Chelen City: Chapter Eight, Part Two

 Notes: OMG BETTER LATE THAN NEVER THANK YOU YANAH!!!!

Title: Chelen City: Chapter Eight, Part Two

***

Chapter Eight, Part Two

 

It was so hard to get things done sometimes. First you had to convince Kieron that taking Ryu wasn’t a bad idea, then you had to convince Ryu to come along in the first place, then you had to make arrangements to see Fritz that were almost derailed when the bastard decided to play hard to get.

“Elanus, this is simply impossible, you can’t come over now! The live show isn’t until tomorrow morning! Be at the studio at seven, or I’ll send a transport for you, and we can—”

“No.” Elanus shook his head and enjoyed seeing the smarmy smile slide right off Fritz’s face. “Tomorrow won’t work, I’m booked. It’s got to be tonight.”

Fritz frowned. “I haven’t had any time to prepare.”

“You reached out to me, I have no doubt you’ve got plenty of things prepared,” Elanus pointed out. “If you don’t, then I don’t have anything to worry about when it comes to what you might reveal, do I?”

“This isn’t how things are done.”

“And yet, this is what I’m offering you.” Elanus spread his hands. “Exclusive access for one hour of my time, in your residence or studio, with no oversight of the questions that you can ask but no guarantee of an answer, either. Or you can try to shove me off until tomorrow, in which case I’m going on Maira’s show—”

“Maira is a hack who doesn’t even do her own research!”

“Who really does their own research anymore?” Elanus asked. “That’s what assistants and specialist programs are for, isn’t it?”

“Not when it comes to working with a person. There’s a certain touch that’s required, a know-how, and let me tell you, darling, she doesn’t have it.” Fritz sniffed. “Her goal in every interview is to make whoever she’s talking to either cry or scream. It’s embarrassing, it’s hackery, you can’t do it.”

“Then you’ll be seeing me tonight, I suppose.”

Fritz rolled his eyes. “Gods, why do you have to be so difficult?”

“It’s how my mother made me,” Elanus quipped.

“Fine. Fine, my producer is going to kill me when I call her up with this, but fine. In the studio, one hour, and you don’t have to answer anything you don’t want to but don’t expect me to cut your reaction to my asking.” He pointed a finger at Elanus. “People want to know what makes you tick. They want to know what motivates you. They want to know about the death of Deysan Moritz, and they want to know about the mysterious man who stole your heart.”

As long as they don’t want to know about the girls. “All that’s on the table…within reason.”

“Good. Then I’ll see you soon.”

“Send a transport.” Elanus wasn’t about to get Catie or Lizzy to fly him over there.

“Fine. Such a diva.”

The call ended, and Elanus looked over at Ryu. “Does he seem familiar?”

“Fritz is familiar to everyone,” Ryu replied, which…fair. Elanus hadn’t met the man in person in years; it would be interesting to do so now.

 The ride to his studio, in a custom air transport that was gilded on the inside (so tacky, it was good that Kieron wasn’t riding along because he would absolutely combust at the sight of this thing) and contained at least half a dozen covert cameras, was educational. Ryu, in the role of bodyguard, checked it for weapons and didn’t find any. Elanus didn’t either, but for someone like Fritz, information was just as much of a weapon as a knife. Silence was to be expected, and Elanus put a thick firewall over his implant as well, just in case he’d missed some scanning technology in this thing.

The studio was on the thirtieth floor of one of the larger buildings downtown, one dedicated to and equipped for media production of all sorts. Gania, for all its advancements, didn’t care for the use of AI when it came to entertainment. For defense, for science, for medicine, yes—but to make people laugh? To get them on the edges of their seats? To educate and entertain their children? No. There was being a conman, and then there was being a pure capitalist in a society that, for all its faults, was dedicated to socialism and the betterment of its people through accessible and interesting work. So here they were, ready to make nice with Fritz and see what came floating to the surface during their conversation.

“Hello!” A young woman with bright red hair floating out from her head like a bunch of slender branches greeted them as soon as the transport opened. She wore square, chunky topaz jewelry in at least a dozen holes in her ears, and was tall even for a Ganian, almost half a foot taller than Elanus. “It’s so lovely to meet you, Mr. Desfontaines. I’m Aloia, Fritz’s personal assistant. We’re so glad you and your…” She glanced at Ryu. “Is this your boyfriend?” she asked in an excited voice.

“Ugh, no!” Ryu said at the same time that Elanus said, “Absolutely not.”

“Oh.” She looked like she regretted asking at all. “Um…”

“Bodyguard. Pretend he’s invisible, I certainly do,” Elanus said with a smile, which made Ryu scowl at him. “I take it your boss is waiting for us somewhere in here?”

“Yes! He’s in Studio C! It’s our most intimate space, reserved for special interviews such as this one.” She began to lead them deeper into the building, which unlike so many skyscrapers that were obsessed with adding in natural light wherever they could, seemed dedicated to eliminating it instead. “I’ve been instructed to take care of any requests you might have. Can I get you something to drink, or have a meal from your favorite restaurant brought in?”

Thus giving Fritz longer than the required hour of time? No, I think not. “I’m just fine, Aloia, thank you.”

Her shoulder sagged a bit even as her walk remained perky. “Of course! Please let me know if that changes and I’ll take care of it as quickly as possible.”

Actually… “What if I asked you for a Moondew mixer?”

“I would go to the President’s lounge, speak to his butler, and ask him for a bottle,” she said quickly, not missing a beat at the highly exclusive request. “I’m sure he’d give it to me if it was for you.”

“What if instead I fancied a red viverian crisp?”

“I’m sure we’ve got some supersonic connections that could get out there and get back before your interview is over,” Aloia replied, practically beaming.

Hmm. “How about a—”

“Elanus! Stop interrogating my assistant and get in here!” A familiarly flamboyant man appeared in the doorway up ahead. “And Aloia, what did I tell you about this man? Don’t answer his questions!”

“Oh…I…”

“Not a one!” Fritz wagged a finger at her. “We ask the questions around here, not him. And speaking of, the man of the hour, Elanus! Please.” He smiled and gestured to the dark room behind him. “Won’t you step into my lair?”