Chapter 13

Kendrick wanted to know when I would hold my media conference. The media was in a frenzy to find me. They wanted to know everything about me. My task during the interview was to limit my answers to my public life. He also wanted to set a date for me to meet my Board of Directors. He had contacted the Chairman of the Board and explained how I had inherited the conglomerate. The Chairman wanted at least a week to finalize their presentation. Kendrick and I settled on dates and times for my media conference and the board meeting. He would twixt the Chairman tonight, and would contact the media later today to let them know that I would make myself available for a media conference in Cinnity two days from now at 10:00 in the morning. We would have to rent a conference room before we left Cinnity. Finally, everyone but my new bodyguards had left. Carl had arranged for a police hover bus to take us all to the weapons school. When everyone was ready, we boarded the bus and left for the school.

Sereine and my bodyguards were talking. They had us land the bus on the landing pad of a building next to the school’s building. They wanted to reconnoiter the weapon school and its building for the media and other potential threats. Sereine said I would have to learn to be a bit more paranoid. The scouting party came back with an all clear. I’m not sure, if the school’s employees were just very professional or if they hadn’t connected me with the Archer Conglomerate.

My group descending on them created a small stir. Sereine and I were making sure that Coral and Sto understood what was happening.

Once I had time to explain everything to the manager, he got things organized. The bodyguards showed the manager their licenses, and he had his employees issue them with neural stunners and the holster style of their choice. One of the bodyguards took charge of the extra stunners, holsters, and all of the spare batteries and chargers. Those he stored on the bus until we were ready to depart.

Before we left police headquarters, Sereine had made sure everyone had a light jacket to hide their stunners. We didn’t want to disturb the average citizens by having my bodyguards walking around with their stunners displayed. The citizens would undoubtedly comm the police, which would create unnecessary work for Carl.

Before we left, I placed an order for an additional thirty stunners with accessories, and twelve energy rifles with the normal compliment of spare batteries and chargers. The manager decided that he needed to know what was going on. I felt his request was reasonable since he was responsible for ensuring that he only sold weapons to people who had the appropriate authorization.

I explained about establishing an Embassy on Earth and that it would be protected by a security force of about thirty-five ex-police officers. Today’s order of stunners was for my initial group of security personnel, and the energy rifles were for the bodyguards that would travel with me between Earth and Vora. He was happy with my explanation of why I needed so many weapons, but curious why I needed so many bodyguards. I let him know that I was the Doug Smith that had inherited the Archer Conglomerate.

There is a level of respect that we automatically give to other people and the more important the person, the higher the level of respect. Wealth seems to generate a degree of respect all its own. I was now in the process of learning how the wealth I inherited would affect the people I met. It hadn’t affected Carl for we had become good friends before I received the inheritance. This manager and I barely knew each other, so Doug became Mister Smith. There seemed to be an unusual amount of emphasis on ‘Mister’, I think I was beginning to see why Henry Archer had turned into a recluse.

Sereine suggested a major hotel that should be able and willing to host my media conference. Everyone was ready so we returned to the bus, which had moved to this building’s landing pad. My bodyguards stopped me from walking into the elevator. Half my bodyguards entered one elevator and left, while the rest of us entered the second elevator. One of my bodyguards held our elevator’s door open, while the other group headed for the roof where the landing pad was located. Once we started up, the bodyguard explained that the first group would check out the roof before we arrived. We were stopped on three different floors, but my bodyguards apologized for refusing to allow anyone to get on the elevator with us. I noticed that they had their jackets opened slightly so the stunners were visible when they denied people entry. Of course, the expressions on those peoples’ faces said they would be very happy to wait for the next elevator.

My bodyguards were ex-police and had never worked as bodyguards. However, they knew what was required to protect someone who was in their care. It had been part of their training as police officers. This was my first experience with the security a person received from professionals, and I found it to be a very unsettling feeling. It wasn’t that I felt unsafe. What unsettled me was their telling me where to go and when to go or not go. It was very annoying and made me feel like I had multiple babysitters. I had been taking care of myself for many years, and I didn’t feel that I needed to be babysat.

When we arrived at the hotel, similar security measures were utilized to get me to the hotel lobby. I explained to the desk clerk that I needed to rent a large conference room, and he called the Conference Room Manager. He would be out in just a moment to assist us, or so I was told. It seemed to take about five minutes, which when I thought about it was not a bad response time. I suspect that his response was less than five minutes for time drags when you are waiting for someone.

While we waited, Sereine and I talked about the size of our party. We were so large that we were attracting undue attention. She and the bodyguards discussed the matter and decided to split our party into two groups. Sereine and the three single bodyguards would return to the roof, get our equipment from the bus, their belongings from their hotels, and then Sereine would hop them back to their home worlds so they could pack their belongings and take care of any additional personal needs. Kendrick, my remaining seven bodyguards, and I would make the necessary arrangements for a conference room and then hop back to the villa.

By the time the Conference Room Manager arrived at the front desk, a third of our party was gone. I introduced myself to Mister Jim Mahler and explained that I needed to rent a conference room for a day and the manager started to escort us to his office. My bodyguards surrounded us as we started walking to the manager’s office. He had a surprised expression on his face for he had not associated them with me when we met.

He asked me, “Bodyguards?”

I said, “Yes.”

He had evidently dealt with clients who had bodyguards in the past. As we walked, he would call out directions of where to turn to get to his office.

Finally, Kendrick and I were seated in his office. Three bodyguards in his office with me, two in the reception room with the manager’s secretary, and two in the hallway outside the office suite door.

Kendrick and I had introduced ourselves to Jim in the lobby. As we started to define that we needed the conference room for a media conference, he asked, “Mister Smith, it would be helpful for me to understand the purpose of the media conference and about how many media representatives will attend.”

“Kendrick is my lawyer, and he told me I would get no peace until I called a media conference and allowed the media to interview me, for I am the individual that inherited the Archer Conglomerate. Kendrick, how many media representatives do you think will attend the media conference?”

We hadn’t been watching Jim Mahler very closely as we talked or maybe I was just getting used to people being stunned by that information.

“Excuse me, Mister Smith; I need to comm the Hotel Manager, Mister Hauser. He will want to participate in our meeting.”

Yes, I heard the emphasis on ‘Mister’ when he addressed me, but I didn’t understand the real reason for it. While Jim Mahler placed his comm call, Kendrick and I waited for him to finish.

“Andrea, I need to speak with Mister Hauser immediately. Yes, I understand but you need to get him out of that meeting right now so I can talk with him. Yes, I know he will be upset, but once I talk with him he will understand. All right, I’ll hold on.”

Placing his hand over the mouthpiece, Jim Mahler said, “Andrea is getting Mister Hauser and it should only take a few moments. He will be the person you need to talk to regarding the use of the conference room.

“Yes, Mister Hauser, I’m here ... Yes, Andrea explained that you were in the Director’s Meeting ... Well the reason I had her interrupt the meeting is that a Mister Doug Smith is in my office and he wants to rent a conference room for a media conference. He will be announcing that he is the Doug Smith who inherited the Archer Conglomerate.

“Yes, Sir, I will ... Sir, might I suggest that you approach my office with care, for his bodyguards seem to be on edge. ... Yes, Sir, I’ll let him know you are coming down right now.

“Mister Hauser asked me to tell you that he would be here in a few minutes. He also asked me to have you alert your bodyguards to his arrival.”

One of my bodyguards stepped out of the office for a couple of moments, and then returned and nodded to me, and I returned his nod. I needed to learn their names as soon as possible. I felt awkward not knowing their names, since I felt they were now part of my family. Everything was just happening too fast.

Kendrick must have been suspicious for he asked, “Jim, why is it necessary for the Hotel Manager to be involved in making this reservation?”

Jim Mahler had a shocked expression of his face when he replied, “I thought you knew. This hotel is owned by the Archer Conglomerate.”

I really needed a listing of my holdings. It was embarrassing to try doing business with a commercial enterprise and then learn you owned the enterprise. If Kendrick and I knew that I owned the hotel, we would have approached the employees differently. I could see that my presence was making Jim uneasy. It was easy to understand his discomfort when I did a role reversal and put myself in his position.

“Relax, Jim. I apologize for the misunderstanding. It’s my fault. So far, Kendrick and I have been trying to avoid the media. I haven’t had the opportunity to meet the Board of Directors, and learn about the conglomerate’s various holdings.

“I suspect Mister Hauser is almost here. Why don’t you meet him in the hall and explain the situation to him before he joins us. I doubt that he will want to accept just my word for being the new owner. He and I will need to discuss an arrangement that he will be comfortable with so all of us can do what we need to do, without stepping on anyone’s ego.”

“Yes, Sir. I think that would be a good idea.”

Jim left and went out into the hall to meet his boss and brief him on the situation. Since our situation was a little different than we had originally thought, Kendrick and I discussed how we wanted to arrange this media conference. A few minutes later, we were joined by Jim and Mister Hauser. Jim introduced him to us and backed out of the conversation.

Not wanting to create a difficult situation, I said, “Mister Hauser, my name is Doug Smith, and I prefer to be addressed as Doug. I recently inherited the Archer Conglomerate, but I do not think that you should accept my word for that fact.

“What I suggest we do is have my lawyer, Kendrick Jones, twixt the Chairman of the Archer Conglomerate’s Board of Directors, and explain the situation to him. He can then twixt you with the appropriate instructions. Is that acceptable to you?”

“Yes, that sounds like a very good approach, and my first name is Tom.

“Jim, please show Mister Jones to our Twixt facility.”

Author’s Note: The equipment at a Twixt facility makes preparing and sending a Twixt message significantly easier to do and faster than attempting to do so on a Comm Unit.

Turning back to me, he said, “Jim mentioned a conference room for a media conference. Precisely what is it that you need?”

“I have to apologize, Tom. I’m new to this and I am not sure exactly what will be required. You may have heard the news reports of how I came to inherit the conglomerate. Up until that time, I was a D-Hopper that was trying to help a Bushbie with his problem.”

It was then that Tom noticed Sto stretched out in the corner of Jim’s office.

“Ah, I will wait for the Chairman’s Twixt for confirmation. However, there is a holograph of Henry Archer and Sto in my office’s reception area. I know Bushbies are rarely taken away from Toomby. I believe what you say for I believe that’s Sto, over there in the corner.

“I think we should proceed based on the assumption that the Chairman will direct me to provide you with anything and everything that you may need. Since you are not familiar with the situation you are in, I will assist you based on my experience hosting media conferences.

“When are you going to announce and hold the media conference?”

“Kendrick will announce the media conference today or tomorrow, and we are planning to hold it the day after tomorrow at ten in the morning.”

“Every media group in the Multiverse is going to want to attend if you make this an open invitation, Doug. I suggest that you only invite the five largest media groups in the fields of video news and facsimile news, and you will need to place an upper limit on the number of representatives that each can send to attend the conference. If you wish, the hotel can handle the invitations and track the representatives that the media groups select to attend. Hotel Security will handle site security, and I suspect your bodyguards will attend to your personal security. I should complement you on the quality of your bodyguards. They seem very competent and well trained.”

“I think the hotel handling the invitations and onsite security is a good idea, so let’s plan on doing it that way pending Kendrick’s agreement. I got lucky with my bodyguards. I’m a D-Hopper who is opening a planet. When I registered the planet, I was appointed to be the Multiverse’s Ambassador to the planet. The planet has a very high concentration of sugar in its food and drink. When I started making arrangements for a Trade Checkpoint, I learned that the police had a number of officers that had been medically retired due to sugar addiction. I can treat sugar addiction on the planet, so a local police inspector talked me into hiring the medically retired police officers as my security force for the Embassy that I will be establishing. Truthfully, I was very open to the idea. My bodyguards are a few of those retired police officers.”

“Now I understand why they seem so good at what they are doing.

“I think that we should arrange things like this, Doug. The hotel will designate one conference room for the media conference. A smaller, connecting meeting room can be set up next door with a buffet table of drinks and snack foods.

“The media will need to get here early, especially the video news groups. Once they have set up their cameras and microphones, they can partake of the buffet table.

“I don’t think it would be wise of you to stay at the hotel on the night prior to the conference. Everyone will believe that you are staying here, and they will be looking for you. It would be best for you to arrive early and wait in a separate meeting room. You can then go directly to the media conference meeting room for the interview. When it’s finished, it would be best if you are seen departing the hotel.

“Later that day, you and your entire party would be more than welcome to stay here at the hotel. Once public attention is no longer focused on you, adequate onsite protection for you and your party can be provided by a combination of our security staff and your bodyguards.”

“I like the arrangements you are suggesting, Tom. Let’s discuss it with Kendrick and see if he agrees.

“Tom good man. Tom want help Doug. Tom like Doug. Sto like Tom.”

I thanked Sto. I was starting to get used to Sto giving me a running commentary on the people I meet.

The door opened and Kendrick rejoined us. “I sent the Twixt. It will be at least four hours before we get a response. That could take even longer depending on when it’s received and how quickly the Chairman can respond.”

“Have a seat Kendrick. Tom and I have reached an understanding and he has made several suggestions that I think will help us immensely.”

I explained our understanding and Tom explained his ideas. After due consideration, Kendrick agreed. We talked with Tom and he felt four media representatives per group were adequate. Of course, the video groups would also need additional people to set up and operate their equipment.

Since our business was complete, we said goodbye and I hopped us to my bodyguards’ hotel. They let their wives know they would be back in several days, packed a bag with clean clothes and their toiletries, and then I hopped us back to my uncle’s villa. We selected the media groups we wanted to attend and defined the number of people each group would be allowed to have in the meeting room.

The next morning, Kendrick prepared a media release announcing that I would host a media conference. It identified that the conference was invitation only, the place, time and date of the meeting, and informed them to make their arrangements with the hotel. We sent an invitation to each of the selected media groups with an info copy to the hotel.

The rest of the day and evening was spent preparing a media release for me to read at the conference. It was very short. Kendrick insisted that I omit personal information. The statement basically described how I came to meet Sto and that Sto decided to bond with me. It went on to explain that the legal aspects of the Will were explained to me and I learned that as Sto’s new owner, I had inherited most of the Archer Conglomerate stock.

Kendrick told me that I needed to use a ’delay and defer’ tactic during the media conference when I wasn’t sure what to say. He said if I was asked a question regarding business, I was to say, ‘I have not met with my Board of Directors, so I’m not in a position to address that question.’ If asked about how it felt to inherit the conglomerate, I should say, ‘I have not had enough time to sort out my feelings. After I have done so, I will be able to answer that question.’

Sandy didn’t want to speak with the media. Kendrick warned me to stay away from comments regarding her. If asked any questions related to Sandy, all I should say was ‘I cannot speak for Miss Archer, you need to ask her yourself.’ If asked about her location, I should say ‘It’s my understanding that Miss Archer doesn’t wish to speak with the media at this time. She has asked me to not divulge her location.’ Kendrick told me to be sure to call her Miss Archer. If I forgot and called her Sandy, the media would notice it, and infer a personal relationship.

Kendrick said that the media would undoubtedly ask me a personal question, most likely about my family. He suggested that I respond with, ‘My lawyer, Mister Jones, advised me to not answer personal questions. This question invades my personal privacy. Does anyone have any non-personal questions?’ If any representative asks a second personal question, I was to give hotel security the nod so they could tell the person to leave. I was to look directly at the person saying nothing and not accepting questions until the person left. If the person didn’t leave in a reasonable time, I was to say, ‘Since this person has violated the terms of this media conference and doesn’t wish to leave, I will take no further questions.’ Then I was to turn and walk away from the podium.

We wanted to avoid attention, so on the morning of the conference, only my bodyguards, Kendrick, Sto, and I went to the media conference. Tom had shown me to a meeting room that was adjacent to the conference room that we would use for the media conference. Tom would keep the room clear of people until I arrived. I hopped us into the room and Kendrick commed Tom to let him know we had arrived.

Yesterday I told Tom to call me Doug. When he joined us in the meeting room, he said, “Morning, Doug, everything is ready for the media conference. The Chairman of the Board returned Kendrick’s Twixt and confirmed that you are the new owner. He instructed me to charge all costs of whatever you need to a special account that he established to accumulate the costs associated with your assuming control of the conglomerate.

“I made the special arrangements for the fast departure that you requested yesterday. Two of my security personnel will place two express elevators out-of-service when the doors of the conference room close. They will be standing by in the elevators with override keys so you will go straight to the roof. There are two hover limousines waiting on the roof for you now. There are two security personnel on the roof, and if necessary, they will aid your bodyguards in clearing a path to the limousines.”

At one minute to ten, Kendrick walked out of the wings, and stopped behind a bank of microphones secured to a podium. I don’t think the media was accustomed to a media conference that actually started on time for a number of them had not taken their seats. At exactly ten, Kendrick nodded to hotel security. Two security personnel stepped outside to deny entry to any late comers, and the head of the security detail closed and locked the doors. Kendrick had told me that we needed to make a point with the media that we would not cater to them.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Kendrick Jones and I’m Mister Doug Smith’s lawyer. Mister Smith has asked me to explain the terms and conditions of this media conference.

“He will begin this media conference by reading a prepared statement. Printed copies of the statement will be available at the end of the conference.

“Mister Smith has a personal, business, and a public life. He is willing to answer questions regarding his public life. He does not wish to make his private life public. Do not ask him personal questions. If someone decides to violate this condition, Mister Smith will either warn the person or ask the person to leave. If the person chooses to remain when asked to leave, Mister Smith will end the conference.

“At this time, Mister Smith has not been briefed by his Board of Directors regarding the conglomerate, so he will not be able to respond to business related questions.

“Does anyone have any questions, regarding these terms and conditions?”

Kendrick looked around the room and no one seemed to have a question.

“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s my pleasure to introduce you to Mister Doug Smith.”

As Sto and I approached the podium, Kendrick wished me good luck and left. Sto sat down at my side and relaxed.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, I am Doug Smith. I have a statement regarding the circumstances that led to my inheriting the Archer Conglomerate that I would like to read.”

I opened the folder that Kendrick had left on the podium for me, and read the statement.

“As Mister Jones said, I will not answer personal questions, and I haven’t been briefed on my new holdings. However, I will do my best to answer questions that address other topics.”

I looked around and selected a gentleman toward the rear. He posed his question and I answered it. I answered several more questions. I had been selecting people in different parts of the room to avoid the pitfall of allowing one questioner to lead me down a garden path.

In the back of my mind, I heard, “Woman with hat not like Doug. Woman want ask bad question. Woman think she stay. Sto not like woman.”

“Thanks for the information Sto. I’ve done okay so far, but I don’t care to answer any further questions. I think I’ll end this conference.”

I asked the woman with the hat if she had a question, “Mister Smith, what does your wife think about you inheriting the conglomerate?”

This was a blatant violation of the rules I had set. After looking at the woman for a moment, I could see the look of challenge in her eyes. I made eye contact with the head of the hotel security and nodded my head. He approached the woman, and in a loud voice said, “Madam, your question violated the terms and conditions of this media conference by addressing a personal topic. Come with me. You will have to leave.”

He walked back to the rear door and prepared to open it for the woman. I stood there looking at the woman saying nothing. This woman was challenging my rules. I stood there for a good twenty seconds without the woman making any attempt to leave.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. Unfortunately, this woman has violated my terms and conditions, and since she will not voluntarily leave, I will take no further questions.”

I picked up my folder and walked away from the podium. As I left, I could see the look of shock on many of the media representatives’ faces. I don’t think they were accustomed to an interviewee ending an interview in this fashion.

As I was walking away from the podium, Kendrick was coming out to formally end the conference. As we passed, he said, “Perfect.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, we thank everyone for attending and this concludes the media conference. Copies of Mister Smith’s statement are on the tables at the rear of the room. I hope you all have a pleasant day.”

Kendrick smiled and left the podium. As he left, I could hear people start talking. The comments I heard were split between my doing what I said I would do and anger at the woman that had asked a personal question. The security personnel were briefed to keep the doors locked for one minute after we were gone.

As soon as Kendrick joined us, we made a quick, attention-grabbing exit. The lobby was fairly busy, so it was impossible to not notice a fast moving mass of nine men and a Bushbie as they entered the hotel lobby. The three men in the front row broke into a run and entered one of the two elevators, which immediately departed for the roof. The rest of us quickly moved to the second elevator, boarded it, and departed the lobby.

By the time the media representatives were able to exit the conference room, we were on the way to the hotel roof. We had moved through the lobby so fast that we left a trail of surprised guests and media support personnel in our wake. The roof had its normal level of people coming and going. Hotel security and my bodyguards had cleared a path to the limousines, so we immediately entered the limousines and departed. When we lifted off the hotel roof, the limousines headed for Sergei’s office.

Enroute Kendrick said, “That was absolutely perfect, Doug. You answered enough questions to appear friendly to the media. When you asked that woman if she had a question, and she replied by asking about your wife, I thought you were going to slip up and tell her you were single. Your delay in giving security the nod looked as if you wanted to just warn her. I suspect she decided to challenge you to see if you would do what you said you would do. Then when she failed to leave, you gave her enough time that it was apparent to everyone that she wasn’t leaving. You did it perfectly.”

“Thanks, Kendrick, but Sto should get the credit. He told me she wanted to ask a personal question and did not intend to leave. I was ready to end the conference, so I picked her. The reason I paused was that I was watching her eyes and it looked like she was challenging me to do what you said I should do. I wonder how the other media representatives treated her after we left. We need to find out who she is and make sure she never attends another of our media conferences. Perhaps we should create a Banned Media list that lists the banned correspondents and media agencies and how long they are banned. Put that woman and her agency on the list banning her permanently and the agency for two years.

I had returned Sergei’s comm last night. He had heard the media reports about a Doug Smith inheriting the Archer Conglomerate and he wanted to know if I was that person. I confirmed that I was that person. He had the preliminary design package ready for me to review to include the equipment specifications for the weapons that he recommended.

During our conversation, he said, “Doug, the Archer line of security equipment is more expensive than what I normally recommend to my customers. However, the functionality is slightly better, and the equipment is superior in quality of workmanship and technical support. It also has a reputation for being a more rugged product than the other vendors’ equipment. Do you want me to change my equipment recommendation to reflect the Archer line?”

Sergei got a good laugh when I said, “I think that would be a good idea, Sergei. With my contacts, I can probably get it wholesale.”

He told me he had brochures for the Archer line of equipment, so it would be easy for him to just replace the brochures in the data package with those of the Archer equipment line. I agreed and told him I would stop by to pick up the data package he had for me right after the media conference.