Operation: Moonfall | Jimmy Crystal Revenge & Redemption

The News

Celeste Cassidy, acting head of Crystal Entertainment, entered Jimmy Crystal's office and, as she had done many times before, stifled a grimace at the gaudiness. The cougar, sporting cream-colored crepe pants and a matching blazer over a black shirt, strode across the room in her black pumps as if she owned the place. Not that she did—she was only acting head, after all—but once Crystal was officially ousted, the first thing she would do with her new office would be to gut the entire thing and wipe away every trace of that stupid, churlish wolf. For now, she compensated by covering as much of the "art" with tarps and sheets as possible. It gave the office a slight appearance of abandonment, but it was preferable to looking at countless interpretations of Crystal in sculpture and on canvas.

She remembered the first day she had to work out of this office, after Crystal was denied bail and it became apparent his mounting legal troubles weren't going anywhere anytime soon. The immediate fallout from the Moon catastrophe fell in her lap, and she was going to prove to the city that she was up to the task of weathering Crystal Entertainment through the ensuing crisis. It was during that first day Celeste tried to work out of the office as-is, but she couldn't shake the distinct and distressing feeling that all those images of Jimmy Crystal were watching her, waiting for her to fail. Jerry weakly protested once the tarps went up, but she reminded him that Crystal only had himself to blame.

Now she was making her way to "her" desk, with the rotund cat following in her shadow.

"Jerry, get me an updated list of potential talent scouts."

"Yes, Ms. Cassidy," Jerry replied, tapping away at his tablet.

"And send the audition videos to my drive. I'd appreciate it if you'd whittle it down to the top twenty-five acts. You've witnessed enough auditions and success stories over the years that I trust your judgment on this."

"Uhh... we've only had nine acts show up since reopening auditions."

Celeste did a half-swivel on her pumps to stare at Jerry, "Nine!?"

Jerry flashed a nervous smile. "Possibly eight. I'm pretty sure one of them is just the same guy trying to audition again in disguise."

Celeste felt a headache coming along. Not only was the talent gone, they were starting to attract more weirdos and flat out con artists too. She didn't want to spend too much time pondering if the dearth was because of the scandal or because of Crystal's absence. She didn't know how he found the time to run the company and personally sit in on auditions even when the company wasn't in crisis.

"Send me the nine," she said, not even feigning interest. She sat down at the desk and barely managed to get to work when she felt a familiar, distressing presence equal parts pervasive and invasive. For reasons she could not explain, her eyes were drawn to the TV over the fireplace in the lounging area of the office, and she could feel the bile rising at the sight of Jimmy Crystal's image next to the news anchor.

"Turn that up, Jerry."

At her command Jerry also become aware of the news story, quickly shuffling over to the coffee table in the lounge and using the remote to raise the volume so they could properly listen in.

"... has dismissed all charges against embattled mogul Jimmy Crystal, and he is expected to be released as early as tomorrow..."

The news pierced the room like a gunshot, filling the air with electric tension and silence until Celeste growled, "Are you shitting me?"

Jerry stood rigid as a statue, his tablet sliding out of his hand and clattering on the floor. After pinching his face to make sure he wasn't dreaming, he threw his fists in the air and screamed at the top of his lungs.