Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ Seeing Stars ❯ Chapter 43 ( Chapter 43 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Seeing Stars
By Jason Ulloa
Original story by Moonsong
Continued with her permission.


Chapter 43

As Jack was taken to the hospital for his leg wound, Diane explained to the Sydney police
their side of the story. It had taken showing her badge and a call to Artie - who wasn't
very happy to hear most of the details, but thankfully held off judgement until after she
was cleared - to get her and Jack off the hook. She gave the police a detailed
description of the man they were after and asked them to watch for him, should he try to
leave the city, let alone the country. Afterward, she was fortunate enough to have one of
the officers offer to take her to the hospital where Jack was being treated.

Upon arriving at the hospital, she had learned that Jack had only a minor gunshot wound.
Fortunately for him, the bullet didn't hit anything important and had gone clean through
his leg, contrary to what she had observed before. She grimaced to herself in retrospect;
it wasn't like her to miss something like that. Being an FBI agent, she had seen more
than her fair share of gunshot wounds, some of which being her own personal experience.
In the end, she just chalked it up to being overly-anxious over seeing Jack get shot,
even if it was just in the leg.

"Miss Silver?" a nurse said as she met her in the waiting room. "You're here for Mr.
Terrance?"

"Yes," she nodded, standing up.

"Follow me, please," she said and led Diane outside to where another nurse was waiting
with Jack sitting in a wheelchair.

"He's ready to be checked out," the first nurse stated as she took over the wheelchair
from the other nurse. "If you'd just follow me, we'll have him ready to go in just a
moment."

"Thanks," Diane said as she followed close behind. "So, how's your leg, Jack?"

"Doesn't hurt as bad as before," he replied. "The doctor says that the leg'll be fine and
that as long as I don't put too much stress on the leg, I won't have to use crutches. Just
a cane for a couple of days." He gave a small snort of a laugh. "I guess I got lucky
there."

Diane nodded but said nothing as the group continued on.

**********************************************

"Diane, I want to know what in God's name were you thinking!" Artemis growled over the
phone. "What the hell were you doing, breaking and entering into a MUSEUM, of all things?
Have you lost your mind?"

"I'm sorry, Artie...," Diane answered penitently on the other end.

"Sorry?" he retorted as he leapt up from his seat in the Tomoe mansion living room and
began to irritably pace back and forth. "Do you realize the amount of trouble you are in
right now? By all rights, I could have your badge for this!"

"I know, Artie, but I seriously thought that I had to do it that way," she explained.
"That man had slipped through my fingers before and I didn't want to lose him again." She
sighed heavily. "But, even though we almost had him, that bastard still managed to get
away."

"I had a heck of a time explaining things to the Sydney police department," he continued
after calming down a bit. "I had to tell them that you were on assignment there to catch
that kidnapper/thief and that your detective associate was your partner for this case. So
you're both off the hook, as far as the Sydney police is concerned."

"Thanks, Artie. You're a lifesaver."

"I lied and gave false information to cover your ass, Diane," he said flatly. "You owe me.
You owe me real big."

She sighed heavily again. "I know, Artie," she replied in a calm, serious tone. "You've
done so much for me already; more than I have any right to deserve. I swear to you that I
won't let your trust in me be misplaced. Jack and I will bring this guy in and save Hotaru
and Ryoku. I promise."

Artemis went silent for a moment, considering something. "Diane, let me ask you something.
This detective associate of yours - Jack, was it? - why is he helping you? He's based in
L.A., isn't he? Sydney's quite a bit out of his way, just to help a client."

"If you're asking me if I'm paying him extra to help me; no, Artie, I'm not," she replied,
not questioning the sudden change in topic. "In fact, we've already finished up our
contact and I've already paid him. He's helping me on his own."

Artemis frowned, confused. "Why?"

"It's very complicated," she told him. "I'll tell you about it when I come back with
Hotaru and Ryoku."

This time, it was Artemis' turn to sigh. "Fine. You seem to trust him, so I'll leave it at
that."

"Aw, you sound like a father who's worried about the guy his daughter's dating," Diane
teased. "Don't worry, Daddy, we promise we won't stay out too late."

"Why do I even bother?" he groaned quietly to himself in exasperation.

"Because you love me?"

"Shut up, Diane."

"Artie?" she asked suddenly, her tone subtly subdued. "Why are you suddenly so curious
about Jack, all of a sudden? This wasn't the first time I've mentioned him."

"This is the first time you've told me his name."

There was a short silence followed by a small laugh. "I guess I haven't at that. Anyway,
you don't have to worry about us. We'll take care of things on this end."

"All right, then," he agreed as he sat back down in the recliner he had been sitting in
when Diane had called. "I'll leave it with you. Just be careful and don't do anything too
rash or reckless next time or I really will have your badge."

"Yes, Daddy," Diane replied with a sigh. "I'll try and be a good girl. Bye, Artie." With
that, she hung up.

Artemis leaned back in his chair and sighed tiredly. "One of these days, I'm going to have
to hammer the meaning of the word 'professional' into her head," he muttered to himself as
he picked up the book he had been reading earlier.

**********************************************

"Ugh...," Diane sighed as she hung up the phone and plopped backward on the hotel bed.
"Artie was really pissed off at me. That was the closest I've ever come to actually
getting fired."

"You've gotten close before?" Jack asked, laying beside her on the other side of the bed.

"Once or twice," she admitted. "It wasn't as bad as this, though." She rolled over to look
directly into his face. "So, let's think. What now? Where do we go from here?"

"Let's start with what we know," Jack suggested. "Right now, our man's got all seven
Nijizuishou crystals."

"He's also kidnapped Hotaru Tomoe and Ryoku Kino from the Tomoe manor, where the Orange
Nijizuishou was kept," Diane added. "Somehow, the seven Nijizuishou crystals are central
to all of this mess."

"There's also this 'Project: Ginzuishou' that Christy told us about," Jack added.
"According to what Tira found out from Stanton Aeronautical, they've got plans to make
this synthetic crystal from the seven Nijizuishou crystals."

"Stanton Aeronautical, huh?" Diane said with a frown.

"Maybe we should let your boss know about them?"

"Yeah, but even if we tell him about it, there's not much he can do as long as Hotaru and
Ryoku are still in danger," she countered with a frustrated grimace. "Besides, we don't
even know if the people at Stanton Aeronautical know about the kidnapping. We're not even
completely sure that our man's being employed by Stanton Aeronautical, even if they're
both after the same thing."

"Still, this's the only connection we have with our man," he said as he stared up at the
ceiling and folded his arms across his chest. "We've got to follow the crystals. Maybe we
should contact Christy and see if she or Tira's found anything else about that Project:
Ginzuishou thing. Not to mention this Project: Total Eclipse that she also mentioned."

Diane sat up and pushed herself off the bed. "I'm going to go see about getting some plane
tickets back to L.A. If we're lucky, we can get back in time for you to bring Tira out of
the hospital tomorrow. We can talk with Tira AND Christy then."

"So, what are we going to do between that and catching our flight?" Jack inquired with a
grin.

She turned back toward Jack and smiled seductively as she lightly traced her fingernail
across his cheek. "You can pack our bags," she told him in a deep, sexy voice.

"What?" he said as his grin vanished, quickly replaced with a disappointed expression.

"Now, now," she said as she patted his cheek and moved away, heading for the door. "Don't
pout. There'll be plenty of time for that later. Right now, we've still got work to do."

As Diane left the door, closing the door behind her, Jack went back to staring at the
ceiling again. "What am I? Your butler?"

**********************************************

Christy sat in the waiting area outside Gate 29B, watching as the jet slowly taxied to the
gate. "Looks like they're finally here," she mentioned to the young girl sitting next to
her.

"About time!" Tira complained as she stood up and walked over to the window. "I wonder if
they can see us from the plane," she said as she waved at the plane.

"Probably not," she replied with a shrug. "We don't even know if they've got window seats
or are even on that side of the plane."

Tira stopped waving, but didn't stop watching the plane. "Eh," she shrugged as she held
her arms behind her back. "Can I help it if I'm glad to see them again?" Christy smirked,
but said nothing.

"Flight 1265 from Sydney, Australia is now arriving at Gate 29B," a voice announced over
the PA system as the jet finally docked with the terminal.

"Come on! Come on!" Tira said excitedly as she grabbed Christy's arm and yanked her out of
her seat. "Let's go!"

"H-hey!" the policewoman protested. "Easy, Ti! They'll get here when they get here."

"Fine," she replied as she dropped her hand and darted off toward the gate. "You can wait
there, but I don't wanna wait!" she said over her shoulder.

"Hmph," Christy snorted in amusement. "It hasn't been THAT long. Ah, well. Guess I can't
blame her for wanting to see her 'daddy.'"

Once the doors opened and people started exiting the gate, she stood up and started making
her way to where Tira was hopping up and down, looking for Jack and Diane.

"Hey!" Tira shouted as she waved and started pushing through the small crowd. "Excuse me!
Pardon me!"

"Tira!" Diane called out as she and Jack made their way through the crowd and embraced the
excited girl.

"I missed you guys!" Tira said as she flung one arm around Jack's neck and the other
around Diane's.

"It was only a couple of days, Ti," Jack said, rolling his eyes slightly. "You don't have
to make such a big deal about it."

"So, daddy," Tira said sweetly, adding extra emphasis to the word 'daddy,' "what did you
and Diane bring me?"

"Huh?" both Jack and Diane said, blinking cluelessly.

Tira's expression dropped. "Oh, don't tell me you forgot to get me any souvenirs!"

Jack smirked. "Just kidding, Ti. They're in our luggage."

She gave him a flat look. "I hate you, Jack. Is this any way to treat someone who just got
out of the hospital?"

His expression turned serious. "How are your injuries, Ti? Shouldn't you be taking it easy
or-"

"Don't worry so damn much," Tira said dismissively. "I'm fine! Really!"

"Are you sure?" Diane asked, concerned as well. "Gunshot wounds aren't just something you
can shrug off like a papercut."

"Relax, you two," Tira said calmly. "I'm fine. The doctor said that as long as I don't do
anything too strenuous or exerting, I should be fine. I just have to take it easy for a
little while."

"Then, what's with all that jumping around you were doing?" she said, gesturing over to
where Tira had been hopping up and down a short while ago.

"Can't I be happy to see you, Diane?" she huffed irritably.

"Oh, forget it," Diane laughed as she hugged the girl. "I'm glad to see you, too, Ti."

"Christy," Jack said as he motioned for the others to follow him, "have you or Ti found
out anything about those two Projects yet? Ginzuishou and Total Eclipse?"

The policewoman paused in midstep for a brief moment. "We can't talk about it here," she
said quietly as she stared straight ahead.

Diane looked at Christy and frowned. "Why?"

"You'll find out when we get to the car."

**********************************************

After picking up Jack and Diane's luggage and loading them into Christy's car, the
atmosphere between the four of them became heavy with silence. The radio was on, but no
one seemed to be paying attention to the music. The silence remained until the car finally
left LAX and merged onto the freeway.

"All right," Christy said finally, breaking the silence. "This's gonna sound crazy, but
everything I'm about to tell you, I've verified with my contact, so this's on the level."

"Your contact...," Jack interjected. "Shingo? That guy you told us about?"

"Yes," she confirmed with a short nod. "As you know, Project: Ginzuishou and Project:
Total Eclipse are both projects that belong to Stanton Aeronautical. We already know about
'Ginzuishou'; a project designed to create an artifical crystal using the seven
Nijizuishou crystals and seven satellites, each one containing one of the Nijizuishou
crystals. According to one report, five of the seven crystals are already up in space."

"So, that confirms it," Diane said, nodding to herself.

"Confirms what?"

"That guy we were after was working for Stanton Aeronautical," Jack told her. "He was the
one responsible for stealing the Nijizuishou crystals."

Christy nodded. "I had a feeling that would be the case," she muttered. "Anyway, according
to Shingo's report on 'Total Eclipse,' of the seven satellites that will be used for the
creation of the synthetic crystal, 'Ginzuishou', six of them will carry UHF frequency
jammers. These jammers are designed to be able to block all UHF frequencies within a 3,000
mile radius, and are spaced in such a manner that each of the satellites' footprints will
cover the entire Earth."

There was a long silence following that last revelation. "My God," Diane whispered. "I can
hardly imagine the damage that could inflict on this country. Not to mention the rest of
the world."

"Why would they want to kill all satellite communications, including their own?" Jack
inquired, confused. "I'm sure there's something else we're missing. Is there anything
else, Christy?"

"The satellites are designed to drop their jamming for a short period of time," she
continued, "long enough to allow a short transmission on a specific frequency through.
Probably for maintenance purposes or something like that. Anyway, once the transmission is
finished, the jamming goes back up.

"Shingo also told me about some of the details of the seventh satellite that Stanton
Aeronautical was still working on. The seventh satellite will not have a UHF jammer
installed and will be kept in a geostationary orbit over some point in the Mojave Desert."

"The Mojave Desert?" Diane repeated. "Why there?"

"I don't know. We haven't figured that out yet."

"Well, either way, right now I'm more concerned about finding Hotaru and Ryoku," she said.
"Since that guy we've been chasing is definitely working for Stanton Aeronautical, I'm
going to go pay Mr. Stanton a visit. Christy, can you take us to Stanton Aeronautical?"

"What?" she exclaimed, glancing at her over her shoulder in surprise for a moment, before
turning her eyes back to the road again. "Right now?"

"Now is as good a time as any."

"Christy, could you please take us to Stanton Aeronautical?" Jack requested calmly.

"You, too, Jack?"

"Please, Christy?" he continued. "This is very important."

The policewoman sighed heavily. "All right, but I'm putting this on your tab, Jack. Double
rate; two-for-one."

Jack nodded, then grimaced. "That's not fair, you know."

"I know," she agreed.

"At any rate, while we're taking care of this, I'm going to need your help, Ti."

Tira looked up, almost surprised to be included in the conversation. "Huh?"

"Ti, I'm going to need you and Christy to find out as much as you can about this seventh
satellite, why it's staying put over a certain spot in the Mojave, and where this spot
is," he requested. "I have a feeling something might be there. I want to know what it is."

The young girl grinned mischievously. "You got it, Jack. I'll get you that info by
suppertime."

"Okay," Diane said, glancing from one person to the next until finally resting her gaze on
Jack. "We all know what we've got to do, right?" The others nodded. "Good. I'll be
counting on all of you."

**********************************************

"Here we are," Christy said as she parked just outside the Stanton Aeronautical
Engineering, Inc. building. "Are you sure you don't need any help, Diane?"

"We'll be fine," Diane replied easily. "It's not like we're storming the headquarters of
some secret terrorist organization or something. This is just a corporate research and
development building. Besides, I just want to speak with Mr. Stanton and find out what he
knows."

"We'll be discreet," Jack added.

"All right, but don't hesitate to call if you need help, okay?" Christy insisted.

"Got it," he replied with a nod as he shut his door.

"See ya later, Jack!" Tira called out from her open window as the car drove off. "Good
luck!"

"Ready?" Diane asked Jack as she reached underneath her shirt and checked the gun sitting
in its holster. It was clear.

"Ready," he replied with a nod, wishing that he had his gun with him as well. Not that he
was planning on using it, but considering the situation they were in, he would've felt
better having some sort of protection.

"Then, let's go."

As the pair approached the gate, Diane waved toward one of the guards, gesturing for one
of them to speak with her. "Excuse me, but do you know if Mr. Stanton is currently in the
building?" she asked.

"May I ask what your business is here?" the guard inquired.

"We need to speak with him concerning a former employee of his," Jack told him. "One Miss
Regina Juléi. We have some information concerning a certain item of his that we believe
he would want to know about."

"And, may I ask, who you are?" he inquired further.

"I'm Jack Terrance, a private investigator," Jack stated, presenting his Private
Investigator identification card.

"I'm his partner," she stated with a slight nod of her head toward Jack. "Melissa Jameson."

The guard glanced back toward the other guard, who shrugged and nodded toward the
guardhouse. "Wait right here, please," he requested as he returned to the small structure
and picked up the phone.

"Melissa Jameson?" Jack asked under his breath without moving his lips.

"Did you forget?" she replied without moving her lips as well. "Diane Silver, the FBI
agent, can't be connected in any way to Hotaru and Ryoku's kidnapping case. Not only will
I get in trouble, but that'd put them in danger as well."

"But Melissa Jameson, P.I., doesn't have that restriction," he finished. "Got it."

"You can go ahead," the first guard said as he hung up the phone. "But, I'll need you to
fill out our visitor log first."

"No problem," Jack said as he approached the guardhouse, followed closely by Diane.

"Here," the guard said after they filled out the log. In his hand were a pair of visitor
badges. "I'll need you to wear these at all times while you're in the building."

"Thanks," he said as accepted the badges.

"Yours is number 153," the guard told him. "Miss Jameson's is number 154."

"Got it."

The guard nodded and went back to his post, leaving Jack and Diane to themselves.

"Well, that was easy enough," Diane mused to herself. "I was half afraid that they
wouldn't let us in at all."

"I was half afraid that they'd draw their guns on us," Jack added as he opened the glass
double doors that made up the entrance to Stanton Aeronautical.

"What makes you think that?" she asked as they entered the building.

"Can I help you?" the receptionist at the front desk inquired as they stepped through the
door.

"I'm here to see Mr. Stanton regarding a former employee of his," Jack told her.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No, but I do have some information that he will want to know about," he countered.

The receptionist eyed him indifferently for a moment. "Your name, sir?" she requested
offhandedly.

"Jack Terrence," he stated as he brought out his ID again. "Private investigator."

"Please wait a moment," she said as she picked up a phone and pressed a button on the
receiver. "Mr. Stanton, I have someone here to see you. He's a private investigator. Jack
Terrance. He says he wants to speak to you regarding a former employee."

"Regina Juléi," Jack added quickly.

"Regina Juléi," the receptionist relayed. "Yes, sir. Understood." She hung up and turned
to regard Jack and Diane. "Please wait here. Someone will come to escort you momentarily."

"Thank you," he said, but she had already turned back to what she was doing.

"Well, isn't she the most pleasant person," Diane mentioned aside to Jack as they moved
away from the receptionist's desk.

"We can't all be as charismatic as you, Diane," he replied with a small grin. Diane
answered with a gentle elbow in the side.

"Flirt," she said, then glanced around. "By the way, that name, Regina Juléi, wasn't that
the woman you said you were trailing before she was murdered?"

"Yeah, she worked here as a secretary to Mr. Stanton, himself. From what I can gather, she
was the one that stole the Yellow Nijizuishou crystal from here before our man stole it
from her."

"Excuse me, Mr. Terrance?" a woman called out as she approached.

"Yes, that's me," Jack replied.

"I'm Mr. Stanton's secretary, Victoria Madison," the woman said as she nodded her head in
greeting. "I will be escorting you to Mr. Stanton's office."

"All right. Lead the way."

Victoria glanced briefly at Diane before turning away. "Follow me, please."

Jack and Diane exchanged confused glances. Jack shrugged before following after the
secretary, with Diane following close behind. Victoria lead them to a nearby elevator and
pressed the button. The elevator to the right promptly opened up. She stepped inside
without a word and stood with her arms folded beneath her breasts, waiting. Jack and Diane
exchanged glances again, then stepped onboard the elevator. After the doors closed, she
took out a card and inserted it into a slot above the floor buttons. Once she removed the
card, the elevator began to move.

"I thought there'd be only one person coming to see Mr. Stanton," Victoria said, breaking
the silence. "Please excuse me for asking, but who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Melissa Jameson," Diane replied flatly. "I'm his partner."

"I see," she nodded. "That's all I wanted to know. Mr. Stanton doesn't like surprises, so
I would've preferred that Marcy let me know that I would be escorting two people to see
Mr. Stanton, so I could relay it to him." She sighed to herself. "It's not the first time
this's happened, either," she muttered under her breath.

Diane rolled her eyes toward Jack, while he fought the urge to smirk in amusement.

The elevator dinged once and the doors opened to a wide office area. The carpet was a rich
forest green with a lighter green path that went straight from the elevator doors to the
wide double door entrance to what the pair could only assume to be office belonging to the
president of Stanton Aeronautical. Many works of art lined the walls, while exotic potted
plants sat in the corners of the room. Along one side of the room, the wall consisted
entirely of window glass, separated by panes that stretched from ceiling to floor spaced
about 25 feet apart. Since the office was situated on the top floor - the 20th floor - the
view was simply marvelous.

Sitting alongside the path leading to the presidential office was a large office desk.
Compared to the desk's surroundings, the desk was very simple. There was a pair of
dividers sitting near one corner of the desk - one marked "In" and the other marked "Out."
Next to them was a flat screen monitor with wires leading down through a small hole
through the desk. A small stack of papers sat on top of a flat desk calendar, which was
covered in small notes and reminders. At the right edge of the desk sat a small intercom
box.

Victoria led the pair to her desk and gestured for them to have a seat in the small dark
blue couch that sat opposite of her desk. As they sat down, she went back to her seat
behind her desk and depressed one of the switches on the intercom. "Mr. Stanton, Mr.
Terrance and his partner, Miss Jameson, are here to see you."

There was an audible click. "Very well. Send them in."

She pressed the switch again. "Yes, sir." She then turned to Jack and Diane. "Mr. Stanton
will see you now."

"Thank you," Jack said as he and Diane headed for the president's office.

**********************************************

"All right, people! That'll do it for today!" Amy called out. "See you all tomorrow!"

"Serena!" Darien called out as he waved her over.

"Yeah? What is it, Darien?" she inquired as she made her way over.

"You feel like going back to that nightclub of yours?"

Serena raised an eyebrow and smirked at him. "Oh? Asking me out on a date, are you?" She
leaned up against him and gave him a hungry look. "When are we going, baby?"

Darien's mind stopped working for a moment. "Um.... How about tonight?" Fortunately, his
brain rebooted quickly.

"Hmm... spontaneous," she remarked as she stood back up and caressed his cheek with her
hand. "I like it."

"Get a room!" Tanya, Lita and Jason shouted from across the studio amidst cheers and
heckling. Serena calmly flipped them all the bird.

"As I was saying before the peanut gallery chimed in with their two cents, it sounds like
a wonderful idea," Serena said happily. "Pick me up at eight."

"Yes, ma'am," Darien replied with a grin.

**********************************************

Outside the studio, Darien sat in his car, thinking.

Would Raye be at the Silver Moon tonight? What would Serena say - or do - if she was?
Would Serena wonder if he already knew Raye would be there? Should he tell her about it
before they went there?

At that thought, he frowned. He wasn't sure she would take it the right way if she knew
he already knew Raye was working there. She might even wonder if her being there was the
reason that he wanted to go. And things would only get worse from there.

Still, he wanted to go there with Serena. He wanted to help patch things up between Raye,
his friend, and Serena, his love. Even if their relationship was over, Raye was still a
good friend. Before landing his role as Jack Terrance, good friends were something he
didn't have a lot of. Even though she had hurt him bad when she left him, he was willing
to give her a second chance as a friend. He only hoped that Serena would give her a chance
as well.

But still, the question remained. Should he tell her, or not? If he told her, then she
might get upset and possibly refuse to go. If he stayed silent, there was a chance that
he could act he didn't know Raye was working there and pretend it was all a coincidence.

It could work.

Only Serena wasn't an idiot. She could easily figure it out if she wanted to.

Still, if he didn't screw up, and he could get Raye to play along, it was still possible
to convince Serena that he didn't know Raye was working there.

But, lying to Serena....

"Maybe I should've offered to take her somewhere else, instead," he muttered to himself
with a sigh.

**********************************************

To Chapter 44

**********************************************

Author's Note: It's been almost half a year since the last chapter of this story. I'm so
sorry that I've neglected this story for so long, but I've been so busy with everything
else, that I've almost forgotten about finishing it. However, I'm too close to the end to
let this story go without finishing it. I won't stop until I reach the end. That I promise
you. Next chapter: The meeting of Serena and Raye at the Silver Moon; Jack and Diane meet
with Maxfield Stanton; and Tira and Christy make a startling discovery.

Disclaimer: All original materials belong to their respective
owners. Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi and a bunch
of big companies. No copyright infringement is intended. This
story belongs to Moonsong and myself, and I would appreciate
you emailing her or myself for permission before posting it
anywhere else. Thank you.

Prologue Copyright © January 24, 2000 Moonsong.
Other Chapters Copyright © August 12, 2000 Jason Ulloa.
All Rights Reserved.