hand are out taking on the bad guys, and that scares me."
"I'll be fine." he smirked. "I have a knack for seeing the better end of these things."
"I hope you're right."
Lelouch bit his lip, not wanting to drag the issue on any further in spite of wishing secretly to add 'I often am'. Nunnally was happy, and thus so was he, at least until the Britannians got their act together. The teen pushed his sisters wheelchair up to her class, dropping her off to her tutor and leaving him with little to do. He took a path down to the Student Council room, hoping to see what was occurring and perhaps catch up with friends who had grown curious as to his extended absence. His short journey brought him back to the tall, bright room that he had grown so familiar with, and yet so unfamiliar with. It had been so long since he was in the Student Council, that he was left wondering whether the roof was really that high, or the skylight letting in the morning's off-white light was that bright. It seemed to bring in a new, unnatural light that he was not certain had ever been there. How long had he been gone?
"Lelouch?"
The Prince turned, looking to the source of the question and finding Kallen, standing in her neatened uniform with distinct red hair, tied back and the world class invulnerability that had caught his attention before.
"Stadtfeld." he addressed her plainly, before cheering. "I wasn't expecting you here."
"I'm on the council, to be frank you are the unexpected one given your attendance, or lack thereof."
"I've been a busy man." Lelouch responded plainly. Britannian nobility would hardly appreciate what he was doing, however they would be very familiar with a desire to keep secrets.
"Have you now?" Kallen replied, eyebrow held high.
Lelouch smirked "Have indeed. Yourself?"
"I've been around. Trying to catch up with work, finishing projects, et cetera. I've barely had my head above water, unlike you and your antics." she shrugged.
Lelouch smiled and gave a slight shrug in turn, as he replied "Antics is a harsh word. I prefer... making the best use of my available resources. Somewhat like your hero."
"Eh?"
Lelouch flashed a sly, sharklike grin as he continued "Only the Nadaman himself, Zero. Quite the show he put on."
"Harsh terms." Kallen replied coolly. "You're talking about Saitama? I haven't seen the finer details myself. Being ill and all."
Lelouch, while being an extremely self confident man, was well aware there were many things in this world he did not know the answer to. For example, he had no idea why Suzaku insisted on keeping their Corduroy couch. He hadn't the faintest clue as to why the play 'Oklahoma' had done so well, nor had he the slightest comprehension of what manner of drugs his brother Clovis was consuming when he laid down his plans for Clovisland. That being said, if he were to claim knowledge of only one fact in this life, it would be that Kallen Stadtfeld was lying to his face.
What she was lying about, he didn't quite know. But she was definitely lying.
"Though I'm surprised you're as concerned about him, given that Britannia appears to have its own little calamity within these very walls. In fact, I'm amazed you aren't up in arms over that."
"Calamity? Would that be the economic collapse or Milly Ashford?"
"Grow up."
After a brief, slightly awkward pause, both Lelouch and Kallen broke into fits of laughter as their respective lines sank in. Lelouch leaned an arm against a white radiator to stabilise himself, as Kallen doubled over. After a moment, they wheezed themselves dry, and stood apart, as Lelouch realised that she was right; focusing on Zero probably would give the game away.
"OOOH, what do we have here? Young love?"
Both Lelouch and Kallen collectively sighed with what little breath they had left as the Council's own force of nature entered the room, followed by her unwilling accomplices. Lelouch rolled his eyes as he responded "So am I gay, or what's the story?"
Milly gasped in a display of faux outrage. "How dare you engage in Bisexual Erasion, I'm honestly ashamed of you!"
Lelouch huffed and refused to reply, realising the best solution was to just not give Milly ammunition. She copped on to his realisation, and shook her head.
"Smart boy. Now listen. We're heading off to the Kawaguchi Center for Nina's award. I know that's not your thing, but there's a bunch of other panels about Sakuradite and new tech I'm sure you can sink your teeth into. I was wondering if you fancied going. Kallen's already said she's busy, and you're the last one to RSVP."
He instantly saw what she was on about, noting her specific mention of Sakuradite. She was likely inferring that it would be helpful, taking insights from the economic and scientific minds of his age. Besides, the next stage of the plan relied far more on Suzaku and Ohgi's efforts in the Ghettoes, so it wasn't like he was busy.
"Sure, why not?" he shrugged, seeing no objection. Milly nodded mischievously, before the Council got down to business, balancing budgets and finding any way possible to embarrass Lelouch. Not that he cared. His mind was on other things.
Almost unconsciously, he reached down and tapped a text to Suzaku in a moment of furious inquisitivity.
Who is Kallen Stadtfeld?
Who is Kallen Stadtfeld indeed. This chapter focused on developing Lelouch's relationships, as well as explaining what the Ashford rebels have actually done to strike the first blow against Britannia. The next few chapters will happen in more rapid succession as events hike up in tension and severity, with characters splitting apart and realising danger is closer than they realise, both from enemies, and the enemies of enemies.
Once more I thank you for reading, and I hope you join me next time on For Hearts And Minds, Chapter 10, If You Build It, They Will Come. Be safe, be well, don't invest everything in oil, and rate and review!
~Eth0