26-04-2019, 02:45 PM
Denise Cole got off the bus and took her bike off the rack provided on the front. She started riding toward the Equals house, when her phone gave her a text notification. It wasn't an ordinary one, though, but one that she'd bought specially for this particular number. She'd only heard it a couple times since she bought the ringtone with one of the gift cards that the owner of the number had sent her.
It had originally been the national anthem of the Sovereign Country and Independent Nation-State of San Finzione. However, based upon the number's owner's request, had been changed to the chorus of the song "Lawyers, Guns, and Money."
Denise stopped her bike, took out her phone, and looked at the message.
Whatever happens when you get here, whatever you see, play it cool; wait for my signal, and Harvard's on me.
Denise wrinkled her brow at it, thinking about conversations she'd had with Julie about the woman she was trying not to squeal about being on her way to meet. How Contessa Helena de San Finzione tended to use hyperbolic language when speaking to her friends. Denise had managed to keep cool when Julie inferred that this meant she could consider herself a friend of La Contessa's at the time.
She practically vibrated as rode the rest of the way. She hadn't known what to expect when she came to see them today, and La Contessa's message had only amplified the effect. It was because of this that, as she rounded the last corner to the Equals house and started smelling barbecue, the sight of news vans with extended aerials and a crowd of reporters had been an unexpected, but not a surprising one. Hadn't she seen reporters following La Contessa around on TV all day yesterday? And barely spotted Julie and Susan in the crowd?
As Denise got nearer, she could hear the reporters asking questions to someone who was surrounded by too many people to see from that far away.
"There's a video making the rounds online, something to do with you and some men in a warehouse..." A familiar voice cut him off.
"Oh, THAT," Contessa Helena de San Finzione replied with a laugh, her voice amplified by speakers that Denise couldn't see. "You might've heard some rumors, but yes, San Finzione is making a movie. There are too many details to be ironed out yet, I can't say much about it, but it looks like someone leaked my screentest for my cameo. Probably have to do another, maybe that one'll be a DVD extra."
The reporter had a follow-up question.
"On the video, it seems you're ordering men to torture themselves and each other."
"Well, there's some local San Finzione folklore involved in the story; 'Peasant gossip,' they called it in the olden days. We're going to have a little fun with it. That's the San Finzione way! It's going to be kind of like Big Trouble in Little China, but you know; we're not going to try remaking a masterpiece like that. We're not gonna try to re-create Jack Burton or something. No, we'll have a new hero, and ours will have its own cosmopolitan San Finzione flavor, and probably a lot more special effects. Robots, there's going to be at least one robot, too. There's still a lot of thought being put into it. Next question."
"What's the movie going to be called?" Another asked.
"San Finzione Shakedown." Helen answered, almost automatically. "Next question. Hurry, it's burning out."
"What are you doing down here in Federal Way?"
"Ah," Said Helena's voice, as the crowd parted so she could now see the woman she'd never hoped to meet until one fateful day in the park. Beautiful, stunning, commanding, smoking. Denise didn't care for that last one much, but Julie explained that she was under constant stress, so it was either smoking, or beheading random peasants for no reason. La Contessa put the cigarette out on the podium. "Now THAT was the magic question. That buys you until I want another and that one's out! The answer would be that I've been visiting a dear old friend from back in Alaska. I'm from Alaska, originally, you know. And no, we can't see Russia from there. You're not clever, just stop it."
It had originally been the national anthem of the Sovereign Country and Independent Nation-State of San Finzione. However, based upon the number's owner's request, had been changed to the chorus of the song "Lawyers, Guns, and Money."
Denise stopped her bike, took out her phone, and looked at the message.
Whatever happens when you get here, whatever you see, play it cool; wait for my signal, and Harvard's on me.
Denise wrinkled her brow at it, thinking about conversations she'd had with Julie about the woman she was trying not to squeal about being on her way to meet. How Contessa Helena de San Finzione tended to use hyperbolic language when speaking to her friends. Denise had managed to keep cool when Julie inferred that this meant she could consider herself a friend of La Contessa's at the time.
She practically vibrated as rode the rest of the way. She hadn't known what to expect when she came to see them today, and La Contessa's message had only amplified the effect. It was because of this that, as she rounded the last corner to the Equals house and started smelling barbecue, the sight of news vans with extended aerials and a crowd of reporters had been an unexpected, but not a surprising one. Hadn't she seen reporters following La Contessa around on TV all day yesterday? And barely spotted Julie and Susan in the crowd?
As Denise got nearer, she could hear the reporters asking questions to someone who was surrounded by too many people to see from that far away.
"There's a video making the rounds online, something to do with you and some men in a warehouse..." A familiar voice cut him off.
"Oh, THAT," Contessa Helena de San Finzione replied with a laugh, her voice amplified by speakers that Denise couldn't see. "You might've heard some rumors, but yes, San Finzione is making a movie. There are too many details to be ironed out yet, I can't say much about it, but it looks like someone leaked my screentest for my cameo. Probably have to do another, maybe that one'll be a DVD extra."
The reporter had a follow-up question.
"On the video, it seems you're ordering men to torture themselves and each other."
"Well, there's some local San Finzione folklore involved in the story; 'Peasant gossip,' they called it in the olden days. We're going to have a little fun with it. That's the San Finzione way! It's going to be kind of like Big Trouble in Little China, but you know; we're not going to try remaking a masterpiece like that. We're not gonna try to re-create Jack Burton or something. No, we'll have a new hero, and ours will have its own cosmopolitan San Finzione flavor, and probably a lot more special effects. Robots, there's going to be at least one robot, too. There's still a lot of thought being put into it. Next question."
"What's the movie going to be called?" Another asked.
"San Finzione Shakedown." Helen answered, almost automatically. "Next question. Hurry, it's burning out."
"What are you doing down here in Federal Way?"
"Ah," Said Helena's voice, as the crowd parted so she could now see the woman she'd never hoped to meet until one fateful day in the park. Beautiful, stunning, commanding, smoking. Denise didn't care for that last one much, but Julie explained that she was under constant stress, so it was either smoking, or beheading random peasants for no reason. La Contessa put the cigarette out on the podium. "Now THAT was the magic question. That buys you until I want another and that one's out! The answer would be that I've been visiting a dear old friend from back in Alaska. I'm from Alaska, originally, you know. And no, we can't see Russia from there. You're not clever, just stop it."
Like, Comment and Give Rating.
![[+]](https://xossipy.com/themes/sharepoint/collapse_collapsed.png)