Grug waited impatiently before the locked door of his interview room, looking at his watch with a stormy scowl.

"Helga 45 minute late, Grug wait hour and half, this ridiculous! Grug not even see pre-production crew! Wonder what going on."

Grug stomped in frustration, slamming his fist into the door which, being a thin piece of cheaply made plywood covered in a faux wood vinyl wrap, was most certainly NOT prepared for the wrathful fist of a pissed-off caveman. It predictably broke, into pieces before hitting the wall of the interview room, broken hinges swinging forlornly. Grug stormed into the room, where Helga and a weasel-faced Neanderthal (if a creature with a pronounced orbital ridge and a standard issue unibrow can be weaselly) were chatting brightly about a subject that Grug was too angry to hear.

His face purplish with barely repressed rage, Grug grabbed the weasel by his starched business suit collar and pulled, lifting the Neanderthal off his feet.

"That GRUG'S chair, why you here? This supposed to be Grug's segment too!"

Grug shot Helga a nasty glare.

"Grug think he understand what happening here, but he want to hear from you. One, Where. Is. Banou. Two, why you lock Grug out of own studio in building Grug own? Threely, Grug have contract, you not have choice but show Grug, so what give!?! And Last, WHO THIS GUY? HE A BIG-HEAD FOR CRY OUT LOUD!"

{Oh, so you didn't receive any of the mail updates? You know, about the termination of your contract for inappropriate content and damages to the station? Or perhaps did you miss the notice of hostile acquisition of 56% of Channel Big Rock's publicly traded shares by Rockert N' Branch Inc.?}

Helga smiled viciously, but her eyes betrayed a flicker of uneasiness.

{Oh, and before you ask again, Ms. Tzimitzkes is no longer employed by the recently renamed Channel Big Tree, and you will be forcefully removed by security from this building by whatever means necessary if you do not put Mr. Rockert down now.}

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Grug smiled mirthlessly, dropping Rockert with a heavy thud to the ground. Grug rubbed his palms together as if cleaning something off his hands and went to the open doorframe, before turning to look at Helga.

"This NOT over, Helga. Grug be back to fire you Grugsself. And YOU!"

Grug turned towards Rockert, who cowered at his tone, and spat in his direction.

"Grug see you in court, be sure of it."

{That'll be quite enough, Mr.Grug. Please kindly leave or we will be forced to remove you.}

"Grug already gone, and Grug not pay for the door either!"

--------------------------------------------------------------

Grug sat on a park bench near the (formerly) Channel Big Rock building , not because he needed to, his favorite stretch limousine busy running a parking meter or three on the street, but because he found watching the ducks both soothing and occasionally delicious as well. His mojo somewhat restored from his quiet intro-snacktion, he was rising from his seat as the phone in his tertiary miscellaneous pocket buzzed with an incoming call. He pulled it out, BANOU FROM INTERVIEW was displayed on the screen. He answered just in time.

[I'm sorry for not returning your calls and disappearing, Grug. I hope you'll forgive me. They forced me to sign papers to the effect that I could've gone to prison if I told you anything while you were still under contract. No contact, no advance warning of the acquisition, and certainly no telling you that it was one of your competitors, until the dirty deed was done. At that point, my loyalty to you was a liability and they kicked me to the curb.]

"Grug understand sticky situation, but Grug not going to take lying down, Grug going to fight, even if can't get more words of Grug out to people. It shame though, show do real good so far, like to do."

[Me too, Grug. About the show...it may not be dead, since they terminated the contract and voided your position within the company. ]

"What you mean? Can we really still do?"

For the first time, Banou sounded truly happy.

[Yes Grug, with some investment from you, we CAN do.]

Lights came on, camera lenses zoomed, two chairs were silhouetted against an oval table with mics on it. A producer counted down to zero, and the chairs turned simultaneously.

[This is Banou Tzimitzkes of The Cave Report, reporting live, interviewing the CEO of Bouldercorp and my fellow co-host Grug Quicktalker! We've got a lot of new stories to tell of the real boss hog of the Neolithic, so don't touch that dial!]