Ben Chaney - Son of Sedonia

“Careful, Boss, one of these days you might fall back into that fabulous view of yours,” said Corey. Kirnden straightened his bulk in the chair. I hate you, Corey …

“Ha ha! That would be bad, wouldn’t it?” Kirnden’s famous squeaking laugh sent shivers up Liani’s spine. Everything about the man seemed plastic. Rehearsed.

“Come in! Come in! Have a seat,” Kirnden said as he reached chubby hands toward his Neural display. He shuffled the screens around.

“I was just reviewing you guys’ story this evening, and, I’m sorry to say, something seems…off. Want to tell me what that is?” He shared permission to view one of the gray screens. Flipped it around and pinch-zoomed it to show them. Liani’s seasick, frizzy-haired face stared back at her, mouthing shaky words into a mic.

Helpless, she dug her red fingernails into her palms. Tried to find words behind tight lips. Corey jumped in.

“Yeah, sorry about that, Boss. Had a problem with the video storage on my chip, and lost all my footage of the handshaking. This pick-up shoot was all that we could salvage by the time I could debug it.” said Corey. Liani had to admit, it sounded plausible. Thin. But plausible. Kirnden made a show of sighing, curling in his fat lips and shaking his head.

“I’m afraid that doesn’t cover all of it, now does it, Corey?” He watched both of them in the silence that followed. Shit . Liani’s head swam.

“Not only was that footage critical to the Governor’s reelection campaign, but I also received a call from Mr. Kabbard, Governor Sato’s Chief of Security. He tells me that one of my cameramen attempted to gain entry into a restricted area and got into an ‘altercation’ with the guards. He also tells me they had to wipe the man’s RFID chip as a precaution…this won’t do, Corey. Not at all, I’m afraid…” Liani gripped the armrests of her chair.

“Heh, yeah… sorry Boss. I just thought—I thought that if I could get some more shots of the Governor and Mr. Finley then—”

“I understand, Corey, I do… and I appreciate your initiative! But you see, this could have seriously damaged our ‘open door relationship,’ so to speak, with the Governor. A relationship that has afforded this station top priority in interviews, first questions in press conferences, and more government functions than I care to count. Why, I had to spend 15 minutes on the phone assuring this Mr. Kabbard that nothing like this would ever happen again!”

“I promise you, Boss, it won’t.”

“We’re going to have to let you go, I’m afraid.” Kirnden frowned, doubling his chins. Liani rose in her seat.

“What?! You can’t! He didn’t—” Liani started.

“I didn’t… mean any harm! Thanks, Li-Li, but I’ve gotta say this myself. I screwed up once. Once! And you fuckin’ can me for it?!,” Corey stood up, “You know what? I take back what I said. Lean back over that fancy window all you like. Maybe your fat ass will bust a wheel, and go careening through it!” Corey spun and stormed off toward the door. Liani suppressed the insane urge to laugh, and stood up.

“Wait!” she shouted with an awkward grin. Corey stopped without turning. His shoulders sank. Liani turned to face Kirnden. The moment felt like an hour as she stood there.

“It—it was all my idea, sir. Corey was just following my lead…it wasn’t his fault.”

“ Your idea? Liani, I think you’d better explain,” said Kirnden, steepling his fingers. He almost leaned back, but quickly straightened. Shifted uneasily in his seat.

“You’re always saying how field reporters need to be more aggressive. I thought I might be able to get a piece of the meeting or something on audio. Corey just distracted the guards while I tried to get in, it wasn’t his fault!” She fidgeted in the thick quiet of the room. Kirnden stared at her.

“And did you?” Kirnden asked.

“Sir?”

“Did you ‘get a piece of the meeting or something on audio’?” He leaned forward. The purple lips seemed to moisten. For a moment, Liani thought she’d found her way out, but seeing the look on his fat plastic face brought the words back to her. An ‘open-door relationship.’ He would rush the recording to Sato for a pat on the head, and they’d toss me over the Border. Or worse.

“ No. No sir… I couldn’t get into the meeting hall.”

“Ah,” Kirnden said. He pivoted in his chair. After a moment, he reached up and touched a panel in his Neural display.

“Security,” he said as a uniformed man appeared on screen, “please escort Ms. Ray and Mr. Burrows to their desks to collect their belongings, and see to it that they vacate the premises immediately.”

At the Superway platform, Liani sat holding the cardboard box of random desk junk in her lap. A hairbrush, makeup kit, breath mints, and four big bags of Guatemalan dark roast…her prize possession and very tricky to get a hold of. Better than sucking down that synthetic-tasting shit from the break rooms.

The other employees’ desks were covered in family pictures, non-funny annual calendars, squishy stress reliever balls, and all kinds of other crap. Too much to deal with. Liani had read in an article somewhere that the ambitious should always remain agile, take risks, and pack light. Less than six months at GloboMetro and she’d moved desks three times, all in the upward direction. Now, as then, she had little to carry.

Angry tears streamed down her cheeks. She hated each one. The weak little girl fucked up and now she’s crying. Pathetic. She cried harder, clenching her perfect teeth. Approaching footsteps flipped a switch and Liani stifled a final sob. She sat up straight and wiped her bleeding mascara. Corey came lumbering up next to her, sweating like a pig as he grappled with the massive box of his belongings. The arms and legs of several action-figures peeked out of the top. He set the load down on the superway bench next to her and nearly collapsed into it.

It wasn’t supposed to make her laugh. The look on his face was one of exhaustion, frustration, and suffering…but that clenched it. Her angry tears turned into sobbing, coughing laughter. Corey squinted at her over the top of the box, panting and trying to force words out between gasps.

“S-stop it! It’s so creepy when you ‘laugh-cry,’” he said, pushing his box on the bench to make room for him to sit. Liani scooted down a bit but was almost pushed off the edge. It set off another giggle-fit as Corey plopped down onto the seat. They made eye contact. Liani’s hair had blown up in a ball of frizz and her eye pits were stained blue-gray. Corey was pale and pouring sweat from his buzzed head. They both burst into laughter.

“You—you look—”

“How I feel!”

The two of them could barely breathe. Their throats ached by the time the fit died to exhausted silence. A superway rail train shot past them, leaving its characteristic sour metal odor behind. Its shape disappeared down the track into the ocean of downtown lights. Minutes passed with only the roar of the City in the air. Corey sighed.

“Liani… thanks,” he said.

“Thanks? For what? Getting you fired?”

“Not what I meant…but maybe, yeah. It’s about time I had an excuse to get outta this pit.”

“Well, you’re welcome and congratulations,” she said, staring at her tiny, highly-portable box.

“I was thanking you, dummy, for speaking up to Kirnden and trying to help me…albeit exactly what I told you not to do. Took guts.”

“Maybe. Or maybe I couldn’t stand the idea of letting you be the hero and having that guilt follow me for the rest of my career. Am I brave for wanting to spare myself? You’re Mr. Chivalry, not me.” Liani picked at a frayed corner of the box and contemplated walking to the end of the platform to throw it off the edge. Corey sat bent over, rubbing his hands together. He shot a few sideways glances around the area.