I grin at them. Maybe it should be awkward, , talking strategy less than an hour after the delicious debauchery we engaged in, but that’s not the case at all. If anything, our focus feels sharper, our determination renewed tenfold.
It’s ten-thirty, which means there’s less than two hours until the emergency council meeting commences. That’s how much time we have to intervene.
“Actually,” I say to Noah, “my idea is inspired by you.”
“Me?”
Evan seems to understand, smiling and nodding. “But what about that mole you mentioned? If you don’t have access to your camera crew, how will we make it work?”
“Make what work?” Noah asks.
“I already texted Lou. She’ll bring Gina, too. Two handy lesbians are way more useful than those two treacherous little men anyway.”
Noah frowns. “I’m totally lost.”
“Plus,” I add, still ignoring poor Noah, “Gina’s cousin works for a studio down in Brooklyn, so she’ll be able to provide plenty of equipment.”
“Hello?” Noah waves his hands dramatically. “The court jester needs you to spell this out for him, princess.”
I offer him a winning smile. “Make yourself pretty, dollface. Because we’re going live.”
“Live? Like a livestream?”
“Yep.”
“Haven’t we already learned that a livestreaming format isn’t ideal for getting our point across?”
“No,” I argue lightly. “We’ve learned that going live at inopportune moments where countless factors are outside of our control is not the move. But this is most certainty the right moment, and everything will be perfectly controlled. This time, we’ll have a camera crew we trust and the aftermath of last night’s emergency to serve as proof of Station 47’s devotion.”
Evan crosses his arms. “It’s funny, actually. Banks thinks he has the upper hand by making this move when he believes that our captain is holed up in a hospital. But everyone knows that a city is never more united than it is in the wake of a tragedy.”
“Andyouguys are the heroes of that tragedy, not Banks,” I add. “So, we’ll steal his thunder. Save A Hero has garnered hundreds of thousands of loyal viewers, so we’ll use that platform to stream a town-hall style event right here in the firehouse. We’ll plead our case one final time and urge the people of New York City—and elsewhere, if they care enough—to do whatever they can to interrupt the vote. Maybe we can even reach them inside the council chamber and change their minds right then and there.”
Noah chews on his bottom lip. “It could work, but it also might not.”
“It’s a long shot,” I agree. “But one thing that I’ve learned throughout this campaign is that you guys are most powerful when you’re at your most earnest. Staging outings and interviews is entertaining for people tuning in, but what really sings is pure honesty.”
“Yeah, think about it, Noah,” Evan muses. “Even though your livestream of that rescue last week wasn’t the best idea, the outcome was that people saw a public servant who put his life on the line for a child.”
I nod. “And a puppy.”
I just wish Banks wasn’t acting so hastily. If we had time, I might even be able to get in contact with that grateful father and invite him to speak as part of this livestream, since he was so passionately defending Noah online.
But we’ll work with what we have. It’s what I’ve done since the day me and Lou started Hartstrings PR. We didn’t have much. We didn’t have a rich dad like Barry does or a vast network inherited from successful parents. All we had was our hard work and determination, and that was enough to win us the small business grant that kickstarted everything.
I can make something out of nothing. So it shouldn’t be difficult at all to turn everyday heroes into undeniable victors.
And I love them enough that I have to try.
Chapter twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-Six: Hale
It’s an unseasonably chilly day for early October, but I swear it’s even colder inside the council chamber.
The chamber itself is an austere sort of place, all tidy rows of cushioned seats, polished desks, and microphones set at perfect angles. It’s a place designed for exactly fifty-one people to govern one of the most important cities in the country, but today it’s made even more disturbingly severe by the fact that the only people present are the ten representatives from the district of Manhattan.
Including Andrew Banks, of course.
