| Subject: Chapter 278 - Part 1 (16 and above) |
Author:
KatherineG.
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Date Posted: Monday, March 26, 07:01:29am
In reply to:
KatherineG.
's message, "Dreams in the Dark continued (273>)" on Monday, March 05, 07:03:06am
Extra warning: I'm rating this part 16 and above for very mild curse words.
Dreams in the Dark (278/?)
by Katherine Gilbert
It was lovely to have something pleasant to look forward to, to have some sort of outlet in his life. But such rosy thoughts wouldn't last for long. For anyone in Hollywood, the possibility of disaster was only ever a few footsteps away--and Shears was about to finally learn this fact, as well.
It was this fear which drove most of the town's most prominent citizens, the desire to stay on top, to stave off any possible catastrophe, a constant. It was as Shears turned the next corner of the lot that he encountered his own new terror--the voices he heard just loud enough to detect. They were coming from the other side of his dressing room--and they didn't sound friendly at all.
He paused, trying to not even breathe too loudly, suddenly certain that calling any attention to himself would prove an excessively bad idea. The first voice, a male one--quite polite and refined--uttered a name he had only heard in whispers, one which, apparently, was far too dangerous to mention any other way. "I don't think you're truly doing your best for us, my dear Madeline. Mr. Jones expected far more, when he contacted you." Andrew could hear his own heart beating in his ears, nearly drowning out the conversation, as the mystery man went on after a brief pause. "Do tell me what the problem is. Perhaps we can help."
Just this information was more than Andrew wanted to have, especially since it was now clear who the man was speaking to--the studio's tutor always a bad enemy to have; Nikita's situation had made that clear enough. His heart was thumping. And the fact that they were bringing the name of some sort of gangster into it . . .
He stood there, barely breathing, as the conversation went on, Madeline's voice fractionally tight; it was, Shears was certain, the only sign she would ever give of how annoyed she was. "I've told you before. We're doing our best to end it. Her friends are watching out for her. That makes things much more difficult."
There was nearly a purr after this; the actor assumed it came from the man, Madeline singularly unlikely to emit it. The stranger's voice continued a second later. "But difficulties are meant to be avoided. And you know yourself, my dear, that 'best' alone is not quite good enough."
This was certainly true; Andrew had heard the tutor say it at least a thousand times just since he had arrived--fortunately, for his sake, not usually to him. Such repetition clearly made the woman snap, her voice now almost showing her irritation. "Don't patronize me, Dorian. I'm well aware of the situation." There was a pause. "And the time line." The actor could nearly feel the heat of their rage circling the corner to burn him. "Why don't you try some attack on her at her home, instead? I doubt that fool she's hired can watch her all the time."
Such a suggestion made their listener's blood run cold, but he wasn't allowed to ponder such a disaster for long, this "Dorian" answering quickly--every bit as smooth as the Oscar Wilde character which Shears assumed to be his namesake; with a voice like that, a twisted portrait in his attic wouldn't be a surprise. "Really, my dear. That would be repetitive." There was another bristling silence, while the actor's mind spun over the words' significance--never having previously considered how far Nikita's peril extended. "Besides, how do you expect us to get past . . . ?"
"I'm sure that's your own business," the tutor interrupted crisply. "One guard can't be *that* difficult."
"Perhaps not, but the guard . . ." The man left his words there, mystifying his listener--especially given Madeline's earlier dismissal of the man. Mr. Fredericks had never seemed all that formidable to him, either--but he supposed that he had never chosen a bodyguard before; his heart continued to thump, thoughts spinning. Did this mean that they were planning to kill the woman? Dear God. If so . . .
His wildly circling mind was interrupted by the tutor's side of the conversation, her voice still cold but more controlled again. "If you want it done soon, you'll do it. She's too cautious here." He began to hear her heels clicking away. "It's not like any of us wants to see her carry that child to term."
There was a moment when the actor was certain that Madeline would come his way, would discover his eavesdropping; he was too terrified to even imagine an appropriate response. It was to his relief that she continued on in another direction, the unknown man's voice lingering behind her a second later. "I suppose there's always an opening," he muttered, before his retreating steps began as well. Shears could do nothing but stand there and shake.
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