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Hannah sat in front of her computer, conducting one of the many online searches she'd made that day. She was intent on finding out what was driving the merger between Maritech and AquaSonix, but wasn't making any progress. Whatever lay beneath the surface of the proposed deal didn't appear to have leaked online, but there had to be something somewhere.

An article on Bloomberg caught her eye. It reported that some AquaSonix shareholders had expressed concerns about the merger. This wasn't news to Hannah, but what was interesting was that the article quoted the words of one major shareholder, named as Charles Bradford. "The rushed timeline suggests we're not being told the whole story," Bradford had declared.

At last she had a break. Bradford was easy to find online and she noted that he had an office in the same street as Layton Moreby. That was convenient, as it was a location she knew so well. She drafted an email to him, explaining that she was conducting due diligence on behalf of AquaSonix shareholders, and asking if she could meet with him. He didn't take long to reply, happily agreeing to a meeting.

At his office, Bradford stressed that AquaSonix had always been a worthwhile investment and had provided good returns over the years. He was quite unconvinced about the merits of the merger for AquaSonix investors and told her it was Maritech who stood to gain from the deal. It was trying to develop deep sea maintenance bots and AquaSonix had technology that would help them.

He also claimed that the merger wasn't even what Maritech wanted. Ideally they would have acquired AquaSonix, but simply didn't have the cash to do so. They would have needed to fund the aquisition with debt, which would have been expensive. The merger had become their preferred path only because it was a much cheaper option.

As for the accelerated timeline, this was down to Maritech too. They had clearly decided they wanted the merger done with unseemly haste. He suggested that as AquaSonix was a defense contractor, it might hold sensitive information that Maritech might like to get their hands on before anyone noticed.

Alternatively, perhaps there was some market manipulation going on. The rushed nature of the merger had prevented shares in AquaSonix from rising on the merger speculation, as would have been expected, and it had significantly depressed the Maritech share price. Handy if you were currently acquiring shares in either company.

Hannah thanked Bradford and returned to her apartment, thinking over everything he'd said. His theories were compelling but were mainly suspicion. He hadn't given her proof of anything. He felt like a boxer who had the measure of his opponent, but couldn't land a telling blow. Someone circling the truth, but unable to pin it down. His insistence that Maritech was the driving force in the merger was his most important information. According to him, it was Maritech who wanted the merger in the first place and Maritech who wanted it done quickly,

Bradford had provided a perspective from the AquaSonix side. Now Hannah needed to hear from someone on the Maritech side, especially if it was Maritech that was driving the deal. After considering various ploys on how to engineer a meeting with them, she settled on claiming to represent parties interested in investing in the merged company. This was more or less true anyway, as part of Rossi's brief had been that potential investors were uncertain as to whether or not the proposed merged company offered a good investment opportunity.

She contacted Maritech and secured an appointment with their corporate development executive, a woman named Elena Voss, who was handling their merger strategy. The Maritech offices were downtown, sleek and modern, with views overlooking the harbor. Elena Voss met her in a glass-walled conference room, her demeanor polished but wary. Hannah noted a certain tension in Voss's voice as she offered coffee - a veneer of hospitality masking caution.

"I appreciate you taking the time," Hannah began, projecting calm professionalism. "My clients are intrigued by the merger's potential but are concerned about the accelerated timeline. It's unusual for a

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