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—
Massachusetts
They would be spending a couple of days at the bunker; as such, supplies were necessary.
Food, water, entertainment, beds and furniture, replacing the kitchen cabinets, cooking utensils and cutlery, a gas stove, getting utilities back on, and, most importantly, an AC unit.
Miles rented a truck and hired people to carry and set up the furniture first while he and Claire were having a conversation away from any potential prying ears.
"How are you going to sell that much gold? I mean, is there anyone who has the money to buy it all at once?" Claire asked, leaning on the wall, observing as the workers lowered a bed down the hatch and hauled it off inside.
"Selling that much gold in a single transaction would make it virtually worthless, shake up the economy, and draw undue attention to us, not to mention it is impossible. I'll sell it over time, piece by piece; that way gold retains its value, and I will have insurance for decades in the event of financial struggles," Miles explained, having already planned to visit the local branch of Metropolis Gold Exchange to see how much they could buy.
"Thinking really long term then. What are we doing next?" She asked, getting bored just lazing around.
"Set up a secret operations base, recruit some more people, and start building the foundations of a spy empire and a company." Miles would need an operations base for a spy network, somewhere where people couldn't track him.
"Who is first on the list?" The pyrokinetic asked, itching for action.
"Zalika from Korogoro, Kenya. She is working with a gang right now and will be our hacker. Ratcatcher is currently stuck in Belle Reve, but I should be able to get her out with a good enough lawyer." Miles was sure Zalika could be convinced, whether by saving her brother if he was alive or offering her revenge if he was not. As for Ratcatcher 2, he had no information regarding the nature of her incarceration, but people with worse crimes got off with a slap on the wrist, provided they knew who to bribe or blackmail.
"Ratcatcher? What do you need her for?" Claire asked, having heard of the metahuman mentioned during Project Firestorm, as there were plans to weaponize her rats.
"Think about it, if a rat enters LexCorp to bug the place, will they think it is a spy problem or a rat problem?" Miles asked rhetorically.
"Can her rats do that?" She asked, They were rodents, after all.
"Strap a well-camouflaged harness on the rats with a camera; they can carry and drop the bugs somewhere discreet." He was going to need to find someone to work on surveillance devices. Perhaps he could find Ivo?
"Provided you can get her out and she agrees to work for you." She shrugged. Someone sent to Belle Rive wouldn't agree to play that easily.
"There is no shortage of people with meta powers to recruit Claire."
—
Close to night, when the city was slowing down, and after everything was settled, Miles activated the comms device given by the Guardians.
Ganthet answered, and a green hologram of his smiling face appeared over the device.
"Greetings, Miles Beckett. I presume you are ready for your end of the bargain?"
"Indeed, I am. You can bring the payment to my current coordinates." Miles nodded; he was running out of the ten million he earned from Bruce Wayne.
"Very well, several Lanterns will be bringing the gold and the ring, and worry not, as promised we will take great care to be discreet." Ganthet assured him, as the Maltusian wasn't as much a stickler for rules as his brethren were.
"I will be waiting then."
The hologram winked out, leaving him alone in the area they had designed as the living room.
"Good news, the Guardians are bringing the gold," he said to Claire, who had already started on the Chinese takeout.
"Really fancy place you found, Miles, besides the lack of sunlight." She swallowed the noodles, motioning around the room with her fork.
"Well built to withstand a nuclear winter and alien invasions to some degree; such a tragedy the man in question went bankrupt during the construction." Miles sat down as well, opening his noodles and taking the chopsticks out of the packet.
"You know, I was wondering something: why didn't you just convince Green Lantern to help you get the gold?" She was puzzled; after all, if those rings were that capable, why go to all that trouble in the first place?
"Ask him to hand me enough wealth to beggar the richest individuals on this planet, just because we happen to be friends? I don't know about you, but I am not the type to enjoy the thought of owing debts, much less to my friends," Miles said after swallowing his bite.
"Would it be a debt though, since you are asking a friend?" Come to think of it, she didn't have any friends, not since middle school.
"Asking a friend to buy you coffee is fine; asking him to give you a trillion dollars, even if it doesn't cost him anything, is not."
"Guess you're right." She shrugged, deciding her food was more important than a philosophical discussion over friendship.
—
Orbs of dim green light appeared in the distance after a couple of hours, approaching the bunker.
Ganthet and Green Lanterns of several different species carrying tens of thousands of gold bars with the power of their rings slowly floated down.
"Hello, Miles Beckett," Ganthet greeted with a shallow nod, examining the surrounding area, as this was the first time he visited Earth.
"Ganthet, wonderful to see you again. You can start moving the gold inside; Claire here will guide the Lanterns," Miles said, gesturing to the fiery young woman with his hand.
"You as well." The Maltusian nodded, and the Green Lanterns began to follow Claire down the hatch.
It was a scene straight out of a cartoon as gold bars floated inside the bunker in a line, going on and on.
"This has been an interesting first experience for me and the rest of the Guardians as well," Ganthet commented, standing next to Miles and watching.
"One should always aspire to try new things to avoid a monotone life."
"Well said. Here, your ring, but as you had already been informed, you cannot use it, not unless the ring chooses you," Ganthet warned, handing him a green box.
Miles opened the box, seeing the ring sitting on a black cushion, before it floated up, glowing green.
"Miles Beckett of Earth," it began, before Miles raised the box and shut the ring back in.
"Oh my," Ganthet said with wonder, eyes shining. He was curious if the ring would choose the human; after all, someone with a weak will would not be able to stand before the Guardians and threaten them.
"Don't look too hopeful; I am not good at taking orders from anyone." Miles had no intention of playing space cop.
"Pity, I believe you would make an excellent Lantern." Ganthet smiled, delighted at Miles' displeasure.
"And I believe in having a good relationship with law enforcement; it doesn't mean I want to be a direct part of it." The profession, no matter the scope, had too many rules and regulations for him.
"Well, here is hoping for a fruitful future," Ganthet said, thinking along the same vein.
With the speed of the Lanterns, it took barely an hour for the entire fortune to be settled in the bunker, and they prepared to return to Oa, with wishes of further cooperation.
"You know, even watching this was tiring," Claire muttered. Seeing all that wealth float before her eyes, she was ecstatic at first, but after a while it got tiring.
"Take a room and rest, Claire; we have much to do tomorrow."
"My pleasure."
—
The next morning, Miles had awakened early and prepared breakfast, since Claire's skills in cooking were nonexistent.
The said woman came out, looking as if death were warmed over, before sitting down and laying her head on the brand-new dinner table.
"Morning," she muttered, yawning.
"Not a good one, it seems," Miles commented, flipping the last pancake.
"Sue me, I had to adhere to a strict military schedule for years, but now I feel like I could sleep for days," she mumbled contentedly, eyes closed.
"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I have to exchange some of this gold, and you are coming with me." Placing the last sweet goodness on the top, he added berries and poured maple syrup over it.
"How are we going to get it all out anyway? Are we hiring people again?" Claire raised her head, watching the man work his magic on the kitchen counter.
"No, that would be just putting up a sign asking to be robbed. There is a service lift at the back that needs repairs. We'll get it fixed, buy a forklift and a truck, and handle everything ourselves," Miles explained while adding a touch of butter on the top of the pancake tower.
"Maybe you should hire someone with enhanced strength?"
"You didn't think this job would be one of leisure and indulgence, did you?" Miles turned to her, giving a deadpan look.
"No." She yawned, eyes widening with appreciation as Miles passed a plate of fluffy pancakes to her, along with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.
"Hacker, information broker, an excellent cook, and rich? Whoever marries you is going to live like a queen."
"I will take that as a compliment."
—
Getting an entirely new supply lift was not easy, as the nearest shop was twenty miles away and booked for weeks.
Thankfully, money had a mysterious way of solving problems. Miles offered to pay thrice their hourly rate if they could bring his appointment forward and be at his address as soon as possible.
An hour later, the mechanics had already started working on dismantling the old lift. Miles wanted it done fast, and they were delivering.
Once it was operational and the mechanics had been paid their due, they visited the nearest car dealership for a truck with a large enough trailer to transport literal tons of gold.
Thankfully he had the mind to register himself in the NDR and just had to pay a small fee to get a brand-new and, most importantly, legal driver's license.
A red semi truck later, they headed to a trailer dealership this time, buying one with a twenty-ton cargo capacity, which would mean about two hundred million dollars' worth of gold.
Next they bought a forklift and loaded it onto the truck, and at noon Miles and Claire stood before the Massachusetts branch of Metropolis Gold Exchange with a briefcase carrying a single gold bar as a sample.
A large, golden-brown building with a dome, it had two statues in front of it, one on the right and the other on the left.
The entrance had four columns of the same color, as if they were protecting the building, though none attempted to rob the place as it was well protected, and all the gold was shipped to the HQ at Metropolis at regular intervals.
The inside was noticeably cooler than the outside, but not to the point of being uncomfortable. The ground was pure white marble polished enough that one could see their reflection clearly.
Taking a ticket, Miles waited for his turn, watching lines slowly but steadily trickle away, and eventually his number lit up.
"Hello and welcome to Massachusetts Gold Exchange. How may I help you today?" The clerk smiled, though it did not reach her eyes.
"I wish to exchange large quantities of gold. Can you inform someone with the appropriate authority?" Miles said, and the clerk went on full alert now that such an important client had come.
"How much gold do you wish to exchange? Depending on the amount, we can call our branch manager," she mentioned, taking him seriously now.
"Depends on how much this fine establishment can buy." Miles leaned on the counter while the clerk—Samantha—hastily dialed the phone and called her superior.