Fashion Victims Ep. 51

Mitchell found himself back at the Blacklight. His boss had been happy with the information he had given her, but he on the other hand felt like crap. He knew what he had to do, and he knew why he had to do it, but he wasn't sure he was ready to take on the pressure of ruining someone's life.

He melted into the crowd on the dance floor, his body swaying and moving with the other people. The smell of booze, perfume and sweat was intoxicating, and for a brief moment he closed his eyes, forgeting what he had just done. It was easier that way.

He wasn't going to stop. He knew that much. Jade had died for this, and he was going to do his sister proud.

He felt a body suddenly bump against him. He opened his eyes to see a beautiful young girl stumbling, trying to make her way off the floor, but in her drunken haze it wasn't so easy. He recognized her from the video Jade had sent him. The young woman was Annabelle, one of Dollhouse's freshest models, and the current center of a sex scandal.

"You okay?" He placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to keep her steady.

"I'm fine." She pulled away, nearly falling flat on her ass. Lucky for her Mitchell was there to catch her.

"Right. Let's get you out of here." He pushed his way through the crowd towards the exit, pulling Annabelle behind him.

Once they were outside she yanked her arm away, glaring at him with what could only be described as pure hate.

"You didn't have to do that." Her words were a slurred mess.

"You were about to pass out. Of course I had to do that." The cool spring air felt amazing on his skin. He hadn't realized how hot the club had been until now.

She just glared at him, and he wasn't sure what she was going to do next. Then, without warning she grabbed him, pressing her lips against his. Her hands grabbed his firm butt, her thin, toned body pressed against his.

Then just as quickly as she had attacked she pulled away.

"Son of a bitch." She wiped her lips. "Nothing. Absolutly nothing."

"I'm sorry." He actually felt slightly insulted.

"It's not you. It's... It's..." She was getting choked up. "I'm a lesbian!" She screamed the words, then fell to her knees tears streamind down her cheeks.

"Wow..." He honestly was speechless. The scene playing in front of him was to bizarre for him to truly know how to react.

"I mean, you're hot, and any girl would want you, but not me." She pounded her fists on the ground. "No, not good old Annabelle. The country girl who just so happens to like girls."

"It's not that big of a deal." He crouched down next to her, gently touching her arm.

Her head snapped in his direction, her eyes wide and angry. She smacked him and stood, trying to stumble away. Obviously she hadn't learned to drunk walk in heels just yet, because she made it five feet before rolling her ankle. She leaned against the brick wall of the club, crying and cursing like a sailor.

Mitchell glanced around, then walked over to her.

"Let me get you a cab." His voice was soft, caring. He wasn't even faking it. The poor girl was such a wreck he couldn't help but want to make things better. It was his fault, well his sister's fault, that she was in this mess.

"I'm sorry." She stood, wobbling on her feet and wincing in pain. "I'm sorry I hit you." She reached out, her hand caressing his cheek. She kissed him again.

"Anything?" He smiled, already knowing the answer.

"Nope." She shook her head. "I'm going to so get fired."

Mitchell shook his head, then carefully placed a hand around Annabelle's waist, leading her towards the line of taxis in front of the club.

After safely getting her inside the cab and heading home Mitchell took a breath, leaning against the wall outside of the club. He could feel the vibrations of the music against his tense back muscles. It actually felt kind of good. That good feeling didn't last for long though. Tonight was just another reminder that he was probably in over his head.

Way over.

Fashion Victims Ep. 1.50

Rick held his gun at the man standing in the middle of Barbi's office. The guy was tall, dark and suspicious.

"I asked you what the hell you were doing here." Rick kept his finger off of the trigger. "Wait..."

"I can explain." The guy put the folder on the desk, putting his hands in the air.

"Mitchell Cross, how the hell did you find your into Barbi's house." Slowly Rick re-holstered his gun.

The man standing in front of him was the same guy he had been searching for since Jade's body had been found. Mitchell Cross was not an easy man to track, and lucky for Rick there he was, standing half naked in his sister-in-law's house.

"How'd you know my name?" Mitchell's demenor changed completely.

Rick didn't speak, he just flipped out his badge, and watched Mitchell's face crumble. He knew he was caught. For what, Rick wasn't sure, but he was positive that he would find something.

"What the hell is going on here?" Barbi stood in the doorway, her eyes still half open with sleep. "Rick don't tell me you're one of those cops."

Rick just gave her a look. He knew exactly what kind of cops she was talking about. The type who would arrest anyone with skin pigment darker then khaki. He wasn't. He was the type of cop who found it odd that a half naked man was standing in the middle of Barbi's office though.

"He's my guest. Okay." Barbi stepped past Rick, but froze when she saw the file on the desk. Her face broke. "What the hell were you doing?" Here eyes shifted from the file to Mitchell.

"Barbi, meet Mitchell Cross. Jade's brother." Rick couldn't help but smile. Even though they had been getting along lately, he still couldn't help sticking it to her every once in a while.

"Get out." Barbi's voice was soft, but fierce.

"I can explain Barbi." Mitchell took a step forward.

"I said get the hell out!" She screamed, her finger pointing towards the door.

Mitchell left quickly. That scream was enough to make anyone run for cover. Rick took a step towards Barbi, but he kept his distance. She was dangerous like this. She wouldn't kill him, but it was very likely that she would at least scratch his eyes out. He watched her pick up the file, the folder shaking in her hands.

"This is bad." Her voice was low, shakey. "This is really bad."

"What?" Rick walked over, glancing at the file. "Oh."

They looked at each other, not sure of what to do next. Could they warn Mia? How would they tell someone who was suffering from cancer that their whole life was about to explode all over again.

"Tell Gio." Rick spoke slowly.

Barbi nodded, but her silence told Rick that it was time to leave.

Quickly he exited the office, running towards his car as the sound of Barbi's angry screams filled the mansion.

Fashion Victims Ep. 1.49

Mitchell slipped out of Barbi's room around four in the morning. He had a mission, and unlike his sister, he wasn't going to be so obvious. Jade had been sloppy, and it got her killed. Mitchell wasn't going to make that mistake.

He stepped slowly, quietly down the hall towards the office in the east wing of the mansion. He knew that Barbi kept the good stuff in her house. The office was to public, but her home office was her sanctuary.

Once inside he gently closed the door, making sure no one was watching him. He skipped the computer. There was probably an access code, and he knew he didn't have the time to figure it out. Instead he headed over to the row of file cabinates. Nothing said blackmail like a good old paperwork.

He randomly started opening drawers, but his eyes fell on one file. Mia Ramirez. He had seen her ads, her runway work. She was amazing. Emphasis on the was. Lately she had fallen off the face of the earth, and no one knew why. Well, Mitchell was pretty sure he was about to find out.

He grabbed the file, flipping it open.

"I've hit the motherload." He smiled, picking up a picture of a young man. He was slim, with long black hair, and delicate features.

He knew right then and there who that young man was. On the back of the picture it said Marcus Rodrigez, but he knew that young man had a knew name now. He had a new name, a new body, and a new life.

"Mia, how you have changed." He was about to slip the picture into the pocket when his eyes fell on the medical form.

His heart sank. This wasn't good. Obviously it was damaging news, but he knew this wasn't the type of thing he wanted to release.

"What are you doing here?"

Mitchell turned, closing the file, slipping the picture into the back of his pants.

He nearly pissed himself at the man standing in the doorway holding a gun at him.

"Umm..." He couldn't speak.

Was he going to end up like his sister already?

Fashion Victims Ep. 1.48

Derrick sat in Grind, his hands wrapped around his cup of coffee. The morning was extremely cool for the spring, and the heat from the coffee felt good on his hands. He had been tense all morning.

He had no idea why he had called Jackson. Well, he knew why. He had enjoyed their night together, and he really wasn't getting much action anywhere else. It wasn't like he was trying though. He had his mind set on two things. Mia and Jackson. Mia had rejected him, and in her state he had to respect that, and Jackson... interested him.

He was supposed to be at Grind by ten, but like every other model Derrick had ever met, Jackson was late.

He found himself checking his phone, waiting for a text or a call. Something. He hadn't been like this since he was in high school.

Finally, around eleven Jackson made his entrance. It was one of those moments where the whole room seemed to slow down, and everyone's eyes were on the person walking through the door. It even seemed like a slight breeze had kicked up, blowing Jackson's perfect hair ever so slightly.

"You came." Derrick couldn't believe how happy he sounded.

"Yeah." The tone in Jackson's voice was not what Derrick had been hoping for. He was distracted, flip.

Jackson sat across from him, his eyes wandering around the coffee house. He seemed like that was the last place he wanted to be.

"I'm such an idiot." Derrick looked away, his voice soft, weak. He couldn't believe it. He had actually thought that maybe Jackson had wanted to spend time with him after their night together.

"No you're not." Jackson's eyes finally fell on Derrick. "I've just had a long morning. I've been talking to the police. I haven't even been in town for a month and I'm already getting interviewed about the murders."

"There's no point, right?' Derrick focused on his coffee. He couldn't bring himself to look at the man sitting across from him. "We can't even do the friend thing, can we."

"I didn't think that was something you wanted." Jackson flagged down a waiter. "From what I've been told you're the hump 'em and dump 'em type, right?"

"Yeah." Derrick cleared his throat, taking in a deep breath, trying to keep a clear head. "I had fun though. I thought maybe we could..."

"It's not a good idea." Jackson placed his hand over Derrick's. "You know that, I know that. We took our mind off of things for a night. That was all."

Derrick stood, throwing a ten down on the table. He shook his head. How could he have been so stupid?

"I'll see you at the studio later. They want more shots." Derrick looked away. He knew his face was turning beat red from humiliation.

Then he felt it, Jackson's hand on his arm. Their eyes met for a brief moment, and Derrick started to melt, but it wasn't enough. He wasn't going to fall for that again.

On the way out he could feel his chest getting tighter. He had to blame it on all the drama. That was why he was throwing himself into... well, whatever the hell that was. That was the only reason. The murder, and Mia. That was what was driving him towards Jackson. Nothing else.

Fashion Victims Ep. 1.47

Barbi sat on the large leather couch in her living room, the sun coming through the window, beating on her back. The heat felt nice. She had very little that made her feel nice anymore, but the sun was one of those things that still relaxed her.

Rick sat across from her, his head in his hands. His fingers were rubbing his temples, and she was well aware that he had a growing headache. She had the same feeling. Hers wasn't in her head. It was growing in her shoulders, right at the base of her neck. The pain was going to be killer, but not as bad as facing the killer who was on the loose.

"So, lets go over this again, who would want Jade dead?" Rick stood up, stretching. He had been up the entire night before going over evidence.

"Well, my sister for one. Annabelle, and maybe a few people at the office." Barbi picked her mug off of the coffee table, sipping the hot tea. "She wasn't exactly well liked."

"Bad enough to get an axe to the face?" Rick collapsed in the large arm chair across from Barbi. "And what about Eve? And Kurt?"

"I don't think Kurt or Eve were personal. Jade, on the other hand, was very personal. It was mean, brutal... Whoever killed her hated her." Rick pulled out a cigarette, looking at Barbi for permission to light up.

She nodded. She could use a cigarette herself, but decided against it. She had enough things out to kill her, she didn't need another one.

"Jade was working for someone." Barbi crossed her legs looking over her shoulder, glancing out at the pond that sat behind her mansion. "She failed them when she got fired. Maybe they were making sure she couldn't spill the beans on what she was up to."

"Who was she working for?" Rick leaned forward a cloud of smoke surrounding his head.

"A company called Precious Stones Modeling. I've never heard of them, and other than the name I don't know much, but obviously they're getting into the big leagues, because they're coming after the best." She reached into her giant purse that was resting at her feet, pulling out the file on Precious Stones.

Rick and Barbi's eyes met. Someone wanted to be the best in the fashion industry, but were they killing to get there? Or was it someone else?

Now back to our regularly scheduled program...

So, I'm back! Posting will return to five days a week. Enjoy guys.

No Episodes This Week...

I was all ready to start posting this weeks episodes, but something came up work wise, and I won't be able to. I apologize, but work has to come first. So, hang on! Fashion Victims will be back next week. During this little hiatus, please, go check out a daytime soap. They really need your support! Check your local listings for times.

ABC
General Hospital
One Life to Live
All My Children

NBC
Days of Our Lives

CBS
Young and the Restless
Bold and the Beautiful
As the World Turns
Guiding Light