Handler XX: Stock Maestro

"...To which place?"

"There's a building outside town— just besides the signpost. It belongs to one of them and they've agreed to have the meeting there"

Huh?

"What's the painting like?"

"I'll send it in for you to understand properly"

Anton paused for a moment and sent the picture.

Trent looked at it and sighed.

"Alright. I'll be there soon"

"I'm about to head there already. I can't waste their time"

"Alright"

"Take care, Twerp. I'm trusting that this is something good" Anton sighed and cut the call.

Hah

Definitely.

Trent looked at the food and scanned the room.

Fuck.

No appetite.

He just ate a bit and dropped the cutlery.

"This is going to be a stressful day"

So much for wanting to build a legacy.

The generation's gotta be grateful.

Just then, Xander and Theo walked in.

"You're still around?" Trent asked Theo, surprised

"Yeah— I decided to stick around" Theo replied, walking forward,

"...You good? You look---"

"Good morning, Sir" Xander cut in, nudging Theo a little.

"Good morning, Man" Trent muttered,

"I'm good. I just have a stressful day ahead" he chuckled.

Lies.

"... Alright" Theo looked at him as he took a seat.

"Can I help in any way?" Xander asked,

"Don't worry about it, Man" Trent chuckled, pushing the plates forward.

"I'll sort everything out"

He stood up to leave and smiled at Mia as she walked passed him as he reached the door.

_____

He sat on the car for a while as he got to the place and exhaled.

What a shitty feeling.

That damned bastard, Morlov.

Well, I'm to blame too, no?

Keeping so many secrets from her.

He took his phone and entered the trading account.

This should boost my mood.

He chuckled as he saw the results of the trade— the price was already recovering from its losses.

+1350% yesterday when the market closed. Now around+1200%

$6 billion from the position of 500 million.

Sweet...

He closed the position and looked at the balance— $8.5 billion, excluding the $1.1 billion sitting on the other account.

He looked up as a car drove past, into the place.

Mood's lifted a bit now.

Let's go in.

He started the car and drove into the place— some people were standing outside the building chatting as he drove in.

Anton stepped out as Trent parked and spoke to them.

"Good morning" Trent bowed as he reached where they stood.

"What's this, Anton?" One of the ladies asked, turning to Anton.

Anton cleared his throat and looked at Trent.

"Can we head in?"

Some of them murmured as they walked in.

Trent scanned the place as he walked in and smiled at some of the people that looked at him.

_____

As soon as they took their seats with Anton standing to address them, he cleared his throat and looked around, eyes settling on Trent.

"I'm grateful that you're all here today and found---"

"Get to the point, Anton... We're very busy people" one of the men interrupted.

"Alright. I'll just let the main character speak" Anton chuckled, nodding at Trent.

They looked around themselves, surprised as Trent stood up and walked towards Anton.

"Good morning, esteemed Heads of Branches..." He bowed slightly, glancing at Anton.

"I'm Trent Ackerman, 087, Year 77"

"An 087 is calling us for a meeting?" One scoffed.

"He's a popular one" A man— the eldest of them all, shook his head, "Don't you watch the news?" He clicked his tongue.

"Continue"

"Thank you, Sir" Trent smiled,

"I've called this meeting on hearing that some branches of the program were being underfunded"

Anton flinched, turning to Trent immediately.

Was that the purpose of the meeting?

"Did you tell him information about the branches?" A lady glared at Anton

"N–No---"

"I was on a mission recently" Trent cut in,

"A bastard who's father had been donating treated me like trash— disposable" his eyes trailed across the room.

"I'm sure you're going through things like that" he paused, "Your budgets are not enough and the government doesn't want to spend too much on a covert Program like this"

They started murmuring.

Anton shifted closer to him and whispered, "What the hell are you doing, Twerp? This is---"

"How will you help us?" The eldest Man cut in,

"How are we so sure you'll not be like those bastards?"

Trent chuckled, glancing at Anton,

"He can vouch for me— I've grown under his watch for 25 years and while I've made a lot and don't really care about the program, I am not one to watch it die"

"You don't care about it but you can't watch it die?" A voice cut through,

"Why not prove it through actions?— we're 10. That's a lot of donations?" Another said.

"Certainly..." Trent chuckled, turning to Anton,

"What's the yearly budget the government gives a normal branch?"

"20 million" Anton replied, pausing,

"We've been getting very less than that"

"10 million" the owner of the house said from where he sat, "That's what my branch got last year"

"5 million"

"6.3..."

"2 million... Those fuckers..."

"8 million"

Trent exhaled as he heard them.

Why was the government neglecting the program so much?

"What about our branch?" He asked, turning to Anton.

Everybody became silent to listen.

"8.5 million last year— was expecting it to drop because of Newton situation but there might be a little increase because of the princess saving situation. Should be up to 10 or same"

Hmmm...

A situation he created and solved.

They'll probably make a big cut and cut him off too if they find out he what he did.

"So" the Old Man, looked around before settling his gaze on Trent

"How much are you going to donate?"

"...I'm sure the other major branches have sponsors and donations because of the results they've shown---"

"Are you calling us inferior?" One lady snapped, interrupting.

"Not at all" he bowed slightly,

"20 million..." He raised two of his fingers.

"That's what I'm willing to donate"

"2 million each isn't really---"

"No..." Trent mused, shaking his head.

"20 million each"

They burst into murmurs in disbelief.

Anton tugged Trent's dress, drawing him closer.

"20 million? That's 200 million"

Trent smirked, pulling himself away and dusting his clothes.

"That's a small price to pay"

"Small price? For what?"

The old man coughed, forcing everyone to go silent.

"Why are you donating to us? I'm sure you can donate to any other place or just help your branch"

"Friendship" Trent mused,

"And allies"

"Allies? The man sitting at the forefront asked,

"Yeah. For me and my generations to come"

"That's a tough ask..."

"20 million this year..." Trent smiled, scanning across the room,

"10 million for the years moving forward" he mused, pausing.

"50 million to the branch that can assist me in time of need"

"Oh..." The man gasped, turning to the person seating besides him.

"No wonder you're making waves in the business world" the old man chuckled, standing up.

"You've raised a smart lad, Anton"

"T–Thank you, Sir Frez" Anton bowed.

I don't know if I should be proud or stunned.

"Now..." The old Man cleared his throat looking around at everyone seated.

"The lad has come with his offerings... It's a normal thing to get donations, plus this seems fair to me, no?"

"Yeah..." They muttered,

"20 million would be enough to get everything back on track and work well to build the future generations of Westeron Patriots"

He paused and looked at Trent.

"You've thought this through"

Trent bowed slightly,

"W–When do we receive the money?" The lady that had snapped, asked.

"As soon as this is completed" Trent nodded with a smile, "Mr. Anton will handle the distribution process"

She gasped, lowering her head.

"You mean it right?" The owner of the house asked, raising a brow,

"50 million to the branch that helps you?"

"Yeah. That's---"

"It does leave a bad taste— working for money like mercenaries. But the government has made it very clear that the program is not top priority in winning the silent war"

"I mean everything I have said" Trent reassured them.

"I'm going to help tear him apart if he doesn't" Anton chuckled, holding Trent's shoulder.

"Alright..." The old man walked forward.

"I'm in. Well bear witness to this and make sure to hold everyone accountable by this agreement"

He stretched his hand for a shake as he got to Trent,

"Thank you very much, Sir" Trent shook his hand and bowed

"You're one good lad" he chuckled,

"I see the resemblance" he turned to Anton.

Anton laughed nervously, glancing at Trent.

Each of the branch heads walked forward and shook Trent's hand to signify their agreement.

"Want me to shake you too, Twerp?" Anton chuckled, looking as the last person stepped out.

"You've got a Twerp Donor now" Trent giggled,

"I should've told them you were a shitty rich Twerp" Anton huffed, walking towards the door.

"By the way..." He turned to Trent.

"The tournament's drawing near... How's preparations with the wildling?"

Trent's heart ached at this question.

Hah...

Marie.

What should I do about her?