Seeing Stars
By Jason Ulloa
Original story by Moonsong
Continued with her permission.


Chapter 19

"Sir?"

"What is it?"

"Phone for you, sir. From a Mr. Jed."

"Thanks," Max said as he stood up and strode toward his butler as he reached 
out for the phone. "I'll put it away myself. You can go ahead and knock off 
for the rest of the night if you want."

"Thank you, sir," he replied gratefully as he turned and left, leaving Max 
alone in his study with the cordless phone.

Max walked back to his chair and sat back, resting his feet back on the 
footrest as he sat back down. "Talk to me."

"It's been recovered, like you wanted, Max," Jed answered on the other end. 
"However, some slight complications have shown up."

"Complications, Jed?" he asked, sitting up a little more straight in his 
chair. "What do you mean, complications? I don't think I like the sound of 
that."

"You shouldn't, and with good reason. I think someone witnessed my retrieval 
of the Yellow Nijizuishou. I got a license number, so I'm gonna try to take 
care of this one loose end before this gets even more out of hand."

"Wait, Jed," Max interrupted. "Even more out of hand? I remember you saying 
something about unforseen circumstances keeping you in Washington.... What 
exactly happened over there?"

"Well, as I was acquiring the Orange Nijizuishou from Tomoe, his daughter and 
her boyfriend came home earlier than expected. As I was about to make my way 
out with the crystal, they discovered me. To make a long story short, I fought 
the boy and won, and as I was about to kill him and the girl, I realized that 
I had spent too much time fighting the boy and the only way that I could get 
out without leaving any evidence other than some poor surveillance camera 
shots was to take them with me."

"You... kidnapped the Tomoe girl and her boyfriend?!?"

"No choice," he replied. "Killing them would leave too much evidence. Think 
of them as collateral."

There was a long period of silence on Max's end of the line. "Where are they 
now?"

"Still in D.C.," Jed replied. "I sealed them in an old apartment with bullet-
proof glass windows and metal doors that are welded shut. I left enough food 
to last them for a week and a half. I plan on going back for them as soon as I 
finish with some business here."

"Don't bother," Max told him. "That collateral idea is a good one. I think 
I'll call a couple more of my people in on this. Just give me the address in 
Washington and they'll take it from there."

"All right, then. But, make sure you warn your guys about the boyfriend. He's 
a pretty good fighter; he almost had me a couple times when we fought at the 
Tomoe mansion."

"I'll warn them, but don't worry; they'll take care of everything. You just 
concern yourself with the rest of the crystals."

"I'll do that, Max," Jed agreed. "I'll head for Vancouver when I finish my 
business here."

"Just don't get too careless," Max warned. "You were probably too confident 
back there. That's why you got caught."

"Yeah, yeah...," Jed said dismissively. "Chalk it up to a learning experience. 
Anyway, here's the address you'll need in Washington...."

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

"I'm back, Ti," Jack called out as he walked into his office. He had already 
hung up his cell phone when he was in sight of the building. "See? I told you 
that nothing was gonna happen to me on the way back."

"Okay, so you were right," she admitted. "Still, better safe than sorry, 
right?"

"Maybe," he replied. "Anyway, I'm going to have to have a talk with Diane 
tomorrow. Ti, would you do me a favor and see if you can get ahold of either 
Chief Garret or Christy for me?"

"All right, Jack," she agreed. "You might wanna get something to drink, 
though. You seem a little tense."

"I was just going to do that," he said as he went into the back office. He had 
a small refrigerator there, but he never kept much in it as he preferred to 
either eat at home or have take out. There wasn't much in line of culinary 
tools available in the office, so he had an excuse. Still, Tira often 
threatened that she would bring in some things and start making him dinner 
there if all he was gonna do was order take out. As he reached into the 
refrigerator, grabbed a carton of orange juice and a bottle of vodka, he 
grinned at the thought. After all, he wouldn't put it past her to actually 
carry out her threat.

"Jack!" she called out from the front office. "I got Christy on the line."

"I'll take it in here!" he replied as he grabbed the phone sitting by the 
refrigerator and held the receiver to his ear by his shoulder as he began to 
mix his drink. "Christy?"

"Jack, I heard some of what happened from Tira, but I need you to tell me 
exactly what you saw," Christy told him as soon as he answered the phone.

"I'll tell you what I saw, but unfortunately there's not much," he began. "At 
first, I was there to do my usual surveillance routine - you know, just 
watching the place to see if they go anywhere - but, then I noticed this guy 
marching straight for Juléi's apartment. I was curious as to who this was so 
I took a closer look. Remember Diane Silver?"

"Huh?" she said in bewilderment. "Yeah, I remember her. What does she have to 
do with this?"

"Remember that guy you had Sandoval draw a picture of for her?"

"Yeah...."

"The man I saw going to Juléi's apartment was the same guy," he explained.

"You're joking...," she said in surprise.

"Not in the least," he replied as he took a drink. "Anyway, I watched this guy 
go up to the actual apartment, but I didn't see him go in, since I would be 
risking discovery if I did. The only other things I saw before I had Tira call 
you guys was a light turning on in Juléi's apartment for a few moments. Did 
you have someone check out the apartment?"

"Yeah," she told him. "Just as you suspected, there was murder done."

"Tell me," Jack requested.

"The victims were positively identified as Regina Juléi and Nathaniel 
Erwight," Christy began. "They were both found lying in the kitchen, naked 
except for a blanket wrapped around both of them and a kitchen knife lying a 
few feet away. They were both shot once in the chest, through the heart. It 
was a clean shot, meaning that the suspect not only wanted them to die 
quickly, but it also meant that he has great aim as well, since both hits were 
in the exact same position: the direct center of the heart.

"Also," she continued, "we believe that this was a hit job. After all, there 
wasn't anything taken from the apartment. All in all, here's what we think may 
have happened.

"First, the suspect broke into the apartment and surprised the victims. 
Afterward, the victims tried to bargain with the suspect. They made their way 
into the kitchen where either Juléi or Erwight took up the knife we found 
lying on the ground; we believe it was Erwight. When the suspect was assaulted 
by either or both of the victims, the suspect evaded the attack and shot 
both victims straight through the heart, killing both quickly. After he left, 
he shut off all the lights in hope that people would think that the victims 
went back to bed, then left."

"That sounds about right...," Jack said after Christy finished. "But, the hard 
part will be finding the guy. After all, I've been looking for this guy for 
a while and so has Diane."

"Jack, I need you to talk to Diane," Christy said firmly. "The man she is 
after is dangerous and a possible murderer. I wouldn't want her to get 
involved in something like this."

"My thoughts exactly, Christy," he said soberly as he frowned. "I'm going to 
see her tomorrow to tell her about what I've found. I'll be sure to try to get 
her to leave this guy to you and your people."

"Thanks, Jack," she said gratefully. "I appreciate it. I kinda liked her, you 
know?"

"Yeah," he replied quietly as he took another drink. "I know exactly what you 
mean.... Bye, Christy."

"Bye, Jack," she replied as he hung up the phone and finished his drink.

"Somehow...," he murmured tiredly to himself as he looked down at the phone 
he had just put down, "...I just know that she'll still go after the guy, even 
after I tell her everything. In fact, I'm willing to bet that she'll even 
chase that guy even harder."

He sighed as he reached for the vodka bottle and poured himself another drink, 
this time without the orange juice. "How did I ever get myself caught up in a 
mess like this...?"

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

The next day, Diane returned to the hotel she was staying at, only to find 
Jack waiting for her in the lobby. "Hey there, Jack!" she called out as she 
headed over to where he was standing. "Any good news? Have you found him, yet?"

"Yes... and no," he said slowly as he turned to face her.

Diane blinked in confusion as she looked warily at him. "What do you mean, yes 
and no?"

He folded his arms and frowned. "There's something more to this guy than 
you're telling me, Diane, and I need to know what," he told her.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about...," she lied cautiously.

Jack frowned deeper, but didn't press her on the matter. "I saw your... friend 
last night," he told her.

"Where?" she asked insistantly.

"At the scene of a double homicide," he told her flatly.

"What?!?" she gasped in worried shock. "A double.... Who'd he kill?" she asked 
urgently. "Please, tell me who!"

He looked at her in perplexion for a moment before he spoke. "It was the two 
people I had been trailing for a while, Nathaniel Erwight and Regina Juléi. 
Remember when I said that I was working on another case when you first hired 
me?"

Diane sighed in relief. "Good, it wasn't them...," she whispered to herself.

"Wasn't who?" Jack asked.

She whirled to face him, surprised that he had heard her. "No one...," she 
began, when he cut her off by storming toward her.

"Listen, Diane Silver," he began harshly, "I want to know what's between you 
and that man. When we agreed to the terms of this case, there was never any 
mention that I might be trying to find a killer."

"So?" she said challengingly. "There are risks to take in a job like yours. If 
you're scared, then quit. I can always hire someone else to help me. In fact, 
since you have already found him, just tell me where I can find him, and I'll 
take care of things myself."

Jack looked suspiciously at her for a moment. "I knew there was something 
about you that didn't seem right to me. Who are you, anyway? Seeing as how 
you've put my life at risk without my knowing, I believe I'm entitled to at 
least that much. You can trust me," he added after it looked as though she 
wasn't going to say anything. "I'm a professional; I won't disclose anything 
that is personal, or private, as long as it's not illegal."

Diane looked at him for a moment and sighed. "You're right, Jack," she said 
after a while. "After unknowningly putting you in as much danger as I did, I 
do owe you a little explanation. But, what I tell you cannot go outside you, 
or your secretary. Understand?"

"As you wish," he replied with a solemn nod.

"Okay," she said with a nod. "Well, here it goes. I work for the F.B.I. on 
special cases. You know, kidnapping and the like. High risk stuff.

"Anyway, about a week and a half ago, the daughter of a good friend of mine, 
and her boyfriend, were both kidnapped by the man I'm searching for," she 
explained. "Hotaru Tomoe, age 18, and Ryoku Kino, age 19."

"I understand now," Jack said suddenly as he pointed a finger at Diane for 
emphasis.

"Oh?" she asked with some amusement. "You think you know the whole story just 
from what I've told you?"

"First," he said as he turned away from her and pointed a single finger into 
the air, "your superiors prevented you from taking on this case, since you are 
close to the victims and your judgement may've beeen compromised by your 
emotions...."

"My emotions are always under control!" she retorted heatedly. As he smirked 
at her over her shoulder, she grimaced in chagrin at her outburst. "Well, 
they are."

"Second," he continued as he raised a second finger into the air, "since you 
want me to keep silence about all of this, you must be working unilaterally 
on this case. No help or backup at all, am I right? You're on your own?"

"I told Souichi that I would find his daughter, personally," she said quietly. 
"I will make good on that promise, even if it means breaking the rules to do 
it. Even if it means that I have to do it all on my own."

Jack nodded understandingly. "Then, there's the fact that you hired me. You 
obviously could've done this by yourself if you wanted to, but since you are 
budgeted on time, and living in a hotel room is very expensive, you needed a 
second pair of eyes to help search, right? So you got Christy and myself to 
help you. Now I know why you wanted him so bad."

"Okay, smart guy," she said as she rolled her eyes, "so you can fill in the 
blanks, after all."

"It helps pay the bills," he retored with a smirk. "So, that's it, then?" he 
asked. "It's done? You're gonna take it from here, I suppose."

"Yeah, I guess so," she said with a shrug. "Now that I know he's here, I will 
find him. I don't suppose that you have a good idea where to find the guy, do 
you?" She sighed as he shook his head. "I didn't think so. Thanks anyway. So, 
how much do I owe you? I suppose you want me to discuss it with your 
secretary."

Jack considered her for a moment. "No charge," he replied finally. "I know 
you're gonna need to save your money for that hotel bill."

"No kidding," she said with a bitter laugh. "I just wish that I knew someone 
out here. Thanks for the generous offer, though, but I wouldn't feel right 
about it, especially after what I put you through...."

"Wait," he cut in with a small grin. "I think I know of a way that I can help 
you out. My office has a small living space in the back; you can stay there. 
I'll even let you pay rent, if it'll make you feel better."

Diane looked at him in surprise. "You've got to be kidding me," she said as 
she raised an eyebrow.

"It may not be a first-class hotel, but at least it won't be as expensive as 
one," he told her. "You said you wished you knew someone out here. Well?"

"And where will you sleep?" she asked, folding her arms pointedly.

"I have my own place," he answered with a grin. "What? You thought I lived in 
my office?"

"Well, yeah," she admitted. "I mean, I saw the bed back there...."

"That's just if I'm too tired to go home," he told her with a laugh. "You 
mean, you thought I was inviting you to stay with me?"

"It's not that funny," she said dryly.

"Oh, so you can tease me, but I can't tease you?" he countered wryly.

"You still remember that?" she asked with a small chagrined smile. "Well, I 
suppose that it wouldn't hurt. Your secretary won't mind, will she?"

"I know Ti," he told her. "Once you explain everything to her, she'll 
understand. Besides, it's my office," he added with a smirk.

Diane laughed at that as they started for the door. "Well, all right, Jack. 
So, how much rent are we talking about here...?"

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

"No way!" Tira exclaimed as soon as Diane explained everything to her. "That 
man kidnapped your friend's daughter and her boyfriend?!?"

"That's right, Tira," she replied with a nod. "I'm going to get them back, no 
matter what they all say. They can't stop me and they won't stop me," she said 
fiercely. "I won't let them."

"I see...," she said with a slow nod. "Well, Diane, Jack and I would be happy 
to help you in any way we can...."

"Jack has already offered to help me," she told her. "In fact, he's allowing 
me to stay in the back office until I find that guy... for a small rental 
charge, of course."

Tira blinked, then looked knowingly at Jack. "Oh, he did, did he?" she asked 
in an insinuating tone of voice as he raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Lay off, Ti," he growled softly at her, causing her to chuckle quietly.

"Something wrong?" Diane asked after witnessing the exchange between the two.

"Nothing," Jack replied as Tira nudged him playfully in the arm.

"Right...," Diane said as she smirked. "Well, I'm gonna go get the stuff out 
of the car...."

"Hey, don't worry about it," Jack said as he stood up. "You go make yourself 
comfortable in the back. I'll go get your stuff."

"You don't have to...," Diane began, but stopped at he shook his head.

"Just go in the back," he told her. "I've got this." With that, he turned for 
the door, leaving her staring at his back as he left and Tira grinning widely 
at the both of them.

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

Jed opened the door leading to the roof of the building and stepped outside. 
A light wind blew his short, blonde hair as he made his way to the edge of the 
roof and looked over the side. There was the car he saw last night; license 
plate number: 7YQJ069. A little search of the DMV database - performed by one 
of Max's employees - gave him the name and description of the owner of the 
car, Jack Terrance. All he had to do was wait for the tall, black-haired, 
brown-eyed man to make his way to the car.

After several minutes of waiting, he spotted a man who fit the description of 
Jack Terrance. He had opened the trunk of his car and was taking out some 
small suitcases. He had left one more in the trunk, so he knew that he would 
be coming back out soon for the others. He lifted up his sniper rifle and 
settled it onto the edge of the building, pointing the barrel of the rifle so 
that he'd get a clean shot at his head when he came back.

All he had to do now was wait....

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

"Hey, Jack," Tira said as she saw him walk in, "lemme get one of those." She 
walked over and took one of the suitcases from him.

"Thanks, Ti," he said gratefully.

"So, you like her, don't you?" she said with a playful smirk.

Jack glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. "So, what if I do?" he asked 
nonchalantly.

"Hah! I knew it!" she said, pointing at him with her free hand. "No wonder you 
offered to let her stay here. Hoping to get on her good side, were you?"

"If you're gonna talk so much," he said as he handed her the other suitcase, 
"then you can take both of these to Diane. I'll go get the last one."

"Hey!!!" she exclaimed indignantly as he turned to leave. "What do you think 
you're doing?!? Get back here and carry your share of the load! Ooh!" she 
growled and shook one of the suitcases at him when the door closed behind him. 
"Jack, you jackass!"

"Your boss passed the load onto you, huh?" Diane said with a chuckle as she 
took one of the suitcases from Tira.

"Ah, don't worry about it," Tira replied offhandedly. "Jack and I play around 
like that all the time. It's been like that ever since I've known him, when he 
and my dad were partners working together for the L.A.P.D."

"Really?" Diane asked with interest. "So, your dad's a cop, too? Or, did he 
leave the force like Jack did?"

Tira's face grew dark for a moment as she stopped in place. "Actually, 
he's...," she began, but cut off as soon as she heard a gunshot go off. "What 
was that?!?" she exclaimed.

Diane had already pulled out a gun from the suitcase she had been carrying and 
had already taken off for the door. As soon as she burst outside, she leaped 
toward the nearest parked car as a pair of gunshots fired toward where she was 
standing.

"You all right?" Jack asked as she came to a stop next to him. She took a 
quick look at him to see if he was all right. Other than the small graze on 
his left shoulder, he was fine. In fact, he had also taken out a small gun 
and was watching the roof across the street for the one who had started 
shooting at him.

"Fine," she said quickly. "I see you've managed to keep from getting your head 
blown off. Must be because of your L.A.P.D. experience, huh?" she asked 
jokingly.

"Actually... I just sneezed," he admitted flatly.

"You're kidding me...," she said as she raised one eyebrow in disbelief.

"Well, that and I saw his reflection in that window over there," he told her 
as he jerked his thumb toward a window not too far away.

"I think the sneeze was more believable," she replied dryly as she moved up to 
fire a shot at the sniper on the roof.

"There's just no satisfying you, is there?" he retorted as he moved to take a 
shot as well.

"Not if all you're gonna give me is lame excuses like sneezing and 
reflections," she replied facetiously.

"Well, what do you expect?" he asked with a shrug. "I'm just a former L.A. cop 
turned private detective. You're the big-shot federal agent. Gimme some credit 
here."

"You avoided getting a fatal wound, I'll give you that," she said with a grin.

"How generous...," he replied flatly.

"What? Just 'cause you're offering me a place to stay, doesn't mean that I 
have to lower my professional standards," she told him.

"Oh, come on...," Jack sighed tiredly. "This from someone who's going against 
her superiors to pursue a vendetta...."

Diane blinked and grimaced slightly. "Touché," she said with some chagrin as 
they heard the sounds of a police siren approaching. "You know, Jack," she 
began as they both stood up while watching carefully for any sign that the 
sniper was still there, "that was kinda fun." She grinned at him as she 
slapped him jovally on the back. "You might wanna work on your comebacks, 
though," she advised him. "Teasing you would be more fun if you had some 
better comebacks. I liked that vendetta one, though. Shows you have potential.

"Anyway, I assume you've got a first aid kit somewhere inside," she said as 
she turned to go inside. "I'll go get it and bring it to you while you take 
care of the police. Just remember: I'm not a federal agent, okay?" she 
reminded him with a wink over her shoulder as she went inside.

Jack stared after Diane and sighed to himself. "What kind of F.B.I. agent is 
that woman, anyway?" he muttered to himself. "And she's supposed to be a top 
agent, too...."

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

"Cut!" Amy shouted. "All right, people. Break for lunch!"

"All right!" Tanya exclaimed happily. "I was wondering when you were finally 
gonna call lunch break."

"Ah, quit whining, Tanya," Serena said jokingly as she joined her friend. 
"You know how Anderson is; she's never happy unless she gets the scene she 
wants exactly right."

"Not unlike someone else I know," Amy said with a pointed grin.

"Oh?" Serena asked, pretending ignorance. "Who would that be?"

Amy sighed as she shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder why I bother...."

"Aw, come on now," Serena said as she patted the blue-haired director on the 
shoulder consolingly. "I was only joking with you. Lighten up a little." She 
shrugged slightly as she walked away, leaving Amy and Tanya staring after her 
in surprise. "I would think you would be a little more relaxed by now, seeing 
how you've got a boyfriend now...."

"What's with her, Tanya?" Amy asked as she glanced over at her.

The brown-skinned actress merely shrugged. "I guess she's just in a very good 
mood right now," she supposed.

"Well, that's... nice...," she said as she blinked in bewilderment. 'If that 
was her in a good mood, then I wonder if we were better of with her being 
temperimental...?'

Tanya grinned knowingly after her friend. Knowing her, she must've spent a 
long time thinking about Darien last night. Seeing her performance earlier 
and seeing how she was acting now only confirmed her suspicions. Things were 
going exactly as she was hoping.

All that was left was to sit back and leave the rest up to Darien.

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

                              To Chapter 20

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

Author's Note: Now we're really starting to take off in the movie portion of 
this story! Don't worry, though; I haven't forgotton about the other half of 
this story, either. Just sit tight, though, as the movie half kicks into full 
gear and we really start moving! Next chapter: The 'date'; Hotaru and Ryoku 
are released from their prison... only to be taken to somewhere worse; and the 
second attempt on Jack's life goes horribly wrong.

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.