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Heather, among the many, many things she has to do around the station, is trying to organise a regular time to catch up with her crime reporter, Bianca. To hear about the stories and the leads she is working on and when they're going to be broadcast. She also needs to know if lawyers will be involved. Perhaps, most importantly, it allows Heather a chance to do what she used to love - investigate.
Heather is in one of the large production offices - which means it holds about ten people if they cram together - working her iPad while waiting for Bianca.
Bianca Malice sweeps into the production office with her giant sunglasses and whipped, foam mocha-latte leading, flipping someone off over her shoulder as she does so with a too-wide smile that carves dimples into her cheeks. The sunglasses are garish and oversized are a necessity. They prevent everyone from seeing the big hangover circles under her eyes, and how bloodshot they are. The best way to hide it is to look like Ye Olde Fashioned Movie Star.
She waves sweetly to the unseen doofus she was just feuding with, nudging the door closed with her foot, latte in one hand, phone in the other, oversized purse slung over her shoulder. She could probably fit a laptop in that thing. She probably does.
That purse is unslung with a shrug of her shoulder, dumped down her arm and onto a chair. "Okay, so good news and good news and bad news. Which do you want first? Doesn't matter." The blonde talks a little too quickly, likely the result of the half-empty caffeinated drink in her hand. Probably not her first one. "I'm gonna tell it in the most cinematic order, anyway."
"So. Chen." Bianca reaches behind her, slipping her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. One hip leans against the chair she just slapped her purse down in. "Agreed to the interview. Is NOT interested in us following her officers around in real-time. But she IS open to something like America's Most Wanted or First 48. Whatever shameless ripoff of an after-the-fact or on-going show we wanna run."
Lifting her drink to her lips and wrapping them around the straw (because of course she drinks coffee through a straw), Bianca raises her eyebrows. "Beezy done good?"
Heather makes a couple of more notes on her iPad before putting it down and off to one side. It looks like she's going to have to concentrate on this discussion. Beezy? "Beezy did good" she'll reply in a deadpan way. "I thought you wanted me to take on all that stuff. The 'social' stuff." There are even air quote gestures.
"Does she want to host these rip-off shows? I mean, we could do those kinds of shows without her or her permission" Heather points out. "Did you ask her why she doesn't want cameras following around her people? They got something to hide? Don't her officers have vest cameras anyway? They could just give us that footage. Hmm…I better check on that." The iPad is back in front of her. "Check if local PD have vest cameras. If not, why not?"
The device pushed away again as Heather turns her curious gaze back on Bianca. "Was that all the good news, good news, and bad news? Interview, good. TV shows, good. No Cops, bad." A rising of her eyebrows to ensure she got that right before a change of subject. "What does your new friend have to say about the Jiminez murders?"
"We could, but it's much easier to shoot inside the precint and interview her officers if we have her blessing, yeah?" One thumb hooks upwards to indicate herself. "And I told you I'd try. I tried. Apparently, I have juuuuuuust enough honey to draw a fly or two."
"She's worried about liability and blah blah blah." Bianca lifts up her non-latte hand to make a talking mouth motion, flicking her eyes around in a roll. "She shut down instantly. I didn't exactly go in with my fangs bared, wouldn't have been the best way to get her to agree to an interview in the first place. Once that bridge is is on fire, it's going to stay on fire. She has a bit of a problem with reporters. Bad past experiences, I'm gonna wager."
"That was all my news in one sweet little package." She waves her mocha cup around, before returning it to her lips for another long drag. "I can ask her about the murders during the interview. Was too busy being angelic and getting her to meet me halfway on the TV programs. She didn't even want the interview until I blew enough smoke up her ass. Small chance that I had to beg her a little. Hurt my pride, but well. Here we are."
The blonde's head tilts, an eyebrow quirking upwards. "You said you wanted her on our good side for now. Shall I sink my teeth in next time?"
"Stay on her good side until we get at least the interview" Heather agrees with a nod before raising a palm in Bianca's direction "And how you blew smoke up her ass, I won't ask. But you are also still a reporter, right? You still want to get to the truth and let the people know? Don't let your relationship with the Chief of the Police get in the way of that. Yes, we need these kinds of relationships to make our jobs easier, but not at the expense of our independence. If she can't accept that we have a job to do, just as much as she does, then I worry about her professionalism. And I'm ranting again…"
Heather sits back in her chair and sighs softly. "Liability? That's why we have expensive lawyers and contracts, she doesn't have to worry about that. And she certainly doesn't have to worry about us backstabbing her." A questioning look at Bianca. "Do we? And she has to learn that telling the truth is not the same as backstabbing. Even if she doesn't like it. And I'm still ranting."
"You're my best reporter, Bianca. I sought you out when no one else would give you the time of day. I need you to do your job. The Jiminez case could be a big one. Find out for us. For the town" Heather states flatly. "Use whatever you need to use to get the job down. Teeth or honey. I know you're good at what you do. Do it."
"I don't really have a relationship with her beyond… meeting her twice. Really. I mean, we shared a few drinks at the bar. The murders hadn't happened yet. I tried to get some info about organized crime rumors out of her, and she clammed up tighter than a nun on prom night. Bottom line, outside of official press releases, she's not going to be a good source."
Bianca lifts a shoulder and tilts her head to that side in a lop-sided shrug. "She distrusts the press as much as anyone else does these days. Might be good for the occasional anonymous quote that's beneficial to her department, but we'll have to make some other contacts if we want to get the juicy things out of them."
The blonde raises her palm, patting the air with it. "I'll ask her, and find out what the department knows, one way or another. Jiminez hadn't even broke last time I talked to her, I'll work it into the interview. Probably at the tail end, given her reactions to 'business' questions."
"I'll get it done." The blonde tries not to remember all the rejections she got when seeking a new job, the mounting mountain of depression that it brought. She slides her purse onto the floor from the chair, before sliding into it herself with a slump and a slouch. "That, you won't have to worry about. It's just a matter of if I'll be working with her or around her."
"She's not the only contact you can make in the police department" Heather nods. "And investigating crimes, doesn't mean you have to talk to Chief Chen. Go around her. Go through her. Ignore her completely and get the facts from who you have to get them from. Chen has her own career to protect, you can't rely on her to be as open or as giving as she can be. If you can work with her…awesome. But she doesn't have to be the focus of everything."
"At least we'll get an interview out of her" Heather shrugs. "Organized crime is another big story. Could it be related to the Jiminez killings? That's the kind of thing you could figure out without Chen's help or approval. I can understand why she's not forthcoming, but that doesn't stop us. Plenty of cops in this town. A surprisingly large amount for a place with so much unsolved crime." She offers a smile to her employee. "I have great faith in you…Beezy. Anything else you've been working on?"
"Exactly." Bianca points at Heather with her thumb up, peeling it backwards in a finger-gun-and-wink combo, smiling broadly. "I think, at least for now, I'm going to keep on Chen's good side, keep her from telling her officers not to talk to me or something. I can chew on the asses of those lower on the totem pole."
The blonde lifts both hands, almost sloshing her cup on the ground, suddenly sitting up straighter to prevent it from doing so, grabbing it with both hands like she's afraid the lid might fall off. "Jesus! Um, anyway. Yeah, could be, but I don't want to speculate too hard. But killing families, that's 'send a message' kind of shit. We'll have to see what story the daughter is telling. No real reason they'd keep her alive if it wasn't to send a message. So if she's spreading that message, I'll have to try and pry it out of the CPD."
"Anything else?" Bianca looks almost startled by the question, leaning forward in her seat, glancing off to the side while she plays with her straw, jamming it in and out of the drink in rapid succession like she has far too much energy to be sitting still. "Nooooot at the moment. This has been taking up my time lately. Well, that and downing like five of these this morning. Perfect cure for a whiskey hangover."
"Whiskey hangover?" Heather considers this a moment with pursed lips. "I hope it was at least work related. I don't suppose it was with Chen? Knowing the chief of police has a hangover at work in the morning could be fun to know" she smirks wickedly.
"But, yeah, expand your contacts. Dig. Use that charm of yours…and your ability to hold a drink…and get the information. And remember that this is a TV channel, not a newspaper. Something to broadcast every night would be nice. You're pretty as well, you should be on screen as much as you can. I wonder if we can slip you in to talk to the daughter direct?"
"No, I haven't had drinks with Chen since I met her. Pretty sure once she found out I was a reporter, she was ready to run for the hills. My press pass is like some sort of… I don't know, repellent."
Bianca laughs, leaning back in her chair and pushing her glasses up into her hair. As her hand comes back down, she drags her hand along her face. Too many thoughts flash behind her lids to process, many of them bad. The pounding pulse behind her eyes and in her temples doesn't help, either. Maybe she can find a desk to crawl under and nap later.
"Well, my mother always did tell me I was the prettiest belle at the ball." The blonde lifts a hand up under her chin, palm down, resting her chin lightly against knuckles like a mock prima donna. "At least this smile is good for something. Haven't met a person yet who wasn't a sucker for a set of dimples."
"And trust me, while having my mug plastered on the screen every single night is definitely the goal, if I Erin Brockovich my way into too many leads with a nice pushup bra, I kind of feel like maybe I wouldn't be taken so seriously as a reporter anymore."
"I mean, not that I am now, but… reeeeeally hoping to move in that direction. For the daughter, though, mm…" Bianca's affable grin fades, duck-lips taking over her expression as she quirks her mouth to the side. "I might be able to con my way in, but no way any uniform is going to be happy to me speaking to both a star witness and a suspect in an ongoing investigation."
"Not even sure my 'ample' charms will go that far. That's probably more of a 'cash talks' kind of palm greasing."
"I worry when people have such bad experiences with reporters that they never want to talk to one again. Especially when they're the chief of police. It's not a good look for anyone" Heather muses before shaking her head. "What you look like has no effect on the honesty of your words. If other people have a problem with that, then that is their problem. Don't think you will be treated any less seriously just because you're pretty. Certainly not by me. You look like you want when on screen, but you need to be on screen at some point. Show those shallow fuckers exactly how serious you are."
"I'll do some digging myself about contacts we can make in the force. It's hard finding someone who will balance telling the truth with a desire to be bribed" she smirks, "But I'm sure we'll find something. How about investigating the family? See what they were doing that could have led to this. Dig around. Beat the cops to the facts. I think you're that good, Bianca. If you want to be."
"We all have our scars and our skeletons. Most of us try to keep them better hidden, but I can say about Chen that she definitely wears her heart on her sleeve. If she doesn't like someone, they will be the first to know about it."
Bianca waves the notion off as if it were a fly buzzing around her ear. "Trust me, I love the camera as much as it loves me. I always heard it added ten pounds, but those people just never heard of wearing flattering outfits, I think. Coincidentally, you're the only one I'm really worried about the opinion of. You know. Being my employer and all."
As the topic returns to the murdered family, the Denver native presses her lips together and looks away, towards the stock corporate art that decorates the walls. The murder was a tragedy, of course, but that gets immediately compartmentalized. There's no real use in getting connected personally to the store. That's how people fucked it up, getting too close.
"I can probably do a little private investigating of the scene. Can also visit the county courthouse and pull their records, properties, marriages. Go back through the older headlines, see if they ever cropped up."
"Gut instinct? There's a reason those people are dead, and I doubt it's because their kid just snapped one day. Sure, could be the case, and not to be sexist, but if it was the dad, I'd suspect him immediately. But the kids? That's a rarity."
"You shouldn't be worried about my opinion. Worry about doing your job well and honestly and you won't have a problem with me" Heather notes with a slight smile before the subject turns to the crime at hand. She nods along to theories and the options available. "So do it, Bianca. Get me something I can use. Show them all how damn good you are."
"Anything you need from me?" Heather asks, more in general than about this crime. "Any expenses I need to sign for? And too much coffee and whisky is not a refundable expense unless it contributed to a story" she smirks.
"Right. I'll… get on that." The blonde closes her eyes briefly with a small, tight-lipped smile that showcases her dimples, her head shaking just a bit. The straw slurps as she drinks from it again, draining what is in the clear plastic cup until there is nothing but a bit of whipped cream left. "I'll get back to you when I have something."
Bianca pushes herself to her feet, bending down to heft her heavy purse up and over her shoulder with a mild grunt. A hand runs through her long hair, before settling her Hangover Glasses back into place on her nose.
"Well! If that doesn't count as a reimbursable expense, I don't know what does! Coffee and whiskey are the fuel on which I run." Twirling a finger up in the air, the ace reporter turns to head for the door. "I'm off to the courthouse. Call if you need me."