System S.E.X. (Seduction, Expansion, eXecution)-Chapter 352: Taking Control

The Governor’s office was quiet, but it was the kind of silence that precedes a landslide. Thompson sat behind his massive mahogany desk, looking significantly older than he had just two weeks ago. When Ethan walked in, the Governor looked up with a weary but respectful nod.

"Ethan. I wasn’t sure when you’d drop by," said Thompson.

"I wanted to see how you were holding up, Governor. And to thank you. Your intervention during the attack didn’t go unnoticed," said Ethan.

Thompson let out a dry, hollow laugh as he poured two fingers of bourbon into a glass.

"It was my duty, Ethan. I couldn’t sit back and watch people be slaughtered in the streets. Though, looking at the data, it seems my men were mostly cleaning up the mess your team had already handled. You were remarkably prepared," said Thompson.

"Preparation is the difference between a tragedy and a statistic. But tell me, how has the federal government reacted? My sources tell me there’s blood in the water," said Ethan.

Thompson sighed, leaning back until his chair creaked.

"You have good sources. Crul’s digital footprints are everywhere, aren’t they? Yes, I’ve seen the internal memos. Several factions in D.C. are pushing for my immediate removal. They want me out for ’failing to maintain order,’ but the truth is they’re terrified of how little they actually know about what happened here," said Thompson.

"And the evidence?" said Ethan.

"Buried. Deep. Thanks to your... associates... we managed to spin this as a contained terrorist cell. Most of the high-level footage has vanished from federal servers. But that doesn’t mean they’re letting it go. They’ve decided to starve us out instead," said Thompson.

"Starve you out? Explain," said Ethan.

"They’ve cut off all federal subsidies. Every cent of national funding for infrastructure, healthcare, and emergency services has been frozen. Worse, they’ve ordered a full withdrawal of federal forces and the National Guard from state lines. Ethan, we are completely alone. We’re an island," said Thompson.

Ethan’s eyes didn’t flicker with worry. Instead, a slow, cold smile spread across his face.

"Alone? That’s not a crisis, Governor. That’s a divorce. And in a divorce, the one who keeps the house wins," said Ethan.

"You don’t understand the scale of the disaster! Without federal backing, my budget is being devoured just by basic payroll. The largest corporations in the state are packing up and fleeing. We’ve lost seventy-five percent of our tax revenue in three weeks. Unemployment is at sixty-five percent. People are panicking, Ethan. There are protests in every city, and my reports show ’self-defense’ militias forming everywhere. It’s the prelude to a civil war," said Thompson.

Ethan stood up and walked to the large window overlooking the capital.

"Let them panic. We will give them a reason to be calm. First, don’t worry about the money. I will transfer enough funds to keep every public service active—police, fire, hospitals—all of it. Second, I want Royal to buy every single building and factory those fleeing corporations left behind," said Ethan.

"Buy them? With what? They’re abandoned shells," said Thompson.

"Issue an emergency order for the expropriation of abandoned assets. They can take their executives and their logos, but they aren’t taking the bricks and the machinery. That infrastructure belongs to the state now, and Royal will manage it. As for those ’militias’... they’re just opportunists and rioters. I’ll deal with them personally. You just focus on keeping the general population fed and quiet. This isn’t a collapse, Thompson. It’s an opportunity," said Ethan.

Thompson stared at Ethan, the glass of bourbon trembling slightly in his hand. He wasn’t a fool; he knew exactly what he was hearing. This wasn’t a business expansion. This was a coup d’état wrapped in a corporate buyout.

"Ethan... this is basically a declaration of independence. You’re talking about carving out a sovereign state. Do you honestly think the federal government will just watch? Tomorrow, they could send the entire army to crush us as traitors and usurpers. How can we possibly resist the weight of the entire country?" said Thompson.

Ethan turned away from the window, his amethyst eyes glowing with an intensity that made Thompson’s breath catch in his throat.

"The battle has already been won, Governor. The world just hasn’t received the memo yet. I have the resources, I have the technology, and soon, I will have an army that makes the federal forces look like children playing with sticks. As long as I am standing here, the money will never run out. We aren’t just resisting the government; we are replacing it," said Ethan.

Thompson looked at the young man before him and realized he wasn’t looking at a CEO. He was looking at a King in the making.

"I hope you’re right, Ethan. Because if you’re wrong, there won’t be enough ground left to bury us all," said Thompson.

"Then it’s a good thing I’m never wrong. Get the paperwork ready for those factories. We have a world to build," said Ethan.

The weeks that followed Ethan’s meeting with Governor Thompson were a masterclass in logistical conquest. While the rest of the nation watched from a distance, expecting Massachusetts to crumble into a lawless wasteland under the federal blockade, Ethan was busy building a self-sustaining fortress.

Money was no longer a constraint. With the federal government having retreated and the local economy on the brink of collapse, Ethan moved with a speed that left traditional bureaucrats dizzy.

"If the world wants to starve us out, we will simply grow our own world," said Ethan.

He didn’t just look at the empty factories; he looked at the land. Massachusetts wasn’t traditionally known as an agricultural powerhouse compared to the Midwest, but Ethan wasn’t playing by traditional rules. He used Royal’s capital to seize thousands of acres of dormant land in the central and western parts of the state. Within days, massive, high-tech greenhouse complexes began to rise, powered by the same energy efficient technologies that drove his secret plants.

"But we can’t wait for the first harvest. We need to fill the shelves now," said Jason during a morning briefing.

"We have the Atlantic. The federal government pulled their troops, but they don’t have enough ships to blockade every mile of the coast without declaring an official act of war—which they are too cowardly to do yet," said Ethan.