Hastings Corp.
One of the novel's most notorious entities. If there ever was a deep state in this version of the US, then the people high up from this corporation have dipped themselves deep in the quagmire. From pharmacy, the arms industry and hospitality. Their tentacles were far-reaching and intertwined with many people's livelihood. If companies and corporations are already disgustingly powerful in a world without monsters, then what about a world where there are monsters?
'Then they will become even more overpowered.'
Cade stepped out of his car after entering the Hastings facility building and parking it underground. The facility was located in a huge industrial complex within the outskirts of Quinton City, Virginia State. Following the strict procedures and guide of the security teams, Cade made his way towards the press conference.
'As expected, this oppressive atmosphere. I don't like it one bit.'
His face indifferent, Cade felt nothing but unease as he pressed forward, gripping his office bag with pressure. There was nothing good when getting involved with Hastings. What made this corporation scary wasn't necessarily their tight grip on society. It was their brazen ways to achieve their goal no matter the consequences. Even at the cost of many lives.
One act that highlights this was their ongoing project on bioengineering. This was a well-kept secret hidden cleverly by the corporation from the public eye. On the surface, many breakthroughs and benefits were displayed to the world as a form of distraction. This was especially so in the health industry. Innovations such as prosthetics and artificial joints were some of the many 'contributions' attributed to Hastings Corp. So, in essence, they have a good reputation in this world. However, the reality was that Hastings Corp focused more on the attempt of creating a weapon of mass destruction through bioengineering. A human-sized weapon―or something artificially resembling it―a troublesome establishment that would complicate the plot of the novel and hinder the protagonist.
'However, it's still years away from that. For this period of time, I have to play along now until everything gets uncovered.'
Cade put down his wild thoughts and paid attention to the designated room where the press conference will be held. It was filled with many people from other news outlets and other important stakeholders.
One of the security personnel, wearing all black, curtly showed Cade where he should sit and he obediently obliged.
Cade immediately established himself as he took out his personal camera and a small notebook from his bag. He then quietly made mental notes and rehearsed some of the questions intentionally prepared for the conference. Most of them were softball questions aiming to enhance the public image of the corporation. Hastings Corp and The Daily Notice apparently were quite close in relations, as it should be per the web novel. It was only after the incident which revealed the dirty hands of Hastings that The Daily Notice changed its tune on the corpo.
"Hey there, mind if I sit next to you?"
In the midst of this, someone stood next to Cade without him noticing. Cade raised his head and noticed a somewhat familiar face.
It was a man in his 30s with a nice, trimmed beard. He had a shiny nut-brown hair that extended down to a mullet. His frame was muscular and pronounced despite wearing a black turtleneck with a pastel-colored checkered outer on top of it. A bit flamboyant in Cade's opinion.
"Sure. Here, take a seat."
Though Cade relaxedly shrugged his shoulders and offered a smile.
The man took his seat and offered his hand as a gesture in return. Cade took it and they shook hands.
"I believe we haven't met, have we? My name's Clyde. Clyde Burns. Pleasure to meet you."
"No, we haven't. Cade Monroe. Just call me Cade, Mr. Burns."
Clyde waved his hand as he chuckled.
"Well, if you put it that way, call me Clyde then. Let's not make ourselves too stiff with the formalities, eh? They can be quite the nuisance."
Cade grinned.
"If you say so, Clyde."
Clyde Burns. Quite the unassuming character. There wasn't much revealed in the web novel about him. But in this case where Cade had been a permanent resident in this world for years, Clyde could be considered as a bigshot in Quinton City. There were two main reasons as to why that is. The first one was that Clyde's a hunter. Not your typical one, but a B rank hunter. Tiers were established amongst hunters in order to assess their strength and potential. This standard was quickly implemented not long after the founding of the League of Nations (LoN) as an international organization. The consensus was that the lowest rank a hunter may obtain is F, while the highest rank attainable for a hunter is considered to be SS. Considering all this, being a B rank hunter is not a laughable matter at all.
The second reason for Clyde's significant standing in the city was because he is affiliated with the management of the US Hunter Association or USHA for short. The USHA could be considered as one of the most powerful entities in the country. They were only answerable to the president or―under special circumstances―the Department of Defense if need be. So in short, Clyde was both a powerful and influential individual in his own right. It's just that he was recently stationed in Quinton City for duty a few months ago. Hence Cade might recognize Clyde, but it wasn't mutual from the other side.
"If I may ask, which outlet are you with?"
Clyde probed. His eyes wandered around the camera resting on Cade's lap and notebook held in his hands.
"Ah, apologies. I'm a journalist from The Daily Notice."
"No-no, that's alright…The Daily Notice, huh. That means you know of Monty Higgins, right?"
Cade bitterly smiled internally and nodded.
"Oh, I'm very familiar with that name. Matter of fact, he was supposed to be here instead of me. But a few things here and there kept him preoccupied. I came as his replacement since everyone's busy. I'm curious though, how did you know each other?"
Clyde shook his head in understanding.
"Oh that? We met in the city's USHA office after some of my guys took down a monster from the local neighborhood up north. Surprisingly enough, we hit it off after a couple of interviews and I even treated him to a drink."
"That is surprising. But I'm not too shocked since it's Monty."
Cade chuckled. Monty always had people's good side on him. It was the reason why the Chief trusted him with many assignments.
"Right? Monty's kinda cool once you get to know him up close. Well, that and it wouldn't hurt to get to know some guys from the news. You never know when you need them, ain't that right?"
Cade agreed with that statement. Well, considering Clyde's position that represented the USHA, having some connection here and there with news outlets was just a basic necessity for PR. Though it was surprising that Clyde as hunter would be the proactive party doing the dirty work. Usually, it would be the non-combatant personnel from the USHA that did the mundane task of maintaining good relations with news outlets.
Hunters weren't known to be fans of reporters and journalists. This was understandable as these guys would usually get under their skin and try their hardest to dig up the juiciest stories about them, especially the hunter's personal lives. Clyde was definitely an oddball for sure.
'Still, with a smart head on his shoulders, someone like Clyde could easily climb up the ladder of hierarchy in any organization and stand out amongst the crowd.'
Cade internally wondered why Clyde wasn't mentioned much in the web novel, if not at all really. A man of his caliber should've played a significant part in the novel. But he wasn't going to ponder that deeply as Cade already had enough things on his plate to think about.
And right on cue, a man wearing a black suit entered the room. His important status was amplified by the entourage he was escorted with. A man of middle age, he was lanky, and he had narrow eyes. Sneaky, just like how Cade would describe Hastings Corp in general. By then, all manner of small talk between many parties within this room stopped.
The lanky man sat in his seat in front of the crowd of reporters, journalists, stakeholders and a small number of hunters. He carefully signaled for his assistant standing behind him for a stack of papers and therefore began the press conference.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Reid Bynum. I am here as the representative for Hastings Corp and will answer every question you have towards the corporation and its policies. Though first of all, please pardon my late arrival. Apparently we encountered a small…mishap along the way. Nevertheless, the issue has been resolved. So let us proceed with our event, shall we?"
His strange tone somehow irked Cade, giving him the jingles. He had to close his eyes deeply to shake off that feeling.
'Somehow, I think this is going to be a long day.'