New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live



Jack smiled in response to Alexander's statement. This eased his plans up, by a lot, if the kid was willingly stepping up.

"In this case, let us go over what we are going to tell the media. The press conference is in two hours, and I want us to be coherent."

Already, Guo was seeing the vans amassing at the private hospital's entrance, with journalists setting up and talking to each other, probably gossiping or theory-crafting.

He sent a quick message to some of his staff to set up a small stand, where Jack could stand above them for ease of view. Of course, this stand would be filled with microphones from all news channels and other news outlets, like podcasts and amateur journalists.

This wasn't Jack's first rodeo, and he would be fine. But Guo wondered how Alex would fare in front of three dozen hungry journalists, bombarding him with questions. The young man had never been interviewed before, that he knew of.

But Guo had faith that with a bit of guidance from Kary, and a lot from Jack, he would do just fine.

They discussed for an hour, getting their stories aligned, since they needed to lie a bit, to make it look like Alex had done this on his own. Alex had an accurate accounting of the facts, and with this, they could alter the parts that David and Kary intervened in, in order to make it sound like it was all his doing.

The hour of truth was nearing fast when they finally fine-tuned their version of the facts. Alex already looked exhausted.

"I guess we find out now how fame deals with me," he said, his forehead slightly sweaty.

Kary giggled lightly.

"I'm pretty sure it's the other way around, but you'll do just fine. Just stand straight, and keep a steady voice. As long as you don't show weakness to those vultures, they shouldn't push into you too hard."

Jack smiled at her comments. She was right, if somewhat lightly put.

Of course, he expected some level of nefarious drive in the journalists. A press conference without at least one or two trouble-seekers was unheard of.

"I will answer the brunt of the questions, if that reassures you, young man. But I can't shield you from everything. You will need to take some of the uncomfortable questions and answer them on your own," Jack added.

Alex nodded his head, his courage wavering a bit. But Kary stroked his arm gently, which put him at ease again.

Kary had a feeling Jack was using this press conference for more than just informing the public about the incident. She wasn't sure what else, yet, but she could tell through his businessman facade that he had ulterior goals.

Of course, this wasn't any of her business, as long as it didn't affect her or Alex negatively.

Looking at his watch, Jack clapped his hands.

"Time's up for our little meeting. I have more things to prepare before the conference in twenty minutes. So if you don't mind leaving me alone, that would be much appreciated."

Alex and Kary knew this wasn't a request, as much as him telling them to leave, so they rose from their seats and headed toward the door.

"See you in a bit," Jack added as the door was closing.

Once it was closed, Guo turned his head toward Jack.

"Are you sure using this conference to announce that is wise, sir? What if this backfires and goes against your intentions?"

Jack sighed.

"I know it's a risky move, Guo. But this is as good an opportunity as it is a risk. If I can show that I have a grasp on the situation before it becomes critical, it will be a massive boon for us and our plans."

Guo looked thoughtful for a second before nodding his head.

Jack was the business savvy here. If he smelled an opportunity, then Guo would follow him into it, whether it burned them or not.

Meanwhile, Alexander and Kary took the elevator back up to his room to prepare. They needed to put on some better clothes for the press conference.

When they reached the last floor of the hospital, the main desk was buzzing with activity. Men in suits and sunglasses were flanking an old man, whose smile was all but genuine.

Alexander immediately recognized the smile of a politician, sighing deeply inside himself.

"Well, here we go…" he said, looking tired already.

Kary wondered what he meant, but it took only a moment before she and Alex were surrounded by the same men in suits at the counter.

"Ahh. There he is. The one who assaulted my son so savagely. Young man, you are coming with me. We need to talk."

The head nurse and doctor tried talking the old man out of his actions, but he seemed resolved.

"Sir. Please reconsider. This young man is under Mr. Boudreau's direct protection. Taking action against him in this hospital is like spitting in Mr. Boudreau's face," the doctor said, his hands raised pleadingly.

"I'm the client here! I get to spit in that money-laundering bastard's face if I want to. Do you know who you are addressing, you fool?!" the old man shouted, anger replacing his smile.

The doctor reeled back in fear.

Meanwhile, the men in suits were slowly encasing closer around Alex, extending their hands toward Kary to pull her out of their encirclement.

"Touch her, and lose the hand," Alex growled, a murderous gaze in his eyes.

"You see?! A savage, just like my son said! Men, seize him! We are bringing him to justice!" the old man shouted.

But just as the men were about to grab onto Kary's arm, the elevator dinged behind the couple.

*Ding!*

Out of it came rushing ten men, kitted in bulletproof vests and holding in their hands semi-automatic rifles. The guns immediately pointed at the men in suits.

One of them stepped one step closer to the old man, his gun lowered.

"Sir. You may be the mayor of Montreal City, but you hold no sway here. Mr. Boudreau has ordered us to keep this young man safe, and we intend to do just that. The way I see this, it's ten against five, with a severe outmatch in firepower. How about you reconsider?"

This was the same mercenary Alex had dealt with many times before. And he didn't seem in a mood to joke.

The five men in suits all had their hands hovering over their vests, seemingly ready to pull out whatever was under them. The old man was slowly turning red in rage.

"How dare a nobody like you give me orders! Fine! But Jack will not hear the end of this! Grab the girl, we're leaving!" he shouted.

Hearing this, Alex's eyes became slits.

A man extended his hand quickly, trying to grab Kary.

But, just as promised…

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