Chapter 134: 134: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Sorry for the short Chapteršµ
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As the heads of Public Relations and the other departments filed in, the emergency meeting kicked off.
At the same time, Butcher had predictably turned everything to shit. Before the CIA could arrive, Mouse used the soda can to slice through the ropes and bandages in the cabin.
With his telekinesis, Mouse ripped the yachtās anchor out of the sea. It missed Butcher but smashed the helicopter hovering overhead straight into the water. Watching the chopper plunge into the ocean, all Hughie could do was toss out the few life preservers they had on board.
Unlike Hughie, Butcher didnāt give a fuck about the cops. The second he saw Mouse jump into the sea and disappear, he slammed the throttle and got the hell out of there.
With no other options, he called Mallory again and got an earful about his special talent for ruining everything.
Given the mess, she couldnāt send backup. She told Butcher to handle it himself, catch Kengi again, and deliver him to the CIAās outpost in New York City.
Back with Edgar.
He glanced at the watch on his wrist, then looked up at the group. "You all know where Vought stands right now. Give me your ideas. How the fuck do we flip this narrative?"
The room stayed silent. People around the table just glanced at each other.
Finally Keith Kirk, head of Legal, couldnāt stand Edgarās death stare any longer and spoke up.
"The negative press against Vought is snowballing. The CIA has already filed criminal charges. We probably canāt change the story at this point. All we can do is limit the damage, but thatās going to cost serious money and some hefty political donations."
Keith was politely suggesting a big bribe to silence the media, then leaning on government contacts to help bury the story.
Normally it would have been a solid plan. Most companies went that route when shit hit the fan.
Too bad it wasnāt what Edgar wanted to hear.
"Frank, letās hear your thoughts." Edgar turned to Rush Franko, head of Marketing.
Rush looked uneasy. "Keithās idea wonāt cut it. The story blew up this fast because the government is backing it. I reached out to the network presidents and their deputies. They didnāt spell it out, but itās obvious the U.S. government is pulling strings."
"Trying to fix it through PR is just putting a band-aid on a gunshot wound. This thing is too huge. Even if Leonardo DiCaprio died in a plane crash right now, nobody would care. Weāre the only story in America. Shifting peopleās attention somewhere else is almost impossible."
"What if I leak some celebrity dirt? Tax evasion or something? Test the waters?" Keith Kirk coughed nervously.
"Stop wasting time. The longer this drags on, the more Vought bleeds."
Edgar took off his glasses, looking tired, and sipped the espresso beside him. As CEO he couldnāt let anyone see him look beaten. If he gave up, the whole room would fall apart.
Luckily he already had a plan.
"Greevs, your turn."
In Edgarās view, that was Greevsā one flaw. He never spoke up first. Maybe it came with being French. Parisians could be a bit reserved and didnāt chase the spotlight. Impressively steady.
Seeing Edgarās calm stare, Ivan knew the man already had an idea. He just wanted to test him.
As all eyes turned to him, Ivan spread his hands with an innocent look. "What does this have to do with Vought? It was all Madelineās doing. We had no idea. Vought is a victim here too."
The whole conference room sucked in a collective breath. Their stares were pure shock mixed with genuine respect. This was what real balls-to-the-wall shamelessness looked like. Twisting facts like a pro.
Pinning everything on a dead woman. Brilliant. She couldnāt exactly climb out of her coffin to argue.
"But from what I know of you, thereās more to it," Edgar said with a genuine smile, his eyes encouraging Ivan to keep going.
Ivan nodded and continued. "Shifting all the blame onto Madeline is just step one. If I remember right, Vought has confidentiality agreements with all those supesā parents. Now that theyāre scrambling to cut ties, we can threaten them with lawsuits.
Force them to tell the media that Madeline was the one who showed up with the NDAs, warning them about massive penalties if they talked. Thatās why they had to claim they knew nothing about Compound V."
"Second, we paint ourselves as the victims. Have The Seven come forward and denounce Madeline publicly. At the same time, promise the public that Vought will only use Compound V legally and responsibly. Weāre willing to give kids from poor families a real shot at changing their lives. If the government wants to call Compound V illegal,
weāll release proof that the military has been using it too."
"On top of that, Vought will set up charitable daycare centers, elementary schools, high schools, and even universities. Weāll only accept supes and offer generous scholarships to kids from low-income families..."
"Wait, I have a question," Rush Franko interrupted, raising his hand.
Ivan smiled and motioned for him to speak.
"But Vought canāt afford to support that many supes. And is dumping that much money really necessary? Itāll tank our profits. The shareholders will never agree. Plus, how do we stop Compound V from leaking? From what I know, itās extremely damaging to adults."
Rushās concerns got nods from everyone else. They all wanted to hear how Ivan planned to handle these issues.
Even Edgar thought Ivan was biting off way too much. The immediate priority was fixing the PR disaster, not turning Compound V into something for the masses.
The risks were way too high. It wasnāt necessary at all.
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