Max Arena (24 page)

The group fell
silent as eyes and attentions turned inward. Kris spoke first.

‘What sort of
marketing are you thinking of?’ she asked. ‘TV? Facebook?’

‘Everything,’
Joe replied. ‘Full coverage across all forms of media, both
traditional and contemporary. This is potentially the end of the
world we’re talking about, so this campaign is all or nothing. We
need the world to see Max everywhere they look. We need the world
to have him front of mind all the time. We need everyone to think
they know him, who he is and what he will do for them and by that I
mean lay down his life to save theirs’. The world needs a saviour
and in this day and age, any good saviour lives and breathes mass
media. It’s the only way to touch the whole world at the same time,
every second of every day right up until the arena.’

‘Sounds a bit
distracting,’ Kris continued. ‘If you’re going to plaster Max all
over every media outlet on the planet, that takes time. He needs to
train and nothing can get in the way of that or else everything
we’re trying to do here is for nothing.’

‘I agree with
you, Kris,’ Joe said, ‘and our intentions are aligned against your
concerns. We will not allow anything to disrupt or impede your
training. In fact, the focus on the training is the key to this
plan. What we are hoping to do is to take your training sessions to
the world.’

‘How do you
mean?’

‘The campaign
builds through phases. Phase one is we introduce Max through
inviting the world’s news media onto the estate, under highly
restricted terms of course. Once here, they can broadcast and
record much of what they see, but with the focus squared on your
training sessions. The only indulgence is a couple of brief
interviews with each of you. The world needs to see and know Max,
intimately. We need to showcase his extraordinary abilities, but at
the same time make him human, so people can relate to him as just
another person with a family and support group behind him. The only
difference is, this family man is going to save all of us.’

Kris nodded,
then asked, ‘What’s phase two?’

‘We take his
training public,’ Joe replied. ‘We set up training sessions in
local venues. Sporting grounds. Community halls. Maybe even
schools, but the venues would be local to the estate to reduce the
logistical challenge. Of course the security would be tight, but
the key is we let the public in to see Max up close and personal as
he goes through his paces with you, Kris. By doing this, we let the
crowd mentality notch itself up to the next level. As I said,
seeing is believing and I am quite sure that anyone who sees Max do
his stuff in the flesh will quickly become believers. This will
require some added showmanship in your training sessions of course,
but not much. Personally, I think Max sells himself. We just need
to let him loose.’

Kris frowned.
‘Don’t underestimate how much effort a show like that takes,’ she
said. ‘It’s that sort of distraction I’m worried about. Next you’ll
want to sell t-shirts and caps with Max’s face on them.’

Joe looked
sideways at Abdullah. Kris spotted the glance and jumped on it.

‘You’re joking
aren’t you?’ she shot back. ‘You’re not thinking of...’

‘It is a
possibility,’ Joe added. ‘Like I said, people need to see Max
everywhere and if that means merchandising, so be it. We’d be crazy
not to.’

Kris rolled her
eyes and asked, ‘Is there a phase three?’

‘Maybe,’ Joe
answered, ‘but it will depend heavily on the state of play at the
time. If the campaign is working and the social fabric is beginning
to mend as global support for Max grows, then maybe we do something
extra, but if the world is continuing to slide downwards, we will
likely have to retract ourselves and hide out for the duration.
There are too many variables to consider before planning too far in
advance.’

Abdullah picked
up the thread. ‘So, there are the fundamentals for the plan and
some details to consider. The concept is valid and both Joseph and
I believe it has an excellent chance of success, but as Joe
indicated, it needs
all
of you to support it or else it will
fail. We do not expect any decisions to be made now and would
rather you pondered our proposal overnight, but if you have any
initial thoughts for us or the group, please can you voice them
now?’

Kris eyed off
both Joe and Abdullah in turn and then looked down at the bench.
Elsa turned to lean against the sink, her head dipped and her arms
folded. Peter continued to scan the windows from beneath arched
eyebrows, his eyes squinting a little more than usual. The silence
dug in and then Elsa spoke.

‘Well, I don’t
need to sleep on it,’ she said, looking up at Abdullah and then
Joe. ‘I’m sold. If
you
think this is worth trying then I’m
in. I trust you both.’

Kris looked up
at Elsa from beneath her brow. Elsa looked back. A few moments
later, Kris nodded.

‘Okay,’ she
said, raising her head. ‘I’m in too, but the second it starts
distracting the training, I’m out. We can’t let the show become the
main game. Winning in the arena is what counts.’

Both Joe and
Abdullah nodded. Joe then turned to look back at Peter, who was
still unmoved against the wall behind them all.

‘What say you,
Peter?’ Joe asked. ‘You’re our security expert and if you think
this is too dangerous, then please, share your counsel?’

Peter did not
shift his visual fix on the windows, but answered with total
attention to the question.

‘No counsel
from me, sir,’ Peter returned. ‘I’m in.’

Joe smiled.
‘You’re not just being a good soldier and following orders against
your better judgement are you?’ he asked.

‘No, sir,’
Peter replied as he turned to look his Prime Minister in the eye.
‘You were bang on when you said “seeing is believing”. I’ve seen
Max up close and now I’m a believer. We
need
to do this, so
I’ll make sure we get through it all safely. That’s my part in this
deal.’

Joe nodded.
Peter returned his gaze to the windows. Abdullah turned his
attention to Max, who looked back.

‘You remain the
only person unspoken, my friend,’ Abdullah said, holding his hands
out wide.

Max held the
Sheikh’s gaze for a few moments and then turned to reach out and
grasp one of Elsa’s hands.

‘I learnt a
long time ago that I can trust Elsa’s judgement in things like
this,’ Max said. ‘My alien half doesn’t understand human behaviour
so well, so I find things turn out better if I rely on her call,
but you know what? Over the last few weeks I’ve learnt that I can
trust all of your judgements as well, so if you’re all in favour
then I’m in too and as for being distracted by the show and the
cameras,’ Max added and turned to look at Kris, ‘not a chance. You
tell me where to go and what to do and I’m doing it. No matter
what.’

Kris nodded,
her features softening. Elsa squeezed Max’s hand and Joe and
Abdullah smiled in unison.

Then Kris said,
‘There is just one thing.’

‘And that is?’
Joe asked.

‘We need a team
name.’

‘We did have a
suggestion,’ Joe replied. ‘How about World Hope?’

Kris pressed
her lips tightly together and bore her gaze into first Joe and then
into Abdullah.

‘You don’t
approve do you?’ Joe asked carefully.

Kris slowly
shook her head.

‘Very well,’
Joe said. ‘What would
you
suggest?’

Kris looked
around the group and landed last of all back on her Prime Minister,
a smile spreading across her face. ‘Team Max.’

11:45am. 22
^nd
July (the next day). A
Spark

‘What’s going
on? Straight through!’ Kris called out as she approached the
Balinese style gazebo on the edge of the western lawn, which was
isolated from the main house by a long, winding gravel path.

Sheikh Abdullah
looked up from his iPad as he reclined on the padded, wicker
lounge. Rising to his feet he bowed slightly and said, ‘I’m sorry.
I did not catch what you said.’

‘I said
straight through,’ Kris replied. ‘Your bodyguards didn’t even
blink.’

Abdullah cast a
sideways glance to his two hulking guards and smiled. ‘I hope they
did not blink. They are under strict instructions to let through
those that I trust.’

Kris tried to
force back a shy little smile, but failed. Abdullah saved her.

‘So, now that
you are safely inside my security shield, may I presume you are
here to discuss something pressing?’ the Sheikh asked.

‘Well, I don’t
know about pressing...’ Kris said, shuffling her feet.

‘Even better,’
Abdullah added. ‘I need rescuing from my research into political
science and would welcome
any
distraction you can afford me.
Please, come and sit?’

With that,
Abdullah turned and waved a hand to the collection of vacant chairs
under the gazebo. Kris eyed them off and then stepped underneath
the shade to take a seat next to where Abdullah had been sitting.
Abdullah followed behind and waited for Kris to sit down before
resettling himself and placing his closed iPad in his lap. ‘Now,
distract me, please?’

‘Um, I really
just came out,’ Kris started meekly, ‘to see what you thought of
the name Team Max?’

‘I like it,’
Abdullah said immediately. ‘It is a clever play on words and highly
marketable. It is perfect.’

Kris’ eyes lit
up and her smiled lifted higher. Sitting up a little straighter in
her chair, she literally beamed back at the Sheikh. ‘Good because
I’ve also got an idea for a team logo and colours.’

Abdullah dipped
his chin slightly and raised his eyebrows. ‘Go on.’

‘Can I borrow
your iPad, please?’

‘Of course,’
Abdullah replied, lifting the device from his lap and passing it
over.

‘Can I buy an
app too?’ Kris asked, squinting.

‘Of course, but
nothing over five dollars. I am trying to curb my spending.’

Kris flicked a
glance up at him from beneath an arched brow.

‘My feeble
attempt at humour,’ he said. ‘Buy away.’

‘Thanks. Give
me a second and I’ll show you what I mean.’

For the next
couple of minutes, Kris swiped and tapped her fingers across the
screen, while Abdullah watched on silently. As Kris worked and
Abdullah observed, he realised he was relaxed and probably the most
relaxed he had been in recent days if not the last few weeks.
Abdullah’s self awareness also noted that this was the first time
he and Kris had been alone together and she was not being
aggressive towards him. He held onto the thought and savoured
it.

‘You ready?’
Kris suddenly asked, looking up from her work.

‘Please?’
Abdullah replied, holding his right hand out.

Kris held the
iPad up in front of her and flipped it around to reveal the screen.
Abdullah’s eyes fixed onto a bright, orange background with a
large, black “X” positioned squarely in the middle. The “X” was
blocky and solid in style and looked like it had wet, orange paint
dripping down from the top edges.

‘So, what do
you think?’ Kris asked eagerly.

Abdullah
continued to study the illustration in silence, forcing Kris to
squirm a little in her seat. After a few protracted moments, the
Sheikh finally lifted his face to her.

‘Again, I like
it,’ he said. ‘It is simple yet striking and as many of this
current generation say, it is in your face.’

‘Bingo!’ Kris
shot back. ‘Nailed it in one. It’s simple
and
it’s in your
face, plus it’s the letter “X”, which gen Y has some weird
fascination with, so they’re going to love it for sure.’

Abdullah leaned
back in his chair and appraised Kris through soft eyes, allowing
her to tumble through the conversation unhindered.

‘Yesterday you
talked about marketing and merchandise,’ Kris continued, ‘and all
that stuff and I got to thinking, what about orange? We all know
that’s Max’s trademark colour, what with his shoes and all
plus
it’s a brilliant colour for marketing. Bright,
unmistakable and no one else really uses it, so why can’t we?’

Abdullah
remained quiet, his contentment growing as he basked in Kris’
unbridled passion and the accompanying rise and fall of her
voice.

‘It’s like you
said,’ Kris added. ‘It’s perfect. If we plaster this logo around
everywhere, it’s instantly recognisable and basically doubles as a
picture of Max everywhere you look. Caps, t-shirts, billboards, you
name it. It’ll be everywhere, which means Max will be everywhere at
the same time. No one can miss it. It’s awesome. It’s..it’s...’

‘A great idea,’
Abdullah gently interjected.

At that moment,
Kris realised she had been gibbering away and her self
consciousness rose up. Slinking back a little in her chair, she
dropped her gaze downwards.

Abdullah smiled
and said, ‘You have convinced me, Kris. We will run with your
proposal. Orange is an excellent colour and largely unutilised,
except of course by the Dutch royal family, but I think in this
instance they will forgive us.’

Kris’ eyes lit
up again and she pulled a little fist pump. ‘Yes!’ she said through
gritted teeth, ‘which brings me to my next question. Well,
questions
really.’

‘Hmm.’

‘If we’re going
to do this,’ she started as she handed the iPad back, ‘we need to
start by painting the truck and renaming it.’ Abdullah listened. ‘I
was thinking we could call it the Pain Train and paint it all
orange with the logo blown up on the sides and the back. That way
when we take it out to our public training sessions, we’re fully
advertised. We might also want to repaint one of your helicopters
while we’re at it and the Land Cruisers too?’

Abdullah nodded
silently, again letting Kris roll onwards.