The fallout from the hotel meeting was instantaneous. By 2:00 AM, the "anonymous" leaks against PingMe had vanished from the internet as if they were never written. The brokers had scrambled, terrified of the crimson light on Dustin's recording device.
But PK wasn't satisfied.
"A dog doesn't stop barking because it's tired," PK told Dustin over an encrypted line. "It stops because its master pulled the leash. We need to talk to the hand holding the leather."
That lead to a direct, untraceable video call. No lawyers, no middlemen. Just two screens. On one side, Dustin and a shadowed figure—PK—whose face remained a blur of digital noise. On the other, Leonard.
Leonard sat in a high-back leather chair, a glass of amber liquid in his hand. He didn't look like a man who had just lost a fifteen-crore leverage. He looked bored.
"Mr. Dustin," Leonard began, his voice smooth, ignoring the digital silhouette of PK. "And I assume the 'ghost' in the machine is the famous PK. You've played a clever game with my associates. Recording them was… a touch melodramatic, don't you think?"
"It was effective," Dustin countered.
Leonard leaned forward, his eyes fixed on the camera. He was managing his emotions with terrifying precision. No anger, no twitch. "Efficiency isn't victory. You've silenced three small men. But you haven't silenced the industry. You think a recording of a 'settlement talk' will stop me? I can tie PingMe in litigation for a decade. I have resources you haven't even dreamt of."
Then, Leonard looked directly at the blurred figure of PK.
"You're the one pulling the strings, aren't you, PK? You're hiding behind encryption because you're afraid of the sunlight. Tell me—who do you think you're fighting? You think I'm the end of the road?"
Leonard smiled, a cold, knowing expression. "There are orbits higher than mine. People who find PingMe's existence… inconvenient. I am just the one tasked with tidying up the mess. You can't win against a shadow."
There was a long silence. PK finally spoke, his voice distorted but dripping with a strange, rhythmic confidence.
"You talk about orbits, Leonard, but you're still bound by gravity. You mentioned your 'masters' above you. I've looked for them. I see the shell companies in the Caymans. I see the diverted offshore accounts. They are very quiet. Very careful."
PK's digital avatar leaned closer to the lens.
"But here is the problem: They are so careful that they will cut you loose the second you become a liability. And right now? You are a very expensive liability."
Leonard's jaw tightened—the first crack in his mask. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"You sent your men to ask for fifteen crores to stay quiet," PK said. "A classic shakedown. But I don't like being copied. So, I'm changing the terms."
"You're in no position to set terms," Leonard snapped.
"I am," PK replied calmly. "Because I have the digital trail of where those three brokers were going to send that money. It leads back to a private account linked to your latest venture. If that hits the public eye, your 'masters' won't just fire you—they'll erase you to protect themselves."
A heavy pause followed. PK's voice turned ice-cold.
"The price for our silence is now thirty crores. Double what you asked from Dustin. Consider it a 'privacy fee.' You pay it into a blind trust for PingMe's R&D, and we forget we ever heard your name."
Leonard let out a sharp, mocking laugh. "Thirty crores? You've lost your mind. I could have you neutralized for a fraction of that."
"You could try," PK whispered. "But while you're looking for me, your bank accounts will be screaming. You have one hour to decide if you're a loyal servant to your hidden masters, or if you'd like to keep your career. If the money isn't moved, the recording—and the bank trail—goes to the one place even your 'above' can't reach: The Global Oversight Committee."
The screen went black.
Dustin looked at the empty monitor, then at PK's silhouette. "Thirty crores? PK… he's going to come after us with everything."
"Let him," PK said, his tone turning clinical. "He's desperate now. He's going to reach out to his 'masters' for help or more money. And when he does, he'll have to use a high-priority line."
"And?" Dustin asked.
"And," PK replied, "that's how we find out who is really above Leonard. We didn't ask for the money to get rich, Dustin. We asked for it to make him panic. A panicked man makes noise. And noise… can be tracked."