Chapter 6 – The Response II
Buster retreated to the suite's extravagant bathroom. He downed a water bottle while Miss Crawly tried her best to combat his sweat with a towel.
"Did you see the way everyone looked at me?" the koala whined.
"Outbursts make good TV," Miss Crawly said, dabbing away at his fur. "They should thank you for the ratings they'll get."
"I'm trying to save my reputation, not their ratings!" After emptying the water bottle, Buster said, "Miss Crawly, I don't think this interview was a good idea. Is it me, or is Kilborn... I don't know... taking Crystal's side? I'm not imagining things, am I?"
"I can finish the interview for you if you're not up to it, Mr. Moon."
Buster laughed, but when he turned to Miss Crawly, she was gone, towel abandoned on the porcelain floor.
"Uh oh." She could be fast when she wanted to be. Buster raced back to the living room area where the interview was being staged and found her taking his seat. "Miss Crawly, no!"
"Mr. Kilborn, I'm ready for my closeup," she said to Kilborn's empty chair.
The cheetah working the lamps readjusted the lighting in a way that caught the iguana's glass eye and reflected it back at his face in a concentrated beam of searing light.
"It's burning!" he screamed, hitting the floor. Buster hid his face in his palms as the other staffers came to the cheetah's aid.
They already think I'm a jerk, he thought. Now I'm going to be banned from the show for life.
Kilborn came out of one of the bedrooms with his phone pressed to his ear, shook his head disapprovingly at the chaos, and ducked back inside.
Then it hit Buster, such a monumental shift in realization and perspective that it landed like a slap to the face: Crystal bought Kilborn. That was his people Kilborn was talking to on the phone, confirming the further ruination of Buster Moon. That's why Jerry was on deck for a rebuttal. This was an elaborate trap and Buster didn't just walk, he ran into it... like an impulsive little idiot.
No... no, that's ridiculous. Walter Kilborn is a respected interviewer and journalist. Why would he throw his hat in with Crystal? Kilborn did appear genuinely concerned for him at times. But Buster couldn't explain why the capybara seemed so much more sympathetic toward Crystal. Maybe something more sinister was going on here...
Or maybe it was just paranoia.
"This interview can't be over soon enough..."
"I apologize," Buster said, once the interview continued. "I'm not normally that... volatile. I have unresolved feelings with what happened between me and Crystal. It wasn't fair to take it out on you."
"It was never my intention to upset you," Kilborn said. "Are you sure you're okay to continue the interview?"
Buster nodded. "I am," he responded, feeling a bit drained.
"Moving ahead from the first time Jimmy Crystal allegedly tried to kill you... another one of his claims is the performance of Out of This World was completely unsanctioned. After a near death encounter like the one you described, most people would flee the city or at least contact the police. Can you shed light on why you decided to seize Crystal's theater instead?"
"I wanted to run, but I fought back that overwhelming urge for one simple reason: we all worked our butts off on that show. I wasn't going to let Crystal snatch away our dreams like that."
"You set your plan in motion. Hotel security is distracted, and the show goes on. Crystal shows up to shut it down. He told us that his security team was attacked in the lobby by gorillas wearing bunny masks. Is this true?"
"Crystal's goons are dangerous; we needed protection. I guess there was an altercation. I wasn't there to see it."
"We did a bit of research and found some interesting results," Kilborn said. He gestured for something with his hand and a staffer gave him several sheets of glossy photo paper. "Apparently, there was a gang of robbers with this exact same MO that menaced your hometown for years." Sorting through the papers, the capybara found what he was looking for and flipped it to show Buster. It was a screenshot of old security footage showing a gorilla in a bunny mask hauling a sack over his shoulder. Even with the questionable quality of the screenshot, Buster instantly recognized Big Daddy.
"Did you hire criminals to attack Jimmy Crystal?" Kilborn asked.
"They're not criminals, they were out for good behavior. They've been doing community service."
With a tiny sigh, Kilborn readjusted his glasses. "Let me rephrase my question: did you hire excons to attack Jimmy Crystal?"
"I didn't hire them! And they weren't there to attack anybody!"
"I see." Kilborn shuffled the photos again, and though Buster only caught a glance, he knew exactly whose picture he saw on top. It was Johnny.
He's going to connect this to Johnny and drag him into it.
Buster was relieved when Kilborn moved Johnny's picture to the bottom of the stack.
"Did you imprison Crystal under his own stage?" the capybara asked. Buster was confused by the word choice for a moment.
"Oh," he said in realization. "I mean, he was trying to stop the show. We're not monsters. Miss Crawly set up snacks down there..."
"This was premeditated?"
Buster gave a sheepish grin and a shrug. Kilborn didn't react.
"I believe things took a dangerous turn after this, according to you."
That all too familiar spike of anxiety returned. Buster closed his eyes, controlled his breathing, and relived one of the worst moments of his life.
"Crystal broke free and grabbed me... there was an elevator... we were so far above the stage when he dropped me." He had the odd sensation of being a spectator, as if he was describing something that happened to someone else. Maybe that's what he needed to power through. "I'd very likely be dead right now if Rosita hadn't caught me."
"This was the actress with the acrophobia?"
"Yes..."
Kilborn didn't push it this time, and Buster was initially thankful. But as he had time to think, he realized Kilborn and Crystal had worked him over as a liar. Anything coming out of his mouth was likely being taken with a grain of salt at this point. There was no need to challenge him.
"I want to switch gears a bit," Kilborn said. He held up a picture that was long emblazoned in Buster's mind, an image that sent silent shockwaves rippling through the koala's body. Buster was staring at the fresh ruins of the original Moon Theater. "This was your theater, correct? Tell us what happened here."
Buster gave a nervous smile while drumming his fingertips against his knees. "T-that? Uh, yeah, that's a bit of a story, but I don't see the relevance. I wanted to talk about my experience at Crystal Entert—"
"Jimmy Crystal is a known quantity at this point," the capybara interjected. "The people want to know more about you. Where did you come from, how did you get here? What's the real deal with Buster Moon?"
Buster would have been more impressed with that title drop if it wasn't currently being used to pry open old wounds. They hadn't discussed this topic at all before the interview and now it seemed impossible to avoid. Before he could find a way to really tackle the subject of his old theater's destruction, Kilborn slid something else in front of the picture: a flyer for a singing competition with a $100,000 prize.
His competition.
Buster was so taken aback he didn't have time to wonder how Kilborn got such a clean copy.
"This is your competition isn't it? The one you held to save your theater?"
"Y-yes..."
"Considering your dire financial straits at the time, it's safe to assume you didn't have the funds for this prize."
Buster winced. "That was a typo."
"I'm starting to feel like a broken record," Kilborn said, "but is it also safe to assume you didn't tell the contestants the truth about the prize money once you discovered the error?"
"I was going to get the money before they found out. It wouldn't have been an issue if all went according to plan."
"Just like you were going to get Calloway before Crystal found out."
Buster wanted to roll his eyes but reminded himself he was being filmed.
"Do you know why I brought this up?" Kilborn asked.
"I'm sure you're going to enlighten me," Buster said with enough bitterness to surprise even himself.
"I've noticed you describing startling behavior since the beginning of this interview. I went back to your singing competition because I'm sure this didn't start with Crystal. In fact, I think you've been using him as a scapegoat."
"Excuse me?"
"The fact is you don't respect another person's ability to say 'no' to you."
"Nobody likes rejection, Walter."
"This is beyond rejection. You lied to Crystal about Clay Calloway because you knew there was a good chance he wouldn't hire someone just claiming they could get him. You seized his theater because you felt entitled to it."
"I wasn't going to let Crystal kill our dreams!" Buster retorted.
"Isn't that a bit dramatic? Can a dream be killed? Are you telling me that if you hadn't performed in that theater at that moment, that would be the end of everything? You'd never work again? You'd never succeed again?"
"Nobody knows the future. It's possible we'd never get another opportunity like that again."
"Is that why you misled the contestants in your competition about the money? Are you willing to step on other people just because you see an opportunity? It sounds like you believe the ends justify the means. As long as you succeed, all the people you hurt along the way should be okay with the way you treated them, is that right?"
"I never said any of those things, Walter!"
"They say actions speak louder than words. Those contestants had the right to know about the money, just like Crystal had the right to know about Calloway, just like he had the right to fire you."
Buster tried to swallow his anger. "You cannot tell me there isn't some agenda in this interview."
"You're the one that came here with an agenda," Kilborn shot back. "You said yourself that you came here to clear the air, but I've found you've made this situation foggier than ever. Let's truly clear things up and try to get to the core issue of Crystal's claims. Was Crystal wrong to call you a liar?"
"I had every intention of fulfilling any promise I made to him."
"But there was no way of him knowing that once he found out you weren't being truthful," Kilborn said. "You lied to him repeatedly to manipulate and exploit him, did you not?"
"Yes, I lied," Buster admitted begrudgingly. "But not to deprive him!"
"Was Crystal wrong to call you a conman?"
"I delivered an amazing show!"
"Through resources gained by tricking Crystal. He financed your show based specifically on false information. Is this not a con? Was he wrong?"
"N-no..."
"Finally, was Jimmy Crystal wrong to describe himself as a victim in this situation?"
Buster grimaced, his eyes glued to the floor.
"Buster, was Jimmy Crystal wrong?"
Buster exhaled, and with it all the fight, stubbornness, and defiance left his body, rendering him a deflated husk.
"...No, he wasn't."
After the interview wrapped, the production staff of The Real Deal began to pack things up. Buster approached Walter Kilborn one last time, conflicted on what he wanted to say, but very aware of the dark cloud looming over his mood.
What does Crystal have on you?
That's what he almost said. It took extraordinary willpower not to.
"Mr. Kilborn, I want to apologize again for how heated things got," Buster said instead. "Truthfully, I haven't spoken much about these things... and I wasn't mentally prepared to be challenged on them. I know it's your job to ask some uncomfortable questions. I just hope the interview doesn't come across as bad as I feel right now."
Kilborn gave Buster a long look, then that stone face of his broke just a bit. Was that sympathy Buster was seeing?
"I'm going to be honest with you, Mr. Moon. The things you've admitted during the interview range from unethical to potentially criminal. I hope you have a good publicist." Kilborn thought for a moment. "And a lawyer, too."
A/N
Thanks for the support, guys. Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. Writing this is too much fun, and the best part is that we're still early in the saga! Things will start to get a bit more dynamic in the near future.
Speaking of the story... phew! These two chapters required finesse! I needed Walter Kilborn to be inquisitive but not purely antagonistic. He went into this interview knowing Buster has a history of lying, but he was also aware that there may be some truth in the more traumatic incidents being described. He had to balance being skeptical and asking hard questions with being respectful. I also wanted to make it clear some of the things Jimmy did to Buster are still raw and painful.
Walter Kilborn having Johnny's picture but not using it was an example of his integrity. His team already did the research and drew the connection between Johnny and Big Daddy, but Kilborn chose not to make the connection publicly because he knew what it'd do to Johnny if something like that got out. Redshore currently only knows Johnny as a performer in a popular stage show (and part of Moon's troupe by extension). "Outing" him across national television as the son of a (former) gang leader currently being accused of assaulting Crystal's security on his own property could see Johnny catch just as much heat (if not more) from the media and public. Johnny dodged a bullet... for now.