Elara's investigation into Ruhl confirmed that his next target was political, not purely financial. Her analysis of Lena Croft's contact list, combined with Joric's intel, indicated Ruhl was aiming to neutralize Council Member Theon, a key swing vote who was publicly wavering on Ruhl's Market Control mandate. The target was critical; Ruhl needed the mandate passed before the public fully turned against him.
The Race Against Ruin
Elara and Joric were forced into an intense, synchronous race against time, communicating solely through dead drops and encrypted single-word messages—a lexicon of warning, confirmation, and location.
Joric's message: Target: Theon. Location: The old Capitol Exchange. (His official access had revealed Theon's scheduled meeting.) Elara's message: Method: Staged greed. Signature: ADO trace. (Her analysis confirmed Ruhl would use the "self-inflicted ruin" method to shame Theon into resignation.)
Elara realized the attack would be complex, requiring Ruhl's operative—the Silent Weaver—to physically plant the evidence and perhaps even the ADO signature at the Exchange.
The Ambush
Elara moved first, heading toward the Capitol Exchange, armed with Thorne's chemical analysis kit and Lydia's temporary ADO counter-agent. She planned to intercept the Weaver, not to capture them, but to gather a clean sample of their ADO derivative and confirm their identity.
However, the Silent Weaver was as systematic and anticipatory as Elara. They hadn't just studied Elara's past moves; they had studied her reaction to the frame-up. The Weaver deduced that Elara, having identified Theon as the target, would try to intervene.
Elara arrived at the Exchange's private conference room just moments too late. The room reeked faintly of the metallic, volatile scent of the ADO counter-agent—a deliberate choice by the Weaver, signaling their presence. The Weaver was gone, but the trap was sprung.
The Coup de Grâce
Elara saw the results of the attack: Council Member Theon, panicked and disheveled, gripping a chair. His personal data terminal was screaming crimson warnings—a simulated, immediate stock manipulation error designed to look like a desperate, private act of illegal greed.
Before Elara could intervene, the Silent Weaver triggered the second part of the attack: a controlled leak of Theon's falsified financial records, detailing the supposed corruption. The reports were instantaneously broadcast across the municipal news feeds.
The intended effect was immediate: Council Member Theon was ruined—not by a bullet, but by absolute, engineered public shame. He resigned an hour later, neutralized as a political force.
Elara had failed the interception. The Weaver's trap was a brutal success, demonstrating they could anticipate the Architect's moves. The speed and surgical elegance of the destruction were alarming, proving that the Weaver was not just an imitator, but a peer.