[The video is shaky for a moment, bouncing around and showing the roof of a car. Judging by the way the video is jumping, it's obvious that the car is going fast, and uncontrollably. There's a squeal of tires, then suddenly a crunch and the video is suddenly obscured by a puff of fine white powder and a swath of white canvas.

As the airbag deflates ( Read more... )

[backdated to the day after this]
[Thomas' voice is terse, uncharacteristically hurried and quiet, as if he doesn't want to be overheard]

Harry? We need to talk.

[the video feed flicks on and for a moment the image jumps wildly before it focuses on glints of light against dark. The camera zooms out until a very irritated, very sparkly familiar face appears]

Kitten, what are you doing-- give me that camera!

( Prank wars mean not only Twilight vampires sparkle, and Chicago cannot be dark all the time. Sometimes it positively GLITTERS. )

[it's daytime, and the video flicks on to show the burned out remains of a now-familiar sports car. The video camera then shows Thomas, gesturing at it, looking somewhere between pissed and sheepish]

Anyone know a good mechanic?

[Thomas looks tired, tired enough that he's not even bothering to hide it. More tired than he did during the worst of the nightmares. And he's sitting in what looks like the Starbucks in the lobby of the Blackstone with a venti sized cup of coffee in his hand.]

Is it just me, or--

[He stifles a yawn and drains the coffee cup, stacking it on the small ( Read more... )

[Thomas shakes his head as he looks into the camera. his hair is shorter and neater than it usually is, and he looks like he can't believe he's about to say this]

I'm out of practice. If anyone wants a haircut and trusts me with scissors, I'll be in the Blackstone's barbershop for a few hours.

[the video comes on to show Thomas standing...somewhere. It's not his hotel room because the floor is clearly visible and there isn't three days worth of takeout on the table. It looks like a conference room of some sort, judging by the chairs and the paper-strewn table. He sighs and runs a hand through his hair]

I don't know about any one else, but ( Read more... )

[post-kidnapping plot]

[video flickers on, and Thomas looks more stylish than he usually does. He's traded in the denim for tailored leather and silk and, for anyone keeping score, his eyes are dark blue rather than grey. He holds up a porno video cover]


( Read more... )

[The video is back to normal, mostly. No carefully positioned camera to avoid angles, no voice or text, just Thomas being his usual irritating self. View is of the garage beneath the Hard Rock Hotel, and Thomas can be seen ducking in and out of the camera's field of vision as he reloads his spy car]

John, we need to talk.

[Thomas looks back to his usual gorgeously annoying self] For once I mean this in a completely non-sexual context.

Has anyone seen my sword?

Cavalry saber, about this long [gestures a span with his arms] and attached to a leather belt. Must've dropped it somewhere the night Shagnasty [faint twitch there] decided to come stomping through.