ASIG, part two
***
Everything was perfect.
Well, not everything. A dusty chandelier, and never mind that it still shone brightly, slower than average wine service, security just a tad too visible; there were a dozen tiny flaws begging to be noticed, but no one did. Distraction and deception. Appearances were the only thing that mattered, and this she had down to an art form. After all, she’d learned from two of the masters.
And the pupil most assuredly surpassed the teacher.
Shannon Hazelbourne surveyed the room with a practiced eye, taking note of each senator, celebrity, and reporter and a Cheshire grin spread across her face. There were even a handful of foreign diplomats in attendance.
Only one or two people here knew her name, most only recognized her as the half shadow behind Tommy Stone. Dressed in an evening gown glamorous enough to get her inside the party, the costume faded into the background amid the more colorful plumage, as it was designed to do.
Greed at its finest. Politicians wanting fame and popularity, stars wanting power and influence, and reporters wanting to rip off the bed sheets and expose the scandal -- earning their own unique brand of glory. They knew the game well, and each played their part, never knowing the real power lay silent in the shadows.
Shannon pulled the strings tonight, her puppet the guest of honor at tonight’s gala. Tommy Stone, world-wide sensation and new found rallying point for the conservative ideal.
When Shannon finally informed him of the event, Tommy had flat out refused. A very reluctant icon in some regards, but his little rebellions never amounted to anything serious. Pathetic really. There were times Shannon agreed with Tommy just to see the suspicious frown or flicker of apprehension crack through the flawed mask. The perfect chameleon disappeared a long time ago, but that suited Shannon just fine. Pliant and controllable made her job, her life, easier.
The extra ‘bodyguards’ simplified things considerably.
So when Tommy blithely breezed past her with a striking brunette attached to his arm after only an hour of niceties, Shannon just smiled and watched three guards discreetly exit the party.
Everything was running perfectly on schedule.
And if sometimes -- in the early morning before the army of make-up artists descended, before the world woke up and crystallized into reality, before the masks were put into place -- if she sometimes saw the ghost of a shy and sweet young girl staring back at her accusingly in Tommy’s pale blue eyes -- blue, not the artificial brown -- well, that hardly mattered at all.
***
tbc
more on the way in a bit.
Everything was perfect.
Well, not everything. A dusty chandelier, and never mind that it still shone brightly, slower than average wine service, security just a tad too visible; there were a dozen tiny flaws begging to be noticed, but no one did. Distraction and deception. Appearances were the only thing that mattered, and this she had down to an art form. After all, she’d learned from two of the masters.
And the pupil most assuredly surpassed the teacher.
Shannon Hazelbourne surveyed the room with a practiced eye, taking note of each senator, celebrity, and reporter and a Cheshire grin spread across her face. There were even a handful of foreign diplomats in attendance.
Only one or two people here knew her name, most only recognized her as the half shadow behind Tommy Stone. Dressed in an evening gown glamorous enough to get her inside the party, the costume faded into the background amid the more colorful plumage, as it was designed to do.
Greed at its finest. Politicians wanting fame and popularity, stars wanting power and influence, and reporters wanting to rip off the bed sheets and expose the scandal -- earning their own unique brand of glory. They knew the game well, and each played their part, never knowing the real power lay silent in the shadows.
Shannon pulled the strings tonight, her puppet the guest of honor at tonight’s gala. Tommy Stone, world-wide sensation and new found rallying point for the conservative ideal.
When Shannon finally informed him of the event, Tommy had flat out refused. A very reluctant icon in some regards, but his little rebellions never amounted to anything serious. Pathetic really. There were times Shannon agreed with Tommy just to see the suspicious frown or flicker of apprehension crack through the flawed mask. The perfect chameleon disappeared a long time ago, but that suited Shannon just fine. Pliant and controllable made her job, her life, easier.
The extra ‘bodyguards’ simplified things considerably.
So when Tommy blithely breezed past her with a striking brunette attached to his arm after only an hour of niceties, Shannon just smiled and watched three guards discreetly exit the party.
Everything was running perfectly on schedule.
And if sometimes -- in the early morning before the army of make-up artists descended, before the world woke up and crystallized into reality, before the masks were put into place -- if she sometimes saw the ghost of a shy and sweet young girl staring back at her accusingly in Tommy’s pale blue eyes -- blue, not the artificial brown -- well, that hardly mattered at all.
***
tbc
more on the way in a bit.