126 Big Mouth Twain Part 1 (1/2)
Chapter 126: Big Mouth Twain Part 1
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Pierce Brosnan spent an entire night and stayed up late to finish the news report, ”The Dangerous Encounter of Tony Twain and Nottingham Forest in the London Underground.” He wrote it in the style of a novel and wrote it with relish. He hoped that the readers would read it with relish, too. That was truly a rare experience.
But when he presented the manuscript to the editor-in-charge, the editor told him that the manuscript could not be released.
”Why?” Brosnan was a little annoyed. Why was the manuscript which was an all-night effort, not allowed to be released? He did not include any content that was not allowed to be published, and Britain was a democratic country with freedom of the press. Furthermore, Millwall had unjustly accused the Nottingham Forest fans of causing the riot. He needed to inform the readers through an accurate account of this news report who the dangerous people were and who the thugs were!
”Ah, don't get me wrong, Pierce,” the editor-in-charge smiled and said to him. ”I mean I can't release it now. We have just received a press conference notice. Mr. President wants you to attend, and then come back and write a report.”
Brosnan, still unwilling to back down, asked, ”What does this have to do with this report?”
”Well, I think... this story, put together with the report from the press conference, will be more appealing.” The editor-in-charge was not miffed, he just smiled and said, ”Do you know what that press conference is about?”
Brosnan shook his head.
”It was called by The Nottingham Forest football club in response to Millwall's nonsense about which side had caused the fans to riot.”
Brosnan's eyes widened.
”So, you will go, Pierce. Your friend, Tony Twain will be at the press conference, and I think wherever he's at, there will be no shortage of news elements and dramatic scenes.”
The editor-in-charge had just finished speaking when Brosnan turned and rushed out of the office.
※※※
When Brosnan breathlessly ran into the press conference, he found that inside was already a full house and all the seats were definitely gone. He could only stand at the door and squeeze among the TV station cameras in the back row.
The number of media which attended this press conference exceeded Brosnan's anticipation. Just counting the television networks, there were already five of them, two Nottingham local television stations, and the other three were Sky TV, BBC, and an independent station.
As far as the print and online media were concerned, there were so many more that it was impossible to recognize them one by one.
It looked like everyone was very concerned about this fan riot in the stands. Violence in the world of football seemed to have kept far away from the leagues, but in fact it had never disappeared. It lurked insidiously outside of everyone's awareness and revived at the first opportunity. Brosnan thought of Gavin, who had died in innocence... A few days ago, he had gone to Gavin's grave and found two bouquets of flowers in front of his tombstone. Neither of the cards had been inscribed with the names of the senders. But Brosnan guessed that one of the bouquet must have been sent by Twain. With him being more frequently in contact with Twain during this more than half a year's time, he found that underneath the man's irascible appearance that always seemed to be wearing a hanging sign that said, ”Strangers keep out”, he was in fact a rather sentimental person. It was just that he was not too good at expressing the feelings from the depths of his heart.
How else could the Forest team defeat Millwall by 7:1 in an away match in the midst of adversity? Brosnan thought about this question during and after the game. If the Millwall fans did not use Gavin's name to provoke and mock the Forest team, perhaps Nottingham Forest would have lost this tough match. But they did deliberately do this. It was tantamount to stabbing a knife into Twain's heart, and it was not just stabbing. It was adding salt to the wound after the stabbing.
Tony Twain was a football coach, not a killer. He could not have abandoned the match, jumped to the stands and gotten into a fight with the fans. But the fury inside him had to have a place for him to vent, and so the poor Millwall team became a victim of their fans' momentary gratification. Brosnan could even imagine how Twain had behaved during the halftime interval. He must have been brandishing his clenched fists and roaring in the small room to let all the players understand that all those who infuriated him, annoyed him, provoked him, mocked him, and repeatedly challenged his bottom line, would not have a good ending.
Just like what he had said at the post-match press conference, ”When (those fans) sing once, we'll score a goal! Sing once, score a goal! Until they dare not open their mouths again!”