Chapter 305
Chapter 305: Press Conference
“Where is Matt? I haven’t seen him in forever.” As soon as Ashton popped this question Melanie looked at him with amusement. “Really? You have no idea?” She was amused. Ashton puckered his lips in confusion but shook his head nonetheless.
“No... should I”? Ashton wondered out loud.
“I guess you are not that aware of a lot of things,” Melanie chuckled. “He is in his wife’s pack. She just gave birth so they are staying at hers for now. There was some problem with the pregnancy so it is for the better if they stay there.”
“Are you close to them?” Ashton asked.
“Yeah. I mean, I am Matt and Caleb’s friend”. She shrugged. “You got this? Or you need more help?” She asked.
“I think I got this.” Ashton nodded. “You can go do your job, I’ll handle things here.” Ashton declared, allowing her to leave for the day. It was around evening when Ashton got a reminder on his phone about the press conference. There was still an hour to go so he decided to link Caleb.
At first he saw a bunch of files filled with paperwork but soon Caleb was aware of Ashton’s presence in his head. [Ashton? Do you need something?]
.....
[I just wanted to ask you whether or not did you find anything?] Ashton asked. [Press conference is in an hour] he added.
[Well, nothing as of sort] Caleb shrugged. [Since it’s close to the weekend the labs are running a bit slow. But I have contacted the forensics to speed up. The earliest they can get back to me is tomorrow morning.] Caleb replied.
[Okay...] Ashton sighed. [good luck]
[You too] and with that both of them let go of that link. The press conference was to be held at city hall which was situated a little far from the pack premises. Ashton went to Christian’s office, reminding him of the same and they both headed for the city hall together in Christian’s car.
“You look tense.” Halfway down their quiet ride, Christian noticed.
“Not really.” Ashton denied. “I am just wondering what could you say that would calm down the people.”
“Probably nothing.” Christian’s shrugged. “Until and unless this case is solved for the better or worse, there is no calming them down.”
“So what’s the point of us doing this?” Ashton asked.
“It’s just my response to the position I hold in the city.” Christian declared. “In doing so, I not only hold onto my position of power, but also might be able to influence many individuals into believing that we have things under control. I wanna propose some of the safety protocols that might make the people calmer.” he shrugged.
“I see.” Ashton nodded. Later on, he had also informed Christian of what Caleb told him not only regarding the closed labs, but also having found some human DNA that belonged to Ashton.
“Don’t worry.” Christian shrugged. “We’ll find a way to save your ass.” Ashton shook his head and sighed. “We are here.” Christian declared as soon as he stepped in the premises of the city hall. He parked the car and got out. The reporters were all seated in the hall and taking the back exit, Christian and Ashton walked in. It was a miracle that neither of them got ambushed by any reports on their way to the hall.
As soon as Christian reached the stage (while Ashton stood back, trying his best to watch and learn how this whole thing works) all the cameras, all the lights and all the attention of the reporters was on Christian. “Good evening everyone.” Christian began, “As many of you know that there had been some gruesome incidents occurring in Crescent Point that have instilled fear in many of our people, rightfully so. Our police had been working day and night to solve these crimes with as much resources as possible.
While the danger is still lurking out there, I would like to remind you all to not lose calm in the moment of crisis and have faith in the police that they can do their work. Meanwhile, you can help us by ensuring your own safety as you go. For now, I would suggest not going out in a group less than three after dusk and contact us immediately if something is wrong.
Which brings me to the next part of my business. On our website, we have published a hotline number that you call if anything goes wrong. Or if you have any information regarding these incidents. I welcome everyone to stand together in this moment of crisis, and help each other, help our police to overcome these trying times.” Christian finished. “You may ask me if you have any questions.”
Some of the reporters were agitated until one of them asked, “What’s the purpose of the hotline? Even if someone calls them, it would require them to sacrifice themselves, because by the time police arrive the deed would already be done. Is that what you’re suggesting?”
“The hotline is created for any tip regarding this case.” Christian declared. “Under no circumstances would I advise any individual of Crescent Point to jeopardize their own life. This community must be as safe as possible.” he added. “As for going after dusk. I would prefer if no one went out after dusk, but in this era, everyone has jobs and stuff so it is a bit unreasonable to ask that. However, I would still suggest that if you can, stay in for the time being,”
“And how long would that be”? The same reporter asked.
“With our police working their best, we can expect that we won’t have to maintain all these for long.” Christain declared. There were some more questions asked to him, some that even challenged his credibility as a mayor and somehow Christian still managed to divert the answers to the questions in such a way that he could convince anyone that they are gonna be okay. Clearly Christian was good with all this political stuff.
After an hour or so, the press conference was over after which Ashton and Christian headed towards their respective destinations. Ashton decided to drop by at his mother’s while Christian decided to spend one last night with his mate before Sebastian was gone for shooting his show in a whole different state.