169 Poison dragon vs mutated fire dragon (1/2)
However, being popular meant a mix of all kinds of people passed through. As soon as Ben stepped out, he heard an abrasive yell shaking the space. ”WHERE THE HELL IS HE?!?”
After hesitating a second, Ben spoke to the receptionist, who pointed out the target's direction to him. Walking to the designated destination, he entered a dark area with no windows, a concrete floor, and a high ceiling that attached to multiple rows of black professional lighting fixtures. Discovering such a shadowy cavern-like place in the middle of Manhattan made Ben raise an eyebrow. 'It looks like a dragon's den…'
He smelled his own kind…
It was a large space, with many pieces of film equipment all around, and a multitude of people operating them. Watching them, Ben nodded. 'These are the dragon's slaves…'
It was a film studio, so that assessment was close…
What was more interesting though was the setup in the center of it all: a well-lit set. There, Ben saw something he was familiar with—a bunch of weight racks.
It looked like a home gym, with a number of exercise equipment and free weights set up in an organized fashion.
”HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE HERE AN HOUR AGO!” At the edge of the set, surrounded by half a dozen people trying to calm him down, a middle-aged rotund redhead roared into the air.
After recovering from retired Guile's sonic boom...Ben stepped towards a stagehand moving props nearby. ”Hello, I'm looking for Mr. Murphy.”
The worker pointed him towards the epicenter of all the noise—big red himself.
Swallowing, Ben approached him. ”Sir, I have—”
The man's crimson face turned towards him with the expression of a beast whose child was kidnapped from its cave... ”WHAT THE F*CK DO YOU WANT?!?”
…
Ben exhaled to stay calm. He wasn't too keen on doing the beta dog dance...but he was here to perform an assignment. ”Sir, a message from Public Relations…” he held the envelope out to Mr. Murphy
With a frown as deep as the Earth's anus…the large man yanked the envelope from Ben's hand and tore it open in a fury. Extending out the white paper in front of his eyes, he read the short message…and his hands started shaking…
A vein pulsated on big red's head like it was gaining sentience…
Then, his bloodshot eyes turned towards Ben. ”THE F*CKER CANCELED THROUGH PR?!? THE BALLS! AND WHY THE F*CK DID THEY SEND A LITTLE SH*T LIKE YOU?!? THEY COULDN'T HAVE PICKED UP THE F*CKING PHONE?!?”
…
Everyone in the studio was silent, for fear of drawing the wrath of the fire-headed and fire-mouthed manager.
Ben frowned, he'd been besmirched...
Ben was a poison dragon, which he believed to be a much more noble being than a mutated fire dragon...
He gazed at big red. 'Oh, the fatty and redhead jokes I could launch upon you…would devolve you back into a sh*tty lizard...'
Yet, Ben kept silent for two reasons. The first was compassion. 'Perhaps he did this...for want of a father's love...'
Second, Ben possessed big hearts...and deep down, below his waist...he knew that this man, like every man, had a mother, wife, and if lucky--multiple daughters with certain needs.
…
However, Mr. Murphy wasn't finished. He pointed a shaky finger at Ben's face, and prepared to erupt again…when someone stopped him.