The man in the bandanna had crossed from the other side of the street to Benjamin's way. "Stop that man!" yelled one of the officers. The suspicious man barreled towards Benjamin. In his right hand, was a brown paper shopping bag."Out of my way!" grunted the suspicious character. Benjamin made to move, but this man was already moving too fast. There was a collision."Notice: Strengthened Body Activated" The man deflected off Benjamin's chest like he was made of iron, and tumbled onto the pavement.The bag split to reveal some new sneakers, boots, and a couple of neatly folded T-shirts. The officers soon caught up. "You did good, Sir," said one of them, praising Benjamin. The other stopped down to suppress the culprit and handcuff him. "You have the right to remain silent," he said, taking off the bandana. "You'll never take me alive!" The bandanna revealed not a man, but a young angry adolescent. He squirmed and shook and shuddered under the handcuffs. "Save it for the judge, and s
The tall lean officer folded like newspaper on the sidewalk. The gruff one sprang forward in alarm, reaching downwards for his firearm. "Don't move!"Benjamin activated Bow Down To Me, hoping he had made the right choice."Put down the Weapon," he instructed. The Officer's hands wavered a bit, and his eyes dilated in shock. Almost like Bow Down To Me had gotten to his hands first before his mind. But soon enough, he holstered back his pistol subserviently.Benjamin was satisfied. The tall officer was most likely a usual on the field, and this one in front of him was a recruit. He thought a bit for his next actions. Bow Down To Me usually only granted him two orders."Release the boy to me," he said. The Officer's arm was still around Johnny Zeppeli, and he slackened it slowly, throwing Zeppeli towards Benjamin. Johhny fell face flat on the floor, and looked up, still bewildered by the turn of events."When he wakes up," said Benjamin pointing to the tall officer, "you tell him that t
"Right this way, Sir" One of them pointed to the Esclators behind them, handing Benjamin back his card. They followed him to the first floor, Johnny being grateful that he didn't have to keep hopping around on the slow-moving escalator."Who are you?" Johnny asked Benjamin. "Hmm? That's true. I haven't introduced myself , have I?" "I don't care about your name, dude. I meant, how rich are you?"Benjamin turned. "Why do you want to know so bad?""Well, these guys seem to think so. They treat you the same way everybody treats my brothers when they go out."Benjamin laughed. "That's a compliment, to be compared to your family. But is it a problem?""It is. Wherever the rich gather, someone from my family tends to be there. I'm not looking for that sort of attention" said Johhny solemnly. "Well, I doubt that'd be likely for me. I'm not quite as rich as the Zepellis, so you have nothing to worry about" Not yet, anyway.Upstairs was a long corridor with doors on both sides. Down to thei
Benjamin decided to play a little game. After the gold brooch ended up selling for a stupid 8.7 million dollars, he turned on Appraisal. The next item was a marble Buddha statue that had supposedly dated 400 years, unopened. The woman started with an opening price of 4 Million dollars. 'Notice: Appraisal: Tian Tan Buddha Sculpture Type: Handmade Authenticity: Yes Age: 400 years, Finance: Worth: 10 Million Dollars""Huh?" exclaimed Benjamin."What?" exclaimed Johnny. "Nothing, I just thought it would be worth more than that" confessed Benjamin."What? Of course, it's worth more than that. Don't you know how they set starting bids?" asked Johnny. Benjamin shook his head and smiled. "Are you sure you're rich?" asked Johnny."Just explain.""It's half. They start the bids at half of its original worth, or at least 40%"Benjamin did the math. A 4 Million opening price would make the worth of the item 10 Million dollars. The auction was correct. It was interesting that they had gotten the
"There's no guarantee your item's even going to reach the fair market value as an auctioneer" started Johnny."Explain""You remember what I said about the Fugazi? They're playing it too. Only more discreetly. I assume you don't know what a reserve price is?" Johnny asked. Benjamin only glared, at him, trying to avoid the shame of shaking his head to agree."Okay Okay" continued Johnny "Basically, the reserve price is the actual price the seller's willing to sell for.""The Seller?" "Yes. The Seller. Not the Auction House. The actual owners of the property. You see, what happens is, when they approach these auction houses, both parties agree on the minimum price the item's going to be sold for.""You mean the starting price?"asked Benjamin."Of course not! The starting price has to be cheaper than the reserve to attract bidding. Remember, it's 40% of the Fair Market Value. Totally different.""I see." Benjamin furrowed his eyebrows. "And let me guess, the reserve price is going to
"We call them Ghost Bidders," said Johnny. "Huh?""It doesn't matter." started Amber on the call. "The aim is just to slow down the pace of the bids. "Johnny scratched the top of his wolf mask. "Usually ghost bidders are persons artificially placed in an auction to inflate the price even more, and more," he said."They can do that?" asked Benjamin. "Oh, no, it's quite illegal if you're caught," Johnny said, shifting in his seat. "But I wonder if we can do the opposite here.""To achieve what, exactly?" asked Benjamin. There was a new bid by the bottom right of the hall."Going once, going twice - 53 and a half. We have 53 and a half million dollars. That is 53 Million and 500 thousand dollars. Anyone? Anyone? Going once, going twice--", 53 and a half? Such an odd amount. "Is that you?" Benjamin asked Amber. "This is the only way to slow it down. And we should stop talking before someone notices the jig." Benjamin looked around the blackened hall. He couldn't see shit, regardless
"Appraisal. Previous Owner: BLOCKED, BLOCKED, BLOCKED, BLOCKED."With this, Benjamin was certain. He didn't know how exactly it was possible for Simon to be wielding a system but was considerably sure that Obsidian Towers belonged to the Black Family. He got another text from Amber: "Above 75 million. How to proceed?" Benjamin turned to Johnny. "And If I have proof?" he asked."What?" retorted Jonny. "If I have proof, that he's a plant working here. What next?" Benjamin repeated. Johnny shrugged. "I don't know. Most of what I do know comes from watching TV and going out with my brothers. We've never really caught anyone. But how can you tell?""Let's just say I have a nose for scumbags," replied Benjamin. He texted Amber: "70 Million guy is a fraud. It's Simon Black, raising the prices. Obsidian belongs to the Blacks. Proceed with what you think is best.""I hope you're sure about this," she replied.And with that, Benjamin leaned back into his chair. "And we have 80 million! Going
"And who is this?" asked Benjamin. His fears had come true. Not only did the mystery man stand a couple of inches taller than him, but he had a robust agreeable face, too. "Oh" started Amber "This is Mr. Kirkland. We went to high school together."Benjamin felt that was an underdescription. He'd bet half a million this man was from a special breed of high society. Mr.Kirkland shook Benjamin's hands. "Nice to meet you. Kirkland. CEO of Moonshot Industries." said Kirkland. Moonshot industries. From TV? That was building rockets for NASA? Benjamin had even heard faint whisperings that there were even plans for Commercial Transport as early as 2025. "Moonshot Industries. The Moonshot Industries?" asked Benjamin. "Guilty as charged" smirked the man. It was not an innocent smile. "Benjamin Black. CEO, IVY Corporations," he replied. Mr Kirkland turned his head in doubt. "Black. Of Black Industries?" Benjamin nodded. "That's my father-in-law." However, Benjamin left out the neat little fact