Chapter 10: Hotel Special Agent Claudio
William's intuition was, as usual, reliable. On a small side street not far from the Hilton Hotel, John Taylor of *The Sun* was ecstatic.
He kept repeating to himself, "I'm going to be rich! Haha, I'm going to be famous! After five years as a reporter, I've finally dug up a huge story. Let's see what that fat pig supervisor has to say now."
He had followed the Chelsea footballer Dennis Wise to the Hilton Hotel last night, hoping to get some compromising photos, but had waited all night for nothing.
After 7 a.m., he swapped shifts with his partner and walked into the Hilton, pretending to be meeting someone. In fact, he was looking for his old high school classmate, Claudio, who worked at the hotel.
After sitting for ten minutes, John asked a staff member for the way to the restroom. He washed his face, brushed his teeth, took care of business, and then returned to the lobby to resume his pretense of waiting for someone.
Around 8 a.m., John spotted his old classmate, Claudio. John gave him a quick glance and then walked hurriedly toward the restroom.
A few moments later, Claudio entered the restroom. As soon as he was inside, he grabbed John Taylor by the collar.
"Are you crazy, John? I'm at work! If my supervisor sees me, he'll fire me," Claudio hissed.
John didn't dare to struggle. Claudio had served in the British army for six or seven years and was only discharged because of an injury.
He quickly tried to placate him. "Relax, Claudio, it's okay. We're the only two in here. We'll hear if anyone comes in. Listen, buddy, I followed Chelsea's Dennis Wise to the hotel."
"Dennis Wise, the footballer?" Claudio asked.
"Yes, that's him. He's big news right now. If we can get a picture of him cheating on his wife, we'll be rich. We could sell it to *The Sun* for at least ten thousand pounds. Your half would be half a year's salary," John Taylor urged.
"Fuck, I got a notice yesterday that several big companies are having a meeting at the hotel today. I have to be in the conference room in a little while. You're keeping me from my work. I'm trying to earn money to buy a birthday gift for my kid," Claudio complained.
John asked when the meeting was.
"Nine o'clock in the morning," Claudio replied.
"It doesn't matter, we still have a chance. Dennis Wise hasn't come out yet. When you're done in the conference room, I'll be waiting for you in the lobby."
"Fine. I'll get to the service desk by the conference rooms as soon as I can. I can see the elevator from there. If I see Dennis Wise, I'll call you. We can pretend to bump into him."
"That's more like it! You're my buddy, you should use those skills you learned. Being honest all day won't make you any real money," John said.
As Claudio was about to leave the restroom, John, relying on five years of paparazzi intuition, stopped him.
He took out a mini recorder and handed it to him. "You said there's a big meeting today, right? Let's take out some insurance. Maybe you can record something useful."
"Are you crazy, John? These are big companies! Don't get me into trouble," Claudio immediately refused. He didn't want to be arrested as a corporate spy. What would his wife and kids do then?
"Relax, we'll listen to it first. If it's something we can't report, I'll never take it to the paper. I don't have a death wish. We'll listen to it together, and if you think it's too dangerous, we'll drop it," John guaranteed.
"Fine," Claudio relented. "But if you want to provoke these big companies, wait until you're a famous reporter. I don't want to visit you in prison someday."
"Screw you. If anyone's going to prison, it'll be you."
"Okay, I'll go first. Keep an eye on your phone."
John Taylor waited all morning for Claudio's call. He was getting anxious and was about to call Claudio himself when his phone finally rang.
John answered, "Hey, man, what's up? Did Dennis Wise come out?"
"Forget about Dennis Wise! John, I think we're going to make a fortune! Do you have any idea what I recorded in that conference room? We're going to be rich! Your paper will pay a lot of money for this recording!"
Claudio figured the recording could fetch tens of thousands of pounds. With that kind of money, his financial situation would improve dramatically. He couldn't wait to call John.
"Wait for me, John. Get rid of your partner and I'll find you at your car. Remember, be discreet," Claudio said, then hung up.
"Hello? Hello?" John said into the dead phone. Seeing that Claudio had hung up, John realized he needed to get rid of his partner, Pete. He turned to Pete, who was sitting beside him.
"Alright, John, I'm starving. I'm going to grab some lunch. Want me to bring you something back?"
"You eat first, I'll call you if I get hungry," John said.
"Okay, I'm off then." Pete got out of the car and headed for a restaurant.
A few minutes after Pete left, Claudio, who had been watching from a distance, walked over quickly, opened the car door, and slid inside.
"God, what's on this recording that's got you so worked up? Let me hear it," John asked impatiently.
"Don't worry, I'll let you listen. But we split it fifty-fifty. Otherwise, you know what I'm capable of. You won't be getting this recorder off me," Claudio reminded him.
"Okay, okay, just play the recording."
Claudio reached into the inner pocket of his jacket. Instead of taking the recorder out, he simply pressed the play button through the fabric.
John leaned in and heard the voice of a young man coming from the recorder.
"Welcome, gentlemen. My name is William Devonshire, the producer, designer, and owner of *Plants vs. Zombies*..."
John's ears perked up at the name *Plants vs. Zombies*. His brother had been telling him about the game recently, saying how popular it was among young people. His brother had even bought a copy.
The recording continued. When he heard about the turnover of 6.45 million pounds, the average price of £15 per item, and the projection of selling seven million game discs, John's expression grew ecstatic and his hands began to tremble.
And when he heard the young man named William Devonshire say, "The bidding starts at one hundred million pounds," John was genuinely shivering. He knew he had accidentally stumbled upon a massive story. If everything in the recording was true, this news could cause a sensation in England, and maybe even the world. It also explained why he hadn't heard a single rumour from his paparazzi network; the companies involved must have joined forces to block the news. And most importantly, everything in the game had been created by this young man, William Devonshire, himself.
*I have to check this out,* he thought. *I must find out everything about this bastard. I'll dig up everything, even if he wet the bed as a kid.*
This was his chance to make a real fortune. Without a word, he grabbed Claudio and kissed the top of his head.
"Claudio, you're my lucky star! We're going to be rich! This recording is worth at least fifty thousand pounds! No one's taking it from us for less!"
Claudio couldn't hide his happiness at the thought of £50,000. *Maybe I shouldn't be so honest all the time,* he thought. *The things I learned in the army are still useful.*
Once his initial excitement subsided, John calmed down. "Claudio, damn it, we don't have any photos. Is William still in the hotel? We need to get his picture. We need to dig up everything about this guy so we can sell this to *The Sun* as a series."
Claudio said quickly, "He's here. I saw the guy this morning. God, he must be God's favorite son. About to become a hundred-millionaire, and he's incredibly handsome too. Life is so unfair."
"Forget about God! We'll wait for him outside the hotel. I have to get his photo today. Come on, Special Agent Claudio. With your skills and my nose for news, we're going to make a fortune."
After that, John Taylor tried to pull Claudio out of the car to set up an ambush at the hotel entrance.
"Wait, John. Let's move the car to a better spot first. It'll be more convenient for a quick getaway," Claudio reminded him.
Once everything was ready, the two of them lay in ambush outside the hotel with a camera. Claudio even turned his coat inside out and put on John's spare hat and a mask, waiting for William to appear.