“Hey!” Austin’s voice in particular cut through the din and Samuel looked up briefly, taking his eyes off of the stairs he was running down and catching sight of Austin just about to slam into a camera crew. “Hey!” Austin repeated. “We’ve got a story for you. We’ve got a proper statement.”
“What?” The producer of the crew asked, looking at her main camera man who had his gear switched off for the time being, but looked ready to film in an instant. “Who are you? What are you talking about?”
“We’ve got the official statement from head office,” Austin explained, his mannerisms changing slightly as he answered the question with the professionalism he had been taught to use. “This is Samuel,” he paused for a second as Samuel caught up and Austin dug his surname out of the back of his brain. “Westchester. He’s the head of marketing and he’s got a statement to give you.”
“Is that true?” The producer asked, looking sceptically at Samuel who stood in front of her catching his breath, his shirt half untucked from the sprint downstairs. “We need answers from the very top, or this building is going to go up in smoke before you know it.”
“Yes,” Samuel nodded. “That’s where we’ve come from,” he held out his hand to shake, though it wasn’t accepted by anyone. Glancing at the floor they had reached, he was certain his access pin would let them inside. “Let’s get off the stairs, and I’ll tell you exactly what’s happened.”
Having no idea where this strange confidence was coming from, Samuel keyed in his access code to the sixth floor and held the door open for Austin and the three-person news team. More footsteps were thundering up to them as he shut the door, shuddering as he remembered the run in with the two thugs and their crowbar from the day before. Things quieted slightly for the five of them there, the producer looking at both Samuel and Austin expectantly.
“Well?” She asked. “What have you got for us?”
Chapter 17
Samuel stood in front of the camera and quivered. He still didn’t know how he had got himself into this predicament, but he knew there was nothing for it now but to speak and tell the world the truth. He looked to the producer, Sandy, who was stood just to the left of the camera, counting him down silently. Every second that one of her fingers disappeared, Samuel felt the patch of sweat on the small of his back grow larger and larger. This was it. He was going to be live in three, two, one…
“Err, hello,” he started, immediately regretting his opening choice of words. Thankfully as his eyes drifted to Sandy, he saw her offering him an encouraging nod, spurring him on to tell the public the truth. It was exactly what he needed and with a burst of his newfound courage, Samuel continued.
“My name is Samuel Westchester and I am coming to you live from the Trident HQ in New York City. I have worked for Trident for almost twenty years and currently hold the position of Head of Marketing, a job I have loved with all my heart for several years now. I understand that everyone is confused and angered by what has happened, and I hope that I can shed some light on the situation and tell you all the truth about it.
“The truth is,” Samuel paused, this next bit taking a lot more effort to actually say out loud. “All the money is gone.” He paused again, letting the magnitude of what he had said sink in. It was strange addressing so many people and yet only delivering his speech to four of them and a camera. All he could hope was that what he was about to say made some difference in the world. If it did nothing else, knowing the truth would at least give people a solid ground to base their actions on.
“Trident has been hacked by an unknown entity which we believe to be located outside of the United States. The current number for what we have lost is unknown, but it is believed to be somewhere in the area of several trillion dollars. We have a team that are working on tracking down the culprit of this cyber attack, but whether that is actually possible or not is still unclear.
“What we do know is that this isn’t just going to go away overnight. We – the United States of America – will be without funding for the indefinite future. The government,” Samuel paused once more, this being the part of the speech he was the least confident about. Thankfully Austin and the camera crew were all nodding along, the producer showing him two thumbs up and it was just enough to keep him going. He was almost done. Just a few more lines and then he could get out of there.
“The government,” he repeated, “is doing everything that it can to help us. But in truth, that just isn’t enough. Unless we can get aid from another global superpower, the US will be plunged into a recession like nothing we’ve ever experienced before. In fact, we’re already basically there. I can’t speak for the long-term effects of this disaster, but I urge everyone to do what they can to help their fellow Americans. There is no turning back from this now, we need to look forward and do everything we can to survive. The money may be gone, but our humanity doesn’t have to be. Thank you.”
Heaving a huge sigh of relief, Samuel pressed a hand to his chest, feeling his heart pounding away inside it. That had been the
