Shift Into Neutral

(ooc:  uh oh...hadn't thought this was going to be this long.  if you'd rather i break this up into two or 3, just say so. np)

Robert had wanted to know whether Roland would decide Poliakoff was a young woman of enough interest that he had at least half a mind to want to protect, even if it were to save her to use her again later. Or was she merely another pawn in one of Roland's ambitions.  This was at least one way to test the waters. He'd never known of Roland to have any sort of ward or student, but there was always a first time. It was far more Roland's style to allow Poliakoff to race out on a limb for Roland and then for Roland to whack the limb off behind her and let her take the fall all by herself.  He wanted to know which he was seeing. That was between her and Roland. It only impacted Robert as to how to deal with Roland in this moment.

"I wondered whether she was one of your young pups or whether she was just another pawn for you," Robert found himself amused, laughing lightly.So, this chess match had begun.  Excellent.

Robert nodded, knowing exactly how these issues went.. "I did consider that if I move forward with action, it risks sending Ms. Poliakoff either into financial ruin or, if she cannot pay the damages, then she'll find herself with some new accommodations at Azkaban, along with whoever else from the DP who ends up going down with her.  Perhaps they'll do alright with it, though," he shrugged, knowing that even some of the strongest minded wizards cracked under that strain. "It's not that unbearable. Well, perhaps that's something not worth worrying about."  

As much as he didn't want to rub in Roland's troubles, Robert was still looking for information.  He knew full well that Roland didn't want one more moment in Azkaban. Nor did Robert want to send him there. Whether he would be willing to allow Poliakoff to take the lion's share of the fall and end up with the dementors, well, that was up to Roland. How much did she matter?

"The rest of the world can hate me all they want--if I give them a reason to. If there is a grain of something to found it on. Our laws do not give you or anyone else the right to simply make things up as they go along to sell to sell papers.

"And I believe you know enough about the law to know that, if I am sharing information with the muggle government, then it is part and parcel of the everyday business of operating two different governmental systems in one, relatively small place. A normal part of how both ministries have run for hundreds of years."

He listened to Roland's proposal. "That's not what I'm interested in," he said coldly to Roland.  "The last thing I want to see is another repeat of Cornelius Fudge. I don't want to be touted all over the wizarding world with a media created, media driven image."

He had felt sorry for the caricature of greatness that Fudge had wanted to display, but instead it had been only a great embarrassment to a good man who had wanted to do a good job and had been too insecure to look at the climate of change that had been right in front of him. Fudge had left as a tragic figure, not a hero. If Robert's choices left him as tragic or as hero, then it needed to be on his own merits.

"What I do want is a different arrangement than the DP has had here before.  You can have your exclusivity--on condition.  I don't really care how many baubles and sparkles you put onto the truths you do find. Embellish as you like, to a given point--as long as the truth is still there.

"Our people have been grossly and completely misled quite enough, and I won't have anyone doing more of it. Certainly not someone in the Ministry. Nor you either if you are to have this sort of access. Taking proper care of the people we are here to serve is our top priority. That's what I want."

"I want you to stop the front and center focus on trying to fire up the public to mutiny against their ministry. If we're going to survive, its crucial for us to get back on the proper track with this muggle business. Stop the finger pointing and get to what the issue is now. We have potential for muggles, with no comprehension that magic even exists, but who are finding themselves with magical powers. Left unsupervised or unchecked, the danger is great for them and for us.  

"It is very much like leaving a child with a loaded weapon. For us not to become involved and provide them supervision and guidance, and try to put things to rights for them does them and us a huge disservice. What happens in the long run with them, well, that remains to be seen, doesn't it?  

"What I want is for you to either put your pup on a shorter leash--an 'exclusive' leash.  Or sacrifice your pawn.  Its your choice. An apology, a retraction--might be a nice gesture of good faith."

Roland shrugged at Robert’s threat against his writers. True, they were talented young writers and thus not entirely disposable, but Roland was not about to back down for their sakes. “Yes, you could probably do that,” Roland agreed in a relaxed tone. Robert was playing a dirtier game than Roland had expected him to, and therefore he could not afford to give him any ground. Roland kept his tone and expression calm, and took another sip of his tea before continuing. “I’m not sure what you will get out of it, of course. My writers are not political players. They made a mistake and, if you feel the need to punish them for it, then go ahead.”

“But rest assured, we won’t break the ah… law, from now on,” Roland added. He grinned to himself as if enjoying some private joke. After all, all journalists knew that they could still exaggerate and twist facts to an extraordinary amount without breaking the law. “There are plenty of ways of getting the point across without violating the law.” The threat was not lost on Robert, Roland was sure. It was important that Robert knew just what the consequences of his decision were.

Roland leaned back in his chair and listened to Robert’s proposal. As he did, his expression slowly developed into one of glee. He had expected harsher conditions than that. If all Robert wanted from the Prophet was the truth in exchange for exclusivity, then that was truly a bargain for Roland. Of course, the truth was very rarely likely to print a lot of copies, but lately there had been a lot of interesting events, and if the Prophet was the only paper to have inside information of what was happening then the quibbler couldn’t put up much of a competition anyway. “I think we have come to an agreement then,” Roland said, setting his half-finished tea on the table and standing up. “Exclusivity, in exchange for the truth. Everyone’s a winner!” That was not true, of course. Roland was not sure just how much the deal would benefit Robert, and the Quibbler was certainly not a winner.

Roland’s mouth twisted as Robert requested an apology. He was a man of pride who did not usually apologize to other men, but Roland was aware what was at stake and wanted to keep Robert happy.

“Yes… Well, I apologize for what my writers may have wrote.”

"Shame, that," Robert said smoothly, sipping his tea. "Its a true tragedy that your reporters assigned to covering politics aren't a tad more versed.  Nobody would expect them to be a veteran at it, certainly, but understanding the rudiments would have been helpful before putting them out to publish things that go all over wizarding England without sufficient guidance."

So--he was wiling to sacrifice Poliakoff--and planning on Robert's benevolence to not actually follow through. Just what he had thought Roland would do, and most likely with Poliakoff being none the wiser.  And it was just what he'd been fishing to know.

"Not sure what I'd gain? Seems to me that if I hold Poliakoff, the DP and its management on charges and let it proceed to trial, then the news of it, even with our exclusivity, would be impossible to conceal.  Poliakoff, with or without confederates, probably ends up in Azkaban because I doubt she has the salary to pay the penalty.  Then, the DP ends up discredited by the bad publicity, and, I think, it would be very beneficial to your competitors.  Would I really gamble that?"  He paused for a moment before he answered his own question.

"Don't rely, Roland, on an assumption that I am the doormat that I had to pretend to be over the last year," he said.  "Its amazing how even a short time can change a man." Very precious few knew even that he'd been cursed, much less how it had manifested, or the damage it had done. He was far from asking for sympathy, but the fact remained that Robert was now more aggressive.

He wanted Roland to know, without a single doubt, that the end game was what mattered now. Robert never had been interested in playing entirely clean while the proverbial "bad guys" got to do whatever the hell they wanted.  Screw that.  Giving that tip off was giving up a chess piece, but, well, it was a calculated risk on Robert's part. If one weren't prepared to lose a piece, then one really shouldn't even begin to play.

If it needed to be for the greater good, and if Robert was in charge of making sure that happened, at least for England, then he was going to take a page out of Dumbledore's own text. Dumbledore was never afraid to use whatever means necessary to get to the positive outcome of the game. No wonder the man almost always wore gray.  He literally lived in the gray.  

Robert was changing up the game. The time to lie in mere defensive wait was over. He was going on the offensive, and it was fine that Roland understood that.

He heard Roland's apology.  For Roland that was akin to groveling, and something he never did.  He got that part--and he respected it.  Robert didn't plan to ignore it , but it wasn't enough.

"Your apology is sufficient to keep you personally from the docks," he said. "Your paper's exclusivity begins when I see Poliakoff's retraction in the paper.  That's when I'll know you're serious."

Suddenly, the meeting seemed to have taken a turn for the worse, and Robert had grown much more hostile than Roland had expected. He still sounded polite enough, but the Roland had not missed the threat. He suddenly felt quite uncomfortable. Roland was more than capable of dealing with situations such as these, but he only enjoyed such power struggles when he was in total control. And he seemed to be losing control here.

Roland gave a rather forced laugh as Robert finished his threats. Of course, he wasn’t at all happy with what he was hearing, but he had decided the best course of action was still to look relaxed and act indifferent. He took a seat again, feeling that this may go on for a while longer. “News of it would be impossible to conceal?” Roland repeated, grinning again. “I control the Prophet! And with exclusivity, I am the one who tells the Wizarding World the news, not you.” He wagged a finger at the man now, a more stern expression on his face. “You may not be a doormat, but don’t take me for granted either Minister! You have had your apology, but now you go too far.”

“Now, if your ego has reached a point that you feel it necessary to send a reporter of mine to Azkaban, go ahead. But press charges against me or the Prophet, and this whole deal is over,” Roland barked. Considering that he had just spent the worst two years of his life at Azkaban, Roland really should have been more bothered about the possible fate of his reporter, but he had never been a man to be bothered about such things. “If you choose to go forth with it regardless, by all means do so. I’m sure the losses the Prophet will suffer will be more than balanced by the number of copies we will print telling the world how our Tyrant Minister sent a reporter of the Daily Prophet to Azkaban. I’m sure you will find that is… ah, within the law to print,” Roland said, with a small chuckle.

“If you choose to do the right thing, then you will have the retraction in the next edition. Do you have more tea?”

Oh, touchy, touchy, Robert thought. He rose quietly and poured them both more tea.  He didn't speak until he sat again.  It seemed to him that perhaps Roland needed a bit of a time out.  Neither of them liked to lose. Not even a little.

"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear," he replied.  "I certainly don't think your reporters would knowingly go against what you instructed them to do. We both know better than that. And if I give you exclusivity, then I won't be the one spilling the beans.  I am a man of my word. However, much as I won't be generating it, gossip is powerful and, as I'm sure you know, hard to control.  As you've eluded to very nicely, it is part of the stock and trade of a journalist--gathering the gossip.  

"I can do my best. I can have everyone here sign confidentiality agreements if it reduces your anxiety, but they may not be worth the paper they're written on.  I can threaten to fire anyone who violates the agreement.  I can go to all sorts of lengths to protect the Prophet's interests, but in the end, I can't possibly control everyone. Now, even if I could, that would be tyrannical, wouldn't it?

"As for you, personally, relax and drink your tea. I did just say, did I not, that your apology was sufficient to keep you off of legal action on this matter?  I said it, and I meant it.

"If you think I'm a tyrant now, then apparently I'm doing my job.  Ego, though, has very little to do with it, or I'd have actually sealed the agreement with some codswallop about legacies or some other nonsense. You make a great deal of profit banking on someone else's readiness to be armchair politicians, everyone believing they can do the job better, everyone ready to start namecalling. Sticks and stones, though, Roland. Sticks and stones."

This reminded Robert of a kidnap for ransom, and in this case, what the exchange was about was Poliakoff and the Prophet and the Ministry's reputation.  Would Robert actually sacrifice a young reporter for the Ministry and for England?  Why not? He hadn't been above risking himself and his own child for that. Poliakoff was no more important than his own child, his own family.  

That was information, though, that Roland was apparently not well read in, and if he were not, Robert did not feel any obligation to school him in past events that had happened in his absence.

"You might choose to hit your own archives, though," Robert said, dropping a less than subtle hint.  If Roland wanted to figure out what he was missing, then he needed to work for it.  "You sound a bit rusty, Mate.  And it is starting to sound a bit here like a stalemate to me.

"I've never taken exclusivity for the Prophet off the table.  However, nor have I removed Poliakoff off it either.  Not yet.  I have, however, removed you."