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Dustin sat in the backseat of Shin's Aston Martin DB5, sweat glistening off his forehead from them driving through the desert for what felt like hours, which was accentuated by his 3 piece suit. But in spite of the conditions he still held an excited expression his face
“Holy-moly Shin, I can't believe we're finally going on that fishing trip we've been talking about for all these years.”
Shin looked back at Dustin through the rear view mirror and smiled a little.
“Shin and Dustin, Nouzen and Jaeger, the dynamic Chisney duo back at it again!” Dustin continued happily
“Yeah, I can't believe it either.” Shin said in a casual friendly tone, his vision still fixed on the road ahead. Which seemed endless, with miles upon miles of road stretching across the dry Sahara.
“So where's this super secret lake you're taking me to?” Dustin inquired “I really hope it's not too far away!”
Shin held his smile, as his hand slowly reached down to grab something from the storage area located under the right armrest of the car. And turned back to look at Dustin, a collapsible shovel in hand. “ *sigh*... don't worry pal, we'll be there before you know it.” and as he finished his sentence, the shovel struck down with a powerful hit to Dustin's head, causing him to black out.
*
Dustin stirred awake, his eyes slowly opened but were quickly shut once again from the light of the sun. He could feel himself sweating from his back, the sun baking him like a sauna. He then sat up once he recovered the strength to do so, and looked around to see if he could figure out where he was. But when he looked forward, he could see Shin adjusting his leather gloves, and then straightening the labels of his Grey suit blazer. After adjusting his clothing and accessories, he then swept his hair back with his palm.
Dustin pushed himself so he could stand. “ wha-, Shin…Shin what's going on? What are we doing here? Where's lake Shin?” He inquired, confusion and panic settling through him all at once, looking at Shin for answers. But Shin just sat there on the closed trunk of his car, maintaining his previously held smile from the drive to wherever they were.
“I think we both know there's no lake Dustin.” Shin said vaguely with that same friendly and casual tone he had used earlier.
“Shin…come on, please.” Dustin begged him for some kind of answer to their current predicament.
But Shin only gave him a simple response. “Clean yourself up Dustin, the boss wants a little word with you.”
Shin then got up from his position, and placed a laptop on the space he had previously occupied, then opened the device. The screen illuminated, the glare of the sun making it a little hard to see, but it was still clear enough. On the screen was their boss, and mascot of Chisney ... .Bobchi. She wore a white blouse that was tucked into an ultramarine blue frilly skirt.
“Dustin, Dustin, Dustin.” The head honcho of Chisney said his name in a mocking tone “You’re looking a little dusty there, hope Shin didn’t treat you too roughly.”
“I-” “No, zip it, i’m the one talking here.” She interrupted him. “What an unfortunate set of circumstances we’ve found ourselves in. And after only-How long Shin?”
“1 year.” Shin said in a sarcastic tone.
“1 f@#king year, hooo boy, now that’s a record.” Her voice was accentuated by her anger.
“Bobchi, boss please-” Dustin tried to speak in an effort to defend himself, but was promptly cut off again by the bobhaired face of the multi media billion dollar corporate empire.
“No you shut the f@#k up Dustin! This isn’t good morning magnolia, you sit there with your pie hole shut, and your clown ears open!”
Dustin nodded rapidly, face contorted into that of a child who was just yelled at by their parents.
“Chisney’s not doing well Dustin, not doing well at all. Revenues are down, parks are in absolute disarray, but the worst of it all, is that the customers aren’t happy. And if the customers aren’t happy, well…Then I'm not happy. You get what I'm laying down here, Dustin?”
“But boss it wasn’t my fault, it was the legion virus! The virus changed everything!"
“Ooooh, and I guess it’s the virus's fault that Dustin Jaeger screwed Shiden Lida out of her black panther residuals, as the press puts it. Leading to a massive lawsuit and buttloads of bad press for Chisney.”
“I don’t know boss, sounds like a Dustin problem to me.” Shin added on
“It does, doesn't it? Rule number one Dustin, don’t screw with Shiden, everyone loves Shiden.”
Shin held onto a disturbingly casual expression, while keeping a small smile. “My daughter sure does, now she won’t even attend her birthday parties.”
“Listen, I’m sorry about Shiden and I know I'm responsible for the dropping stocks and revenue streams, b-b-but if you just give me a little more time-!”
“Dusty Dusty Dusty, you think this is just about the money?” Bobchi’s gaze casted downwards, her tone getting quieter, resembling disappointment more than her previous angry one. “Look, losing money every once in a while, sure that’s fine, happens to everyone, it's not that big of a deal, we’re Chisney for Saint magnolia’s sake, it’s not like we won’t make it all back one way or another…No Dustin, what really Chuffs my skirt, is that you committed the one truly heinous, unforgivable sin.”
Bobchi looked back up at Dustin, her eyes giving off an intense glare. “ You F@#ked with the magic Dustin.”
“Why did you have to f@#k with the magic Dustin?” Shin asked in a mockery disappointed tone.
“YOU DON’T F@$K WITH THE MAGIC DUSTIN!!!!!” Bobchi screamed into the mic, causing Dustin to wince slightly from the sheer volume of the statement. He could practically feel her murderous intent from her office over 2,000 miles away.
“Boss w-what are you talking about, how’d i f@#k with the magic!?, I love the magic!, I’d never f@#k with the magic!”
“Dustin, you ignorant summer bum. The magic isn’t the movie stars, the classic rides or even a nice Bobgirl flurry on a hot summer day. No, the real magic is the illusion that we actually care about the customers , that we love them, that we’re as emotionally invested in them, as they are in our brands. The magic is what keeps the light shows running, and the cash flowing for generations to come.”
“I do love a good flurry though.” Shin said cheekily.
“And in less than a year, you’ve almost completely undone 8 decades worth of hard work!” she railed into him like a freight train
Dustin cowered in fear of the mascot. “ Bobchi c-c’mon, w-what are you talking about?”
“You’ve been a complete asswipe! You're arrogant on investor calls! You openly antagonize Chisney adults!”
“Heh Chisney adults, now there’s an oxymoron.” Shin said, chuckling a bit to himself.
Bobchi went on to continue her point “Yeah sure, we all know that Chisney adults are the most insecure, entitled and maladjusted people in every single goddamn nation on this round earth. BUT YOU DON’T SAY THAT PART OUT LOUD!”
At this point Dustin had fallen back, flat on his ass. Every word stabbing into him like a hot knife infused with the corporate rage of this bob-haired mascot. Grilling into him like some kind of rabid Galaxy wars fan.
“And worst of all, you have the unmitigated f@#king gauchos to flaunt how good you are at adjusting prices on the fly, in order to drain people of all their life savings, while a massive recession looms!”
“C’mon Dustin, it's like you’re not even pretending to act like you give a damn.” Shin commented Disappointingly.
“You made people realize we’re just a soulless, greedy corporation, like everyone else in the entertainment sphere!” Bobchi wailed her arms around, physically showing her distaste towards the alba man.
Dustin shakily propped himself up by his forearms, getting sand on his absurdly expensive suit blazer. “Alright listen, sure i’m not the best on camera or during interviews. B-but look at all the parks, that’s where most of the money comes in, and i-i’ve made them more profitable than ever!”
Despite Dustin providing a valid defense for his position, Bobchi was very clearly still not pleased“Oh you did, did you? And how exactly did you go about doing that? By letting heaps of trash pile up all over the parks, worse than central Los Chicagos? Or how about letting all the rides fall into disrepair and overcharging customers for every single aspect like some kind of coked up mobile game company!? And gutting the annual pass program!”
“Come on Boss, even you hate annual pass holders! Statistically they spend less money per visit and eat a whole park’s capacity during peak months!”
“Yeah no s@#t you buckass bum! which is why we’ve been slowly phasing them out! Little by little , year by year. Incrementally increasing the prices slowly, removing more features like photo pass, and adding more black out dates. If you do it all at the same time, those sheep are gonna start to realize what’s going on, and make a big stinker about it, leading to even more bad press for us. Now you might’ve realized that, if your foresight extended any further than that little sheriff pecker you’ve got in your pants!”
Dustin looked down, not even realizing the insult that was just hurled at him. His attention was suddenly pulled right back as Bobchi continued her rant.
“But noooo! All little Dusty cares about are his short-term gains! Short term gains that come at the cost of Long. Term. Magic.”
“Bobchi please!” Dustin begged in vain.
“You took Chisney Land, The happiest f@#king place on this godforsaken planet, and turned it into a discount knockoff Jim’s berry farm! I’m done with you Dustin…Shin, do what you gotta do”
Giving a small nod, Bobchi’s command prompted Shin to close the laptop, and then he turn around to face Dustin. Dustin stood back up, in an attempt to try and convince Shin to not do what he thought he was about to do.
“C’mon, hey Shin…Shin, it’s me, your star pupil…How could you do this to me!”
Hearing Dustin’s wailing, Shin angrily grabbed onto the lapels of his blazer and brought him closer, so he could give Dustin a rough talk and rant.
“I gave you everything! I acquired Bixar and Galaxy wars! Started the box-office crushing SCU, the parks had never been in greater shape, revenue had never been at its highest! I handed you the ebony diamond encrusted key to a Multimedia entertainment empire on a gold platter! And how did you repay me for it!?...YOU F@#kED ME DUSTIN, YOU F@#KED ME AND MY LEGACY! ALL THOSE YEARS OF HARD WORK GOING DOWN THE SH@TTER FASTER THAN A LERCHE LAND TURKEY LEG. How could I do this to you? HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME!?...As far as i’m concerned, you're getting exactly what you had coming!” Shin aggressively pushed down Dustin making him fall back down to the ground, back to where he was before.
“Shin please, you don't gotta do this! I’ll do anything, Anything!” Dustin begged for his life pathetically.
“Y’know it’s really funny, my brother said the same thing. But at the end of the day. Business is business.” Shin said as he reached into his coat pocket, about to pull something out.
Dustin covered his face with his right palm, fearing what might come next. But after a few moments of waiting for death to come, nothing happened. He then looked back at Shin who was holding out a piece of paper, which looked to be a check.
“Here’s a check for $40,000,000. We wish you the best in your future endeavors, no matter what they may be.” Shin dropped the check onto Dustin’s face, then turned around and walked away towards His car. He turned the keys and started the car. Pressing his foot against the gas pedal, the wheels began to spin, blowing the sand into Dustin’s general direction. The car got further and further away, and once it was out of sight, Dustin got on his knees and picked up the check.
“NOOOOO, NOW I’LL NEVER BE A BILLIONAIRE!” He cried out into the endless land of sand. The sun setting as well, casting an orange hue on him.
*
Shin sat in his car, with the open window Causing his hair to blow back. He was on the phone with his wife “Hey honey, looks like things didn’t work out with Dustin, so i’ll have to take over again.”
TO BE CONTINUED…..