The chamber goes silent.
"Abernathy is also dead. London. Oswald is dead." Jinx's smile is razor-sharp. "Helena Cross, as you may have heard, died in Singapore. Which leaves four empty seats and a great deal of reorganization to discuss."
"You're claiming responsibility for these deaths?" Sterling's voice has gone dangerous.
"I'm informing you of facts. What you do with that information is your choice."
Christian Rose laughs. The sound is unexpected, bright against the ancient stone.
"I told you," he says to the other Custodians. "I told you the Harrisons would come eventually. You all ignored me."
"You knew about this?" Brooks, sharp.
"I knew something was coming. The signs were everywhere, if you bothered to look." Rose stands, crosses to stand beside Jinx.
“We have everything documented.” Jinx grins.
"What documentation?" Holloway, alarmed now.
"Every financial record. Every authorization. Every memo and report and internal communication related to Project Omega." I step forward, stand at Jinx's other side. "In about thirty seconds, that documentation goes to every major news outlet on the planet. Every government agency. Every law enforcement body."
"You're bluffing."
"Check your phones."
Holloway pulls out his phone. The color drains from his face.
"The story's already breaking," I say with a smirk. "Global coverage. Investigations launching. The Silent's secrets, exposed for the entire world to see." He looks at the remaining Custodians with something like pity. "It's over. The only question is how you want to handle the transition."
Sterling rises slowly. His face is a mask, but I can see the calculation happening behind his eyes. The desperate search for leverage, for options, for any way out.
"You think you've won," he says. "You think you can destroy three centuries of work in a single night."
"I think we already have," Jinx replies. "All of the Ministry directors are dead. The documentation is public. The Foundry is exposed." He gestures at all of them and crosses his legs. Looks every inch the king he's becoming. "The Silent, as you knew it, is finished. The only question is whether you're finished with it."
"Is that a threat?"
"It's an observation. You have two choices. Fight us, and watch everything burn. Or work with us, and keep what little power you have left."
The silence stretches. Sterling looks at Brooks. Brooks looks at Holloway. Holloway looks at Harrington.
Christian Rose sits down in the Rose seat, a small smile playing at his lips. "I vote we accept the new order," he says. "For what it's worth."
Sterling's jaw tightens., I think he's going to fight. Going to call for guards, for weapons, for some desperate last stand.
Then his shoulders drop. The fight bleeds out of him.
"Fine," he says. "Fine. We'll discuss terms."
"There's nothing to discuss." Jinx's voice is ice. "The Harrison family holds this seat. We are also claiming the seats vacated by Cross, Webb, Abernathy, and Oswald. That's five out of ten. A majority."
"You can't simply claim—"
"I can claim whatever the fuck I want." Jinx stands, and suddenly the chamber feels smaller. Charged with violence. "You tortured children for profit. You built an empire on suffering.You turned human beings into weapons and called it progress." His voice drops, goes deadly quiet. "Be grateful I'm letting you live. Be grateful I'm offering you a future at all. Because the alternative is me walking through this chamber with a knife and leaving no one standing."
No one speaks.
No one moves.
