Act II

[take_theride]

WHO: Raoul Duke & Andrew Ryan
WHERE: Ryan's office
WHEN: This afternoon
WARNINGS: The participants are unknowingly under the influence of drugs, so cursing, violence, and other noteworthy things may occur.
SUMMARY: Duke tries to interview another big wig, only to find something horrifyingly similar happen.
FORMAT: Paragraph.

Comments

[manchooses]

Ryan was deep in thought, pouring over schedules and the City's budget, trying to determine how best to distribute his resources for the coming week. The advantage of the near constant destruction of the City was that there was always more work for his company to do, but it did make organizing repair and rebuilding a delicate process. Everyone had to feel like their neighborhood's problem was being worked on or it would hurt Ryan Industries in the end.

He was surprised when the call came from his secretary that his afternoon appointment had arrived. He had not noticed that the day had progressed so far. But the clock on the wall above the door confirmed it, so Ryan set aside his papers for now and walked over to the entrance, opening the door wide and looking about to locate his interviewer.

"Mr. Duke?" he said. "I apologize for keeping you. Please come in. Can I have someone bring you something? Coffee? Water?"

[take_theride]

Coffee, water, Pepto Bismol? The salesman didn't tell Duke that nausea was a side effect of taking herbal hallucinogens. Still, Duke should have never trusted something with such a pretty appearance.

He searched the room with his eyes for the closest seat, nearly lunging into it. At least now he could sit still and his stomach could relax. He pulled the simple tape recorder our of the pocket of his blazer.

"Thanks for taking the time to meet me... water will be fine."

[manchooses]

Ryan made a motion at his secretary to get his guest a glass of water and then shut the door and went to take the seat across from Mr. Duke. When he leaned back in his chair, it creaked slightly; he bridge his fingers in front of him and gave the man across from him a long, thoughtful look.

He'd spent hours in front of a microphone in Rapture, but this was different. It was odd to be asked for an interview in this City, at this time, when so many other people seemed distracted from the everyday workings of a city by the most recent disaster. But, Ryan supposed, every civilization had individuals who would latch onto a story or an idea and chase it, no matter what else happened around them.

"It's my pleasure, of course," he said finally. "Ryan Industries is a private company, but our work is very public. As a result, I try to be as open as possible about what goes on behind these doors."

[take_theride]

Duke nodded, turning on his tape recorder. "With all of the recent events in this city, the people here need to know that we have companies like yours working hard for them. That not everyone is running around screaming war-cries and recruiting armies... At least that's my perspective."

He shrugged, leaning over to place the tape recorder between the two of them. "On that note, is there anything you, as the head of the company, would like to make clear to the readers?"