The Preservation Plan - Book 3 of 3

Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

"Come on in, Gil," says Champ Sutton. "I really appreciate hearing back from you so soon."

"I had my entire staff on this for the last two days," Gil replies as he takes a seat across from Sutton.

"So, is there anything we need to be concerned about regarding Miss Taylor?"

"I'm glad to say there isn't. At least with regards to what we'vebeen able to determine. Let's see... she did have an abortion at sixteen. The record is clear on that. Married and divorced twice. It doesn't appear she's had any trouble with the law. Since leaving First Source, she's worked at several different jobs in the hospitality industry... Yeah, it looks like the info she provided to Nicole checks out," Gil responds as he submits the report to Sutton's flash-pad.

"And financially?"

"There doesn't appear to be any red flags. However, as expected, since leaving First Source she's definitely been forced to lead a far less excessive lifestyle."

"Great work, Gil. I'll give this a thorough going over, and unless I find something of concern, I'll be making the formal request to UCIT."

Gil takes a deep breath and exhales. "I don't want to speak out of turn."

"Go ahead, Gil. You know how I value your input."

"I just can't get my head around why, after all these years, she suddenly comes running to Nicole with this information."

"Since the moment Nicole told me about this I've been thinking the same thing. And we'd be totally ignorant not to consider all the possibilities here—including the idea we're somehow being set up to look like fools," Sutton says with a raised brow. "But then again, if what she's telling us has merit, the PBA will reap the benefits. It's a risk we need to take."

***

The UCIT analysis team is quick to assess the matter, and votes to allow Carly Taylor to be interviewed by Cryptic.

The interview takes place in a remote park somewhere in New York State. Carly's choice. The specific location is undisclosed to the public. She sits on a bench as large snowflakes fall from the evening sky. They look like floating moths, caught in the spotlights surrounding her. As the UCIT camera slowly pans in, the tomb-like silence of the location seems a far cry from the glitz that used to bombard the airwaves when Carly came into American living rooms all those years ago.

Although it's been almost twenty-six years since she's been in front of a camera, she appears poised and as professional as ever. Her former glitzy and perky presence is now replaced by a refined, calm maturity. It's ironic to see this formerly glamorous woman who brought such energy and interest to television news now being interviewed by an unemotional, utilitarian machine.

"Good evening, Miss Taylor," Cryptic says, positioned directly in front of Carly. "I'm sure most Americans are wondering why you've decided to speak about your time at First Source News, considering it's more than twenty-five years after the fact. Would you kindly explain?"

"It's about revealing the truth. The truth needs to be told. I believe First Source's former bias, extreme right-wing reporting, was the largest factor contributing to the War Within. Of course, it's also the reason that you exist." She stares pointedly at Cryptic, then resumes, her voice rising.

"Every time I hear Gerald Levin trying to come across as 'a man of the people,' it sickens me. I saw firsthand how he, Earl Pemberton, and many of the country's other leading industrialists used their wealth and power to control the media."

"Would you kindly provide us with a specific example where Gerald Levin did such a thing?" the robot asks.

"The one that comes to mind involved a massive stretch of farmland he owned in Cleveland, Ohio. An environmental group secretly contacted First Source about severe soil pollution in the area. My boss, Domingo Diaz, promised them he'd run the story, but he only did so after alerting Levin, who sold the property before the news was made public for five times what it ended up being worth after the story was aired."