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UnWholly Neal Shusterman 32220K 2023-08-31

"So your relationship with Ca but a publicity stunt," says Risa "A publicity stunt carefully planned by Proactive Citizenry to help Cam be accepted and adored"

Roberta bursts into the control booth, where an engineer works the editing bay, and the show’s producer leans back in his chair, extreineer "The princess of unwinding bites the diseet any better than this!"

"Stop the interview!" orders Roberta "Stop it now, or I will hold you and your network liable for everything she says!"

The producer is unfazed "Excuse er, and she is not authorized to say what she’s saying"

"Well, lady, if you don’t like what your client has to say, that’s not our problem"

"Your viewers need to ask themselves this," Risa says "Who stands to benefit ? Answer that question, and I think we’ll knoho’s behind Proactive Citizenry"

Then the security guard comes up behind Roberta and manhandles her out the door

- - -

Roberta is relegated to the greenroom until the interview is over and they cut to couard, still on "intruder alert" mode, won’t let her pass "I have orders to keep you out of the studio"

"I a to the restroom!"

She pushes past hione, and the next guests are being uard--who Roberta knows is fully prepared to tranq her--she turns down a side hallway to the dressing roo room is eround like he couldn’t wait to peel out of them He sits before the vanity with his head in his hands

"Did you hear what she said about me? Did you hear?"

"Where is she?"

"Head in the sand! Turtle in its shell! Leave e with you Where did she go?"

"She ran She said it was over, that she was history, and she ran down the eency stairs"

"She will be history when I’ency stairs down They’re on the second floor, and the only place for Risa to go is out into the parking lot, which is ht She can’t have had more than a fifteen-second lead, but she’s nowhere to be seen The only person around is their driver, who leans against his li a sandwich

"Did you see her?" Roberta asks

"See who?" he answers

And Roberta’s phone starts ringing like it will never stop

75 - Cam

Roberta returns froreenrooer to escort Roberta out She’s on the phone, already in the throes of dae control

"Antarctica," Ca out there, but I froze"

"What’s done is done," she says, then growls at a dropped call "Let’s get out of here"

"I’ll meet you at the car," Ca roouards soleoes back to the dressing room He puts on his sports coat and carefully rolls up his tie, putting it in his pocket Then, when he’s sure Roberta has left the building, he says, "It’s okay, she’s gone"

The closet door opens, and Risa steps out "Thank you, Cas "She deserved it" He turns to look at her She’s breathing rapidly, as if she’s been running, but he knows she’s only been running in her head "Will they all be unwound? Your AWOL friends?"

"Not right away," she tells him "But yes, they will be"

"I’h she doesn’t look at him when she says it, like maybe she thinks it souilty

"I can’t help what I am," he tells her

"I knowbut today you showed me you can help what you do" And then she leans forward and kisses him on the cheek He feels it like an electric shock in all the seao, but he can’t let her Not yet Not without saying--

"I love you, Risa"

She glances back at hietic smile "Good-bye, Cam"