A business model is not something that exists naturally like a mathematical theorem. The idea of an open financial information platform proposed by Simon does not have a highly successful precedent, either in the present or in his memory. However, this doesn't mean the idea lacks potential. The key lies in whether Aria's team has the necessary execution capability to transform this idea into a sustainable business model.
After planting another seed of thought and concluding the meeting at Aria, Simon made his way to the Military Affairs Assistant Office located in Greenwich.
The Military Affairs Assistant Office primarily handles coordination and communication between Simon and the three private military companies that the Westeros system has established in North America, Australia, and Eastern Europe. The office is managed by Celia Miller.
There were many topics on the agenda for this meeting.
The Military Consulting and Security Services (MCSS), headquartered in Ohio, had recently secured its first government contract from the U.S. government. The contract involved providing military training to U.S.-backed armed groups in Serbia. The contract was for one year, valued at $20 million, and required the deployment of 100 MCSS mercenaries.
While this order is insignificant compared to the vast U.S. defense budget, it marks an excellent start. This success was the result of joint efforts from the Miller family, led by Celia Miller's husband, the Westeros system's connections, and support from the White House.
Moreover, with the coordination of the presidential couple, MCSS also became a private partner of the CIA.
The U.S. has long discovered that using various foundations and private organizations as tools to interfere in other countries is far more effective than having government departments directly involved. As a result, many sensitive government departments have started affiliating with an increasing number of private enterprises.
The infamous "PRISM" program was actually handled by a private company, allowing the U.S. government to distance itself from responsibility in case of exposure. Similarly, when the U.S. uses various foundations to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, everyone may know that the U.S. government is behind it, but the façade of a charitable organization gives them plausible deniability.
For MCSS, being affiliated with the CIA means that many of the company's operations can be shielded from unnecessary scrutiny and oversight under the guise of national security.
The CIA is considered a stronghold of the Bush family, with George H. W. Bush having served as its director for eight years.
When the Westeros system proposed this idea to the White House, they understood that the sitting president, who had been dealing with various setbacks since taking office, would quickly agree. The CIA affiliation was a step in the ongoing strategy of the White House using its power and the Westeros system using its influence to erode the Bush family's power.
The government contract MCSS secured was also an attempt by the Clinton couple to extend their influence into the military.
As MCSS grows, the Westeros system will have the legitimate grounds to continually hire former military officers as company executives or advisors, thus building a bridge between the White House and the military. Given the Westeros system's considerable strength, there's no fear of being discarded by either side in the future.
Even if there is a change in administration, the Westeros system will inevitably be a key entity for the new government to court and rely on.
Aside from MCSS's first government contract, there was also the issue of Rwanda.
According to the agreement between the Westeros system and the United Nations, Simon was required to withdraw all Ukrainian mercenaries stationed in Rwanda by October.
To avoid unnecessary political repercussions and to demonstrate to other African countries that the Westeros system had no long-term ambitions for military intervention, Simon did not seek to extend the original agreement.
However, after six months of operations, the Westeros system would not lose its influence in Rwanda following the withdrawal.
In recent months, the Westeros team discovered substantial natural gas reserves beneath Lake Kivu in Rwanda. Simon then established two companies, Kivu Lake Energy Company and Kivu Lake Power Company, based on the 2,000-acre Westeros mercenary base on the lake's shores.
Both companies are joint ventures with the Rwandan government, with each side holding 50% of the shares. The Westeros system manages the operations, including the necessary startup funds. Naturally, these companies will provide many lucrative, no-work-needed positions for the Rwandan government.
Although the military forces will withdraw, the Westeros system's private military company will maintain an office in Rwanda. The system's arms trading company will also continue using Rwanda as a key transit point. The Johnston family's existing projects in various African countries have also naturally strengthened their security measures.
Overall, even after the reorganization, the Westeros mercenaries will still maintain a force of about 1,000 personnel in Africa.
This military force may not seem large, but if mobilized, it would be more than sufficient to overthrow one or two small African governments. Moreover, as the Westeros system deepens its operations in Africa, its military presence on the continent will only grow stronger.
The afternoon meeting also discussed plans for Ukraine.
Ukraine was not originally part of Simon's initial strategy with Raymond Johnston. Its sensitive geographical location makes it a challenging area to operate in.
However, the current situation presented an opportunity.
In recent years, relations between the West and the former Soviet states have been cooperative, with no renewed hostilities. Simon's advance operations at this stage would not raise much concern among Western or Eastern nations. Ukraine's collapsing economy and chaotic political situation also provided ample opportunities for the Westeros system to exploit.
As for the future, Simon would have to adapt as the situation evolved.
After the afternoon's work was concluded, Simon hosted a dinner at his estate in Greenwich's northern suburbs for key MCSS executives and military advisors. Celia Miller's husband and father-in-law had made a special trip from Washington for the occasion.
The evening was spent in pleasant socializing, with everyone thoroughly enjoying themselves.
The next day, September 30th, Friday, marked the last day of the month.
After being called over by Sophia for breakfast, Simon planned to fly back to the West Coast that afternoon.
Following breakfast, Simon was about to head to Manhattan for a scheduled morning meeting with Raymond Smith of Verizon when Ken Dixon received a phone call, forcing Simon to change his plans.
Lisa Lockhart, one of the Westeros maids responsible for looking after the Geller family, had met a young man who claimed to work on Wall Street during a casual dinner with friends half a month ago. The man was tall, handsome, well-spoken, charming, and held a lucrative job, making him an ideal boyfriend candidate.
The two hit it off immediately and quickly started dating.
The personal lives of the Westeros family's peripheral maids were not heavily restricted; the only requirement was to report any relationships. Of course, once they had a partner, they could only continue to work in peripheral roles within the Westeros family, with no chance of being assigned to Simon and his wife directly.
Lisa Lockhart was a well-behaved girl.
Before starting her job, Lisa had undergone rigorous training in the maid's code of conduct and had been thoroughly briefed on the consequences of various actions.
Lisa's contract did not impose significant restrictions on her personal life, and she was even informed that if her relationship turned out to be problem-free, she might receive assistance from the Westeros system in the future.
This was indeed true and not just an empty promise.
Thus, after confirming her relationship with a man named Zachary Robbins, who worked at a private equity firm on Wall Street, Lisa quietly informed her housekeeper, Angra Davis.
The Westeros family's intelligence team immediately conducted a background check on Zachary Robbins.
They quickly found something suspicious.
Zachary Robbins, who hailed from an ordinary middle-class family in Pennsylvania, had once been admitted to Harvard University but dropped out in his second year. Afterward, he held various seemingly insignificant jobs until becoming an investment manager at a Wall Street private equity firm.
On the surface, nothing seemed amiss, but a deeper investigation revealed that this man, who publicly claimed to be 29 years old, was actually at least 33. Additionally, during the 1980s, Zachary Robbins had spent six years working abroad.
Although there was no concrete evidence, rumors in his hometown suggested that Robbins had worked as a spy abroad. While most locals treated this as a joke, the Westeros intelligence team didn't take it lightly.
They didn't immediately act, nor did they inform Lisa Lockhart.
That was until the night before last, when Simon stayed overnight at the East 92nd Street villa for the first time.
Taking advantage of Lisa's day off, granted by housekeeper Angra, Zachary Robbins took a day off as well to spend time with his girlfriend, accompanying her on shopping and leisure activities.
They even had a candlelight dinner together last night.
Believing that Lisa had fallen deeply in love with him, Robbins revealed his true intentions after their passionate encounter. He confided to Lisa that he was facing some business problems and that a certain secret in the East 92nd Street villa could help him overcome his difficulties. He asked her to install a bugging device in the villa and obtain some crucial information.
While her boyfriend sweet-talked her in bed, Lisa's heart turned cold.
Lisa knew she was actually working for the Westeros family. She also hadn't forgotten the tragic fate of a Westeros maid who had been exploited by the Hearst family. During her training, Lisa had also been taught how to handle such situations.
Despite her inner turmoil, Lisa managed to keep her composure and didn't reveal her distress. She used the excuse of taking a shower to discreetly call housekeeper Angra Davis.
In fact, after the initial suspicions arose, their interactions had been closely monitored by the Westeros family's intelligence team.
Fifteen minutes after Lisa
made the call, agents arrived at Zachary Robbins' apartment in Midtown. Lisa personally opened the door for them. Without paying attention to what happened next, she returned to her residence under the protection of the Westeros family's agents. On the way, she even told the driver that she wanted to forget the entire incident.
Zachary Robbins was taken to a secluded secret location in the western suburbs of New York.
Under interrogation, it was revealed that Robbins was a CIA agent.
While Robbins could only provide information about his direct superior, Simon could roughly guess who was behind the whole affair.
Whether it's the U.S. presidential election or the biennial midterm elections, the federal political struggles, and the endless scandals, they are not voluntarily leaked by the politicians themselves.
The source is obvious.
Simon is now an equally obvious target.
Initially, because Simon never tried to cultivate a perfect image in the media, instead opting for the persona of a playboy, attempting to attack him over personal matters wouldn't do much damage. At most, it would only add some gossip fodder for the public.
The Geller family, however, was a different story.
Simon was well aware of this.
In fact, if Simon were purely interested in those three women, the best approach would have been to settle them in a secluded area, far from the bustling Manhattan scene.
But Simon didn't do that, and it wasn't due to negligence.
From the beginning, this was a flaw Simon deliberately exposed—a flaw that, even if revealed, would not be fatal but would certainly attract a lot of attention.
Rather than letting some people dig into incidents like the Woodfield Manor explosion, offering up a flaw that's intriguing but not too damaging was a better strategy to draw away the gaze of those eyeing the Westeros family.
Because of this, the intelligence team operating around the East 92nd Street villa was far more formidable than many would expect.
It didn't take long for someone to bite.
Simon didn't care if others were still watching in the shadows; now that one fish was caught, it was time to deal with it.
Simon had already issued a very stern warning earlier this year.
At that time, a group of long-term stalkers shadowing the Westeros family was sent off to the remote southern tip of South America, Tierra del Fuego. Simon also made it clear through these individuals that next time, they wouldn't be so lucky to end up in Tierra del Fuego. Their destination would either be heaven or hell.
Simon had no intention of going back on his word.
After listening to Ken Dixon's report on Zachary Robbins' confession, Simon didn't dwell on the unlucky man destined to disappear from the world. Instead, he instructed Dixon to dig deeper based on Robbins' confession, including investigating the private equity firm Robbins worked for. Simon wasn't about to let them off the hook either.
Since some people were abusing their power for personal gain, Simon doubted they would dare reveal the truth after suffering a loss.
The CIA's jurisdiction lies abroad; it is generally prohibited from interfering in domestic affairs. Now, using CIA agents without authorization to investigate a federal super-wealthy individual is a severe violation of the law. If exposed, many people would face serious consequences, potentially triggering an unpredictable political storm.
As for how they would handle the aftermath of an official agent suddenly disappearing domestically, that wasn't Simon's concern.
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