Nocturne No. 2: Desert Dust Settles
General Summary
Los Angeles, CA - Aug. 21, 1994
"I know there's still some editing left to do, but it's never too soon to start thinking about funding for our next film," Mr. Arkadin explained, sliding the budget estimates across the table. "It may be more expensive than my last movie, but this version of Don Quixote really needs room to breathe to get everything on screen. This fall would be perfect for scouting out locations in Spain." The Platinum Blonde stared at Mr. Arkadin with arms crossed, not even glancing at the paper. "We'll need you in town for at least for another year if we're still shooting for a summer release date for When the Bough Breaks, maybe longer so you can do the Oscars circuit. Let's see box office returns and then we'll talk funding, it's one thing to shoot in Milwaukee but Europe comes with plenty of headaches." "I assure you Europe is entirely necessary, you can't recreate the Spanish countryside in the studio backlot," Mr. Arkadin argued when suddenly a secretary walked into the room. The Platinum Blonde glared at the secretary, but despite a moment's hesitation he stepped forward and whispered something into her ear. It took little effort for Mr. Arkadin to cast a little magic and heighten his senses enough to hear the whisper, something about how 'the Wiseguy is dead'. The secretary raced out of the room, leaving the mage and the vampire alone once more. Mr. Arkadin shifted in his chair, watching the Platinum Blonde as she stared at a movie poster on one of the nearby walls. Her expression looked calm and poised, but the way her lip quivered hinted at some turmoil beneath the surface. "Some bad news I take it?" "An old friend was killed tonight," the Platinum Blonde replied, not even looking at Mr. Arkadin. "We'd known each other since the 30's, he went to my funeral and I did the same for him a decade later." "Ah, a little bit before my time then," Mr. Arkadin remarked, slowly getting up from his chair. "It sounds like this matter involves more nocturnal beings, so if that's the case I'll be heading out now. We can discuss funding later in the week." The Platinum Blonde glared at him again. "Forget about the money, Orson. I'm going to have to move some money around tonight, if you really want Don Quixote done you'll have to find someone with some cash to spare." "So it goes," Mr. Arkadin sighed, stepping out of the room to leave the vampire to her business. He gave the secretary a sympathetic nod, stepping out into the night and hailing a taxi. He still had time to catch a flight out of LAX, maybe he could scrape together some money in New York City and at the very least be far away from whatever was going on with the vampires.
A company-wide memo from Viv Media dated Sept. 18, 1994
Viv Media is pleased to announce a new talk show Late-Night Slater hosted by Viv's very own Jenny Slater premiering in January of next year! The program will have interviews with celebrities of all stripes, live music, and segments featuring the investigative journalism that put Ms. Slater on the map. Jenny Slater's coverage of the mafia corruption in Las Vegas turned her into a national celebrity, especially after surviving a botched hit job brazenly committed inside a Viv Media news outlet. While the mainstream media refuses to address her honest coverage of the vampires and aliens that control Vegas' underworld, her reporting has nonetheless led to a series of high-profile arrests that have reverberated throughout the Vegas Strip and beyond. When a bombing occurred at a local wine bar last month, Ms. Slater was the first journalist to make a comprehensive timeline proving how the terrorist attack was directly related to the Vegas World Massacre from the year before. As people struggled for answers to the violence consuming Sin City, Jenny Slater weaved together the chaotic events into a story of supernatural greed and manipulation that anybody could understand. We look forward the stories that Ms. Slater will break in the future with her new platform.
Washington, DC - Oct. 7, 1994
Agent Rothman stepped outside the Hart Office Building and immediately lit a cigarette, breathing easy for the first time in months. After a six-hour marathon hearing her report on the Vegas World Massacre was officially on the books, months of research and investigations melded together into an official narrative. The past year had seen a series of mob feuds turn gruesomely public, first with the Vegas World Massacre then again in August with restaurant bombings and hit jobs. Mob violence like this hadn't been seen since the 50's, and a fascination with the occult from mobsters like Moe Green led to macabre displays of brutality like the Ghostface Killer. FBI agents were now combing through every casino on the strip to root out any signs of mob activity, and after the midterms plenty of freshmen in Congress would be eager to make a name for themselves with hearings investigating the city's brazen corruption. But something stuck in the back of her mind as she strolled past the Capitol, lighting up another cigarette while the autumn sun set behind the skyline. For every clue she used to piece together the official narrative, others stayed on the cutting room floor with no easy answers. Why was the Ghostface Killer spotted in Salt Lake City a month before the Vegas World Massacre? Who were the individuals responsible for detonating the bomb that killed Moe Green? And now that more details were coming to light about Moe Green's personal life, what was the deal with his taste for blood and violence? The Senators had enough information to close their hearing and head out on the campaign trail, but these questions kept gnawing at the back of her mind no matter what she did. She still had nightmares from New Mexico, and this whole case hinted at something similarly sinister lurking beneath the surface. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice somebody calling her name until they started tapping her on the shoulder, startling her so much that she dropped her third cigarette. She turned to see a face she hadn't seen since since her training days at the FBI. "Wesley!" She said, giving him a tight hug. "I can't believe it's been so long, do they still have you out in Tennessee?" "It's Florida now," Wesley smiled, walking beside Julia as they walked down the National Mall. "There's some stuff going on in Miami that they want me to check out, and I won't say no to an opportunity to get some sun. Heard you were in some crazy hearings today, think you'll take a break from things this fall?" "I wish," Julia replied, glancing at the museums as they made their way down the street. "I'm probably going out to the Pacific Northwest soon, there's some stuff going on in Seattle and Alaska that I want to get a better look at." "Want to talk about it some over drinks? You look like you've got a lot on your mind, maybe we can hash things out together," "That'd be nice," Julia replied, leading the way towards a speakeasy in the East End. As they walked together and started sharing notes, Julia finally asked the question that'd been bothering her all day. "Do you think vampires are real?"
"I know there's still some editing left to do, but it's never too soon to start thinking about funding for our next film," Mr. Arkadin explained, sliding the budget estimates across the table. "It may be more expensive than my last movie, but this version of Don Quixote really needs room to breathe to get everything on screen. This fall would be perfect for scouting out locations in Spain." The Platinum Blonde stared at Mr. Arkadin with arms crossed, not even glancing at the paper. "We'll need you in town for at least for another year if we're still shooting for a summer release date for When the Bough Breaks, maybe longer so you can do the Oscars circuit. Let's see box office returns and then we'll talk funding, it's one thing to shoot in Milwaukee but Europe comes with plenty of headaches." "I assure you Europe is entirely necessary, you can't recreate the Spanish countryside in the studio backlot," Mr. Arkadin argued when suddenly a secretary walked into the room. The Platinum Blonde glared at the secretary, but despite a moment's hesitation he stepped forward and whispered something into her ear. It took little effort for Mr. Arkadin to cast a little magic and heighten his senses enough to hear the whisper, something about how 'the Wiseguy is dead'. The secretary raced out of the room, leaving the mage and the vampire alone once more. Mr. Arkadin shifted in his chair, watching the Platinum Blonde as she stared at a movie poster on one of the nearby walls. Her expression looked calm and poised, but the way her lip quivered hinted at some turmoil beneath the surface. "Some bad news I take it?" "An old friend was killed tonight," the Platinum Blonde replied, not even looking at Mr. Arkadin. "We'd known each other since the 30's, he went to my funeral and I did the same for him a decade later." "Ah, a little bit before my time then," Mr. Arkadin remarked, slowly getting up from his chair. "It sounds like this matter involves more nocturnal beings, so if that's the case I'll be heading out now. We can discuss funding later in the week." The Platinum Blonde glared at him again. "Forget about the money, Orson. I'm going to have to move some money around tonight, if you really want Don Quixote done you'll have to find someone with some cash to spare." "So it goes," Mr. Arkadin sighed, stepping out of the room to leave the vampire to her business. He gave the secretary a sympathetic nod, stepping out into the night and hailing a taxi. He still had time to catch a flight out of LAX, maybe he could scrape together some money in New York City and at the very least be far away from whatever was going on with the vampires.
A company-wide memo from Viv Media dated Sept. 18, 1994
Viv Media is pleased to announce a new talk show Late-Night Slater hosted by Viv's very own Jenny Slater premiering in January of next year! The program will have interviews with celebrities of all stripes, live music, and segments featuring the investigative journalism that put Ms. Slater on the map. Jenny Slater's coverage of the mafia corruption in Las Vegas turned her into a national celebrity, especially after surviving a botched hit job brazenly committed inside a Viv Media news outlet. While the mainstream media refuses to address her honest coverage of the vampires and aliens that control Vegas' underworld, her reporting has nonetheless led to a series of high-profile arrests that have reverberated throughout the Vegas Strip and beyond. When a bombing occurred at a local wine bar last month, Ms. Slater was the first journalist to make a comprehensive timeline proving how the terrorist attack was directly related to the Vegas World Massacre from the year before. As people struggled for answers to the violence consuming Sin City, Jenny Slater weaved together the chaotic events into a story of supernatural greed and manipulation that anybody could understand. We look forward the stories that Ms. Slater will break in the future with her new platform.
Washington, DC - Oct. 7, 1994
Agent Rothman stepped outside the Hart Office Building and immediately lit a cigarette, breathing easy for the first time in months. After a six-hour marathon hearing her report on the Vegas World Massacre was officially on the books, months of research and investigations melded together into an official narrative. The past year had seen a series of mob feuds turn gruesomely public, first with the Vegas World Massacre then again in August with restaurant bombings and hit jobs. Mob violence like this hadn't been seen since the 50's, and a fascination with the occult from mobsters like Moe Green led to macabre displays of brutality like the Ghostface Killer. FBI agents were now combing through every casino on the strip to root out any signs of mob activity, and after the midterms plenty of freshmen in Congress would be eager to make a name for themselves with hearings investigating the city's brazen corruption. But something stuck in the back of her mind as she strolled past the Capitol, lighting up another cigarette while the autumn sun set behind the skyline. For every clue she used to piece together the official narrative, others stayed on the cutting room floor with no easy answers. Why was the Ghostface Killer spotted in Salt Lake City a month before the Vegas World Massacre? Who were the individuals responsible for detonating the bomb that killed Moe Green? And now that more details were coming to light about Moe Green's personal life, what was the deal with his taste for blood and violence? The Senators had enough information to close their hearing and head out on the campaign trail, but these questions kept gnawing at the back of her mind no matter what she did. She still had nightmares from New Mexico, and this whole case hinted at something similarly sinister lurking beneath the surface. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice somebody calling her name until they started tapping her on the shoulder, startling her so much that she dropped her third cigarette. She turned to see a face she hadn't seen since since her training days at the FBI. "Wesley!" She said, giving him a tight hug. "I can't believe it's been so long, do they still have you out in Tennessee?" "It's Florida now," Wesley smiled, walking beside Julia as they walked down the National Mall. "There's some stuff going on in Miami that they want me to check out, and I won't say no to an opportunity to get some sun. Heard you were in some crazy hearings today, think you'll take a break from things this fall?" "I wish," Julia replied, glancing at the museums as they made their way down the street. "I'm probably going out to the Pacific Northwest soon, there's some stuff going on in Seattle and Alaska that I want to get a better look at." "Want to talk about it some over drinks? You look like you've got a lot on your mind, maybe we can hash things out together," "That'd be nice," Julia replied, leading the way towards a speakeasy in the East End. As they walked together and started sharing notes, Julia finally asked the question that'd been bothering her all day. "Do you think vampires are real?"
Report Date
17 Jul 2023
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