Mirror, Mirror, Part 1

LAX is a busy place even at 5pm, and the young man leaving security with his bags hadn't ever been here before. Fresh off the flight from San Antonio, he was eager to see the sights, experience Tinseltown, and just drink in the experience. Looking around for his new agent, he failed to spot any sign of him. Sitting himself down on one of the benches beside the exit, he pulled out his cell and dialed the agency's number.

"Hello?" There was static on the line, distorting the sound of the receptionist's voice, but the kid continued to talk, excitement audible in his voice. "It's Jared Padalecki. I'm at the airport, and I don't see Mr. Kripke anywhere. He was going to send someone to meet me; what do I do?"

"Search me." The woman's voice crackled, but was still distressingly audible. "Guess you'd better come to the office. I'll tell him you're coming."

The cab ride down to Hollywood was punctuated by Jared's exclamations as each new landmark was revealed. The cabbie seemed to catch his enthusiasm, pointing out the particular part of Sunset that had been 'blown up' in that recent Shia LaBoeuf movie, while Jared oohed and ahhed at each reveal.

Kripke's offices were off Hollywood Boulevard, and at the sight of the infamous Hollywood Sign, Jared virtually had an orgasm. Climbing out of the cab on Yucca, the street listed on Kripke's card, Jared looked around himself but failed to see anything meeting the description of a talent agency, and as the cab pulled away he was suddenly assailed by insecurity. He began to walk along the street, looking for the numbers that would indicate his whereabouts, but there was still nothing. The day was coming to an end, the sun painting the sky in streaks of orange and purple as it ebbed through the dusty sky, and Jared was alone and far from home.

He hefted his suitcase again, wishing he'd brought slightly less with him, and made his way along towards the lights of a bar he could see in the next block. Entering, the cool of the air conditioning made him feel better at once, and he set his belongings down and ordered a beer, pausing to ask the bartender if he knew of the agency he was seeking. The bartender didn't, and neither did the other inhabitants of the bar – a group of men who were clustered around the pool table at the back of the room. Shrugging, dispirited, Jared attempted to call the office again, but got only the voicemail.

Leaving a tip on the counter he sighed and headed out once more, thinking that it was time to find himself a bed for the night, deciding that the best way to proceed would be to start a fresh search in the morning.

It was almost full dark now, sticky with the heat and the thick air. Traffic barreled down the street as Jared walked along, retracing his footsteps. He picked up his pace a little, long legs eating up the sidewalk. He hadn't noticed the men follow him out of the bar and didn't hear them as they came up behind him.

His first intimation that there was anything wrong was when he felt the blow to the back of his head and the world began to spin. He'd dropped to his knees, scared and confused. When they circled him, jeering and catcalling, he'd tried to talk to them, tried to remonstrate with them. All it had gotten him was violence. One man kicked him in the ribs, while another grabbed his suitcase and twitched it out of his hands, sending him off balance. A third growled what must have been abuse in a language that he'd never heard before, and begun to kick him over and over again. It hadn't been long before he'd lost consciousness.

When at last he'd come to, the men who had attacked him were long gone, and he was stripped of his wallet, his phone, his watch and his boots. His suitcase was long gone. His head was reeling, and he could only crawl to the wall that ran alongside the sidewalk, lean against it and vomit until there was nothing left in his stomach.

He attempted to rise to his feet, but there seemed to be something wrong with his knee, and it wouldn't bear his weight, folding under him as he attempted to push himself to standing. Tears prickled the backs of his eyes. He was alone and helpless now, and it was going to be a long night.

~~~~~~~oo(O)oo~~~~~~~






Part 2

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