apter 159: New York (1)
[Hyde POV]
"Ah. The fresh smell of urine and smog in the morning. It's New York
alright."
Ophelia chuckled as she saw me walking to the balcony.
"It does… stinks a lot." She grimaced slightly. "Also, it's afternoon– Close
the window. The smoke's coming in."
I closed it and walked towards her.
Wearing a comfy robe, she put lotions on her legs as she had just
finished showering.
After I came to the hotel, we messed around for a bit before falling
asleep at breakfast time, while we were eating.
We woke up at 2. Ophelia had to rush to get ready since she has a
magazine shoot and a talk-down interview today.
"Do you want to come with me?" She asked, wrapping her arms around
me from the back as I poured myself some whiskey.
"Can I not?" I replied meekly, turning around and kissed her on the lip.
She widened her eyes, slightly stunned. "Then, why are you here? Don't
tell me you're not here for me!"
She was afraid I came to her for business, and she was only secondary.
I was afraid that I would take the attention away from her if I went to that
interview.I hate to say this to her, but in the Entertainment industry, I was actually
more famous than her.
"I just want to look around the city. You will stay here for a while. I got
three days. I want to know if there's really some gangster loggy-gagging
around the alleys, snapping their fingers and combing their hairs–"
I mimicked the Jets gang from the Happy Days tv show. She burst into
laughter and said, "Why? Do you want to join them?"
"Not join. Lead them. I'm going to make them all have a buzz cut."
"And then, some tattoos?" Ophelia bit her tongue playfully. "Maybe, a
white hood–"
"Not the KKK." I began tickling her. She giggled and tried to tickle me
back, running away slightly.
"Will your name be the Supreme Leader? Kya~"
She fell down on the couch. I jumped on top of her and unleashed a
flurry of kisses to her face.
"If I became a Supreme Leader, I'm not going to marry a red-head, only
a blue-eyed blonde."
She gasped, looking ofended. "I'm blonde!"
"A fake one." I shrugged.
"Shut up. My original hair is blonde!" She giggled and suddenly stopped.
I noticed her robe had opened up. Her disheveled hair and her tempting
gaze made me brought my face closer to hers.
She wrapped her arms around my head and pulled me in close.We made out while touching each other's bodies. Suddenly, I heard a
knock from the door.
We stopped and she asked, "Who is it?"
"It's Camy. I'm going to do your makeup… and I brought your dress too."
I opened the door for the makeup artist. She was startled when she saw
me there.
"Oh– OOOH! Thank god! I thought she was cheating on you." Camy said
with relief.
Ophelia frowned and said, "Hey. You're a spy for him?"
"Definitely. Since he's the one paying me." Camy said cheekily.
"Oh, so you were planning to find someone else?" I turned the heat back
to Ophelia.
Startled, she had a mischievous tint in her eyes before she said, "Yeah.
Some rich billionaires that are dying soon. So I can get all of their money
once they kick the bucket."
"Oh. Nice plan." Camy supported her.
I grimaced and said, "I'm rich too."
"Yeah, but you're young. So–"
I turned to Camy and asked, "How long till she has to get ready?"
"Um. An hour?"
"Then, please come back in an hour. I need to teach her a lesson first."
Camy blushed and left the hotel.Ophelia stood up and said with a baby voice, "So you want to teach little
old me? Maybe a spanking?"
"You're getting a spanking all right."
I took off her robe and caressed her boobs. She licked her lips and
kissed me on the neck.
Then, I slid off my pants. She kneeled on the floor and took out my
throbbing hard dick from my underwear.
"You've unleashed something in me. I really miss this little guy." She
said, stroking my dick slightly.
Then, she spat on it.
"If you miss it so much, why don't you give him a kiss?" I said playfully.
She glared at me, and then thought about it. Then, she slowly inched
forward and put the head on her soft lips.
Her tongue kissed it, but she pulled it back quickly. "Not– not yet. I don't
want to brush my teeth again."
I giggled and helped her back up.
I turned her around and lifted her robe before eating her up. She
moaned hard as I played with her pussy. Her love juice dripped on my
chin.
Then, I put my dick inside of her. She moaned in pleasure while we did it
standing missionary style.
Her eyes were kept on me the whole time. I saw her contorting face and
felt my body burning up even hotter.With every thrust, I dug deep inside of her, which made her body
convulsed.
"Steven! Let it all out! Show me how much you missed me!"
We went to the couch next. She sat on my lap and moved her hips back
and forth while we were kissing.
Then, we did it facing the window.
A full hour almost passed by. Camy began knocking on the door again.
"Hey, are you– done? Can I come in?"
Ophelia laid down on the couch, naked with her legs sprawled slightly,
cums overflowing her sweaty body, staining her face and her stomach.
She said with her mind barely returning to her. "Come on in."
"No, we should get cleaned up first."
…
She barely made it to the interview.
After the photoshoot, she had to go to the TV station for a late night
show interview.
I walked around alone in New York and visited some of the popular spots
there. I even checked out the live music scene to see if there was a
potential talent to be taken under the label.
*Snap*
I took pictures of the streets, the buildings, and the overall atmosphere of
the city.While I was taking pictures of a group of cats in an alley, a group of
rough-looking, young Italian guys approached me.
They wore leather jackets and unbuttoned shirts that revealed enough
chest hair to make me wonder if that was some kind of uniform.
"Nice camera," one of them said. "What kind is it?"
"That's rude. I didn't come to you and ask which sewage you crawl out
from." I said, displeased as the cats went away.
"So you're a smart mouth eh."
One had stopped near the entrance of the alley. The other was slowly
walking behind me.
Ah.
I finally understood what was happening. A good old-fashioned mugging.
"Camera. Wallet. Watch. And Camera." The first guy said menacingly.
"Why? No amount of zoom can allow you to take pictures of your tiny
dick."
His friends burst into laughter for a bit.
"So you're a tough guy too? Let see if you can still laugh when I show
you this–"
He took out his gun, but I swiped my hand at him.
It happened quite fast– I put the gun inside my inventory at the point of
contact and pulled it back up to point at his head.
His friends drew their guns at me while he shivered in fear."Tsk. If you don't want your mother to pick up your brain all over the
sidewalk, then ask your friends to throw their guns at my feet?"
"Do–DO IT!" He shouted nervously.
Everyone surrendered immediately. Then, I let them all go.
"Go audition for the Godfather or something you little shits!" I shouted at
them as they scuttered away.
I wasn't going to kill anyone. I just took all of their guns away and scared
them a little.
Then, I walked down the street and went to a pizza place I always
frequented when I was living in New York– in the future, which was my
past… this is getting confusing.
"Joe?"
"Yeah. That's me. What do you want?" The hairy pizza guy asked with
an angry expression. Then, his dad smacked him in the head.
"Is that how you're speaking to a customer?!"
I was taken aback when I saw the young man. When I knew him in the
future, he was already an old pizza shop owner. Now, he's just the
delivery man.
I really missed the taste of the food there. Once I tasted it, I realized it
was the same taste I've been craving for.
I packed up 10 boxes of pizza and then went back to the hotel room.
As I came into the living room, I saw Ophelia having her interview with
the magazine. She finished up quite late according to her schedule.That's why I came back half an hour later, to make sure I didn't stumble
into the interviewers. But, as fate would have it, Ophelia was stuck in
trafic and she gave the interviewers some extra time since she made
him wait.
He stood in front of the door as I entered.
"Are you?" The man widened his eyes, "It is you! The director! Steven
Hyde– Wow, what an honor! I really enjoyed your documentary! And
your films!"
He tried to shake my hand, but I was holding the pizzas.
"Ah–" He pulled his hand back quickly. I put the pizzas down on the rack
nearby and shook his hand properly.
"And you are?"
"Christian. Christian Gale. I work for People magazine"
I nodded and said, "Nice to meet you Christian."
"Mr Hyde– If you have the time– I'd like to interview you for the
magazine. A story like yours, how you climb your way up from the
bottom, is really inspiring–"
I stopped him and said, "I'd do it, but not on her issue, you get what I
mean?"
He had a look of realization and said, "I'll give you my contact number.
Can I have your business card? I'll contact you to set up an interview–
we can meet up if you're still in New York."
His earnestness made it hard for me to reject his request. Although, I
might have to do the interview over the phone.
"Take a pizza."He left with a happy expression, clutching the pizza box with him.
Ophelia got mad and said, "You're stealing my limelight aren't you? Why
don't you do the tv interview too!"
I groaned slightly. Then, she said with a serious voice, "No. For real. Do
that talk show instead of me. I've been feeling queasy ever since I ate
the hot dog in front of the Rockefeller Plaza."
"Ah, street food. It's always a gamble with them."
Camy nodded at my words and said to Ophelia, "I warned you about
them."
"They smell amazing! And I was really hungry!"
"Do you want some medicine?" I asked her.
"You brought one with you? Wait. Where's your suitcase? I didn't think I
saw any."
Yeah cause it was in my inventory.
"Uh–"
"You didn't bring any clothes? What– AH!" She gleamed instantly. "We
should go shopping! Finally!"
There was still a few hours left before the taping of the talk show. It was
recorded in front of a live audience, but the show itself would air the next
day.
I tried to sneak away, but she caught me and said, "We have a couple
hours, let's go shopping right now!"She spent around 300 bucks buying me some clothes. I spent 2000
dollars buying her some new outfits.
At first, she rejected it. But when I reminded her the two films she was in
have made over 100 million dollars at the box ofice, she started picking
the outfits herself.
Her second royalty check gave her over 380,000 dollars. The
promotional tours gave her twenty thousand more.
She was quite loaded since the movie Fading Colors gave her more
royalties percentage.
"Oh look! There's a music shop!" She said, pulling me inside. "We can
get you a new guitar!"
I have one classical guitar back at my house I used to sing for fun.
She wanted to buy me the most expensive guitar at the store. Which
was around 1400 bucks.
It wasn't that expensive at all for our level.
But it gave me quite a lot of looks from the other guys there, scofing and
looking at me condescendingly like I'm a guy who took advantage of
women.
"Why don't you throw in an electric guitar too?" I said, leaning into the
misunderstanding.
At first they were disdainful, but now they were stunned by my audacity.
Some of them were mumbling about how shameless I was being.
"Really? You can shred?" The owner asked with a smirk.
He knew who I was since he watched the car documentary. I showed my
face a lot in that Mustang documentary after all."A little bit."
"Do you want to try it out here? We can find which suits you best."
I nodded and picked up the Gibson.
At first I played the standard rift– taught to me by Eddie Van Halen
himself.
The owner was quite amazed by the performance.
I saw how much Ophelia was enjoying it, so I smirked at her and played
another song– the only song I knew how to play on an electric guitar.
KISS– I Was Made For Loving You.
The crowd inside the shop increased while I played the song using only
the electric guitar.
Ophelia gasped and muttered, "Now I understand what the groupies
feel."
The crowd banged their heads along with the music. As I finished, they
applauded.
"Thank you." I said politely and turned to the owner. "I'll take this one."
Before I left, the owner said, "There's a show here tonight at 8. If you're
feeling up to it–"
"I already have plans. I'm going to a taping for a live tv show."
"Oh." He exclaimed disappointedly.
We went back to the hotel. Ophelia kept kissing me while we were there."By the way, why did you tell me to go to PBS's Dick Caveat instead of
Carson?" Ophelia asked suddenly.
"The level of the interview is higher, you can be seen as more
sophisticated. And he's not afraid of dead air. Also, he's not a son of a
bitch– that I know of."
Countless research had been done for the late night show host back in
Wisconsin. He was the only one I felt safe enough to put my talents into.
But there was a catch. His talk show was similar to a podcast. It means
she has to be witty, has to be charming, and has to be smart all at the
same time.
"Do you need my help?" I asked with a mischievous smirk.
There was a barely perceptible airpod I bought that she could use and I
could feed her all the answers.
But she shook her head and said, "I can't depend on you forever."
I patted her head and said, "So you want to try to face it yourself?"
"Yeah!" She nodded aggressively. Then, she tackled me to the couch.
We went to the recording shortly after.
I sat amongst the live audience while she went up to talk to the talk
show.
They were discussing the issue of marijuana and how school's
intervention didn't work as well as the schools wanted to.
Because Ophelia just graduated from school, she could give a lot of
refreshing insight about the issue.The host also helped with bringing up the movie into the interview, thus
promoting the film to the audience of the show.
She did stumble once or twice, but she quickly pulled herself back up.
"That went really well!" She said excitedly as we met up after the show
ended. "He didn't bring up the scandal like the other interviewers."
There were a few leaks about her staying in my house in the
Entertainment industry. Also, the fact that we were covered in the Point
Place newspaper didn't help.
Although she had navigated through it by changing the subject, the topic
still hadn't died down.
…
The next day, we woke up feeling quite sore from the fun we had last
night.
We didn't go to the club or anything, just went to dinner together and
went back to the hotel room to fool around.
Suddenly, the phone rang. I picked it up and waited for the other guy to
speak.
"Hello. Miss Ophelia Benson's room? I'm a representative from Avon. Do
you have some time to speak about a potential partnership?"
"How did you get the number?" I asked, skeptical.
"From Jonathan. I'm actually at the hotel lobby if you want to meet.
Precisely, a meeting with Miss Benson."
The subtle authoritative and demanding tone caused some alarms inside
my brain.Even though Avon was a giant conglomerate, it's the 70s. Anyone could
claim they were from a major company as it was hard to get
confirmation.
"Who's that?" Ophelia asked.
"Someone claiming he's from Avon. I'm going to confirm it with Jonathan
first."
When I talked to Jonathan who was drinking cofee with Donnie– the
male actor who's also on his promotional tour, he told me he never
contacted anyone from Avon before.
"So, a fixer– most likely."
I went to the restaurant alone and saw the guy waiting for me at the bar.
He was in his 40s, wearing a luxury designer suit and a Rolex, subtly
flexing his wealth by drinking the most expensive drink there.
"Hey. Are you the rep from Avon?" I asked him.
He grinned and stood up from the bar stool. "That's me. Where is Miss
Benson? Is she coming?"
"No."
"Then we have nothing to talk about." He scofed and sat back down.
"I'm going out of my way here to give her the contract. If she doesn't
want to, I'm just going to give the million dollar contract to someone
else."
"Alright then. May you find a good person to become the rep." I said and
left quickly.Bafled, he held my shoulder and stopped me. "Wait! Are you being
serious? Do you know what kind of opportunity this is?"
"It's just a million dollars. It's not really a loss for her. Besides, it also
protects her from scammers and sex-traficers like you."
"What–" He widened his eyes, shocked. "I'm not a scammer! I told
Jonathan–"
"Jonathan is also here. He doesn't know you. No one does."
"Wait! Let me just meet with her! I can solve all of the
misunderstanding–"
The security came to the bar and immediately escorted him away.
"Do you know who I am!? Let go of me! I'm going to sue all of you!"
I held his shoulder and stealthily put a small 2075 tracker with a
microphone function underneath his collar.
"Well, you can try."
He was stunned. Then, he thrashed around, trying to escape, but
couldn't. He kept shouting as he was being kicked out of the hotel.
"I have to increase the security around here. I don't think one bodyguard
is enough."
Chapter 160: New York (2)
[Hyde POV]Ophelia's place of residence was kept a secret while she was visiting
New York.
Only a few parties knew about it.
Her own people, the magazine, and the hotel.
There weren't any leaks from our side. None of my people– except
Jonathan, have connections to the people in New York, so they couldn't
sell the information even if they wanted to.
I have already screened out Camy's background. She graduated beauty
school with a glowing resume, and she didn't want to draw any attention
to herself despite being obsessed with showing other's beautiful sides.
The bodyguard, an ex-marine named Brody, was a quiet man and he
was an extremely loyal person.
I helped his mother with some heart conditions– paying for the surgery
first in an emergency before he got his first salary, which made him
grateful towards me.
Jonathan wasn't going to sell the information. He too was angry that it
was leaked.
We packed out our stuff and left the hotel.
The Hotel Manager shook my hand as he apologized.
"We at Sherry-Netherland pride ourselves on privacy. I will be conducting
a full investigation and will give you a proper answer later."
"I hope you will."
He didn't make us pay anything for the hotel, yet I was adamant on
paying to ensure some proof that we stayed there.Just in case we needed it as evidence.
He noticed my plans and his face contorted with nervousness.
It was a huge deal for a hospitality business to leak out the client's
information. The reputation of the hotel was at stake here.
If this became well-known, then no high profile guest would come to the
hotel anymore.
I didn't monitor the suspicious man by myself, instead I connected the
audio to an AI software I bought from 2075.
The AI would take notes of the names, what he was doing, and the
people he met while I went about my day.
…
"Buying a building in New York was dirt cheap right now. Probably
because of all of the arsons."
"Arsons?" Ophelia asked, confused. She was coming with me as I went
to the property broker ofice.
"Basically, inflation made everything more expensive. Fuel, repairs,
wages, utilities, insurance—everything you needed to keep an apartment
building running kept going up.
"But a landlord couldn't necessarily raise the rent enough to compensate
for it, especially in rent-controlled or rent-stabilized apartments.
"Less money coming in. More money going out. Buildings stopped being
investments and started becoming liabilities."But! Some owners apparently realized an insurance payout was worth
more than the building itself. So they started a deliberate arson to get the
payout."
Ophelia nodded in understanding, but then she looked confused.
"So why are you buying them?"
I smirked and said, "Future investment."
We take a look at several buildings. I did find what I wanted, but there
were a few legal challenges with the city, so I put the plan on the back
burner for now.
'It's not like I can be in New York and supervise everything myself.'
The limitations of being in a small town made me let out a long sigh.
To break through it, I could either move to a bigger city, or do something
I was reluctant to do for so long— open up a corporate ofice in Point
Place and develop it to the level of a big company.
While I was researching a headhunters company in New York for me to
bring some managerial talents back to Point Place, the AI finally got
something useful.
"Traficking?"
He mentioned the name of a big shot in New York city. The leak was an
editor from a magazine, so the hotel was absolved here.
The 69 years old billionaire wanted him to set up a meeting with
Ophelia– for the old man to seduce her.
Maybe turn her into his 6th mistress.
"Son of a bitch."He was talking about her like she was a commodity. He mentioned that if
the president could force Marilyn Monroe to sleep with him (allegedly),
then an aspiring actress like Ophelia should've begged his boss too–
I couldn't read the notes fully since it was causing me to hulk out.
He was planning to corner her on the talk show she's going to tonight.
Suddenly, my mind gave birth to an amazing idea after being fueled by
rage.
"Let's set him up."
I took out the cocaine from my system storage. He was admitting to
some nefarious stuff in the conversation so I have no guilty conscience
here.
But, there's also another matter that needs consideration.
"Who is he talking to?"
While Ophelia was going to a red carpet event with Donnie to promote
the movie Fading Colors, I took out a stealth drone from my system
storage and connected it to my phone.
It flew straight to the tracker's location. The recording didn't catch
anything, so it was either he had taken off the clothes or found the
tracker.
The tracker led me to a place near the Upper East Side– a place for the
rich.
Through the screen sharing, I slowly controlled the drone to peek
through the windows of the apartment the guy was living in.He was wearing boxer shorts and a white tank top, drinking beer while
watching TV.
The drone entered through the open window in the bedroom and I
scanned the place.
I wanted something I could use against him.
"Bingo!"
He has a gun, cocaine, and some photos of Ophelia on his desk.
The drone was also a delivery drone, capable of transferring a book size
item.
I opened up the drone's storage and dropped something on the guy's
desk.
The two bags of cocaine I stole from the loan shark a while back that I
have no idea what to do with, and a little girl's panties– I didn't have that
in hand. I bought it from a store nearby.
That was an awkward purchase.
Also, a little letter saying he should kidnap Ophelia or drug her if she was
resisting.
After moving the drone out of the apartment and landed it on a roof
nearby, I called the police using a payphone and a voice modulator,
turning my voice into that of a little girl's.
"HELP ME PLEASE!" I said urgently, but with a whisper that meant to
show the cops the perpetrator is nearby.
The call was connected straight to a police station near the area. The
detective quickly asked, "What's wrong?!""An old man took me to his place. He kidnapped me! He said he's going
to do things to me! Help me please!"
I gave some details about the apartment to the oficer, following his
words before hanging out, as if I was afraid of the guy coming back.
Soon, two police squad cars rushed to the building. The police kicked
down the guy's apartment. He was getting ready, wearing back his jacket
when his door burst open.
"Police! Don't move!"
"Where's the little girl you sick pervert?!"
They stormed the place and apprehended the guy. The guy instinctively
tried to run, but was tackled down and handcufed.
"Sir! I found a large amount of cocaine, and a little girl's underwear in his
room!" The oficer told the detective.
"You bastard!" The detective kicked the guy. They were 70s cops, living
in rough times and body cams hadn't been invented yet.
"I didn't do anything!" The guy shouted, trying to talk sense to the cops,
but they wouldn't hear him out.
"The underwear is still warm. She might still be near the building! Search
the area quickly!" The detective shouted.
"Sir. This is another–"
The detective grabbed the letter from the oficer. His eyes widened as he
saw the content of the letter.
First, it was instruction and method on how to kidnap Ophelia Benson–
an up and coming actress.It included where she was staying, her talk show appearance, and also a
vial of chloroform he could find in a locker in a train station nearby.
I made sure to put that in there too using Build Mode so I didn't leave
behind any fingerprints or record of me using those.
"Check the locker! Now!" The detective ordered before he turned to the
culprit.
"You're coming back to the station and you're going to spill out
everything."
I listened to the detectives as they interrogated him. But then, an hour
later, the police captain suddenly said to let that guy go. Since the
criminal was still wearing the tracker, I overheard the conversations the
detective has in the interrogation room.
''Order from the top. My hands are tied."
"BUT SIR!"
The angry tone the detective had made me realize he was actually a
man of principle.
I didn't know much about his personality, but he sure did hate criminals
not being brought to justice.
I made sure to record it too.
"Is the one behind him– Kraft Newman… powerful enough to pull the
string in the NYPD? Or, is someone trying to let him go to let him guide
them to his connections?"
I heard the knocks coming from the door so I immediately hid the drone
around the police station before going to open the door."Pizza Delivery!"
I took the pizzas and went back to monitoring the station. However, I
didn't have much time to follow the case until the end since I had to go
back to Point Place soon.
I promised Red and Kitty that I would only leave for the weekends.
"Let's… do something crazier. Something so big, the NYPD won't be
able to brush things off anymore."
Using my laptop and photocopier, I edited a few images of the case
using the images caught by the drones, but with an additional AI
generated images before using the drones to drop them in front of
multiple newspaper companies' doorsteps.
Would it hurt Ophelia's reputation? No, since the case was focused on
the cocaine and the alleged kidnaping which was brushed off by the
NYPD District's 45th Police Captain.
The police recording of the girl begging for help was also sent to the TV
station around the area, with some of the details too.
"How long will it take before the story breaks?" I muttered and turned on
the TV.
While I was just messing around, it was also a test to check the power
structure within the city in this era.
If by any chance I needed that in the future, I would know the important
details and how much I could push the narrative ahead.
Ruining the life of a criminal wasn't weighing on my mind– I think.
Twenty minutes later, the story actually broke!
"Nice!"It was a gamble. The Son of Sam frenzy a couple of weeks ago in New
York—a criminal case being covered by the networks—had created a
spike in newspaper sales and news program ratings.
So the stations were thirsty for another criminal case.
Then, a juicy case with seemingly impeccable evidence was laid out
right in front of them.
The hyenas would definitely fight for the right to report it first—which
made them race to break the story before anyone else.
The regular program suddenly disappeared from the screen.
Ophelia, Jonathan, and Camy entered the room while I was glued to the
screen.
"Steven! You're missing out on so much–"
Ophelia went silent as she saw the breaking news too.
A news anchor appeared, his face darkened as he read the story.
{"We interrupt this program for a developing story involving an alleged
kidnapping, narcotics, and serious questions surrounding the conduct of
oficers of the New York City Police Department."}
They really went straight for it.
A photograph appeared as the news cut away from the anchor. They
didn't have the technology to float the picture besides the anchor yet.
It was the man from earlier.{"This station has learned that thirty-eight-year-old Vincent Moretti was
taken into police custody earlier today following an investigation into an
alleged attempt to drug and abduct an upcoming actress."}
"Vincent Moretti." I nodded slowly.
So that was his name. I hadn't bothered remembering it.
Ophelia was shaken. "Is that him?" She asked, connecting two-and-two
together.
Jonathan's face turned solemn. "Yes." He replied to her, which caused
her to drop on the couch and grabbed my hand.
{"The identity of the actress is being withheld for her protection. Police
sources have confirmed that 5 pound of hard drugs were recovered
during the investigation, along with chemicals allegedly intended to
incapacitate the young woman."}
Another picture appeared. The train station locker. Then the cocaine.
The anchor snided, {"Both evidence would've been enough for a lifetime
incarceration."}
{"Moretti was subsequently questioned by police. However, this station
has obtained documents suggesting that another unidentified young
woman approached oficers seeking protection from the same
individuals. We're warning you, the recording you're about to hear is
heartbrokenly disturbing."}
The screen went black.
A warning appeared underneath it.
Then my recording played.
"Please..."A girl's trembling voice came through the television.
"Please don't let him take me."
The voice modulator was good.
"I don't want to go with him. Please... Please help me."
Jonathan, Ophelia, and Camy's faces went dark.
The anchor returned. His expression had changed.
Even though he'd probably heard the recording several times before
going on air, he looked genuinely uncomfortable.
{"The whereabouts of the unidentified woman are currently unknown."}
A photograph appeared. A terrified young woman standing beside
Moretti. I made that using AI.
She looked about ten years old. The next picture showed she was
crammed into a suitcase while she was resisting.
I slowly bit into my pizza.
Those three weren't real.
{"At this time, this station has been unable to independently determine
the woman's identity. However, the materials provided to us allege that
she disappeared shortly after seeking police assistance."}
"Steven!" Ophelia was on the brink of tears.
I realized she was quite disturbed and confessed, "Don't worry. She's
fine.""Huh? How did you know?" Jonathan asked.
"Who do you think followed the guy and got the pictures? I already sent
her back to her parents." I lied through my teeth and said, "But keep it
quiet. They are illegal immigrants in the first place. If her family got
investigated, everyone in her family would face deportation."
"So– You–" Camy stammered.
"Yup. Just watch."
Then came the part I had been waiting for.
{"Despite the allegations surrounding Moretti, he was released from
police custody earlier today."}
The anchor looked directly into the camera.
{"We have also obtained the following recording, which appears to
capture a conversation involving the commanding oficer of the
precinct."}
The television crackled. Then the captain's voice came through. That
one was completely real.
Captain: "I don't give a rat's ass what you think Kelly!. The order came
from above. Let him go! NOW! Or I will fire you right here on the spot!"
Detective Kelly: "Then fire me! I'd rather put a bullet in the man's head
rather than let him leave before we find the girl!"
Captain: "You're suspended Kelly! Hand over your badge and gun!
NOW!"
For several seconds, the anchor said nothing. He too was bewildered by
it since the recording was almost a minute long, with a lot of details
about the case. He mentioned the cocaine, the little girl underwear hefound in Moretti's house, and even the drug and rape order letter in the
room.
{"Who gave that order remains unknown. Following us now, Jeremy
Maguire who's standing by outside the police station with his report."}
The screen switched again.
A woman was standing outside the police station, microphone in hand. A
cameraman stood behind her while several other reporters were already
gathering near the entrance.
Journalist: "Not Jeremy Maguire– Veronica Harden. Jeremy has been
detained by the police after hitting one of them on the face."
She paused before continuing: "We are currently outside the 45th
Precinct, where police oficials have so far declined to explain the
circumstances surrounding Moretti's release."
More reporters were arriving even as she spoke. Cars stopped along the
street. Camera equipment came out. People passing on the sidewalk
had begun stopping to watch.
"We have asked the department whether the unidentified woman was
present inside this precinct, whether oficers heard her requests for
protection, and who gave the order to release Moretti."
The doors behind her suddenly opened. Everything went crazy.
"There he is!"
The reporter spun around. The captain walked out.
"Captain!"
"Captain, who ordered Moretti released?""Where is the woman?"
"Did she ask your oficers for protection?"
"Was Kraft Newman involved?"
That name changed everything. The captain stopped, his eyes were
shaken only for a second. But the cameras caught it even with the grainy
nighttime live filming.
"Captain, what is Moretti's relationship with Kraft Newman?"
"No comment."
"Did Mr. Newman contact this precinct?"
"No comment."
"Who gave the order?"
"No comment."
Oficers surrounded him and started pushing through the reporters.
Flashbulbs went off one after another from the old-timey camera.
"Captain!"
"Is the little girl alive!?"
"Captain!"
The screen returned to the studio. The anchor shufled his papers.
{"Vincent Moretti has previously conducted business with companies
associated with billionaire industrialist Kraft Newman. Representatives
for Mr. Newman have not responded to our request for comment."}The news shook the entire city. Someone on the radio was already
connecting it to the MKULTRA project, while countless conspiracy
theories were flying around.
It was a sleepless night for New York City.
…
Midnight.
I was preparing to go back to Point Place when Ophelia entered the
room and plopped down on the edge of the bed.
"Hey," she called softly.
I folded my jacket and put it into a suitcase. Both were gifts from Ophelia
during our shopping spree.
"What? Missing me already?" I asked with a smirk.
"I am." She looked at me intently. "And I also want you to stay next to
me."
"I can't do that—"
"What if!" She became frazzled. "What if someone tries to abduct me
again? What if they drug my food?! I could be in danger without you
around!"
"Huh?"
My mind immediately figured out what was happening, and it made me a
little sick.
I had unintentionally manipulated her into thinking I was the only one
who could keep her safe.And it was a pretty high-level manipulation too.
Feeling disgusted with myself, I sat down next to her and said, "I got to
be honest with you about something."
Leslie already knew about the existence of the laptop, and honestly, it
was fine. She only used it for work.
I told Ophelia about the kid being made up.
"She's not real?!" She was aghast.
"Yeah. I had some help planting the evidence in the guy's hotel. Don't
get me wrong. I didn't falsely accuse him. He confessed to doing all that
stuf, but there wasn't any evidence. So I created some to get the cops
on his ass and potentially save a lot more kids."
Ophelia's body started to relax a little.
"So, you're like… a cop or something? Is whoever's behind you FBI? Or
CIA?"
I froze at the question. "I won't confirm or deny that."
"AH!" she exclaimed in relief and lay back on the bed. "If you really have
connections there… then I guess I was never in any real danger, was I?"
"Don't relax too much. He was trying to convince you to become a
high-class escort. That kind of thing isn't exactly unheard of in the
industry."
I lay down next to her and said, "If you don't have a lot of connections,
you could get trapped in that endless cycle of being passed around to
bounce on producers' dicks. But once you're famous enough, they'll
leave you alone. You'll have enough power to destroy them by then."She squealed, hugged my arm, and asked, "When's that going to
happen? One month? Two months?"
"A couple years. Until you actually become a household name and a
movie star who can draw an audience. Maybe get a few award
nominations too."
I talked to her until three in the morning. Then she finally realized I was
supposed to be at the airport an hour ago.
"You missed your plane! How are you going to get back?!"
"Don't worry. My… *contact*… has a jet. A really fast one that can fly at
Mach 0.8. I'll be back in Point Place before dawn."
She sighed. "I'm trying to manipulate you into staying, but that's useless,
huh?"
I flinched slightly at the word *manipulate*.
"I promised the Formans I'd go to school. So I have to go back."
"Hmm… If you have a jet, can't I go with you? They can send me to L.A.
afterward, can't they?"
"Um… There's a diference between flying between East Coast cities
and going straight to the West Coast."
"AH!" she exclaimed in realization, without a hint of disappointment in
her voice. "L.A. is too far away."
"If you really want to come back to town, I'll bring you with me. Then you
can catch a plane back home."
"There's no need for that. I'm just trying to make you sweat," she said
teasingly. "I know it's probably not a good idea for me to be on that
plane, am I right?"She touched my cheek and kissed me on the lips. Her eyes were soft as
she said, "Thank you for telling me the truth."
I couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt here. I made her promise not to tell
anyone about it, lied to her about some details, yet she was looking at
me with a gaze full of afection.
I felt a little sick.
Chapter 161: Back Home.
[General POV]
Opheli