The Patriot Act, passed hastily in the wake of 9/11, had given the government unprecedented access to corporate and private information.

Control, manipulation, and keeping dangerous secrets buried—that was the real game at play. Max’s mind raced, connecting the dots. The Patriot Act, passed hastily in the wake of 9/11, had given the government unprecedented access to corporate and private information. It had essentially legalized government-sanctioned corporate espionage. And now, here was Gusty Oaks, one of the old political titans, leveraging that very power for personal gain. New energy espionage—using freshly legalized government resources like the CIA, NSA, and military— was just another tool in the Oaks family’s arsenal.