"You bought dead metal Parker."
Julian Vance laughed through the massive boardroom monitor. The harsh sound echoed in the Mojave Desert facility.
Ryan stood motionless. Julian leaned close to his camera lens in London.
"You own the physical hardware," Julian mocked. "You do not possess the proprietary code to make them broadcast media files. Our syndicates own the patents on global audio transmission software."
Julian lifted a heavy legal binder into the frame.
"You also lack the international launch clearance," Julian continued. "You just burned two billion dollars on oversized paperweights."
Click.
Julian severed the connection. The monitor went black.
Arthur Sterling gripped the edge of the conference table. The aerospace engineer looked at the dark screen in terror.
"He is rig
