525: Tongue tied

Tongue tied

Max went through the script he had prepared again while he waited for the clock to strike eight. There were another thirty minutes, and then, chaos would erupt in the country. However, Max was oddly calm. Even though he would be the news reader for the 8 p.m. news from now on, he did not have an ounce of fear or worry. All he felt was pride and satisfaction.  0

He had everything ready with him, and Kira and her team were ready with the video clippings. All they had to do was start the news at the scheduled time.

Unlike Max whose composure had not wavered even for a moment, other people were nervous on his behalf. Sasha had not been able to sit calmly in her place. She was beyond nervous and excited at the same time. This was the first time she was dealing with such an important piece of news and her heart was unable to control her anxiety. 

She walked back and forth in the production room with a packet of chips in her hands. With every step she took, she took a bite of the chip to ease her anxiousness. All the time, Cedric was watching her, and he shook his head when Sasha gobbled a few chips in one go. Although he sighed in helplessness, his eyes were filled with fondness for the girl who had no idea about it.

Sasha just kept mumbling to herself while Cedric kept staring at her, completely oblivious to the two pairs of eyes that were observing them.

"Say, when do you think Cedric will reveal his feelings to Sasha?" Kira folded her hands and almost glared at the man for having a dumb head.

"I am not sure. After seeing his condition, I don't think he would be taking any step towards her on his own." Ivy shook her head in dismay, silently scolding Cedric for not taking action. "I presume we need to push him towards her. Otherwise, that idiot will just keep staring at her, and one fine day, a young chap will sweep his dear girl off her feet."

Ivy's comment made Kira laugh, and she gave her a thumbs up. "You are right. Ced needs a good beating so that he can open his eyes and see what his true feelings are. Anyway, what's with you? Is something the matter?"

"Not that I could think of. Why do you ask?" Ivy gave her a confused look. 

"I just asked. You were visiting the office daily before, and you just stopped coming until today. I was just worried." Kira stated and looked at the papers in her hand. It held the sequence of the time when they would telecast a video clip to support Max's claims.

Ivy did not say a word about it and coughed lightly. She just pushed her hair back, biting her lip for hiding the truth from her friend. Ivy had no idea what to say to Kira and her other friends. The last few days had been quite hectic for her, from saving Maggie to almost losing Joshua. She was still emotionally shaken, and Ivy did not wish to revisit the memory. So, she just let the silence answer itself, unwilling to lie to her friend who stood in front of her.

"I must say I am impressed with Mr. Carter. He was able to dig out the truth from three years ago and provide it to us. He sure is formidable and invincible." Kira praised her, and Ivy smiled at her, letting go of her uneasiness temporarily. "But I wonder how he was able to do it? How did he find the truth behind the crimes at the hospital? Moreover, why is he even interested in it?" Kira voiced out all the questions that were giving her a headache.

Ivy closed her eyes in defeat. For the first time, she was unsure as to how to face the situation she was in. She had answers to all the questions Kira was asking her. But she did not know how to tell them.

Ivy was the only one who knew how Noah was able to get all the pieces of evidence and why he was interested in destroying Jared, the man behind most of their miseries. Jared had been responsible for a lot of pain the group had suffered. So, there was no way that anybody would allow him to go unscathed.

Though Ivy knew the truth, it was not solely related to her. Even though she was certain that Noah would never berate her for revealing the secrets, Ivy's conscience did not allow her to. All she could do was zip her lip and stay quiet. 

"I presume he used his connections," Ivy stated after searching for a reasonable response.

"I assume so too. But the important question is, why is he doing this? I am not blaming him for trying to put the culprit behind bars, but I cannot brush this question off my mind. Is he that good actually, or is there a motive behind it?"

'He is really good, Kira.' Ivy sighed lightly. 'But he also has a motive behind. How do I tell you this?'

"Mr. Carter sure is a mystery. I don't think I will be able to get my answers, not from him at least. I presume I should just settle with my assumptions." Kira turned to face Ivy, and the sudden action stunned Ivy for a moment. She stood frozen in her place.

Kira did not notice Ivy's weird stance and she continued speaking. "Whatever the reason behind Mr. Carter's actions is, I still admire him and respect him. If not for him, nobody would have found out the truth. Or it would have taken a lot of time, maybe even years for the truth to be unveiled." Kira lifted her head and smiled at her. 

Fortunately for Ivy, right at this moment, Max entered the room and Kira's focus shifted on him. The topic was dropped immediately.

"Are we ready to go live?" Kira queried and looked at the time. There were less than five minutes, and soon they would telecast with the biggest news they had ever handled in their lives.

"Yes. Is everything prepared?" Max nodded, his eyes sparkling in excitement.

"We are ready. Where is Mr. Carter by the way?"

"He is at his office. He is going to wait until we finish our first segment." Max nodded at Ivy, who was looking at him absent-mindedly. However, Max did not dwell on it. Cedric and Sasha entered the room, followed by the four other people in their team.

"Listen, guys," Max clapped his hands to gain everyone's attention. "We will be going live in a few minutes. Let us all hope for the best and give our best. We are doing this for the people who suffered injustice and also to save many people from suffering any more injustice in the future. Let us all be honest to our work and get that bastard behind the bars."

Max ran his eyes around him, meeting everyone in the eye. They were all riled up and ready for some action. It was time to kick some ass. It was time to pull of the facade the criminal had put up in society. It was show time.

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