Chapter 6 — Shadows of Lenox Tower
1. The Heart of Babel, The Night of Lenox Tower
The penthouse of Lenox Tower, with the nightscape of Manhattan sprawling like a galaxy beneath its feet. Outside, the city—humanity's most dazzling Tower of Babel—shimmered with a billion starlights. But within the floor-to-ceiling glass walls, the air was colder, heavier with secrets than any starless void. This highest floor, dizzying to merely stand upon, was a modern-day Mount Olympus, a clandestine salon for the unseen rulers of the world.
Entry to this sanctum was granted only to a select, invited few. Tonight, its attendees included NATO's chief of clandestine asset management; the power behind Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, a man who controlled the black gold of the Middle East; the most rapacious CEO from Goldman Sachs on Wall Street; the IMF's Senior Executive for European economies; and even the head of budget analysis for Israel's Mossad. It was as if the constituents of a modern-day 'Shadow Government' had gathered for a clandestine banquet.
And today, amidst them, an uninvited outsider, yet standing with more presence and a sharper gaze than any, was a young Asian man: Kai (Cairo).
He appeared on this breathtaking stage of power like a young, cool-headed gambler, holding the most dangerous hand, calmly awaiting the next high-stakes bet. His tailored suit blended seamlessly with theirs, but his eyes—his eyes alone—pierced through all the opulence and deceit, discerning the true face hidden beneath: the grotesque avarice of the colossal empire known as 'Babel.' He knew exactly why he was here. This was no mere social gathering. This was the dead center of an invisible battlefield, and he had just walked deep into the enemy's most fortified heart.
2. The Old Lion's Scrutiny, and the Enigmatic Woman
"Cairo. So, you are the 'Prophet of the Apocalypse,' then."
A titan of finance, a figure who once commanded the world's markets and now seemed a legend whispered in hushed tones, approached Kai, his gaze both courteous and piercing. His name was Michael Rothschild. The most enigmatic elder of the Rothschild clan, and perhaps, the unseen sovereign of this very 'Shadow Government.'
Kai quietly raised his head, observing the old man approaching him. Flawless silver hair, not a single strand out of place, atop a perfectly tailored grey suit. His eyes, which had surveyed the world from its apex for decades, were as cold and deep as Arctic glaciers. The hand he casually extended felt as heavy and cool as an ancient cathedral's silver chalice.
Michael Rothschild offered a handshake first, then spoke. His voice, like a vintage cello, was low and smooth, yet within it lay an iron will and an insight that seemed to penetrate one's very soul. "Your gold acquisition maneuver in Paris, and that more recent 'miracle' in the desert… I've been watching with considerable interest, young man. You were like a young shaman, reading both the pulse of the market and the end of the world simultaneously."
He paused for a moment, his eyes boring deep into Kai's, as if to test his every fiber.
"What I find even more impressive is your notion, at this particular juncture… when the entire world is hysterically chasing after Food REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts: fund-like assets investing in food distribution networks, highland grain storage, or food transport infrastructure), to instead invest a fortune in a 'corpse disposal and organic matter recycling system.' You are, how shall I put it… like a man who doesn't particularly seek to avoid the end of this world. No, perhaps… are you one who intends to build a new kingdom upon its ashes?"
Kai smiled faintly, no change in his expression. His smile was as cold and yet as captivating as a finely honed blade.
"If the world crumbles, Sir Rothschild, wouldn't someone need to clear the ruins? Well, let's just say it's the sentiment of a modern-day undertaker, one possessed by a perhaps… needlessly ardent sense of duty. However, I never imagined a titan of your stature would take such a profound interest in the rash fancies of a nameless young man like myself. Could there be… another motive, perhaps?" Kai's final question was polite, yet it held a sharp barb, probing for the old man's hidden agenda.
"Ahahahaha~~!"
Michael let out a hearty laugh. But his eyes, still, seemed to pierce through to Kai's very core.
"You know, you bear a striking resemblance to a certain young… person I hold very dear. In how you see the world, that audacious nerve, even that dangerously alluring charm."
Kai tilted his head slightly. His every sense was on high alert, trying to decipher the true meaning hidden within Michael's words.
Michael gestured with his chin towards a woman standing alone by a window in a corner of the room, a spot untouched by the dazzling light of the chandeliers, her back turned to them.
A black silk dress enveloped her form like a curtain of night. Though she stood in the most secluded spot, as if intentionally avoiding attention, her very presence exuded a chilling aura, an almost incandescent intensity that powerfully repelled all gazes more effectively than anyone else in the room. She entertained no wine glass, no hushed conversations, no perfunctory handshakes, reigning over her chosen space in quiet, yet absolute, dominion, like Lilith, the goddess of the night, made manifest. With her impeccably styled black chignon and a single, understated black pearl earring glinting softly at her earlobe, she existed as a living prophecy.
"Perhaps, that one would willingly lend an ear to your… dangerous ideas. She might even become… your most powerful ally, or, perchance, your most lethal adversary."
Michael's old eyes flicked between the two of them. It was the gaze of a seasoned knight placing the final two, game-deciding pieces on a chessboard he had long and meticulously prepared; an inscrutable satisfaction mingled with a cool anticipation on his face.
"Go and see for yourself. You might just find the sliver of an answer you've been seeking for so long, from her."
Kai gave Michael a curt nod and then, slowly, began to walk towards her. His heart began to beat in a strange, unfamiliar rhythm. It was an inexplicable, intense pull. It wasn't merely because of her appearance or her unapproachable aura. A sense of déjà vu, as if he had already met her in a very old dream, or in some forgotten moment of a past life – unfamiliar yet achingly familiar – enveloped his entire being. Deep within his soul, some primal sense, long dormant, seemed to faintly, yet clearly, awaken in her presence.
"Lilith Rothschild,"
Michael's low voice resonated softly from behind him.
"Officially, my cousin's granddaughter… but, well, due to various complex circumstances, she is currently under my special protection. Some call her the family heretic. Others… a harbinger of a new age."
Michael left him with that enigmatic smile, turning to engage other VIPs.
Kai finally stood before her. The very air around her seemed to crackle with a chilling tension, several degrees colder than elsewhere in the room. A captivating, yet simultaneously dangerous, fragrance teased his nostrils. Lilith, even as he came to a halt directly in front of her, kept her gaze fixed on the New York nightscape outside the window. Then, without turning, she spoke, her voice as cold as ice. It was an exquisitely beautiful voice, yet it seemed to contain a million sharp shards of glass.
"N-Qatar CleanWater Technologies. Radioactive contamination from the India-Pakistan border tactical nuclear event. Resulting estimated fatalities: 11,400. Official declaration of water shortage crisis: D-minus one day."
She finally turned her head, her dark, deep eyes locking directly onto Kai's. They were like black holes in the night sky, threatening to pull his very being into their depths.
"You, precisely twenty-seven hours before all that information was officially announced, bet your entire fortune of $32,000 on that nameless water purification company, and made exactly $15 million. Roughly 20 billion Korean Won. A most impressive rate of return, Kingdom Builder."
Kai momentarily stopped breathing. Her gaze that seemed to see through his everything, her impossibly precise analysis, and that cold, emotionless voice calling him 'Kingdom Builder.'
"…You must have read some internal reports, Ms. Lilith."
"No."
She replied curtly, her gaze drifting back to the city lights outside.
"There was no need for that."
For the first time, a faint, yet arrogant smile, as if she knew everything, touched her lips.
"Because on that day, at the exact moment, down to the very second, that your finger pressed the 'buy' button on your laptop, I sent my first message to your encrypted personal network."
She paused for a moment, then turned to face him squarely again, her unfathomable eyes seeming to pierce his very soul.
"'The Black Horse has arrived, bearing scales.'"
Kai unknowingly swallowed dryly. His heart began to pound violently against his ribs. A being that surpassed all his calculations and predictions. The entity he had long sought, or perhaps, dreaded, was standing right before him.
That night, Kai, the 'Kingdom Builder,' for the first time, failed to calculate the sound of not the world's numbers collapsing, but his own heart.