From: Robert Willers <willers@trombone.sps.mot.com>

THE CITY Update for Friday, May 17:

(There is quite a bit of intermixing of storylines today.  I've grouped
them pretty well, but if something appears to be missing, it may well
be grouped into another storyline...)

STORYLINE: AZURE'S ONE-MAN ENTOURAGE
 (starting location: Wilder agency)
* Molly takes a message for Tess.  Azure strolls by and says she didn't
 know that Molly still worked there.  Molly says she doesn't, but Tess
 asked her to fill in today.  Molly tells Azure that she is getting a
 case of tennis elbow because of Azure -- every other call is about her.
 "Oh, the price of fame."  Molly says she's big now, and Azure says
 she'd rather be a bit smaller.  Molly asks what's wrong.
* None.
* Azure is telling Molly the itinerary for the proposed European trip.
 Molly says that is the saddest story she has ever heard -- touring the
 world, being admired by fans worldwide.  Azure says it *is* wonderful,
 but she doesn't want to be away from Bernardo for a few months.  Molly
 says if he cares for her like it is obvious he does, he will still be
 there.  Azure says it isn't a matter of trusting him, it's just that
 their relationship has been so tentative and, being apart for so long,
 it will probably take a step backwards.  Molly tells her to ask him to
 come with her.  Tess would love that, says Azure.  Have you asked?  No.
 Molly tells her that she is a star, and stars have entourages, so he
 would be her entourage, and Tess would be getting off pretty cheap.
 Azure asks if she thinks Tess would go for that, and Molly says that
 you won't know until you ask her.  Besides, Tess will want to keep the
 million-dollar smile on that million-dollar face.  "OK, coach."  She
 asks Molly for moral support, but Molly says she has her own talking
 to do with Danny.  Azure leaves; Tony enters.  He asks Molly if Ally
 is around.  She's on a shoot, but she should be back soon.  He asks if
 he can wait there.  Molly says she was about to lock up.  Tony says he
 knows how to lock a door.  Molly says he is a man of many talents, and
 leaves.  Tony opens up the plans.
* [In the stairwell.]
Azure quietly climbs down the stairs.  She opens the basement door and
 goes to Bernardo's door.  She knocks and enters.  She asks Bernardo if
 he has a minute.  "Yeah, sure."  She says she hasn't talked to Tess
 yet, but she thought she'd talk to him about this first...hey, what's
 wrong?  He tells her that his relationship with Danny is officially
 dissolved [see below].  She says she's sorry, that meant a lot to him.
 Something else will come along, he says.  "It has."  What?  "How would
 you feel about escorting an up-and-coming model to Europe?"

STORYLINE: DANNY LOSES A PARTNER, BUT GAINS...?
 (starting location: City Bar)
* Danny is on the pay phone, calling the loan shark (Rocco Giordano).
 He says he needs $30 grand.  He knows it's a lot of money, but he says
 he is definitely good for it.  The phone is grabbed out of his hand and
 hung up...by Bernardo.  "What are you, nuts?"
* Bernardo says he isn't touching one cent of mob money.  Danny tells
 him to mind his own business.  This *is* my business, says Bernardo.
 He brings up all the lying (and the lies), and asks, seriously, what
 kind of trouble they are in.  Danny says they have a _slight_ problem.
* Danny tells Bernardo that Jared has a problem with him dealing with
 Sydney.  Bernardo asks since when Jared is involved.  Sydney's money
 is tied up with him, says Danny.  "Face it, amigo, you've been dumped."
 He says Sydney is behind them.  "Not us, *you*."  "Everything is gonna
 be just fine."  Bernardo has had it.  He says he's out.  Fine, says
 Danny, but don't come back when this takes off.  It already *has* taken
 off, and Bernardo wants off before it crashes.  Danny says that as
 soon as "Syd" finds a way to deal with Jared, she's going to cover
 everything.  Bernardo asks what she has done for him -- a couple of
 suits and a haircut?  "Face it, man, you have been had.  But good."
 Bernardo stomps off.  Danny turns and sees Sydney at the door.
* He asks her if this has been a put-on -- "you're one of the richest
 women in the world but suddenly you're broke?"  She starts to explain,
 but he interrupts, saying that he should have his head examined for
 getting involved with her.  He stomps off.  "Danny, wait!"
[Later, by the elevator.]
Sydney asks Danny to listen to her.  "I've heard you, now have a nice
 life, and I'll see you around."  He gets in the elevator, she follows
 him in.  "Danny, wait!"  "Look, you can talk until you're blue in the
 fact, I am not changing my mind."  "How about giving a lady a chance
 to change it for you?"  Sydney pushes the button for the Penthouse.
 The doors close.

STORYLINE: JARED'S *REAL* INTEREST (TONY'S, TOO)
 (starting location: Stairwell)
* Sydney tells Tess she knows she has been seeing Jared.  Tess says it
 is none of her business.  It is if it includes my husband, says Sydney.
 She says she knows what Tess wants from Jared, but not what he wants
 from her -- then she snickers, saying it is obvious, that he wants what
 any man wants from her.  "Let's face it -- what else is there?"
* [In the bar.]
Tess is pursuing Sydney, who says she has said all she has to say.  Tess
 vows to make her take back every word.  Sydney says she's sure Tess
 has a couple of good points.  Tess retorts, "There's more to it than
 that."  "What, your stunning intellect?  Pardon my whimsy."  Tess says
 she and Jared are business partners.
* "'A man who turned down IBM goes into partnership with Tess Wilder.'
 I mean, what is wrong with this picture?"  "Maybe I have something IBM
 doesn't have."  "No comment."  Tess says Jared is helping her with her
 *investments*.  With what?  With a $100,000 I recently came into.  Yes,
 of *my* money, says Sydney.  Yes, but it's *my* money now, and with his
 advice, she is going to expand the agency.  Sydney says he doesn't know
 anything about modeling agencies.  It is a business, though, and he
 does know something about business.  He does, but he always deals in
 multi-billion-dollar companies and no matter how big her agency gets,
 it doesn't qualify.  That remains to be seen, says Tess.  Sydney offers
 Tess some advice as a former pal: Jared is not interested in Tess or
 her business.  Tess laughs, saying Jared must not have anything better
 to do.  Sydney says Jared must be between playmates right now, but he
 likes his bunnies pretty, young and stupid.  One out of three ain't
 bad, huh?  "Happy hunting."  Sydney leaves; Tess sighs.
* [In the stairwell.]
Tess sees Molly (who is waiting for the elevator which Danny and Sydney
 have just boarded), and asks if everything is locked up.  No--  Tess
 tells her never mind, she's headed back there anyway.
[At the agency.]
Tess gets out her compact and looks at herself in the mirror, thinking
 about what Sydney said: "Jared wants what any man would want from you.
 I mean, what else is there?"  [Oddly, a major combining and re-phrasing
 of various lines of Sydney's previous dialogue.]  She stomps into her
 office and dials the phone.  "Jared, hi, it's Tess.  I'm at the agency,
 could you call me when you get in?"  She hangs up and hears the papers
 ruffling.  She goes into the next office and sees Tony.  "What are
 *you* doing here?"

STORYLINE: ALL TORN UP
 (location: Alex/Danny/Tony's apartment/detective agency)
* Tony is telling Alex the story of Pauly DeFranco.  He has the final
 building plans [boy, that was fast], and most of the renovation work
 was done on the floor with the Agency.  Alex tells him that was good
 work, and Tony says he has to give the credit to Ally.  "She really
 put it on the line for this one."  Alex admits that he hasn't been
 a lot of help, and decides to confide in Tony why.  "I know."
 "I know you know -- know what?"  Tony tells him he knows about Jocelyn
 being a prostitute.
* Alex is stunned.  "How long have you known?"  "About a week."  "When
 were you going to tell me?"  "I wanted to -- but Ally said it wasn't
 my place, and she was right."  Alex can't believe Ally knows: "Was
 this in the _New York Times_ and nobody told me?"  Alex says he hates
 to be lied to.  Tony says he didn't lie, and asks what Alex would have
 done in his shoes.  "I don't know, I'm not a liar!"  Alex apologizes
 for that statement.  "I'm not mad at you, and I'm not mad at Ally."
 "I know, you're mad at Jocelyn, and you may be right."
* He says he tried being angry at her, and he wishes he could -- they
 would fight about it, then break it up and have a clean end to the
 whole thing instead of walking around and feeling numb.  He says he
 can't believe he is the only one who doesn't know about this.  Tony
 says he didn't _want_ to know.  Alex says he thought he could handle
 all of her problems, but this--  Tony asks if he knows why she started
 doing this.  Alex says she isn't sure, but she was molested as a child.
 She's seeing a therapist and trying to work it out, while Alex is just
 trying to understand.  He walked around all day yesterday, trying to
 get her out of his head, but the more he tried, the more he thought
 about her.  "You know, Tony, as much as I care about her, as much as
 I would probably miss her, as much as I want to forgive her, I don't
 know whether I can really get this out of my head.  I don't know that
 I can live with this."  Tony asks him if he loves her.  "Would I be as
 torn up about anything if I didn't?"  Alex leaves to take another walk.
* [See below.]

STORYLINE: HELP FOR JOANNA -- AND FOR JOCELYN?
 (location: hospital room)
* Jocelyn brings a bouquet of flowers in to "the soon-to-be ex-patient"
 Joanna.  She says she's feeling fine; Jocelyn says she looks fine.
 She says they can put the flowers in water when they get home.  Joanna
 tells Jocelyn that she won't be going home.
* Jocelyn asks why not, the doctors have given her the OK.  Joanna says
 she's all right physically, but she now knows that as long as she is
 drinking, she could do anything, and as long as she lives with Lou, she
 will continue to drink.  She says there is a place upstate with a very
 good psychatric staff (which she knows because she has looked there in
 the past).  She didn't have the courage to commit to this then, and she
 doesn't know if she has the courage to do this even now, to look back
 on her life, but since Jocelyn has been strong enough to do it, she can
 now.  Jocelyn says she has given up looking at the past, she is looking
 to the future now -- a future which probably doesn't include Alex.
* Joanna asks why.  Jocelyn says he knows the truth.  Did you tell him?
 No, he found out for himself.  "If he's the man you say he is, won't he
 understand?"  "I don't know.  You should have seen his face."  Joanna
 says she's so sorry.  Jocelyn reassures her that it's not her fault.
 Joanna says it is "very much" her fault "for not being the mother you
 should have had -- that every child has the right to have."  Jocelyn
 says she did her best -- she knew she loved her.  "If I had, I would
 have protected you."  Jocelyn protests, but Joanna tells her to stop
 trying to make excuses for her.  She is facing facts now, and the fact
 is that she was a weak, frightened woman.  "I'm frightened now, maybe
 more so than before.  But I can't...I won't go back to living with
 your father.  I honestly don't know where he took you on those Saturday
 afternoons, but I saw your face when you got home, I knew something had
 happened, that something was wrong, and Jocelyn, I said nothing, I did
 nothing.  You say your father didn't molest you, then who did?"  She
 says she doesn't know, and doesn't even care any more.  Joanna says she
 is sorry about Alex, sorry about everything.  Jocelyn puts on a happy
 face and says she still has her mom around.  Yes, and I'll be there for
 you now, if you'll let me.  Jocelyn says she's helping her right now.
* Jocelyn asks if her dad is driving her upstate.  No, I've asked him
 not to see me.  Jocelyn volunteers.  No, I'll take the train, if I'm
 going to be an independent woman, I'd better get used to it.  Jocelyn
 says she won't be alone, not while she's around.  "Us against the
 world, huh?"  "Who else do we need?"
Alex enters the room.

-----
|  "I'm surrounded by idiots!"                         |  Bob Willers  |
|  --Simba's uncle Scar (voice talent: Jeremy Irons),  |  Phoenix, AZ  |
|    THE LION KING.                                    | MY opinions!! |
+------------ willers@trombone.sps.mot.com ------------+---------------+

