Vex looked at the handcuffs, then at the crowd, then back at the video of Leo being aggressively licked by a Golden Retriever.

The Ponzi Scheme theory was currently being beaten to death by the sheer power of wholesome content.

"This... this is a diversion!" Vex screamed, his voice reaching a pitch that made him appear like he really was getting infuriated.

"He must have planted that! Why else would he encrypt that video like it's some kind of criminal secret? He was probably waiting for us to find it. He probably stole that dog! Henderson, check the registration on the canine!"

Henderson quickly went back, and established a contact with Earth's agencies, especially with the government to find anything he possibly could, about this dog.

Fortunately, the fact that the video had metadata about the location where it was taken, was quite helpful.

He soon returned after verifying the information that he had received.

"Sir, the dog's name was Bubbles and she passed away of natural causes a few years ago" Henderson whispered, looking genuinely moved. "The video is genuine as it's from the time before he became famous. So he could never have prepared it for us.

Although Henderson said in a loud voice, many in the crowd still managed to hear him and they passed on the words.

The crowd's mood shifted from 'protective' to 'vengeful.'

The grandmother who had fainted suddenly sat bolt upright, pointing a knitting needle at Vex's throat. "You dare insult the memory of Bubbles? You are a soulless bureaucrat!"

Vex took a step back, accidentally crushing a 'Leo for Galactic President' muffin lying on the ground. The squelch of blueberry filling sounded like the death knell of his career.

"Take him away!" Vex ordered his auditors, gesturing wildly at Leo. "He's still under arrest for... for... Just take him away! Arrest anyone who stands in your way!"

As the auditors hesitantly moved to escort Leo out, the 'Leo's Left Dimple' Fan Club formed a human chain. Or, more accurately, a glitter-covered barricade.

"If you want him, you'll have to go through us!" a girl shouted, brandishing a holographic banner that featured Leo's face framed by tiny, twinkling hearts.

Leo, who was still wearing the cuffs, let out a long, weary sigh. "Everyone, please. Let the man do his job. If I go to jail, the bank stays closed for a few days. Think of it as... a little holiday for you all."

"I have full faith in the authorities. I'm certain they will release me after verifying that I'm innocent." As he said, he glanced at Vex, before continuing, "After all, it's not as if they are being controlled by other powerful families to crush me. So you don't have to worry."

"No!" the crowd roared in unison.

"Boss," Sarah whispered, leaning in as he was being led away. "Another fan club just called. They're calling for a general strike across three star systems unless you're released in the next twenty minutes."

Leo stopped in his tracks. "Tell them to stand down! I don't want a revolution!"

Vex shoved Leo toward the exit, but the doors wouldn't budge. Not because they were locked from outside.

"Open this door !" Vex yelled, kicking the reinforced metal door.

Leo looked at Vex, who was now trying to use his briefcase as a shield against the items that were being thrown towards him.

"We don't recognize your authority!" the voice behind the door repeated.

Vex's face turned a shade of purple that matched the bruise forming on his forehead from a stray commemorative coin. He turned to his lead auditor.

"Phase four," Vex exclaimed, his eyes wide and twitching. "Use the gravity displacers. Now!"

"Sir, that's for high-risk insurgencies," Henderson whispered nervously. "If we use such force against this crowd, the PR fallout will-"

"I am the PR fallout!" Vex roared.

The auditors quickly followed orders and deployed a series of low-frequency pulse emitters.

The air grew heavy, pinning the protesters to the floor with the weight that was just heavy enough to not crush their bones.

Vex grabbed Leo's collar, dragging him through the sea of pinned protesters, kicking the door open.

"You're making a mistake, Vex," Leo said, his voice strained but remarkably calm as he stumbled along. "This isn't about the law anymore. You're just hurting people who like dogs."

"Silence! You've corrupted the sector's economy!" Vex dragged him into the docking bay where the Interstellar Ship sat idling.

As the boarding ramp shut, the last thing Leo saw were the customers of his bank lying on the ground under immense gravity manipulation, their faces extremely pale.

....

Inside the white-walled holding cell of the ship, Leo sat on a bench while Vex paced outside the metallic bars, clutching a tablet like a holy relic.

"We're not going to the Central Judiciary," Vex announced, tapping the screen with shaky fingers. "It looks like your fans have already started protesting outside that place."

He glared at Leo in the dark cell and asked, "Must be nice having such crazy fans? Was that your ultimate goal in giving free money?"

"Would you believe me if I said that it wasn't?" Leo answered, resting his back against the wall as he closed his eyes.

"How about you let me go?" Leo suggested. "I'll go back, open the bank, and we can pretend this audit was just an intense training exercise."

Vex let out a hysterical laugh. "Oh, no. You're going somewhere where no fan club can't find you. You should've been more careful before you offended people that you never should've."

He further scoffed, and exclaimed, "If I knew that you were going to cause so much trouble, I never would've given you permission. No wait, I still would've given you a permit. After all, the more trouble you create, the more I get paid for dealing with your mess."

His angry laughter soon turned into a pleasant laughter as he realized that he was soon going to be playing in wealth like never before. All he had to do was deal with these people.

He activated his comms and contacted the pilot. "Set coordinates for Obsidian 67. The Black Site Penitentiary."

Henderson turned around in the co-pilot's seat, looking horrified. "Sir, Obsidian-9 is for war criminals. It's not even under our jurisdiction!"

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