Harry's Protégé Ch. 10

In the cab Sierra called a few people at 7:00 am, initiating the emergency alarm to race to the office. Each person she phoned knew from training they must call the five other persons they were to summon as part of the newspaper's Emergency Action Group.

The code-name she gave was 'Crunching Black Gold.'

Staff being phoned would know the newspaper was on to something to swat the mining company and its subsidiary Twin Oaks Mining.

When Sierra arrived some reporters were already in the newsroom, grouped around the big screen TV carrying the over-line 'Breaking News.' The TV presenter was struggling with little to go on as yet.

A big cheer sounded when the breakfast news presenter said: "Police say a number of mining workers and executives have been arrested in a series of pre-dawn raids today, including the chairman of Twin Oaks Mining, but refused to say for what offence or offences. We expect that to become clear within the hour after police chiefs and their legal advisers have been briefed."

The reporter was handed a piece of paper. "Excuse me, we are bringing you this live," she said.

Sierra was watching this while briefing the newspaper's parliamentary bureau chief about questions to ask the Inspectorate of Mines if the bureau chief managed to swing an exclusive interview after the CEO of the Inspectorate concluded his imminent press conference.

Sierra heard the Channel 4 TV presenter say, "We have learned from a confidential source that a small team from The Sentinel was involved in an undercover operation at Macdonald-Geering Quarries. That activity appears connected with the Twin Oaks mining disaster and triggered these series of arrests and this sudden announcement by the Government that it's ordering an immediate investigation into the activities in this country of Black Gold International Inc., a multi-national mining conglomerate."

"We understand the person heading The Sentinel's sting was Sierra Bycroft, the beautiful nightclub-hopping daughter of the chairman of the newspaper, founded by his family almost 165 years ago. We are trying to reach Miss Bycroft now."

There was a commotion at the main entrance to The Sentinel's newsroom, with a sole security officer attempting to restrain a reporter, TV cameraman and sound technician.

"Let them in Charlie," Sierra called.

"Yes Miss Bycroft."

"Miss Bycroft, may we talk to you," yelled the female reporter, leading the charge.

"No!" yelled newsroom staff defensively.

"Yes, certainly," smiled Sierra, although unaware she was already appearing live on TV. As the 9-second delay rolled staff saw themselves grouped around Sierra.

"I'll talk in general, but I'm not giving away anything that's exclusive to our newspaper presentation tomorrow morning."

"That's fine, Miss Bycroft. Do you confirm you led this so-called sting?"

"Yes - it was me and our police reporter Jake Withers, one of the best crime reporters in the country."

Everyone looked at Jake, who'd just walked in. The camera swung on him and his raised a quizzical eyebrow and he said, "Miss Sierra Bycroft, she was sensational."

"Miss Bycroft, why did you go into the quarry?"

"I did so after receiving some sensation information from our company's chief legal adviser, Mr Peter Fish."

"Did he suggest you do an undercover operation?"

"You'll have to ask Mr Fish or read our newspaper in the morning."

Sierra's phone in her hand rang. She checked and saw it was Harry.

"Excuse me," she smiled into the camera.

"Yes Harry."

"Our conference which just started has been suspended; we're all watching this on TV. The feed is going around the country. You're doing magnificently. Bye."

"Who's Harry?"

"Our editor-in-chief."

"Why isn't he here?"

"He's out of town at a conference. The conference had halted and everyone in watching this on TV. Mr O'Hern says the feed is going nationally."

The reporter looked shocked, swallowed and continued.

"Was something found in the quarry?"

"Yes."

"What was found?"

"Either ask the police or read our newspaper in the morning."

"The police are refusing to tell us, so why don't you cough up now. It's no big deal."

"Oh yeah. You wait till the axes begin to fall."

"Why won't you tell us?"

"Because if the police refuse to tell I would have given away a huge part of our exclusive information that we initiated at perhaps great physical risk to ourselves although I must say we were never threatened because of slick teamwork."

"What we did wasn't illegal; we were at the mine performing a legitimate news story for one of our company's magazines called Heavy Machinery."

The reporter looked excited.

"Without hours the police may slap a court order on you prohibiting publication. Checkmate don't you think? Tell everything now and the public will love you."

"Yes and earn the scorn of my boss Mr O'Hern."

"Oh my; is something going on between you and Mr O'Hern; he's rather dishy don't you think?"

"I guess this interview is over."

The reporter collected herself. "No wait, would you defy a Court order?"

"In this case perhaps. I would have to seek legal advice and then make my decision."

"Look Twin Oaks Mining is suing The Sentinel for more than $4 million for breaking the original story about concerns over the cause of those tragic deaths of four miners."

"If its hitherto largely unknown connection with Black Gold International its parent company decides to sue, the amount being sought in damages could fly through the roof to $400 million or more. Also I have been named as second defendant because I authorized the release of the original story that set all this rolling. It was clear to Mr O'Hern that something underhand was going on and I now know for a fact that I and Mr Withers have done something that has allowed our legal team led by the distinguished attorney Mr Peter Fish to nail those bastards who are either directly or indirectly responsible for the deaths of those four miners."

The reporter frowned. "Goody for you, Miss Bycroft - a magnificent achievement. But why turn your back on brilliant victory by defying a court order and go to jail?"

"May I point out that no injunction has been served on me as acting editor-in-chief and I'm disregarding that possibility in the meantime."

"Would you be prepared to risk going to jail?"

"It has cost us time, money and anxiety over such a large threat of damages and I'd make my decision at the time any injunction is served and after taking legal advice. Against my personal freedom I have to assess the public's right to know."

"What if you defy any injunction and Mr O'Hern lands up in jail as well?"

"If we share a cell I'll get the opportunity to know him better, won't I? Oh and I give you this advice, don't give the impression that everybody at Twin Oaks Mining knew about this criminal cover-up; only a few people appear involved."

Grinning hugely, the reporter went into closure mode.

"Thank you Miss Sierra Bycroft, deputy editor-in-chief of The Sentinel newspaper, who apparently has played a key role in bringing a number of mining officials and workers to face allegations of serious offences possibly linked to the deaths of four miners some months ago."

"This is Linda Canon, returning you to the studio where we have a team of crack reporters working to bring you the missing elements to this intriguing story of the beauty versus grim-faced mining officials and workers with their alleged evil secrets."

Sierra's phone went.

"Hi it's Peter. You were brilliant. Half the city is probably watching. I don't think the police would block publication; they know it's your story, that you helped us to crack it for them. Any injunction will come through one of the mining companies - um, via your brother Guy. I have a friendly Judge willing to hear our application for the injunction to be lifted within an hour's notice. The Judge thinks it's you who is the dishy one. Bye."

The call terminated with Sierra realizing she hadn't spoken a word.

The thought of Guy opposing her on behalf of his client did not please her, but that was life. She hugged Linda the TV interviewer, saying it was great talking to her but she and her team must leave the newsroom right now.

"Jason, call security," Sierra ordered. "I want two guards on both of our entrances here, no one to enter except editorial staff."

"Frank, call up the directors of Advertising, Production, Press Room and Circulation on the double to our meeting room and accept no refusals; if they're not available their deputies will do. Say this is an emergency. I also want everyone available who usually attends the afternoon conference to be at that emergency meeting in the boardroom at 8:45."

She looked around and spotted her PA.

"Janice take my phone and stay alongside me. Talk to anyone who calls but I only want to speak to Mr O'Hern, my father, our chief legal adviser Mr Fish, any senior police official. If other callers are hysterical about the need to speak to someone, use your judgment and pass the caller to someone."

She turned to the reporters.

"Jake, sorry, you'll have to stay here and direct follow-ups as you have inside knowledge. Get Paul and Larry to snout in police corridors to find out what is happening and reactions from those involved in the raids."

"Get a mining machinery expert - we need a basic sketch of how air supply systems work. Find experts to detail maintenance programs and points where problems usually occur. Other things will come to you. I'm off to start writing our story of what we did. Everyone else, keep busy in routine work but if Jake calls you, jump."

"Oh, one more thing Jake, get an ex-Twin Oaks Mining equipment and air supply services engineer in here and talking to me faster than a bullet - do you hear!"

"Yes Sierra, loud and clear."

Sierra started her story and entered the meeting room late. She was greeted with applause.

"Thanks and this is a great day for us but it will bring worrying times. I want agreement on what we need to do to cope with a possible injunction legally preventing us from publishing anything that identifies what was found at the quarry."

"What was found?" the director of advertising enquired.

"Read it in the newspaper in the morning," responded several people at the table, their timing a little ragged.

"Yes it's best if we don't talk about that yet," Sierra said.

It was decided any references to the findings in the quarry should be kept on one page, which could be replaced at the last minute. Other information already in the public arena on other pages would probably not need to be replaced.

"Are there any more suggestions?" Sierra asked, and nodded when the chief sub-editor suggested they would make up dummy pages ready to slot in anywhere if any injunction was served seeking to prohibit any mention of the recent mining disaster and latest developments.

"No one will stop us publishing," Sierra gritted.

That was greeted by nervous approval, such as 'Hear, hear'.

Sierra said, "Okay this is radical, which is the reason why I've called you folk to this meeting. Our first edition for country distribution usually rolls around 11:15 pm. How much earlier could we bring that out?"

It was decided at 8 pm but that would cause chaos.

"I was hoping you would agree to 6:00 pm. I reckon any injunction would be presented just before 7:00 which is the time many attorneys finish their day. They'll guess we publish after midnight."

"There's not a hope of press-roll before 10:15," the director of publishing and promotion said. "Our distribution system is not that flexible and we'd drop a mint by not running classified advertising and..."

"Okay I get the picture Gary. Here's what we'll do - we'll hire ten commercial owner-operator courier vans to deliver a promo as soon as they're printed for detailing our lead story in tomorrow morning's newspaper and revealing what was found in the quarry. We'll get commercial printing to run out 500 copies and have them delivered today from 2 pm onwards."

"This means giving away our secret - but detailing only what was found, not how it was found and the implications, right? That action would almost certainly negate any injunction as the secret will have already been published before the order was effected, which keeps me out of jail."

The circulation manager said apologetically, "Sierra couriers are flat-out at that time of afternoon with last deliveries and then office mail-out collections."

"Blast I hadn't thought of that," Sierra sighed.

"What time are you thinking of starting deliveries?" she was asked.

"We'll have to go with mid-afternoon to keep ahead of the legal beavers. With luck any injunction will not be served before 5 pm. With even more luck none of the TV stations will find out about the drop and distributions of our promo before their early evening news bulletins end. Those bastards would try to claim they are breaking the story."

"Agreed," Frank said, "But we've still got to get those promos out there; we need a back-up plan. We could email out scans of the promo to other media."

The director of advertising and promotions said, "I could call for volunteers of my advertising reps - they are used to running copy for clients, I'd guarantee ten volunteers."

Others offered a number of volunteers and the manager of subscriptions and circulation announced they theoretically had forty-two people to deliver the promos. At fifty promos each to distribute, Sierra would need 2100 printed.

"Good," she said, "We'll have photographers go out on a couple of drops to record these delivers and to email back evidence of people reading the promos - the cameras will imprint the time and date proving out actions beat the issuing of any court writ."

It was agreed to distribute the hand-outs promoting the lead story for tomorrow's edition would also reveal what had been found at the quarry, these single page leaflets being distributed up to twenty miles radius of the city center.

At noon Sierra ordered the main entrance to the newsroom to be locked, with a notice displayed, pointing to the far entrance to the newsroom and similar notices on all executive offices. She explained that anyone serving an injunction would have to walk the length of the newsroom to find her or another senior executive to serve the notice.

At 5:20 two men in dark suits entered the newsroom, asking for Miss Bycroft.

Sierra saw one of the visitors was her brother Gus.

She said to Frank, "Do it."

Frank sent out a simultaneous email to every major newspaper in the country a print-out of The Sentinel's page one (mostly written by Sierra), which included what was found in the quarry and advising that an injunction was currently being served on The Sentinel attempting to prohibit publication of the story but that order would be opposed in court within the hour with a great chance of being lifted.

Meanwhile Sierra called Peter Fish and instructed him, with her brother patiently waiting with a document in his hand to serve on her, smiling as he heard Sierra detailed to Peter what she'd done to negate the effect of the order.

Peter praised her. "You're brilliant Sierra; you should be on my payroll."

"Sign here, ma'am," requested the suited man standing alongside Guy witnessing the papers being served.

"It's Miss," smiled Sierra, taking his pen and technically signing away her freedom if she did not comply with the order.

Her PA ran in holding out Sierra's phone. "TV 4."

"Sierra Bycroft speaking."

"Right, just a sec, Miss Bycroft - we are about to go live audio with this...three, two, one."

"Good evening, Miss Bycroft: this is Bruce Woodcock from Channel 4. We have just heard that a facsimile of the front page of your newspaper due to appear in the morning that air supply equipment was found at the quarry. Did you publish and distribute that information?

"Yes, I authorized the publication of twenty-one hundred copies and arranged them to be spread over a 20-mile radius of our downtown area."

"Why do that?"

"To negate this injunction served on behalf of one or both of those manipulative, scurrilous mining companies executives up to their necks in this foul business."

"Steady on, that's coming close to defaming the CEOs of those mining companies."

"I deny that and chose my words carefully. I did not attack the mining chief executives - my comments were directed totally at the people I targeted - those manipulative, scurrilous mining company executives up to their necks in this foul business. They'll know who they are."

"It is probable the parent mining company senior administrators know nothing of this affair but the chairman of the smaller company was charged in court today after an offence or offences relating to that find at the quarry."

"Is he guilty?'

"You ask him."

The reporter took that on the chin with a slight pause.

"Er Miss Bycroft when was the injunction served on you?"

"Three minutes ago."

"Boy we're right up with the news."

"Your certainly are and well done. You and others in your news team had done exceedingly well in hammering this story in trying circumstances. My congratulations go to everyone. I must go, I have a newspaper to publish as soon as we fight this blasted injunction attempting to muzzle us for reasons unknown, but suspected."

"What are they, Miss Bycroft?"

"Goodnight, Mr Woodcock."

Sierra was in a cab heading for the 7:30 p.m. court hearing when her phone went.

"Hi," Harry said. "Tired?"

"A little. You've heard the injunction has been served, right?"

"Yep."

"I'm on the way to the courthouse now. Peter Fish pre-arranged a Judge - or did I tell you that earlier? Anyway he expects the order will be lifted because it no longer serves any useful purpose."

"That's the opinion here - and there're 270 of us. That sort of move has been done before successfully but never so publicly. The feeling is you'll receive some sort of presentation at the national awards for service to journalism, showing how the media reacts when challenged to preserve the freedom of the press. You've become a bit of a sensation down here."

"A five-minute wonder."

"True but some of it will stick."

"Are you still mad at me?"

Harry took his time answering. "Yes, very but on the other hand I'm so proud of you."

"Are you coming home tomorrow evening to smack my bare bottom?"

"Sierra we're on the phone."

"Fuck the phone; just answer the question."

"Would you like me to do that?"

"Sorry we're at the Courthouse - must dash."

"Sierra!"

She grinned, switching off her phone.

A court order lifting the injunction became effective at midnight that night. Sierra took the risk and ordered the country edition to roll at 11 o'clock, but not a single copy to leave the premises until midnight. Technically that was in breach of the original injunction because legally publish means seen and read by one other person. Employees had to park out on the streets, allowing delivery vans packed with the country edition of the newspaper to wait in the parking lots.

As arranged the company's fire siren sounded on the first stroke of midnight and thirty-five delivery vehicles loaded with a full edition of the newspaper began the charge out the gates, horns tooting, lights flashing as if it were a vehicle rodeo. The cameras of TV4 and three other TV stations recorded the dramatic spectacle with some of the footage appearing immediately on the Internet with a now haggard looking Sierra pushing herself through the interviews with aplomb.

Earlier, she'd watched interviews of grim-faced senior executives of Black Gold International in Singapore and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, feature on TV4's late news bulletin at 10:00 pm, their lawyers clustered around them.