The video opened with grainy, black-and-white security footage. A man approached a guard seated at a checkpoint. Without warning, the man raised a handgun and fired directly into the guard's chest. The guard collapsed instantly. Mason recoiled in shock.
The footage jumped to a second camera angle, showing the same man now inside the estate grounds, moving with grim determination, his weapon raised, ready to fire again.
He encountered another guard, who instinctively stepped back in surprise.
"Put the weapon down and raise your hands!" the guard shouted, his voice clear and commanding.
But the attacker didn't listen. He pulled the trigger again. The second guard dropped low just in time, avoiding the bullet, and drew his own weapon. His return shot hit the assailant in the leg. The man screamed and dropped to the ground.
Within seconds, another security guard appeared from behind, rushing to help. Together, they subdued the wounded attacker and disarmed him, ending the attempted assault within a matter of seconds.
Suddenly, the video cut to the somber face of Troy Armitage. This time, the footage was in high definition. The lighting was muted, casting soft shadows over his features. He didn't speak for the first two seconds, allowing the weight of what had just played to settle.
"What you saw just now was not a scene from a movie. It actually happened at my home in Los Angeles," he said, his voice measured but heavy. "Because of that man, one of my security guards is gravely wounded and currently fighting for his life. Before I talk about anything else, I want to wish him a full and speedy recovery. I've been in touch with his family, and I will support them throughout these difficult times."
He paused briefly, collecting his thoughts.
"When my security team informed me about the attack, I couldn't shake the feeling that it might somehow be my fault. After all, no one tries to assassinate you if you're innocent... right? So I decided to look deeper. And what I found is that this all traces back to how NBC reported the news."
The screen suddenly split in half. On the left, Troy remained seated in the frame, silent and composed. On the right, a news broadcast played. An NBC anchor appeared, her tone clipped and serious as she listed off accusations. She called Troy "opportunistic," "greedy," "a shameless capitalist," and finally concluded her report with a pointed question:
"What exactly do you need this much money for? Did you not already have enough?"
Troy watched the clip silently, his expression unreadable. He neither flinched nor frowned, as if he had trained himself to stay neutral in the face of public scrutiny.
Once the segment ended, Troy returned to full screen.
"Let's address this piece by piece," he said calmly. "Did I earn the amount of money she claims I did? Yes, I did. Am I billions of dollars richer, even as millions lost their jobs? Yes, I am. But did I manipulate markets to profit from others' misery? Absolutely not."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Before I break that down further, I want you to see this clip."
The video transitioned to an old interview from [Larry King Live]. The scene showed Troy seated across from Larry King.
"The markets are overvalued," Troy had said in the interview. "The financial sector is going to crash. Not because of any single bad actor, but because of unchecked corporate greed. This whole system is built on sand."
The clip ended, cutting back to the present-day Troy.
"Let's dig into why the financial sector collapsed as catastrophically as it did," he continued. "It all begins with the so-called American Dream. Everyone wants to own a house. So let's consider a simple scenario."
The frame shifted to an animated sequence, styled in clean 2D visuals. The colors were soft and inviting, designed to make the subject matter easier to digest.
Troy's voice continued as narration.
"John is your average American. He's just graduated from university."
An animated character labeled 'John' appeared. He wore a t-shirt with his name across the front, a graduation cap perched on his head, and held a diploma in one hand. Despite the joyous occasion, his eyes looked worried.
"But John has a bit of a debt problem. He owes $100,000 in student loans and earns only $40,000 a year. At this rate, it'll take him a decade or more to pay it off."
The numbers floated on screen in bold text:
Student Debt: $100,000
Annual Salary: $40,000
"But John also has the American dream—to buy a home of his own," Troy explained. "Unfortunately, banks are reluctant to give mortgages to someone already buried in debt. So John makes a proposal: 'Why don't you give me a loan against a house?'"
The animation showed John speaking with a bank clerk across a desk. The clerk, initially skeptical, nods thoughtfully.
"The bank agrees. A house is a tangible asset. If John defaults, they can always sell the house and recover the money. So John buys a home worth $200,000, using a mortgage issued by that very bank."
An image of a modest suburban home filled the frame. A contract with the number $200,000 stamped across it was superimposed over the house.
John then moved into the house, along with his wife. The animated camera slowly pulled back. What initially looked like a single home soon revealed itself to be part of a sprawling suburban neighborhood, row after row of identical houses stretching across the screen.
"Now John is just one homeowner," Troy narrated. "There are hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions, like him across America."
The animation highlighted homes across a stylized map of the United States, each one blinking to represent a borrower.
"Banks began offering loans even to people with poor credit histories. Why? Because they believed housing prices would keep rising forever. If someone defaulted, they could always repossess and sell the house."
On-screen, cartoon bankers smiled confidently, approving loan after loan with stamps that read 'Approved'.
"To reduce their own risk and unlock more capital, banks started bundling these home loans, loans like John's, into packages and selling them off to investors across the globe. These bundles were known as MBS, or Mortgage-Backed Securities."
Stacks of paper labeled MBS appeared, each with icons of tiny homes printed on them.
"Now suppose Peter is someone who wants to invest in these MBS."
A new animated character appeared, this one with a t-shirt that read "Peter." He approached the grand doors of a financial institution, shaking hands with a banker.
"But before investing, Peter needed to know if these were safe assets. So he turned to credit rating agencies, like Moody's, S&P, and Fitch, to get them rated."
The animation showed Peter entering a stone building labeled Credit Rating Agency. Inside, a bespectacled analyst reviewed the mortgage papers and stamped a large AAA rating on a document marked John's MBS.
"These agencies also believed in the strength of housing assets. So, they gave high ratings to nearly all of them. Everything looked great for a while. Borrowers like John were happy. Banks were happy. Credit rating agencies were happy. Even investors like Peter were happy."
The screen filled with cheerful faces, dollar signs, and rising housing charts.
"Housing prices kept going up... and up... and up. Until they didn't."
Suddenly, the cheerful music stopped. The screen flashed red as the animation cut to John driving a car. A sharp screech of tires was followed by a crash.
"John had a medical emergency. His hospital bills became too much. He could no longer afford to pay his mortgage. With no savings, he had to let go of the house, allowing the bank to begin foreclosure."
The animation showed a "Foreclosure" sign planted in front of John's home. But then a clock ticked rapidly, symbolizing time.
"But foreclosure takes time. Months, sometimes years. If it had only been John, the system might have absorbed the shock. But suddenly, more and more homeowners were defaulting. The market was flooded with houses no one could afford."
The price tag on John's home dropped from $200,000 to $100,000, the red glow around it intensifying to indicate loss.
"This meant a direct loss of $100,000 to the bank, just from this one example."
The camera zoomed out. A district appeared dotted in red, then a city full of red zones, then a blood-red map of the entire United States.
"Now imagine that happening not just in one district or city, but across the entire country."
The animation faded out, cutting back to Troy's face. The lighting was stark, his expression serious.
"You might be wondering, where do I come into this? Why am I being vilified? How did I make my money?"
The video shifted again, this time with a humorous touch. Troy's head was superimposed on a cartoon body, exaggerated in style, making the visual tone momentarily light. Cartoon Troy sat at a desk in front of a computer, tapping away.
"I found out through multiple sources that the housing market was being severely mismanaged," Troy said. "You'll find links to all those sources in the description of this video."
The screen briefly displayed a scrolling list of article titles, reports, and economic blogs.
"Once I uncovered the truth, I decided to approach the big investment banks like Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JPMorgan, and others, to see if they'd let me bet against these mortgage-backed securities."
Cartoon Troy appeared again, walking into glass towers labeled with the logos of major banks. Each time, the bankers inside laughed at him.
"Like everyone else, they thought I was crazy for betting against the housing market. They happily accepted my terms. Their contract conditions were so awful—so heavily stacked against me—that had the housing market not collapsed the way it did, I would've lost everything."
Two graphs popped up side by side. One chart showed a steep red decline in housing prices. The other, next to it, showed a green line soaring upward for Troy's profits.
Then the video returned to real-life Troy, seated calmly.
"This happened because those banks couldn't set their greed aside. I agree that when the housing bubble burst, I was paid handsomely, but there were at least ten others I know of who also bet against the market and made a fortune worth billions. I won't name them here, because I don't want them to face the same kind of public abuse and hatred I've endured over these last few days."
He paused briefly.
"One important clarification: none of the money I earned came from Lehman Brothers. I never signed any contracts with them. My deals were with Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JPMorgan, and a few other big players. Anyone can verify this with the SEC. They maintain records of all contracts held longer than three months."
He leaned forward slightly.
"Now, here's the real question—what if I hadn't bet against the housing market? What if I had done nothing?"
He gave the camera a moment to breathe.
"The answer is simple. The crash still would have happened. I didn't cause the fall. I profited from it after it began. The collapse was inevitable. The system was built to fail. The banks knew exactly what they were agreeing to. We both made legal bets. I just happened to win."
His voice hardened slightly.
"And let's be honest, if I had lost everything, no one would be breaking into the homes of those bank CEOs to shoot them in their beds."
Troy paused. The silence stretched for several seconds.
Then he sat back, speaking with a steadier, colder tone.
"Now let's address the real culprits in all of this."
The screen displayed a split-screen of a bank desk labeled Loan Approved and a credit agency desk with a rubber stamp reading AAA.
"If you've followed this video from the start, it shouldn't be hard to figure out: the banks, who handed out loans to people like John despite their poor credit. And the credit-rating agencies, who gave glowing ratings to mortgage securities they had no business approving."
Troy's expression turned grim.
"The saddest part of this reality is that no one in the government will ever take meaningful action against either of them. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they end up bailing them out with taxpayer money."
His tone sharpened, daring.
"Mark my words right here, right now—they'll do it. Why wouldn't they? The government only works for the rich and the influential."
He stared into the camera.
"And I can prove it to you."
"Suppose you earn $500,000 a year," Troy said, calmly addressing the camera. "You'd be taxed at a top marginal rate of 35%. But because I earned billions, I only paid 15% in taxes."
He leaned slightly forward.
"I'm not making this up. It's all perfectly legal. Just look up the term 'carried interest loophole' and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about."
A bold graphic of a Google search appeared on screen, typing in carried interest loophole before vanishing.
"Now, you might be wondering—why don't I voluntarily pay more taxes?"
Troy shrugged lightly.
"I will, one day. But only when it becomes mandatory for everyone. And let's be honest: that day's never coming. Because the people funding our politicians—their top donors—are using the exact same loopholes I am. Why would they ever change the system that benefits them?"
He gave a wry smile.
"Someone at NBC once asked me, 'Why do you need more money?' Fair question. My answer is very simple."
He sat back.
"We live in a capitalist society. You were quick to ask me not to make more money, but you'd never say the same thing to Warren Buffett or Bill Gates—because they're older, more established. I'm just newer to the game.
"Ask the same question to all those people who were literally in bed with Jeffrey Epstein. The same person, who allegedly took his own life, the same day someone attacked me. I for sure don't think it was a coincidence."
Troy's expression softened, just a little.
"Still, I know I've made a fortune in the past few months. And no, I don't want to hoard it all. But I also don't want my money funneled into the hands of corrupt politicians who'll waste it. That's why I'm choosing to donate part of it myself, directly, so I can ensure it's put to good use."
He raised a hand, emphasizing each point.
"To begin with, I'm setting aside $3 billion to tackle homelessness across the United States. I haven't decided which city or state the work will start in, but I'll likely post another video when the project begins."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"Second, I'm allocating $1 billion to fund small business ideas—starting with those who lost their jobs during the 2008 financial collapse. If you've got a viable business plan or product that you want to scale, this fund will be for you.
"I'll create a separate website outlining the requirements and eligibility. The goal is to generate as many jobs as possible in these trying times. And yes, I know—that's supposed to be the job of our government. But we've got incompetent assholes in charge who go around telling people to 'Create Anarchy'..."
He stopped. The screen suddenly flashed a screenshot of a tweet, a real post from one of those so-called "incompetent assholes."
The tweet disappeared just as quickly.
The camera cut back to Troy, his expression sincere.
"Thank you for watching this video to the end. The past few days haven't been the easiest for me... but there are people out there dealing with far worse. So I'll smile, and I'll keep going."
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"To stay motivated, and not feel down thanks to all the negativity in the world, I've written a new song. If you want to hear it, just click the link on the screen."
The video ended with soft piano notes rising beneath the call-to-action.
Mason stared at the screen, realizing too late that he'd fallen into a classic YouTube trap. He had opened his laptop looking for a cake recipe. Instead, he'd watched a twenty-minute video on financial collapse.
And now?
Now he wanted to hear the damn song.
He sighed and clicked the link.
The only thing that brought a smile to his face was the pop-up that appeared next:
You've been gifted YouTube Premium for one month.
Troy Armitage – Unstoppable
As soon as the music began, Mason hit pause.
He stood frozen for a second, then rushed across the room to grab his headphones. One second of the opening track was all he needed. He could already tell—this one was going to be a banger.
The video didn't disappoint either.
It opened on a young boy being bullied by a group of classmates. Shoved around, mocked, laughed at, but despite it all, he kept a smile on his face. The kind of smile that said you haven't broken me yet.
~I'll smile, I know what it takes to fool this town
I'll do it 'til the sun goes down and all through the nighttime
Oh, yeah
Oh, yeah, I'll tell you what you wanna hear
Keep my sunglasses on while I shed a tear
It's never the right time, yeah-yeah~
As the verse played, the boy slipped away from the crowd, ducking behind a row of lockers. In the next shot, he began putting on medieval armor, bit by bit, as if preparing for battle.
~I put my armor on, show you how strong I am
I put my armor on, I'll show you that I am~
Then, fully armored and resolute, he stepped back into the hallway and charged.
What followed was a wildly creative sequence of him defeating his bullies one by one, splashing one with a mop bucket, trapping another inside a locker, fending off a third with a dramatic slow-motion dodge-roll. He didn't just win, he dominated.
~I'm unstoppable, I'm a Porsche with no brakes
I'm invincible, yeah, I win every single game
I'm so powerful, I don't need batteries to play
I'm so confident, yeah, I'm unstoppable today
Unstoppable today, unstoppable today
Unstoppable today, I'm unstoppable today~
But just as the final bully stumbled backward and the boy stood victorious, fists raised in the air, the scene abruptly shifted.
His eyes opened. He was still sitting at his school desk, realizing it was all just a dream.
"Troy!" the teacher called out sharply, pointing at the blackboard. A complex algebraic equation stared back at him.
He blinked. He had no answer to the teacher's question. Laughter echoed through the room. His classmates were laughing at him again. Real life had returned.
Little Troy's jaw clenched. He tightened his fist on the desk, the same resolve flickering back into his eyes.
Unstoppable today, I'm unstoppable today
As the final notes played, the screen faded to black. Mason pulled off his headphones and exhaled. That wasn't just a song, it was a statement. A confession. A story.
Troy had laid his soul bare with those lyrics and visuals. Maybe most people would only see a motivational anthem. But if you were paying attention, really paying attention, you'd see something deeper and honest.
Shaking his head, Mason finally clicked back to the cake recipe he had meant to look up in the first place. He jotted it down, then hit play on Unstoppable again, this time on loop.
Despite its emotional weight, the song was surprisingly perfect as a kitchen companion. And now that he thinks about it, in the gym as well.
He began whisking flour and sugar with the powerful chorus ringing in his ears.
________________________
AN: Visit my personal website to read ahead, or check out my second Hollywood story set in the 80s.
Link: www(dot)fablefic(dot)com