I never expected to solve more crime as a reporter than as a
bulletproof icon. Yet Simon Magus is responsible for more crime in this city
and on the planet than any drug runner. He’s a CEO, the kind that builds
skyscrapers named after himself, paid for by what his companies export into war
zones. He hates me – one of me, for what I’ve been doing in those same parts of
the world when I’m not pushing for a Pulitzer.
He invited me to a lunch on the top floor of one of his
skyscrapers, witless that it'd been me who stopped a homicidal robot on its
roof three days prior. Even with all the shattered glass, he had a breakfast
table set up with Kopi Luwak and imported baguettes. Simon honestly wanted to
talk to me about my criticisms of his company, at first to see if he could wow
and bully me into retreating, but later about the veracity of my sources and
how to keep shareholders happy while enacting reform.
All the while he peppered in attacks against my alter ego. He
wanted to convince me what a danger he posed, taking responsibility away from normal
people. As though he sells VX nerve gas to normal people. The surprising thing
was that when I kept disagreeing, Simon grew more eager, like being stolid
earned his respect.
I'll never forget. He said, "Cal, the world doesn't need him. It needs
you."
That haunted me, and not just as I put on the tights and
stopped his robots. Maybe that means he won.
The next day he bought my paper. We’d gone too deep into the
red over the backfiring paywall, and without his money we’d have sunk. He said
he’d bought it with the money he'd typically donate to PBS. He had me on the
dais as he announced the takeover, and asked me to be the new editor in chief.
If this is a scheme, it’s Simon’s best. Not a single crate
of weapons has ‘mysteriously gone missing’ off his cargo liners since our first
breakfast together, which if you do the math, has saved more lives than I can
at the speed of sound. I can’t help doing the math.
Haha, I caught the "Cal" reference. Very good! It's going to be an interesting ride, working for the boss while his alter-ego undermines him.
ReplyDeleteThe pen is more powerful then the tights?
ReplyDeleteThere's more than one way to defeat an enemy!
ReplyDeleteHmm. No puff pieces... yet.
ReplyDeleteWho needs super heroes when the press can convince people the world is safe? Still, like Elephant's Child recognizes, the road to hell is taken one step at a time. Sooner or later, the math won't add up.
ReplyDeleteNow why in the world would a rich villain sociopath care about what mr. do good by night / reporter by day has to think of him? It's the reporter's story. It's always about the story no matter who you are. Clever tale.
ReplyDeleteps. I like the new banner!
ReplyDeleteLoved the zinger at the end, but loved the whole thing really! I wonder if he writes in his tights. I bet they'd chafe...
ReplyDeleteLove this piece and how commentary it read.
ReplyDeleteThe pen gets the job done, but I wonder if he'll miss those tights! ^_^
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I can't get "Simon says" out of my head, even though Simon obviously doesn't get the choice to say here...
ReplyDeleteI guess that explains why the quality of PBS programming has gone down the toilet.
ReplyDelete+1 what Li said!
ReplyDeleteFor all the casual tone, this was pretty chilling (all your stuff seems totally effective and yet chilling to me lately). Simon seems to know exactly who Cal is, in tights or not.