Hide and Seek

Shannon took a drag of his cigarette and blew out the smoke. It swirled up toward the ceiling, circling the spotlight, highlighting the area in front of him. Watching patrons dancing, drink, laugh having fun with familiar sights and sounds at the Eternal Night Club. How depressing. He sipped his whiskey and snuffed out his cigarette. Moisture seeped through his shirt even with the central air set on. The heat of LA never failed to get to him. Looking back at the DJ stage, women flocked to the DJ Guest. Two women were in front of him, trying to get his attention. They shared a wet kiss. Their groans echoed, joining the rest of the women who acted out various sexual positions. The DJ took notice but asked Pete to remove them. Shannon knew he wasn't the type of guy to chase the ladies. The whole thing bored him. His cell buzzed in his pocket, his heart jumped. Let it be her; please let it be her. He took out his phone. When he recognized the number of his assistant, Linda, and not his love interest Emma, responding to his recent text message, he cursed, curling his fingers into his fist. He wasn't himself since Emma left. He and Emma had a terrible argument. He doesn't even remember how it started, but he sure knew how it ended. She left. "Bad news, Shannon?" Unclenching his fist, he flexed his fingers. "Not at all. And remember, I'm Mr. Leto here, Louise." Shannon noticed Pete walking through the two steel doors; he was interrupted by Louise. She flipped her long, straight, blonde hair over her shoulder and pursed her lips. "If you expect the same title courtesy from me, I expect the same from you. It's Miss Louise." He barked out a laugh at her audacity, and she curtseyed, bending over to display her ample cleavage. A nipple protruded over her dark brocade corset. He eyed the beaded flesh and then moved down to her knee-length skirt. "Like what you see?" She spread her hands down her torso. He shrugged and re-pocketed his phone and cigarettes. "You know you're attractive." "And you know you're not supposed to smoke in here." He snorted. "I own the place and can do what I want, including throwing out snarky bitches like you." Pete stopped. "Boss, we found her." Shannon shoved Louise aside, walked over to Pete. "Where is she?" "In Orleans." Shannon nodded, "I know what we need to do. Let's go then." Both men walked to the double steel doors and left the club. Last thing Emma told him, "I know you're not going to stay here. You're going to look for me. Well, let's do this. Let's play Hide and Seek. I'm going to hide, and you can seek. If you find me, I will forget all about our argument. If you don't find me, let's say within four weeks, I'm going back home. Goodbye Shannon. Oh, you can't use your vampire powers." Slamming the door behind her. He deserved it. He knew he messed up; now he's going to make it right. She's been gone for two weeks, and he wanted to give her a good head start. He thought two weeks was enough for her to hide.

SCENE CHANGE - NEW ORLEANS

Arriving at his hotel, Shannon ignored his new assistant's Mike grumblings and thanked the bellhop, who set his suitcase at the foot of the bed. The bellhop brightened considerably at the twenty-dollar tip. He shut the door behind him, leaving Shannon alone in his suite while Mike investigated his room next door. "This place is awesome!" Mike clapped as he returned to inspect Shannon's hotel suite, going as far as to sit on the king-sized mattress and bounce. "Get your ass off my bed," Shannon ordered. Pete walked into the room and pulled him off the bed. "Pete, please tell me you're gonna train him with a shock collar on." "Sorry, boss." Pete pulled Mike to the other room to talk to him. Shannon took off his suit jacket and laid it across a chair. As he undid the top button of his shirt, he contemplated his reflection in the mirror above the dresser. Shannon didn't like the sallow, weary face staring at him. Mike walked into Shannon's room, "Hey, boss, after the meeting at the station, will you still need my services, or can I have the night off?" He bit the inside of his cheek to stop making some droll reply about Mike's type of services he expected.