#aherowithoutacause

[jonathanpenrose]

Heart Shaped Sunglasses

In his job as a consultant, Jonathan has been able to meet a wide variety of colorful clients. Nowadays, he only advises those who pay top dollar. When he’s referred to a night club owner named Luca, Jonathan is skeptical at first, as he’s never worked for someone in the adult entertainment business, but Luca’s Lounge isn’t just some 2-dollar stripclub smelling like cheap cologne and alcohol. It’s a legitimate business, and Jonathan finds himself impressed despite his distaste for such establishments. 

When their meeting is disrupted by Luca’s security guard knocking on the door, Luca asks Jonathan to take a seat downstairs and have a drink on the house. Jonathan isn’t normally asked to wait, ever, but Luca assures him it’s a personal emergency, so Jon doesn’t take it too personally.

He takes a seat at one end of the bar, and at the other end, he tries hard not to stare at a ridiculously beautiful woman with big blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing a dress with a neckline showing two perfect breasts and the dip of a fine collarbone. Jonathan sends a drink over to her, but she doesn’t even look her way, only pushes the martini aside and continues watching the cabaret performance on stage. 

Jonathan isn’t entirely used to being turned down. He’s about to stand up and walk around the bar to say hello when he’s suddenly accosted by a very young man with a flirtatious smile and a cocked hip. Jon frowns, his Long Island held close to his chest.

“Can I help you?”

[idlefancy]

The Only Living Boy In New York

They say that the bigger you are, the harder you fall. Vittorio learns this firsthand in Rome, when an aging popstar famous for her controversial stage performances gets stabbed on his watch. 

Really, it wasn’t his fault. There were other guards, plenty of them with metal detectors, but when a fan pulls out a paper and pen and slides the cap off the pen to reveal a razor sharp blade, he’s the closest one and so takes the brunt of the blame when the blade cuts through his ward’s neck and puts her in the hospital with no hope of ever singing again. 

It’s understandable when he’s fired after the incident. Even more understandable is that nobody in Italy wants to hire him after he’s pictured on the front page of every newspaper and tabloid staring dumbly as the knife slashes the popstar’s throat. The photos aren’t very flattering for anyone involved, and seeing as how he was her bodyguard, Vittorio finds himself at the butt of the joke on every news show across the nation for a week straight. 

Eventually, he leaves the country. Two months of unemployment after being blacklisted from all High Profile Celebrity work means he can no longer afford the luxuries he’d been indulging in, and needs to find work as soon as possible. He figures his best bet is America. Not like the Americans pay attention to anything that’s going on outside their country anyway, right? He’s got a brother in New York working for the police department, and a quick call assures him that he’s got a couch to crash on for a few days with no problem.

Unfortunately, it seems that Vittorio’s reputation has preceded him, and in a week’s time, he’s had enough people laughing in his face to have him considering a career change. He’s got quite a few connections and enough fighting skill that changing careers wouldn’t be impossible, but he’s been doing the same thing for almost a decade and the idea of giving up something that feels so natural is... daunting, to say the least. 

There’s a last job interview he’s got on schedule, and somehow Vittorio finds a last wind of enthusiasm to carry himself through it with high hopes. Dressed in his best suit and sporting his most charming smile, he stands up when he’s approached and offers his hand for a shake. 

“Mr. Hill?” he greets. “I’m Vittorio Sanguinetti. I spoke to you assistant over the phone about the Security job? It’s a pleasure.”

His accent is thick, but his pronunciation is clear. Spending so much time with American musicians and actors has been good for something.