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.

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

"Right 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.