Thorne readily agreed to Mayor Kirk's request.
"What preparations do we need to make?"
"None. You just need to take me somewhere contaminated with crude oil," Thorne said.
Mayor Kirk nodded and had his driver bring the car around, inviting Thorne to accompany him to New York Harbor. Meanwhile, he made a few calls.
After finishing his calls, Mayor Kirk smiled. "Mr. Thorne, you don't mind if I invite a few people to observe, do you?"
Thorne still wore that same bland expression, so bland it was practically water. It did not change even at Mayor Kirk's dismissive attitude of inviting people first and only then asking his opinion.
"Of course not! You can even film the whole thing and screen it worldwide."
"Uh..." Mayor Kirk had intended to make Thorne uncomfortable, only to end up feeling even more uncomfortable himself.
By then, the car had arrived. Mayor Kirk, his secretary, and Thorne left the Municipal Government building by another, secluded path.
They had no choice. The main route would have been blocked, given the angry citizens crowding outside.
Soon, the car entered the port.
The once-bustling New York Harbor was now almost deserted. Waves of foul odor hung in the air, enough to turn anyone's stomach.
It was not just the smell of crude oil, but also the stench of seabirds, fish, and shrimp killed by the pollution.
Although the government and ExxonMobil had done everything they could to clean up the pollution and recover the remains, the contaminated area was simply too vast. Even tens of thousands of workers would have been a drop in the bucket.
Mayor Kirk, his secretary, and his driver had come prepared, putting on odor-filtering masks as they approached.
Thorne, however, wore no protective gear at all.
That had been deliberate on Mayor