He didn't stride in like a conquering hero. He just… walked in. But his presence instantly commanded the entire room. The iconic mask, the subtle glow of the suit's seams, the way he moved with an easy, relaxed confidence—it was undeniably him. Sael VT.
He stopped at the head of the table, his masked gaze sweeping over the assembled team. You could have heard a pin drop in the vast virtual space.
"Morning," he said, his voice that familiar, casually modulated baritone they'd all heard school Lil D. Minor. It was calm, friendly even, but it carried an undeniable weight of authority.
"I see Kate got everyone onboard…. Good."
He placed his hands on the back of the empty chair at the head of the table but didn't sit.
"For those who don't know—which is probably none of you—I'm Sael VT. You can also think of me as… Saturday." He let the name hang in the air for a beat.
"One of the seven founders of this little operation…. I'm the main architect behind most of the projects you've been briefed on."
He paused, giving them a moment to process. The staff was mesmerized. They were in the presence of a digital ghost, a legend.
"Now, you're probably wondering about the other six," he continued, a hint of dry amusement in his tone. "Monday through Friday, and Sunday. Where are they? The answer is, safely tucked away, doing what they do best: creating. They're not big on… this." He gestured vaguely around the room.
"Meetings… People…. Frankly, neither am I. But someone's gotta be the face, and I lost the rock-paper-scissors tournament."
A few nervous, impressed chuckles broke the tension around the table.
"So, for all intents and purposes, when you need a decision from the top, you come to me. I speak for all of us." He finally pulled the chair out and sat down, the movement fluid and relaxed.
"Anyway. That's the intro…. Welcome aboard. Let's get to work."
A round of genuine, respectful applause broke out. It wasn't for a celebrity; it was for their boss, the genius who had built the empire they were now a part of. Every woman in the room might have wanted to gush, but professionalism won out. They were here to build.
Sael VT—Saturday—leaned forward, his elbows on the table. The pleasantries were over.
"First item on the agenda. We need a physical footprint. A real one. Not just this digital wonderland," he began, his tone all business.
"We need a headquarters. A building that can house our three divisions with room to breathe and expand…. Kate tells me we have the legal and corporate muscle now to make it happen."
He glanced at Kate, who gave a firm, confident nod.
"Sunday," he said, not raising his voice. "Display the primary candidate."
The air above the center of the table shimmered. The pink orbs hovering near each employee glowed in unison, projecting a cohesive, detailed hologram of a large, dilapidated structure. It was a massive, multi-story shopping mall, its parking lot cracked and weedy, its signage faded. It sat in a vast, empty plot of land.
"This is the old 'Starlight Pavilion' mall," Saturday explained.
"On the outskirts of New San Antonio. It's been abandoned for a decade. The main draw, aside from the sheer square footage, is the land. Lots of it." He zoomed the hologram out, showing the property's boundaries.
"It's also about ten kilometers from the New USA border with the New Republic of Korea."
He let that geopolitical detail sink in. On this Pangaean supercontinent, such a location could offer unique logistical and strategic advantages down the line.
Amanda, ever pragmatic, was the first to speak. "The size is right. Buying a large property now is smart…. The land alone is a future-proof investment. We could build our own housing complex there later, for key staff."
Sabine nodded in agreement but added a significant caveat. "The location and size are ideal, oui. But a structure abandoned for so long… it will be heavily irradiated. The remediation and the installation of proper radiation shielding will be…" she searched for the word,
"...a significant cost center."
Kate, in her role as director, took the cue. "Sunday, can we get a preliminary estimate? Total acquisition, de-rad, shielding, and remodel."
The AI's voice responded calmly from the orbs. "Based on current market rates and projected material costs, a conservative estimate for the entire project is two hundred million dollars."
A few sharp intakes of breath sounded around the table. It was a colossal number.
Kate didn't flinch. "And what is the company's current liquid, usable capital?"
Sunday's response was immediate and utterly matter-of-fact. "The company's accessible reserves currently hold five hundred million dollars."
The silence this time was different. It wasn't stunned; it was awed. The number hung in the air, a tangible testament to the power they were now part of. The challenge Sabine had raised wasn't a barrier; it was just a line item in a budget they could easily afford.
The staggering figure of five hundred million dollars seemed to energize the room rather than intimidate it. The problem was no longer if they could do it, but how.
Amanda leaned forward, her eyes sharp. "A two-hundred-million price tag is a target, not a sentence…. A property that's been sitting abandoned and irradiated for ten years isn't a hot commodity. The current owners will be motivated to sell. We should be able to negotiate the acquisition price down significantly. The real cost will be in the rebuild."
Sabine was already nodding, her mind racing through the logistics. "We will need to partner with the best radiation mitigation firms on the continent. This is not a place to cut corners. The health of our employees is paramount. The shielding alone for a structure that size..."
"But it's possible," Kate stated, more than asked.
"Oui," Sabine confirmed. "Very possible…. With the proper budget and oversight."
Saturday listened to the back-and-forth, his masked head turning slightly between them. He was letting his experts talk. After a moment, he gave a single, slow nod.
"Sounds like you all have a handle on the complexities," he said, his voice laced with approval.
"The goal is clear… The budget is approved. The 'how' is your department." He looked at Kate, then specifically at Saiko, who had been quietly studying the holographic schematics.
"Saiko. You're our resident real estate and regulatory expert. Can you handle the acquisition? Negotiate the purchase, navigate the zoning, all of it?"
Saiko looked up from the plans, her expression calm and assured. "I can. The derelict state of the property gives us considerable leverage. I believe we can secure it for forty percent below its assessed value, precisely because no one else wants to deal with the cleanup. I'll start the proceedings immediately."
"Perfect," Saturday said. "It's yours. Keep us updated."