Page 17 of The Gift
“Surely your focus should be on the inarguable leaps and bounds they made scientifically. In every medical trial there will be good and bad results, surely the success of the project is more important than a handful of adverse outcomes.”
I freeze my face, Botox’ed Bailey is in the hot seat.
“Those outcomes occurred on people who were involved without their permission, is that not an issue for you?” I lead them further.
“There is always a price to pay. Honestly, Doctor Regalo and his team should be canonised, not villainized.”
“Your pack has also been vocal about your desire to receive your omega.” I lead him to where we want him and this interview to go. It’s a slow, tentative dance because they’re the sort to storm out of the room if the tune changes to one they don’t like.
“And we will continue to do so. Genetic testing ensured that each of those participants were assigned to each of the packs who paid. And let’s not forget that each of those omegas were sold to a pack.”
A small gasp or shock of incredulous excitement falls from one of the crew. Everything they are saying is pure gold, and exactly what our viewer is after.
“Alpha Miller, can you confirm for us that despite the project being disbanded and several key government officials condoning it, you expect any omega found to undergo testing and then be handed over to the pack.”
“Of course. An exchange of money was done, contracts were signed, and the products were not delivered.” His lip twitches in irritation, making him even uglier than he usually is.
I lean forward on my chair, closer to him. “So, despite the Alpha Alliance and the now government lambasting the project as an abomination along with the recent ruling by the courts, you still have an expectation that the omega be delivered to those packs that were involved.”
Besides him, the other alphas tsk loudly; one rolls his eyes and crosses his legs aggressively.
“The ruling of the courts you speak of is currently being appealed and the government is in ongoing discussions with those packs that were involved providing their support. There is irrefutable advice from some of the greatest legal and judicial minds in this country that supports our stance because quite simply put, by the letter of the law we are right.”
“Which goes against the newly formed Alpha Alliance’s advice.”
“The Alpha Alliance is not recognised; indeed, they’re being investigated…”
“Alpha, if I can please caution you on anything pertaining to our ongoing case. Sir, we’re being overly cautious for a reason,” one of the other alphas sitting next to the prick I’m interviewing interrupts.
“Yes, yes, thank you, Alpha Thomas.”
Alpha Thomas is as ugly to look at as he is inside. The man speaks venom and vile rhetoric with intentional consideration. You can see how well the members of Pack Miller mesh together. Not only do they dress the same, but they think the same.
“Our last question, and then you can go, we understand how busy a pack you are,” I offer sweetly, pulling another self-righteous eye roll from the five of them. Their beta, an angry looking woman named Francine, hasn’t stopped glaring at me like she’s planning my murder since immediately after we were introduced to each other. “Can you enlighten our viewers in how an omega would be assimilated into your pack.”
“Like the Regalo Project outlined, omegas’ place in our society is to provide packs their heirs. They are breeders. Put simply, they are nothing more than heir factories with the added benefit of managing a pack’s household. Obviously, they don’t have the mental capacity to deal with the monetary side of running a pack, but they would be trained on cooking and cleaning. Although I suspect a lot of them would struggle with even that menial task, however training and discipline would have to be done. In return they are provided a secured room within a pack house.”
“You’re not concerned that your view would be considered outdated by a lot of our viewers?”
“Not at all. Are you concerned?”
“I don’t believe my personal view is what our audience is after.”
“It’s people like you and this television special that are examples of what is wrong with our society. Freedom and equality isn’t for everyone. Omegas do not have the ability to make decisions. You realise that they go into heat and they can’t even remember to eat or drink, yet you want to give them power in our society. Your idealism is flawed and most certainly that was a large reason when we agreed to be a part of this hypocrisy. Omegas have one purpose and one purpose only: they are at the beck and call of their pack. Crudity is necessary for this discussion because a fertile omega is essential for alphas to survive and prosper, making them compliant and obedient is the”—he sits in his chair and aggressively does speech marks with his fingers to emphasise his god awful point—“‘gift’ that society can give them, anything else is a systematic failure on our part.”
In the aftermath of his outburst, the tick of the clock is loud like a sonic boom as we all gape, stunned.
“And that’s a wrap,” Simone bursts out, popping the bubble we were getting drawn up in.
Without a further comment, although each of them does a truly impressive glare at me and the crew, Pack Miller walks off set. The door slams behind them and all of us deflate in stunned shock.
“Fuck a duck, they are disgusting pieces of shit. Oh my god,” I murmur, my mouth caught hanging down.
“Honestly, I got Simmo to cut us early, I thought we were going to have to call security to stop you doing a wind back punch, Bailey.” Jonno, our lead camera guy, steps out from behind the camera, a serious look on his face.
“We got that, didn’t we.” I get up and physically shake him.
“Yeah, silly fuckers demanding they get edit rights. They should have spoken with their lawyer again. Donnie never agreed to that stipulation,” Ben adds, starting to move in the aftermath.
