Chapter 67: This is terrorism
"...What's up?..."
"....Just came back from work. It was a tiring day..."
"... Another shoot?..."
"... Yeah for a gym commercial. These commercials give me anxiety about my body..."
"... You have the strictest diet I have known and you still care about how you look..."
"... You have no idea. The fashion in the East is not as welcoming as the West. At least there they wouldn't call out on body openly, but here they don't care..."
"... Yeah I did hear of that. Once saw a foreign woman speaking of how she got her hips to look like Korean models just so because she could get herself a modelling gig..."
".. Yeah. It's a cutthroat competition here. Enough about me. What about you?..."
"... Me? I have some work in USA so on my way there..."
"... Oh cool. You have been away from home for quite a long time..."
"... It's fine though. I don't get homesick easily..."
"... That's great..."
As the plane took off, Robin and Cathrin were texting back and forth. These two had developed a close relationship over the days thanks to their regular texting. Up until this point, Robin had kept his financial history a secret from her. Sigret claimed that Cathrin was in a good financial situation herself because her modelling and twitch job paid nicely. She had no reason to be interested in Robin because of his wealth.
Therefore, any curiosity or attention she displayed was probably sincere. Cathrin had found him to be rather enigmatic, which most likely aroused her intrigue. She was only aware of Robin's involvement with an investment fund and his likely management of it; otherwise, she knew nothing about him.
And apparently Sigret is right about ladies liking Bond-type males. Naturally, Robin was playing the part of Bond in this situation as he wouldn't provide any information about his personal life. Even his parents didn't understand what he was doing.
The aircraft touched down at Princeton's private airfield after a protracted flight. Considering that Princeton University, an Ivy League institution founded in 1746, is located here, it therefore had a sizable campus and was highly prominent.
"First time in the United States?"
"Yes. First time."
Everyone's credentials were verified by customs, but they didn't keep them for very long. There was no delay because they had all the necessary credentials. The Princeton region of New Jersey was very distinct from the normal US West Coast side. Compared to the modern homes and structures on the West Coast, the buildings here were more in the European style. Robin briefly believed he was back in Europe.
The parking space that Sigret had instructed to be left at the location had a car waiting for them there already. They arrived at Princeton Marriott without incident and checked in. Purchasing a house in this area was pointless.
"The meeting is tomorrow and they are holding it because of you." Sigret said.
"Because we bought too many shares?"
"No, because you managed to get inside a close knit ecosystem without having no previous engagement with them . You just hijacked them and they want to know how you did it."
"Sir, they are also trying to actively find out any kind of criminal evidence against you and your background." JARVIS commented from the middle.
"My background? But I did nothing to them. It's not like JARVIS had bought the shares forcefully." Robin asked.
"We know that but they don't know." Sigret replied.
"Will they be hostile to us?"
"If you sing in their tune, they will welcome with open arms. But if you don't, they will try to finish you off." Sigret said.
"Why is this lab so important?"
"Because this lab produces the biggest number of medication patents each year that are easily granted by the FDA, it is where all the important medical advances take place. There are many similar laboratories around the world, but they all share the same investors. They are curious about how you entered one of their possessions."
"Since they have the same investors so they shouldn't be afraid of the new thing that I am going to introduce." Robin commented.
"But your product will definitely cause in hole in the pockets of many and the holes will be quite big. Though their other pockets will be filled again."
"We will see if they are against change. DPRK is going to open in a few months. We need to be ready."
The trio and JARVIS were talking about this while they were in the same space. Despite the fact that Robin had made the decision to use all of his weapons at this point, he needed the shift to go as smoothly as possible for him.
"I will send a team to look after your parents and close relatives." Sigret mentioned. She had a good idea of how the world worked and even though she spoke less of her findings in the internet she did things so that none of them were caught off guard.
In response, Robin nodded his head. They went outside to explore the area as they arrived in the late afternoon. The atmosphere was rather lively, but Robin noticed that the locals were all quite warm and welcoming. Even strangers who had never met him before inclined to grin at him. Naturally, Sigret and Myrene received rather different attention.
March 5th, 2023
Robin dressed at about 11 o'clock, donning a sharp black suit and pants. Even sported a tie. Sigret and Myrene similarly dressed professionally. Myrene had a stake in these new equities because she was a co-investor in Darkstar. Banker was Sigret.
Robin entered the office right away, followed by Myrene and Sigret. The office was fairly large.
"Welcome to Labcorp. How can I help you?"
"I am here for the board meeting."
"Meeting? Can I have your credentials sir?" A man was in charge of the reception counter, and it appeared that he was already aware of the unexpected board meeting and the arrival of a new board member. The day prior, the attorneys had already shown up to finish the papers.
Robin forwarded his file where all of his credentials and his identity along with Myrene was present. The man went through the file and said.
"Welcome to Labcorp Mr. Robin Kashyap and Miss Myrene. Please follow me to the conference hall." The man got out of his desk and let them follow him. Robin was a board member and he had to be extra respectful since this guy could just chose to fire him or promote him depending upon the moods.
Though he was mesmerized by the beauty of Sigret and Myrene, he didn't dare to show it on his face. Meanwhile, since this was the first time in the office, he took the opportunity to show around and even took him to the lab which was underground.
"This is where the main servers of the Labcorp here and we have another one in Minnesota. The scientists and the doctors from all around the globe work together collectively and make breakthroughs in medicine and do their best to save the world." the man said.
"Then they must hate us. Since we kind of stop them in their endeavors." Robin joked.
"That is untrue. We have such wide access to all facilities and equipment so that researchers can do their work due of the investors. Researchers were able to make the world a better place due of the investors' faith in them." the man was quite professional and knew that Robin was joking since he himself was one of the investors.
After a proper presentation, he was led to the conference room.
"Please wait a few minutes, the other board members are already on their way."
Robin nodded his head and just took his seat along with Myrene. Sigret wasn't a board member so she was outside but of course, she had ears and eyes inside. After waiting for sometime the baord members had started to come in. There were three major investors in Labcorp.
The Vanguard Group, JP Morgan and the Blackrock. Of course there were other investors but these three were the major players. JP Morgan was already known by many people but the Vanguard and Blackrock were the more sinister players in the playing field.
The total asset worth of Blackrock and Vanguard, which includes investments in nearly all significant assets in the globe, is close to 25 trillion US dollars. You heard me correctly, yes. USD 25 trillion.
Although these investment groups had publicly traded equities, the individuals who really controlled them were hidden behind a veil, and the general public hardly ever learned who they were. These investing firms had complete market dominance, from the railroad to the banks. They controlled everything, and it was because of them that Robin was subtly singled out for attack.
Although the Captalism system wasn't flawless, Robin didn't have any issues with it and thought it was still preferable to Communism. He had witnessed the fall of the Soviet Union and the consequences faced by South America. Undoubtedly, America played a role in the destabilisation of South America, but socialism and communism also had a significant impact.
He did object to the tendency of some businesses and investment groups to control the market through monopolies. Robin was present to pressure them into change. Even though he knew he might fail, he was nevertheless willing to make an effort to improve the system.
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