A Strange Town, Indeed: A Sims 2 DS Fanfiction

Chapter 7: The Missing Mayor

A day or so after Frankie's exit, we all noticed something strange, and that was the mysterious disappearance of Mayor Jackson. We were all searching for him, but he wasn't anywhere in town, not even in his office or out in the desert. He was nowhere to be found. He was just...gone.

And I knew my theory was right. Frankie tried to make me bury him in the desert. The mayor was in that chest. When I explained my theory to Penelope, she nodded. "He was indeed in the chest, Alessa. He's alive, though, and he's alright. I planned on telling you, but everyone panicked and began searching for him before I got the chance. He wanted me to pass along a message to you."

"What message?" I asked.

Penelope took a deep breath, and then hesitantly she answered, "He's offering you his job as mayor of Strangetown."

I feel my eyes widen, the weight of that sentence alone hitting me like a tidal wave. The responsibility that came with being mayor...and I was already managing this hotel, and I hadn't even been doing that for very long.

How in the hell was I supposed to run a whole town?!

"He told me himself that the job has become too stressful, what with all the strange things the town deals with," explained Penelope. "Aliens and other goons being the main problem now that Fusilli's gone. And you already handle the aliens better than he ever could, according to him."

"So he thought I'd be good for the job? Someone who barely even has experience managing a hotel?" I asked in disbelief. She nodded. "This...I need to think on it, alright?"

"Understandable, Alessa, but please make a decision soon."

"Isn't there usually a process for this sort of thing, anyway? An election, or...?"

"Usually. But no one would ever want to run for mayor of this town. Not anymore."

"I see."

I bid Penelope goodbye and made my way from the atrium to the hotel lobby, where I saw a peculiar woman who I'd never met standing there, looking around with curiosity. She had purple-black hair, dark makeup to match, and wore a lot of black and purple clothing.

She then noticed me. "Quite a surprise to find such a quaint hotel in the middle of this arid dust bowl. How old is it?" She asked without even extending a greeting or anything.

"Well, let's see..." I actually didn't have an answer. "Cory?" I called.

"Yes?"

"How old is the Strangetown Hotel?"

"I think it's about a decade old, at the most," he called back.

"There you go," I told the woman.

"Hmm," said the woman, "Rather recent for my tastes. I prefer buildings with a little history, a lot of stories, and a damp, dark mausoleum. But how many of those are there, really? Your hotel will do for now...though you may want to turn the power back on, it just went out...I'm Ava Cadavra, and I think I'll be renting your finest suite for quite a while. I've just come into a bit of money, you see, and I intend to spend it lavishly."

"Well, the penthouse just opened up," I offered, hoping this wasn't a Frankie repeat or something.

"The penthouse, eh?Very good. It's a pleasure doing business with you, Alessa. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other. Tah tah," she said. She then walked off toward the stairs leading to the elevator.

How did she know my name? Oh, well. Cory must have told her. Noting her comment about the power going out, I headed down to the basement to stoke the furnace before getting some things done. Some of the rooms in the hotel needed to be renovated, so I needed to get a couple of permits. Mayor Jackson's employees were still there, so I could still get them. And I did so, after checking some people into the hotel.

A lot of people seemed angry today. Probably because of Mayor Jackson's disappearance. I can't say I blame them, especially since it was Frankie Fusilli's fault...but at least the mayor was safe.

I figured it might be a good time to check on Ava, see if she needed anything. So far, she seemed okay. But after Frankie—who wasn't subtle in the slightest, mind you—I felt it best to keep an eye on her, just to be on the safe side. Once I got to the penthouse, I spotted her wandering around, checking out the room. "Hello, Ava," I greeted her, "I was just wondering if you needed anything."

"Gee, I'm so glad I caught you, Alessa. Is this a bad time?"

"No, that's why I was asking," I replied.

"No? Good. I was just curious if this hotel had any small conference-type rooms to rent out for large groups."

"No, but we could see about building one," I told her, "It could take a little while though, because I need to earn the money for the permit, plus with all the renovations going on right now—"

"It needs to be small and dark—with no windows at all, actually—and have a reinforced, locking door. One that locks from the inside," Ava lists, "I know it's an odd request, but I'm hoping to organize a meeting for my cult this—ah, ha, I mean company sometime in the next month. For a...a yoga party."

"Uh-huh..." I said, catching her slip-up.

"So if you could just clear out a quiet, isolated room like that, it would be cool. Or, like you said, maybe you could just build one when the renovations are done?"

"That can be arranged," I said, and she smiled.

"Thanks very much, Alessa," she said.

At this point, I didn't know how much issue should be taken with the request. It was odd, especially considering its true purpose, but as long as she didn't hurt anyone, I couldn't do much. And she seemed like a generally decent person otherwise.

I had her write down the description she gave earlier for me, and left the penthouse to run some other errands. By this point, it was 10:17 PM, so I ended up going right to sleep after I was done.