Chapter 14: The Interview

Alpha could not believe his luck. What are the odds of an attempted assassination happening in the morning and from out of the blues the shooter to suddenly contact the media. This was a silver lining in the clouds but Alpha knew the game pretty well. He knew he had that momentary lapse to breathe and compose his thoughts before that nincompoop Jeff ruins the moment as he always did.

Immediately Alpha turned to Athena and told her to call the front desk and schedule a private press conference with the top news stations in Sin City.

"Are you sure you are wiling to bring the press in here? So that they can start poking around and sooner or later realize that Daymond isn't even here"

"At the moment, they want me. Set up the conference inside my office with only Jeff. He called me out. Now's my turn to fire back" Alpha responded as he left the office and went to his main office to compose himself.

All newsrooms went berserk when they heard that Alpha had agreed to a press conference but none of them thought that he'd pick Jeff to interview him.

Within minutes, Jeff was at the front door of the premise with his cameraman and a notebook. He was ushered into the building by staff members and taken to Alpha's office which sat at the highest point of the building. When he entered the office he was actually impressed by the decor and the view that was given by the high vantage position point of the office. He locked eyes with Alpha as he continued to scan the room. His cameraman was busy setting up his gear while Marla brought in some refreshment drinks for the men and immediately left the office. The suspense was so stiff in the air that even the cameraman felt it. Both sides had a lot to lose if one made a mistake during the interview.

Jeff had a reputation for tearing down people like Alpha and he knew that today would bring him home a fat check if he succeeds in destroying Alpha's reputation and his company's image altogether. On the hand, Alpha had a very high reputation to defend and if he survived a mauling by Jeff, his credits would shoot sky high in front of millions of citizens who would be watching live.

These two men were like gladiators in a duel to the death. None of them had something personal against the other,just purely business. But since Jeff's first shot at Alpha, it made Alpha question whether Jeff had a personal vendetta against him that had been simmering just waiting to boil over. And since the opportunity arose, Jeff being the opportunist that he was, he grabbed it and milked it dry. Before the feed began Alpha and Jeff had a few seconds to gather their thoughts as the cameraman counted down from ten for the feed to go live. Surprisingly enough, both men had not even been acquainted with each other since Jeff walked in. The cameraman finished his countdown and the feed was live across the country and to the whole globe for those who were following the case across the borders including Siberia which had expressed deep concern with the handling of Daymond who according to them, under the alias of Serb Slayer had terrorized their streets for a long time. They had even requested to arraign him on Serbian soil to act as a way of administ ering justice on behalf of the friends and relatives of the slain victims.

Jeff: So good afternoon thank you so much for joining me on this one on one sitting with LA's Advocates founder and CEO, Mr Legit Alpha. Thank you so much for agreeing to meet me despite the circumstances that you are faced with.

Alpha: It's my pleasure to welcome you to my office and actually meet you in person, Jeff.

Jeff: I know at the moment you are a busy man so I'll just keep straight to point. My first question is..Alpha.. where is Mr Daymond ?

Jeff: Took the words right out of my mouth.

Alpha: Mr Daymond is ina safe place as we speak. He's unhurt and in good condition.

Jeff: So,is he still in this building?

Alpha: That is information I cannot disclose due to security reasons. I mean, we were almost shot dead. You don't expect me to tell you where he is, do u?

Jeff: That's a fair point. And on that point, what exactly happened our there?

Alpha: By out there, I suppose you're talking about the courthouse shooting. Lemme tell you for a fact that I honesty don't understand what also happened. One minute we were fine and the next we were receiving gunfire like we were in a battle field.

Jeff: So you are saying you had no knowledge of the impending attack?

Alpha: I see what your trying to do. For your information Mr Jeff, I was also in that car with Daymond when we got hit. I could've also been shot together with my client but we were so lucky that our shooter didn't want any blood spilled today. I'm asking the same questions as you are about to ask I don't know the motive behind the shooting and I'm just happy that we were all lucky to be alive.

Jeff: Understood. Now people are asking why was he immediately brought here instead of taking him anywhere else Alpha: That's simple. Our company is sponsored by some high class security agencies around the globe due to the nature of our business. Since we mostly handle high profile individuals, we are given access to utilize their personnel incase of such scenarios and use our premise as a temporary safe house.

Jeff: Interesting. So,for how long do you keep your clients in this safe house?

Alpha: Nice try Jeff. Nice try.

Jeff: You can't blame me for trying.

Alpha: I know you're not here to have chit chat with me. Why don't we just get down to business.

Jeff: Strictly business, I like that. So allow me to ask the question a lot of reporters would be afraid to ask straight to your face. Are you the one behind Mr happy trigger, our so called shooter?

Alpha: As if I didn't see that coming. Of course I'm not behind the shooting by any way or the other. And I'm pretty sure you received a message from the actual shooter, doesn't that give you

enough clarity that I can't be puling any sort of strings around the shooting.

Jeff: Aaah,about that. Don't you think that was just a way of throwing the common citizen off your scent. But I'm not just any common citizen or common reporter, I am....

Alpha: Jeff..no need to gloat about how good you are. I already know who you are and what you do. So no amount of pressure or poking is going to make me budge.

Jeff: I see you have me well scouted. But after all, you are a highly decorated advocate...meaning part of your work is to study your clients. And I'm so sure right now, you're treating me like one meaning you have me read already.

Alpha: I see you have good instincts. You should trust them.

Jeff: Now stop with the charade, I know that you are the one who called the hit on Daymond. You may have all these other people convinced but not me. So Mr Legit, why don't you just admit it. You weren't prepared for the court hearing so you had to buy some time for your little minions to compile their paperwork in order to cook up something.

Alpha: Is that what you really think ?

Jeff: No. Its what I know. Do you know who you are representing M Legit?

Alpha: Yes. Yes I do

Jeff: Then I'm sure you know how many lives he has destroyed. How many families he has shattered. How many innocent sous are six feet under for his sadistic satisfaction! So I ask again, do you really know who you are representing?

Alpha: Allow me to ask, are we on air nationwide?

Jeff: (looks taken back a little) Uuhhhmm, yes we are

Alpha: Good. So I'm sure I'm not the only one who thinks you are taking this case very personal. As a matter of fact, I happen to know that you had a sister living in Serbia at least two years ago

before she went missing. Never to be found or heard from again till date. Now anyone would see this as a normal disappearance but you didn't. 23 year old girl goes missing just when our Serbian Slayer is on a rampage. What are the odds of that happening in Serbia? Huh? Maybe she just went down the wrong alley. Or she was living a double life? I bet not. Maybe, just maybe she was another victim of our blood thirsty serial killer. And anyone in their right mind can guess what happened to her,including her concerned brother who just happens to know exactly what happens around the globe since he's at the news desk ll day every day.

Jeff: How do you know all these?

Alpha: I did my homework. So, is this all about what the people want or what you want ? Tell the people the truth Jeff

Jeff: This interview is over.

Just as the cameraman was about to cut the feed, Alpha's phone rang and everyone froze

"Hello, Alpha answered it, " you don't say. Lemme get back to it then.

Jeff: Who was that?

Alpha: That was my assistant calling me. She says that your views have doubled in the last five minutes. So before you get going, how about you give your viewers what they want, answers. It seems like I'm not the one who has skeletons in their closet am I? You have some really old skeletons in there, or you thought that I didn't know what I was doing inviting you over for this interview. I've played this game longer than you Jeff, so welcome to the interview.

Jeff: Watch your words Legit, this is my interview.

Alpha: From the looks of things its no longer your interview. I can't blame you to be honest though. Sister goes missing and when you are just about to have something close to closure, I happen to be standing in your way. In the defence of the man you so much hate because you see him as the monster everyone believes him to be, and as if karma isn't a bitch already... His court hearing is postponed by two weeks. A whole two weeks for you to keep on boiling in rage. But you can't control it any longer, because here you are in front of me live on air trying to depict me as the devil incarnate for being the only guy who actually believes that Daymond didn't actually commit any of the murder charges that are on his charge sheet. What are you going to start throwing around now? I was his accomplice? Maybe he has paid me off since we are the best advocacy agency across the nation?

As Alpha was asking these questions he was firmly fixed on Jeff's body language. Careful to notice any slight body movement that Would tip him off when he hit the right nerve. From the point he took control over the interview Jeff had changed his demeanor. He had suddenly become a little bit tensed and Alpha knew it. People like him are not used to being on the receiving end of such questions . He was in a totally different ground and was very uncomfortable with how the situation had turned out. Immediately Alpha mentioned about being paid large sums of cash to get Daymond off the hook, Jeff suddenly shifted his sitting position. Alpha noticed it and couldn't help when a smile escaped from his lips

Alpha: That's it. You think I'm doing this just because the has made my pockets fatter? You think this is all about money?

Jeff: What else could this be about? The best advocacy agency across the nation goes on the defensive for a man who will better be known as the boogie man in our children's history books, what else can this be about?

Alpha: The man can barely save up enough money to pay his own rent. He worked two day jobs and a night shift just to make ends meet. He just lost his daughter and needed the state to organize for her burial since he couldn't meet the bill. Does that sound like a man who's money can even make a dent in our bank accounts? Let alone even schedule for a sit down with any of my lawyers? I know my company is not a charity centre because we don't just represent anyone who walks in through our front doors, we left that work for NGO's. But if you all want to jump on the band wagon and crucify an innocent man for something he didn't do, then you do exactly that. I just won't riding along with all of you, instead, I sat down with the man and listened to him. Something all of you are very poor in. And I took it upon myself to prove this man's innocence. And I plan on doing exactly that no matter the consequences.

Jeff: And does that involve hiring a hitman to stage a shooting at the courthouse?

Alpha: If I were you Mr Jeff, I'd watch carefully the next words that will come out of your mouth. If the state is willing to prosecute an innocent man for the crimes committed by the real serial killer who is still running lose in our streets, I wouldn't be so surprised if the barge in here accusing me of ordering the hit on our cars Now,I believe this interview is over and you gave the people more answers than the questions asked. I thank you for making time for me and have a good day, will you? My assistant will show you out I have a lot of work on my hands so till next time, bye.

Jeff signaled his cameraman to pack up and left knowing that he was not ready for Alpha and with this knowledge, Alpha had shifted the ground to his favour.