I crouch in front of him, close enough that he can smell smoke and steel and the fact that I’m not bluffing.
“Your territory is seized,” I murmur. “Your accounts are frozen. Your crews get reassigned. Your name becomes a warning.”
Korran’s eyes widen. “You can’t?—”
“I already did,” I say.
He trembles with fury. “You’re a tyrant.”
I tilt my head. “No. I’m a firewall.”
I stand and step back.
“Remove him,” I order.
Korran is dragged out, spitting curses that die in the corridor as the soundproof door seals.
The room stays silent for a long beat after he’s gone.
Everyone is recalculating.
Good.
Now they’re listening.
I face them again. “That,” I say, “is what happens when we fight each other while the Nine sets our house on fire.”
Coalhand rep clears her throat, voice rough. “If your proof is real… then we’re already dead if we don’t move.”
Father Vahl’s eyes are hard. “Backing the hearing makes us targets.”
“Yes,” I say.
Dockwright rep rubs his jaw. “But if the Nine collapses Gur and blames the Alliance, we’re targets anyway.”
“Correct,” I reply.
Spindle’s pretty man swallows, then says quietly, “What do we get if we back you?”
A practical question. A selfish one. The kind I can respect because it’s honest.
“You get temporary protections,” I say. “Stabilized trade lanes. Kaijen will enforce neutrality between signatories during the hearing window. No raids. No territory grabs. Labor guild routes get safe passage. Medical supply chains get priority.”
Coalhand rep squints. “And after?”
I spread my hands. “After, you’ll have survived long enough to renegotiate what Gur looks like without the Nine sitting in your lap.”
Father Vahl studies me. “And if we refuse?”
I let my voice drop, blunt. “Then you’ll be devoured separately.”
The words hang, heavy.
One by one, heads nod. Not because they suddenly love me. Because they understand math.
Coalhand rep nods once, decisive. “Coalhand backs the hearing.”
Dockwright rep grunts. “Dockwright backs it too.”
