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?"

[manchooses]

Ryan spread his hands in front of him, smiling easily. "I think my record largely speaks for itself," he said, speaking carefully and distinctly for the sake of recorder. "I have been fairly upfront about my beliefs and my goals since I arrived. But I know that, despite my honesty, things I haves said have not been exactly popular."

There was a light knock on the door, and Ryan paused long enough to allow his secretary to enter, place two glasses and a pitcher of water on the table, and then exit again.

He poured himself a glass, took a short drink, and then continued: "I'm not a politician. I don't care much about popularity. But I would like to make it clear that everything I do, I do for the good of the City. If you look around, you can see that it must once have been something glorious, a booming metropolis of culture and enterprise. I believe that it can be once again. But it will take more than good intentions and wishful thinking to achieve that."

[take_theride]

Duke gave him a short smile, then reached for his own glass and the pitcher.

"Do you have any big projects you're working on now?" Duke asked as he poured the water into his glass. As he placed the pitched back down, something caught his eye. The water seemed to be sparkling.

He shook his head and took a drink. Not now, he hoped, the interview was going seemingly well so far...

[manchooses]

Ryan looked up toward the ceiling, studying its wood grain while he tried to order his projects in his mind, sort them by order of importance and interest. Avoid those things which were not news-worthy.

"Repairing and restoring the buildings and streets of the City is, of course, the ongoing priority," he said. "But I have also been diverting some resources to increasing the integrity of our power and water grids so that, in the event of further destruction, hopefully we will not suffer any major damage to those essential services."

He gestured vaguely with his hand, looking down at Duke and managing a slight smile. "On a more personal note, I continue to offer a grant for individuals looking to start projects in the arts or the pure sciences."

[take_theride]

"Interesting," Duke replied. "For someone who's company is doing so much good for the city, it seems odd that there are still rumors about you. Is there anything you've heard being said that you'd like to clear up?"

His eyes trailed up to the wood of the ceiling where Ryan was looking. The grain of the wood started to move or vibrate, Duke had to shake it off again. Keep ahold of himself...

Last time he was lucky. If you go into an acid frenzy around other druggies (which he assumed Stark Inc. was full of), they wouldn't find it the least bit weird... but Ryan didn't seem like that kind of person, and if Duke slipped into some cruel trip he would certainly be dragged out by security and slammed with a restraining order.

[manchooses]

Ryan blinked a few times. For a moment, he felt like he had something caught in his eye but then the sensation passed, so it couldn't have been anything particularly problematic. Still, he reached up and rubbed the corner with the pad of his thumb.

"I know," he said carefully, evenly, taking time to choose each word, "that many have called me cruel or consider me heartless for my political philosophy. I have been compared to any number of historical villains, and there have even been prosperous suggestions that my intentions for the City might be outright evil. But I assure you that this is nothing more than liberal propaganda and the flights of fancy of a super hero population too arrogant and self-involved to see that someone who opposes their point of view need not be villainous to do so."

[take_theride]

Duke was trying to shake off every vision that might have distracted him from conversation. Still, the effects of the drug came, and everything was already much more vibrant than usual.

"Seems no ones happy with a medium, it's hero or villain, that's---" his voice trailed off for a moment, "...that's it. Sorry. Thought I saw something..."

[manchooses]

There was a clear, almost tangible sense of unease in the air for a moment. Ryan fixed the man across from him vaguely curious look. He was used to picking up strange behaviour, even the smallest glimpses of it. The Splicers had taken care of that.

"Are you quite all right, Mr. Duke?" he asked, leaning back in his seat once more. At this angle, the light seemed to catch on a statue on his bookshelf and bounce straight into his eyes, but he did his best to ignore it.

[take_theride]

Duke took another gulp of water, "Yes, yes. I'm fine. Sorry."

He took a deep breath, what was he saying, again? Oh right. Rumors. Rumor has it Duke is responsible for Guitar Gods trashing the office of Stark's building. Ryan didn't need to know that, but the trip was growing, and he'd soon find out.

[manchooses]

Ryan frowned not entirely certain whether to believe this reassurance or not. But in the end, it wasn't really any of his concern. A man need only concern himself with his own best interests. Ryan would concern himself with his, and nothing more.

"Very well. If you would like a window opened or to recommence this interview at another time," he said, "please let me know." Truth be told, the room was feeling a little stuffy and a little warm. Ryan ignored this. "Now where were we? The nature of good and evil, was it?"

[take_theride]

Duke managed a nod, but not much else. Everything was getting bright, and not in a good way. He wasn't sure how much longer he could manage and was seriously considering taking Ryan up on the delayed interview.

That would just look awful. Duke was so fucked out of a job he couldn't believe it, at this point.

[ooc; at this point, if you'd like him to be effected and see things, you can start any time you'd like.]

kslfd i apologize for being so fail at tagging this week

[manchooses]

Clearly the man was deeply unwell. That seemed obvious, and Ryan was just reaching for the phone to call his secretary or possibly an ambulance when something moved over near the door.

Perhaps it was just a shadow moving over the wall, except the blinds had been tightly shut since mid-day. And Ryan had the very clear impression that there had been a figure and the motion of the door opening and closing to let that figure in.

"Not this again," he said, frowning and pinching the bridge of his nose.

It's ok!

[take_theride]

It became obvious at that moment that the other man knew something was wrong. He, unlike Stark, didn't seem like the type to put up with strange behavior.

Something seemed to have caught Ryan's eye, and this worried Duke. Anything that might have caused the other man distress would only make his own trip an awful one.

Duke spun around, looking at whatever it was upsetting Ryan at the moment.
"What is it? Who's there?"