Chapter 35: Status Report

A few days later, Sephiroth and Veld met with Lazard in his office for an unofficial status meeting.

"Everything is proceeding according to plan," Veld stated with calm and pragmatic efficiency, tapping on his hardcopy file folder. "The PR and Propaganda Department is slowly leaking stories to online media and news sources. Public reception to the campaign has been positive. The altered centerfold image and forgery revelation did exactly as predicted and most media outlets are falling in line. The updates to Hewley's public image are also going well. We released some new approved pictures to the fan clubs yesterday, and their members are sharing them faster than even PR initially predicted."

Veld sat across from Lazard's desk as he relayed the current status of the cover-up operation. Lazard rested his chin on clasped hands, elbows propped on the desk's surface, and uttered an underwhelmed grunt at the report.

Sephiroth leaned against the wall behind Lazard, arms folded across his chest, expression flat. He resisted the urge to walk over and loom over Veld to express his displeasure at the direction the "operation" had recently taken. "The images released to the fan clubs wouldn't be the so-called 'puppy pictures,' would they?" he asked caustically.

Veld smiled despite Sephiroth's irritation. "Not yet." He steepled his fingers before his face and drummed them against each other a few times in rhythmic fashion. "PR is easing into that. They're starting slow, with some other candids."

"It's not just Angeal who'll be getting an image update when those damned puppy pictures get released," Sephiroth practically growled. He did not approve of being associated with cute, fuzzy puppies or being implied to have a softer side. He enjoyed his intimidating reputation. It kept annoying people away. "I never played with puppies in my life before that photoshoot."

"The publicity's mostly about him," Veld insisted with an admirable poker face. "You and SOLDIER First Class Rhapsodos are just support. But I'm told these kinds of human interest subjects are always popular. Just enjoy the good press for a change. It'll revert back to your usual aloof portrayal soon enough."

"And the Midgar Mirror's response?" Lazard asked, strategically interrupting before Sephiroth could respond with more irritated comments. "Do you think they'll back down?"

"Unknown," Veld said. "They haven't printed a retraction yet, but they also haven't retaliated or issued any statements online. We're monitoring them and keeping watch for their next salvo. Of course, we won't know for sure until their next official edition comes out tomorrow, but no matter what they do, they can't win in the long run."

"This has been an interesting experience," Lazard said. "I never knew what I was going to see when I read a news article or turned on a video feed. I still don't. It's quite the adventure." He cast his eyes up at the ceiling and sighed.

Sephiroth directed a particularly malevolent smile at Veld, who finally recognized an unsubtle threat when he saw it and answered with a scowl of his own.

Ignoring the byplay, Lazard added, "I was especially impressed with that news conference PR held last week. It ran on every channel."

Sephiroth was willing to be distracted. "Angeal claimed that PR didn't consider it a real press conference," he said in a deadpan tone, "but rather a simple announcement with some questions and answers, with the intention to hold an official press conference at a later date."

"Semantics."

"That's what Angeal said, too."

Veld made a show of flipping through his hardcopy file and said, "There has been a downside to SOLDIER First Class Hewley's new publicity, though we aren't yet certain if it's due to the centerfold or PR's efforts to remake his image. It's probably a mix of both."

"And that would be?" Lazard asked.

"He's picked up a raft of brand new stalkers," Veld said shortly.

"Angeal doesn't attract stalkers," Sephiroth said with a dismissive gesture.

"You're kidding, right?" Veld snorted. "He always has some stalkers, and now, after that centerfold exposé? They're no longer low level nuisances. By the way, you have them, too, and so does Rhapsodos. You just don't pay attention because you all seem to believe you're invincible and immune to mundane threats."

Sephiroth shrugged, unable to argue the point. Ordinary civilians posed no threat to any of them. Why worry about something so stupid?

Lazard asked, "What about Angeal's newest stalkers?" He didn't sound surprised, so Sephiroth surmised that he was regularly briefed about such matters.

"A few were a lot more serious than the usual run," Veld said. "They have been dealt with." His expression was utterly blank and unreadable. Sephiroth assumed the "serious" stalkers had either been "relocated" or were no longer breathing. Veld went on, "The rest are the normal collection of adolescent fans, SOLDIER wannabes, bored housewives, and the miscellaneous groupies who don't fit into tidy categories. We made sure they found the fan clubs so they're no longer an issue and require only light monitoring. At least the clubs discourage blatant stalking, and Hewley's fan club is pretty benign, all things considered."

Sephiroth asked, "Do Genesis and I also have adolescent fan stalkers?"

"Yes, along with the wannabes, bored housewives, and groupies, too."

"And the more serious types you mentioned?"

"They also get handled if they won't give up or keep their objectionable obsessions under tight control," Veld stated in a matter-of-fact tone, as though it should be obvious.

Sephiroth stopped asking questions. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what the phrase "objectionable obsessions" really meant, especially when spoken by the head Turk. The issues of stalkers and their potential dangers had never been of concern to him before. He was just as capable as a Turk of "dealing with" any crazed moron delusional enough to become threatening, though he did acknowledge that the Turks would be more discreet.

Well, Angeal was already in the headlines. There was no sense in making any big public splashes by eviscerating his stalkers and adding to his general misery. Sephiroth could let the Turks handle the problem however they wished. Apparently they'd been handling the issue all along and had kept such activities nice and quiet for years.

"So nothing more than business as usual, aside from an increase in volume and frequency," Lazard commented, sounding bored. He didn't press Veld for details. Presumably he knew more about the subject and didn't let it bother him.

"Just so," Veld agreed. "Though the uptick was larger than expected, and shows signs of continuing until the media onslaught lets up. With luck, most offenders will be as harmless as normal."

"Good. I'm glad that's in hand, at least. What about his mail?"

Sephiroth gave Lazard a sharp look. "What do you mean, what about his mail?"

Veld said, "We've continued screening it as usual. Benign hardcopy and email is allowed through. I doubt he even looks at it, which is probably good."

"Angeal rarely bothers much with fan mail, unless a PR person suggests he read some particularly entertaining or unusual letter," Sephiroth confirmed.

Veld nodded. "Yes, that's in his records. We aren't worried about the nice letters. The vicious stuff, however, is noted, the senders recorded, and then the mail is destroyed. There has been a large increase in the number of nastygrams and threats. We're monitoring the situation."

"Angeal gets hate mail?" Sephiroth asked, again taken by surprise. "Angeal?"

"You all get hate mail," Veld stated flatly. "Rhapsodos, too."

Though he hadn't considered it before, Sephiroth wasn't much surprised that he and Genesis got hate mail. He knew they could both be polarizing figures at times. "Yes, but everyone likes Angeal."

"Not everyone. The centerfold exposé should have demonstrated that fact loud and clear to all of you," Veld told him without any sugarcoating. "The volume of Hewley's hate mail is just bumped up right now. Hopefully, it's nothing more than a temporary state of affairs."

Sephiroth went silent, digesting the new, unpalatable lump of information.

Lazard let out a long sigh. "Maybe now that the world thinks the centerfold was faked, it'll settle back down to normal levels."

"That is what we expect," said Veld. "PR is looking to play up the victimization card to gain some public sympathy."

Apparently, Sephiroth thought, Lazard knew about all their mail, as well. Hate mail, threats, stalkers that might be dangerous... What else had Lazard and the Turks kept secret from him? How unsettling. "What about the search for the Barely Legal magazine? It's the ultimate cause of our current headaches. Any leads?"

Veld looked like he'd bitten something sour. "We're still working on that," he said shortly.

"That means no?"

He received a frozen look for that.

Sephiroth muttered, "That means no."

"Moving along," Lazard said, tapping at his keyboard and gesturing at Sephiroth to look at the monitor. "PR has asked me to talk Angeal into updating his uniform to something a little more personal and unique. Apparently they tried but failed to convince him. He flat out refused." He turned to look directly at Sephiroth and smirked. "This means you and Genesis need to work on him."

"I doubt he'll be amenable to convincing," Sephiroth stated wryly after reading the full text of the request. "Why don't you just order him to do it if it's so important?"

"Because I suspect it would be a losing battle," Lazard admitted. "He follows the uniform regulations to the letter, aside from carrying two swords."

"You know how he is about spending gil unnecessarily. He'd have to buy any personal accoutrements himself. Shinra provides the standard SOLDIER uniforms, so it doesn't cost him any actual money."

Lazard said diplomatically, "It's true that Angeal is a paragon of frugality."

"He's cheap," Sephiroth said bluntly. He had no use for this particular turn of diplomacy and often found Angeal's parsimony ridiculous. There was frugal, which was admirable, and then there was cheap for cheap's sake.

"Well, given his background, that's not exactly surprising," Veld said. "The Turks have quite the file on him and his family's circumstances."

The Turks had massive files on all of them, Sephiroth assumed, but he didn't need third party documentation about this particular subject. He knew all about Angeal's impoverished upbringing. He understood that Angeal had done a fair amount of scrounging during his childhood, which resulted in his obsession with thrift and budgets. However, even after years of finally having enough money, he still went overboard often enough that his penny-pinching ways were sometimes remarked upon in the gossip mill. Angeal had even lectured him at times about the sins of waste. Him!

He said grumpily, "He's proud of it. He brags about being cheap."

Veld smiled, going along with it. "Yes, that's noted in his file."

Lazard said, "Look, if you think it'll help, tell him that SOLDIER's budget will cover the cost of whatever personalization he decides upon. He won't have to part with a single gil."

"I doubt it'll make a difference," Sephiroth said. "It's not just the extra expense. He's comfortable with the standard uniform and has an aversion to too much change."

With an amused laugh, Lazard said, "As amply demonstrated by his reactions to his recently changed circumstances."

"Just his image update so far has him riled enough." Sephiroth repressed a snicker of his own. "Why does PR want him to alter his uniform, anyway? The standard uniform is almost as much his trademark as the Buster Sword."

Lazard answered, "They didn't explain beyond wanting him to stand out just a little more and be more memorable."

Sephiroth snorted. As though anyone would ever fail to notice Angeal in a crowd.

"Yes, it seems absurd," Lazard agreed with a grin. "I suspect they want to start parading him around in public. Appearances, speeches, interviews, that sort of thing. Like they do with you and Genesis. He's always avoided it before, but I think they want him to have a higher profile now."

Sephiroth recalled Genesis speculating that PR would never let Angeal escape now that they'd finally gotten their hooks into him.

"Good," he said in reply to Lazard. He'd thought many times since this entire centerfold farce had begun that it was about time Angeal got mauled by PR the way he and Genesis had been for years.

He added, scoffing, "Don't worry about making him change his uniform. He treats his Buster Sword like a personal fashion accessory rather than a functional weapon. Even without it, he already looks unique enough to distinguish him from the run of the mill SOLDIER."

Lazard bit his lower lip, but his eyes twinkled. "I'll be sure to inform PR that it's a lost cause."

Veld leaned forward to add his own two bits. "They shouldn't let Hewley anywhere near an interview or a press conference. Don't let him talk to any reporters or interviewers. That's the last thing we need right now."

"And why is that?"

Before Veld could respond, Sephiroth said cynically, "He'll be too honest."

Veld huffed out a hoarse cough that sounded suspiciously like a disguised laugh. "Even if he tries to stick to the official story, and I'm sure he would, he's a pretty bad liar. He's been cooperative, but there are limits. The press would be all over him."

"He does well enough in regular PR interviews and events," Sephiroth said, compelled to defend his friend. "He manages to be quite personable, in fact, but this situation is radically different."

Lazard looked at Veld. "I agree. Besides, he's already on edge. Anything more might send him through the roof."

Sephiroth folded his arms over his chest, stared at the opposite wall, and heaved out a deep, put-upon sigh. "I suppose if the media really needs an interview, I could handle it," he volunteered with resignation. "They keep bringing me up and asking if I have any comment. Might as well feed the beast."

He might not want to do it, but at least he could lie with the best. He had years of experience maintaining blank expressions to keep certain private information from Hojo, the Board of Directors, and the media.

But Angeal would owe him big time if he had to go that far. Angeal already owed him for his own part in the current fiasco. Especially for those noxious puppies. Sephiroth started to mentally compile a list of possible payments.

Lazard took one look at his face and burst out laughing. "I'll definitely let PR know," he promised. "Don't worry, Sephiroth, I'll request that there be no public interviews with either of you unless absolutely necessary."

Next time: What do you mean, there are other members of SOLDIER besides the Unholy Trinity? And that they have their own opinions but will still defend one of their own?