It was surreal.
Derek stared at the horde of angry people waiting for them on the road, and for a single wild second he thought that they were not real. Maybe after all the problems with his sleep, his mind had finally snapped.
But then Emily was leaning forward and grabbing the driver by the shoulder.
"Drive! Get us out of here now!" She said, her normally calm voice frantic, her eyes wide.
"Down with Haven!"
"Down with Haven!"
"Down with Haven!"
"Down with Haven!"
As the crowd moved closer, their angry chants echoed. It made sense for Emily to want them out of harm's way. But looking over at the workers, a sense of calm settled over Derek.
"No, do not go anywhere. I want to talk to them," The twin looks of shock that were immediately turned on him would have been funny if Derek was not feeling as terrified as they looked.
.He undid his seatbelt, and ws about to push the door open when a small, smooth hand settled over his.
"Derek, stop, you have nothing to prove. We can come back so other day," Derek looked at her wide green eyes and was almost tempted to stop, but he shook his head.
"If I run now, it will be too late. The longer this goes on, the greater the chances that these people will no longer be willing to listen," He met her gaze with his own, silently letting her know that his mind was made up. Her grip on the back of his hand tightened, unshed tears in her eyes.
"Derek, that is a mob. In mob mentality, they don't listen to reason. They see you and they will attack. I have worked in a hospital, I have seen the injuries an angry group can inflict. You do not want to do this…trust me,"
She was right, the chances of things going bad were pretty high, but Derek was not a runner. What he needed was a way to get their attention for just a few seconds. Buy what?
"Excuse me…" The new voice broke their staring contest, and they both turned to the driver.
"What?" They said in sync, making the poor man jump.
"They almost here," The driver said, pointing a gloved finger at the crowd. He was right, they really were too close.
Thinking fast, Derek turned back to the driver.
"Do you have a flare gun?" The man nodded.
"Good, give it to me," The man retrieved it and handed it over.
"If anything happens to me, do not wait around. Get her to safety," With that he opened the door.
"Derek what are you-" He was outside before Emily could finish talking.
The mob, seeing movement, became more energized. Their chants deafening, and Derek swore it made the ground beneath his feet shake.
Rather than back down, he squared his shoulders and walked forward, his grip on the flare gun tightening. He was almost close enough to see individual faces when he felt a presence next to him.
He turned, and there was Emily, her hair whipping in the wind, her chin tilted stubbornly as she stared at the crowd.
"I told you to stay in the car," He said, some of his calmness slipping.
"You are not the boss of me," She told him, and despite everything, Derek had to fight a smile. She barely made it up to his chest and looked like the wind could snap her in half, but she was so stubborn.
"I am the boss of you," Derek said, but then he had to focus. Someone had just thrown a stick and he had to dodge.
Taking that as his cue, he raised his arm and fired the flare gun.
The light caught everyone's attention, the crowd going silent, and Derek took his chance.
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I understand that all of you have received a very troubling message that threatens your future at Haven Group. I am here to tell you that, the message is not in the least bit true," Shouting hurt his throat, but if he did not get his point across, more than just his throat would be hurting.
There was a beat, and Derek knew there were hundreds of disbelieving eyes trained on him. Where he expected dozens of people to speak up, only one voice could be heard.
"How can we trust you? You will say whatever upper management sent you to say, and then when you get back to the city, we will find ourselves unemployed," The crowd parted and an older woman stepped forward. Even with the car's headlights illuminating her, it was hard to make out any more about her features.
"And you are?" Derek asked.
"The name is Brenda, and you still have not given me a reason why we should trust your word," Derek liked Brenda already, straight to the point and did not get side tracked easily.
"How about you trust the word of your CEO. This is Derek Haven, CEO of Haven Enterprises, and I am Emily Molson, his PA," Emily finished talking and this time there was the uproar Derek had been expecting at first.
"She's lying!"
"Why would the CEO come here?!"
The questions continued until someone had the bright idea to come closer and shine a light in his face. That had everyone going quiet.
"It really is him," Someone said.
"Are you really here to talk and not fire everyone," This time it was Brenda who asked.
"Yes, yes, I am," And the just like that, Derek was led away towards the factory, Emily walking beside him. He would have preferred to get back in the car, but he had a feeling that would not have gone down well. So walking it was.
After a night of absolutely no sleep, focusing at one hundred and ten percent, getting no rest whatsoever, and not even getting a chance to swim. Derek was looking forward to yet another night of no sleep, and of having to keep his mind focused instead of allowing it to cool off a bit.
Whatever little sleep he had been getting in the past was not enough to sustain such an effort. Derek hoped that he at least made it through the talks with the plant workers without his mind and body failing him.