Public Service By Ella713 Rated PG

[francis]

I wonder what Josef is up to. Having Kelly in his corner might be an advantage, but he is smart enough to take care that she doesn't get the inside scoop.
Great story!

[Ella713]

“Well looks like Kelly has taken the bait” Mick said glancing down at Beth while they slowly danced.
“You know, I almost feel sorry for her.” Beth said.
“I know. But she’s playing a very dangerous game and there is too much at stake” Mick said. While he saw the need for Kelly to be silenced, he took no pleasure in it. Josef on the other hand, was having a great time. Human life meant very little to him, unless he could exploit it.

Kelly checked her reflection once more before she left her apartment. She had changed into her charcoal gray suit with a dusty pink camisole underneath. Satisfied with what she saw, she grabbed her briefcase along with her personal cassette recorder which she hid in her inside pocket.

Josef and Isabelle were enjoying a glass of red wine when Kelly was shown in.
“Kelly! Welcome! Let me introduce you to my fiancé’ Isabelle Bascianti”. Kelly walked up to the woman noting how absolutely beautiful she was. Although she would never admit it to anyone, she actually felt that this woman’s beauty surpassed her own. Kelly shook her hand and sat down to start the interview.
“So Mr. Kostan, shall we get started?” she said taking out a notepad.
“How quaint. You actually take notes?” Josef said with a grin.
“I know its old school, but I know shorthand. It’s easier to transcribe than a recorder” she lied effortlessly. “So, what do you think your biggest challenges will be coming from the finance world into the world of politics?”
“I see them as one in the same. They are both cut throat arenas where the weak rarely survive.”
“Mr. Kostan, you make it sound like gladiators fighting in ancient Rome”
“It is very much like that don’t you think? In some ways I think politics is much more gruesome. For instance Edward Mulaney gives speeches on the moral decline of society in Los Angeles and he himself is having a very tawdry affair.” Josef said sitting back in his chair. Kelly stopped writing and stared at him. Oh my God! She thought. This was going to be the interview of interviews!

“How do you know this?” she asked.
“I have my ways. Have you given any thought to my proposition?”
“As a matter of fact I have Mr. Kostan, and I would like to accept your offer, but I have a few conditions of my own.”
“Let’s hear them”
“One, I will be the only point of contact when it comes to the press or any form of media. Two, Beth St. John will have no place in this.”
“Ahhh. But she is my good friend.” Josef said with a smile.
“Well I certainly don’t expect you to dump your good friend, but I would expect you to let me do the job that you hired me to do and no one else.” Kelly said firmly.
“Alright Kelly. I accept your terms. Let’s drink to that.” He said. Isabelle got up and went to the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of champagne. As she poured them each a flute of the bubbly they toasted to their agreement.
“Of course I will also expect a written contract to that effect?” Kelly said.
“And so you will first thing in the morning. Now, enough business. Would you like a tour of the place?’ Kelly eyes opened in surprise. She couldn’t believe that she was going to see the inside of Josef Kostan’s apartment. Well it could hardly be called an apartment. He lived in the penthouse suite and possessed 4 floors! Isabelle stood up and began to show Kelly throughout the rooms. Each one was more beautiful than the next. Isabelle led her through a long narrow hallway.
“This corridor leads to the wine room. Josef boasts over 100 bottles of Château Lafite alone. Some say it greater than Hardy Rodenstock’s collection” Isabelle said as she openend the door. The room was dark and rather chilly Kelly noticed. She felt the hard push at her back and heard the door shut behind her. Kelly panicked in the darkness trying to find a wall or a window. She bumped into something soft and felt a pair of hands at her shoulders.
She let out an ear piercing scream.
“Stop screaming!” she heard a familiar voice bark out to her.
“Who’s that?” she asked.
“Joe Flannery. Let me guess..Kelly Carlisle” he said gruffly. “Well at least I’m glad I’m not going down alone” he said.

[francis]

Wow, seems like Josef has a collection of rare enemies in his wine cellar.

[Ella713]

“You know Isabelle, the detective has been in there for a long time. We might think of feeding them at some point” Josef said casually. Isabelle nodded in affirmation.
“I forget that the fragile ones require sustenance” she said and called their housekeeper Rosa to prepare food for their “guests”
Once she was finished she was told to take it to them. Rosa had been with Josef for over 30 years. She was a stout woman of about 50 years. She was one if not the most loyal under Josef’s employ. She made her way to the lower corridor. First turning on the light and then unlocking the door. Both Flannery and Kelly stood back in fear. They saw the older woman gently laid a tray of assorted sandwiches and hot coffee down on a blanket on the floor.
Kelly studied the woman. She was old maybe in her 50’s or 60’s but Kelly was young and strong. She knew she could take this woman by surprise. Rosa continued her preparations. Kelly started to walk towards her.
“That would not be wise senorita” she said in her heavy accent. Kelly stopped in her tracks. “Mr. Kostan would be displeased. You don’t want that.” She said as she went to the door and closed it behind her. Joe squatted down and looked at the platter of food.
“You might as well eat. Something tells me that we’re not getting out of here anytime soon. You should keep up your strength” he said picking up what looked like roast beef sandwich.
“Why didn’t you attack her?’ Kelly asked in amazement feeling that their one shot of getting out of there just waddled away in a maid’s uniform.
“Attack her? And then what? How long do you think it would take Kostan to find out? Do you know your way out of here? Because I sure don’t. From what I can see Kostan has security cameras everywhere. And to be honest, I don’t want to think about what he would do to me.” He said with a mouth full of roast beef. “Look at least have a cup of coffee” he said handing her a cup and pouring a wonderful smelling brew out of the thermos.
“What do you think he’s going to do?” she finally asked.
“I don’t know. But if my friend Patrick got a hold of you then you already know”
“All I know is that Kostan may have forged his records from Harvard”
“Really? Is that all you got from it. Josef Kostan has been listed as a graduate of Harvard every 20-25 years. I also managed to get a hold of three separate yearbooks all with photos of Josef Kostan looking exactly like does now”


“So what are you saying? Josef Kostan is some sort of warlock or wizard?”
“All I know is that I followed Kostan for over two weeks and snapped him at a dozen luncheons, dinners and various restaurants. I never saw him eat a thing!”
“So what? This is L.A.! Lots of people don’t eat here!”
“So what if food isn’t what he eats?” Kelly simply looked at him rolling her eyes then it hit her. But that was insane! There was no such thing! Flannery made a shape over his head like a light bulb.
“I think you just got it.” He said

[Ella713]

Patrick Connelly sat in Mass with his wife but he couldn’t focus on what the priest was saying. He had tried calling Joe several times and each time it went to voice mail He knew that Joe had gotten himself into some kind of trouble. Maybe he should call the LAPD right after service? But then he thought about how resourceful Joe had always been. He was just laying low. Joe would probably call him after things cooled down. The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. He glanced over at his wife and saw that she was intensely praying and it made him smile. Maggie was actually thinking of how dirty Father O’Donnell’s robe was and how lazy the nuns must be if they couldn’t keep his wash up properly.

Josef made his way down the corridor having finally decided what to do. Kelly and Joe heard footsteps approaching and they huddled together in fear and apprehension. Josef opened the door and stepped in and looked at them for a long moment.
“So what am I to do with your two?” he asked as he paced the floor around them. He walked up to Kelly.
“You were so blinded by jealousy that you just couldn’t see. Beth is better than you. She will always be better than you and you need to accept that and move on!” he said pointing at her. Then he walked over to Joe.
“And you?.....well as far as I can see, your only fault was accepting the job in the first place, but since you’ve already found out too much” Josef said then quickly grabbed the man by the neck and began to drain him. Kelly screamed at the top of her lungs and then fainted.

Edward was nervous. It was the day of the election and he still had not heard from Kostan. There was no expose in the papers and nothing on the news. Maybe he didn’t know anything. Maybe he was reading too much into their brief exchange. He didn’t know what to make of it. And he really didn’t understand Kelly Carlisle’s apparent mental breakdown.
She was found walking along the strip incoherent mumbling about blood and vampires. At first they thought she was on drugs but found nothing in her system. In the end her mother had her committed. Edward wondered what had really happened. An envelope was slid underneath his door. Edward turned white with fright as he knew that this was the moment that he had been dreading. He picked up the envelope and saw it contained photographs of him and his mistress at the Emerald Hotel. He turned one of the photos over and read.

“Congratulations! Just remember who put you there”

It was unsigned but Edward knew who it was from and the warning was crystal clear. Edward would be forever in debt to Josef Kostan and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it!


Josef and Isabelle were at Mick’s apartment watching the news as the election results were starting to pour in.
“Do you regret not using the photos?” Mick asked looking over at his friend who for some reason looked as pleased as punch.
“No. I wanted to run a clean campaign. The people of California deserve that.” He said smiling. Beth came over grinning ear to ear.
“Gosh, its too bad about Kelly! What do think she saw that scared her so badly?’ she said sarcastically.
“Who knows? L.A. can be a scary city!” Josef said.

“And the final votes are in.” the newscaster was saying “Edward Mulaney is the new Governor of California in what could only be described as the closest race in California history”

“Well I guess that’s that” Beth said. Mick looked over at Josef.
“Something tells me that’s definitely NOT that” Mick said to himself and thought that Josef probably had this in mind the entire time.





The End

[francis]

Oh Josef is such a cunning and smart man. He did the whole campaign obviously to gauge the reaction of the media and to see who was his enemy or who would expose something, and he found incriminating evidence on the other candidate who will now be eternally in his pocket. A win-win by losing the election I would say.
Very well done plot, ella!

[jen]

Smiling?

Maybe.

Also may be a pained grimace at the thought of what she is getting herself into.