While mother and son were talking, Mason was outside, phone to ear.
"I told you — yes, he's awake. And lucid. He remembers everything."
A grunt on the other end of the line. "That doesn't mean he's competent to lead. He's a 24-year-old rich kid with no experience running a board meeting."
"You wanted a figurehead. I'm giving you one. But don't underestimate Harry. He's sharper than his father ever was."
Mason hung up the phone, and called again.
He needed to move quickly. The vultures inside Jackson MultiMedia were poised to strike. They were already leaking rumors to the press — stories about Harry's weakened mental state, worry about his competence, and some were even speculating that the crash wasn't an accident.
Now that Harry was alive, they would be more vicious. And the board didn't want to see Harry's comeback. They wanted to see Harry in a coffin.
Back in his bedroom, Harry was alone and lost in his thoughts. His body was weak but his mind was spiraling.
Jackson MultiMedia. They were a giant multi-headed hydra:
JTV (Jackson Television) broadcast and cable.
Jackson Entertainment - motion picture production and distribution.
Jackson Animation - children's programming and animation.
His father had been the lion, keeping it all together. With him gone, the hyenas smell blood.
Harry picked up the news clippings Mason left. Headlines shrieked about uncertainty. Investors left. Creative heads exited.
He had to move fast. But he couldn't act inappropriately. He simply couldn't "prove" himself in some kind of boardroom debate. He needed product. Something that nobody could debate.
And then he looked at the news clipping titled, "Declining Ratings" on JTV, and "J's Dream Boat" on the shelves at Jackson Entertainment - inactives. The idea gelled.
Start at the foundation. Demolish the house. Create something that can't be ignored.
He wasn't just taking over the family business.
He was going to create his own.
Repeating performance once more.