Monday — 9:30 AM — The Bell Rang
The clang of the opening bell hit like a war drum.
A deep metallic echo that seemed to reverberate through the bones of the entire financial world.
Rex leaned forward, his hands tense over the mouse and keyboard. The hum of his computer and the outside world — the muted city sounds, the honking of cars, the faint barking of a neighbor's dog — faded into absolute nothingness.
All that existed now was the screen glowing in front of him.
On his screen, Trivaxa Pharmaceuticals slowly blinked to life, sluggishly at first, like a giant stirring from deep slumber. The stock's ticker flashed faint green and red, a heartbeat just beginning to quicken.
The battlefield was open.
His palms were slick despite the coolness of the room and nd his throat was parched.
He had done everything — the Aeon Glasses, the Energy Potion, the Trace Reduction Card— but now it came down to nerve.
He wasn't the only one moving.
Behind the calm surface of the markets
