A black Lexus pulled up in front of Golden Dragon Court, a restaurant known in Gatecity for its private rooms and authentic Chinese banquets. From the driver’s seat, Mr. Harold Finn—head of Aurelius Logistics Division—adjusted his tie in the mirror, smoothed his hair, and stepped out.
Inside, a hostess greeted him with a polite bow and guided him past the glittering fish tanks and red-lantern corridors, toward a secluded wing at the back.
When the sliding door opened, the smell of Peking duck, sizzling beef in black bean sauce, and steaming baskets of shrimp dumplings filled the air.
Around the round table sat three familiar faces from Aurelius’s board. And at the head, like a king among pawns, sat Brandt, the head of Construction. He was eating lazily with chopsticks, his voice dominat
