Chapter Seventeen

 
            When Wayne and Guthrie arrived unannounced at Kirsten's office the next day it threw the politician completely off guard. The boys had usually seemed uncomfortable and awkward and socially inept. Now they were confident and knew what they wanted - at least in a round about way.
            Kirsten now had a round the clock assistant, or rather political adviser, on the payroll. Like his boss, Newton Claire was confident that all unforseen difficulties could be 'managed'. Always with an eye towards exploiting an opportunity he had taken the position as Kirsten's assistant with a view to entering politics later down the track, 'when the time was right', as he liked to say. He was very young (barely out of university), handsome, always well groomed and very fussy in selecting his suits. When Wayne and Guthrie stood patiently at the reception desk and told him that they wanted to see Kirsten Steele his first impulse was to laugh out loud, but he checked himself. The last thing he intended to do was waste Kirsten's time because two spotty teenagers were demanding they see her.
            'Do you have an appointment?' Newton Claire looked at his nails, then picked a bit of lint off his sleeve. 'Is Kirsten expecting you?'
            'No,' Guthrie said.
            'But that doesn't matter,' Wayne said arrogantly. 'It's a free country, and if we want to see Kirsten Steele then we can see her.'
            This gave Newton Claire good reason to titter. 'I'm afraid that does matter,' he said, adjusting his tie. 'Now if you'll just go, I will pass on any messages you might want to leave for Kirsten.'
            Wayne crossed his arms. Seeing this Guthrie followed suit.
            'Where is she?' Wayne demanded.
            'She's in the middle of a meeting,' Newton Claire said, growing impatient. He felt he had humoured the boys enough. Now it was time for them to move on.
            'Well, if you can tell her that we're here we'll wait,' Wayne said. 'Kirsten knows us. She'll want to talk to us when she knows we're here.'
            'Look, boys, I think we've played our little game here long enough,' the adviser said. 'If you'd like to leave a message, I can pass it on. But otherwise I will have to ask you to leave. It's as simple as that. I don't know who you are, I don't know how - or if - you know Kirsten, but it's out of the question that she will be able to see you.'
            Wayne looked behind him and saw a very comfy looking sofa and some matching chairs, which were provided for visitors. There were a few magazines fanned out on a  table as well, to help visitors pass the time. Wayne went and plopped himself down on the sofa and sprawled out.
            'We can wait here 'til Kirsten's out of her meeting,' Wayne said. 'Take a seat Guthrie. May as well make yourself comfy.'
            Newton Clair felt ridiculous arguing with two teenagers. It was stupid beyond belief. Whatever authority he had was being eroded, fast.
            'Okay,' the assistant tried a final gambit. 'I've tried being reasonable. I've given you a choice. If you don't leave now I'm going to have to call the police.'
            Hearing this Guthrie's immediately jerked up, getting ready to run. He presumed that they were now going to bolt.
            'Sit down Guthrie,' Wayne said calmly.
            'But he said he's going to call the police,' Guthrie threw out his arms in a panic. 'Let's get out of here!'
            'You can't call the police just because we want to see Kirsten,' Wayne said. 'She's a politician, she's elected by the people. We have a right to see her.'
            'Not when there's a security issue,' Newton Claire said ominously.
            The assistant took a mobile phone out of his breast pocket and started to tab a few numbers, hoping to startle the boys into a hasty retreat.
            Wayne grew bolder and bolder by the minute. He was sick of being pushed around, whereas Guthrie was getting ready to make a run for it. 
            'Good, call the police,' Wayne said, crossing his arms defiantly. 'I'd like to talk to them myself and see if it's legal for you to do this.'
            Newton Claire had never really intended to call the police. He was just sure that it would be enough to scare the boys off. Now the bluff had failed. He stopped tabbing the numbers and put the phone back. Wayne and Guthrie had won.
            'Okay,' he said angrily. 'Alright. What did you say your names were?'
            'I am Wayne Grimwood, and this is my associate Guthrie Dulwich,' Wayne made the introductions, enjoying his victory.
            'I'll tell Kirsten you're here, but she still won't be able to see you.'
            'As long as she knows we're here,' Wayne smiled. 'Tell her it's very important. We have a video here we'd like to discuss with her.'
            The assistant momentarily paused, tried to think of another way to get rid of the boys, then sniggered and left the reception area.
            'Sit down Guthrie,' Wayne said.
            Dazed and amazed, Guthrie obeyed orders.
            'They might be calling the police now,' Guthrie worried. 'They usually do it in secret.'
            'Don't worry. Relax. We know Kirsten. He can't push us around like that.'
            Guthrie did worry though, sure that trouble was afoot. Wayne crossed his legs, picked up a magazine, then seeing that it was an incomprehensible finance journal,  tossed it back onto the table. Moments later Kirsten emerged, with her assistant in tow.
            'Wayne, Guthrie,' she tried to hide her impatience. 'This is a surprise. What are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you. We didn't have an appointment organised.'
            Newton Claire crossed his arms archly.
            'Yeah, I know. And I'm sorry,' Wayne did all the talking, while Guthrie tried to stay in the background as much as possible. 'But we have something really important we want to discuss with you.'
            'Well, it's impossible for me to talk to you now,' Kirsten said, tossing her hair back. 'I mean, I have to find room for you on my schedule first. And that's looking pretty full for the next few months. I'm really sorry, guys,' she apologised unconvincingly.
            There was another arch look from the assistant. His eyebrows cocked in triumph.           
            'C'mon, we should go,' Guthrie whispered, feeling defeated.
            Wayne didn't even hear his friend. 'It'll only take ten minutes,' Wayne pressed on, undeterred.
            Kirsten tried to be diplomatic, but it was clear she was losing her patience. 'I'm in the middle of a meeting at the moment. You've really no idea how inconvenient this is.'
            'That's okay,' Wayne said. 'We don't mind waiting for you, especially seeing what we've got to show you is so important.' Wayne took the videocassette out of his backpack and held it up.
            Kirsten suddenly felt like she'd clicked onto what the boys wanted to show her. 'Oh, I see. You've finished your project. Well, that's great. Sure I'd love to see it. You can just leave it with Newton and I'll look at it later. I'm sure it's really good.'
            'No, it's not the project,' Wayne said. 'It's something else. When we interviewed you the camera was accidentally left on and some other stuff was recorded. We just wanted to see what you thought of it. If it was true what you said.'
            Kirsten suddenly knew something very bad had happened. She suspected that the boys had secretly filmed her, and now might be trying to blackmail her. Every worst possible scenario entered her head. She cursed herself for being so stupid as to be trapped by two teenage boys in some potential scandal.
            'Perhaps I better look at this new material then,' Kirsten's manner became very cool. 'And we can iron out any misunderstandings. Take a seat. I'll be about fifteen to twenty minutes.'
            Kirsten disappeared while Wayne and Guthrie sat down again, Wayne firmly holding the videocassette. While the boys waited Newton Claire hovered about, keeping a sharp eye on them, while pretending to be busy. When Kirsten's meeting ended she walked four men in navy business suits into the reception area, shook hands, thanked them for their 'input' and 'time' and said farewell. No one watching her could have guessed at what she was thinking.
            With the four businessmen gone Kirsten turned to the boys. Her manner was very businesslike and matter of fact.
            'Okay, let's see what you've got to show me,' she nodded in the direction of her office. This was a very different Kirsten from the one they had originally interviewed.
            Wayne and Guthrie picked themselves up and followed. In Kirsten's office there was a TV and video that she had for presentations. She held out an insistent  hand for the video and Wayne passed it over.
            'I suppose it's cued?' she said without looking at Wayne or Guthrie, slipping it into the machine.
            'It's ready to go,' Wayne said.
            'Let's see what little present you two have for me,' Kirsten said sharply, now glaring at both Wayne and Guthrie. She pressed the play button without looking at it, holding her intimidating gaze on the boys. Guthrie felt his legs go to jelly.
            The tape rolled. Kirsten crossed her arms and remained standing. If her plan was to scare the boys and let them know she was a tough customer who couldn't be pushed around, then it worked. Even Wayne, who had shown quite a bit of bravery, felt his nerves being worn down. Nevertheless, he was now determined to see justice done.
            Kirsten watched with evident disinterest the interview footage proper. It was obvious she found it dull and lacklustre. Then there came the part in the tape where Wayne and Guthrie went to buy lunch. The camera was placed on the corner of the desk. Kirsten looked on as nothing happened, waiting for things to get worse. She knew this would be a sort of lull before the storm. They soon did. She saw herself sitting on  Brad's lap, kissing him. These were very intimate scenes, but Kirsten showed no uneasiness. Her face tightened and went harder as she concentrated. The gold love heart brooch that Kirsten always wore glistened under the office lights. What she had been waiting for finally happened. The material that had offended Wayne and Guthrie. It was the terrible conversation between Kirsten and Brad, a private conversation that never should have been recorded. Nonetheless, the accident had happened. A truth was revealed. Wayne and Guthrie were now out for answers.
            Kirsten watched to the end. When she was sure there was no more to come she pressed the stop button, obviously pissed off. Neither Wayne nor Guthrie felt like they had to ask anything. The tape had spoken for itself. Kirsten didn't think to apologise for her remarks, rather she went into damage control.
            There were several moments of uncomfortable silence. Wayne and Guthrie didn't know which way to look. They felt like they had unleashed a power greater than themselves. The tension in the room made them feel like all hell was about to break loose. Finally Kirsten spoke.
            'So this is what you were planning all along?' Kirsten pointed an accusing finger. 'You know this is entrapment? It's a dirty trick!'
            'No!' both immediately protested.
            'Let me guess, your next move is to blackmail me?'
            Again the boys cried no!
            'It was an accident,' Wayne protested. 'I didn't even know it was left on.'
            'That's right,' Guthrie said. 'We hardly knew how to use the camera in the first place. It was a real mistake. We never meant to do anything like that. Never.'
            'We only came here to show it to you because we wanted to know if you meant what you said.'
            'I don’t believe that for a second,' Kirsten said, remaining tight-lipped about her unguarded comments. During the whole conversation she never said a thing about the subject matter and substance of the tape.
            'Well it's true,' Wayne said, getting sick of Kirsten's stonewalling. In fact, he was starting to sense a strategy in the way Kirsten was dealing with the tape. She was trying to switch blame. Worse, she was trying to turn Wayne and Guthrie into two petty blackmailers, an idea that had never entered their heads.
            'Do you know I could call in the police for this kind of thing,' Kirsten continued. 'I have the evidence right here. I have a witness too. My assistant has seen and heard everything. He has a photographic memory. He could testify in court.'
            'We're not trying to blackmail you,' Wayne repeated.
            'We just want to know why you said what you said on the tape,' Guthrie said. 'You were all nice to our face, but then you stab us in the back!'
            Kirsten remained deaf to all talk about the subject matter of the tape. This may not have been a ploy. She seemed extremely focused on resolving what she liked to call an 'issue', and maybe what was on the tape really was meaningless to her. She ejected the cassette and held it with both hands.
            'I guess you weren't so stupid as to make this the only copy,' Kirsten said, tapping one end of the tape with a long, reinforced nail.
            'We've got other copies,' a frustrated Guthrie blurted out. 'But they're hidden.'
            'I thought as much,' Kirsten said, pausing.
            Wayne waited for Kirsten's next move, seeing he had no move himself planned. He had made other copies for insurance purposes, but in preparation for what contingency he wasn't sure.
            'You must hand over all the copies you have in your possession,' Kirsten demanded, after a few moments quick thinking. 'Then we'll just drop the whole episode, alright? I won't say anything about your attempting to blackmail me. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to ask my solicitors for advice on how to handle this situation.'
            Now who was doing the blackmailing?, Guthrie thought.
            'Well then, we'll just have to talk to our solicitors,' Wayne gave tit for tat. It was a pathetic bluff, more desperate reflex than strategy, but backed into a corner it had come out of Wayne's mouth without much of a thought.
            Kirsten thought this laughable. And from Wayne's quick response and scared look she knew she had won - or thought so anyway. She continued to drive home her advantage.
            'If you persist in being stubborn,' she continued. 'this could get very serious. Blackmail carries heavy prison sentences, especially blackmailing a politician. A jury wouldn't look very favourably on two nasty little pieces of work like you, putting a democratically elected official through the wringer.'
            Wayne and Guthrie would have been lying if they said that this little episode with Kirsten Steele hadn't scared the bejesus out of them. It seemed all too possible, Kirsten calling down the wrath of the law to deal with them. But deep down, beyond the fear of drowning in a sea of troubles, they sensed that Kirsten was really putting them on. How could she do anything to them? They knew they hadn't done anything wrong. They most certainly weren't blackmailing Kirsten - the only thing they had asked of her was an explanation. The boys continued to defy Kirsten, trusting that their innocence and faith in the truth would protect them.
            'I don’t believe you!' Wayne's voice rose with indignation. 'You're just trying to bluff us, because you know you're in the wrong.'
            'You know,' Guthrie said. 'At first we thought you were really nice, helping us out with our project and buying us lunch. But it's obvious that was all just a load of crap. I wish we'd never let you take our photos for that stupid book of your's. You just wanted to use us so you could look like you really liked young people. Now we know all of that was just a lie. You're just an opp…opp…' Guthrie searched for a word he only half knew but sensed was right in this situation.
            'Opportunist,' Wayne finished.
            'That's right,' Guthrie nodded in agreement. 'You're an opportunist. You know what, I sure wish I was old enough to vote, 'cause I sure wouldn't vote for you.'
            Kirsten looked visibly bored. She had no time for bleeding hearts, for the over sensitive feelings of teenage boys. She just wanted to 'keep a lid' on things.
            'Give me back that tape,' Wayne reached an arm out in Kirsten's direction.
            Clenching her teeth she flipped open the cassette's protective lid and started pulling out the tape, destroying it dramatically. Once she had well and truly pulled out all the offending tape, she took a pair of scissors and cut and cut and cut in what soon turned out to be nothing more than impotent rage. She might be able to obliterate one tape, but not all. When she had finished she handed back the cassette and kept the tape for herself. 'There,' she said. 'Now, tomorrow you bring me the remaining tapes, or other wise I'll have the police visiting your houses so fast your brainless little heads will be spinning. This is serious! Those tapes, here, by 9.00 am tomorrow. I don't care if you have to cut class or whatever. Just be here.'
            Wayne took the tape and placed it in his backpack. It would make a good souvenir he thought, or evidence.
            'C'mon Guthrie, let's go,' Wayne said.
            Guthrie picked up his backpack.  'Yeah, this joint is starting to make me feel sick.'
            Without saying anything more Wayne and Guthrie made their way out.
            'Don't think you can just leave like that,' Kirsten crossed her arms. 'I want you to tell me that you will be here with the rest of the tapes. I want confirmation.'
            Neither Wayne nor Guthrie paid her any attention. They didn't really care what she said anymore. Kirsten was gradually losing control. She followed the boys as they tried to leave. In the reception area Newton Claire looked on alarmed. He had never seen Kirsten in such a state.
            'Stop them from leaving,' she instructed her assistant. 'They have no right to be leaving until I say so.'
            The good and faithful assistant reached for the door, just as Wayne was about to push it open. He then stepped in front of the boys, blocking their way. Wayne crossed his arms defiantly. Guthrie looked behind him at Kirsten.
            'Are you going to bring those tapes or do I call the police?' Kirsten threatened.
            'Tell him to get out of my way,' Wayne insisted, staring straight ahead at Newton Claire's expensive silk tie, ignoring what Kirsten had said.
            'The choice is yours,' Kirsten said. 'Promise me the tapes tomorrow and you can go.'
            'Get him out of my way,' Wayne repeated calmly. He was more resolved than ever now not to be pushed around. He'd had enough of being pushed around. It was time to stand up to the bullies.
            Guthrie continued to glare at Kirsten.
            'I'll call the police,' Kirsten's voice repeated her threat.
            'Well, either call the police or let us go,' Wayne said. 'Just make a decision.'
            Kirsten huffed and puffed. She had by now lost all reason. 'Get out of here!' her voice became shrill. 'Both of you. You're both stupid little idiots who are going to get yourselves in a lot of serious trouble over this,' she threatened.
            Wayne and Guthrie felt relieved. It was a victory for them. It was more than obvious that Kirsten had been bluffing. Newton Claire stepped back and allowed the boys to pass. Wayne couldn't resist offering a fake pleasantry.
            'Thankyou,' he said.
            Guthrie followed. He smiled broadly and sarcastically.
            Newton Claire's face burned red to his ears with rage. His usually rosy lips turned sour with defeat.      
            As Wayne and Guthrie stepped out into the street, they could feel Kirsten's eyes boring into the back of them through the glass door. They were relieved nonetheless that their ordeal was over. There had been one point during their interview where they almost gave in, Kirsten's threats had seemed so genuine. But they had trusted that they had nothing to fear, and they were right. It was Kirsten who now had everything to lose.
            The boys walked in a daze down the street. The whole experience had been so unreal. The last thing they had expected when they went to confront Kirsten was that they would be made to feel guilty.
            'I'm hungry after all of that,' Guthrie said. 'She really freaked me out calling us blackmailers. Do you think she'll really call the police?'
            Wayne was in a philosophical mood. 'Kirsten might be totally gorgeous looking,' he said. 'But she's one hell of a creep. How did she get such an important job?'
            'I can't think when I'm hungry,' Guthrie complained. 'I need to eat something. Quick. Let's get some pizza.'
            'Alright, alright. We'll hold a war meeting over pizza. We've got to figure out what to do next, and at the moment I don't have a clue.'