LAVERNE BUILDING - PRESS CONFERENCE HALL, 1800 HOURS
- APPROX. TWO HOURS AND THIRTY MINUTES POST-INCIDENT -
- APPROX. TWO HOURS AND THIRTY MINUTES POST-INCIDENT -
"Reports from the incident site are still coming in. The storm Monsoon created is still raging. And, most pressingly, there is a forty-four year old bus driver who is now painted over the exterior wall of a surgeon's clinic."
"As I recall, Sub-Director Print, you are well aware of matters which fall under the purview of your job. I hired you to navigate our intelligence and offer it to the public-- not repeat it back to me before a press conference."
Harold Print was known within MIRA to be a very high-strung man, though this did not necessarily make him flighty. As Sub-Director of the Metahuman Public Affairs Division of the Agency-- the MPAD, or "empad" as it was colloquially known-- he could not afford to be. Any communication of weakness, anxiety, or instability were picked up on by vultures within the media, no matter how much pressure they exerted-- directly or indirectly-- upon available outlets. As such, he was cool, collected. Like many factor-absent individuals within the organization, he worked alongside folk of indeterminate mental competency that could fly off the handle at any given moment and slaughter him.
Moreover, it was his duty to make it seem like that was the last thing they would do at any given moment.
The man who'd held the position previously had given him a bit of sage advice, when he'd first started, in the form of a simple phrase-- "turn a missile into a mallet". It wasn't about convincing the populace that factor-latent individuals were harmless-- they were beyond that point ever since the July Holocaust. What their goal was, now, was showing the public a medicated version of the truth. Not a weapon, but a tool. To destroy or misshape at the individual's discretion.
Understate-- and, barring that, overcompensate.
"The reason I am calling you is because I need to know where MIRA stands, on this. Where we stand. And if there's any information that analysts are sitting on that's gone over my head."
"Any information that is available to me is available to--"
"Bullshit." Harold stated, stopping abruptly-- and checking his watch as he stepped to the side of the hallway, brow furrowing. The aide behind him kept going-- looking to him for a moment, and hurrying along once she met his gaze. "You and I both know that isn't true, so let's stop insulting my intelligence. What I'm asking for is a directive. From the top. Are we going public with Dragon's involvement, or are we going to smokescreen?"
There was a pause, on the other end. A few taps of a keypad, indistinct.
"MIRA is currently investigating any potential wrongdoing and is dedicated to establishing culpability of its involved Jurors, but no official statement can be made at this time."
Harold's gaze tensed, a moment, and his nose wrinkled a bit; after a small breath, he nodded and moved forward.
"Leave the rest to me, then."
Print's entrance to the press room through a side-door was met with the staccato chorus of cameras; setting his folder of established notes and a baseline script upon the podium, he adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat.
Mics are live; green to speak.
"Good evening to the gathered members of the free press and American citizens watching at home. As it stands, New York City has endured a devastating attack on Central Park. As of two hours ago, available agents have neutralized the threat from factor-latent individuals that had perpetuated the incident, and measures have been taken by collateral teams to ensure that further disruption of our way of life has been minimized to the utmost degree."
All truth. Monsoon had left a bit of a mess to clean up, but he had been disabled mid-flight; as for the two on the ground... well.
"It is MIRA's mission, as always, to preserve the sanctity of life and to eliminate threats from rogue factor-latent individuals; this extends not only to incident response teams, but post-incident cleanup and humanitarian efforts. Mitigation of any further collateral is paramount at this time, as the incident fallout is still actively developing. However, we have confirmed that a total of three perpetrators were responsible for the Central Park wildfire, and two of these targets were neutralized in the ensuing confrontation between rapid-response Jurors and these factor-latent individuals."
And here came the spin.
"As it stands, one of these FLIs had seemingly lost control over their abilities and impacted a civilian at the border of the incident exclusion zone. The cause of this disruption and ensuing casualty is currently under investigation by site examination analysts, who have not reached a definitive conclusion at this time."
Rustles in the crowd. Questions, now-- rapid-fire, like gunshots in the ear. Harold almost flinched. Almost.
"-- ambiguous language, coming from--"
"-- can you list available Jurors on-site at the time of incident? You're--"
"-- family deserves to know the root cause of a person's death, you know that, right?"
"Look, I am telling you the information that I am given, and that is the entirety of our intelligence. MIRA continues to uphold its promise of transparency and vigilance, and should our internal investigation yield any revelations-- which it has not-- we are prepared to take relevant legal action. In addition, we have contacted witnesses on-site to collect personal testimonies." He looked to the crowd, now-- and pointed to a journalist near the front. "Paul Troy. Go."
"Are you prepared to disclose the identity of present Jurors at this time? Veiling them only seems to insinuate culpability."
"I had just stated that no Jurors had been found culpable, and should that change, we will disclose relevant information," Harold replied. "Publicizing any names would just fuel a cycle of vitriol and potentially put a target on people's backs. Which is the opposite of what we want, Paul. Next question-- Nancy, CNN."
"Will there be disclosure of identity for any FLIs?"
"At this time, we cannot say. The surviving FLI is in critical condition, and publicizing any details would endanger the nature of the investigation. You-- Central Period Report."
"Was the casualty a result of Juror incompetence? Culpability is irrelevant-- this death still happened under MIRA's watch--"
"This casualty," Harold interjected, his face flickering with a twitch of a scowl-- imperceptible, and swallowed before a snarl could form. "Is an unfortunate circumstance of the times we now live in. It is my belief-- and a reflection of MIRA's, as well-- that had our Jurors not responded, there would have been further devastation and loss of life. Any death that occurs under the watch of this Agency is heartbreaking. Truly, it is. But a zero-casualty encounter is best-case-- and against overwhelming odds, only a singular life was taken by--" Terrorists? No. Too inflammatory. Too international. When people think of terrorists, they think of foreign invaders. Conspiracy. Paranoia. "-- these criminals." Barely a pause in his voice. "It is a testament to the training and dedication of MIRA's Jurors that this incident was responded to swiftly and safely, and we thank our available on-call operators for their heroic actions today."
More hands raised, pens and cameras alike. Harold raised his own palm, tilting his head.
"No further questions. As it stands, we are committed to getting to the bottom of this incident, and bringing justice to New York City as a whole. This is not just an attack on a singular citizen-- this is an attack on the city as a whole. A strike against one American is a strike against all, and will be answered with appropriate prejudice. Thank you all for your time. God bless America."
And then he was gone, turning upon his heels in the aftermath of the clamor-- adjusting his glasses and tucking a folder under his arm, jaw tight as he made his way out of the press hall.
"As I recall, Sub-Director Print, you are well aware of matters which fall under the purview of your job. I hired you to navigate our intelligence and offer it to the public-- not repeat it back to me before a press conference."
Harold Print was known within MIRA to be a very high-strung man, though this did not necessarily make him flighty. As Sub-Director of the Metahuman Public Affairs Division of the Agency-- the MPAD, or "empad" as it was colloquially known-- he could not afford to be. Any communication of weakness, anxiety, or instability were picked up on by vultures within the media, no matter how much pressure they exerted-- directly or indirectly-- upon available outlets. As such, he was cool, collected. Like many factor-absent individuals within the organization, he worked alongside folk of indeterminate mental competency that could fly off the handle at any given moment and slaughter him.
Moreover, it was his duty to make it seem like that was the last thing they would do at any given moment.
The man who'd held the position previously had given him a bit of sage advice, when he'd first started, in the form of a simple phrase-- "turn a missile into a mallet". It wasn't about convincing the populace that factor-latent individuals were harmless-- they were beyond that point ever since the July Holocaust. What their goal was, now, was showing the public a medicated version of the truth. Not a weapon, but a tool. To destroy or misshape at the individual's discretion.
Understate-- and, barring that, overcompensate.
"The reason I am calling you is because I need to know where MIRA stands, on this. Where we stand. And if there's any information that analysts are sitting on that's gone over my head."
"Any information that is available to me is available to--"
"Bullshit." Harold stated, stopping abruptly-- and checking his watch as he stepped to the side of the hallway, brow furrowing. The aide behind him kept going-- looking to him for a moment, and hurrying along once she met his gaze. "You and I both know that isn't true, so let's stop insulting my intelligence. What I'm asking for is a directive. From the top. Are we going public with Dragon's involvement, or are we going to smokescreen?"
There was a pause, on the other end. A few taps of a keypad, indistinct.
"MIRA is currently investigating any potential wrongdoing and is dedicated to establishing culpability of its involved Jurors, but no official statement can be made at this time."
Harold's gaze tensed, a moment, and his nose wrinkled a bit; after a small breath, he nodded and moved forward.
"Leave the rest to me, then."
Print's entrance to the press room through a side-door was met with the staccato chorus of cameras; setting his folder of established notes and a baseline script upon the podium, he adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat.
Mics are live; green to speak.
"Good evening to the gathered members of the free press and American citizens watching at home. As it stands, New York City has endured a devastating attack on Central Park. As of two hours ago, available agents have neutralized the threat from factor-latent individuals that had perpetuated the incident, and measures have been taken by collateral teams to ensure that further disruption of our way of life has been minimized to the utmost degree."
All truth. Monsoon had left a bit of a mess to clean up, but he had been disabled mid-flight; as for the two on the ground... well.
"It is MIRA's mission, as always, to preserve the sanctity of life and to eliminate threats from rogue factor-latent individuals; this extends not only to incident response teams, but post-incident cleanup and humanitarian efforts. Mitigation of any further collateral is paramount at this time, as the incident fallout is still actively developing. However, we have confirmed that a total of three perpetrators were responsible for the Central Park wildfire, and two of these targets were neutralized in the ensuing confrontation between rapid-response Jurors and these factor-latent individuals."
And here came the spin.
"As it stands, one of these FLIs had seemingly lost control over their abilities and impacted a civilian at the border of the incident exclusion zone. The cause of this disruption and ensuing casualty is currently under investigation by site examination analysts, who have not reached a definitive conclusion at this time."
Rustles in the crowd. Questions, now-- rapid-fire, like gunshots in the ear. Harold almost flinched. Almost.
"-- ambiguous language, coming from--"
"-- can you list available Jurors on-site at the time of incident? You're--"
"-- family deserves to know the root cause of a person's death, you know that, right?"
"Look, I am telling you the information that I am given, and that is the entirety of our intelligence. MIRA continues to uphold its promise of transparency and vigilance, and should our internal investigation yield any revelations-- which it has not-- we are prepared to take relevant legal action. In addition, we have contacted witnesses on-site to collect personal testimonies." He looked to the crowd, now-- and pointed to a journalist near the front. "Paul Troy. Go."
"Are you prepared to disclose the identity of present Jurors at this time? Veiling them only seems to insinuate culpability."
"I had just stated that no Jurors had been found culpable, and should that change, we will disclose relevant information," Harold replied. "Publicizing any names would just fuel a cycle of vitriol and potentially put a target on people's backs. Which is the opposite of what we want, Paul. Next question-- Nancy, CNN."
"Will there be disclosure of identity for any FLIs?"
"At this time, we cannot say. The surviving FLI is in critical condition, and publicizing any details would endanger the nature of the investigation. You-- Central Period Report."
"Was the casualty a result of Juror incompetence? Culpability is irrelevant-- this death still happened under MIRA's watch--"
"This casualty," Harold interjected, his face flickering with a twitch of a scowl-- imperceptible, and swallowed before a snarl could form. "Is an unfortunate circumstance of the times we now live in. It is my belief-- and a reflection of MIRA's, as well-- that had our Jurors not responded, there would have been further devastation and loss of life. Any death that occurs under the watch of this Agency is heartbreaking. Truly, it is. But a zero-casualty encounter is best-case-- and against overwhelming odds, only a singular life was taken by--" Terrorists? No. Too inflammatory. Too international. When people think of terrorists, they think of foreign invaders. Conspiracy. Paranoia. "-- these criminals." Barely a pause in his voice. "It is a testament to the training and dedication of MIRA's Jurors that this incident was responded to swiftly and safely, and we thank our available on-call operators for their heroic actions today."
More hands raised, pens and cameras alike. Harold raised his own palm, tilting his head.
"No further questions. As it stands, we are committed to getting to the bottom of this incident, and bringing justice to New York City as a whole. This is not just an attack on a singular citizen-- this is an attack on the city as a whole. A strike against one American is a strike against all, and will be answered with appropriate prejudice. Thank you all for your time. God bless America."
And then he was gone, turning upon his heels in the aftermath of the clamor-- adjusting his glasses and tucking a folder under his arm, jaw tight as he made his way out of the press hall.