Fate of Frailty Chapter 10
By Karen Hart
Helmer made his way across the lobby of the government offices, a news disk clutched tightly in one hand. It would be a long elevator ride to his office, he realized, as the lights indicating the carriage's progress seemed to move at a crawl. After a few long minutes he finally found himself in his office, and breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that there had been few people around to notice his nervousness just then.
He settled himself into the large chair and inserted the disk into a little slot on the desk, and readied himself for a flood of text that would appear. A moment later he rubbed at his eyes with his palm, as though hoping he could change what he saw, and grimaced in frustration. Nothing, of course, had changed.
Gaignun Kukai—Set to Inherit?
Kirsa Morgan
KUKAI FOUNDATION—If you've an interest in current events, you've no doubt heard the rumors of wealthy industrialist Soze Kukai's sudden decline. There've been constant rumors surrounding the cause of his health problems, ranging from something as common as age setting in to the abuse of prescription drugs…
He skimmed ahead a bit, feeling a strange mixture of disgust and amusement. Drug abuse? What inspired this sort of thing, he wondered.
But what does this spell for Soze's only son? There have been statements made by various parties that 18-year-old Gaignun will most likely inherit his father's financial empire very soon. Some, like Alice Fotane (44), claim that "it's set up too conveniently for Gaignun. There's got to be something going on here."
Helmer huffed at that, and quickly skimmed to the end before pulling the disk back out.
He had purposely leaked the information that Soze had seemed "under the weather" lately—there was, after all, nothing terribly shocking in the idea of an elderly man falling ill. It was what time did to a body. The rest, however, had been fabricated without his approval. While the Foundation itself was indeed mostly under Gaignun's care, Soze was his creation, and he wanted very much to know why someone else had gone ahead and printed something that was largely untrue, even if that someone was one of his own plants. Exhaling, he punched in Morgan's communications code and leaned back, waiting for the answer. It came after two chimes.
The face that appeared on his screen was tanned and amiable. Brown eyes peered from under thick, dark green bangs, while waves of equally dark hair framed her face. By her appearance alone Kirsa seemed the trustworthy, agreeable type, the sort that invited confessions and confidences. She blinked once at the caller and broke into a grin. "I bet you're furious about that article I posted."
This time it was Helmer's turn to be surprised. "As it so happens, you're right. What prompted you to run that story?" he asked, suddenly feeling slightly more curious than vexed.
"I've been running these stories for you for what, seventeen months, now? I should have an idea of what's going on. Look, that bit about Soze's health? Sure, it's okay as an aside in another story, but we've got to call attention to it now. I mean, we both know that kid of his is going to inherit anyway. He's practically of age already, and we may as well get that all set up. So I run a little something that makes him seem a bit, shall we say, 'shady', and the readers rally to his defense. –Trust me, I know the people who read my articles. This'll work out."
For a comic moment Helmer sat there, attempting over and over again to overcome a sudden onset of speechlessness. "And you neglected to inform me of any of this because…?"
Kirsa grinned. "Because I knew you'd say no."
Helmer's face quirked. "Again, you're right. So, want to tell me if you've got anything else cooked up that I should know about?"
---
Rubedo sat on the edge of the support beam, kicking the air in front of him in boredom. "Should've stayed home," he muttered to himself.
A couple feet away, Gaignun smirked. "Hey, it was your idea to see what's been going on on the Foundation. Not my fault that it's mostly construction."
Tossing a glare in brother's direction, Rubedo jumped off of the beam, grunting as his knees absorbed the shock of his landing. "Can't help it if I'm bored, now can I?" he retorted. "I thought you said there were some interesting things going on here."
Gaignun shrugged. "It depends on what you consider interesting. I saw what this place looked liked two years ago, and this is already a rather drastic change. I'm surprised they've gone along with the idea to build a city in here, much less a lake—" He braced himself.
"A lake?" Suddenly Rubedo's entirely demeanor altered. "How the hell are you gonna pull that off?"
"Well, it's not going to happen overnight, you know, but it'll have its uses both as an attraction and recreation for the residents," Gaignun pointed out.
A thoughtful look crossed Rubedo's features, and the redhead looked up—quite a distance up, given the second growth spurt that Gaignun had undergone not long ago. "You've really become attached to this Foundation, haven't you, Gaignun?" he asked.
Gaignun turned towards his smaller sibling, surprised. "I'd never really thought about it like that, but I suppose I have. It's hard not to, to be honest, when I've put this much effort into it already."
Rubedo closed his eyes, a quick smirk lighting his face before it faded. "I suppose you're right about that. So, when does this all become yours?"
Again, Gaignun was surprised by Rubedo's choice of words. "Mine?" he asked, just managing not to sputter.
"We both know that 'Soze' can't stay around forever. Fake though he is, he's still a geezer. So he'll croak and you'll get the Foundation. What I want to know is, though—what happens when you do? Will you be here permanently?"
Gaignun nodded. "It's likely. I can't see not being here to either help or oversee. It feels sort of weird, because it's not originally my creation, but still…"
"Heh," Rubedo murmured in response. "You have a point, I guess."
---
Shelley settled herself in the booth across from Mary, and set her purse down on the side away from the aisle. She peered up at the waitress that'd seemed to suddenly materialize out of thin air.
"Would either of you two like something to drink? A soda, perhaps?" the waitress—whose nametag said she was MAYUMI—inquired politely. Mary nodded enthusiastically at the word "soda", adding a cheerful "Yes please!" to the gesture, while Shelley ordered an iced tea. Drink orders in hand, Mayumi left the table.
The sisters picked up their menus, idly perusing the choices offered on the thin plastic pages. Mary put hers down and squirmed a bit as she took a look around the establishment. It was a dimly lit place, the décor a combination of real and imitation woods. An extensive bar was situated around ten feet from their booth, and glowing liquor signs hung everywhere. It wasn't the sort of place one would look to find a pair of young girls. Even so, her sister had noticed that the sign had said "Bar and Grill" under the word "IRONMAN", and not just "Bar". So long as there was no alcohol involved, they figured they should've been fine.
A few minutes later Mayumi showed up again, drinks balanced on her tray. "Ready to order?" Moments later she had their meal requests and they had their beverages. Again she departed.
Mary leaned forward. "So, what was so important that you had to get me away from the others?" she asked, blue eyes gleaming with intrigue.
Shelley looked off to one side, considering her words. "It's about Rubedo and Gaignun," she began. "This whole thing isn't good for them."
"You mean," Mary began, "how Gaignun's changed and Rubedo…hasn't?" Her voice lowered on the last word, and she peered to one side as if making sure no one had overheard her.
The older girl nodded. "Exactly. We've got to think of some way to help them."
Mary nodded. "Just wondering, do you have any ideas yet?"
Shelley slumped. "Not a one."
"Don't worry," the younger girl reassured her sister. "We'll think of something."