Seeing Stars By Jason Ulloa Original story by Moonsong Continued with her permission. Chapter 14 Molly glanced around the set, searching for Darien. It wasn't hard to find him since he was a tall man. "Excuse me, G.Q.," she said as she started for the dark-haired man, "I must go speak with Darien." "No problem," he said as he spotted Jason talking with Lita and Amy. "I've got to speak with someone as well." She nodded without taking her eyes of Darien. "Until later, then," she said over her shoulder. "Darien!" she called out. "May I have a word with you?" "Molly?" Darien exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here? I didn't know you were producing this movie, too." "Officially, I'm not," she replied. "I'm only here to help my husband out with his work; to keep him from overworking himself. Anyway, there is something I must speak with you about. I assume you still remember what happened not to long ago at the 'White Rose' set?" Darien grimace slightly. "When you fired me?" She sighed regretfully. "You do remember that I did that because of the constraints that was put upon me at the time. I couldn't allow Serena to quit the shoot, so she could just about make me do almost anything to a point. Forcing me to terminate your employ, for example." "I get your point," he replied. "Well, what I really wanted to say was that I'm very sorry for firing you," she told him. "I just wanted to make amends with you. I hope that you'll forgive me." She gave him a small apologetic bow. "That's all right, Molly," Darien said, returning her bow. "I understand that you had no choice. It wasn't your fault." "It didn't matter," she stated. "I was still the one who fired you. But, that was before. I've made my amends and we are now going to be working together on this movie." She grinned at him, a small gleam showing in her eyes. "This time, you don't have to worry about being fired." "I guess not," he replied with a small laugh. ********************************************** "So, when do you think that the new script's coming out, Amy?" Jason asked. "Yeah," Lita added. "You said that G.Q.'s gonna rewrite the script, right?" "Come on, guys," Amy entreated jokingly, "I'm a director, not a writer! I don't know how long it'll take him!" "Actually," G.Q. interrupted as he walked up to them, "it's already done." "What?!?" all three exclaimed at once. "Yeah," he told them with a grin. "I decided to start early with the more obvious improvements. I've already shown the new script to Melvin. He's now getting copies of the new 'yellow' second revision made." "Yellow?" Lita asked curiously. "I use different colors for different versions of a script," he explained. "It avoids confusion whenever new script versions are introduced," Amy added. "If someone has a different colored script, then they know that they have the wrong version. They don't have to look through the script to find the script's version number." "So, we'll be getting our copies sometime today, then?" Jason asked. "I think so," G.Q. replied. "Anyways, Jason, there was something I wanted to ask you about." He paused as he glanced over at Lita and Amy. "Alone, if you don't mind." "Oh!" Lita said nodding as she and Amy turned to leave. "Certainly, G.Q." As they walked off, Lita turned to Amy and grinned knowingly. "By the way, Amy," she said slyly, "you never did elaborate on what happened last night. I mean, I know... but I'd rather hear it from you...." As they turned a corner, Amy began to blush furiously. "Lita...," Jason muttered exasperatedly to herself as he sighed. "Actually, Jason," G.Q. began, "that's exactly what I was going to talk to you about." "Wha?!?" Jason blurted in shock. "You've gotta be kidding me! Not you, too!" G.Q. grinned knowingly. "I'm not buying that nonsense about you two over- sleeping. Come on, spill it! What happened last night? Did you two...?" Jason nervously began to hush him while glancing around. "Not so loud! Do you want EVERYONE to hear?!?" "Talk," G.Q. ordered with a wide grin, "or I will. Loudly," he added with a menacing emphasis. "Some friend you are!" Jason muttered in a feigned hurt tone of voice. "Hey, I'm the one who's been talked about by everyone in Hollywood, all right?" G.Q. countered in a mock peevish voice. "Can't I get just a little compensation for that? Don't make me beg now...." "Okay, okay," he relented reluctantly. "What do you wanna know?" "Do I really have to repeat myself?" G.Q. asked, raising his eyebrow in amusement. Jason sighed again. "What happened last night? Well, first, we - Lita, Amy, and I - had dinner. An excellent curry dish, as I remember...." "Don't sidetrack, Jason," G.Q. warned in vexation. He merely grumbled to himself under his breath. "Anyway, after dinner, we started talking. You know, about the shoot, about how we've been doing... small talk. Well, it started getting late, and Lita wanted to go home. After Amy and I had come to our... understanding with the whole rumor thing, we found that we had a lot more to talk about than just small talk and business-related things. Amy suggested that Lita could go home while we continued talking, partly because she didn't want to have to stay when she wanted to go, and mostly because...." "You two wanted to be alone, right?" G.Q. finished slyly. Jason grimaced slightly. "Since you're the genius writer, maybe you'd like to tell this story," he remarked dryly. "Oh, no, that's quite all right," he said with a grin. "You go right ahead. Please continue." He rolled his eyes for a moment, but decided not to make any further remarks. "Yeah," he continued, "mostly because we wanted to be alone. Anyway, we started talking again, but this time, we were talking about more personal things. Well, at some point during the discussion, I couldn't resist anymore and I kissed her again." "Again?" G.Q. exclaimed. "As in, you've kissed her before?" "Didn't I tell you that?" Jason asked. His expression turned thoughtful for a moment. "Oh. I guess I didn't. That was before dinner, when Amy and I realized how we felt about each other." "I see," he said, nodding his head. "Go on." "Well, as soon as I kissed her, that pretty much ended all conversation for the night," he told her. "It may have been all the pent-up emotions both Amy and I had surpressed - each of us longing for the other, but unable to say anything - but that one kiss ignited something in both of us and... well, one thing led to another and... well...." G.Q. nodded knowingly. "You slept with her." Jason started to turn a light shade of red as he nodded agreement. "Yeah," he agreed quietly, "we slept together. Now you know why we said we over- slept. Actually, we really did oversleep. We were so tired, we didn't hear the alarm go off. It was blaring for a good hour before Amy heard it and woke me up." A slow grin formed as he reminisced. "It was a great way to start the morning, though...." G.Q. laughed as he jovially slapped his friend on the shoulder. "I could imagine so, Jason. Well, I'm certainly happy for you. Now," he said as he started to lead his friend over to where Lita and Amy were talking, "the four of us have got to go out tonight to celebrate the beginning of the new couple's relationship. It'll be on me and Lita." Jason chuckled. "I'm sure Lita'd love to hear that." He noticed that his sister was looking at him with an approving gleam in her eyes. More that likely she had heard what happened from Amy. Well, now he'd never hear the end of it. He'd probably start hearing joking remarks about how she would be looking forward to becoming an aunt, and the like. Well, as long as he had Amy's love, he wouldn't mind. Much.... ********************************************** "Three days," Diane grumbled as she sat in her hotel room, totally irritated at the fact that she could find no trace of the man that she was looking for. She had visited the closest L.A.P.D. precinct to see if she could have one of their sketch artists make an accurate picture of the man that she remembered from the picture. The picture, though black and white and done in pencil, came out very well. The likeness was very close, but so far, no one had seen her kidnapper. "Three days," she muttered to herself again. "I can't believe that I've wasted this much time looking for him." She sighed as she plopped backwards onto the bed she was sitting on. "The problem is that there's too much of the city to comb, and I'm not even sure of the exact location of the crystal's whereabouts." She combed a hand tiredly through her hair as she sighed again. "Maybe I should go see somebody at that police station again. Maybe I can get some help there." Some time later, she arrived at the same police station she had visited before. "Excuse me," she said to the officer in the front office, "can I speak with Officer Taylor please? I believe she may remember me from Tuesday." "May I ask your name please, Miss...?" "Silver. Diane Silver." "Right," the officer replied. "Hold on while I see if she's at her desk." He got up and went over to the doorway and opened it, and peered inside. "Hey, is Christy in?" "Yeah," a female voice said just beyond the door. "She's talking with Chief Garret right now, though... Oh, wait. She just left his office." "Thanks," he told the woman, then turned to Diane. "You remember where her desk is?" "Yes, I remember," she replied. "Go ahead, then," the officer told her as he gestured toward the door. "Thanks," Diane thanked the man and went in. "Oh, Miss Silver!" Christy greeted as she sat down at her desk. "Any luck finding that man?" "No luck at all," she sighed. "None of the major hotels have seen him, nor have had him as a guest. Same thing with most of the motels. I'm wasting a lot of time searching and time's a luxury I don't have." "That reminds me," Christy said. "I've checked up on your guy, but we don't have any criminal record on him. Sorry." Diane sighed again. "Do you think any of your officers can keep a look out for him?" she asked. She frowned slightly. "I'm not the one to ask, Miss Silver. You could ask Chief Garret, but he's kinda busy with some important matters. I doubt he'd have time to help you." "I see," Diane said disappointedly. "Well, thanks anyways." She was about to get up when Christy's expression suddenly turned to one of realization. "Wait a minute, Miss Silver," she said. "I think I've got an idea." "What is it?" "You need some help looking for this man, right?" she asked. "I know someone who'd be a big help to you." "Who?" Diane asked, interested. "He used to be a member of our precinct until a few years ago," she told her. "He's now a private investigator, who occasionally works for us on a few occasions when we're a little short on manpower. He was an excellent cop before he quit the force. I highly recommend using his services." "A private investigator?" she repeated doubtfully. "Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt. I could always use another pair of eyes. What's his name?" Christy smiled. "His name's Jack Terrance. I'll give you his address and directions from here." 'Heh,' she thought as she started writing on a piece of paper. 'Jack owes me one, now.' ********************************************** "May I help you?" Tira asked as she turned from the computer to see Diane enter the office. "Yes," she replied as she closed the door behind her. "I'm hear to see Mr. Terrance. I was told by Officer Taylor from the L.A.P.D. that I'd find him here. Is he in?" "He should be here in a few moments," she told her. "He just stepped out for a moment to take care of some business...." "Hey, Ti, get the door will ya?" a male voice said from outside the door. "My hands are full!" "Oh! Coming, Jack!" she said as she rushed to the door and opened it. Jack walked in carrying a couple bags of fast food and a tray of drinks. Diane raised an eyebrow slightly at the brown-skinned secretary. "So, is your employer through with his... business?" she asked amusedly as she glanced at what Jack was carrying. Tira merely shrugged in chagrin. "I'm sorry," Jack said as he put the tray down and turned to Diane. "I guess you caught me on my lunch break. Well, I suppose I can hold off on lunch for a moment." "Jack, which drink's mine?" Tira asked. "The one with the straw already in it," he replied over his shoulder. He turned toward Diane and paused for a moment, admiring the beauty standing in front of him. "Hey, Jack...," Tira began again. "The one with no onions," he answered without taking his eyes off of Diane. "Now, what can I do for you, Miss...?" "Silver," she replied. "Diane Silver." "Christy told her about you," Tira added with a smirk as she took a sip from her soda. "Now you owe her one." Jack grimaced. "So I do," he said sheepishly. "What do you mean?" Diane asked. "It's an inside joke between Christy and myself," Jack explained. "I owe her a favor for her referring someone to me." "Oh," Diane replied. "Well, Mr. Terrance...." "Jack," he amended. "Jack," she corrected with a small grin. "I need some help in locating someone." "Do you have a photograph?" Jack asked. Diane handed the sketch of Jed over to him "I have a sketch of him...." "Daniel," he said as he glanced at the picture. "You know him?" she asked, her eyes wide open in surprise. "Hmm?" he said as he looked up. "Oh. I was referring to the person who drew this. Daniel Sandoval. He's one of the sketch artists who works for the L.A.P.D. He's a friend of mine. I recognize his work." "Oh." Jack glanced back at the picture as he took a sip of his drink and placed it back on the desk. "I don't recognize this person, nor have I seen him anywhere." "I see," she said as Jack handed her back her picture. "Well, any help in locating this man is very important to me." He merely nodded as he slowly glanced Diane up and down, taking in every detail of what she looked like. She wore a lovely white sleeveless blouse and black jeans and shoes. Her long blonde hair, however, drew his attention as much as her crystal blue eyes. She wore her hair in the most original hair- style he had ever seen: a pair of long ponytails on either side of her head, as well as a pair of hairbuns. She was gorgeous. Tira glanced at Jack all but staring at Diane and grinned childishly. She knew Jack, and she knew he was practically smitten. Good thing that his emotions never affected his thinking, otherwise she would've been worried. "When do you want us to help you start searching for this man?" Tira asked. "As soon as possible," Diane replied. "Preferably today." "Oh, I'm sorry," Tira began, "but we're busy...." "That's okay, Ti," Jack interrupted. "It'll be no problem. We'll take your case, Miss Silver." "Diane," she corrected gratefully as she reached out to shake his hand. "Oh, and Officer Taylor had already informed me about how much your usual fees run, so you don't have to tell me." Jack grimaced again. 'Now I really owe her....' "Well, when would you like to meet for updates on how the search progresses? We could do this on a weekly basis, or every three days, or...." "I would prefer to meet daily," she replied. "After all, I want to find this guy as soon as possible." He nodded. "May I ask why you need to find this man so badly?" he asked curiously. Diane thought for a moment. "I'm sorry, Jack, but I'm afraid that I can't tell you that. Let's just say that it's for... personal reasons." "I'll leave it at that, then," he agreed. "I would've recommended daily meetings, anyways. That way, it helps keep the client informed and updated on my current findings. Any specific time or place in mind?" "Not really," Diane replied. "I'm from out of town and I'm staying at...." "How about you just give me your hotel room number and I'll call you with a location, time, and directions?" Jack suggested. "All right," she replied as she started to write on a piece of paper that Jack handed her. "There. Thank you, Jack. Since all that is taken care of, I've got to get back to my searching. I'll be looking forward to good news tomorrow." "Okay, then," Jack said as he saw Diane to the door. "Thank you," he added as the door closed behind her. "Okay, lover boy," Tira commented as she tossed Jack hamburger playfully to him. "Eat your food before it gets cold." She crumpled up her trash and tossed it in the empty bag the food came in. "And what was that about taking her case right away? What about Erwight and Juléi? You giving up on them?" "I can do two things at once, you know," Jack replied nonchalantly as he took a bite from his hamburger. "Besides, Ti, there was something about her...." "I thought you were too busy drooling to notice anything," she remarked with a flippant grin. She quickly ducked as a burger wrapper flew mere inches over her head. "That's not what I meant, Ti," he replied with a smirk. "I mean that I felt that she was hiding something...." "Hiding something?" Tira repeated questioningly. "There's a very important reason why Diane's looking for that guy," he explained. "There was also something else about her...." He shook his head. "I don't know. There is definitely more to Miss Diane Silver than meets the eye. I'm sure of it." "Besides the fact that she's very cute?" Tira asked jokingly and ducked as an empty drink cup flew a few inches over her head. ********************************************** It was past midnight on Saturday and the Stanton Aeronautical Engineering, Inc. building was practically empty. Here and there, spots of light showed throughout the tall building as some of the offices still had their lights on. Most of the offices, however, were only illuminated by the soft glow of computer moniters left on, with only their screen savers running. "So, Regina," Nate said as the two sat together in his car, "are you certain we can get in without any problems?" "For the last time, Nate," she said in a tired tone of voice, "yes. The security guards know that I sometimes have to work late for Mr. S, so they won't be suspicious." "All right, then," he said. "Well, as soon as you come back, we'll get going." "Are you sure it'll be all right to use your friends' house?" she asked. "What if he's using it?" "Not at this time of the year," he replied. "He always goes to his summer house in Orlando and leaves me the keys. He won't be using it. We can plan on where we should go after that. After all," he added, patting an attaché case in the back seat, "we'll be able to afford the trip." "Okay," she said with a smile as she gave Nate a short kiss, "I'll be right back with the gem." She got out of the car and started crossing the parking lot. They were parked amidst a small cluster of cars, most belonging to the security personnel, so as to be inconspicuous. "Working late again, Miss Juléi?" the guard on duty near the front desk asked as she entered. "Yeah," she agreed as she walked past, "but only for a little bit. Just need to take care of a small important matter for Mr. S. He's determined to squeeze as much work out of me as possible before my two weeks are up." "Right. Go on ahead," the guard said as he turned back to his monitor display. "I'm sorry to hear that you're leaving the company, though." Regina glanced thoughtfully over at the monitor display for a second. She'd have to be careful. Even though her boss rarely checked his safe, she didn't want to take any chances. That's why she had Nate purchase a fake crystal for her to switch with the real gem. There was no way that one could be mistaken for the other, but it was the best that she could do. As she entered her office, she turned on the light. She quickly went through a few of the tasks that she didn't finish yesterday, so as to have an excuse for being there, then went over to the door to her boss' office. The only times she went to his office were when she had to escort someone inside, like Mr. J, or when she had to go through his safe to retrieve whatever important classified documents, or any other valuable item. Mr. S was the one who put stuff in, not her. It was up to her to catalogue and check everything regularly. He did random checks of his safe inventory, to make sure everything was there, but other than that, he never really bothered with his safe. She quickly went through the combination to the safe and opened it. The only security camera in the room was placed in the far corner of the room. Luckily, the door of the safe hid her from the camera, so she was unobserved as she deftly slipped the fake crystal into the safe and switched it for the real one. She rustled the items inside, to make it seem like she was checking the inventory, then closed the safe and left the room and closed the door behind her. She then turned off the light to her office and left, saying a quick goodbye to the security guard on duty as she passed by the front desk on her way out of the building. She made sure to continue to walk calmly to where Nate was waiting for her, despite how nervous she was feeling right then. "Got it," she said as she got into the car and closed the door behind her. She produced the gem from her pocket and held it out. "Look, Nate. The Yellow Nijizuishou Crystal. Only six others like it in the world. Isn't it lovely?" "Absolutely," he agreed as he gazed down at the crystal in Regina's hand. After a short time gazing at the crystal, he turned forward again and started the car. "We'd better get going." With that, he pulled out and drove off, grinning as he began to see their plan coming into fruition. ********************************************** To Chapter 15 ********************************************** Author's Note: And away we go! The pace is slowly starting to pick up now so hold on tight! Next chapter: Tanya's match-making scheme; Jack follows his suspects; Ryoku and Hotaru find themselves in too deep; and the Yellow Nijizuishou crystal is discovered 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.