"Hello this is Amber Riley with Channel 7 news, thank you for tuning in today. We have another special guest here…Jessica King, of Masrani Global. Jessica. Thank you very much for coming on to the show tonight. America has had many questions regarding the Mesozoic Project."
Jessica waved at the audience, and the camera beyond as she smiled broadly. She was dressed in a sleek pantsuit, fashionable, and yet professional enough to illustrate the company she was representing well. She took a seat, leaning on the chair, as she crossed her legs.
"I am very pleased to be here," she replied as she would settle herself in. There was a pause. "Oh I know. I understand just how important our mission at the Mesozoic project is, and I said before, we are always looking to be as transparent as possible."
"So, let's get the elephant in the room addressed. You got a Trex two days ago. A Trex. I had no idea there was even something that big still around." Amber seemed suitably impressed, which of course was the point.
Jessica nodded, shrugging her shoulders. "Yes. Thank you for bringing that up. I have to thank our team of experts in wrangling the beast," As she spoke, the television screen showed the Rex being lowered onto a tractor trailer, as it would be restrained. It was remarkable what you could do with special effects these days.
Particularly, she thought, that video of the Rex walking to the trailer probably was too much. Certainly not anything that she was ready to reveal yet. The chips had worked like a charm, these chips being much stronger than the normal one used in the Raptors. Granted, she had been willing to have it be tranquilized if it had not immediately been hit.
"So there's been a furor of public questioning over where an animal like this would even go. Relocation for something of this magnitude I can imagine might be out of the question…"
"No…that is right actually. I can't let anything slip by you can I?" Jessica laughed as she would share in the merriment with Amber. She had planned for this moment, working over how this was going to go down. As it turned out, it actually might be somewhat easier. She had opened the doors to this earlier, and now she would seize this chance. "No. You're right. The Rex isn't being relocated…she's going to a private reserve. The one that I was talking about earlier."
There was a stir in the audience as she adjusted her seat. "Yes. She will be the first animal in the refuge. There, she will get to live out her life in peace and contentment, without any danger to people." Well, that last part was true enough anyway, that it would be kept away from people.
But she had Amber's attention as she sensed that this would no doubt bring in viewers to the show. Which was the point of all this too, this song and dance. Jessica King had been doing public relations for long enough to know how to weave a story, spin it so that the public would hear what they needed to hear, see what they needed to see.
"So is this reserve something that will ever be open to the public?" The woman said it, of course she did. The important thing here was that it was not something directly said, as she would want to not make it look to overt what she was doing.
"You know. Never say never. There are no plans at this time…so far we are still working on logistics for this. Figuring things out step by step. We really do want to be as open as we can here." She was not repeating herself, rather she was rephrasing, that was the word, as she saw how the audience was responding to what they said.
It was something which had crossed her mind though. Sooner rather than later, it would be addressed. "I see…you have to keep something up your sleeve. So let's move on. The raptor squad. I saw there's a new Raptor in town. Tell us about the new one. I see there's already a lot of chatter about this 'Beta'. A baby raptor? That's pretty…new."
The screen behind them would flicker to show the picture of Beta, as Jessica nodded along, hands folded neatly on her lap.
"Beta is our newest recruit yes, she's been coming along wonderfully," she smiled, showing her teeth. It was perfectly natural for people to be curious about that. "The others have taken to her naturally. Blue in particular- you should see how protective she is." At least that was what Cooper had given her in the reports.
She was certainly no expert, but she knew well enough to take what she was given. There was enough given to be able to reconstruct something that would play well. So far, she had done a great job of that.
"She certainly does seem energetic. Although I have to ask. Where did you find her? It is my understanding that finding a Juvenile raptor is pretty rare right?" Indeed, it was tricky, unless you knew what you were doing.
"Yes. It is pretty rare. We have done our best at tracking populations, but nesting sites themselves remain elusive." That was also true, it was difficult. These animals, they seemed to know just where to go in order to remain unseen and hidden. The fact of the matter was that most people did not feel inclined to go looking for these things.
Not anymore at least. Everyone knew the things that had happened to these early intrepid seekers. A lesson for later generations to be sure. Thankfully Amber seemed to accept that, as she would clear her throat. The other elephant in the room, no doubt she thought.
"You've been a most gracious guest, Ms. King. Now. I know that it's difficult to bring this up now, but I do have to ask you what the Mesozoic Project has been doing in regards to public safety. The reason why you had to replace raptor trainers." She cleared her throat, as if it were something uncomfortable to bring up. Which it was.
Not that Jessica was unprepared though, as she would put on a serious face, it was almost like changing clothes, really. She sighed deeply, looking down at the ground, and then back up at Amber's face. Her previous smile gone now.
"I…wish I could say that things are back to normal. That…what happened there shook our company, made us realize that there are things that we could have done so much better. I wish to apologize to all the people that we let down there. Especially to the families of Mr. Jameson and Ms. Batson. They deserved so much more"
If it looked convincing, it was because she'd practiced it many times. Even reaching into her lap, and wiping her eyes, was subtly done to press a tiny vial of eye saline, creating what could look like convincing tear drops. Yes, it was unprofessional to cry on television, but the rules were relaxed just a bit when an attractive woman did it. She looked up, eyes looking slightly red as her face fell, the picture of contrition.
"That was the incident that told us just what we needed to change, to reform. There's so many things really…but first of all, public safety." She was leading into it, this was the perfect chance after all. Using this incident to be able to spread this agenda. Masrani might be the CEO, but she was the public mouthpiece.
She straightened herself up, still making sure that her posture was enough that could be seen as 'vulnerable'. Speaking softly, she spoke in a voice almost confidential, not like they were talking on national television. "Rest assured. The families affected will receive every bit of our support." They had already paid out a substantial settlement- but it was within the bounds of what they were willing to pay. Much, much less than she had been planning to pay.
At the least, she was glad Claire was still alive. She could still be useful. "We did an internal investigation. Unfortunately, it was Mr. Grady's decision to go out there and give the interview." Actually it had been hers, but she was the bigger voice right now, with the bigger platform. She suspected that she would be heard…in ways that he couldn't, as she saw the host nod, taking it all in.
"So. I know that when you gave the press conference, you mentioned to reporters that Grady had trained the raptors from a young age. Why did he choose to go alone with Dearing?" She was asking the questions now, not the right ones of course, but the ones that Jessica was steering her towards.
Goddamn, she was so gullible, as Jessica had sized her up correctly. An eager young thing, wanting to become more than a pretty talking head on a news network filled with stuffed shirts. This was prime material for the taking, and the breaking…
"Yes. For this poor judgement was the reason we suspended him. Indefinitely. I can only assume that Ms. Dearing was simply misinformed of his authorization to go." She smiled again faintly, as she felt she was in a good enough place to quite metaphorically, throw the other woman under the bus. Oh yes, Claire could still be useful, but she would have to be careful just how she utilized her.
Amber nodded, as she would look up, at the timer clock that was just above the camera. "I think we have to break for commercial now, but thank you so much. When we come back we will catch up with Ms. King here for a bit, before we jump onto our next segment. Stay tuned for the latest reports from the Virunga region of the Congo, where the blood diamond trade has recently resurfaced…"
The camera turned away, and Jessica exhaled, the both of them beginning to relax now that the pressure was off of them. Jessica swiveled in her seat, as she looked over at Amber, who was fixing the microphone on her dress. She saw an opportunity fair and square, as she would stand up, seeing the two minute timer that stated when the commercials would begin, as she would lean against the desk. "Hey If you want, I'm free tonight, if you are," she said it smoothly, eyes lighting up at the woman's answering smile in return.
Ricard Levine blinked as he looked up from his beer, the noise of the bar suddenly seeming to cease behind him. He paid his tab, getting his phone out with the other, as he swallowed hard. Not believing what he was seeing there on the television. Until now, he had been certain that this was all random, that the patterns he was seeing were merely another manifestation of chaos. Maybe he was hanging around Malcolm too much, he thought wryly. But all the same, he was calling a number…as he thought. Grady or Dearing…really quick, his mind made that decision for him. The phone rang. "I have a theory. And you're not going to like this one."