While her brothers were conquering Europe and contemplating the cosmos, Hikari was playing a much more subtle game. Her focus was on the human infrastructure of the Syndicate. As their organization grew, it needed more than just soldiers and hackers. It needed managers, administrators, diplomats—people with the skills to run a global, legitimate enterprise that just happened to have a shadow government as its board of directors.
She was vetting hundreds of potential recruits, not through interviews, but through deep-level psychological and empathic analysis. She scanned their digital footprints, their social interactions, their financial histories, building a complete picture of their character. She was looking for the ones who were brilliant but overlooked, ambitious but ethical, loyal but not subservient.
Her most promising find was a young woman named Zara Al-Jamil, a financial analyst at a major Swiss bank. Zara was a prodigy, a master of tracking the hidden flow of money through the world's markets. But she was constantly passed over for promotion, her gender and ethnicity silent barriers in the old boys' club of Swiss banking. Hikari saw in her a deep-seated frustration and a powerful desire to use her talents for something that mattered.
Hikari decided it was time to make contact. She didn't use an alias or a digital cutout. She arranged a "chance" meeting at a high-end art gallery, an event she knew Zara would be attending.
Hikari approached her, not as a recruiter for a shadow organization, but as a representative of a new, forward-thinking philanthropic investment fund—a legitimate front for one of the Syndicate's financial arms.
"Ms. Al-Jamil," Hikari began, her voice calm and professional, her smile disarming. "My name is Hikari Tarayashi. I've been following your work. Your analysis of the fluctuations in the commodities market last quarter was… inspired."
Zara was taken aback, surprised to be recognized. "Thank you. It was mostly just data-crunching."
"I disagree," Hikari said, her amber eyes holding Zara's gaze. "You didn't just see the numbers. You saw the story behind them. You saw the human element." She paused, letting her words sink in. "My fund is looking for people who can see that story. We're looking for people who want to do more than just make rich men richer. We're looking for people who want to change the world."
It was a simple, direct approach, but every word was chosen with empathic precision. She was appealing to Zara's intellect, her ambition, and her frustration, all at once.
Zara, intrigued and flattered, listened. Hikari had just cast her first line, beginning the slow, careful process of recruiting a new key player into their world. The Syndicate was growing, and Hikari, its quiet, watchful heart, was ensuring that its soul grew along with its power.