The Russian Crisis

CHAPTER 38

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Jackson took a taxi to Toronto Western Hospital at 8 a.m. He found Max's room in the Intensive Care Unit and was allowed in under strict orders to stay no longer than ten minutes.

Jackson found Blax hooked up to several machines, lying in a bed with raised sidebars. The man's body seemed encased in bandages and his head was swathed in a gauss fabric. His eyes were shut and his breathing seemed regular.

"Hello, Max," Jackson spoke quietly as he bent forward at the bedside. There was no reply.

A nurse entered and Jackson and she exchanged pleasantries. "He was awake earlier but didn't say anything," the nurse said. "He's mildly sedated while we determine the extent of injuries to his brain, if any."

Jackson looked at Max again for several moments but seeing no activity, he waved goodbye at the busy nurse and exited the room and the hospital. By 9 a.m., he was in the PR unit at JPI waiting for Mariah Belo.

She came in with her laptop computer and a few sheets of paper. Jackson marveled at the woman's morning look; she seemed cool, collected and quite striking regardless of the stress she must be under. She put down her laptop on the board table and handed the papers across to Jackson before taking a chair.

The top sheet on the slim pile of paper was the introduction to Jackson that Mariah would give to open the news conference. He was identified as the founder and former CEO of JPI and as a current board member and acting CEO in the absence of Maxim Blax. She would explain that Mr. Blax had been involved in an accident the night before and had suffered serious injuries but was expected to recover fully, according to doctors. The intro did not go into detail about the accident and did not mention the police investigation into it or the hospital in which Blax was being treated.

"If they ask, we'll answer," she offered when Jackson raised his eyes, "But if they don't, we won't."

During the morning, Jackson and Mariah went over the material for the conference. Others were asked to come by to suggest questions while the two figured out answers. Payne's questions were the only ones Mariah hadn't anticipated and Jackson doubted if they were queries journalists would make.

"How many clients does JPI have today and how many do you think you'll have in a year?"

"Is that a trick question, Payne?" asked Jackson with a show of annoyance.

"Nope. The trick question would be how many clients will JPI lose over the year as they think they are using obsolete and maybe vulnerable software."

"Point taken." Jackson began to worry.

"Yes," Mariah observed, "but look at it this way. By announcing new software a year in advance, we're competing with what is in place today. We're competing with ourselves, in fact. But what would happen if a rival company announced they were bringing out brand new product across the board..."

"Ouch," said Payne. "You're right. Whatever we lose now and over the coming year, we'll make it up in spades when 3.0 hits the market."

Finally, Mariah closed her laptop and brushed her hands together. "That's it. Done, Finito."

Jackson was tired. The pouches under his eyes had blackened and his mouth drooped. He looked his age.

"Lunch and a rest or vice versa," Mariah ordered.

Jackson took the versa with a short nap on a couch in a spare meeting room on the PR floor. After that, he went for a light lunch by himself, saying he wanted solitude to think about his role in the conference. In reality, he also wanted a splash of water on his face and a couple of aspirins to quell the aches in his knees, having been sitting for three hours.