"You want a stake in the Continental."
Vey's voice carried little emotion as it cut through the steady hum of the private jet. Outside, rain chased itself across the oval windows while the clouds beyond swallowed the afternoon sky, leaving the cabin bathed in muted gray light. Across from him, Ra's al Ghul sat as though carved from stone, one hand resting atop the polished head of his cane. There was no smug grin or triumphant declaration, only the faintest glimmer of satisfaction in those ancient green eyes. It was enough.
The realization irritated Vey more than he cared to admit. The answer had been sitting in front of him from the moment Ra's requested the meeting, and somehow he had overlooked it. It wasn't money. It was never money with men like Ra's. Wealth stopped being a goal centuries ago. Influence, however, could never be allowed to stagnate.
"Why?" Vey finally asked, leaning back into the leather seat. "You possess enough capital to build ten hotel chains before the year is over. The Continental isn't unique. If hotels are what you want, you can have better ones."
Ra's regarded him for a long moment before speaking. "Why should I spend years constructing something you have already built?"
His answer settled over the cabin like a weight.
Vey didn't respond. Instead, his attention turned inward, where the familiar voices had already begun arguing.
'We cannot lose any stake in the Continental,' Nolan said immediately. There was no hesitation in his voice. 'Everything depends on us controlling it outright. Once ownership is divided, someone else dictates its future.'
'We also can't afford to make Ra's an enemy,' Vey replied. 'Not while we're spread thin like this.'
Silence followed. None of them liked the position they were in. Refusing Ra's outright was likely to insult him, perhaps irreparably. Agreeing to his terms would be even worse. The Continental wasn't simply another investment. It was the cornerstone upon which everything else would stand.
Quentin was the one who finally broke the stalemate.
'Move the timetable forward.'
Vey frowned. 'Explain.'
'He's negotiating for a hotel because that's all he can see. Stop selling him hotels. Let him glimpse what the Continental actually becomes once the network is complete. We don't have to surrender ownership if we convince him he's asking the wrong question.'
Nolan hesitated. 'That's dangerous.'
'Only if we reveal too much,' Quentin answered calmly. 'We're not inviting him inside. We're letting him see the front gate. Kieran can manage the rest. Half the truth has always been his strongest weapon.'
Vey considered it for only a moment before nodding.
'Very well. Kieran… don't embarrass us.'
A familiar laugh echoed through his thoughts.
'Embarrass us? Please. This is the first interesting conversation we've had all week.'
The transition happened without the slightest outward indication. There was no blink, no shift in posture, nothing Ra's could identify as unusual. Yet the atmosphere changed all the same. The imposing stillness that had defined Vey softened into effortless confidence. His shoulders relaxed, and the intensity in his eyes became something warmer, almost inviting. Where Vey projected force, Kieran projected inevitability.
He smiled.
"What sort of stake were you hoping to acquire?" he asked.
Ra's watched him carefully. "You have changed."
"So I've been told."
"The man speaking to me now is not the one who began this conversation."
Kieran chuckled, unconcerned by the observation. "Perhaps I'm simply more interested now." He hated perceptive people, sometimes it was impossible to catch the small differences when they immediately shift
The old man studied him for another moment before answering. "Thirty percent. I also want my people to have priority and a supply of your coins."
Kieran's eyebrows rose ever so slightly. "Thirty percent… of what?"
"The Continental."
"I'm afraid that answer lacks precision."
For the first time since boarding the aircraft, Ra's tilted his head. "Does it?"
"It does." Kieran folded his hands together, his smile never wavering. "Because the Continental isn't the business."
Ra's remained silent.
"The hotels are."
That earned him the smallest narrowing of the immortal's eyes.
"The buildings generate revenue," Kieran continued conversationally. "Luxury accommodations, restaurants, conference halls, private security. On paper they're exceptionally profitable hotels. Investors understand hotels. Governments understand hotels. Banks certainly understand hotels."
He leaned forward slightly.
"But that's merely what keeps the lights on."
Ra's listened without interrupting.
"What interests me isn't the building," Kieran said. "It's who walks through its doors."
His tone remained casual, but there was purpose behind every word now.
"A diplomat fleeing a coup. A corporate intelligence broker carrying secrets worth billions. A cartel accountant looking for neutral ground. A mercenary captain needing a place to negotiate a contract without worrying about a bullet finding the back of his skull. None of these people trust one another. Yet all of them share the same problem."
He paused just long enough to let Ra's arrive at the answer himself.
"They have nowhere they can meet."
The cabin grew noticeably quieter.
"History has always belonged to kingdoms," Kieran continued. "Kingdoms need markets. Markets need rules. Rules require someone capable of enforcing them without caring who profits."
He poured himself a small measure of whiskey before continuing.
"I don't intend to own every criminal enterprise on Earth. That's impossible and frankly exhausting. What I intend to own is the place where every one of them eventually finds themselves doing business."
Ra's said nothing, though Kieran noticed the subtle shift in his posture. Curiosity had replaced confidence.
"The Continental is not a hotel chain," Kieran said softly. "It's infrastructure."
He took a slow sip before setting the glass back onto the polished table.
"Today it's luxury hotels. Tomorrow it's secure banking, arbitration, information exchanges, logistics, contract registries, private transport, discreet medical facilities, vaults, communications—services that no government can openly provide and no syndicate can safely monopolize. Every organization remains sovereign, but they all become dependent on the same roads."
His smile widened almost imperceptibly.
"The Romans didn't conquer the world because they had the strongest soldiers."
Ra's' eyes never left him.
"They conquered it because everyone eventually relied on Roman roads."
Kieran spread his hands.
"I'm not building an empire, Ra's."
He let the words settle before delivering the truth wrapped neatly inside the lie.
"I'm building the roads."
For the first time during the meeting, Ra's al Ghul did not answer immediately. His gaze drifted toward the rain beyond the window, and Kieran could almost see the centuries of experience turning behind those ancient eyes. He wasn't reconsidering the price.
Kieran allowed the silence to linger for only a heartbeat before continuing, refusing to give Ra's the opportunity to settle on a conclusion.
"That isn't all," he said, reclining comfortably into the leather seat. "You mentioned wanting priority for your people. But what would be the point?" He offered a small shrug. "Everyone is equal beneath my roof. Assassin, king, politician, smuggler—it makes no difference to me. If they possess a coin, they're welcome. If they break the rules, they're removed. The system only works because no one stands above it."
His voice remained light, almost conversational, but every word was deliberate.
"Your people already use my establishments. They understand the rules, they respect them, and because of that they've never given me cause to intervene."
He tilted his head, studying the immortal across from him.
"So this isn't about access."
The observation hung in the air.
"No," Kieran said quietly, as though arriving at the realization himself. "It sounds like you want a seat at the High Table."
The words escaped almost too naturally.
Ra's' expression did not change, though his eyes sharpened ever so slightly, "The High Table?"
Kieran's smile faltered.
it was the expression of a man realizing he'd spoken a sentence he hadn't intended to.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a quiet sigh, "I've said entirely too much."
For the first time since the conversation began, he looked genuinely irritated with himself.
"Ra's…" He chuckled under his breath, shaking his head. "I do like you. I truly do. You've managed something very few people ever accomplish."
"And what is that?"
"You've made me talk."
The old man remained silent.
Kieran folded his hands together, his tone returning to its easy confidence.
"But I still don't understand the purpose of this conversation."
"You already possess safe houses across the globe. Your League has routes, contacts, resources that most governments would envy. When your people require neutral ground, they earn a coin and walk into one of my hotels like everyone else. They're treated with the same discretion, the same respect, and protected by the same rules."
He spread his hands, "So what exactly is it you're buying?"
Ra's held his gaze.
"A partnership."
Kieran smiled faintly.
"No."
The single word was almost gentle.
"You're asking for something much larger than a partnership."
He waved dismissively, as though brushing thirty percent from existence.
"Forget the number. Thirty percent is meaningless you don't even want the thirty percent."
Ra's said nothing because he did in fact want the thirty percent.
"You don't want ownership of hotels."
Kieran leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice.
"You want influence over whatever comes after they are set up perfectly."
Neither man spoke.
The hum of the engines filled the cabin once more.
The smile on Kieran's face widened almost imperceptibly.
"Well…" he said with an easy laugh, "would you look at that."
The sprawling skyline of Gotham had begun to emerge through breaks in the clouds, its towers glinting beneath the afternoon light. Beyond it, the aircraft had already started its descent.
"I always forget how close Metropolis is to Gotham by air."
The conversation had ended.
Not abruptly.
Deliberately.
Kieran stood, smoothing the front of his jacket as though they had merely finished discussing quarterly investments.
"You have my number," he said warmly. "Let's continue this another time. A proper negotiation requires both parties to understand what they're actually bargaining for."
He offered his hand.
"And I think we're finally getting there."
Ra's rose slowly, accepting the handshake without taking his eyes off Kieran.
Sometimes Ra's thought it was easier to let someone talk than to push back.
Kieran intended to keep the odd negotiations this way as long as possible.
After all, the easiest way to protect a kingdom was to convince everyone it was still under construction.
***
Kieran's men closed the car door sealing him inside the sedans protection. He sighed a breath of relief before quickly plucking out his phone and dialing Marcy, "I need to have a run in with Bruce."
"It's already being planned sir."
He pinched his brow, the whole reason he had to rush back to Gotham he almost forgot it with the craziness on the way over.
"Bastard is using his money to hamper our operations now, we have to stop it immediately."
But how did he stop the richest asshole in the world from fucking with him?