I opened by stating that all the allegations against me were false and that the intention of the Nations prosecution team was to assassinate my character. I further explained that Edom Group had been approached by the authorities, requesting access to our client database for reasons they refused to disclose. We had declined this request, explaining that there was no legal precedent, and Edom Group was bound by a nondisclosure agreement. Edom Group’s refusal to cooperate had garnered a barrage of harassment by various branches of government. There had been unwarranted office visits, unnecessary surveillance, and insurmountable audits. I concluded by saying their actions against us were a personal vendetta on the part of the prosecution as well as the judge.
These were all lies, of course, a ploy to restore my clean image. The request for Edom Group’s client list never happened, neither were there any office visits or unusual audits.
Sewing doubt in the minds of the media and the general public would improve my chances of making things right with my clients. It also put the spotlight on the prosecutor and judge, which would motivate them to run a clean trial. The press had no way of proving any of this anyway—information about the government’s operations was classified, and all they could do was deny my accusations. Joe confirmed Section 10-6(B) of the UNEA Law Enforcement & Investigatory Act prevents the government from divulging such information to the public. The evidence and findings derived from investigations, on the other hand, are made available to the public upon request.
I told the press I appreciated all the work they were doing, and I trusted they would use sound judgment and carry out responsible journalism when reporting my case. I asked the press to respect my privacy and that of my family. I closed my speech by introducing and handing over to my PR spokesperson.
There would be loads of fluff strategically scattered all over social media. There would be ads praising my personal contributions to schools and charities. There would also be publicity around the work Edom Group does with students and interns across the Nations. All this to show the public how much of a nice guy I was and how much involvement Edom Group had in the community.
Later that afternoon we landed in Albany. We arrived at the Royal Scepter where I, Joe, Alex, and Chris would meet with the Assembly. After the meeting, everyone would be dismissed, and there would be a second meeting between me, the CSOs, and the tech guru. Alex had made the necessary arrangements to get the tech guy to Albany to sort out the tracking bracelet conundrum. Joe would not be attending the second meeting.
The Royal Scepter was a luxurious hotel where you would find only the elite of the elite. Sheiks, emirs, and AU dignitaries. Members of various royal families from across the globe also frequented the hotel. The owner and I are close friends, and he made sure one of the presidential suites was always reserved for me. I owned a couple of properties in Albany, but I often opted to stay at the hotel suite. Sometimes after meetings, clients would visit Edom Group’s headquarters, which was only a couple of miles from the hotel.
I never held internal meetings at the Royal Scepter, but this time it was necessary. The building was the most secure of any location we’d ever used. Everyone was informed about the meeting at the last minute, and they were all flown in via hired private jets. My friend, the hotel owner, Geoffrey Livingston, got his people to prepare the suite and the conference room before I arrived. The CSOs sent the sweep team ahead of our arrival to carry out rigorous checks. Once the checks had been done, a security team was dispatched to the location. A couple of guys were posted at the suite entrance, another four at all entrances to the conference room, and two inside the conference room. There were a few other guys dressed inconspicuously that were dotted around the venue, keeping an eye on everything and everyone. In total, there were fifteen trained men carrying concealed weapons. This didn’t include the four men that formed my personal security detail, who were also armed and highly trained. Call it paranoia, but you don’t get to my position without gaining an enemy or two. No one has ever made an attempt on my life, but one can never be too careful.
Only the lawyer and the CSOs knew when and where the meetings were going to take place. Not even the tech guy knew where he was going. Alex showed up at the guy’s apartment, told him to put on a suit and come with him. Alex told the guy that his services were required and he would be paid five hundred thousand credits for the consult. Alex informed me that he had spoken with the tech guy on the way to Albany, and the guy had the perfect solution for the bracelet problem. This was music to my ears: it meant that I would be able to travel without anyone knowing my movements.
Slipping out of the UNEA was now a possibility. It was highly likely that I would be tailed by plainclothes enforcers for the duration of the trial, but this didn’t matter. They could only follow me on land and at sea—no one would be able to trail me in the air. Air traffic laws required a specific amount of distance between aircrafts flying within a given airspace, and this distance wasn’t sufficient for tailing another aircraft. Tracking my private jet would be impossible because we would instruct the pilot to switch of trackable comms, and flight transmitters
