“You nervous, boss?” asked Rocky as he maneuvered the golf cart toward the warehouse.
Sinclair pressed his hand down on his knee, stopping the shaking. “I’m fine.”
“You’ll do great, sir.”
Sinclair managed a smile as he glanced at his head of security. Two more guards rode on the back. And while Sinclair felt safe from any attack, he’d never felt more vulnerable than when he was on stage. He hated making public appearances when he was the center of attention. It was much easier to control things from backstage, much like one of his favorite characters in literature, the Wizard of Oz. But there was a time when a leader had to step into the spotlight, and Sinclair’s moment was now.
As they drove past the long line of journalists anxiously awaiting the doors to open, Sinclair could feel the energy. He could see their sense of anticipation. Many of them held up their cell phones, capturing footage of Sinclair while he rode past them. He waved and gave a thumbs up signal as they rounded the corner of the building and headed to the back entrance.
Rocky and the other two guards escorted Sinclair backstage where he prepared to make his remarks. A short woman wearing a headset handed him a bottle of water as well as a schedule.
“Here you go, Mr. Sinclair,” she said. “Everything will get started in about fifteen minutes.”
“Can I inspect the Freedom Home one more time?” he asked.
“Be my guest,” she said, gesturing toward the door leading to the stage. “The curtains are still drawn and will remain that way until you signal for us to raise them.”
“Brilliant,” he said before heading toward the structure.
He walked through the house and checked out every major function to ensure that he would not be embarrassed with a faulty device. All he wanted to hear were glowing articles written and reports shared about how Freedom Homes were going to revolutionize the world. He’d gained some traction with the reports out of New Orleans and how they kept people inside safe and fed for a few days in the aftermath of the Zeus Chemical leak. But that hadn’t moved the needle like he’d hoped. Not even the marketing campaign of giving away houses in a lottery for everyone who’d downloaded the app managed to generate much buzz.
Sinclair rubbed his hand over the light fixture, the secret to hiding the cameras. They were virtually undetectable with even the best technology used to sweep rooms for bugs.
Perfect.
Once he finished his inspection, he returned to the green room and awaited his introduction. Rocky stood near the doorway and nodded at Sinclair.
“This is your time to shine, sir,” Rocky said.
“I appreciate the pep talk, Rocky,” Sinclair said, “but don’t worry. Even if I flop today, you’ll still have a job. Plenty of people still hate me.”
“We’ve got your back.”
The event’s producer poked her head into the room. “Mr. Sinclair?”
“Yes,” he said as he stood.
“It’s time.”
She led him back to his spot in the wings and waited for his introduction to end. When the woman on stage finished, she turned in his direction.
“Let’s give a warm welcome to Mr. Falcon Sinclair,” she said.
The crowd applauded with a smattering of whoops and cheers in support of Sinclair. He strode onto the stage and placed his speech on the lectern before raising his hands to silence the audience. He gripped the side of it and glanced down at his speech before beginning.
“As the world has grown, so has its instability,” Sinclair said. “In an age where technology has transformed our way of living, it has remained fundamentally stagnant for the past twenty years. Instead of using new innovations to help address global issues like poverty or hunger, companies have used advancements to line their pockets. But what if you can meld the desire to be profitable as a business while also addressing the issues of our day that have created a widening gap between the haves and have-nots?”
He took a sip of water and then continued.
“Now, you might find it somewhat tiresome for someone like myself to call attention to these things, but I’m not hoarding my wealth for my family. No, I’m wanting to reinvest it into the world. And that brings us to the point of today’s presentation. I want to show you firsthand how our Falcon Enterprises’ new Freedom Homes work as well as give you a chance to explore one for yourself.”
He nodded at the producer in the wings. A second later, the curtains parted and revealed the interior of one of his Freedom Homes.
Sinclair continued his speech, ambling from one room to the next while pointing out the various features of the room. He could hear the responses from the journalists as they oohed and ahhed at some of the things he demonstrated for them. If Sinclair could’ve walked off the stage at that moment, he would have. The Freedom Home demo had done all the talking that needed to be done. But he needed to show them one final detail.
However, he never had the chance.
The lights went out and then images started flashing up on the screen above his Freedom Home. He looked up and gasped in horror as the lights fell dark. Pyrotechnics exploded at the back of the room. Some people in the crowd started screaming before everyone stormed toward the exits.
Sinclair decided to join them. But he didn’t get far before a gag went into his mouth and two pairs of strong hands took hold of his arms and dragged him away.
CHAPTER 48
HAWK DROVE THE SUV out of the Paramount Studios backlot, giving a friendly wave to the guard as they left. Blunt rode shotgun, while Black sat in the back with Falcon Sinclair. Aside from occasional grunts from Sinclair,
