Page 7 of Wicked Trap

“How much for the taxi fare?” she asked the driver.

When the driver told her, she hurriedly paid him along with a generous tip before stepping outside.

“Tanvi!” One of her acquaintances she met during protests waved from a short distance.

Tanvi joined the group. “It’s almost nine,” she said. “The management will start arriving soon. Let’s get started.”

The placards were distributed. They had already prepared for the slogans. She even got flyers printed for passersby and the employees working in the building to give them information on the level of destruction of the environment and the impact.

Holding a placard in one hand and a speaker phone in another, she led the protest.

“Save City Central Park!”

“Save our lungs!”

“Save our future!”

“Stop Prism Corporation!”

Dozens of people gathered around her and raised slogans along with her. Only a few were her friends and acquaintances. The rest were passionate environmentalists like her. Some of them were aging citizens too, who used the park for their daily walks and fresh air.

It was outrageous that permission was granted to destroy the beautiful park.

Soon, the media vans arrived and began clicking pictures along with taking videos of the protest. One of the reporters she recognized came to ask her questions.

“How long do you plan to protest?” the reporter asked.

“As long as it takes for Prism Corporation to change their mind.”

The reporter looked skeptical. Tanvi was reminded of the arrogant man she met a while ago who had looked similarly doubtful. Corporate greed combined with political backing was hard to shake off. But she knew bringing attention to that greed was the only way to stop it.

“What exactly do you plan to do?” another reporter asked.

“We will protest peacefully. But if they go near the park to cut down trees, we’ll form a human chain. In fact, each of us will chain ourselves to the trees inside the park.”

The reporters looked excited at her aggressive stance. They knew there would be quite a bit of drama to make their news coverage interesting.

“There are some very powerful people involved in the mall construction deal. Do you think you can stand up to them?” a reporter asked.

“Yes,” she replied confidently. “No power on earth can stop us from fighting to protect ours and our future generations’ health. The mall can be built elsewhere in the city outskirts. There should be a limit to corporate greed.”

The reporters continued to ask obvious questions. “Do you think the management of Prism Corporation will listen to your demands and back away?”

She was reminded of the arrogant man she met that morning who thought they wouldn’t listen.

“Not all businesses or businessmen care about their image. A few give a damn about their image. The reason they are on the top is because of their ruthlessness.”

Shaking away thoughts of the arrogant, handsome man, she replied to the reporter.

“Yes, they will listen to the demands.” They will have to.

The crowd began to grow. More and more people who wanted to save the popular park joined the protest. It wasn’t that big yet because the awareness wasn’t spread that far. But the social media reach for the cause would be tremendous.

While she and the rest of the protestors continued with their slogans, the police personnel got out of their vans and surrounded them.

“You have to clear out,” one of the cops instructed. “The management has filed a trespassing complaint.”

Tanvi knew they weren’t trespassing. “We are outside the company premises. We are on public property, and this is a peaceful protest.”

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