FB: Chapter 50 – Danger Close

“That is why I think we should move on Rebel Rising now. Right now, we have comparable combat power, but in time we will be left behind if we don’t bring in as many Champions as possible. I can’t overstate the need for these types of people enough. Numbers are not enough, high level combat power is critical for long term stability and battles. While we are offering generous terms for Champion level combatants, we can’t offer shares of the guild itself,” I finished explaining.

“Champion level combatants make that much of a difference?” Faisal Bin Hamad Al Saud asked. I nodded at this.

“Yes. There are individuals with atypical neurology who have beyond human reaction speeds and instincts in the game. Think of a person with no eyes in the real world. Their brain can process information more quickly from Exponential. It isn’t always the case, which is why S level combatants are so valuable. At best I would be rated as an A level combatant,” I said.

“But you have won every fight,” one of the board members stated.

“Through preparation and cunning, not through pure combat ability. My tactics would raise my combat level from A- to an A or even an A+ if one was to be generous. Even with my preparations people like Hammer Crusher and Eagle Eye were able to pressure me. It is important we get these people in our guild before they become true powerhouses. We have a window of opportunity right now to try and seize Rebel Rising,” I explained.

“Or lose billions. The risk is immense. There were concerns you would run the guild and the corporation like a dictatorship. I don’t think the risk is warranted, but my understanding of Exponential dynamics is sub-par compared to yours. I will abstain for now,” one of the board members said.

“There is mention that you achieved a great victory in the Murk Swamp recently? What happened exactly?” another board member asked. Anthony had let me know this question would come up by leaking some information out.

“I single handedly defeated the Arch-Mage Blight in direct combat. A level 120 boss monster. I have a recording of the fight, so you can all witness the tip of the ice burg in regards to high level combat.” My secretary Henry was manning the computer and projector brought up the video. The recording was situated behind and above me. I then began narrating from the moment I entered the tower.

“As a final attack, the Arch-Mage unleashed a rank 9 divine skill. I managed to successfully block the attack with four null shields, but it was an incredibly close call,” I narrated as the recording ended.

“What would have happened if that attack had hit you?” Faisal Bin Hamad Al Saud asked.

“A permanent debuff of some kind. Most likely I would have been turned into an undead and made a follower of the poison god, which would have been disastrous,” I said.

“Our CEO is engaging in combat,” one of the men muttered. That was why investing in a guild was different than a corporation. While super guilds wouldn’t follow this route, most of the lower level guilds did, with the Guild Leader being the strongest and most capable.

“This is a gaming corporation after all,” another commented to some chuckles as the reality of their investment began to sink in.

“You are risking billions with fights like that,” Faisal Bin Hamad Al Saud commented casually.

“Indeed. But it is necessary. CEOs who aren’t capable of high-level combat will struggle inside the game and as well struggling to adapt to changing situations. Combat ability is a higher requirement for my position than management skills, especially for a combat focused guild like ours. It is also the reason that all staff roles in the guild are divided clearly between combat and non-combat wherever possible. I am just a CEO that leans more heavily on the combat side of the equation. Success needs no explanation, defeat accepts no excuses,” I declared.

“We will now move to a formal vote in regards to the Fanged Fox Guild issuing a challenge to the Rebel Rising Guild for the stakes of full surrender against half of all shares. Please cast your votes through your terminals now,” Don Anthony said. The display of the votes came up from the 16 board members.

The shares that had been purchased had been sold or exchanged created a situation where 16 people other than me held ownership. The board had unanimously voted for this and I chose not to veto the decision, since it would have created a crisis. We would soon have to go public, but for now the shares were all privately traded.

Voting was not done by percentage ownership, but by the 16 board members who sat on the board due to our corporate structure. Their appointment came from the number of shares owned. I retained veto power. When Faisal Bin Hamad Al Saud had sold large portions of his shares and I hadn’t been able to afford to buy them back.

Right now, there were 16 stake holders besides myself in my corporation, with each holding between 1% and 8% for a total of 58% to my 42%. Each stake holder was granted a single board seat for themselves or someone they appointed to oversee their investment for anyone who controlled at least 1% of the Fanged Fox Corporation. The votes were not binding, but if I went against a vote, that opened the door to other actions the board could take to remove me from my leadership position or make my life difficult. That was why I had to allow the trade of shares. I could have used a veto, but such an action would drag us all down since the board would have looked to strip me of my corporate powers. I didn’t need these people to be my friends, but I couldn’t hurt their bottom line, otherwise there would be major trouble.

Basically, as long as I kept doing a good job, I would have the votes. The moment I mis-stepped, my aura of invincibility would be gone. The sharks would get closer to ripping me apart. “The vote is concluded with 11 for and 5 against the guild challenge. The conflict is officially authorized,” Anthony said.

“Thank you for your trust. I will be leaving immediately to oversee the upcoming battle,” I said. I swept out of the room with my personal assistant and secretary Henry Copper right behind me along with my entire security detail.

“Message Isabella Bloodscythe in game and communicate that the vote has passed. She is to open negotiations immediately within the parameters she has been given,” I ordered. Henry was busy typing away on his phone, which would send the message to her character in game.

“Issue the pre-mobilization order for the guild under condition yellow,” I said. That meant a large scale conflict was imminent and all guild members should avoid long term expeditions while condition yellow was active.

“Messages sent,” Henry said as we boarded the helicopter. We buckled in and put on our headsets. The helicopter quickly took off. Our escort chopper joined us as we flew out of NYC.

“Updated report from ENN. You are currently the number one most famous player in ENN with a recognition among the player base of 87% and a popularity of 74%. Leading compliment is that you are assertive. Leading complaint is that you are too good,” Henry said. Nice to know, but not that important.

“What is the status of arranging Champion challenges?” I asked.

“Currently no one wants to face you, or they aren’t willing to put up the stakes necessary,” Henry told me. He was my secretary in game as well as out of game. Any time I was in the guild or outside my house in the real world, his job was to be next to me to give me information and forward my orders. Having a competent assistant was key for acting as quickly as possible with all my responsibilities.

“That is disappointing. Up our offer to 100 platinum against new Champions’ merchandising rights. If they refuse, let me know, I can issue a directed challenge through the coliseum’s staff.” There would be no extra wagering on the match, but I would be able to force them to battle and rack up wins.

“I will send out new offers to all the new Champions and follow up with them in the next week,” Henry said. “ENN reached out with another request for an interview.”

“Forward that to Isabella. She is in charge of public relations. I will only take interviews if there is some kind of public statement I wish to say, which isn’t needed at the moment. Look into getting one of our people as a full-time contributor at ENN in exchange for a spot to record the guild conflict in person,” I said.

“What position do you want them in?” Henry asked.

“Leave that to Isabella. Just have her leverage that opportunity to the hilt. Everyone will want to see the first large scale player versus player conflict. It will be historic. Make sure we keep our residuals in terms of recordings, similar to coliseum matches. Also let Isabella know to make that part of the negotiations with Rebel Rising,” I answered. We continued to chat about various actions that needed to be taken.

“Bogey sighted, coming in on our six. They are moving to intercept. Escort two moving to rear position. Please be sure to strap in,” one of the pilots said over the headset. Someone was making a move on me. It was only a matter of time before this happened. And now that time had come. I closed my eyes and said a silent to prayer to whomever was listening. I had been afraid of this happening.

The moment I heard the pilot speak, I knew we were in trouble. In Exponential I was superhuman with items to save my life. In the real world, I was incredibly vulnerable. A weak squishy woman without super human abilities. I didn’t think such shenanigans would happen for another couple of years. I guess I made a bigger splash than I had anticipated, and someone took a lot of offense to that. Good thing I wasn’t one to take chances with my life and had spent an insane amount of money on private security.

I adjusted the knob on the side of my headset so I could communicate to everyone on the channel as needed. “This is VIP. Initiate emergency landing and ping the emergency beacon,” I ordered. If we kept flying we would be intercepted, I had no doubt about that. We needed to land now before we were shot out of the sky while we had the chance.

“Miss, that will put us in violation of several airflight regulations,” the pilot replied to me.

“Do it now. I will take full responsibility. And ping the emergency beacon. Now!” I ordered. I wasn’t about to take any chances with my life. Helicopters were death traps, even if they were armored and had defensive capabilities. The amount of power and wealth I now represented had reached a level that attempting to assassinate me in the real world was a valid response.

“Escort one initiating rapid descent. Emergency beacon pinged. Ground forces ETA, 27 minutes,” the pilot said.

“Missiles inbound!” I heard shouting over the headphones. “Flares! Flares! Flares!” The helicopter I was in swerved hard. I grabbed onto the nearby railing next to my seat.

“Brace for hard landing!” The helicopter landed in a field with a bang. I was slammed into my restraints. Just as everything came to a halt, I heard a loud explosion and there was a bright light outside our helicopter. Thankfully we only bounced on the ground and skidded a bit but didn’t roll. My head slammed into back into my headrest, and everything spun for a moment. My seatbelt was quickly unbuckled by one of my two security personnel on board with me.

“Miss, we need to move,” my personal security said as I got up. Apparently, I wasn’t moving fast enough and he scooped me over his massive shoulder and leapt out of the grounded helicopter with the other security personnel, Henry, and both pilots. They started running for the tree line.

I noted the destroyed helicopter was Escort Two, which was now a flaming wreck across the field and another helicopter turning around to get an angle on us. That wasn’t good. We made it to the tree line at the edge of the field. My security personnel ducked behind a tree with me and then pinned me to the ground behind it. Machine gun fire rained down on our position.