Convergence - The Last Science #2.2 - Heroes and Villains

B2: Chapter 24 - Two Interviews - VI

  "Welcome back, welcome back everyone. Welcome back to the Evening Show, where we're performing live tonight, which means everything you see and hear is actually happening. No fancy post-production or CGI tricks." Russ grinned at the camera. "Now, this is the part where I wanted to do some of our live screen effects, but my writers told me something about staying authentic... and my censors told me we just couldn't get away with it."

  Hailey glanced around from her spot on the couch. She'd decided to go back on stage right away, rather than get another introduction, but she wasn't going to be on screen for a while. She assumed that Russ was building up to Nate's introduction, but he surprised her by turning right to her.

  "So in that case, we'll just rely on special effects from our special guest tonight, Hailey Winscombe!"

  The screen swapped to her, and the band played a music sting. Hailey managed to recover quickly, waving to the applauding crowd and putting on a smile. Where is he?

  "Hailey, thanks again for joining us tonight."

  She nodded. "It's been a lot of fun." Not lying, either... Russ is a nice guy, and who doesn't love showing off in front of the whole world? But... where is he? Don't forget why you're here, Hales.

  "Glad to hear it." Russ glanced over at the camera. "I hope you don't mind we dragged you back for round two here. Our other guest of the night is having a bit of trouble finding the studio, apparently."

  Hailey laughed. "Trust me, that's not new for him."

  "Careful, we don't want to spoil the surprise." Russ glanced around conspiratorially and lowered his voice. "But if you want to feel like sharing a story or two while we wait, I bet the censors are quick enough to catch his name."

  "How fast are they?" Hailey asked, glancing up at the booth of panels and sensors where she assumed the censor would be. "His name is Porcupine Williams the Fifth."

  Russ stared at her blank-faced for a couple seconds, before cracking a grin. "Apparently, they had to blur your whole face, just in case we got any expert lip-readers watching. Our contract was very specific. I think we're already in trouble for saying 'he', but I'll let that one slide just for you."

  I don't remember anything like that in the agreement I signed. I wonder what would happen if I just told everyone? No, you're here to be the better half. Give them a good impression, make it a fair fight. Wait for him to show up.

  "I wouldn't want to talk behind his back, Russ," Hailey said smoothly, without too much time wasted. "We'll give him a little more time."

  "Fair enough! Back to you then, if you don't mind."

  "Oh, I'm an open book."

  "Speaking of books," Russ continued. "I'd be amiss if I didn't bring up the one everyone's talking about. The Rallsburg Diaries," he added in a spooky voice. "That's what set off this whole crazy weekend, right?"

  "That's the one."

  "Now, we've all read the teasers, and I'm sure there's a couple thousand people with them open waiting to yell at me for misquoting, so I'm not even going to try. We'll just stick to the basics, sound good?"

  Hailey nodded. "I haven't gotten to read it, so that sounds great to me."

  Russ was good at acting genuinely shocked. "You haven't? But you're in it!"