"What about the media?" Prescott said.
Hello, Alex thought, bring it on!
"Well, what about it?" Kramer probed.
"We could work with the media on this; try to control the stock price using the media."
"Bold," Walker said. "How are you planning on driving the stock price down using the media?"
"I did not say that, not now, not ever! Stop putting words in my mouth!" Prescott rose, filled with anger. "You were talking about not letting the stock go too low, and that's what I responded to. How do we stop the stock price from dropping using the media? Publish favorable articles, and so on."
The others nodded their approval. Walker sat there, grim and silent.
"Definitely worth keeping in mind," Kramer said. Whatever happens, we shouldn't sit idle and let the stock price collapse through the floor. "I mean, even if we can't gain control of the company, we should still make sure we're thinking long term on this, especially considering that all of us have already invested significant amounts of cash."
"All right, then we're set." Walker rose, giving the signal for the meeting to adjourn.
Everyone started to make his or her way through the door.
"Can you stay behind for a few minutes? I'd like to speak with you," Walker said, touching Prescott's arm.
"Sure," she replied. Walker waited for the others to exit, and then closed the door. He stood there silently for a few seconds, then, without any warning, turned and grabbed Prescott by her lapels, slamming her against the wall. He grabbed her wrists and held them together above her head with one hand, leaning heavily against her body, and grabbed her chin with his other hand. Prescott gasped.
"Do not ever talk back to me again," he growled near her face, "not ever again! Understood?"
Prescott nodded slightly, opposing no resistance to the attack. She could have tried to fight him and at least get out of that corner and into the plain sight offered by the conference room glass wall. Walker had picked his spot carefully. Next to the door, an entire section of the wall was hidden from the outside hallway.
Walker squeezed her wrists harder, making her close her eyes and give a quiet whimper of pain. He leaned against her body with his massive weight, pressing his thigh against her pelvis with a vicious, lustful thrust.
"You'll get what's coming to you for this, bitch!" He abruptly released her and walked out, slamming the door behind him.
Alex had covered her mouth with her hand, to suppress any sound she could have made. She couldn't believe such things happened in an office environment. She felt frustrated in her inability to intervene and stop the abuse. She felt tempted to get out of her hiding place and help Angela. She thought best to stay put, though. The time would come for all this mess to be exposed and addressed in her final report.
Angela still stood there, leaning against that wall. Slowly, she began to recompose, arranging her clothing, checking her hair to see if everything was in order. In doing so, she turned slightly toward the AV closet, allowing Alex to see the expression on her face. Angela Prescott was smiling, the aroused smile of an anticipating lover.
…50
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, I am Stephanie Wainwright, live from the News of the Hour studios, here in New York. Our guest for this evening is Major Darrell Montgomery, spokesperson for the United States Air Force. Welcome, major; thank you for joining us tonight."
"Thank you for having me," Montgomery answered.
"I am hoping you can help us shed some light into last week's tragedy in Florida. What a disaster!"
"Indeed. We are deeply saddened by this unfortunate incident. The United States Air Force is taking this matter seriously. We have launched an in-depth investigation into the incident, looking at all possible angles—"
"Tell me about these drones," Stephanie interrupted. "How safe are they? Why are we using them?"
"The Air Force has deployed drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles, for the purpose of increasing the safety of the military personnel, pilots, other crew, and also for the increased safety of ground operations. Even if a UAV should crash, having a smaller mass, there is less damage generated on the ground by the crash. Our pilots are safe, operating the UAVs from safe locations, such as airbases on US land or from our allies' territories. There is significantly less risk to their lives."
"How many drones have crashed since you began their deployments? And when was that? When did the first drone fly?"
"The first drone was primitive and was developed by the British in the 1930s. It was radio controlled."
"Really? I had no idea this concept was so old."
"Yes, that's right. The concept has been around for a while. During World War II, more experimental drones were flown, but, unfortunately, not by us or by our allies. Some specialists think that the Nazis were ahead of us in this technology back then, flying what is commonly known as the V-1, long-range missile, which was a drone carrying a bomb."
"Interesting," Stephanie commented.
"Then, in the 1960s, we started more intensive research here, in the United States, flying thousands of drone flights — mostly target and surveillance. But the drones didn't become what they are today until the mid-1990s."
"So, a long history, I see. How about their safety record? Any notable incidents in the past?"
"None worth mentioning, no. The key point in the favor of utilizing drones is their safety."
"And their low cost, let's not forget," Stephanie added, sarcastically.
"And their cost, definitely. But this low cost is driven by the safety of their operations. No deaths. No pilots captured by the enemy. No wounded."
"So, in the entire history of their operation, has a drone ever been responsible before for loss of human life here, at home?"
"None whatsoever."
"How about abroad? Have drones been responsible for civilian deaths abroad?"
"In recent years, a couple of incidents abroad have claimed drone involvement, with minimal conformation."
"But, just this April, in Kandahar, a Canadian patrol was attacked by a United States UAV, in what was then reported as a friendly fire incident, isn't that right?"
"Yes, that was what was reported. However, the investigation in this case is still underway."
"So, you're saying it wasn't our drone that killed those Canadians?"
"Quite the opposite, unfortunately. We were able to confirm that it was ours, but these are preliminary results, so I wouldn't call this a confirmed incident, because we are still investigating."
"Well, were all drones in the area accounted for? How about all ordnance? Any Hellfire missiles missing from your inventory?" Stephanie's voice was filling with sarcasm, as she kept asking the logical questions.
"It's not as simple as that," Major Montgomery tried to explain; "it's not an issue of counting the Hellfires."
"Well, seems to me it should be, if someone really wants to get to the bottom of this."
"The investigation into what happened with the Canadian patrol in Kandahar in April is still underway. We're exploring different angles. We are looking at all our drones deployed in the area — their operators, their flight plans — to get a better understanding of what happened. We're examining all circumstances of the incident.