Unexpected Changes

August 19

Today I was feeling quite nervous. I hadn't set foot on my desk for almost 3 weeks, two more than the vacation days I had taken because I was trapped by the emergency that happened in Okinawa, and yet my colleagues instead of giving me a warm welcome, were rejecting me, they didn't want to talk to me. Which could only mean one thing, Mr. Kyuosuke, the president of the newspaper was angry with me. Trying to get some allies, I went straight to Mr. Nakatsuka's office to get something that might calm him down. We were both desperately going through the entire photo memory, but my luck ran out when the secretary entered the office.

"Miss Nozomi Yasuda"
"Mr. Seoto Nakatsuka"
"Mr. Kyuosuke is waiting to speak with you both in his office"
"Please present immediately"

Hearing her say my name that way made my hair stand on end, it was as if she hated me, which meant that Mr. Kyuosuke was really angry and bloodthirsty, for all his followers and bootlickers to play along even the janitor had to be for something. We started walking and took the elevator to the top floor of the building, the trip seemed like an eternity. When we arrived his door was open, from outside we could see how he was talking on the phone, it looked like something about going to a city party where the minister of economy was going to be. It looked like he was talking to a good friend of his, because even though he saw us waiting for him he kept talking calmly for another 30 minutes, I didn't bother him because maybe that would relax his mind a little and he would forget his anger. 

But my luck ran out when he hung up and frowned again almost immediately.

"Mrs. Nozomi Yasuda!"
"May I ask what the fuck is this?!"  said the old man pointing to a nearby monitor.

"Well then, a picture"
"...."
"Of a dragon"

"Yes exactly, that's right"
"Why the fuck am I looking at a fake picture?"
"Where are my pictures of tragedy? Where are the children looking for their dead mother?"
"Where is the picture of an old woman begging for food?"
"Where is the picture of the army burying people in a mass grave?"
"And the air combat that happened afterward? where is it?"
"How hard is it to point a camera at the sky? It looks like you managed to take one where there was fucking nothing!"

"Sir, both the JSDF and the U.S. Army did an exemplary job in rescuing those affected."
"They even went so far as to provide aid to the most remote locations in just 24 hours after the earthquake"
"It was the same soldiers who escorted us to safety when the air raid happened"

"So where are the pictures of how they mismanaged the situation?"
"Something must have gone wrong, right?"
"Where are you keeping those photos?"

"Sir, with all due respect, I believe that the authorities did a good job in attending to the emergency"
"Discredit them for something they have no serious control over, I don't feel that is the right way to do journalism"
"That is not telling the truth."

"Mrs. Nozomi Yasuda, I remind you that we are journalists"
"We live off the misfortune of others"
"The truth doesn't sell, it doesn't make money"
"You know what does make money? The image of a drowned child and his father in the tsunami."
"Not something as stupid as soldiers moving boxes of food"
"That the military helps is something everyone takes for granted, that's why they exist in the first place"
"You know what people don't take for granted, the image of a soldier pointing a gun at someone protesting"
"Even if the protester was the one who was putting the rest of the refugees at risk"
"Images like that are what make our work relevant"
"Those images are what pay your salary"

"Sir, sorry to bother you, but even if you are right, you have to remember that Miss Nozomi was on vacation during that time"
"Her being in the area where it happened was just a coincidence."
"She was not working, had no photography equipment with her, and even lost several of her personal belongings during it"
"The fact that she was looking for a way to bring some photos, whatever they were, is a fact to be highlighted by itself"
"Expecting excellent work, under those circumstances, is a bit ...."

"Don't think that I have forgotten that this is your fault either Mr. Seoto Nakatsuka!"
"It is because of you and your lack of severity that she has not generated the necessary traffic to our web portal"
"Right now what keeps us afloat are our sponsored sections, not "real" reports"
"Why don't you learn from your partner, the girl from the showbiz section? She generates almost twice as much traffic to our site with her celebrity pool reports as your stupid reports do"
"Actually right now I am strongly considering closing our news section if it does not generate enough revenue to justify its existence"
"Something has to be done"
"I'm actually going to help you a little by cutting the unnecessary weight"
"Ms. Nozomi Yasuda, as of this moment, you may consider yourself unemployed"
"You are fired!"

Hearing those words, my body freezes, I feel how a cold shock running through my body, and I start to feel how the air is freezing.

"!!!"
"Sir!?"

"Nothing of Sir to me, pack up your things and get out of here"
"We are going to need your services, right now our company does not need unnecessary people"
"At least a reporter killed in the earthquake would have generated a good story that people would see on our website"
"...."
"In fact, I pity any poor person who chooses to hire someone as ineffective as yourself"
"Get out of my sight at once"

I could not believe what was happening, not only was I being fired without hesitation, but I was even being humiliated in front of my co-worker. I was deeply offended by the comments of that pig, who was turning his back on me after speaking. Mr. Nakatsuka was looking at me with pity, I knew he was not to blame, he was just lowering his head and accepting the decision not to be the next one without a job. I was so angry that I turned around and started running to get my things. When I got to my desk an empty box was already waiting for me. No one had said anything but the intention was clear, they wanted to make it as public as possible. Almost none of my companions said anything, except for Natsuki, who was sympathetic to me and helped me to pick up my things because she knew I didn't want to be there anymore, probably my tears were a clue of that. 

At the moment of leaving the building with my box of things I contemplated the sky, it was a cloudy but nice day, I was trying to contemplate what options I could use to move forward, after all I could not stay here, at least my other job at the cinema would help me a little, although it would not be enough, I had to do something else. But it was while I was focused on these thoughts that I was approached by a mysterious man, he was quite tall, dressed normally and had expensive sunglasses, the guy was really imposing and seemed to be dealing with serious problems. For a moment I even thought that Mr. Kyuosuke had hired a professional assassin to get rid of me.

"Miss Nozomi Yasuda right?"
"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Gomez."
"I am currently working as a researcher for a very important person"
"Don't worry, it's nothing bad, on the contrary, it's good news for you I guess, because of the box"
"You have just been fired from your job? I am very sorry, probably this is a bad moment, please allow me to withdraw and set another day to ..."

"Well, the day is bad enough and you just promised me some good news, so for now I'm all ears to anything that will brighten my day."

"Oh, okay, that would be great."
"Thank you very, very much Miss Nozomi"
"You see, my boss has very particular tastes and is deeply interested in a specific subject"
"And well, it seems that you have come across something that he is interested in."
"So he would like to meet with you to talk more about the purchase he wants to make"

"A purchase? Now that's interesting."
"And what could I possibly have that someone who has an agent like you available?"
"...."
"Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm just curious, I really don't mind selling a couple of things right now"
"Although you have to understand that there are some things that are out of the question"

"Don't worry, this is a serious and legitimate matter."
"It's nothing like that nonsense, he is very serious about it since his wife passed away"
"This way please Miss Nozomi"

"Excuse me?"
"What day will we meet him? Will it be today?"

"He is very interested so he wants to do it whenever possible"
"Mr. Damien Raven is right in that car over there waiting for you"

"Wait for a second!"
"Mr. Damien Raven?"
"That Damien Raven!?"
"Is he here? He wants to talk to me!?"
"Literally right now?"
"He's been waiting for me?"

But he didn't wait, instead a black limo pulled up right in front of us and Mr. Gomez gently opened the door for me. Inside I could see a huge, imposing man with a rather serious face, however as soon as I got in he stood up and changed his seat to a smaller one inviting me to take the best seat in the limo. How could I refuse such a courtesy from a man like him. As soon as I sat down the car started walking, leaving Mr. Gomez behind.

"Good morning Miss Nozomi Yasuda"
"My name is Damien Raven, at your service"
"It is indeed an honor to have the pleasure of being in the divine presence of a lady such as yourself"

"Wow, that was fast"
"...."
"I'm sorry, I just can't believe someone like you was right there waiting like it was no big deal."
"..."
"I thought it would at least take a few days to set up a meeting"

"Oh, please miss, you're flattering me too much."
"Actually, I am the one who is asking you for a favor."
"The last thing I could do would be to unfortunate you by spending your precious time up with me"
"That is why I have taken my time to spend as little of yours as possible"
"It's the least a gentleman could do"

"Don't worry, I have a lot of time these days"
"..."
"Although you and your other man haven't stopped about buying something from me, but I still don't know what it is"
"Exactly what are we talking about?"

"Oh, where are my manners, I am very sorry for such an offense on my part for not being able to give you the necessary information to be able to have a pleasant conversation as two equals"
"...."
"I recently found out that you were in the middle of the terrible tragedy of Okinawa taking some photos"
"There is one of them that I am very interested in"
"So much so that I am willing to pay you for the exclusive rights to that picture if it is real"
"Would you mind spending a little of your time to show it to me?"

"Well, it's true that I took several pictures, but none of them were any good"
"Not that why would someone like you want them?"
"But go ahead"
"Although there is one that is badly taken, it looks like there is a spot in the middle of the air" I said as I handed him a USB flash drive that I took out of my box.

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Mr. Damien took the USB and passed it through a window to someone sitting in the passenger seat, who appeared to have a computer and started to review the information himself.

"Check image number 22 please" said Damien.

That seemed super weird to me, how did he know exactly which image he would want beforehand? there were almost 50 pictures.

"I have already reviewed the source code, it is original, without any edits" answered the mysterious guy on the other side.

Hearing this, Mr. Damien smiled happily, despite his imminent complexion, it was easy to see at a glance that his expression was genuine. Then he pulled out his smartphone and started tapping on a couple of things, it looked like he was preparing something.

"Excellent!"
"This is incredible!"
"It's perfect! More than perfect! Divine!"
"!!!!"
"Oh please excuse me Miss Nozomi, it's just that right now my excitement is almost uncontainable"
"You are the bringer of great joy to my life"
"Please allow me to share with you a fraction of it"
"I plan right now to buy the exclusive rights to image 22 for 5 million dollars, what do you think?"

"Five what? Five?"
"Of dollars? Five?"
"Sir, are you sure?"
"For image 22?"

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to offend in this way."
"Please my sincerest apologies"
"No doubt a beautiful photo like that must have taken a level of work for a delicate lady like you"
"I cannot show my face as a gentleman if I do not recognize as such your great dedication to your work"
"8 million for the photograph"
"Plus 2 that I am currently depositing in your account as a form of apology for my offense"

"10 million!? 10 million!?"
"Dollars!?"
"Millions!?"
"Sir that's too much!"
"The picture is not that good, it's just a spot on the picture"
"If it looks like a dragon standing still, that's all"
"That's not worth that kind of money."

"Of course, they are worth it"
"Miss Nozomi, you are almost a heaven-sent messenger for me right now."
"This is certainly a sign"
"This is something my wife would have given her life to see"
"...."
"You know what, in fact, she would have tried to help people herself"
"Please excuse me for a moment while I make a call."

Mr. Damien picked up the phone and dialed a strange number, which was answered immediately.

"Hello, yes it's me"
"It looks like the day has finally come when we will finally use Rose's account"
"We will use about 10 billion dollars."
"Yes, with all the zeros, we will use it to help in the rebuilding of Okinawa."
"Why? Because that's what she would have wanted!"
"That's why that money exists in the first place."
"Yes, tell him I want a square in the city with Rose's name on it."
"Yeah, also commission him to, no, forget it, that has to do even better"
"Take out a contest, if that's what it is, I want several artists to make sculptures, all about a flying dragon"
"Yes something with a heroic theme"
"The sooner the better, right now the people of the island need the help, right?"

"Wow, that's a lot of money"
"I'm not good with numbers but I think it's enough to buy almost half the city"

"Oh, no, it's humanitarian aid"
"A gentleman has to help the needy, doesn't he?"
"What kind of manners would I be showing if I didn't help those who have helped me?"
"In fact, I'm sorry to be so annoying, it's not like me, but I feel I really have to do it."
"It is something quite special to me, and right now, by you bringing me that image I think it is a sign in itself that you are the right person for the job"
"Do you think you can speak for me to your bosses?"
"I know that you are a journalist who specializes in investigations, so you know how to do long and extensive reports on various subjects"
"I would like to commission a full documentary, something like an hour at least"
"The theme will be "The story of the white dragon that saved the island of Okinawa", it will have everything, hire a a film director to assist in cinematography and to help you put together the video, professional musicians, there will be a section with witnesses, yes,  that would be excellent!"
"And of course, of course, you Miss Nozomi Yasuda as the main presenter!"
"Well, I know it takes some time to set up the interviews and get more information from the people who also saw it"
"But we could show it when the Rose Square and the statues of the dragon savior are inaugurated"
"In fact why to stop there, I could buy the television space for that whole hour and show it on national television"

I couldn't believe what Mr. Damien was talking about, it was as if I was watching a billionaire spending money like it was burning his hands. He didn't seem at all like someone with a lot of money who is reluctant to spend it, on the contrary, it was even surprising to see that he would have had so much money in the first place if he didn't hesitate to spend it as he was doing right now. Quite the opposite of my former boss.

And speaking of which

"I am very sorry to disappoint you Mr. Damien."
"But as you can see by this box right now"
"I am currently unemployed."
"Oh, but of course I would love to do that documentary, it would help my career a lot"
"Although, of course, with the dragon theme...."
"But don't worry, how about we do it as a fake news report, something like one of those alien invasion movies but it looks like a real newsreel"

"No, no, no!"
"I don't want anything false in the report, I want it to be as honest as possible"
"Just go and try to find honest people who say they witnessed the event"
"Get as many videos and photos as you can"
"But give your honest opinion on what you find, don't hold anything back"
"What kind of high-quality reporting would be one where only lies are told?"
"I just want people to at least think for a moment that dragons are real"

"Oh, I see"
"So the rumors about your wife were real"

"Do you mind if I ask you what you have heard about them?"
"Don't worry, I'm not offended, please be honest"

"Well, just what everyone has heard"
"That Mrs. Rose was a prodigy in the scientific community, but that she wasted all her potential looking for dragons"
"I heard that she managed to create a new super battery but it was never used and no one knows anything about it"
"I also heard that the last year she was alive even her doctorate was withdrawn because she was constantly bothering with the dragons topic"
"And that was what depressed her so much until ..... well that day"

You could see on Damien's face that he didn't like what I was saying, but true to his word he kept his comments to himself. When I finished he took a couple of seconds to calm down before speaking.

"Well, and what is your opinion about Rose?"

"My opinion?"
"...."
"Well, I didn't meet her directly so I can't give my opinion."
"...."
"What I can opine about is you Mr. Damien, and by the way you treat others I can see someone who really loved your wife."
"You convey a feeling as if she were alive."
"And that feeling is that of someone who was cheerful and loving and just wanted to make the world a better place even if she was called crazy."

The man looked at me with a very serious face for a moment even after I fell, I had no way of knowing what he was thinking.

"Thank you very much for your sincere opinion, Miss. Nozomi"
"I really appreciate your words, you don't know how much they comfort me"
"No doubt, your reputation as a great lady will be rewarded"
"...."
"I really like you very much"
"So much to consider you as a friend"
"...."
"And as a good gentleman, I like to take care of my friends."

He picked up the phone again and called someone

"Yes, Damien Raven speaking"
"Can you tell me how much Nichibotsu no taiyō Shimbun shares cost?"
"Oh, okay, all right."
"Yes I plan to place an order"
"seventy percent of all shares."
"Yes, that's right, at the current value, no it's not for profit"
"Three days? okay, no problem"
"...."
"...."
"Very well Miss Nozomi Yasuda"
"How about allowing me to offer you a position as a journalist for a recent company I recently acquired?"
"I recently acquired?"
"Would you feel comfortable being the chief editor of the newspaper?"

"Chief editor?"
"No, I can't! I am not good with such a pressure"
"I like to do research, I don't think I can handle the level of work that it requires."
"I really appreciate your gesture but I can't accept it."
"I'm very sorry for everything that happened, please excuse me."
"It's not necessary for you to do all this just for someone like me."
"Surely if you call back you can cancel the purchase."
"After all you have three days, don't you?"

"Oh, but it wasn't three days for the purchase."
"The purchase has already taken place, three days was the time it took to transfer ownership and prepare the new management"
"But I really like your humility"
"How about if you allow me to offer you something more suited to your tastes?"
"How would you like to be a TV news investigative journalist?"
"Do they have the TV channel right?"
"Tell me? wouldn't you like your news to appear on TV at noon?"

"The noon news!?"
"Is that possible?"
"That would be awesome!"

"All right! then that's what it will be"
"By the way, can you tell me where your home is?"
"After all, it is a gentleman's duty to make sure a lady arrives home safely."
"You couldn't call me one if I didn't comply with something so basic."

 

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