The sitting room, which moments ago had felt charged with supernatural energy, now settled into the quiet intensity of a boardroom.
"Now," Arthur began, "let's discuss specifics."
He gestured for Wang Yun to begin. The man was a genius, and Arthur was curious to see how his mind worked.
"The first question is location," Wang Yun said, his voice steady, his business acumen immediately taking precedence over his shock. "Where do we establish our headquarters?"
"New York," Arthur stated without hesitation. "That's where I plan to live in the future. It's the financial capital of the world, and… let's just say for personal reasons, it's where I intend to be in the future."
Wang Yun considered this for a moment, his fingers steepled. "A bold choice. But I would advise against it, at least for the start."
Arthur raised an eyebrow.
"New York is the ultimate goal, I agree. But it's the wrong start," Wang Yun explained methodically. "We'd be walking into the SEC's territory with no network, no political capital, and my expertise on US financial law is purely academic. It would take years just to navigate the bureaucracy."
He leaned forward, his energy now entirely focused. "Here, in London, I know the landscape. I know the people at the FCA. I know the loopholes. We can be incorporated and operational in six months. We build our foundation here, become too big to ignore, and then we expand to New York not as supplicants, but as conquerors. We use our London entity to brute-force our way onto Wall Street. It's a lower-risk, higher-reward strategy."
Arthur leaned back, impressed. The logic was flawless. He wasn't in any particular hurry to move to New York; the main events were still years away. "That's a sound strategy. London it is. What's next?"
"Our roles," Wang Yun said. "You will be providing the starting capital. I can be of no help there; despite my years working for Ashridge, I was never paid a salary. So you will be chairman, and I will be—"
"You will be CEO," Arthur cut in firmly. "You will be the public face, the architect, the master of operations. I will hold no official position. I will simply be a silent partner. The sole name on the incorporation documents will be yours."
Wang Yun frowned. "Forgive me, but that's strategically unsound. My name will attract unwanted attention from my former associates. We will have a difficult start."
"There are… rules," Arthur said carefully. "A magical treaty, the Covenant, that discourages wizards from holding overt power in the mundane world. While I am not particularly afraid of the consequences, I see no reason to start our venture in a completely antagonistic relationship with multiple authorities. We give them face, and in return, they will hopefully leave us alone. The trouble your name attracts is nothing compared to the trouble mine would."
Wang Yun absorbed this, the notion of magical treaties adding another layer to his strategic planning. "Understood. Which brings us to ownership."
"70/30," Arthur said without hesitation. "You own thirty percent of the company."
The statement landed with the force of a physical blow. Wang Yun stared, speechless for a moment. "Mr. Hayes… that is beyond generous. Five percent would have been more than fair, as I am providing no capital."
"Five percent buys me an employee," Arthur said, his gaze level. "Thirty percent buys me a partner. I need your incentives to be perfectly aligned with mine. You are not just running this company, Mr. Wang; you are building your own legacy with my money. I expect you to protect it as fiercely as I would."
A look of fierce, unshakeable loyalty ignited in Wang Yun's eyes. Arthur knew he had just forged the foundation of their trust. But he would always remain cautious. For him, the money itself was secondary; with his means, generating wealth was trivial. The true prize was the name and the influence an empire would provide. For that, 30% was a small price to pay for the absolute dedication of a genius.
"To be clear," Arthur added, his tone leaving no room for misunderstanding, "you will handle all day-to-day operations. I will only intervene to provide strategic direction on major investments."
"And how," Wang Yun asked, his curiosity piqued, "will you know these 'major investment directions'?"
Arthur just smiled, a look that promised incredible, inexplicable profits. "I have my ways." And if knowing the future isn't enough, he thought, I have a few trinkets that can bend time to my will.
The conversation then shifted to the most immediate problem.
"Now, protection," Arthur's tone shifted, becoming colder. ""Your old associates will not forget you. The new order in the European underworld is controlled by a fierce international organization. They will come looking for you. I cannot be your nanny, guarding you twenty-four hours a day."
He reached into his pocket and produced a simple silver locket on a chain."This will keep you safe. It will create a perimeter around you, alerting me if anyone approaches with lethal intent. It has other protections you will learn of in time, but it will not make you invincible. Your job is to survive long enough for me to intervene."
Wang Yun took the locket, its cool weight a tangible piece of the magical world in his palm.
Arthur knew it was only a temporary solution. A locket could be forgotten, lost, or removed. He needed something more permanent, something that couldn't be separated from the man himself. His thoughts drifted to the Dark Mark, a piece of soul magic he knew intimately from Voldemort's memories.
The concept was brilliant—a permanent, unremovable brand that served as a communication device. Modifying it for his own purposes, removing the pain and servitude aspects, would take time and considerable research. He also wanted to add a feature to it, a way to verify the bearer's loyalty. While he trusted Wang Yun for now, he was no naive protagonist with a magical aura of friendship. Human greed was a constant, and it paid to be careful.
With the foundational details decided, Arthur turned. "Winky."
With a soft pop, the house-elf appeared beside the armchair, causing Wang Yun to jump, nearly dropping the locket, his eyes wide as he stared at the creature.
"Bring the black suitcase from the vault, please." Arthur instructed.
Winky vanished, reappearing a moment later with a heavy-looking leather suitcase. Arthur took it and slid it across the floor toward Wang Yun.
"Seed capital," he said simply. "It's a portion of what I… acquired from various gangs controlled by the three Lords over the past month. Be careful how you integrate it into the system. And call me when you've assembled your initial candidates for the core team. I will be there to vet them personally. I want no spies or ill intentions in our foundation."
After Wang Yun left, clutching the suitcase and the locket like they were the most precious things in the world, Arthur stood alone in his quiet manor.
He had set the pieces in motion. But building an empire meant making enemies. The underworld would undoubtedly come after Wang Yun. He would have to dissuade them appropriately.
Then there would be the bigger troubles: MI6, and the wizarding world.
The Covenant forbade exactly what he planned to do. He knew they would try to use their rules, their systems, to give his business trouble. He would play along, for a time. But if they pushed too far, if they tried to go outside the lines to stop him, then they would learn what true power was.
They would face his ire. He could, after all, always infiltrate a nuclear bunker and acquire a few toys of his own. They should be very careful indeed.