<b>Counseling, Chapter 2,</b>

            an erotic tale by AchtungNight.



Tagline: Preparations for spying on Evan Rachel Wood.



<b>Celebs:</b> Evan Rachel Wood.

<b>Codes:</b> F-solo, toys, romance.



<I>Standard disclaimer- This story is a satirical fantasy.  It is
fictional, even though its plot and characters are based on real
events and people.  All characters based on real people are
fictionalized.  All celebrities in the story are impersonated --
poorly.  I, the author, have no actual connection to any
celebrity mentioned in this story other than being their fan, and
I acknowledge that they do not act in real life the way my
characters based on them do. I did not write this tale for
financial profit and I expect none from it.  This story contains
controversial adult themes and situations, so it should not be
read by those who are close-minded or under age 18.</I>



<b>Intro:</b> <I>Hello, readers.  This tale is my tribute to
celebrities and other people who need to get their minds fixed
up, and their lives straightened out.  It is a satire, like all
my stories.  All opinions expressed by the themes are mine.  If
you disagree, that is your right and I hope you will excuse me. 
If I am not as familiar with my subjects as I should be, please
correct me if you are more knowledgeable.  Any mistakes in this
story that were not caught by my editor and other advisors are my
responsibility.



There are references to other art in the story.  The mentions of
the nudist camp "The Pines" and its patrons appear with
permission from author Nick Scipio.  Writer KMB allowed me to
include a nod to his "Harem" series (which takes place in a
separate but connected universe from my own celebrity
fanfiction).  I give my thanks to these great artists for letting
me plug their writings.  I also credit Greg Weisman, John Kovalic
and the creators of all the other works mentioned in the text.  I
don't own any of these people's conceptions and I did not contact
any artist other than KMB and Nick Scipio for prior advertising
assent.  However, all these artisans' labors inspire me.  I hope
they and their fans will appreciate the ways I have paid them
homage here.



In my series timeline, you can consider this tale the bridge
between "Passion of Erika Christensen" Chapters 4 and 5.  I would
call it a "Passion" chapter, but Erika is not the lead of the
story.  She's just one of many important characters.  I also want
to do a sweeping summary to bring her into the present. 
Therefore, I have put this story outside the main "Passion" arc.
You can call it "Passion 4.75" ("The Rendezvous" being 4.25 and
"Rekindled" being 4.5) if you must.  No other text should be
required reading, though as usual my other stories are connected
to this.  "Counseling" is also one of my longer works, so I have
broken it into four chapters for reader convenience.  I recommend
everyone read the chapters in order.



One additional note -- the villain in this tale is a character I
have tried to introduce before.  She can be held in check no
longer and my heroes need to face her.  People like this woman
and her associates exist and are the reason certain celebrities
are distrusted by their potential fans.  I feel this needs
depiction.  The villain in question has been retooled for her
role.  If all goes well, we will be seeing her again for further
conflicts.  She is a figure whom I believe fits the part I have
given her, like all my characters.  I'll let the tale itself
speak further as to whom she is.



Please let me know if you like or dislike this story.  I
appreciate any feedback I am sent.  I haven't been getting nearly
enough feedback of late and would like that to change.</I>

(E-mail: DougElder21@yahoo.com)



***

<b>Counseling, Chapter 2.

Los Angeles, California.  November 30, 2008.</b>



            "It's not true!"



            "What's not true?" the frumpy woman reporter asked,
leaning close to the burly middle-aged actor she was interviewing
on the TV screen.



            "Evan Rachel Wood and I are not dating!" Mickey
Rourke snarled.  The former boxer's brown hair was sparse and
disheveled.  He wore a black leather jacket, white T-shirt and
denim jeans.  "Evan's a good friend, that's it.  Tell that
[bleep] wit who wrote that [bleep] in the paper I'd like to break
his [bleep]-ing legs."



            The well-dressed man seated behind the office desk
clicked off the television.  He then turned to the blond
weasel-faced man in the gray suit in front of him.  "Well, Gary,
do you want to explain yourself?"



            "I'm sorry, Mr. Pink," Gary Parker replied carefully.
 "I forgot Mickey Rourke had emotional problems.  The source who
told me about him and Evan Rachel Wood seemed plausible.  I guess
they weren't speaking truthfully."



            "Maybe they were," Ted Pinkerton said with a shrug. 
His long curly black mullet shook as he laughed.  "I've been a
celebrity tabloid editor five years now, Gary.  These people lie
about their relationships all the time.  Did you forget?  You've
been doing this longer than I have."



            "I guess I did forget, T.P.," Gary answered, smiling.
 "Thanks for reminding me."



            "No problem.  Nadine, did you think Mickey Rourke was
lying?"



            "Maybe," said the plain brunette woman in the tan
cardigan and slacks sitting next to Gary.  Nadine Holliday pushed
up her glasses and looked at the middle-aged hippie leaning
against the wall beside her chair.  "I really couldn't tell,
though.  Baxter, what about you?"



            "Don't ask me," Baxter Page said.  "You know I don't
like to speculate about celebrities' personal lives."



            "Come on, Nadine," Ted said.  "You used to work for
Weekly World News.  Baxter, you were an embedded photographer for
the military.  I know you've both dealt with false stories."



            "Yes," Baxter agreed.  "I couldn't tell whether
Mickey Rourke was telling the truth or not, though.  I guess I'm
out of practice."



            "I never made up any of my reports for WWN," Nadine
answered Ted's inquiry.  "I checked my sources and avoided
liars."



            Gary frowned.  "Nadine, I've read some of your
articles.  'Benevolent Secret Society Runs the World'?"



            "The Friendship doesn't run the world, Gary.  They
just try to influence it and inspire people to share knowledge,
charity and freedom.  They have members who are politicians,
teachers, priests, doctors, even celebrities.  There may be one
of them sitting in this room right now."



            "Nadine, your other stories can't be real," Baxter
said.  "What about your series on 'Living Stone Gargoyles'? 
Living stone gargoyles fight crime in London, Austin, San
Francisco, Tokyo and New York City?  Yeah right."



"They do.  They're also hunting pirates in Southeast Asia."



"Why didn't you add that they were guarding the Amazon rain
forests?"



            "I heard rumors about the Amazon.  I couldn't verify
them."



            "You want to believe that, fine.  I don't though." 
Baxter hoped she would not catch the lie in his voice.  "What
about the story you did right before WWN went out of print? 
'Descendants of Ancient Chinese Heroes Re-enact their Ancestors'
Greatest Deeds'.  Are you sure that wasn't just live action
role-playing?"



            "Yes.  I've also interviewed aliens, Bigfoot, Bat Boy
and the Loch Ness Monster.  They're all real.  I get my copy by
letting controversial figures sell themselves and being nice."



            "Wow," Gary said.  "Hard to believe WWN folded with
all your intrepid journalism."



            "The other reporters used to call me 'Nutso Nadine',"
his opposite replied with another sigh and adjustment to her
spectacles.  "They preferred to make up their articles.  I have
to say, though, that I've encountered more phony stories since I
got into celebrity tabloids than in all my seven years at WWN."



            "They could be true," Ted said.  "They attract
readers.  That's why we print them.  Whether they are real or not
doesn't matter.  Do you actually think Mickey Rourke should be
seeing someone like Evan Rachel Wood?"



            "No!  He's almost three times her age!  I agree we
should discourage them.  Is it real, though?  I know Evan and
Mickey just did a movie together called 'The Wrestler' but I
thought Evan was dating Marilyn Manson!"



            "She was until a week or two ago," Ted replied.  "Our
agency has heard conflicting rumors about their split.  Some say
Evan's brother Ira was living with them but Manson kicked him out
for rent delinquency.  Others say Manson was abusive towards Evan
and tried to get her hooked on crack and heroin.  Then there's
this Rourke thing.  Evan herself says the breakup was amicable,
but is that going to sell?"



            "I believe Evan, not the gossip," Nadine said. 
"Unlike Mickey Rourke, Marilyn Manson has never been in jail for
intoxication or assault.  Manson lives the role of a Satanic
cardinal, but it's all an act to get attention.  He's really an
okay person."



            "That's not what I've heard," Gary countered. 
"Manson has had two divorces and most of his fans' parents hate
him.  Religions dislike him also.  Even I can't stand the man."



            "Well, too bad," Ted inserted himself.  "I have a new
job for the three of you.  Gary, TMZ loved the series you did on
Evan and Manson.  Nadine, they think the way you got Rourke to
deny Gary's story about him and Evan was great too.  I'm putting
both of you on the Evan-Manson breakup.  Find out what's really
going on with that couple.  Baxter, you're their chaperone."



            "Excuse me, sir, but I don't think this is a good
idea," Baxter said.  "Manson doesn't like speaking to the press.
We've handled his divorces very badly.  Evan may not talk to us
either.  She's been saying she and Manson are taking some time
apart to concentrate on their work.  Gary's source was no longer
an insider in Evan's life and he was very bitter.  Evan described
him as desperate and selfish.  I think we should back off from
her.  She deserves her privacy."



            "The heck with that!" Gary said.  "This story is
great!  Baxter, tell Ted who our source on Manson and Evan was."



            "I can't, Gary.  Remember how he asked us not to
identify him?"



            "Come on, Baxter, we're free agent tabloid reporters!
 Who says we have to be ethical?"



            "Why don't you do it then?"  Baxter glared at Gary
and mouthed the words "Eliza Dushku".



            "Never mind," Gary said.  He turned from Baxter and
looked towards Ted.  "What do you want us to do, Mr. Pink?"



            "Manson is having a party at his Beverly Hills home
tonight," the editor answered.  "Evan should be there.  The three
of you will infiltrate and get some footage with these hidden
cameras."  He took three small devices out of a drawer and put
them on the desk.  They consisted of tiny microphones and lenses
disguised as mirrored buttons.  Hair thin wires connected them to
small batteries and flash memory drives.



            "Whoa," Nadine said.  "Spying on people like this is
illegal."



            "We do it all the time, Nadine.  I used to work with
the Pelican before I started this agency.  He was the famous
private investigator who covered tabloid stories and celebrity
divorces."



            "Yes, and now Anthony Pellicano is in federal
prison."



            "So don't get caught," Ted told her with a shrug. 
"You do want to keep your job, right?  You need more seasoning,
Nadine.  You can't get celebrities to give you the real dirt by
being nice to them.  Right, Gary?"



            "Hell no, boss," Gary replied.  "I've been trying to
teach Nadine that.  She disagrees, though."



            "Is this true, Nadine?"



            "Yes.  I've found that people treat you better if
you're respectful and don't put words in their mouths.  I acted
that way with WWN and it got me many good contacts."



            "Well, I need you to tone it down some.  You're going
to work with Gary and learn to be different."



            "On this Manson thing?  Ted, are you sure it will
profit?  The print tabloids are sick of Manson and they think the
Evan Rachel Wood story is over for now."



            "Well, TMZ thinks otherwise.  Harvey Levin wants us
to examine it further."



            "May I interject?" Baxter asked.  "I read the
Enquirer a few days ago that Evan is dating Joseph Gordon-Levitt
now."



            The editor shook his head.  "I checked into that. 
They're just friends, it's not yet serious.  You know how the
Enquirer likes to amp things out of proportion.  Can the
complaints, people.  If you don't want to do this, I'm getting
someone else."  Ted made an odd gesture at Baxter and then waved
at the microphones.  "Sound department assures me that these work
fine.  If the worst should happen, you can press this button here
and erase all data recorded on the flash drives.  I trust that
won't be necessary.  I have arranged for you all to have
invitations with phony names and costumes so you can enter the
party.  I'll pay double your usual fee if you grab something
good."



            "That would be great, Ted," said Baxter, who had
recognized the gesture.  "But what if the wrong person spots us?
Mickey Rourke knows Gary's face and byline."



            "If he's there, you better avoid him.  I don't want
any confrontations.  Get one on tape if you can't get out."



            "What about Manson?" Nadine asked.  "I tried to
interview him last Monday and he started lecturing me before I
could ask the first question."



            "Let Gary coach you on that.  He's great with
religious nut-balls.  Did you see him interview Kirk Cameron on
Friday's TMZ?"



            "Yes, but..."



            "Nadine, loosen up," Gary said.  "These guys make it
so easy for you to crucify them before the world it's laughable.
I could feel Kirk handing me the hammer and putting his hands in
place on the cross while I pounded in holes."



            "Gary, I don't like being mean to people."



            "Get to like it," Ted ordered.  "You're in a
different industry now.  Are you all free tonight?  Can you do
this?"



            Baxter frowned.  "Um, yeah.  I just need to make one
phone call."



            "Gary?  Nadine?"



            "Sure, T.P.," Gary said.  "You had me at 'well, too
bad'."



            "I guess I'll do it too," Nadine said.  "It's not
like I have a date or anything."  She sighed, hoping more than
she bargained for in getting into celebrity journalism was not
waiting in the wings.



***



            "Oh yeah," Evan Rachel Wood moaned, pushing her
plastic stake harder into her loins.  "Oh!"



            The actress was tossing and turning on a bed, her
nude body the one spot of color against the black sheets.  Her
pale skin and pink nipples shone in the room's dim light.  Evan's
limbs were long and firm, her muscles tight after the years of
martial arts training she had undergone in adolescence.  She
still practiced and kept herself fit in the present.  A scar on
her belly was the one obvious flaw in Evan's perfection.  Her
pussy was shaven with a very prominent clitoris.  Long waves of
ash blonde hair fell about her beautiful face.



            "Oh!" Evan hissed again as she jilled herself with
the stake.  Her other hand was roaming over her torso in pattern,
pinching her nipples and tracing spirals on her chest and belly.
Just over twenty years of age, exercise and experience showed in
her movements.  Evan's pale blue eyes stood wide open in her
cherub's face as she approached orgasm.  Her mind ran rampant,
meditating on her past and current circumstances.



            Since age twelve, Evan had slept naked and
masturbated to orgasm upon awakening almost every morning.  She
liked to get up in the early afternoon now but there was no other
difference in her resting and rising practices.  Her ritual
helped Evan steel her heart for the challenges she faced each day
and remind herself that life was not all about pain.  There was
so much agony in Evan's world.



            Evan had been involved in acting since childhood. 
Her parents owned a theater and she found her career there
watching the people on stage.  When she joined the theater's
casts and Hollywood talent scouts in the audience noticed, a
stream of film roles soon followed for Evan.  She wowed fans and
critics alike in movies including "Thirteen" and TV shows such as
"Once and Again".  It was known in the film industry that if you
wanted a beautiful troubled teenager with a twist, Evan Rachel
Wood was among your best cast choices.  Evan took to her roles
with relish, not caring about their repetitive nature. 
Performing was something she wanted to do.



            Sex was also something she wanted to do.  Her parents
had grown up during the sexual revolution and continued it into
the modern day.  The Woods took Evan to a private camp called
"The Pines" every summer where nudity and swinging were very much
in evidence.  Evan watched the people there with fascination,
feeling both thankful and jealous as they left her out of their
tantalizing activities because of her youth.  At age twelve,
things altered when all of a sudden Evan's newly awakened
hormones overwhelmed her.  Now she was clearly able to identify
what she wanted from the gorgeous naked bodies she saw around her
each day.  However, she still could not achieve it.



            People avoided Evan because her body was not yet
fully developed and they were intimidated by her movie star
status and precocious wisdom.  Evan was attracted to a pair of
Pines regular families named Hughes and Coulter, but all their
interesting boys and girls failed to notice her attraction.  They
were too busy settling each other's urges.  The same was true of
all the other Pines patrons.  Evan's adolescent yearnings
constantly lit a fire under her loins and she was forced to
satisfy it herself.  She also researched sex heavily at
libraries, wanting to know as much about it as possible when her
time to have it came.



            When she was cast in the TV drama "Once and Again",
Evan was exposed to many concepts most shows about teens deemed
too radical to explore.  Divorce, sex, drugs -- "Once and Again"
depicted everything.  Evan longed for real experiences to mirror
her character's scripts and was frustrated when no one wanted to
help her out.  Then the third season arrived.



            Mischa Barton, another young actress, arrived on the
show to play a new love interest for Evan's character.  The
network executives wanted a ratings rise and figured putting in a
bisexual teenage relationship was a good idea.  The stunt did not
work as well as hoped.  Even so, Evan and Mischa still found
themselves fascinated by the concept.  Mischa had enjoyed a
childhood like Evan's and starred in three foreign films that
explored sexuality among teens.  She was not innocent with either
sex and was ready to show Evan all she knew.  Evan was a very
eager pupil.



            Evan continued to find lovers among her co-stars as
her career progressed.  "Once and Again" was canceled and she
split from Mischa, but then came "Thirteen" and Nikki Reed took
over.  Evan was shocked by the depths of the other teenage
actress's fetishes and depraved mind.  Soon she was open to and
captivated by almost any sort of sex.  The fact that she had yet
to lose her heterosexual virginity was no concern.  Evan knew she
wanted boys as well as girls.  Her role in "Pretty Persuasion"
taught her much about manipulation and she entered her next film
intent on seducing every cast member who drew her eye.



            After an intense day of getting to know her and each
other, Evan's fellow "Upside of Anger" actresses Keri Russell,
Alicia Witt and Erika Christensen succumbed to Evan's advances. 
Their male co-star Dane Christensen followed a few weeks later. 
The discoveries that Alicia was holding back her own bisexual
desires and that Erika and Dane were both flexible swingers
despite being part of a controversial repressive religion added
spice.  Keri also taught Evan many new fucking techniques,
learned through a maturing process similar to Evan's own.



            Erika introduced Evan to a London nightclub called
"Inside Out" and it was there that Evan met her first serious
boyfriend.  Jamie Bell was a young English actor who starred in
the dance drama "Billy Elliot" and several other films.  Evan
already had a huge crush on him before they met.  Finding out
Jamie had a similar attraction to her incited their relationship.
 Erika and Inside Out's owner Doug Ramsay tried but failed to
keep Evan and Jamie from taking things too far too fast.  Both
were over-eager, Jamie in particular since he was still a virgin.
 He was scouting the Soho dating scene trying to find someone
worthy of being his first sexual partner.  Evan was thrilled at
Jamie's choice of her and gave him her heterosexual virginity in
exchange.



            They dated for nearly three years after "Upside"
ended, traveling back and forth between England and the United
States.  Their couplings remained passionate as Evan matured and
her mind expanded further with her continuing sexual research. 
Evan loved Jamie, her friends from "Upside", and many other
people.  In 2006, Evan got bored with Jamie, finding him no
longer interesting.  He was also quite possessive of Evan even
though they had enjoyed many threesomes with Erika and other
girls.  This upset Evan and she finally left him.  After the
split, Evan looked hard for a different person she could love as
much.



            Memories of the older man she found came into her
thoughts and her self-stroking increased in fervor.  Evan
squeezed her breasts hard and pushed the stake deep into her
pussy, imagining it was Marilyn Manson's dick.  The stake was
much wider and longer than that organ, but it was still a good
image.  Evan breathed heavy as a tide of lust swelled under her
skin.



            Evan met the Gothic rock star Marilyn Manson at a Los
Angeles nightspot named "Tech Noir" as she looked for a new mate.
 He was friendly towards her and disproved many of her
preconceived notions about him.  Evan had enjoyed Manson's music
in the past, yet the public image of the man himself bothered her
a bit.



            "I am the Anti-Christ Superstar!" Manson told the
world.  "Be like me!  Bow down to me!  Fuck me!"  He put out
similar themes in his music and other work.  Teenagers and
college students cheered at Manson's homilies and entered the
Goth culture to their parents' dismay.  The press regularly
swamped Manson with rumors about kinky sex, drugs and other
indignities, increasing his infamy as the rock star refused to
deny anything.  He also appeared to ignore the scandals' other
effects on his life.



            "I've been engaged twice and married once," Manson
told Evan when she asked after he bought her a drink at Tech
Noir.  "Both my wives were very kinky and in love with me.  They
couldn't take my lifestyle and reputation, though.  Rose found
her desires going in other directions.  I was too much for her
and being with me was hurting her career.  I let her go before we
even got married and now she's with some famous director in
Texas.  I'm told he has the same sexual preferences I do but he's
not watched by the press as much.  I've also heard gossip about a
mansion in Malibu where Rose hangs out with other women.  I don't
know how true that is.  I've never been invited to the place, nor
do I know any man who has."



            "What about your second wife?" Evan asked,
enthralled.



            "Dita and I are still married," Manson admitted. 
Then he held up two fingers an inch apart.  "It's this close to
breaking up, though.  I try to keep things open but she only
wants me for herself.  I don't want that.  She also wishes I
would give up this whole persona."  He indicated his leather
pants and jacket and his long black hair and white-painted skin.
"Dita forgot this is what made her fall in love with me in the
first place.  I don't get her anymore.  Divorce will happen as
soon as one of us finds someone new."



            Evan went home with Manson that very night and his
marriage ended a few weeks afterwards.  Manson was very
interested in Evan as a sexual partner and a person.  She liked
how he lived as himself without shame.  From Manson Evan learned
more kinks than she had ever known existed.  Manson also aided
her career growth by casting her in his music videos.  All
throughout, he stood by her side and listened to her dreams. 
Evan was shocked when Manson told her he was more in love with
her than he had been with his wives.  It didn't matter that she
was half his age and they lived different lifestyles.



            "You are my twin," Manson said.  "You inspire me and
make me long to fornicate with you.  I want you in my life
forever."



            For a time, Evan also wanted that.  Then she observed
that all her friends were distancing themselves from her.  None
of them was interested in getting to know Manson, reviled by his
infamy and the image he exuded.  They accused Evan of turning
into the same type of person.  Evan disbelieved at first.



            "Come on!" she tried to tell her friends.  "I'm just
in love.  Manson's a great guy.  It's not like I've been bitten
by Dracula or possessed by the Devil!"  No one listened to her. 
Even Erika, Evan's most tolerant girlfriend, turned away from
Evan when she asked Erika to join her in Manson's bed.  She grew
isolated more as time passed and complained about it to the only
one who would still listen.



            "Never mind your friends," Manson told Evan with a
strange tone in his voice.  "They may be beautiful people, but if
they don't like me, too bad.  You want me, Evan, right?  Forget
them.  Stay with me.  I will give you everything."



            Evan embraced Manson's words and allowed herself to
drift far from everyone but him.  She tried not to let her new
closed world get to her.  Manson was always there, soothing her
horny body and uneasy mind.



            "Oh yeah," Evan breathed, clawing her cleavage with
long nails as she recalled one of Manson's favorite techniques. 
She stabbed her clit with the stake in the same motion, clenching
her jaw and throwing back her head.  Recollecting the changes in
her life filled her thoughts with further joy.



            Then she got to the recent developments and felt
disappointment.  The press became more interested in Evan than
ever before when she began dating Manson.  Evan had to work hard
to avoid their attention.  Fans took the opposite tack.  "Why are
you with such a weird older man?" they asked Evan.  "Aren't you
afraid of him?"



            "No," Evan insisted.  "I love Manson.  He loves me. 
Accept us, please."  Her fans turned away, shaking their heads
just like her friends.



            Movie producers did not follow this lead.  Evan
retained a strong independent film career and continued to wow
critics as she picked and chose her roles.  She preferred scripts
that intrigued her and did not care about awards or money.  Her
true fans and friends would always be interested in her no matter
what, Evan believed.  Manson was such a person and supported her.
 She was content with that.



            Evan's confidence was only on the surface, though. 
She was anxious inside, dismayed by the consequences of her new
love life.  Everyone but Manson saw her as a stranger now, even
her own family.  The press kept lampooning her too, making up
rumors that Manson would not prove wrong.  Soon it even affected
Evan's work relations.



            "You're a fascinating young actress," the Oscar
winner Michael Douglas told Evan when they starred together in
"King of California" and developed mutual respect.  "You're
perfect for your role in this film and I am certain more great
parts lie ahead of you.  You remind me of Erika when I first met
her in 'Traffic'.  You're someone whose talent can only grow. 
However, you need to ditch this rock star you're dating.  Staying
with him can only hurt you."



            Evan rejected this advice and continued seeing
Manson.  "It's my choice," she said when asked why.  "I know what
I'm into and it's not as bad as it seems.  I can live my life. 
Let me be who I want to be."  Fans and friends alike continued to
disregard her pleas.



            It wasn't until her last movie, "The Life Before Her
Eyes", that Evan found someone willing to give her sympathy.  Uma
Thurman and Evan were playing older and younger versions of the
same character and this encouraged them to get very close to each
other.  They didn't sleep together since Uma was not into women,
but Uma did give Evan much advice.



            "Just live," Uma said.  "You control who you are and
where you're going, not anybody else.  If you let them dictate
your life for you, that's one thing, but you're not doing that. 
That's good.  If you like Manson, stay with him and let it
develop.  Sooner or later people will get used to you.  I've seen
it myself with all my failed relationships and years of
celebrity.  You need to unwind and take things as they come,
Evan.  You didn't think fame would be that easy, did you?"



            Evan smiled and quoted "Kill Bill", her favorite film
of Uma's.  "For a second or two, yeah, I actually did."



            Settling down for a while, she resumed her
enthusiastic relationship with Manson.  He was happy she was with
him but also seemed distressed by something.  Evan probed and
learned things she had never known.  Manson admitted a cocaine
habit.  It was a rumor the press had long suspected but never
been able to confirm.  Manson had hidden it from Evan as well. 
"I'm getting off it now," he said.  "I love you and I know that
as someone who's performed in multiple anti-drug films, you
wouldn't want to be with me if I continued doing cocaine. 
Therefore I'm quitting, Evan.  I'm quitting for you."



            Evan was overjoyed by this, yet disturbed that Manson
had kept it from her.  She helped her rock star through his
withdrawal, using techniques from several Narconon texts Erika
had given Evan over the years.  Manson had been in rehab before
but did not want to go again because of increased press
attention.  He asked Evan to aid his self-therapy instead and she
agreed.  Evan didn't want Manson getting hooked on some other
drug while he got off cocaine and she also wanted him to find and
face the causes of his addiction.  Evan was knowledgeable enough
about "cold turkey" drug-kicking techniques to use Narconon for
this and separate the Scientology aspects from the programs. 
Evan was tolerant of Scientology, thanks to her friendship with
Erika, yet she knew she did not want it as a strong force in
either her life or that of her greatest love.



            Narconon worked very well for Manson, better than all
his prior stints in rehab.  Thanks to it, he kicked both drugs
and excessive alcoholism.  A doctor attended Manson throughout,
monitoring him with regular physicals.  After three months on the
vitamin and exercise regimen, his health was restored.  "How did
you know about this stuff?" Manson asked.  When Evan told him,
Manson demanded to meet Erika.  "I want to thank her."  Evan
rejected the idea, believing Erika detested Manson.  Then she
remembered someone else she hadn't talked to in a while, Erika's
brother Dane.



            Dane and Evan were lovers no longer.  She had stopped
seeing him after his exit from acting and subsequent arrests. 
Upon contacting Dane, Evan was surprised to learn he had recently
broken up with her older brother Ira.  She always knew Ira liked
guys and girls but he had kept his relationships mostly secret
from Evan even as they acted together in several films.  "I was
forlorn," Ira explained when Evan asked him about Dane.  "He was
fun for a while.  Then Dane got into his church and met this
weird woman and he didn't have time for me anymore."



            Evan called Dane back and invited him to visit her
and Manson.  She told Dane what she had done to help Manson and
he was pleased.  "It's good Narconon worked for you," Dane said.
"It doesn't always succeed since you have to stick with it on
your own and not be turned off by its closeness to Scientology. 
But if you are able to manage the program, you will never touch
drugs again."



            Invited to visit, Dane re-entered Evan's life and
brought his friend Jessica with him.  Evan was shocked when she
met the Scientology cleric Jessica and her vile followers. 
Together with Jessica and Dane, the latter trio of nasty
bull-baiters personified every horror story Evan had heard about
Scientologists.  The fact that Evan had never before known anyone
like them worsened things.  Evan was terrified beyond all reason
that Dane was with such people.



            As she visualized them, Evan shivered.  The Wicked
Witch's theme from "The Wizard of Oz" had played in her mind when
she first saw Jessica and now it did so again.  Jessica wore a
black skirted suit and had her dark hair in a bob surrounding
huffy wide-mouthed features.  Evan thought her voice might be
hypnotic if one did not already know the things it espoused.  Her
hazel eyes appraised the world and found it wanting.  It was
unnerving in particular that Jessica's left eye did not seem to
follow her right.  Evan conjectured that it was glass.



            Jessica's snow-white skin and looming heavyset figure
might be beautiful if not for the ugliness within them.  Her
three fat, short and lean minions followed her like an entourage
in their bright-colored coats.  Dane came along as well, a stocky
young man with a hangdog face and a dark buzz cut.  Jessica had a
black falcon with her on the first day too, but Manson asked that
she leave her pet outside his house and Jessica did not bring it
again.



            The group of Scientologists spoke much to Evan and
Manson when first they visited, pleased that they had found
success in Narconon and offering further church programs.  Manson
turned them down flat.  "I got off drugs without all this," he
said.  "I don't want or need any of it.  Thanks, though.  No
offense."



            Evan's reaction was more confused.  "Dane, I've been
your friend and Erika's for five years now.  You've never
approached me about joining Scientology before.  Why is it
necessary?"



            It was difficult for Dane to answer and he looked
away whenever Evan brought up Erika or the rest of his family. 
Jessica and her three followers -- by this time Evan had learned
they were brothers named Feshbach -- interposed snide commentary
and scripture, irritating Evan further.  Evan grew bothered by
these fanatics and Dane's simpering acceptance of their presence.
 At one point she cussed out them all and threw their literature
at Dane.  The group admonished each other for their attitudes,
then left.  Evan and Manson were certain their self-reproach was
false.



            Jessica, Dane and the Feshbachs returned the next
day.  This time they were more earnest and did not bring up
religion.  Unsettled, Evan and Manson spoke with them.  Dane and
Evan were friends again for a while and she shared with him her
conflicted feelings about Manson.  Evan also told Dane about her
new film "The Wrestler" and her kidding acquaintance with co-star
Mickey Rourke.  In good spirits, Dane shook hands with Evan and
then offered to clean up her current image as Manson's toy by
installing Jessica as her publicist.  Evan said no and the now
unwelcome guests departed again.



            Manson consoled Evan after these visits, telling her
not to feel angry.  It wasn't her fault that Dane and the
Feshbachs were who they were.  "My namesakes both had terrible
experiences with Scientology too," he told Evan, referring to the
actress Marilyn Monroe and the serial killer cult leader Charles
Manson.  "I was into it a little myself in the nineties, so I
know it's not all bad.  However, it sure doesn't do much to
dispel its dark side, huh?"



            Evan agreed with Manson, although she hoped that
Erika was still one of the exceptions to Scientology's troubled
image and not the same as her brother or his new associates.



            "If you have faith she is not like them, so do I,"
Manson told Evan.  "All my years in the music industry have
taught me never to take people at face value.  Look at me.  Am I
my name?  Am I really who I appear?  What is real anyway?  You
can't find the truth, you just pick the lie you like the best. 
As long as you know everything's a lie, you can't hurt yourself."



            "Not everything's a lie, Manson!" Evan insisted. 
"Our love is real, isn't it?"



            "Yes, I suppose it is," Manson said after
considering.  "You're right, Evan.  I'm glad I met you.  Before,
I had trouble getting close to people.  I was always afraid they
would leave."



            Evan stroked herself with greater fervor, recalling
the coupling that followed Manson telling her this.  She inhaled
and exhaled, trying to banish all negative thoughts from her
mind.



            Jessica and the Feshbachs intruded with their smart
aleck sneers.  Evan used memories of Manson and his support for
her to make them go away.  She also remembered Erika and that not
all Scientologists were evil.  Erika liked me for me, Evan
brooded, even though she rejected me after I started dating
Manson.  She was my friend and a good Scientologist.  She lived
the values of her creed in a way the Feshbachs did not and
therefore proved that they alone did not represent their
religion.



            Please tell me Erika hasn't become like her brother
now, Evan prayed to God.  I know Dane had problems and sometimes
looked for help in the wrong places, but Erika was smarter than
he was.  She let other people be themselves.  She was my friend
and lover and I want her back someday.  I need her to accept
Manson and me.  Erika's taught me so much.  Please, give me the
bravery to reach out to her!



            Manson joined in Evan's prayers and even enacted an
augury with his associates from the Church of Satan on her
behalf.  "Erika's alright," Manson told Evan after the ceremony.
"She may be a different religion than I am, but like me she
accepts that carnality is humanity's true nature.  I know this
because the Friendship and my church have said it to me."



            The Friendship, Evan reflected, a Masonic order
spread out around the world.  Erika's a member and her boyfriend
Doug Ramsay is a Viceroy.  They inducted me; however, I'm not
very active.  Like the Church of Satan, all you have to do to be
a Friend is hold the membership.  The society won't solicit you
unless they find you're someone they want, but once you're in,
you're in.  They won't expel you, although they may investigate
and punish you if they find out you don't share their values.  I
know they did that with Hitler, Napoleon, the Borgias and other
people who used what they learned from the Friendship to harm
humanity.  Often when the Friendship has had to censor a member
the effects have upset balances all over the world.



            It was due to these upset balances, and their dreams
of a world united, that the Friendship avoided conflicts whenever
possible.  Friends demonstrated the sort of honesty, tolerance
and charity espoused by Aristotle, Cicero, Thomas Jefferson and
the other philosophers who have served as their leaders.  They
aided people and deserting someone was not in their nature.  Evan
was surprised when Erika and so many other Friends cut themselves
off from her just because of the man she loved.



            Even the Friendship had secrets, Evan recalled,
slowing the caresses she gave herself.  It had existed for
thousands of years and seen many empires rise and fall.  The
society's development and mistakes had earned it many enemies and
allies.  It had also witnessed other secret societies destroyed
by public mistrust and outcry.  Because of all this, the
Friendship maintained its status as a little-known urban legend.
In many cases, even leaders were not aware of the identity of
other members until a need arose and a special word or gesture
was exchanged.



            I know Erika is still a good Friend, Evan said to
herself.  Manson's more active in the society than I am and he
checked out her status.  I was surprised when he also learned
there was a Friend among the Feshbach family, Jessica's twin
sister Melissa.  She's a Scientology cleric who lives the
Friendship's values, even though so many others in her religion
reject them.  I was pleased to discover Erika was one of her
confession cases.  Now I'm trying to stoke up the strength to
approach Erika again and revive our past closeness.  Manson is
helpful in this, though he's letting me lead.



            Evan's hands vibrated as she recalled that Manson was
also stepping out of her life now.  "You're distracting me from
my art," he told Evan.  "My image is hurting yours.  I know you
love me and that I will always love you, but it is best we take a
break."



            Feeling her heart shake in her chest, Evan ground her
teeth together at the memory.  "All right," she answered Manson.
"You have a point.  Perhaps you are not the right person for me.
I've also been a little ill around you ever since I found out
about your drug habit.  Our lovemaking has been fading of late. 
Maybe I'm getting bored like I did with Jamie.  I will do as you
ask."



            They parted, remaining close but no longer intimate.
Evan began dating other people, including "Mysterious Skin" actor
Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  Joseph and Evan had known each other for
years through thespian guilds and were good friends.  She desired
more but he wanted to take things slow and other people had
distracted them both.  I am willing to wait, Evan decided.  At
least I know Joseph is interested from the way he looks at me.  I
also appreciate his take on celebrity.



            "Actors didn't use to be rich legends," Joseph said
often.  "This whole culture where they are is new.  The
aristocrats used to be the people who had the gossip and the
money.  In the modern day, actors are the ones.  I don't know if
it's entirely healthy or right."  Evan nodded in agreement,
stroking her tits and thighs faster as she envisioned Joseph's
eyes on her.  Thoughts of Manson continued to come in also, as
Evan knew she was not yet through with him.



            Evan still called Manson a fuck-buddy.  She would
star in his directorial debut when he got it finished.  Even so,
she was no longer his love.  They announced their breakup to the
press and then rumors started to appear.  Evan was forced to
explain some things and deny others.  No, she was not dating
Mickey Rourke.  No, Manson was not abusing her.  Yes, they were
still friends.  No, she did not have any addictions.



Things went on for a week, the gossip growing and then dying
down.  Evan used the Friendship to trace the source of the rumors
when the media frenzy surged and learned it was Dane.  She at
once tailored her statements to the press to debase Dane without
revealing his identity.  Evan knew who really was responsible for
the disinformation.  On Friday morning, two days prior to the
current day, those people showed up again at Manson's home.  Evan
had come over for breakfast to discuss Dane with Manson and was
already there when they arrived.



            Dane was not with Jessica and the Feshbachs.  "It was
best he stay behind," Jessica said when asked.  "This visit has a
different purpose than our previous encounters."



            Before she could go into further detail, Evan
confronted Jessica with what she had discovered about Erika's
brother.



            "You think I told Dane to put out those rumors?"
Jessica asked.  "You've got it all wrong, dearie.  If it was
anyone's idea, it was his."



            "No," Evan insisted.  "I know Dane and so does my
brother Ira.  We both agree he would not do such a thing himself.
 You influenced him to do it."



            Jessica stared at her and then smiled as she noticed
Evan's firm expression.  "Fine.  So what if I did exert such
influence?  You now see the consequences of rejecting me.  I can
create a positive image for you both as easy as I did a negative.
 Join Scientology and I will do it.  Manson, you will have the
respect of the public.  You, Evan, will no longer be the squeaky
shell your fans now regard you.  Dane will be your friend again
too.  What do you say?"



            The crazed holy woman extended her hand and Evan's
responding taekwondo blow knocked her to the floor.  Her three
followers rushed at Evan but Manson's bodyguards intercepted
them.  Jessica glared at Evan one last time before the guards
escorted her off Mason's home premises.  "You will live to regret
this," she said.  She then fled with a cackle.  Her grinning
followers were just behind.  Evan sighed in relief as she watched
them go.



            After calming down in Manson's arms, Evan at once
called Dane and told him about all that had happened.  "You need
to remember who you are!" Evan said to Dane.  "You also need to
remember who your sister is.  You and Erika were among my best
friends.  You loved me during our film and afterwards.  Now
you're a loser making up false stories and expecting me to be
something you know I can't.  You won't even speak about your
sister.  What happened to you, Dane?"



            Dane did not reply and Evan hung up the receiver. 
She then went upstairs to take a nap after her ordeal.



            I have to call Erika, Evan decided upon awakening in
the evening.  She needs to save her brother before he becomes
like those other people who have ruined her church.  I must tell
her what Dane's gotten himself into.  I pray Erika's problems
with me won't interfere too much with her trusting me.  We need
to reconnect.  I want both Erika and Dane back as pals.



            Manson stopped Evan halfway to the phone.  "I was
e-mailed by the man you told me was Erika's boyfriend, Friendship
Viceroy Doug Ramsay.  He said that Erika's dealing with something
very serious tonight and this isn't the best time to approach
her.  Give it till next week."



            Evan e-mailed Doug for further details and learned
that Dane had expelled Jessica from his life and was reuniting
with Erika.  "Good," Evan told Doug.  "I hope they'll both be
okay."  Evan stayed calm yet obsessed for the next two days,
waiting for a sign.  She wanted Dane and Erika to return to her
as friends when the moment was right.



            Thinking of them, and Manson too, caused a new wave
of ecstasy to enter Evan's mind.  She let it flow across her
body, shoving the stake into her cunt and scratching her breasts.
 She increased the intensity of her movements, rolling around on
the bed and crying out incoherent words.  Her thoughts had
reached the present and Evan wanted to bring them to today.  She
could feel her pleasure coming back now, held off a short while
by her review of her own life story.  Evan accepted its rise,
stirring her nerves with her stake and fingers.  Flicking back
and forth in her imagination, she called up her past lovers and
things they had done.  She also summoned her fantasies, both
those that could never come to pass and those that might.  Soon
the faces of Erika and Manson took up prominence.  Evan did not
need to close her eyes to give them shape.



            Evan's hands became their hands, touching and
massaging her torso.  Each whispered loving words, easing her
inner pain.  Other devout religious celebrities Evan knew joined
Manson and Erika, including the Christian Candace Cameron and the
Buddhist Kate Hudson.  Evan had met Candace at Friendship
gatherings and considered her a fun acquaintance.  Erika had
introduced Evan to Kate and they had slept together on multiple
occasions.  Evan smiled when she recognized the new arrivals and
nodded as they spoke to the two already present.  It did not take
many words for them to find common ground.  Differences did not
matter in the face of all the visions' need to help Evan. 
Together they extended glowing fingers and touched Evan's body. 
The young actress shook under their caresses and kind whispered
advice.



            An old John Lennon song swelled in Evan's thoughts
when the phantoms fondled her.  <I>You may say I'm a dreamer, but
I'm not the only one...</I>  She smiled at the music, identifying
it, and rubbed herself harder and faster.  Evan's inner hearth
burned strong now, fueled by her hopes.



            Another glowing figure took shape as the mass of
phantoms stroked Evan -- Doug Ramsay, the highest-ranking member
of the Friendship she knew.  He reached out and patted her
shoulder, assuring Evan everything would be okay.  Evan blinked,
recalling Doug was never someone to whom she had really been
attracted.  Then he and all the other phantoms standing around
Evan flashed and flowed together into her form.



            Evan screamed, feeling the mutual onslaught of
ecstasy.  This is ridiculous! Evan's id complained.  None of
these people have mystical powers!  They're not really here,
you're imagining this!  It's a dream sequence even worse than
those in your musical "Across the Universe"!  Nodding, Evan
informed her id that she knew all this and did not care.  It was
a wondrous hallucination and she would thrill to it.



            Shaking and crying out on the bed, Evan kicked her
legs up and down into the mattress.  The stake slipped from her
fingers and tumbled away.  Evan's juices flowed free and she no
longer needed the masturbatory aid.  The towel she placed beneath
her pussy to prevent sheet stains absorbed her fluids.  Her
fingers collected them too, stirring a simmering boil.  Evan
pinched her clit with force and squeezed her throbbing nipples. 
She also flicked the scar on her belly, a sensitive area that
Nikki Reed had pierced too hard.



            It took but a few seconds of this to make her
explode.  Evan's made-up lovers dissolved one by one into mist as
she climaxed, each smiling and kissing her lips before they
disappeared.  Evan beamed at all of them, thanking them all for
the help they gave her and telling Erika that Evan would soon be
back in her life.



            Another phantom appeared when Evan's body calmed.  It
held the face and form of Dane Christensen.  "I'm sorry, Evan,"
he said.  "I should not have brought Jessica to you.  I ought not
to have tried to make you something you did not want to become. 
You must be strong ... no, wait, you are strong.  You don't need
my help or anyone else's to be so.  Forgive me, Evan.  Forgive
me.  Please."



            "I forgive you, Dane," Evan said, sitting up on the
bed with a grin.  Her hands dropped from her intimate spots and
she sighed as the final phantom vanished.  Damn, Evan thought. 
Why did he have to be just a fantasy?



            Never mind, she said to herself, looking down at her
naked form.  She brought her right hand's fingers to her lips and
licked off their coating of sex sap.  Evan smiled at the taste. 
Flushed with receding passion, she stood up and looked at herself
in the room's full-length mirror.  A long black wig sat on the
stand next to the glass and Evan picked it up and slipped it on,
hiding her pale blonde flood of hair.



            She looked over her body and smiled, pinching her
nipples and stroking her loins until they became too sensitive
and thoughts of further pleasure had passed.  I have a party to
attend at Manson's tonight, Evan thought.  He's holding a
get-together for Saint Andrew's Feast and he wants me to be
there.  Manson admires Christian saints even though he's a
Satanist.  Other celebrities will be at the party too.  It's a
costume event and I'm going as the "Dork Tower" comic character
Gilly the Perky Goth.  There will be dancing and music, alcohol
but no drugs.  Manson assured me that his security would keep all
problems off the premises.  It will be fun and maybe after it is
over Erika will be ready to talk to me.  I would send her an
invitation, but Manson told me he heard things are still unclear
on Erika's end.  Some of her friends will show up tonight,
however she can't.  I hope it will be different next week.



            Evan sighed, thinking of all that she had been
through and what might still be lurking ahead.  I fear the
unexpected most, she realized.  I did not predict that Dane might
come back into my life as he did.  Nor did I foresee that loving
Manson would change me so much.



            The unexpected has been of benefit also, though, Evan
reflected.  I felt that quite often when I filmed "Upside" and
when I met Mischa and my other lovers.  I think I need a reminder
of how surprise can be good.  I will seduce a stranger at the
party tonight, a person I don't know.  Manson doesn't mind people
using his mansion's many guest rooms for trysts and dalliances. 
I wonder who I will find.



            Shrugging off such thoughts for now, she turned from
the mirror and walked to her closet.  A frilly black gown with a
plunging neckline hung there waiting for her.  Evan had no
engagements today but the party and she wanted to get ready to
go.



            "Out tonight," she hummed, donning the dress.  "I
want to go out tonight!"



***



            "Clint Eastwood?" the airport tourist asked, looking
back and forth at the two people standing before him.  "Jodie
Foster?"



            "No," Jodi Lee Nichols replied.  "Sorry.  We're just
lookalikes."



            "Damn it!" the tourist fumed.  "Five days in
Hollywood and I didn't see one celebrity.  Not one!"  Gesturing
wildly with his hands, he walked past the pair of Friendship
spies and into the main terminal of Los Angeles International
Airport.



            <I>Quite a disturbed man, </I> Asher Stravjan said to
his companion in sign language.  <I>Perhaps we should have lied
to him. </I>



            "I thought so too," Jodi Lee answered, signing back
to emphasize her words.  She'd adopted this habit around Asher
even though he was merely mute and not deaf.



            They were former Special Forces soldiers, members of
a team that had once fought terrorism for the United Nations and
now worked for Doug Ramsay.  Jodi Lee was a waitress at the
nightclub Inside Out while Asher was a bartender and janitor.



            Asher liked to entertain the club's patrons with
juggling and other tricks.  He had grown up in a Poland Gypsy
community and then joined his nation's armed forces, eventually
entering the elite unit called GROM.  This group specialized in
unconventional warfare and terrorist elimination.  Asher had
ranked among their best scouts.  He looked like an old man even
though he was only in his middle thirties with his short white
hair and very pale skin and eyes.  Asher's appearance was the
effect of a condition called albinism, which he often countered
with disguise.  He was an expert in psychology and languages
also, despite his lack of a tongue for the past six years.



            Jodi Lee was the pride of the Australian Special
Forces.  As one of the few women selected to serve in the
Australian Special Air Service, she excelled at infiltration and
sabotage as much as Asher did.  Jodi Lee grew up on an Outback
ranch herding cattle and spending time with Aboriginals.  She
also attended a private international school in Taipei when her
father moved there to further their family business.  Jodi Lee
was already skilled at much of the training her instructors gave
her when she joined the military and exhibited well the
excellence the instructors demanded.  Australia employed her on
counter-terrorist operations, security in the 2000 Sydney
Olympics and various other matters.  In 2002, Jodi Lee left the
army to find a calmer life.  She felt the need to settle down
after a mission that killed her lover and disgraced their
commander.



            Asher was maimed and tortured on that mission also,
Jodi Lee recalled.  The results of Operation Sweetheart are the
reason he only speaks in sign language now.  I have to watch him
but otherwise it's not that hard to get what he's saying. 
Special Forces troops make extravagant use of gestures and body
language.  I'm also a very close friend to Asher, even though I'm
bisexual and he's unfortunately only gay.



            Jodi Lee regarded herself in a nearby mirror, nodding
at her doe brown eyes and short dark copper hair.  I do sort of
look like Jodie Foster, she thought.  I'm about fifteen years
younger, though, and I have more freckles.  I suppose we have
about the same body shape.  I know I share her sexual orientation
and her views on God.  I don't think we need God and only see him
in the gaps, the things psychology and science cannot explain. 
Some consider this view ignorant, but I nonetheless hold on to
it.  There is far more faith to be found in a lack of evidence
than there is in any established religion.



            Asher tapped her on the shoulder.  <I>Viceroy Ramsay
has not told Friend Manson that we will be attending his
party,</I> the Gypsy signed when Jodi Lee faced him once more. 
<I>Costumes and invitations are arranged, though.  Do you
remember our mission? </I>



            "Yes," Jodi Lee replied.  "We are to ascertain the
current status and emotional state of Manson's girlfriend, Friend
Evan Rachel Wood.  Friend Erika Christensen has requested that we
conduct this investigation while she assists her brother Dane
with some recent problems in his life.  Dane is not a Friend,
though he knows of us and is worthy of membership under the right
circumstances.  Evan and Manson are both Friends, but Erika has
been out of contact with Evan and does not know Manson's status
as a Friend.  She fears for their souls."



            No one walking past Asher and Jodi Lee raised an
eyebrow at the speech.  Strange people and philosophies were very
common in Los Angeles.



            <I>Good,</I> Asher complimented Jodi Lee.  <I>Do you
have any initial feelings about Friend Evan?</I>



            Jodi Lee took a moment to consider before she
answered.  "Well, I'm not sure.  I've heard a lot about Marilyn
Manson.  He is, like many celebrities, a prophet and a pusher. 
Part truth, part fiction.  A walking contradiction."



            <I>Agreed,</I> Asher signed.  <I>I myself am a great
fan of Marilyn Manson.  I enjoy his music.  The man's aura
concerns me also and perhaps that is what I like the most. 
However, it was not him I asked you about.</I>



            "Right."  Jodi Lee paused in thought again.  "Well, I
know Manson is into the Goth scene and the Church of Satan.  I
don't like either of those environments.  This mission makes me
apprehensive.  If Evan is too deep into Goth or Satanic stuff and
is hurting herself, we may have trouble extracting her."



            <I>That is not necessarily our mission.</I>



            "I know.  It's just that I'm worried about Evan.  I
never really got to know her when she attended Inside Out.  I
wanted to, but she was too involved with Jamie Bell and her other
friends.  There was also our age difference."



            <I>I see.  My advice to you is to discard all
preconceptions.  Growing up among my people, I saw many who
assumed we were strange because they considered us different. 
They wanted to separate themselves from us because they thought
they were not like us.  They never bothered to get close and see
that we were actually very much like them.  I believe that the
same lesson applies here.  Friend Evan may be okay and we should
not assume she is in trouble just because people like Friend
Manson are not trustworthy on the surface.</I>



            "You're right," Jodi Lee said, reminding herself that
Asher was more experienced than she was with the Friendship and
its ways.  "I will wait until we see Evan before I give myself
any more ideas about her.  She may not remember you or me, and if
I approach her with the wrong suppositions it could be
problematic."



            <I>I am glad you understand that.  By the way, I had
a text exchange with Viceroy Ramsay while you used the restroom
and I retrieved our luggage.  There may be some additional
problems at the party tonight.</I>



            Jodi Lee frowned as Asher signed further.  "A clan of
devoted yet corrupt Scientologists is trying to convert Manson? 
Paparazzi are infiltrating the party too?"



            <I>I do not think they will be of serious concern. 
Manson knows the Feshbachs have targeted him and he will have
security alert for their possible presence at the party.  Friend
Baxter Page, our old comrade, is one of the tabloid infiltrators.
 He should help keep the other two in line.</I>



            "Don't you think we should warn Manson about the
reporters?"



            <I>No.  If they are kept out of the party, it will
impact several ongoing Friendship operations.  Gossip has its
uses.  Some take advantage of it, some can learn from it.  We
shall allow both.</I>



            "Fine," Jodi Lee told her fellow scout.  "I trust
your judgment.  Where do we pick up the costumes?"



            <I>It has already been arranged.</I> Asher punctuated
his gestures by waving at a nearby cab.



<b>To Be Continued...</b>

***