Amaury's Hellion
Page 32
Amaury noticed that Ricky used the collective we. He was an extraordinary speaker, always knowing what the crowd wanted, how he could win them over to his side. Many of Scanguards’ bodyguards were reformed criminals, and while Ricky wasn’t an ex-con, to imply that he was one of them was a smart PR move.
“We’re in this together. One bad apple won’t spoil the entire batch. I believe in you guys. Without you, there would be no Scanguards. Without you, the world would be less safe,” he continued his pep talk. “The company needs you to stay strong and vigilant. If you suspect any wrongdoing, I urge you to come to me.”
Amaury scanned the crowd and tried to filter out the various emotions bouncing around the room. His head was near exploding, but as always he didn’t let on. The emotions which bombarded him were what he expected: fear, dread, anger, disbelief.
“We can’t allow these incidents to rip the company apart. Too many people depend on us. Too many jobs would be lost. We all have families that depend on us. Let’s not let them down.”
“Are there any leads?” a question came from the audience.
Ricky shook his head. “We’re not privy to any information the police deems confidential. We will conduct our own internal investigation though, and for that we rely on your input. Many of you knew both Edmund and Kent. So I have a favor to ask of you: if you think there is anything odd that happened to them before these incidents, anything that might be considered strange, or if you know of any problems they had, please talk to me in confidence. Don’t fear any reprisals. If you feel you want to remain anonymous, I’ll respect your request.”
“Will there be a reward?”
Amaury frowned. Typical, there was always one who wanted to gain from a situation like this. He honed in on the man’s emotions.
“At this point nothing has been decided. But you all know how we work. The company won’t forget your contribution. We’re dependent on each other, and we look out for our own.”
He really had to hand it to Ricky; he could put a positive spin on anything. The men in the crowd looked much more relaxed now than at the beginning of the meeting. A lot of their anxiety was gone, and their emotions had settled down to a quiet simmer. Still, there were a few more hotheads to be dealt with.
“I can’t afford to be drawn into this. I’m on parole,” a big guy shouted out and leapt from his seat. Heads turned to him.
“Well, you’re not the only one,” another from across the room chimed in. “So, shut up.”
“You want a piece of me?” the parolee offered with clenched teeth, fists at the ready.
Ricky brought the crowd under control. “Please, gentlemen. There’s no need to get physical. Can you imagine the paperwork I have to deal with just to fill out the worker’s comp forms? Please. Settle down. None of us can afford to be mixed up in this, but we are. We didn’t choose this, but we have to deal with it. I urge you all to keep a cool head. Our first duty is to our clients. They will be nervous, and rightly so. If one of you loses their calm, our clients will notice. If you want to be pulled off your assignment, you’d better let me know now.”
Ricky gazed into the crowd, but nobody spoke up. “I take it this means we’re all still doing what we’re supposed to be doing. Protect our clients, do our jobs. We’ll get behind this, I promise you. Good night, gentlemen. Be safe.”
Ricky cast Amaury and Gabriel a silent look. Amaury nodded. He’d had sufficient time to delve into the employees’ emotions, but nothing of importance had transpired. All emotions seemed reasonable for the situation. However, there were a few staff members he wanted to take a closer look at.
As the room cleared and the chatter subsided, the vampires congregated in a corner.
“Anything?” Ricky asked.
“I tapped into their memories, but there was nothing that connected any of them to Edmund or Kent. Yes, some of them knew one or even both, but I couldn’t see any incidences that would lead me to believe in foul play. Unless somebody is blocking my access,” Gabriel admitted.
“They can do that?” Amaury asked in surprise. He’d always assumed Gabriel’s gift was infallible.
“The humans can’t. But any of the vampires might be able to. Not everybody can block me, but some of the vampires might have sufficient powers to at least block me partially or veil their memories so I can’t access them sufficiently. Don’t you have that issue with your power?”
Amaury shook his head and instantly knew he was lying. He’d only recently met the one person whose emotions he could not read, but he was sure it was a fluke. Plus, she was human. “No, I can sense anybody—human or vampire.”
“We’re in this together. One bad apple won’t spoil the entire batch. I believe in you guys. Without you, there would be no Scanguards. Without you, the world would be less safe,” he continued his pep talk. “The company needs you to stay strong and vigilant. If you suspect any wrongdoing, I urge you to come to me.”
Amaury scanned the crowd and tried to filter out the various emotions bouncing around the room. His head was near exploding, but as always he didn’t let on. The emotions which bombarded him were what he expected: fear, dread, anger, disbelief.
“We can’t allow these incidents to rip the company apart. Too many people depend on us. Too many jobs would be lost. We all have families that depend on us. Let’s not let them down.”
“Are there any leads?” a question came from the audience.
Ricky shook his head. “We’re not privy to any information the police deems confidential. We will conduct our own internal investigation though, and for that we rely on your input. Many of you knew both Edmund and Kent. So I have a favor to ask of you: if you think there is anything odd that happened to them before these incidents, anything that might be considered strange, or if you know of any problems they had, please talk to me in confidence. Don’t fear any reprisals. If you feel you want to remain anonymous, I’ll respect your request.”
“Will there be a reward?”
Amaury frowned. Typical, there was always one who wanted to gain from a situation like this. He honed in on the man’s emotions.
“At this point nothing has been decided. But you all know how we work. The company won’t forget your contribution. We’re dependent on each other, and we look out for our own.”
He really had to hand it to Ricky; he could put a positive spin on anything. The men in the crowd looked much more relaxed now than at the beginning of the meeting. A lot of their anxiety was gone, and their emotions had settled down to a quiet simmer. Still, there were a few more hotheads to be dealt with.
“I can’t afford to be drawn into this. I’m on parole,” a big guy shouted out and leapt from his seat. Heads turned to him.
“Well, you’re not the only one,” another from across the room chimed in. “So, shut up.”
“You want a piece of me?” the parolee offered with clenched teeth, fists at the ready.
Ricky brought the crowd under control. “Please, gentlemen. There’s no need to get physical. Can you imagine the paperwork I have to deal with just to fill out the worker’s comp forms? Please. Settle down. None of us can afford to be mixed up in this, but we are. We didn’t choose this, but we have to deal with it. I urge you all to keep a cool head. Our first duty is to our clients. They will be nervous, and rightly so. If one of you loses their calm, our clients will notice. If you want to be pulled off your assignment, you’d better let me know now.”
Ricky gazed into the crowd, but nobody spoke up. “I take it this means we’re all still doing what we’re supposed to be doing. Protect our clients, do our jobs. We’ll get behind this, I promise you. Good night, gentlemen. Be safe.”
Ricky cast Amaury and Gabriel a silent look. Amaury nodded. He’d had sufficient time to delve into the employees’ emotions, but nothing of importance had transpired. All emotions seemed reasonable for the situation. However, there were a few staff members he wanted to take a closer look at.
As the room cleared and the chatter subsided, the vampires congregated in a corner.
“Anything?” Ricky asked.
“I tapped into their memories, but there was nothing that connected any of them to Edmund or Kent. Yes, some of them knew one or even both, but I couldn’t see any incidences that would lead me to believe in foul play. Unless somebody is blocking my access,” Gabriel admitted.
“They can do that?” Amaury asked in surprise. He’d always assumed Gabriel’s gift was infallible.
“The humans can’t. But any of the vampires might be able to. Not everybody can block me, but some of the vampires might have sufficient powers to at least block me partially or veil their memories so I can’t access them sufficiently. Don’t you have that issue with your power?”
Amaury shook his head and instantly knew he was lying. He’d only recently met the one person whose emotions he could not read, but he was sure it was a fluke. Plus, she was human. “No, I can sense anybody—human or vampire.”
