Chapter 87: Chapter 87: Research & Preparation (Part 7)

For Benjamin and his superiors to make such an offer, it had to be well known and valuable for them to use it as a way to remedy the situation. Whatever the case, Don was genuinely interested in what it was.

Regardless of Samantha's position on the matter, he had to at least know what benefits stood to be gained from this so-called EHP. So before Samantha could say anything else, Don spoke up.

"How about we talk about this inside? We might end up drawing a crowd out here."

"But Donnie..." Samantha was genuinely taken by surprise by Don's decision to step in. In her mind, he should have been more offended by this than she was. However, before she could say anything further, she was dissuaded by the calm expression on his face. It made her feel like she was exaggerating the entire matter.

Don knew he was taking a risk by going against Samantha's view on the matter, but if he wanted to make any real progress for himself, he needed to start slowly straying away from going with the flow. After all, he didn't plan on doing so forever.

Regardless, he decided to give his reasoning by saying, "I want to at least hear what they have to say. After all, it's not like they're the ones that sent Nightshade to attack the mall. I'm sure you're not the only parent who's going to want to involve lawyers in this so let's just hear them out. It won't be too late to say no if we don't agree with whatever it is he has to say."

Don played off his interest in the matter by simply saying he wanted to hear out Benjamin. By constantly using "we" in his sentences, he made it seem like he still had his and Samantha's best interests in mind. In truth, he simply didn't want to give up on a potential opportunity just because Samantha was upset over what had already passed.

If the offer from Benjamin was anything like what corporations or government departments used to pay civilians to let matters go, then it was definitely worth looking into.

Samantha couldn't bring herself to argue with Don. So she simply looked at Benjamin for a moment before saying in a low voice, "Come in."

She walked away from the entranceway first, following her to the office. Although Samantha was trying to hide it, the displeasure could be heard in her voice, and simply looking at the way she was clutching the document Benjamin had brought made her anger clear.

Don nodded and watched her begin walking toward her office before turning his attention back to Benjamin. He gestured him inside. "Come in."

Benjamin almost seemed relieved to see Samantha walk away first, and upon entering, he came close to Don and spoke in a low voice. "Thank you for convincing your mother to hear me out. I'm sure you have Director Graham's intentions clear by now. Offering you a place in the Elite Hero Program has nothing to do with avoiding legal trouble.

He's only worried that Nightshade or any remnants of his cause will seek revenge on your family."

'Elite Hero Program. So that's what EHP is,' Don realized but kept a straight face. He only replied with a murmur, "I see."

Hearing what EHP stood for increased Don's interest, but there was even more reason for him to keep up his neutral appearance. Despite how Benjamin phrased it, Don didn't believe for one second that Benjamin or Director Graham was acting in his best interest.

It was probably for that reason that Samantha especially disliked the idea of even hearing out Benjamin. But Don knew better. Despite how corrupt or manipulative the action might have been, Don knew it was better to accept such offers than to refuse and go against the people who offered them, especially when they were in positions of power.

Oddly enough, Don wasn't unhappy to see that corporations and government departments were still as sleezy as they were in his former world. Unlike there, where he tried to be the model citizen who stood up for what he believed was right, here he was more focused on simply doing what was best for him.

'How can he look so unfazed after being offered a place in the EHP? It has to be a dream for every upcoming hero, especially someone like him with an evaluation of D. He has no hope of entering the program by any other means,' Benjamin wondered, completely taken by surprise by Don's lack of reaction at the news.

In truth, Don simply didn't understand how huge of an opportunity he was being offered, but he didn't need to. Regardless of whether the benefits were big or small, he fully intended on finding a way to accept them so long as they didn't have cons that outweighed the pros. S~eaʀᴄh the ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Walking toward Samantha's office, they could see Amanda at work in the kitchen, but she pretended not to notice them. They entered the office without uttering a word.

Inside the office, they found that Samantha hadn't even bothered to take a seat. Instead, she was just standing beside her desk while looking at the document Benjamin had provided. Benjamin looked nervous, once again seeing the stern look on Samantha's face as she read through the document.

Don closed the door and proceeded to lean against it, putting Benjamin in an awkward spot. He didn't even feel comfortable attempting to take a seat and so he simply stood upright and clutched his briefcase more tightly. A short, awkward silence followed before he finally decided to speak up.

"First, let me just say on behalf of my department, we're terribly sorry for the incident at Central Mall. I assure you I'm not here to pursue any kind of settlement deal, as Director Graham isn't that type of person. He just felt he was partially responsible for the leak and so he wanted to offer an apology to your son by providing him an endorsement into the Elite Hero Program."

"I'm sure you yourself understand how beneficial and life-changing this could be for him. But that isn't the reason why the director offered this. As you know, even if you were to pursue legal action and win against our department, the most we can do is pay out a certain sum of money, no more than ten million.

However, you could argue the Elite Hero Program is worth far more than that because not only does it give your son an opportunity to get the best hero training possible in Central City, but also the benefits to candidates of the program, such as security renovations on the home property of candidates, which I'm sure would make you feel all safer as opposed to hiring private security."

"And again, this is only if you managed to win whatever legal battle you were planning to pursue. And looking at the line of people already looking to do that, if you're lucky, your case may be settled after five years."

Samantha calmly closed the document but it was very hard to hide the anger she currently felt. And though Don didn't fully understand the way this world worked, he knew legal bullshit when he heard it. For whatever reason, Benjamin's department clearly didn't want legal trouble and was trying to sell this opportunity as a blessing to Don and the family.

Samantha clearly knew this as well but was trying her best not to let her anger get the best of her. She didn't say anything in response to Benjamin and simply looked at Don.

"My son is the one who was most hurt during the incident. So I suppose it's only fair that he makes this decision."