Secret Santa Gift for Serialbathera
Title: Recitative
Author: Raphaella
Rating: PG
Pairing: Jack/Janet Malone
Summary: Jack pursues a pawn for his game.
Author's Notes: This is for serialbathera who requested a pairing, "The crazier the better." So I tried this unlikely duo. Thank you for such an interested prompt. I hope you will like :-)
Very special thanks to m_ravensblood for translating this into English and for co-writing the final third after I broke my arm. She is responsible for the ending which ties the whole piece together. You gave the story just what it needed. And thank you to jackssilverwolf for editing.
I borrowed a bit of my inspiration from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, recitative, in opera it is a term for a part of the opera which either through lyrical speaking or song, narrative is given to move the story forward during a slow point. It is important for the flow of the opera but is readily forgotten as opposed to the arias which are the passionate melodies that linger with the audience when the opera is over.
Overture
Tonight was Le Nozze di Figaro, Mozart's crown jewel and one of the longest productions in his repertoire. Jack could appreciate the genius of the composer, but found himself already contemplating the length of time before he could sneak out for a cigarette. Normally he sat in a private box high above when he followed Samantha to the opera, a god watching over his goddess and able to come and go with ease. Mortal needs like nicotine were easily forgotten when he basked in her radiance. This evening he sat among the commoners, waiting to play his part in a drama the rest of the audience was oblivious to.
As the others watched the opera unfolding on stage, Jack's eyes traveled briefly to Samantha. He smiled mentally but did not allow the emotion to reach his face. For now he had control his emotions. Her presence never failed to intoxicate him, but tonight there were pressing matters at hand and his senses were not to be indulged. He moved his gaze from his beloved to another blonde. Sitting on the other side of her escort was the reason for his presence, Janet Malone.
Physcially attractive, but lacking the fire of his Samantha, it would have been easy for Jack to overlook her as her husband did. Which was precisely why he was there. As Malone lusted after the rose he would never possess, Jack will pluck the blossom he had ignored for far too long. Under his attention, she will flourish and more importantly serve him in his game. Malone would never be a master of the game. If he were, he would have learned a long time ago to never leave his queen unguarded.
He flicked his gaze to the stage and noted the irony of the libretto partially paralleling the trio he'd been watching. A middle aged aristocrat ignoring his devoted wife and blindly pursuing the pretty maid in his employment who was destined for a far more clever man. But that was where the similarity ended. Later in the opera, the man would realize the error of his ways and proclaim his love for his wife. Bailey Malone was too absorbed in his work and his protege to recognize the similiarity of his situation - let alone to do anything to remedy it.
Act 1
Jack waited patiently for the aria before the intermission and slipped out. He grabbed a quick cigarette outside of the theater. When Janet came out into the foyer for intermission, he would be in place and ready to make his move. He had just finished smoking when the audience began to spill out into the foyer. The trio came out and moved near the refreshments area. Jack got close enough to listen as he waited to make his move.
Bailey took a glass of champage from a tray and handed it to Sam.
She had a far off look as she mumbled, "Thanks."
"What is it Sam?"
"It's- While we were in there I had a thought about the case. I think that our killer is posing the bodies for an audience. That it's not meant to shock but it's a form of art," she said. Then looking at Janet, she apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to start talking shop."
"It's fine, she's used to it." Bailey dismissed the matter. "You might be onto something, Sam. Let's go outside and talk a minute. You don't mind do you, sweetheart?"
Janet smiled and agreed, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. Just as the pair moved away, Jack slid through the crowd and grabbed two glasses of champagne. He moved to Bailey's abandoned wife.
"Forgive the intrusion ma'am, but I noticed the couple you're with seems to have disappeared. I don't know about you, but I hate to drink alone."
She wavered a moment before accepting the glass. "Thank you."
"You're quite welcome." Jack smiled at her. "May I ask if you're enjoying the opera?"
"It's okay."
"Not an opera afficiando?"
"No, it's just- I don't know-"
Nodding, Jack said, "The production lacks any real spark. It doesn't have the passion that Mozart demands. I have to confess I found the production I saw last summer at La Scala- Forgive me, ma'am, I seem to be rambling."
"Janet, please. You were in Italy last summer?"
"I toured through Europe and it was one of my stops."
Her expression became inscrutable, then she sighed. "My husband keeps promising he'll take a month off and we'll go sometime. We have the money, but he never seems to find the time."
"Was that your husband you were with earlier?" Jack feigned ignorance and waited for her to confirm that Malone was her husband. She nodded and he said innocently, "How foolish of me, I just assumed he was married to that other lady."
The lights flickered signaling the intermission was about to end. People filed past them into the theater. But Bailey and Sam remained absent. Music started to emanate from inside. Jack remained next to Janet feeling a surge of triumph as she sighed with impatience.
"Damn it, Malone. Always the same thing."
"Excuse me?"
"My husband. He always- Oh, never mind. You should go back inside and enjoy the opera. I didn't mean to unburden myself on you like that."
"It's quite all right. I'm in no rush to go back."
She gave him a doubtful look.
"It's not the greatest production." Then he told her conspiratorially, "To be honest, I'm starving. I spent over an hour waiting at La Grotta for my date who never showed up. I doubt I'd be enjoying the opera if Wolfgang himself were directing tonight. I'm thinking of taking off. I believe I saw a coffee shop a block or so away. Maybe I'll grab something there and call it a night."
Janet looked at the doors into the theater and at the front door once more. There was no sign of Bailey.
"Want some company?"
Jack nodded and offered her his arm.
Recitative
Jack smiled gently at Janet while he mentally grinned. She sipped her herbal tea and ignored her muffin as she looked at him uneasily. Neglected for so long, she was eager to talk to him when he asked why she looked sad, but her loyalty to her errant husband made her waver. The encounter was unfolding exactly as he'd expected. She was ripe for the picking and he had only to deliver his lines correctly and feign empathy for the cliche to be realized. It was mundane and common, two things he detested. But unlike other bored and neglected housewives, Janet Malone had something important to offer. Samantha.
She had become uneasy when he asked if her husband often took off like that. The line had been delivered too soon in a moment of impatience perhaps, but it was easily fixed. He inquired if they had any children and she instantly relaxed and began to talk once more. It was all the opening he needed, she rambled on and produced photos. Jack reached into his pocket and drew out a pair of gold wire framed glasses and put them on to, "better admire them."
He offered remarks on how sweet Arianna looked and that Frannie was a beautiful blend of her father and mother. Mentally counting the seconds, he looked up from the photo over the top of his glasses and gave her a soulful look with a tinge of wistfulness. Flawlessly delivered and sincere, she was easily taken in. Bailey Malone's wife had no idea that it was one of a number of expressions he'd perfected in the mirror to put his victims at ease. She reacted as he predicted, relaxing slightly and visibly warming to him.
A few gentle smiles and words of encouragement and she would start to unburden herself about her husband before the night was out. Then with the proper amount of empathy and restraint coupled with a gallant gesture or two and she would invite herself into his bed before the week was out. Long neglected and starved for affection, a few orgasms and a bit of sweet poison whispered in her ear as her marriage fell apart and she would give him every secret Malone had. With a little care she would ache to please him, so much so she would even help him get the woman he wanted.
Jack sipped his coffee and played his part, smiling inwardly. Janet Malone was nothing but a recitative to advance his plot. The true music would come when the lesser blonde faded away and his perfect rose blossomed in violence and joined his deadly duet...
Author: Raphaella
Rating: PG
Pairing: Jack/Janet Malone
Summary: Jack pursues a pawn for his game.
Author's Notes: This is for serialbathera who requested a pairing, "The crazier the better." So I tried this unlikely duo. Thank you for such an interested prompt. I hope you will like :-)
Very special thanks to m_ravensblood for translating this into English and for co-writing the final third after I broke my arm. She is responsible for the ending which ties the whole piece together. You gave the story just what it needed. And thank you to jackssilverwolf for editing.
I borrowed a bit of my inspiration from Mozart's Marriage of Figaro. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, recitative, in opera it is a term for a part of the opera which either through lyrical speaking or song, narrative is given to move the story forward during a slow point. It is important for the flow of the opera but is readily forgotten as opposed to the arias which are the passionate melodies that linger with the audience when the opera is over.
Overture
Tonight was Le Nozze di Figaro, Mozart's crown jewel and one of the longest productions in his repertoire. Jack could appreciate the genius of the composer, but found himself already contemplating the length of time before he could sneak out for a cigarette. Normally he sat in a private box high above when he followed Samantha to the opera, a god watching over his goddess and able to come and go with ease. Mortal needs like nicotine were easily forgotten when he basked in her radiance. This evening he sat among the commoners, waiting to play his part in a drama the rest of the audience was oblivious to.
As the others watched the opera unfolding on stage, Jack's eyes traveled briefly to Samantha. He smiled mentally but did not allow the emotion to reach his face. For now he had control his emotions. Her presence never failed to intoxicate him, but tonight there were pressing matters at hand and his senses were not to be indulged. He moved his gaze from his beloved to another blonde. Sitting on the other side of her escort was the reason for his presence, Janet Malone.
Physcially attractive, but lacking the fire of his Samantha, it would have been easy for Jack to overlook her as her husband did. Which was precisely why he was there. As Malone lusted after the rose he would never possess, Jack will pluck the blossom he had ignored for far too long. Under his attention, she will flourish and more importantly serve him in his game. Malone would never be a master of the game. If he were, he would have learned a long time ago to never leave his queen unguarded.
He flicked his gaze to the stage and noted the irony of the libretto partially paralleling the trio he'd been watching. A middle aged aristocrat ignoring his devoted wife and blindly pursuing the pretty maid in his employment who was destined for a far more clever man. But that was where the similarity ended. Later in the opera, the man would realize the error of his ways and proclaim his love for his wife. Bailey Malone was too absorbed in his work and his protege to recognize the similiarity of his situation - let alone to do anything to remedy it.
Act 1
Jack waited patiently for the aria before the intermission and slipped out. He grabbed a quick cigarette outside of the theater. When Janet came out into the foyer for intermission, he would be in place and ready to make his move. He had just finished smoking when the audience began to spill out into the foyer. The trio came out and moved near the refreshments area. Jack got close enough to listen as he waited to make his move.
Bailey took a glass of champage from a tray and handed it to Sam.
She had a far off look as she mumbled, "Thanks."
"What is it Sam?"
"It's- While we were in there I had a thought about the case. I think that our killer is posing the bodies for an audience. That it's not meant to shock but it's a form of art," she said. Then looking at Janet, she apologized. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to start talking shop."
"It's fine, she's used to it." Bailey dismissed the matter. "You might be onto something, Sam. Let's go outside and talk a minute. You don't mind do you, sweetheart?"
Janet smiled and agreed, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. Just as the pair moved away, Jack slid through the crowd and grabbed two glasses of champagne. He moved to Bailey's abandoned wife.
"Forgive the intrusion ma'am, but I noticed the couple you're with seems to have disappeared. I don't know about you, but I hate to drink alone."
She wavered a moment before accepting the glass. "Thank you."
"You're quite welcome." Jack smiled at her. "May I ask if you're enjoying the opera?"
"It's okay."
"Not an opera afficiando?"
"No, it's just- I don't know-"
Nodding, Jack said, "The production lacks any real spark. It doesn't have the passion that Mozart demands. I have to confess I found the production I saw last summer at La Scala- Forgive me, ma'am, I seem to be rambling."
"Janet, please. You were in Italy last summer?"
"I toured through Europe and it was one of my stops."
Her expression became inscrutable, then she sighed. "My husband keeps promising he'll take a month off and we'll go sometime. We have the money, but he never seems to find the time."
"Was that your husband you were with earlier?" Jack feigned ignorance and waited for her to confirm that Malone was her husband. She nodded and he said innocently, "How foolish of me, I just assumed he was married to that other lady."
The lights flickered signaling the intermission was about to end. People filed past them into the theater. But Bailey and Sam remained absent. Music started to emanate from inside. Jack remained next to Janet feeling a surge of triumph as she sighed with impatience.
"Damn it, Malone. Always the same thing."
"Excuse me?"
"My husband. He always- Oh, never mind. You should go back inside and enjoy the opera. I didn't mean to unburden myself on you like that."
"It's quite all right. I'm in no rush to go back."
She gave him a doubtful look.
"It's not the greatest production." Then he told her conspiratorially, "To be honest, I'm starving. I spent over an hour waiting at La Grotta for my date who never showed up. I doubt I'd be enjoying the opera if Wolfgang himself were directing tonight. I'm thinking of taking off. I believe I saw a coffee shop a block or so away. Maybe I'll grab something there and call it a night."
Janet looked at the doors into the theater and at the front door once more. There was no sign of Bailey.
"Want some company?"
Jack nodded and offered her his arm.
Recitative
Jack smiled gently at Janet while he mentally grinned. She sipped her herbal tea and ignored her muffin as she looked at him uneasily. Neglected for so long, she was eager to talk to him when he asked why she looked sad, but her loyalty to her errant husband made her waver. The encounter was unfolding exactly as he'd expected. She was ripe for the picking and he had only to deliver his lines correctly and feign empathy for the cliche to be realized. It was mundane and common, two things he detested. But unlike other bored and neglected housewives, Janet Malone had something important to offer. Samantha.
She had become uneasy when he asked if her husband often took off like that. The line had been delivered too soon in a moment of impatience perhaps, but it was easily fixed. He inquired if they had any children and she instantly relaxed and began to talk once more. It was all the opening he needed, she rambled on and produced photos. Jack reached into his pocket and drew out a pair of gold wire framed glasses and put them on to, "better admire them."
He offered remarks on how sweet Arianna looked and that Frannie was a beautiful blend of her father and mother. Mentally counting the seconds, he looked up from the photo over the top of his glasses and gave her a soulful look with a tinge of wistfulness. Flawlessly delivered and sincere, she was easily taken in. Bailey Malone's wife had no idea that it was one of a number of expressions he'd perfected in the mirror to put his victims at ease. She reacted as he predicted, relaxing slightly and visibly warming to him.
A few gentle smiles and words of encouragement and she would start to unburden herself about her husband before the night was out. Then with the proper amount of empathy and restraint coupled with a gallant gesture or two and she would invite herself into his bed before the week was out. Long neglected and starved for affection, a few orgasms and a bit of sweet poison whispered in her ear as her marriage fell apart and she would give him every secret Malone had. With a little care she would ache to please him, so much so she would even help him get the woman he wanted.
Jack sipped his coffee and played his part, smiling inwardly. Janet Malone was nothing but a recitative to advance his plot. The true music would come when the lesser blonde faded away and his perfect rose blossomed in violence and joined his deadly duet...