Page 115 of Never Forget

“Good idea.” Laughing, I gesture to a shaded area near the edge of the plaza. “Why don’t we get out of the sun? I’ll grab us a couple of cold drinks, and we can shoot the shit for a while. How’s that sound?”

“That’s fine. Nothing for me, thanks.”

While Francis picks a table, I buy a bottle of water and two lemonades from the nearest vendor.

“I got you a lemonade in case you change your mind. If you don’t end up drinking it, I will.”

Nodding his thanks, Francis stands up stiffly and holds his arms out. It takes me a minute to remember.

“Oh! Right. I forgot,” I say, chuckling nervously. After wiping my hands off on my shorts, I lightly pat Francis down. I do it properly, because while he might think I’m an idiot, he has to know Cory wouldn’t have hired me as a bodyguard if I didn’t have some kind of basic training.

“Seems good,” I say, then clear my throat awkwardly. “Do you, uh… Need to check my pants or anything?”

“What?” Francis looks at me like I’ve grown another head.

“Curtis was very thorough. And despite telling me several times that he’s not gay, he spent a lot of time looking down the front of my shorts. It was pretty uncomfortable.”

Francis sighs exaggeratedly. “He’s a troubled man, that one.”

“That’s a nice way of putting it.”

“A lot of his ideas are off the wall, but he’s effective.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, how does someone like you end up crossing paths with someone like him? I don’t mean any offense. You just seem like a pretty normal, nice guy. Something about that guy just didn’t sit right with me. Like a radar was going off in my head.”

“We live in a corrupt world, Scott. Sometimes you have to play the game. I made it my mission to expose some of that corruption, and in order to do so, I had to work with some unsavory people to get what I needed.”

“And Curtis was one of those people.”

Francis nods affirmatively and takes a sip of his lemonade.

“The band played by their own rules, and they rarely saw any consequences until certain media sites started speaking out about celebrities using their influence to sway the minds of young people. I originally approached Curtis on one of his online forums. He had released an article that was getting attention in conservative spheres about how Lest Is Moore was brainwashing America’s youth and turning them into liberal heathens, or something to that effect. Once it was picked up by a large news site, it got even more traction.”

He looks at me. “I know what you’re thinking. In a way, he wasn’t wrong. It’s basic marketing, to appeal to people’s base desires. They were selling sex already, and now they were selling anarchy disguised as freedom. Why else did they suddenly make being political their entire personality?”

“I assumed because things were getting worse in the country.”

“Worse for who? Not them. None of this affects them. It’s all just a dog and pony show to sell more tickets and albums. And before you go preaching about all the money they raised for charity, I can guarantee you they made five dollars for every one they donated. I know how it works. It’s all just marketing.”

My lips turn down. Part of me wants to argue. I’ve seen enough of their finances to know that while they’re doing very well for themselves, they also give back more than their fair share and don’t even publicize the majority of it. And they do it because they actually care. I’ve been privy to too many political discussions and planning sessions to know that much is true.

“Didn’t think of it like that before?” Francis asks, assuming that I’m frowning over whatever truth he thinks he’s selling me.

“What does this have to do with you and Curtis?”

“Ah. Well, it just so happens that this wasn’t the first news piece that particular network purchased from Curtis. And with all of his ranting about the band, I figured we could help each other out.”

“You gave him information and he gave you?”

“Access. Introductions. My way into a non-competing media corporation. X Media Corp. doesn’t produce or manage musicians, so all the non-compete bullshit I was forced to sign didn’t apply.”

It’s on the tip of my tongue to ask why so many of their employees were recently hired at the label, but I can’t give away how much I know.

I just need to keep him talking until he eventually gives away what his role is in all of this.

THIRTY

NAZ