It was an early morning in the ILS Intelligence Department. The room was slightly dim, lit by the glow of countless monitors, including one that took up an entire wall. Men and women typed away and answered calls at countless desks lit by small lamps, sorting tips and chasing leads. A heavyset man leisurely strolled to one of the desks, where a brown-skinned man was hard at work.

Manager Lane took a moment to savor his coffee before heading to work.

“All right, you have something for me, Kishor?”

“Possibly, sir. Miss Gabriel Le Blank is acting suspicious lately.”

“Le Blank? I thought we already ruled her out. Isn’t it just her normal bragging?”

“I thought so too, sir, but I can’t find an alibi for her this time. She seems to be cutting down on her modeling hours, no movies in the works either. Could be a business deal but we haven’t seen her with any of her normal contacts. She was also escorted by a ‘minion’ type every time she made a public appearance recently.”

Manager Lane rubbed his chin.

“Hm, well start keeping an eye on her until you figure out what she’s up to. Not sure I believe she’s capable of much even if she is going off the deep end, but it won’t hurt to be prepared.”

“Yes sir.”

“Bob, we have a problem.”

Bob looked at the schedule and felt the pressure in his skull grow. Minh was on attendant duty today, so he could guess what, or rather who, the problem was.

“What is she doing now?”

“She keeps bragging about our plans. She hasn't dropped exact details yet but it’s starting to get suspicious, I think everyone’s going to catch on that it’s not just a show.”

Bob heaved a sigh.

“Let me think…”

Bob rubbed his chin. Eventually he let out another sigh, deeper than before.

“I think I have...an idea. Just try to follow up as best you can, I’ll handle the rest.”

“Copy that.”

Bob rubbed his temples. The things he did for people.

Villains are so annoying.

Bob walked down the hallway of a mansion, dressed in a suit with a smooth and featureless pink mask. In his hand he held a tray with tea and cookies. He stepped in front of a large pink door. He took a deep breath.

And entered into a world of pink.

Lying amidst a sea of pink cushions was a woman. Her dark hair went this way and that, her green eyes were narrowed behind round glasses. She rolled about pink sweatpants and a pink hoodie as she typed away at the laptop on her bed.

There was the former lady Anita Laflèche de Albifort. Anita Gaumount now legally, but the world at large wasn't aware of that.

Bob walked forward, carefully avoiding the cushions littering the floor, and placed the tray on a table next to the bed.

“Your afternoon tea, Mistress.”

The woman started and glanced up.

“Oh, is it that time already? Thank you, my dear minion!”

Bob gave a short bow.

“Of course, Mistress. I see that Master Gaumont is out today?”

“Oh, I think so? You know Pierre, he sure loves to move about. I believe he wanted to take the boys down to the lake, for old times' sake.”

Even Bob felt something warm in his chest as Anita smiled at the mention of her beloved. Something that was quickly squashed by a pounding headache.

Because if Mr. Gaumont wasn’t here, then he’d have to have this talk directly. Something he had managed to avoid for decades. He took a deep breath.

“Mistress, you have a request.”

Anita tilted her head.

“A request? Whatever for?”

“A screenplay.”

She blinked.

“Huh? Screenplay?”

Bob nodded.

“Mister Soyer called, he was most impressed by your latest work and wants to turn it into a movie.”

“Huh? Why would he do that?”

“Mistress…”

“Yes?”

“Are you not aware that you are a best-selling author?”

“Eh? What? What do you mean, minion?”

Bob suppressed a sigh and pointed to her laptop.

“Your written works are adored around the globe.”

She looked over to the laptop.

“Oh, those? Oh my, I wasn’t aware anyone was reading those. That’s somewhat embarrassing.”

She placed her hands on her cheeks as they slightly flushed.

“Mistress, did you not order them published from the very beginning?”

Anita grimaced.

“T-That was a dark time in my life, minion! I admit I was…most upset back then and wished to sully Her Majesty's reputation however I could. I, um, am trying to forget about that…Her Majesty keeps making fun of me for it...”

She froze.

“Wait…you mean…we’ve been publishing…everything I wrote…ever since then?”

Bob nodded.

Anita turned bright red. She grabbed the nearest pillow, brought it to her face, and began to scream.

This time Bob did not hold back his sigh. This might take a while.

Mr. Soyer sat at his desk, flipping through the last page of the screenplay. He adjusted his reading glasses and nodded.

“Magnificent. Are you certain Ms. Laflèche won’t be joining us for the production? I’d love the chance to work with such an artist directly.”

Bob shook his head.

“Unfortunately, Ms. Laflèche prefers her privacy. I believe she is hard at work on her next project in any case.”

Mr. Soyer nodded.

“Always refreshing to see one so dedicated to their craft. And so I shall commit to mine. It shall be a monumental task to live up to the source material, but I swear I shall produce a masterpiece.”

Bob nodded.

“Glad to hear it, we do have a small request, however.”

“Oh? Anything.”

“We like you to consider casting Miss Gabriel Le Blank in the star role.”

Mr. Soyer rubbed his slightly graying beard.

“Miss Le Blank, was it? She certainly has the looks, however I’m not certain she’s a great fit personality-wise.”

“It’s fine if it doesn’t work out, just give her first crack at it.”

Mr. Soyer nodded.

“That’s not a problem, she’s a first choice candidate most of the time anyways.”

Bob stood up and held out his hand.

“That’s all we ask, pleasure doing business with you.”

Mr. Soyer took Bob's hand with his right and patted it with his left.

“No no, my friend, it is all my pleasure. Tell Ms. Laflèche that this Sébastien Soyer swears he will make her proud.”

Bob entered into the art gala alongside Miss Le Blank. She stood at each art piece for a second before scoffing and flipping her hair. She strolled about until she found her target.

“My oh my, fancy seeing you here, dearest Vivienne”

The girl turned around and frowned.

“Oh, dearest Gabriel, I wasn’t aware you were coming. I didn’t know you to appreciate such things.”

Miss Le Blank leaned back and fanned herself.

“Well you know, we’ve been so hard at work, it was necessary to take a break.”

Vivienne frowned deeper.

“I’m not sure I believe there even is a ‘work’, I’ve not heard heads of tales of anything you’ve done lately.”

Miss Le Blank shook her head, clicking her tongue.

“Dearest Vivienne, that’s just the way these things work. The only ones you’ll hear about are the ones that fail. I, on the other hand, have my minions toiling away at a secret location, very remote, very private. I daresay you’ll never guess what or where we’re up to until I decide to let you see it. But soon, soon all shall be revealed. I shall cast aside all before me and rise to my rightful place. But you and I are good friends, are we not? Perhaps I can give you a sneak peak visit, I’ll speak with your father to arrange a little playdate, shall I?”

Vivienne scrunched her brow as Miss Le Blank began to smirk when Bob took a step forward.

“Ma’am, sorry to interrupt, but it’s almost time for your three ‘o clock.”

Miss Le Blank flipped her hair.

“Well, dearest Vivienne, it’s been a pleasure, but duty calls. It is so very hard having so much to do.”

With that, Miss Le Blank turned and strode away. Vivienne and Alfred raised their eyebrows as Bob remained behind.

“I’m sorry, but would you two mind keeping this conversation to yourself? The director doesn’t want any leaks before the trailer, this might violate Miss Le Blank’s NDA. We can invite you to visit the set if you promise to keep things quiet.”

Vivienne blinked, and then her mouth curled into a smirk.

“Of course, dear minion, of course. You have our word.”

Bob slouched over and let out a sigh, then bowed repeatedly.

“Many thanks, Ma’am. Now I better get back to the mistress.”

Vivienne kept her eyes trained on the pair as they left.

“Alfred.”

“My Lady?”

“Find out what movies are coming out, ones that haven’t been announced yet. Hm, if I recall correctly, Mr. Soyer has been absent from the last few soirees, check on him first.”

“Right away, my Lady.”

The edges of Vivienne’s mouth curled up.

“Heh heh heh, let’s see who’ll be busy now, eh Gabriel?”

Back in the ILS office, Manager Lane walked over to Kishor’s desk once more.

“What’s the word, Kishor?”

Kishor nodded.

“I found it, sir.”

The man leaned over to look at Kishor’s screen.

“A movie? Want to tell me why I’m reading paparazzi gossip, Kishor?”

Kishor nodded.

“Mr. Soyer finally got the rights to do a Laflèche adaptation. Miss Le Blank was auditioning for the lead role.”

“Is that really it?”

Kishor nodded again.

“Mr. Soyer doesn’t like leaks, so it makes sense they’ve been cagey about the whole affair. The 'minion' was probably another actor who was instructed not to be seen with her in public. In fact, from what I can tell, Mr. Soyer is most upset at Miss Le Blank for giving it away. Looks like he’s dropped her from consideration.”

Manager Lane shook his head.

“She really can’t help herself, can she?”

Kishor grinned.

“And get this, sir.”

“Oh?”

“The main candidate to replace her is her old rival from university, the one she’s always trying to one up.”

Manager Lane let out a laugh.

“Oh, that’s a good one. Twenty bucks says she’s the one Miss Le Blank spilled the beans to in the first place. Well, looks like we can leave Miss Le Blank for now, good work, Kishor.”

“Thank you, sir.”