“Sophie, David, get in here now. I need a status update before this evening’s press conference.”

Mayor Barbara Levine sat behind her desk and dropped an effervescent headache medicine in a half a glass of water while she massaged her temples in an effort to calm the migraine which she knew was just around the corner.

Ever since the tower had appeared, she barely had any time to eat or sleep, and now her head felt like it was about to explode. Between calls from election contributors, pharmacy companies, family, the press, the military and political leaders from the U.S. and other countries; she didn’t know how she would survive the week. And now there is someone from the tower flashing gold, magic and miracle cures.

A few seconds later a two people entered her office. From the rings under their eyes, it looked like they hadn’t gotten much sleep recently either.

“Sophie, David, what do you have for me.” She said, trying to focus on what they would report.

Sophie opened her notebook and put on her reading glasses before reading her report. David stood next to her with a small notepad in his hand.

“No one has entered nor left the tower, since it appeared.” Sophie began “So we don’t see how those two people could have come from the tower, unless it was right after it appeared, which we don’t think is very likely with all the debris around the tower and the onlookers. The police also arrived almost immediately on the scene and confirmed as much.”

“We spoke with the hospital personnel, but no one noticed anyone arrive. By the time we arrived at the hospital, they had already released the patients.” She continued.

“It appears that one of them contacted a journalist so the hospital personnel had their hands tied; but we will be visiting the patients at their homes to get their story.” David added.

Sophie turned the page of her notebook. “From what the doctors told us. They performed an echography on one of the patients before he left the hospital and they were shocked to see that the large malignant tumor which had been there as recently as last week, had simply vanished. The doctor said he has never seen anything like it. The patients agreed to return for a full check-up later but pushed the hospital to release them.”

“Since the video was shown on the news, calls are flooding in. We had to set up a call center but they still can’t keep up with all the calls. People want to enter the tower, and they aren’t taking no for an answer.” Sophie added.

“The shop keeper from the gold exchange was not very helpful,” she continued “but the police will be taking him in for further questioning shortly. It seems that most of what went on in his shop was filmed so we won’t know how much more we can get from him.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Also, some good news. The person who went missing when the tower appeared, a certain Matthew Cairns, is no longer missing. He spoke with a friend at the tower site and asked him to call off the search.”

“Did you say Matthew Cairns?” David said flipping through his notebook.

“Yes, why is that important?” Sophie asked, verifying her notes.

“Yes, why is that important?” the mayor asked “I have a news briefing in a few minutes, so if you have something, speak up.”

“I am sure that I have heard that name today, but not Matthew.” He stopped flipping through his notebook stabbed his finger on the open page. “Found it! Not Matthew, but Sebastian Cairns! One of the cancer patients from the hospital, the one who received the video.” He looked up at the mayor. “This can’t be a coincidence! I bet if we find this Matthew, we will find the person from the tower.”

“Nice job you two. Follow up on that and keep me updated.”

Mayor Levine quickly downed the pain killer which now had finished dissolving in the water and headed out for the press conference.

----------

“Madam the Mayor, do you have any information regarding the two persons who supposedly came from the tower?”

“We have a lead on the identity of one of the persons, but that lead still needs to be confirmed.”

“What do you know concerning the miraculous healing at the Mount Sinai hospital? Do we have any confirmation that the patients were actually cured?”

“According to the information that I have received, the patients were released from the hospital, but will be returning soon for full examinations; but I want to emphasize that, what this person did goes against all medical standards, procedures and policies. We do not want to encourage this sort of rogue medical practice. The long-term effects of what was given to these patients is still unknown.”

“Madam the Mayor! From the video taken at the gold exchange, the person apparently performed some form of magic. Have you been able to confirm if this was real or some sort of hoax?”

“Aside from what was shown on the video, we have no information that allows us to make a statement on the existence of magic, I personally remain very skeptical. We admit that the recent events are inexplicable, but that does not mean that magic is real.”

“Mayor Levine, right now, the tower is surrounded by the police and military personnel. Are there any plans to enter the tower or to allow people to enter the tower in the near future?”

“For the moment, no one has been allowed to enter the tower. We will consider sending a team to investigate it, but there are currently no plans to allow any civilians to enter.

“Mayor Levine, if you do discover the identity of the persons from the hospital, what are your plans for them. Will they be heroes, or will charges be brought against them for illegal practice of medicine?”

“For the moment, we are looking to get information about the tower and the healings. We are not currently not planning on bringing any charges against either of them, although, as we receive more information the situation may change.”

“This is all we have for the moment, but we will keep you informed if anything changes. We would like to ask everyone to remain calm and give us time to figure out the truth behind the recent events.”