Chapter 52: The Interview
Reece Martinez was seated in front of a camera waiting for the interviewee to arrive. Reece had twenty years of experience as a journalist. Today, he was supposed to interview a prominent politician by the name of Harold Becker.
Mr Becker eventually arrived twenty minutes late. Although Reece was frustrated, he was accustomed to it, when dealing with celebrities. The politician did not appear to be even slightly apologetic or embarrassed.
The television host had been given a warning by his producer about not going too far in the interview. The producer was afraid of the Secretary for the Interior and what he might do if he was aggrieved. Reece was a little afraid himself but felt like a lame duck. Normally he prided himself on asking questions that went straight to the heart of the matter. He believed that viewers listened to his interviews for that very reason, but he didn’t like looking over his shoulder to see what his producer thought of each question.
The host and the politician greeted each other professionally and within a matter of minutes both were seated in front of a rolling camera. Mr Martinez gave a brief introduction before asking his guest the first question.
“Mr Becker, as the Secretary for the Interior, what is your response to the growing number of deaths at the hands of vigilantes?”
“Our department has investigated many of these incidents and in the main, their actions have been proven to be justified.”
“When you say, “in the main” what do you mean by that?”
“In the majority of cases where people take the law into their own hands they are correct.”
“So you condone their actions?”
“If that’s the price we pay for keeping the streets safe, for keeping honest American civilians safe then so be it. It’s about percentages. If the odd innocent victim is killed and nine changelings are killed out of every ten people then so be it. It’s a small price we have to pay for the safety of our fellow americans.”
“How do you prove that a Changeling is a Changeling? They look exactly like humans, they talk exactly like humans. How do you prove it?”
Harold Becker was clearly irked at the line of questioning. Reece believed he could see specks of sweat forming on his forehead already.
“We carry out biological tests,” the politician responded.
“But what tests do the vigilantes carry out? Surely they don’t have the resources to carry out biological tests, do they?”
“As I have eluded to, in most cases these vigilantes are acting on suspicious or inconsistent behaviour. I commend them for their actions. They are making this world a better place.”
“What evidence do you have that Changelings are a threat to our society?”
“We have seen with Governor Callahan, how devious these beings can be. There is no telling what would happen if Callahan got to power. They are not to be trusted.”
“But what evidence have you that they cannot be trusted. What have they done exactly?”
In his earpiece, Reece could hear the producer jumping up and down but he chose to ignore him and follow his own methods.
“Well, there have been studies carried out that show that these Changelings infiltrate society in an attempt to get to the top. Once they are there, there’s no telling what they might do. They are not as visible or as noticeable as an invading army but trust me they are more cunning and harder to see. We must crush them before they crush us.”
Mr Martinez likened Mr Becker in his own mind to a mediocre student with little or no talent who had somehow managed to climb to a position of power and made up answers as he went along.
“Who published these studies?” The TV host asked.
“Our department.”
“So it’s not exactly an independently commissioned report?” Mr Martinez replied with a hint of sarcasm.
“I trust this report. Who is to say that an independently commissioned report would not be carried out by changelings.”
“Cut,” a producer by the name of Edison Xavier said as he approached the politician and the journalist. “We can’t air this. You’ve overstepped the line Reece. I’m pulling the interview. You never even talked about golf or other interests. You just launched into it. We agreed that you would only touch on the topic of changelings. That was meant to be ten per cent of the interview. Your making it the whole interview.”
“It’s what Americans want to hear,” the TV host replied like a scolded boy who knew the answer he gave would not be enough to get him out of trouble.
“No Reece it’s what you want to hear and the minority of people like you. Apologies Mr Secretary.”
“Ok so maybe it’s not what Americans want to hear but it’s what they need to hear.” Reece protested
Mr Becker stood up and muttered “watch yourself,” while looking away. He then made his way off set.
“You do realise you’re signing your own death warrant,” the producer declared in a relatively low voice, hoping that the politician could not hear him.
“And what does that mean?” an appalled Reece Martinez asked aloud.
The Producer did not respond. He looked as if he was a man who had just put his foot in it.”
Reece did not say anything further. He knew what the Producer was alluding to. It was not as if the Producer had a deep admiration for Harold Becker. He was instead afraid of him. Now, maybe Reece should be too.