Murdermedia au, both are still interns, trying to be the first to earn a broadcasting slot at the station
Today was another one of Those days at the station. Major elections had just finalized in the city and so of course the entire building had to be abuzz, that was to be expected. What had also come to be expected however, is just how aggressively two certain hopeful-broadcasters would be going after the same interviews with the winning candidate. Snagging such a thing could prove to be the chance that they needed in order to truly break into the world of media..
Alastor had managed to get connections first, working his way through the whole campaign roster until he had enough credibility to try for an interview. It took weeks of calling in old favors, before the votes had even been counted and it seemed to have been worth the investment. Time spent with the Morningstar Estate as they rushed to win back the publics favor after a scandal with the current mayor. One that Alastor may have had a little bit of a part in causing, but in the end it was to try and further his own goals and would prove to be a good point of reference in the future. It had turned from supporting the campaign, to trying to get a return on what he had put into it.
They were being difficult now. The mayor.. didn't like him. Putting it lightly. Actually- he didn't seem to like anyone much after the whole affair. He was paranoid.
It was perfect. Or it would be- see. Alastor had no real desire in the politics. It was just something for him to hop aboard on, an easy way to get a seat at the bigger tables. A show to catch the stations attention and finally hand over a broadcasting slot. But without it? He couldnt- it would be even more of a struggle for him to cross that barrier. So he was stuck. Calling. Pacing. Running over his options, trying to find a way to get i hand in what he had worked hard to help them earn.
Vincent knew. He let Alastor put in all the hard work, and meddled when necessary. While the aspiring radio host had taken the hands on approach, Vincent decided to actually play the game. He knew how tightly knit the political sphere of the city was, his father had a big hand in it while he was growing up, and knew that Alastor wouldn't get as far as he thought. He also knew that it was beginning to wear on him. They had denied any real answers, kept pushing back meeting with him, and every day it showed more and more in those normally bright eyes of his.
They grew sharper, twitched with frustration as the intern typed out yet another email. Vincent wasn't above kicking a man while he was down, so he had come up with an offer. He knew the games, he knew how much the rules would get twisted around you if you tried to play fair, and most importantly... he knew how to win. There was more to it though. More than wanting to help out somebody, Vincent needed the leg up almost as much as Alastor did. And the young host wasn't above using him to get ahead.
So he had approached the other. Offering key connections that would make Alastors efforts so much easier. Dirt. Information. A way to push them into the right corner. But it came at a price. The interviews wouldn't be purely Alastor. Vincent would take charge of them. Put them into production instead of condensing them down into pure words. He would take whatever groundwork Alastor had created and he would polish it. Make it pretty for the public.
Alastor refused.
Vincent... may have been blindsided by that. Sure, he knew him and Alastor wern't exactly pals, but he wasn't stupid either! He knew that the refusal was purely out of spite. That he couldn't actually be refusing his easiest route to success. With everything that Alastor had done, the scandal, the embarrassment, saving the Morningstars reputation, he couldn't be refusing now.
He couldn't.
This is where the story picks up off. The office humming, creating a small bubble around an absolutely fuming Alastor and shocked Vincent. One storming out of the building, and the other following up at his side. Right in the mans blind spot. Confusion quickly being overtaken by frustration as his words seem to bounce off the other. Deflected with the fit of anger.
"God- fuck Alastor- if you would just put your pride aside for a single second and think about it-" He nearly crashed into the door as it swung shut in his path. Shoved so that it might have caught him had he not been paying attention. A sign that this was going beyond the twos usual bickering. It was.. low.. sure. But they could both benefit from it anyways! Hell, Vincent knew that Alastor could go as far as he could. He could recognize potential. They both had plenty of it. He saw that. He also saw just how it needed to be fueled. Alastor needed support. Same with Vincent.
Alastor was the only one fighting that fact.
"I have thought about it! I've thought about every single time you reached your grimey little hands someplace they didn't belong just to try and screw with me. And now, now you're insisting that you want to work with me on what you actively tried to sabotage?"
Alastor didn't halt on his path. He didn't spare the infuriating coworker a single glance on his rush down the sidewalk to his car. He was caught up in everything that had gone down with the campaign. All the ways that Vincent had thrown it off track. Nobody else had noticed that it was him, or perhaps they didn't care. But Alastor did. He wouldn't be letting any of that go.
Vincent didn't deny his part in it. He wasn't even ashamed.
"You and I both know that if I hadn't stepped in at times, things would have been very. Very different."
Alastor reached into his pocket for his keys. Just trying to get into his car before the desire to strike Vincent turned into action
Vincent planted himself at Alastors side, elbow resting on the windshield of the vehicle while he still fumbled to convince the other to take his offer. Neither of them had solid ground on their own- but together? Together they would be a force to be reckoned with.
"Look. Look- don't say no right now. Don't say yes either. Just give it a fair shake alright? Don't shoot yourself in the foot just because you don't want to take the next steps of your career with me."
Vincent knew he couldnt just pull Alastor into it with him. That much was obvious by the way he couldn't even seem to get his gaze. So he eased up. Made it seem like he was pulling away. He let Alastor have a clear way into his car and stepped back so that he couldn't get run over. Just in case.
Alastor finally shot him a glare as slid the keys into the ignition and cranked the car to life... and just like that. He took off. Leaving the man on the sidewalk. Anxious. Frustrated.
. . .
The drive home- or to the hotel- was short, just an hour, but by the time he had got back, his mind had cleared a bit. He could actually think without the idea of hitting something. Or straight up shouting. He could.. focus..
That slight bit of clarity was just enough to help him notice something he hadn't before. Not on the whole drive. A flash of white and blue. Tucked up securely in his windshield wipers... Alastor stared at it for a long minute before he got out of his car and tugged it out from where it had been wedged. Taking a moment to examine it.
It was a card. A business card...
'Vincent W. xxx-734-xxxx'
Alastor scoffed. But, he didn't toss it away.
. . .
Late that night, Vincent got a phone call.
Og post :3
💬 2 🔁 3 ❤️ 12 · Murdermedia meetings · The Rats already got this list, but heres some ways that Al and Vinny could have met :3 Both inter
