Seeing Stars By Jason Ulloa Original story by Moonsong Continued with her permission. Chapter 4 'Well, I guess whoever said "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" wasn't kidding,' Darien thought as he looked through various articles of clothing for something to wear. 'Maybe that person had Serena specifically in mind.' He grabbed a white shirt and slipped in on. There were no buttons on the shirt, nor button holes, but at least it was something. Maybe if he had a white T-shirt to wear under it.... After a few minutes of searching, he found what he was looking for. It fit a little snuggly, but not too tightly. He slipped the vest-like shirt over it and walked over to a nearby mirror to see how he looked. The close-fitting T-shirt nicely showed off his slighty muscular form, only slighty covered by the vest-shirt. 'Not bad,' he thought vainly to himself. 'I wonder if I can borrow these later.' He turned around and glanced back at the script he tossed onto the table. 'Since I won't be needed right now, I guess I can continue reading up on the script....' He walked over to the table and took a seat, then flipped open the script.... ********************************************** Total Eclipse Los Angeles - 1998 "Sir, the report just came in from R & D," a young man told the man seated at the end of the long table. The long conference table sat in the middle of the office, surrounded by the occasional house plant and inexpensive artwork on the wall. The long blinds were partway open, allowing just enough light to see, but not enough to see who was sitting at the end of the table. Not that any of this mattered to the young man. He was just a newly hired assistant; he only knew what his superiors told him and followed their orders. Besides, the only thing he cared about was getting his bimonthly check on time. "Very well," the man replied. "Leave it on the table and go." "Yes, sir," the young man replied, placed the report on the edge of the table, and left. As soon as the young man left, the man stood and walked toward the end of table and picked up the report. He leafed through the report and paused on a page in the middle. A small, dark grin slides across his face as he reads the info. "Excellent," he murmured quietly. "Everything is on schedule. Now, for the next step." He walked over to the other end of the table again and pressed a button on the small box sitting on the table. After a short pause, a female voice answered. "Yes, Mr. S?" Mr. S sighed as he sat down. He hated that nickname. He wished that he could just fire her for that reason, but she'd probably turn around and sue him for unlawful termination. He kept reminding her that he prefered to be called by his full last name, but she was just so... ditzy, that she kept forgetting... or, at least that was her excuse. Nowadays, he had just given up on reminding her. "I need you to send a memo to the production department. I am giving them the authorization to begin satellite production." "Anything else, Mr. S?" "No, that will be it." "All right, I'll get right on it." "Yes, you do just that," Mr. S said and turned off the intercom. He turned his chair toward the window as he leaned back in his chair. The dark smile returned as he stared out the window, his thoughts on his plans for the future.... ********************************************** A knock at the door interrupted Darien's reading. "Mr. Shields," a voice called, "Miss Anderson wishes to see you when you're finished." "I'll be right there," Darien replied as he walked toward the door. "Darien, are you all right?" Amy asked as he joined Amy and Serena. "I'm okay," he told her. "Minor third-degree burns, injured pride, a bit humiliated, but okay." "Well, as long as it's nothing serious," Serena said flatly. "Anyway, Shields, what I wanna know is how far did you get in the script?" "Before you spilled my coffee on me?" "I did NO such thing!" she snapped angrily. "You spilled it on yourself. I never even touched your coffee." "Never mind," he sighed frustratedly. "I've gotten all the way through to the end of the first scene between Jack and his client." "That far?" she asked with mild surprise. "So, you're a quick study after all. Anyway, we're going to be working on my beginning scenes again." Several groans were heard from behind them as she said this. "Oh, shut up! I've discussed this with Miss Anderson and she agrees that those scenes could've been done a little better. Quit your bellyaching! If anyone has a right to complain, it's me! It's not my fault that everyone else needs 86 takes just to get one scene right." Amy just sighed and told everyone involved to take their places. "Okay, everyone, scene two! Ready? Action!" Darien took a seat and settled himself in to watch.... ********************************************** Present Day A young blonde woman walked into one of the numerous banks in Los Angels only to find it packed. She looked from one line to the next seeing only lines stretched several feet long. "Great," she muttered irritably, "they just HAVE to come right when I need to make a deposit." She angrily flipped back some of her long hair and strode toward the line furthest to the right. Some time later, when the woman had FINALLY made it to the teller and began conducting her business, three masked guys burst into the bank with guns drawn, demanding the usual all-your-money thing. 'How cliché,' the woman thought as she ducked out of sight and reached into her purse, taking out an object and slipping into the back pocket of her jeans, then slipped back into view with the rest of the scared bank patrons. The first two guys were busy up front, one using an electronic lockpicking device on the electronic lock to get back into the area where the tellers worked. The third guy was watching the hostages. As soon as the second guy broke through the lock, the two guys burst through the door. The first guy rushed up to the tellers demanding that they join the other hostages, while the second guy went back to where the vault was. As soon as the tellers joined the other hostages, the first guy went to join the second. After a few minutes passed, the woman could hear the sounds of police sirens outside. She glanced at the teller sitting next to her and nudged her slighty. When the teller looked at her, she nodded her hean toward the outside, silently asking if he had notified the police with that gesture. He silently nodded as he kept his eyes on the guy watching them. The woman could tell that the guy watching them was growing nervous. He was looking toward the vault every few seconds and starting to pace, muttering about how the others were taking too long. The police were now demanding the surrender of the three masked robbers. The blonde woman waited for the guy watching them to turn his gaze toward the outside, then slowly scooted closer while watching for any sign that he noticed her approaching. He was apparently to preoccupied to notice. She silently got to her feet and stealthfully inched closer as she reached behind her back. In one fluid motion, she rushed at the man and wrapped her arm around his neck while jamming the object in her hand next to his head. The man just out a short cry, then shut up as he realized exactly what was being held to his head. When the woman heard the sound of running footsteps, she spun around, putting the man between the other masked guys. "Look, guys," she said in a tired, annoyed voice, "I've had a long day. I've been running here and there all day doing errands. I just wanted to make a deposit and you guys had to go and rob the place!" "She's got a gun!" the captive guy yelped frantically. "I can see that, you idiot!" the second guy shouted back. "Where the hell did she get it from?" the first guy demanded angrily. "You were supposed to be watching them!" "Let me ask you this," the woman said calmly as she yanked the gun out of the guy's hand with her free hand. "Exactly how do you plan on escaping? There's police all over the place. I have your friend and his gun. "If you're planning on shooting me, then just remember that I can use your friend as a shield. I'll still be alive, while your friend will be dead and you two will be charged with murder, as well as robbery. If you're planning on shooting the hostages, then I'll just shoot you both before you do." The woman could see that the two men were losing their nerves as they realized how bad their situation was. She used that opportunity to move closer, forcing her human shield to go with her. As she moved closer, she could see some of the hostages were glancing toward the outside, which she took to mean that the police were closing in on the building. "It's only a matter of time before the police burst in here and arrest you two," she said as she drew closer. "You might as well give up while you have the chance." The second guy was showing signs that he might give up, but the first guy was more desperate than that. "I've got a better idea," he growled furiously as he raised his gun. "How 'bout you die!" He pulled the trigger, firing a shot at the woman's head. Fortunately, the woman reacted before the shot was fired, ducking and pulling her human shield down so that neither one would be hit. She then fired two shots with the gun she took from the third guy, shooting the guns out of their hands. 'Amateurs,' she thought derisively as she pushed her human shield away as she rushed over to collect the other two guns as the police burst through the doors with guns drawn. "A little too late, guys," she shouted as she waved at the police officers. "I already took care of the situation." The officers looked at the woman in surprise as they took in the scene. By now, almost all of the hostages were rushing out of the building. "Hold it, buddy!" she shouted as she grabbed the shirt of one of the fleeing tellers, halting him in his tracks. "I haven't made my deposit yet and, by my watch, the bank's still open. I was next in line and I want you to take my deposit now." "But...," he began, then sighed. "Well, you did save my life...." "That's right," the woman pointed out. "I think I need a cigarette," he muttered as he pulled one out. "Here, let me," she said as she pointed her own gun and pulled the trigger, causing a wisp of flame to appear from the top. The police officers pointed their guns at the woman, but put them away when they realized that it was just a lighter. "Wha...?" he gasped, dropping the cigarette. When he realized that she wasn't going to shoot him, he calmed down a bit. "You mean, that WASN'T a real gun?!?" "Oh, no," the woman replied, laughing. "It's not a real gun, but it sure fools a LOT of people." "On second thought," he muttered wearily, "I think I'll give up smoking. It's becoming WAY too dangerous to my health...." "Now you know why I never started," the woman replied with a smile as she followed the man to the teller window. "Excuse me, Miss," one of the officers said as he snapped out of his surprised shock, "but...." "Oh, is it about firing that gun at the robbers?" she asked offhandedly. "Here." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet and flashed a badge. "I'm special agent Diane Silver, F.B.I." "You don't mind if I...?" the officer began. "No, go ahead and take the badge for indentification," Diane replied with a grin. "I just wanna make my deposit, okay? Just remember to give it back when you're done." "Oh, go right ahead, Miss Silver," the officer replied. "And by the way," he whispered, "thanks for your help." Diane grinned and turned toward the teller. "Now, let's get started with my deposit, shall we?" ********************************************** "Cut!" Amy shouted. "That was good! I think we've got it this time!" "About time!" Serena replied. "I thought we'd never get that scene finished!" "Well, anyways, let's get ready for the next scene shall we?" Amy asked. "Fine by me," Serena said indifferently. "I'm not in the next scene anyway. Just let me know when you need me." With that, she left for her trailer. "Care to watch the next scene, Darien?" Amy asked. "Might as well," Darien replied with a grin. "It'll be a while before we get to my first scene anyway." ********************************************** To Chapter 4 ********************************************** Author's Note: And so, the movie begins. What do think of the 'fic with a fic' feature? It's two... two... two fics in one! ^_^ Well, tune in next chapter when Darien makes his acting debut when he does his first scene! 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.