Vox stared directly at the center of his massive, multi-million dollar monitor wall. The primary high-definition screen showed the smoking, jagged remains of Sir Pentious's walking machine. Right before the camera feed had cut to black, Vane's face had filled the entire frame with terrifying clarity. Vox's face, which was a massive high-definition television screen, flickered with heavy blue static that distorted his eyes and mouth. The overhead lights in the media room dimmed as his internal electrical energy spiked out of control. He absolutely hated when things did not go according to his exact digital plan.
Valentino walked into the media room with a slow, confident stride, holding a long pink cigarette between his fingers. He looked at the smoking wreckage on the screen and laughed, a deep and mocking sound that echoed off the glass walls.
"Your little snake friend got absolutely crushed," Valentino said, blowing a cloud of thick, sweet smoke toward the monitors. "And look who is holding the giant hammer. It is your old pal Vane."
"He is not my pal," Vox hissed, his voice sounding like a heavily distorted speaker system at a rock concert. "Vane is supposed to be managing the Chaos District. He built that territory from nothing, and it makes us billions. Instead, he is playing babysitter for Lucifer's brat. And now he is standing next to Alastor."
Velvette walked into the room, tapping her phone screen with a sharp black fingernail, completely ignoring the tension between the two men.
"It is trending on social media right now," Velvette said, turning her phone to show them the screen. "People are calling it the Chaos Alliance. It makes our entire brand look weak to the consumers."
Vox leaned over his desk, his hands pressing into the glass top until it cracked slightly. He adjusted his blue tie with a jerky motion. He needed to change the public narrative immediately. He could not attack Vane directly because the Chaos District had too many automated defenses that would tear his own drones apart. An open war would destroy their infrastructure and hurt their quarterly profits. He needed to attack the hotel from the inside where their defenses were weak.
He looked at the data feed on his far left screen. Sir Pentious was still inside the hotel lobby, sitting on the couch like a scolded child. The snake demon was a complete failure, but he was a failure who was currently sitting right next to their primary targets.
"We use the snake," Vox stated, his screen face smoothing out into a cold, calculating grin. He gave a direct order to his team. "We tell him to plant a spy camera. We watch Alastor, we watch Vane, and we find the exact weak point to tear them down."