“Where did you say you got this?”
“I didn’t.” Ivy joined them.
“This isn’t good.” Henderson tapped the screen. “These core samples show heavy methane hydrate deposits in the extraction zone. And the extraction zone surrounding the Vega is Swiss cheese. Landslide risk.”
“No.” Ivy locked her arms across her stomach.
“The seabed’s unstable. Methane hydrates are temperature and pressure sensitive. Start drilling, change the thermal dynamics, and you risk triggering a massive gas release. Best case? You lose a rig. Worst? You ignite half the damn coastline.”
“Are you certain?” Ivy whispered.
Henderson fixed her with a look. “Spent twenty years mapping sub-sea geology for Shell, BP, and half a dozen other companies that thought they could outsmart physics. I’ve seen what happens when corporations ignore data like this.” He gestured at the screen. “Mother Nature always wins.”
“But BlackRock’s public surveys show stable conditions,” Ivy said. “They wouldn’t have permits otherwise.”
Henderson snorted. “Public surveys and actual geology are two different things. Companies pay for the results they want.” He toggled between two images. The differences were stark,even to Ryder’s untrained eye. “See this? What they filed publicly versus what’s on your stick.”
“They left out entire sections,” Ivy breathed. “The areas with the highest methane concentrations.”
“Bingo. Classic corporate maneuvering. Submit enough data to pass regulatory review, omitting anything that might raise red flags.”
“Wait.” Ryder leaned forward. “Ivy. Once you sign, when would you and George take over the lease?”
Ivy pulled out her phone, scrolling. “End of this quarter.”
“And when’s the first proposed extraction scheduled?”
“Beginning of next month.”
Ryder’s jaw clenched. “They drill fast, extract everything they can before the end of the quarter—maximize their profits before the final handover. Then when this goes south—and Henderson’s saying it will—BlackRock is long gone and you’re stuck with a billion-dollar disaster.”
Henderson nodded grimly. “That’s exactly what they’re doing. Pumping it dry before anyone realizes the risk. If it blows? The lease belongs to the new owners. BlackRock is long gone, avoiding a clean-up bill in the billions.” His eyes narrowed. “Does anyone else know you have this?”
Ivy hesitated. “The person who gave it to me.”
“They still work for BlackRock?”
“Yes.”
Henderson’s expression darkened. “Then they’re in danger. The second BlackRock figures out this data leaked, they’ll be digging for the source. Your source needs to lie low for a bit or lawyer up. Preferably both.”
Ryder’s jaw tightened.Jack. He needed to speak with her.
Ivy sat back down on her stool, fingers pushing through her hair. “I can’t believe this. I thought they were hiding something. But this?”
Henderson’s tone was certain. “Someone paid good money to make sure this data never saw daylight. The question is, what are you going to do about it?”
“Stop them, of course. Make this public.” Ivy lifted her chin. “We can’t let them get away with this.”
Ryder understood. She had so many people counting on her. If this blew, it wouldn’t just bankrupt them—it would destroy people’s lives.
“Not yet, Ivy.” His voice was firm but gentle.
She turned on him, eyes blazing. “What more do you need? It’s all right there!”
“On a memory stick from a mystery source? BlackRock will bury this as fake before you even finish your first sentence. We need something they can’t explain away—core samples, records from the original survey, hell, even your original source backing it up. Otherwise, it’s just your word against theirs.”
Ivy looked ready to explode, and damn if he didn’t admire it—her fire, her need to protect people even when it cost her everything.
