14: A Double-Edged Sword

Alex, his sisters and Gini spent the afternoon back at the hotel watching the news. Although there was excitement when Alex returned to the arena since the Seers had already heard about Alex’s fledgling theology, Patty informed him they didn’t want to see him for a while. They were nearing the finishing stages of preparation and she wanted to train Winona on how to use feedback from the Seers stationed in the crowd and behind the stage to better respond to the audience, and they couldn’t do it with Alex distorting their perception of the crowd’s emotional responses. So Patricia insisted he take a hike and visit the more remote areas around the Golden Gate Bridge. However, knowing what Joseph was planning, they decided to watch events as they unfolded on TV.

Although Peter Drexler was a minor reporter from a small organization, the revelations about Mr. Hersokowitz affected so many things—from the employment of thousands of people to the fate of multiple TV show, movies and productions either underway or in the works—a major network agreed to carry the interview live as part of their news program—especially when he promised them the results would be devastating to Mr. Herskowitz’s network.

Despite not wanting to steal Joseph’s thunder, Alex had assured a nervous Reggie Fitzpatrick he’d pulled a minor miracle to keep his network afloat. Reggie kept pushing for details, but Alex just told him to watch along with everyone else.

The live interview was captivating, though not for the reasons Mr. Drexler anticipated. The interview opened with Peter Drexler addressing the camera, explaining who he was, who he was interviewing and why the interview was so important. Peter was so busy with the introduction he didn’t notice the sickly, hunched over Mr. Herskowitz sit up straight. Nor that his hands stopped shaking, his eyes cleared and his lethargy lifted.

“Good evening, my name is Peter Drexler, and I’m pleased to welcome you to my interview with Joseph Herskowitz. For those of you who are unaware of the recent news I published in ‘Variety’, I uncovered reports which cast Mr. Herskowitz’s role in leading his expansive media network into question, and since this impacts so many people, the broadcast network decided it deserved special attention.”

Here Peter finally turned to Joseph and hesitated upon seeing him sitting up straight. He recovered, no doubt assuming Joseph was simply marshaling his strength to appear stronger than he was—something Peter was sure he couldn’t carry off for long.

Although a minor player in an overcrowded field holding a temporary position of interviewer, Peter saw himself as a potential king-maker, or rather as someone who could pull the rug out from under a major studio. He was sure he could capitalize on this situation, convinced he’d be viewed as a legitimate newsmaker and the company sure to come away the winner—the very one negotiating to dismantle the studio—was sure to reward him with some very significant compensation deals. In fact, it was easy imagining him salivating at the thought of Joseph’s demise at that very moment.

“So Mr. Herskowitz, you don’t mind me calling you Joseph, do you? You saw my report this morning questioning your ability to manage your studio’s business successfully, namely that you’ve been funneling money to an unknown cult leader hoping he could heal the nervous disorder you suffer from. This disorder has caused people to question whether you’re able to manage your studio during this difficult transition. Do you have any response to this issue?”

“No, Peter, I don’t mind as I’m eager to address this malicious rumor which clearly has no basis in fact. While I can imagine how it originated, I think I can easily clear up any misunderstandings.”

Again, Peter Drexler seemed surprised by the strength of Joseph’s words and countenance, but shook it off as Joseph continued to answer his question.

“As for my contributions to this so-called religious group, as I’m sure you’re aware, as the head of a large studio it’s my job to entice actors, producers, agents and clients into signing on to a variety of projects. Sometimes I can convince them with an interesting project, sometimes with a powerful script, but other times I have to use other tactics. I’ll admit I’ve frequently helped ease things along by supporting an actor’s chosen charitable causes. The donation you reported—which didn’t have anything to do with any temple or religious organization, by the way—was simply that. I made a donation, under the name of the studio since it was a business move, to an organization I know very little about. While I’ve got no doubt they do very good work, this is the first I’ve heard about their offering any kind of ‘miraculous cures’. Researching the details after your story was released, I learned there is talk of a new temple to be built near San Francisco, but I’ve never had any affiliation with it. However, if this new religion does offer miracle cures, I’d be interested in seeing if they can help ease the medical crisis this country is suffering from, and which the Federal and State governments seem unable to stem.”

There was nervous laughter in the background at his reaction to potential cures, but neither man paid it much attention.

“So you’re saying you’ve never received any treatments from this individual?”

“Absolutely, since I’ve never met anyone from this organization. All I did was to make a single contribution to a charity in Illinois. However, if they’d like to come to my house and help with my blood pressure, I’d be willing to give it a shot.”

“You do realize there have been continued rumors about your health? That you’re suffering from a degenerative nervous disorder that’s slowly removing your muscle control and ability to think clearly, and that this has generated a fear amongst those negotiating to save your studio you may not be in a position to continue to lead.”

“Actually, I hadn’t heard any such rumors before your article appeared yesterday, which is why I was so eager to appear here today, so I could put those rumors to rest right off the bat. There is nothing wrong with me aside from the aches and pains of someone in their sixties.”

“So you’re denying you have a problem with your nerves or your muscle control?” Peter pressed, sure he’d cornered Joseph.

“Absolutely. In fact, if you’d like to arm wrestle, I’d be willing to wager a few dollars on the outcome.”

Needless to say, Peter didn’t take him up on the offer, mainly because he assumed it was disingenuous—that Joseph was in fact too weak to even hold his arm upright, much less wrestle with it. Peter didn’t want to come off looking like he was taking advantage of a man’s illness to humiliate him in a public broadcast.

“Could you please hold your hand upright then? I’ve noticed you’ve kept them hidden so far.”

“No, I’ve got no problems with that,” Joseph said, laughing. Joseph then held both hands up, showing they were both steady as a rock. He then extended them, holding them steady and proceeded to perform some quick exercises to show he had no problems with range of motion. Peter seemed stunned to see him doing what he’d convinced himself was an impossibility for him.

“So you’re saying these ‘treatments’ were successful?” Peter hesitantly asked.

“Again, what treatments? I’ve never had a problem, so I haven’t sought treatment for anything, either from a medical doctor or from someone I’ve never met. Though why I’d see anyone other than an MD for something like that is beyond me.”

“Now look here, I’ve got it from a good source you not only met with the person in question, but he conducted extensive treatments on you.”

“Ah, yes, I suspect I know this ‘source’ you’re referring to. Although I won’t mention his name, he’s been having medical problems of his own which have interrupted his career. That may explain why he’s creating these reports of mysterious illnesses and miracle cures. Let me just say this person no longer works for my studio. Not because of anything he said to you, but simply because he isn’t able to meet the conditions of his legal contract. It seems that not only are his performances impaired, but so are his judgments, no doubt resulting in these spurious comments. But then, I’d have thought you’d do a basic background check on your informant.”

Peter was stymied and so surprised at having the rug yanked out from under him he didn’t know how to continue, resulting in his simply staring at Joseph for several seconds, which on National television can seem like forever.

“Can you prove you don’t have this medical condition? Maybe by showing us your medical records?”

“What medical records? Since I’ve never suffered from this supposed condition, I’ve never had anyone conduct any tests into it. But I’ll tell you what, you still seem hesitant. How about if I give you a quick demonstration?”

With that Mr. Herskowitz reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a few items which weren’t immediately apparent to the audience.

“Many people don’t know this, but I got started in the entertainment industry by working as a street performer in a local public park as a juggler. While I haven’t done it in years, I assume the skills are similar to riding a bike, in that you can pick them up again after a long absence.”

Here Peter smiled, sure Joseph was about to publically embarrass himself, performing an act he hadn’t in years. Instead, Joseph tossed three balls into the air and proceeded to juggle them without dropping one. He then proceeded to add another two balls until he was juggling five at once. He even managed to toss one of them to Peter, who fumbled and dropped it on the ground. Finally Joseph caught the remaining balls and repocketed them.

“Maybe it’s you who should have your nerves checked,” Joseph joked. “That should have been a fairly easy catch.”

Again, Drexler was at a loss. His entire premise had been taken from him and he didn’t know how to proceed.

“Look, being able to do tricks doesn’t prove anything. Can you prove to us you don’t have any current medical problems?”

“How? You know as well as I do you can’t prove a negative. Do you want to spend the next half hour having me perform one silly test after another? Do you want me to walk a straight line? Hop on one foot while holding the other? Take a drug test for you? I’m not going to subject your viewers to such shenanigans, as it wouldn’t prove anything and would only make a mockery of the real reporting you’re pretending to do.

“Instead I’d ask, where’s your proof? Let’s see this single witness to these proceedings. If it’s who I suspect it is, I’m sure his lack of credibility will be apparent to anyone hearing him speak. Do you have any proof of a meeting between me and whoever you might be trying to connect me to? Do you even have evidence I’ve ever made a contribution to some nonexistent temple I hadn’t heard of before yesterday?”

“But clearly it’s an issue in your negotiations to continue financing for the studio. The fact no one thinks you’re capable of fulfilling your commitments is clearly a factor.”

Joseph laughed at Peter’s clumsy attempt to bolster his weak arguments. “I’m sorry, but I’ve got to take exception to that. As you can see, I’ve got no problem with arguing my case, and our projects speak for themselves. We’ve got several successful shows and we have multiple movies and acts currently in development which are proceeding fine. In fact, we’re excited about the newest, the relaunch of Diane Kennedy’s concert.”

“But isn’t that an excellent case in point? When she delayed the tour, it was seen as a clear signal she wasn’t drawing enough of an audience to be profitable.”

“Clearly you’ve been talking to the wrong people. Instead, what happened was her backup act took a leave of absence so they could record an album—which we’re producing, by the way. It promises to be quite a success as her act was quite impressive while she was on tour. But as a result of her stepping down, Diane needed to develop a new act.”

“But is—”

“Yes, the new act, one Winona Thomas—who was handpicked by Patty Moore to replace her and has been training with Diane Kennedy perfecting her abilities—is now set to wow the crowds. In fact, if you doubt me, they’re launching a free demonstration concert in the Fillmore here in San Francisco to showcase Ms. Thomas. Bring a news crew and record the concert if you wish, I’m sure you’ll see their act is in no danger of losing their enthusiastic fans.”

Peter glanced around and then started shuffling his papers. Why the network didn’t jump to commercials to save themselves further embarrassment wasn’t clear, but perhaps assuming that, Joseph offered Peter one last out. “Now, just to settle this, would you like to make a wager on a single bout of arm wrestling?”

Unseen by the audience, Joseph’s right eye, the one facing away from the camera, began twitching in an apparent uncontrolled action. Smiling again, sure Joseph was finally reaching the limit of his ability to mask his condition, Peter took him up on it. “This is highly unusual but I’ll humor you. What do you want to risk?”

“How about this, if you lose, you publicly apologize for reporting on my non-existent conditions? If I lose, I’ll voluntarily resign my post and close the entire studio.”

Momentary doubt seemed to cloud Peter’s face as he considered—for the first time—he may have been tricked. But that brief hesitancy evaporated when he considered he could effectively destroy this man in one fell act. Grinning again, he offered Joseph his arm.

It seemed as if Joseph lost his confidence as his whole demeanor changed from teasing and challenging to a more serious tone. He approached this as a serious competition, removing his jacket and rolling his sleeve up.

As the two men locked hands, Alex didn’t need to see any more. He’d engaged in this supposed sport enough to know how it was going to end. Like pull-ups, arm wrestling is hardly a fair competition. With pull ups, short compact men have a clear advantage as taller men are unable to manage more than a couple. Arm wrestling is similar, except here, size matters. But not in the way you’d expect. The musculature of one’s arm hardly matters, rather it’s how tall you are and how long your forearm is. It depends upon the arm acting as a fulcrum. As the longer arm provides a better weight-bearing angle against the shorter one, arm wrestling clearly favors the tall, and Peter Drexler was a rather short man, one without much muscle mass.

“Aren’t you going to watch?” Melinda asked as Alex stood up and walked towards the kitchen.

“I don’t need to, this is going to be a very short contest,” he replied. “I don’t need to watch this misguided man’s public humiliation.”

Even though he wasn’t watching, the collective gasp revealed what was happening. As they started wrestling, Joseph’s hand—with the leverage of his height—bent Peter’s hand back, robbing him of any application of native strength, a process known as ‘hooking’. It would then only be a matter of how long it took Peter to surrender, as he wouldn’t be able to gain any traction. It didn’t take very long, given that Peter looked like he rarely made it outdoors.

“Wow!” Melinda gasped.

“He was a fool to start,” Gini told the girls. “They were clearly unmatched. I used to do that myself when I was in the service. But I knew enough to not wrestle anyone taller than me because it doesn’t really matter how strong you are if you’re not the same size.”

The networks launched their commercials at that moment.

“Hello, Alex?” Reggie Fitzpatrick, Winona’s producer, asked when he called shortly after the interview aired.

“Hey, Reggie. I take it you saw the interview.”

“Yeah, I did. I assume you were responsible for that?”

“Me? Hardly! Poor Mr. Drexler brought that all on himself,” Alex laughed.

“Yeah, but you told me beforehand you’d handled the situation,” Reggie reminded him. “I haven’t had many face-to-face meetings with Mr. Herskowitz, but even I’d noticed he didn’t seem to be on the top of his game lately.”

“No, actually I said it had been handled. I mentioned it to my boss, and she told me while it shouldn’t be an issue, she’d be sure Joseph had plenty of energy for the show,” Alex said, not wanting to tell anyone Joseph had been having an issue.

“Ah, I take it you mean your ‘otherworldly’ friends?”

“Well, I don’t like to drop names, but...”

“Still, I suspect you had a lot more to do with it than you’re willing to admit. This is going to save a lot of jobs and allow a lot of worthwhile projects to continue. I have a feeling many people will owe their continued employment to you, even if they aren’t aware of it.”

“I’m not in the business of collecting congratulations,” Alex said, hoping it would end the conversation.

“If you say so, though I think it’s a terrible way to run a religion. Still, you’ve got a definite believer in me. I had my doubts before, but the fact you told me it wouldn’t be an issue and it wasn’t, especially after you’d first admitted you didn’t know how it would turn out, says a lot about you.”

“Don’t worry, I’m always quick to admit when I have no idea what I’m doing,” Alex laughed.

“Well, I’ll see you after the concert tomorrow night. There may be a spare bottle of Champagne afterwards,” Reggie said before hanging up.

“I don’t think this is wise,” Alex grumbled. “I do best operating out of sight. Standing here in front of thousands is just asking for trouble. If anyone comes looking for me, the whole world will be here to witness it.”

“It’s hardly ‘thousands’,” the ever literal Becky corrected him. “The Fillmore only holds a little more than a thousand.”

“Besides, you know what Patricia said,” Melinda reminded him, “there are many people here who are convinced you’re the only reason this concert is even taking place. Diane Kennedy insisted you be here, and Joseph Herskowitz, Reggie Fitzpatrick and others wanted you here as well.”

Glancing nervously around, expecting to see someone already zeroing in on him, Alex considered everything likely to go wrong. Patricia insisted he remain in the front, directly in front of the stage. She wanted that partly to highlight him for the investors who knew about him, but Diane was hoping if she could keep him there, he’d bring his followers into the concert, promoting the feeling of excitement, rather than taking them out the back.

Joseph’s gambit worked, not only had he dispelled any notion he was too sick to work, but he’d also managed to attract a lot of attention to this little practice concert. Originally intended simply as a test run for Winona and her band, Joseph had morphed it into a full media event. There were several full stationary video camera setups, but they were hardly the extent of the media coverage. Joseph had invited the movers and shakers in the entertainment industry to prove he not only was on top of his game, but that the decision to postpone Diane’s tour for a week had been a stroke of genius. And it looked like everyone was eating it up. Along with the investors Joseph was courting, most of the more influential music critics were here, attracted by Joseph’s claims. The investors, easy to spot as they were all over-dressed for the event, looked pretty uncomfortable. They were hoping to get the studio for a song, making a quick profit by selling its facilities and equipment to the competing studios. Now it looked like there was no way they could succeed, and even worse, they realized the value of the entire studio would now be easily several times what it was two days previously. Not only that, but there were several other investors offering counterbids in attendance as well.

But among the media people, the one music reviewer who wasn’t there was Peter Drexler, despite his personal invitation during Joseph’s interview. It seemed his newspaper, a specialty trade magazine which had gotten him access to Variety, had been horrified so much of his reporting lacked any factual basis, based almost exclusively on hearsay from a disgruntled employee who wouldn’t even defend his claims. While they hadn’t actually fired him over it, they shifted him to another department—probably obituaries—where he couldn’t embarrass them any further. What’s more, they were probably only biding their time until they could let him go without it attracting quite so much attention.

What the studio that broadcast the interview had gotten—and been glad to get it at that—was the exclusive footage of this concert. They’d been so glad to highlight it, in fact, they’d gladly accepted the limitations Joseph had stipulated concerning the length of any broadcast clips. Joseph wanted media coverage, but he didn’t want to give his product away. He wanted fans hungry for both Winona and Patty, and it wouldn’t hurt either him or Diane to be seen as promoting them.

“Don’t worry,” Gini told Alex from beside him, “there are several Seers watching for anyone approaching, so we should have advance warning if anyone comes looking for you. If they do, the Seekers will take them aside and brief them, and if it’s anyone looking to create a scene, I can easily get you out of here via any number of possible routes. We’ve got everything covered.”

“So you say, but I know how they tend to surprise me, so I’m not expecting them to behave as expected,” Alex told her, although he seemed relieved no one seemed to be seeking him out at the moment.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I wanted to say a few words before the concert starts,” Joseph announced after walking onto the stage. “As I’m sure you all know, Diane put her own concert tour on hold in order to prepare a new artist you’ll hear tonight. Both she and Patty Moore saw her tremendous potential and all of us feel it was a wise decision. While many people questioned the wisdom of it, relying upon heedless gossip to justify their position, I think you’ll see just how much better the tour will be once it resumes this Friday.

“Several in the audience have been evaluating investing in this studio. I’m sure this performance will demonstrate not just the strength of this one act, but of our whole roster and the strong dynamic teams developing all of our shows. While I’ve been in negotiations with a few of you, I’m also aware several more are now eager to join the negotiations as well. I’m glad you’re here to see just what you’re investing in. We have not one act, but three set to take off here. Winona will draw people to Diane’s tour, carry on Patty’s torch and boost Patty’s soon-to-be released album.

“Now I’m sure none of you came to listen to me drone on, so I’ll get out of here. But I’ll be talking with many of you either after the concert or in the following days. But for now ... here’s Winona Thomas, Patty Moore and Diane Kennedy!”

There was polite applause as Joseph descended the stairs leading away from the stage. He knew he wasn’t the draw here, but he’d applied pressure on his investors to come to a quick arrangement. He’d accomplished what he’d needed to.

Once he disappeared, the stage was quiet for a moment until the curtain drew back and three women strolled out, holding hands, backed by Winona’s band. As the applause began, they each lifted their clasped hands in victory, causing the audience response to rise as well.

“Ladies and gentlemen, you all know me and my work,” Diane said, speaking to the audience while the others stood beside her. “I was disappointed when Patty was unable to continue the tour, but she introduced me to her replacement, and I knew as soon as I met her we couldn’t waste this moment.

“Delaying the entire tour, I spent the next week working extensively with her, aided by Patty as we both worked to teach this complete beginner the techniques which normally take years to develop. It’s been a very intensive effort, but I think you’ll be pleased by the results.” The audience, thinking she was done, began applauding, but she quickly waved for quiet.

“Before we begin, I just want to say one last thing. There’s one person who was instrumental in setting this in motion, aside from Mr. Herskowitz, that is. That young man is here, watching from the front of the stage, and he’s personally responsible for pushing both Patty and Winona to where they are now, as well as generating a new enthusiasm for my work.”

Alex got a sinking feeling in his stomach, knowing what was coming. This was not what he’d come for.

“Now, if you will, would Al ... please stand so everyone could thank him for all he’s done?” Luckily, Alex’s name was obscured when the microphone crackled, obscuring the mentioning of his name.

Sighing to himself, Alex stood up straight and plastered a smile on his face as a spotlight swept from the main stage towards him. But in a moment which seemed like Divine intervention, there was a loud pop and the spotlight went out before it hit him. Alex, thankful but not foolish enough to thank a God he didn’t believe in, simply faced forward, hoping those behind him couldn’t see him and no one would think to take a flash picture of him.

‘You’re welcome, ‘ Patricia said.

‘You did that?‘

‘Well, not me specifically,’ Patricia admitted. ‘I’d talked to the lead engineer in charge of the show, and told him how important it was you maintained your obscurity so you could continue to work behind the scenes.‘

‘And he bought it?‘ Alex asked skeptically.

‘Not at first,’ she admitted. ‘We had to talk a while before I could convince him what you were capable of. But between what he’d heard, everyone’s attitude towards you, your own response to everyone else and a few hints I supplied him about you, let’s just say he “saw the light”.‘

After the light had blown, everyone was stunned into silence, which was aided by the fact no one knew who they were supposed to be recognizing anyway. Seeing as very few people could see him, and knowing those nearest had at least seem him moving forward, Alex edged away from his previous position nonchalantly.

“Well, that shows why we needed a practice concert tonight,” Winona announced, stepping into the silence which filled the hall. “It seems we haven’t quite worked all the kinks out of the show yet. But now that we’ve gotten the acknowledgments out of the way, let me say a personal thanks to both Diane and Mr. Herskowitz and get this show started.”

There was, understandably, a rousing chorus of shouts which filled the auditorium, since everyone was eager to hear this new voice everyone was raving about. Diane Kennedy, feeling like she’d been set adrift on stage, tried to gracefully exit as Winona started on one of her signature songs, demonstrating just how different her rendition of Patricia’s song was. However, before she could move aside, Patricia stopped her, holding her hand tightly.

‘Alright, Alex, that’s your cue,’ Patricia said. ‘No one is watching. You need to get the hell out of Dodge while you can. Tonight is about teaching Winona how to use her Seer minions—whom I’ve supplied—to manipulate the crowd, and she can’t do that with you blinding them. So make yourself scarce and let anyone looking for you find you someplace you won’t be observed.‘

‘Thanks, Patricia. You saved me once again.’

‘Don’t talk,’ she urged, ‘just GO!‘

And so he did. As he fumbled in the dark, Gini grasped his hand and guided him out. Alex had no idea how she could see in the dark as the lights from the stage overwhelmed the little light in the auditorium, but then he assumed she must be using her vision to see everyone’s aura.

Alex never looked back, so he didn’t know how everyone reacted, but he left so quickly he didn’t think anyone else had the opportunity to follow him. Mel and Becks didn’t appear to be with them, and as much as he could determine, no one else seemed to have noticed his disappearance.

The music blared and Winona belted out her song as first Patricia and then Diane joined her. As the audience soaked it up, Gini led Alex out of the dark auditorium without a second’s hesitation. She led him out a stage door, down a side corridor and down a long hall until they approached a single exit, having avoided anyone else the entire trip. But before they reached the door, Gini pulled up short, firmly grasping Alex’s arm.

“Hold on,” she said as she seemed to be concentrating on something.

“What is it?” Alex asked, not knowing what caused her to pull up short.

“I’m not sure. Give me a second,” she said, turning her head one way and then another.

“There’s something wrong,” she told him with conviction. “Stay here. I’m going outside to have a look around. But whatever you do, don’t go anywhere near that door.”

With that, Gini strode away. She hesitated near the exit door and waited as it opened and someone entered, coming into the stadium from outside with no one checking for a ticket or asking who they were.