Crisis public relations cannot be delayed.
As soon as the meeting ended, Luke began to arrange relevant personnel. Unfortunately, the company really had no talents in this area, and his subordinates were not capable enough, so the boss had to take action himself. A lengthy statement of nearly a thousand words was published on the official website. The language was not very beautiful, but it was very logical.
The first half explains what happened, with apologies and reflections in the middle, which last only a few lines. Then there are future plans and remedial measures to prevent such incidents from happening again.
The content is very substantial and seems sincere at first glance, but after reading it carefully a few times, you can find four words: avoiding the important and focusing on the trivial.
These four words are also the essence.
What is crisis PR?
To put it bluntly, it is to dye black into gray and wipe out the gray so that it cannot be seen. If you keep painting it black, fearing that others don't know what bad things you have done, that is not called crisis public relations, that is called a public relations crisis.
After the statement was released, many ShowMe users spontaneously reposted it online through various channels, forming a trend of spreading the word. After hearing the news, the entire company was in an uproar and the morale of the employees soared.
It is actually a very happy thing to have the work that you have worked hard for recognized by the public.
With the support of users, the public opinion crisis has been slightly alleviated.
Luke finally has time to deal with the FBI.
…
At two o'clock in the afternoon, FBI agents led by Roger Consius arrived at ShowMe headquarters on time.
"Hello, nice to see you again."
"Yes, we meet again. It's been less than a week since our last meeting, and your company has been in trouble again. Last time it was a superhuman, and this time it's a terrorist. I don't know what it will become in the future."
Luke said with a wry smile,
"Mr. Consius is such a joke. ShowMe is a legitimate company and its employees are all law-abiding citizens. They would never do anything illegal."
"Employees are law-abiding citizens, but bosses may not be."
Roger Consius seemed to be hinting at something. He stepped forward and whispered in her ear, "No matter where you come from or what your intentions are, I will investigate thoroughly this time. Don't try to get away with it."
After he finished speaking, he walked towards the conference room first, followed by Emily. She didn't even raise her eyelids when passing by Luke, as if they had never met before.
Women! You are all transformed from eels!
"Boss, it seems we are being targeted by the FBI." Charlie said worriedly.
"It's not the FBI. Roger Consius is targeting them."
"We didn't do anything bad, why is that guy pestering us?"
"You should ask the old man about this."
Charlie was stunned. "You mean he knows about our relationship with Hongmen."
Luke looked up at the sky, his eyes filled with the pain of caring for the mentally retarded. "Do you think the FBI are all idiots? How could they not have information on someone like this old man? Not only him, but all the files of the Hongmen leaders and their families are registered with the FBI."
"What about me? Do they have my information too?"
Luke really didn't want to answer such a stupid question.
"How's things going in Chinatown?"
"I just received a text message saying the person has been settled, but Hall Master Qi said that next time you need his help, you have to go in person." After a pause, Charlie suggested in a low voice, "I think we should find time to visit Hall Master Qi. After all, the metropolis is his jurisdiction, and he can't just hide away forever."
"You go if you want to."
Luke snorted coldly, straightened his suit, and strode towards the meeting room.
Cindy and the others had already completed the preparations, and Luke didn't say any more nonsense. He walked straight to the computer and projected a photo of a young man with obvious Middle Eastern features onto the big screen.
"Ibn Abdul Sanji Rahman Salim, the owner of the social account [Black Metal], is an Arab American.
He is 25 years old and registered a ShowMe account a month ago. He has since posted a total of 23 messages, including text, pictures, and videos, most of which are related to food. Oh, I forgot to mention that he is a chef.
"Due to confidentiality agreements, I can't reveal any more information here. If you'd like to learn more, you can contact him personally. Of course, if you need technical assistance, I can send my staff to help, free of charge."
"I have finished what I have to say, Mr. Consius, what else do you want?"
Roger Consius laughed heartily, his hard face showing an undisguised mockery.
"Is this what you call...help? A picture! Dozens of useless messages! Luke Xiao, let me remind you that Ibn Abdul Sanji Rahman Salim is from the Middle East and is a member of a polar terrorist organization that is involved in the murder of women. Do you know what your actions just now mean?
You're shielding him and covering for him, just to keep your company from getting implicated. I know people like you too well; there's nothing you wouldn't do for money!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the ShowMe employees present suddenly changed. In the United States, there is one thing that you absolutely cannot touch, and that is terrorism. Once you are labeled with this hat, you will never be able to turn things around.
Cindy stood up immediately.
"Sir, please be careful with your words. ShowMe will never be used as a tool to spread terrorism, nor will it harbor any criminals."
Roger Consius ignored him and just looked at Luke.
"If you don't want to become an accomplice, give me the information about him and his family and friends. This is an order."
Luke raised his eyebrows slightly and said in a deep voice,
"I'm sorry, Mr. Consius, but the company doesn't have the information you requested. Even if it did, I wouldn't give it to you. Ibn Abdul Sanji Rahman Salim is only a suspect. There's no evidence that he's involved in any criminal activity. Before a crime is proven, he's protected by the Constitution, and you have no right to deprive him of his personal rights."
Roger sneered, "You have good eloquence. You can apply to be his defense lawyer. He will definitely not object."
After being provoked repeatedly, Luke's temper also rose.
"Sorry, I'm not interested in that, nor do I have the time."
"There's one more thing I want to remind you of. Iben posted the previous 23 times from Brooklyn, using the same computer. But this morning, he posted a video from Gotham, using a different computer. Is there anything suspicious about this? Don't wrongly accuse the good guys, and don't miss out on the bad guys."
After a pause, he sneered,
"Even though you do that all the time."
puff!
Charlie almost laughed out loud, and Rowan and Cindy also smiled, thinking: The boss is the boss, he actually dared to mock them in front of the FBI, and he was not afraid that the other party would get angry and embarrassed.
Luke gestured to Charlie, who took out a USB drive and placed it on the table.
"The information is all there. This is all ShowMe can provide. If you feel it's not enough, please show us the authorization document from the White House. We will provide assistance based on the content of the document."
"If there's nothing else, that's all for today, Charlie, show me around!"
Charlie stood up and opened the door to the conference room.
Roger looked at Luke deeply, stood up and left, and turned back when he reached the door and said,
"Luke Xiao, don't think you can do whatever you want. This is a metropolis, not a coastal city. I will investigate this matter thoroughly. I will not wrongly accuse the good guys, nor will I let the bad guys go. No matter who the bad guys are or where they come from, I will not let them go!"
After these harsh words were spoken, the atmosphere immediately became tense. Luke gritted his teeth, said nothing, and waved his hand to let the employees go back to work.
…
After leaving ShowMe, Roger Consius went straight to Iben's residence in Brooklyn, but he didn't find anyone there. He learned from his neighbors that Iben had left two hours ago with several strangers wearing sunglasses.
Upon hearing the news, Roger kicked the wall and muttered unpleasant words.
Emily opened her mouth several times but chose to remain silent in the end. She had just received a text message from Luke, asking her to go to the bar to discuss something. She was about to tell him about the text message, but seeing the captain's expression, she thought about it and decided to give up.
At six in the afternoon, as soon as work was over, Emily drove to Brooklyn and stopped at a bar called the Red Devil.
Since it was not yet evening, there were not many people in the bar, and Emily saw the young man next to the bar at a glance.
Luke was different today than before. He didn't wear a suit, but casual clothes, white sneakers, dark casual pants, a purple shirt, a silver Vacheron Constantin watch on his left hand, and a gold Bulgari ring on his right hand. The whole outfit made him look handsome, stylish and luxurious, which was very inconsistent with the shabby bar.
Seeing Emily, Luke went up to her with a smile.
"Thanks for not leaving me here to drink for two hours, sweetheart."
"Don't call me sweetheart. Your sweetheart is Ivan Donald, not me."
After saying this, Emily immediately regretted it. She glared at him angrily, found an empty chair to sit down, and said unhappily,
"What do you want from me?"
"There are business matters and personal matters. Which one should I talk about first?"
"Private matter!"
"I miss you. I want to meet you and chat with you."
"Let's talk business!"
Luke sighed in disappointment, pulled a photo from his pocket and placed it on the table.
"Ibn Abdul Sanji Rahman Salim, you should not have forgotten it!"
Emily was startled and said in horror, "You..."
Luke said calmly, "Yes, I had him taken away."
Emily immediately stood up and shouted in a suppressed voice,
"What are you doing? This is illegal, you know?"
"I have to do this."
Luke looked the man straight in the eye and said word by word, "I don't trust Roger Consius. You know his character better than I do. If he gets his hands on Iben, who knows what terrible things he'll do. In the entire FBI, I only trust you. Only you can find the truth."
Emily's expression was extremely complicated. For a moment, she didn't know what to say. Something in her heart was swaying back and forth. It took a while for her to calm down. She sighed helplessly and said,
"Where are they?"
"Come with me."
The two of them left the bar from the back door, walked around the dark and damp streets, and came to a dilapidated building.
"When you get there, don't say anything and just do as I say."
Pushing open the heavy iron door of the basement, the two came to a dimly lit room.
Ibn Abdul Sanjī Rahman Salim was here, waiting anxiously.