| This scene is rated Everybody |
| Warning: | N/A |
| 2017-01-22 |
| Players: | J. Jonah Jameson, Spider-Man |
| GMed by | Who GMed? |
| Title: | The Wrath of Jonah: Construction Workers Beware |
In an odd move, Jonah has actually set up in one of the cubicles on this floor temporarily, which may explain why the construction crew is actually on schedule. He has taken a manager cubicle but it has been split by a corkboard on the centre table to grant a slightly smaller amount of work space should a lesser employee have to be puni- err, graced by Jonah's presence.
The activity on the new floor is rather busy with Channel 6 employees displaying an IMPRESSIVE performance at arriving to work on time or early. This may be because of the lack of assigned cubicles causing for a first come first serve approach to workspace. All signs of personalization are minimal as it appears the news reporters are working out of boxes with their names on it. One unfortunate soul who showed up late has the tiny work area in Jonah's shared cubicle. Jonah on the mean time is busy yelling at the construction workers for slacking off.
The Daily Bugle has always a ray of sunshine to Peter Parker. Even when Jonah is blowing his top with the best of them, he still always comes across, at least to Peter, as that loveable cantankerous old uncle, or some distant familial relation. He's been yelled at, insulted, had his secret identity run through the muck, and still he comes back for more. He should probably see a professional about that. But the pay is, well, not good, but it's at least steady and always on time.
He's been told that Jonah is down on the new Channel 6 News floor, so that's where he's gone. In one hand, he has some printed copies of his photos in a brown envelop. Digital copies have already been uploaded to the server, but he needs visual approval on any purchases from Jonah himself. So Mohammad does go to the mountain, as he always does.
Today, Peter's wearing a navy blue and grey horizontally striped sweater, like what a rugby player might wear, but he's far too slender to be one of them. Below that, he has blue jeans on, and some tired and old looking white sneakers with blue trim. There's even a hole in the left one, near the front. Tapping on the cubicle wall as he approaches, "Mr. Jameson, I heard you were down here?"
The poor lonely Channel Six worker, who dared come in late turns from his small partial desk, banging his knees on the bike. "Ow-" He grumbles, "He's yelling at the construction crew right now." Wait a minute, isn't that one of the ANCHORS for the news show?
Off to the side in the plastic covered area, the voice of Jonah echoes, "Just what in the world do you think you're doing? You took a lunch break an hour ago!"
With his spider sense, Peter feels free to say this without turning his back to check that the coast is clear. "Oh, he does that to everyone. Don't worry, you'll get used to it. He's not nearly as bad as he might come across." He was trying to reassure a new employee, who probably was concerned about his job after having spent some time with J. Jonah Jameson in such close proximity. "My name's Peter Parker. I'm a freelance photographer." He offered a hand to shake, "welcome to the Daily Bugle. Thanks for the heads up. I'll see if I can… that sounds like him now. It was nice to meet you."
And then Peter turned, stepping over some wires on the floor, trying to make his way through the construction, careful of any dangers, as he sought out the publisher. He just listened for the loudest commotion, and headed straight there. But as Jonah was already yelling, he wouldn't deliberately interrupt; instead, when he did find him, Peter would just stand off to the side, ready to speak when it was his turn.
As Peter wanders into the construction area, he finds Jonah staring down what appears to be whoever is in charge of the construction crew, one arm extend out to direct over to several construction workers who are simply sitting to the side doing nothing. "You have an hour and a half off when they're filming the morning news. An hour and a half off when they're filming the evening news, and a lunch break. At what point are you actually doing construction if you're just sitting around NOW?!" The hand lowers as he brings his head closer in to the supervisor's, mumbling the next part, words like 'contract', 'lawyer', and someone named Sue popping up in the mix. When finished, the owner of the newspaper and news station turns and walks towards the exit of the construction area, shaking his head.
Whatever it is that was said it seems to resonate as the supervisor starts shouting at the workers in Spanish rapidly. For someone who may have an introductory teaching in Spanish, the general essence of the other language tirade seems to be 'move quickly or no money'.
It takes some effort, but Peter manages to observe that exchange without smiling. He did have a rudimentary understanding of Spanish, having taken classes on it in school, but he never really pursued it beyond what was mandatory. He was always more interested in the sciences and mathematics.
As Jonah begins to walk away, seemingly not having noticed Peter in all that, he hurriedly tries to catch up so he can walk alongside Jonah. "Hello, Mr. Jameson, I have some new photos of Spider-Man battling the Hobgoblin near the Eyrie Building for your approval." He held out the envelope, which contained about a dozen different photos, each of high quality, some focusing more on Spider-Man, others the Hobgoblin, and a few both.
It looked to most neutral observers like Spider-Man was trying to stop the Hobgoblin from bombing the Eyrie Building, as there were a few shots of Spider-Man using his web shooters to prevent the pumpkin bombs from hitting the building. But then, J. Jonah Jameson was anything but a neutral observer.
Jonah turns his head slightly at Peter's voice but continues walking, stepping through the plastic separating the construction area from the work area. "Is that so?" Jonah asks, voice betraying scepticism as he takes the offered envelope. He strides into his cubicle and looks over to the anchor. "Go stretch your legs." Without skipping a beat, Jonah turns, dropping into the chair of the much more spacious side of the cubicle, looking to the envelope.
"Yes sir!" The anchor shoots up, crawling out of the cramped quarters that is his temporary workspace.
It was a sight to behold, the way Jonah treated people. Peter never got used to it. He accepted it. But it always surprised him that Jonah did that kind of thing. Still, it wasn't his position to question it. He wasn't even technically an employee. He was a freelance photographer, meaning that at any time, Jonah could just say no to paying him for his work. He didn't need those photos, even if they were the best ones of Spider-Man in the city. For whatever reason, Peter Parker seemed to have a sixth sense for where the wall crawler would be next.
"Yeah, the Hobgoblin was hurling pumpkin bombs at the Eyrie Building's supports, the ones right underneath the castle at the top of it, trying to bring the place down, and Spider-Man stopped him." At least, that's what the truth was, and what it looked like from the photos. Naturally, other interpretations could easily be made. With no chair to sit, Peter just stood there in those shoes with the hole in the front. He really should get a new pair, but they're so darned expensive and he needs that money for things like rent and food.
Jonah grows quiet for a few moments as he takes the photos out and spreads them out, looking at them as a whole, seemingly trying to order them in his head, "Or that is what he wants people to think." He studies them before sorting them into two piles. "Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap." He lingers on one, "Eh… Passable. Crap. Crap…"
Why did Jonah have to call photos crap that was probably going to end up in the paper, or even on the front page? Peter could never figure it out. He put down all Peter's work, and then almost all the time bought every one, since, even the ones that didn't get into the paper would go onto the website, or be saved for future use. Where was Robbie when he needed someone to defend Spider-Man? Oh, right, probably on another floor. Maybe Peter was in an odd mood, but he decided to ask, "Mr. Jameson, can I ask…" He pauses, thinking he's made a mistake. "But, how come you always seem to see the worst in Spider-Man?"
The sorting of the photos pause as another one was about to make it into the passable stack. "How come you are so eager to always to put him in a perfect light?" The hand lowers and the photos are ignored for a moment. "I don't have to explain myself but know this, Parker. Remember this. No one's a hero every day of the week. The moment we start thinking they are infallible is when we start missing the warning signs."
"He's not infallible. Nobody is. But I think he tries to do the right thing." This was delicate territory to be in. And seeing the one that was about to make it into the passable stack, he may have just cost himself some extra money in talking. He really should shut up. But he can't always allow Jonah to trash Spider-Man without any protest.
"And he acts outside the law." Jonah responds. "Officers have people to answer to when they're caught doing something wrong. WHO does he answer to? What or who will make him accountable when he eventually gets someone killed?" He shakes his head. "These pictures are not for a fan magazine where we can just put on some rose coloured glasses and dumbly go 'okay! hero, hero!' This is a NEWS organization. We find the real story."
Jonah did have a point, and it troubled Peter. And he could hardly fault Jonah for singling out Spider-Man. Although Peter did occasionally get photos of other heroes, his focus was on Spider-Man. And if Jonah hears about Spider-Man, sees Spider-Man, he can't very well write about Wolverine or Daredevil. It was a complicated issue. "Maybe… maybe there should be some kind of oversight committee." Did he just suggest a Superhero Registration Act? But he did feel the weight of responsibility, more than most.
That in itself would lead to a lengthier conversation, Parker." Jameson replies, looking back to the photo that was about to go into the passable stack and instead puts it in a stack of its own. He continues sorting through the photos. "Until something is done to where those outside the law are within. It's up to us to hold them accountable in the best way we can." He puts the final photo down, "With a magnifying glass."
Looking to the stacks, he sighs, pulling out a slip of paper, scrawling out a number count. "How are you at video footage? We have TV news now."
Taking video is different from photographs. With photographs, you're trying to freeze the moment. With video, you just want to be in focus. Video is much easier, though you do have to be stable if taking video of a moving object. "Pretty good," he answers back, knowing Jonah wanted an answer, "what did you have in mind?" Was Jonah going to ask him to try and get video of Spider-Man, or was he going to offer him an actual, steady, paying job at Channel 6?
"Try some video footage next time you just happen to capture Spider-Man in the act," Jonah responds, setting the pen down before starting to hold the slip out towards Peter, "Are you still taking classes?"
"I'll give it a try." He responded, thinking about the logistics of it. Fortunately, years ago he had built a rig for his camera, which he would set up before a confrontation whenever possible, and was synched with a tracking device in his costume, so that the camera would always try to keep him in the centre of the frame, as if Peter Parker were directing the camera. So, video wouldn't be much different. He'd just have to be sure to edit out the part where he disengaged the trigger. "Yeah, at Empire State University."
"How much longer do you have over there?" Jonah follows up, still holding the slip towards Peter, waving it in indication for the freelancer to take it, "Figured out what you're going to do when you get out?"
"I should be getting my bachelors next year. After that, I'm still thinking about going for my masters, if I can work out the funding." He takes the slip, "thanks, Mr. Jameson." Of course, it wasn't as much as he was hoping for, but it is something. Every little bit helps.
Jonah slow nods, sliding the photos he wasn't taking back into the envelope and closing it up. "What's your experience level with larger video cameras like?"
"I know my way around the equipment." He was part of the Audio/Video Club in high school, and he most certainly understands the dynamics, how to use them. Plus, with his ability, he can be incredibly balanced. He would be an ideal cameraman, now that he thinks about it.
Jonah gives a slight nod, handing the envelope over, "Interesting. We'll see what your footage looks like next time."
"All right Mr. Jameson. I'll do my best." With the slip in hand, he can collect his pay for the photos, and it sounds like Jonah's considering offering him a job, maybe as a stand-in for when they need a camera man. He generally didn't leave until he was told to, since Jonah liked to direct his employees. So, unsaid, his body language asked, was there anything else?
Jonah arches his brow and waves the yet to be retrieved envelope containing the rejected photos at Peter, "If you think lingering here is going to get me to buy more of these photos, you're wrong. Take them and go."
Peter took the envelope with the rejected photos. The digital copies of all of them were already on the database, and he'd remove the ones that Jonah didn't want. He had his slip. He didn't say thank you or bye. He just nodded his head, turned around, and headed off. But unlike a lot of the people at the Bugle, Peter Parker didn't scuttle out like a toad. He walked out. After all, he wasn't an employee.