Sorry for the short Chapter😵
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As the heads of Public Relations and the other departnts filed in, the ergency eting kicked off.
At the sa ti, 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 yacht’s 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 didn’t give a fuck about the cops. The second he saw Mouse jump into the sea and disappear, he slamd 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 ss, she couldn’t send backup. She told Butcher to handle it himself, catch Kengi again, and deliver him to the CIA’s 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 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, couldn’t stand Edgar’s death stare any longer and spoke up.
"The negative press against Vought is snowballing. The CIA has already filed criminal charges. We probably can’t change the story at this point. All we can do is limit the damage, but that’s going to cost serious money and so hefty political donations."
Keith was politely suggesting a big bribe to silence the dia, then leaning on governnt 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 wasn’t what Edgar wanted to hear.
"Frank, let’s hear your thoughts." Edgar turned to Rush Franko, head of Marketing.
Rush looked uneasy. "Keith’s idea won’t cut it. The story blew up this fast because the governnt is backing it. I reached out to the network presidents and their deputies. They didn’t spell it out, but it’s obvious the U.S. governnt 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. We’re the only story in Arica. Shifting people’s attention sowhere else is almost impossible."
"What if I leak so celebrity dirt? Tax evasion or sothing? Test the waters?" Keith Kirk coughed nervously.
"Stop wasting ti. 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 couldn’t 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 Edgar’s view, that was Greevs’ one flaw. He never spoke up first. Maybe it ca with being French. Parisians could be a bit reserved and didn’t chase the spotlight. Impressively steady.
Seeing Edgar’s 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 Madeline’s 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 shalessness looked like. Twisting facts like a pro.
Pinning everything on a dead woman. Brilliant. She couldn’t exactly climb out of her coffin to argue.
"But from what I know of you, there’s more to it," Edgar said with a genuine smile, his eyes encouraging Ivan to keep going.
Ivan nodded and continued. "Shifting all the bla onto Madeline is just step one. If I rember right, Vought has confidentiality agreents with all those supes’ parents. Now that they’re scrambling to cut ties, we can threaten them with lawsuits.
Force them to tell the dia that Madeline was the one who showed up with the NDAs, warning them about massive penalties if they talked. That’s why they had to claim they knew nothing about Compound V."
"Second, we paint ourselves as the victims. Have The Seven co forward and denounce Madeline publicly. At the sa ti, promise the public that Vought will only use Compound V legally and responsibly. We’re willing to give kids from poor families a real shot at changing their lives. If the governnt wants to call Compound V illegal,
we’ll release proof that the military has been using it too."
"On top of that, Vought will set up charitable daycare centers, elentary schools, high schools, and even universities. We’ll only accept supes and offer generous scholarships to kids from low-inco families..."
"Wait, I have a question," Rush Franko interrupted, raising his hand.
Ivan smiled and motioned for him to speak.
"But Vought can’t afford to support that many supes. And is dumping that much money really necessary? It’ll tank our profits. The shareholders will never agree. Plus, how do we stop Compound V from leaking? From what I know, it’s extrely damaging to adults."
Rush’s 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 imdiate priority was fixing the PR disaster, not turning Compound V into sothing for the masses.
The risks were way too high. It wasn’t necessary at all.
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Read 12 Advance Chapters—P@t- Captain69
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