March 30th, 2028

TG Tower, Taguig City

11:42 AM

For the first time in days, Timothy actually had a moment that wasn't scheduled down to the minute.

He sat in his private lounge, jacket off, tie slightly loosened, one arm resting along the back of the sofa as he stared out at the midday skyline. Sunlight bounced off glass towers, cars crawled like ants below, and somewhere in the distance a construction crane swung slowly over yet another high-rise project.

Subic's reactors were on schedule. The semiconductor line in Batangas had cleared its latest stress tests. TG Motors' newest EV rollout was oversubscribed.

On paper, everything was moving.

His coffee, on the other hand, had gone cold thirty minutes ago.

He was considering whether to drink it anyway when the door opened without a knock.

Only one person did that.

"Sir," Hana said, already holding her tablet like it might bite. "You need to see this."

Timothy didn't look away from the window at first.

"If it's another site proposal for semiconductor expansion, send it to Strategy," he said. "If it's another photo op request, delete it. If it's a congressman pretending to like EVs, ignore it."

"It's none of those," she said.

Something in her tone made him turn.

She walked over, set the tablet on the coffee table in front of him, and tapped the screen.

X—formerly Twitter.

Trending topics.

— #ShutDownTimothy

— #NoToTGInfluence

— #BoycottTGProducts

— #AurionNotWelcome

— #DavaoBlocksTG

— #CebuNotForSale

Timothy stared at the list for two seconds.

Then he huffed out a quiet, humorless breath.

"Right on schedule," he murmured. "The cult finally woke up."

He tapped #ShutDownTimothy.

The feed exploded into motion.

@DuerteDefendersPH:

TIMOTHY GUERRERO IS BUYING OUR DEMOCRACY! Funding the opposition while pretending to care about Filipinos! BOYCOTT HIS CARS! #ShutDownTimothy

@TrueDDSWarrior:

Who does this oligarch think he is? Philippines is not his factory. We will NOT let TG Motors and Aurion Semiconductor control our future! #NoToTGInfluence

@IslandProudDDS:

Len + TG = same color, same agenda. Hidden foreign agenda disguised as "innovation." We see you, Timothy. #BoycottTGProducts

Timothy scrolled, expression flat.

Memes. Edits of him with devil horns. Photoshopped pictures of TG cars burning. Threads accusing him of being a "globalist puppet," "secret foreign agent," and—his personal favorite—"AI robot installed by the West."

He raised a brow.

"Creative," he said dryly. "Fact-free, but creative."

Hana sat across from him, shoulders tight.

"This started around six this morning," she said. "Same phrasing, same timing, same accounts. It's coordinated."

"DDS networks?" Timothy asked.

"Mostly. Old pages from 2016, reactivated. Plus some new ones that were created just this month."

He flicked back to the trending list and tapped another tag.

#DavaoBlocksTG

A screenshot of an "official statement" filled the screen. Davao City Industrial Council — aligned with the Duerte bloc — had released a declaration:

Due to serious concerns over political neutrality, security, and sovereignty, we OPPOSE the entry and expansion of Aurion Semiconductor facilities in Davao City. We refuse to allow any private entity to use our land to influence national politics. Davao is NOT for sale.

Timothy leaned back into the sofa, one arm over the backrest, staring at the text for a long beat.

"So they'd rather block thousands of high-paying jobs than admit they don't control me," he said softly. "Impressive priorities."

"It's not just Davao," Hana added. "Cebu released something similar an hour later. Their statement calls Aurion 'politically compromised' and says any expansion plans are 'unwelcome under the current local administration.'"

She swiped, revealing another image—this time from a Cebu trade council, full of grand phrases about "protecting local autonomy" and "rejecting oligarch capture."

Timothy snorted.

"Autonomy," he repeated. "Right. Autonomy from tax revenue, employment, and global supply chains."

He took the tablet, skimmed further.

"Let me guess," he said. "None of them mentioned we've already hired thirty thousand Filipinos. Or that we're building training programs in public universities. Or that our exports are one of the reasons the peso hasn't melted."

"Not even once," Hana confirmed. "But they did mention you were 'photo'd backstage' with Len."

"That's public," he said. "I didn't exactly hide it."

"And they don't care about context," she said. "They only see that you're on the wrong side of their favorite family."

He shrugged, a small movement.

"I've been on the wrong side of comfortable people my entire career."

He continued scrolling.

The attacks weren't just ideological. There were calls to boycott TG Motors, to cancel preorders, to avoid TG charging hubs, to "refuse to ride" in any of his vehicles.

There were also more… unhinged posts.

"He's building those towers to spy on us!"

"His factories will replace all of us with robots!"

"This is the new Farcos, mark my words!"

Timothy's lips twitched.

"Apparently I'm a robot dictator now," he said. "Good to know."

Hana didn't smile.

"Some of these are getting traction," she said. "The engagement is real. We're starting to see comments on our official pages asking if we're 'meddling in elections.'"

"And are we?" he asked, just to test her.

"We're supporting an energy platform that doesn't treat the country like a glorified gas station," Hana replied evenly. "If that's 'meddling' then yes, we are."

He gave a short nod, satisfied.

She took a steadying breath.

"There's more," she said.

"Of course there is."

She opened another app—one of TG's internal monitoring dashboards. A red banner blinked at the top.

URGENT: Davao City Council Schedules Special Session to Review and Potentially Revoke Aurion Industrial Permits.

"And Cebu's economic committee is calling for a 'moratorium' on all new TG investments," Hana added. "Pending 'full political and security assessment.'"

Timothy stared at the notice another moment, then set the tablet down gently.

"So," he said, "they're not just screaming online. They're trying to choke off our physical footprint."

"Yes," Hana said quietly. "If they revoke permits, our expansion timelines are going to be hit hard. Land acquisition, utilities, local approvals—all of that is tied to their goodwill. Or at least, their tolerance."

He rose from the sofa and walked toward the glass wall.

He folded his arms.

"These are the same people," he said, "who complained the previous administrations weren't creating enough jobs."

"Yes," Hana said.

"The same people who screamed about 'brain drain' when engineers left the country."

"Yes."

"The same people who now want to block thousands of engineering, technician, and management positions because I talked to someone they don't like."

"Yes," she repeated, voice flat.

He was quiet for a moment.

Then he laughed.

It wasn't loud. Just a low, disbelieving sound.

"They're so blinded by loyalty," he said, "they'd rather burn the house down than admit someone else helped pay for the roof."

Hana watched him carefully.

"Sir… are you angry?" she asked.

He thought about it.

"I'm irritated," he said. "But we'll see in the actual elections."

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