Two days later, Rafael made a few detours. He visited the facilities where Project Nautilus was beginning, then headed to some covert shipyards across South America. There, decommissioned US carriers, battleships, and other vessels, bought cheaply, were undergoing upgrades and being prepared for re-commissioning by Atlas. Crews for these ships were being trained through connections with various navy reserve forces worldwide.
The upgrades for these ships involved replacing everything from their hardware to their hulls. Smaller, experimental nuclear engines were being installed, with enough room for replacement in case of damage. A battleship, similar to the Yamato class but with its weaknesses removed, was approved by the council to be the flagship of the fleet. Rafael named it the Aincard Class, with a total cost exceeding $10 billion, while the other ships were over $8 billion each.
After that, he went to inspect the Japanese branch of Atlas, mainly its regional HQ. One of the chiefs there, a prominent figure in a national sport popular in countries that treat weapon forms as combat, was also known as a "Blazer." This chief was deeply corrupt, though he only showed this "dark side" in private. Recent reports indicated he had been filling positions under him with people loyal to his family, believing he was untouchable. However, Atlas was merely waiting for him to make a mistake, and they would not hesitate to arrest him.
The term "Blazers" was now somewhat known in Japan. One of this chief's sons became a spy for Atlas. Rafael, as one of the founders and investors, funded a system to prevent deaths in the arena, though death outside of it was still possible. As a result, schools allowed the sport to exist. This agent was enrolled in one of the Blazer-approved schools, despite his father's every effort to prevent it. Rafael used his authority to covertly ensure his entry. What people didn't know was that this agent held another identity and was nicknamed the "Exterminator of Japan" for a reason: he had taken a serum derived from Rafael's superhuman DNA. This process involved intense training regimens, almost torturous, after which he was officially placed as the Exterminator of Japan. After confirming the status quo, Rafael finished his inspections.
He then returned to the Philippines, finally arriving at the airport in the afternoon on Tuesday. The two new people who would be staying at his estate were waiting for him. He ordered the driver to speed up a bit, and 15 minutes later, he arrived. Seeing the empty gates, he was relieved they weren't there yet. He ordered the servants to prepare the two master bedrooms and instructed the chef to prepare Eastern European and American menus, while he ordered from a nearby restaurant.
A few minutes later, "Sir, your guests have arrived, and it seems they brought a lot of items," the guard at the front gate post informed him. Rafael responded and headed to the front door, then dashed to the front gates, getting some exercise.
Front Gate
As the steel iron gates opened sideways, Ruby and Sylvia stood near their vehicles, where a small group of bodyguards stood. Both women wore normal civilian attire, albeit in a high-class style.
"So, where's your stuff?" Rafael asked. Both of them pointed to a semi-truck that was filled to the brim with their belongings.
"It's almost like you're moving to a new, empty home," Rafael commented, sighing. He called for a Polaris Ranger Side-by-Side, and the three were given a tour around the estate. After that, they toured the interior, where they were given codes to access parts of the house.
"What is the value of everything?" Ruby asked as she ate a burger provided as a snack.
"Over 100 billion dollars, along with the renovation and upgrades around the estate," Rafael said, driving the Side-by-Side into the underground parking lot.
"This right here is where you can park your vehicles, and this is only Level One. There are two more levels below, but you guys can't access them, so only this level is available for you two," Rafael explained, and the two nodded in understanding.
"Does this estate have stables for equestrians?" Sylvia asked, and Rafael looked at her dumbfounded.
"No, what do you think this is, a European mansion? No, and no one here is interested in riding horses," Rafael said, walking out of the underground parking. He noticed that both Sylvia's and Ruby's security details had been integrated into the estate's security. He saw them moving around, this time in small groups of 4 or 2, while others used ATVs to head to faraway locations. During that time, Sylvia ordered a few of her people to purchase a location that could be renovated into a stable.
Later That Night
Rafael left the estate earlier for a food run and now came back using his Ares EVO. His dinner consisted of beef tapa fried rice, sinigang fish soup, and sour cream potato chives. After parking his car, he headed to the dining room, where the chef was cooking a three-course meal. Rafael simply walked past them and placed his food down near the living room, where he wanted to watch TV. The servants began setting up a small table and some plates for his food.
"Hey, why did you not let the chef cook some meals for you?" Ruby asked from the table, seeing Rafael eating a different meal.
"Well, I have the money to keep the chef and buy food outside, so I do this on a random basis to buy food outside. This is one of those days," Rafael replied, turning on the TV and putting it on the news channel.
"[Atlas has officially announced that its first advanced nuclear reactor is fully operational and is powering Washington D.C. and nearby cities in other states and is guaranteed to power them for decades to come. And now, with the advanced cooling system and earthquake-proof instruments, promised to expand to other cities in the United States and to other nations,]" the news anchor said with a small smile, revealing his white teeth.
"Well, at least my family is accepting this advancement in their territories," Ruby muttered, and Rafael gave her a small side glance before focusing back on the news.
Next, the news reported on the expanding business empire of the Arima Group in Japan, reaching into Southeast Asia. It also covered the increasing gang violence in Haiti, making the Caribbean tense about what would happen, and reported on the ongoing PAX Africa, which started after Rafael began investing heavily to stabilize them, using many resources to root out corruption.
Next was Europe, which, unlike its size in our world, was a bit bigger in this world, with different kingdoms under constitutional monarchy or full monarchy. The news reported on the Vermillion Kingdom, which had the lowest GDP, and now other nearby nations began insulting them, but Rafael made sure not to spark a war.
Next was a French singer who was becoming one of the top performers in Europe. Rafael raised an eyebrow, remembering her. It was during an event he was attending when she was a newly debuted singer. After that event, since he was tasked with protecting a target, he saw her about to be kidnapped. He donned his mask, quickly dealt with the kidnappers, and left the scene. The aftermath was shocking, to say the least: the news revealed she was the daughter of the upcoming president of France and an influential businessman across France. Rafael also indirectly helped them a few years later when several pharmaceutical companies combined under Atlas were able to cure his wife, who could have died within a year. But Rafael wasn't interested in meeting them face-to-face, so he sent Canute, who met them instead, while Rafael was chilling in one of the small homes he owned in Europe, located in London.
After watching the news, Rafael took a nap on the couch while his roommates did different things that he didn't care for at the moment. After his nap, he went to the master bedroom and booted up his computer. After inputting the password, which was the first letter of every nuclear code of every nuclear-armed nation, his computer, on the level of a supercomputer, came to life. For the next hour, he began looking into different reports from other departments. Even though he had taken a step back from administration, he still did this every day to ensure the oiled machine still had an operator to keep things moving smoothly. With the entire Atlas Corp employee population close to 50 million, he kept a very close eye on the records to ensure there were no ghost workers. This routine lasted for 4 hours, and then he began his nightly exercise routine. He did leg curls with weights over 80 kg and arm curls reaching a maximum of 60 kg, and ran on the treadmill at speeds over 50 KM/Ph.
A Few Days Later: Friday
Rafael was at a ranch that Sylvia bought using the money her father left before leaving the country. The reason he was there was to hang out with her, and Michael was the one she requested help from to import some exotic horses. Rafael was leaning against the wooden fences, watching Sylvia ride her horse. Behind him were his contingent of guards, over 20 strong, while Ruby and Sylvia had between 25 and 30, depending on the situation.
"Hey, Rafael, come here and learn to ride a horse," Sylvia said, gesturing him towards the stables where the horses were located. Heading inside, he saw an Andalusian horse, while Ruby, who followed him, chose a Morgan horse that became best friends almost instantly.
"Oh, the Andalusian, nice choice, but I've got to warn you that it has a fiery attitude," Sylvia commented as she masterfully rode hers. A few hours later, Rafael was able to properly tame it, and their connection was one of mutual respect.
Ruby, meanwhile, almost played with her horse, which moved around the boundary of the fence. At that point, Sylvia challenged Rafael to a duel, and he obliged. He picked up a spear while she grabbed a lance from her guards. A moment later, the two were exchanging blows, aiming for quick defeats. Sylvia knew Rafael had the edge in power and force, but she had flexibility. Rafael adopted changing intervals from defensive to rapid offensive, which quickly tired Sylvia and chipped away at her defenses. Rafael was able to knock her off her horse when she thrust her lance into an opening. Rafael, however, had purposefully created the opening and grabbed the wooden part of her lance, pulling her off her horse.
"You lose," Rafael commented, not breaking a sweat, while her horse approached Sylvia to see if she was okay. Since she wasn't dead, it just licked her face.
"Nice work, Dave," Rafael commented, patting the head of his horse, which he had just named Dave. For the next hour, the three hung out and had a picnic until Rafael had to leave when it was time for him to work his shift at the pub.
A Few Hours Later
Outside of the Pub
Rafael finished his shift at the pub and was preparing to leave when he heard footsteps. He turned and saw two men wearing formal suits and black gloves. Checking his pockets and motorcycle, he realized he had forgotten to bring his gun.
"Fuck."
To be Continued.