Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Seeing Stars ❯ Chapter 13 ( Chapter 13 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Seeing Stars
By Jason Ulloa
Original story by Moonsong
Continued with her permission.


Chapter 13

"So, that's how it was?" Melvin asked as he led G.Q. to a conference
room. He smiled slyly to himself. "Amy and Jason, eh? I must admit that
they do look like a good match."

G.Q. nodded with a grin. "I've always thought so," he added as he sat
down. "So, Melvin, how 'bout giving me an idea of where you want me to
take the 'Total Eclipse' script? All I know is that you want Jack's role
to have a more critical role in the movie. I mean, I already have a good
idea of where to take the storyline, but I'd like the approval of both
you and Amy. You know how I like to do things."

Melvin nodded as he also sat down. "Yes, I remember. Well, how about you
throw some ideas and stuff at me and we'll see if it flies. After that,
we'll see what Amy likes. Sound good?"

"Sure thing," G.Q. replied with a nod as he pulled out his own copy of
the script and opened it up. "Let's begin at the scene of the theft of
the Yellow Nijizuishou crystal...."

**********************************************
Diane stormed through the hallway, not stopping for anybody. Those who
knew her, stepped wide of her when they saw the dark look on her face.
She was a woman on a mission and woe be to those who got in her way. Her
stride never faultered, even as she burst through the doors of the office
she was heading for.

"Artie!" she said urgently as she doors to his office swung back and
closed. "We need to talk. Now."

Artemis sighed as he turned from the report he was reading and looked
toward Diane. "I knew you'd come as soon as you heard. I'm sorry, Diane."

"Sorry, my ass!" she all but screamed. "It was by your own orders that I
was prevented from being assigned to the Tomoe/Kino kidnappings! And
don't you dare give me any of that crap about my judgement being
compromised just because Hotaru Tomoe is a close friend of mine! My
judgement has never, ever been anything but clear and controlled
throughout my entire career!"

"Your friend has never been kidnapped before," he replied calmly. He
shook his head in frustration. "Look at you. You're already furious. Your
judgement may already be compromised, yet you're too upset to see. How
can I allow you to take on a kidnapping case like this if you're liable
to blow up in anger?"

Diane forced herself to calm down. "So, there's no way you'll reconsider?"

"My decision is final, Diane," he said emotionlessly. "I will not change
it. Not even for you."

She nodded, keeping her face neutral. "You do know what this means,
right, Artie?" she asked.

Artemis sighed sadly. "I don't want to have to arrest you to keep you
from this case, but...." He looked pointedly at her. "...as a favor to
you, I will look the other way. But, expect no assistance from me. This
is your own personal case, so you'll only have yourself to rely on. Also,
be sure not to get in the way of those who are assigned to the job.

"Now," he said as he stood up and walked over to a small filing cabinet
and opened one drawer, "as far as anyone knows, you will be on vacation
for an indefinite amount of time. I can only give you so much time
though, so I suggest that you don't waste it." He flipped through
numerous files until he reached the one he was looking for, then pulled
it out and handed it to Diane.

"What's this?" she asked as she opened the folder.

"That is the police report on the Tomoe/Kino kidnapping, including all the
results of the search of the premesis," Artemis explained. "The police did
a remarkably thorough job, but the suspect is quite the professional. The
only clues to the man's identity is the security video taken during the
burglarization and subsequent kidnappings. The photograph inside that
folder you're looking at was taken from that video. You'll have to leave
it with that folder, though. That's the only copy we have and you're not
officially authorized to even see it, let alone have a copy."

Diane nodded gratefully, aware of the favor he was granting her. "That's
another thing that's been bothering me, Artie... why only the Orange
Nijizuishou crystal? I mean, there's so much valuable stuff there, and
some of them easier to grab. If he was a common burglar, then he would've
taken more than just the crystal."

"I know what you mean, Diane," he replied, nodding sagely. "I noticed
that, too. There's something else, though, that might be of interest to
you."

"What?" she asked curiously as she followed Artemis back to his desk. He
wordlessly sat down and tossed her the newspaper he had been reading
before she had burst in. She grabbed the paper in midair and unrolled it
to the front page. Displayed in big, bold letters was the headline,
"Rare Valuable Gem Stolen from Museum in Madrid!"

"This is dated a few days ago, Artie," Diane said as she read the article.

"Yes," he agreed, "but as you can see, the stolen crystal from that museum
and the one taken from the Tomoe manor have something in common."

"They're both Nijizuishou crystals!" she exclaimed as she slammed down the
paper onto Artemis' desk.

"Correct," he replied, pointing his finger in emphasis.

"So, you think that our kidnapper is only after the seven Nijizuishou
crystals? Why?" she asked confoundedly. "What reason could there be for
collecting all seven Nijizuishou crystals? And what makes them so
important that he'd kidnap two teenagers just to remain free? Not only
that, but not even make any offer to release them?" She realized that she
was clenching her fists in a cold fury and slowly forced herself to relax
her hands. Losing her temper was not an option if she was going to get
back Hotaru and Ryoku from that bastard and make him pay.

"That, I wish I knew," Artemis told her. "Anyway," he said as he held out
his hand for the folder, which Diane grudging returned, "this is all the
aid I can give you, both officially and unofficially. You do understand
that if you do get caught interfering, I will be unable to help you.

"As for transportation," he added, reaching into his pocket and pulling
out a small card, then handing it over to her, "this should help you."

Diane's eyes widened in extreme shock when she saw what he had given her.
"You can't be serious, Artie!" she whispered. "Your... credit card? Why?"

"Even though I'm officially required to keep you off this case, I still
believe that you're the best agent I have," he answered. "If you can't
bring this guy in and return Tomoe and Kino, then no one can. Just
remember," he added with a fatherly grin, "I will require all your
travel recipts. After all, how can I get reimbursed without proof of
travel charges? Also, I'm trusting you not to go overboard with this
card, even though it doesn't have a limit," he admonished. "It is my card,
after all. I'm going out on a limb here, so please respect that when you
use it."

"Thank you," she said as she rushed to his side and gave him a huge hug
and a kiss on his forehead in gratitude. "Thank you, Artie. You won't
regret this; I promise."

"I know, Diane," he said with a smile. "Now get going. Make sure you have
a full report ready upon your return!" he added as Diane began to leave.
The sound of Diane groaning in vexation accompanied the sound of his door
closing behind her as she began her hunt for Hotaru and Ryoku... and the
one responsible for their kidnapping.

After a little bit of research, she found that the trail, and the nearest
Nijizuishou crystal, lead to Los Angeles.

The hunt had begun.

**********************************************

As the crew and cast got ready for the next scene, Tanya began to search
for Darien. They were up next, and she wanted to make sure that he was
ready. She didn't really doubt his abilities, but he was a novice,
nonetheless. Her search ended when she spotted him at one end of the
studio, reading his script and mumbling to himself; most likely for
rehearsing his lines. He seemed to be a very dedicated actor. That was one
of the things she liked about him.

"Hey, Darien!" she called out as she walked over to where he was seated in
a small chair. More than likely, it was a prop for one scene or another.

"Tanya!" he greeted back as he looked up from his script. "Is it almost
time for our next scene already?"

"Yeah, just about," she replied cheerily. "You ready?"

"Pretty much," he said as he stood up. "I just wanted to go over my lines
again. I wanna do my best, you know? For Serena and you and...."

There was something in his voice that caught her attention. If she wasn't
certain already, that would've clinched it. He definitely had an interest
in her blonde, odango-wearing friend. As she so often did before, she
mentally matched up both Serena and Darien, seeing how compatible they
were. She was very good at matching up people; she had a 84% success rate
at last count.

Despite the fact that Serena seemed to keenly dislike Darien, she knew
better. She'd never give even the most meager compliment to someone she
hated, even if the person she hated was an accomplished expert in
whatever. The fact that she complimented Darien's acting skills, let alone
acknowledge him as an actor, showed that she didn't hate him. In fact, she
had noticed a couple of times, when Serena didn't know that anyone was
around, that she had stared at Darien with a look of keen interest. There
was definitely something between them, whether or not they knew it.
Knowing her friend, it was only a matter of time until she would either
kill Darien, or sleep with him. Maybe both.

"Of course," Tanya said, cutting him off abruptly. "Hey, Darien, how
about after work today, we go out and have dinner. There's something I
wanna talk to you about."

"Hmm?" he replied, raising an eyebrow in curiousity. "Oh... uh, sure,
Tanya. Any place in particular?"

"Not really," she said as she crossed her arms thoughtfully. "How 'bout I
just follow you to wherever you wanna go?"

"Fine by me," he answered. "Well, shall we?" he asked, gesturing toward
the set.

"Lead the way."

**********************************************

Tira was so engrossed with the computer and what she was working on that
she didn't even notice Jack walk in. He grinned at the young, light brown-
skinned secretary for a moment before he walked behind her and peered
over her shoulder at the computer screen. A list of names was displayed
on the screen accompanied by a small status bar at the bottom, which
showed that whatever Tira was downloading off of whatever Internet site
she was on was just about done.

"Before you ask," she said without turning her head, "this is a list of
all the employees at the company our temptress works at. See?" she said,
pointing at the top of the screen. At the top of the screen, the words,
"Stanton Aeronautical Engineering, Inc." were plastered in a fancy
graphical font.

"Yeah, that's where she works," he agreed. So much for her not noticing
his entrance. "But, how did you manage...?" His facial expression became
a grimace combined with a proud, indulgent grin. "Don't tell me you
actually managed to hack into their site?"

The computer screen reflected her sly, smug smirk. "Then, I won't," she
replied facetiously. "But, I did get what you wanted."

"So you did," he replied dryly. "But, I wish you'd stop doing that."

"I never get caught, Jack," she told him dismissively as she looked over
her shoulder at him and gave him a cute, little wink. He merely groaned in
mock annoyance, which induced a small giggle from her. After she finished
downloading her list, she carefully signed off and started copying the
file to a floppy disk. "All done," she announced as she turned toward
Jack, who had already sat down at another desk. "Now what?"

"Well," he began, as he leaned back in his chair and propped his feet onto
the desk, "here's what we've got so far. The woman Nate's seeing is a
secretary for a Mr. S. After keeping watch on her, I found out that she
works at Stanton Aeronautical Engineering, Inc. So far, she hasn't made a
move, yet, but I'm getting a feeling.... I think it's going down soon."

"One of those instincts you've developed back when you and Daddy were
cops?" Tira asked. "Daddy used to tell me about that when I told him that
I wanted to be a cop just like him... and you."

A small silence filled the room for a moment. "Yeah," Jack said quietly.
"Just like that." He frowned for a moment, then reached for a pad and a
pencil. "Well, Ti, since you managed to get me the names of all those
employees, why don't you give me the names of all the high level Mr. S's?
One of them has got to have a secretary who lives at the address that I've
got."

After a lengthy search, Tira finally hit paydirt. "Here!" she exclaimed.
"Regina Juléi. Secretary for the president himself, Mr. Maxfield Stanton."

"Gotcha," Jack said with a smug grin.

**********************************************

"Rig ht here," G.Q. said, pointing to a certain part on the script. "I've
got a great idea. I want to move up the first meeting between Jack and
Diane. Instead of meeting after the recovery of the Yellow Nijizuishou
crystal, how about we have Diane hire Jack to look for Jed?"

"I don't know...," Melvin said doubtfully. "Diane's supposed to be able
to find Jed on her own, right? Why would she need a private investigator?"

"Ah, but that's the thing," G.Q. said, raising a finger for emphasis.
"Diane's on a very tight time limit and she can't risk being discovered
by any of her co-workers. So, to save time, she decides to have a second
pair of eyes search at the same time she does. Get it?"

"Ah, I see," Melvin agreed. "Well, how soon can you have this changed?"

G.Q. grinned slyly as he produced a second copy of the script, this one in
yellow paper. "The second revision," he stated proudly. "This version
isn't final, however. I intentionally left the parts already filmed
intact, to save time and money. Besides, that part is fine the way it is.
I'm still going over the script for possible improvements, so any
suggestions by you or Amy would be appreciated."

"That sounds wonderful," a female voice said as the door opened wider,
admitting a red-haired young woman into the room. "I hope you don't mind
if I also give my opinions and suggestions, G.Q."

"Of course not, Molly," G.Q. replied with a grin, which turned into a
confused frown. "I didn't know you were a part of this crew."

"Officially, she's not," Melvin explained. "She's just here to offer her
support and assistance."

"Whenever I'm not already involved in producing another movie, that is,"
she added with a small smile, amusement shining in her green eyes.

"Well, the more help, the better," G.Q. said. "I have a good feeling about
this movie." He picked up the yellow script and handed it over to Melvin.
"If you don't mind, would you please see that copies are made and
distributed to everyone who requires a copy?"

Melvin nodded. "I can get one of our production assistants to get to work
on the copies. I'll also make sure that all the copies are on yellow paper,
to avoid confusion. Molly, would you go down to the set and check up on
everyone? Darien should be down there as well."

Molly nodded solemnly. "Yes, I must speak with Darien concerning what I
did to him before." She turned to G.Q. and gestured for him to lead the
way. "Will you be joining us later, dear?" she asked.

"I'll be there shortly," Molly," he replied. He kissed her on the cheek as
he left. She smiled at his back, then followed G.Q. down to the set.

**********************************************

To Chapter 14

**********************************************

Author' s Note: It's coming! The first meeting between Jack Terrance and
Diane Silver is coming! Also, how will Tanya Cambridge manage to get
Serena and Darien together? Next chapter: Molly says she's sorry; Jack
gets a second job; G.Q. asks Jason exactly what happened last night; and
the Yellow Nijizuishou crystal is stolen!!!

Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective
owners. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and a bunch
of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended. This
story belongs to Moonsong and myself, and I would appreciate
you emailing her or myself for permission before posting it
anywhere else. Thank you.

Prologue Copyright © January 24, 2000 Moonsong.
Other Chapters Copyright © August 12, 2000 Jason Ulloa.
All Rights Reserved.