This Tangle of Thorns
Title This Tangle of Thorns
Author xlivvielockex
Rating G-PG
Word Count 696
Characters/Pairing (if any) Lilah Morgan, Mona Vanderwaal
Summary: Mona Vanderwaal gets recruited for a summer internship
When Mona heard the click of heels on the concrete outside the coffee shop she looked up from the copy of Lolita she had been annotating for Mr. Fitz. She already had the envelope carefully addressed, the note tucked inside signed by A. Moving her things off the table, she hastily pushed them into her purse.
“Nice Stuart Weitzman pumps.” Mona said as her eyes moved from the shoes to see the woman who was occupying them. Her lips pursed into a thin line as she looked over her sunglasses at the woman. “But the silk scarf around the neck went out of fashion in the 50s.”
The woman let the comment roll off her back, completely detached. “Are you Mona Vanderwaal?”
“That really depends on who is asking?” This got Mona’s attention as she sat up a bit straighter in her chair.
“I’m just a messenger.” From seemingly nowhere the woman produced a card, bone white with sharp black lettering. “I represent a law firm that has an interest in your particular…set of skills.”
Mona took the card, reading it aloud. “Lilah Morgan. Head of Recruitment at Wolfram and Hart.” She glanced up, squinting against the glare of the sun. The woman was consumed by it. One might call it a halo if this Lilah Morgan didn’t give off a vibe of pure indifference that could be easily tipped into evil.
“Yes. Nice to see you can read. That’s an accomplishment for your generation.”
“Flattery will get you every where.” Mona said dryly as she slipped the card into her purse. “So what does this Wolfram and Hart want with me?”
“Wolfram and Hart is a multinational law firm that has just created a summer internship program for high school seniors.”
“Internship is just a fancy word for slavery, isn’t it?”
“You kids today are so jaded.” Lilah smiled a cat that ate the canary grin. “I like that.”
“Seriously, what is this about? I have things I need to get back to.” Mona’s mind drifted for a moment to the book burning a hole in her purse. A needed to get back to work and Fitz needed to be reminded how much in common he had with Humbert Humbert.
“So cynical. This is going to work out fantastic.” Once more Lilah grinned. It almost seemed as if she had too much teeth. She was like a shark and she could sense the blood in the water.
“And what is this exactly?”
“I’m here to offer you one of the internships naturally. Wolfram and Hart has seen your work and the Senior Partners are impressed.”
“I didn’t think my grades were good enough to get some big law firm interested in me. I had…to take some time off.” Mona hesitated but there was something about this woman that told Mona that she already knew all about Mona’s stint in Radley.
“We aren’t talking about your grades, Ms. Vanderwaal. We’re interested in your…extra-circular activities.”
There was something about the way the woman said it that made Mona’s skin crawl and a chill to run up her spine. She felt this before, though not often, it was fear. That instinctual flight or fight response that had kept people alive since they were living in caves. But Mona wasn’t one to run, not anymore.
“These games you’re playing, they are just that…games. If you want to step it up, to take on more fun things like toppling governments and destroying lives on a grander scale, you have my card.”
Mona was up quickly as the carrot was dangled in front of her. “Wait...”
“This is a one time only offer, Mona. Come to our New York offices, take the tour, and then make your decision.”
Mona looked to her purse, to the past and a life as A, and then back to Lilah, who was dangling a much more powerful opportunity in front of her. “So when can I go do this tour?”
“Limo is waiting around the corner.” Lilah grinned once more as she slipped her arm around Mona’s shoulders, steering the young girl away from the coffee shop and into her future.
Author xlivvielockex
Rating G-PG
Word Count 696
Characters/Pairing (if any) Lilah Morgan, Mona Vanderwaal
Summary: Mona Vanderwaal gets recruited for a summer internship
When Mona heard the click of heels on the concrete outside the coffee shop she looked up from the copy of Lolita she had been annotating for Mr. Fitz. She already had the envelope carefully addressed, the note tucked inside signed by A. Moving her things off the table, she hastily pushed them into her purse.
“Nice Stuart Weitzman pumps.” Mona said as her eyes moved from the shoes to see the woman who was occupying them. Her lips pursed into a thin line as she looked over her sunglasses at the woman. “But the silk scarf around the neck went out of fashion in the 50s.”
The woman let the comment roll off her back, completely detached. “Are you Mona Vanderwaal?”
“That really depends on who is asking?” This got Mona’s attention as she sat up a bit straighter in her chair.
“I’m just a messenger.” From seemingly nowhere the woman produced a card, bone white with sharp black lettering. “I represent a law firm that has an interest in your particular…set of skills.”
Mona took the card, reading it aloud. “Lilah Morgan. Head of Recruitment at Wolfram and Hart.” She glanced up, squinting against the glare of the sun. The woman was consumed by it. One might call it a halo if this Lilah Morgan didn’t give off a vibe of pure indifference that could be easily tipped into evil.
“Yes. Nice to see you can read. That’s an accomplishment for your generation.”
“Flattery will get you every where.” Mona said dryly as she slipped the card into her purse. “So what does this Wolfram and Hart want with me?”
“Wolfram and Hart is a multinational law firm that has just created a summer internship program for high school seniors.”
“Internship is just a fancy word for slavery, isn’t it?”
“You kids today are so jaded.” Lilah smiled a cat that ate the canary grin. “I like that.”
“Seriously, what is this about? I have things I need to get back to.” Mona’s mind drifted for a moment to the book burning a hole in her purse. A needed to get back to work and Fitz needed to be reminded how much in common he had with Humbert Humbert.
“So cynical. This is going to work out fantastic.” Once more Lilah grinned. It almost seemed as if she had too much teeth. She was like a shark and she could sense the blood in the water.
“And what is this exactly?”
“I’m here to offer you one of the internships naturally. Wolfram and Hart has seen your work and the Senior Partners are impressed.”
“I didn’t think my grades were good enough to get some big law firm interested in me. I had…to take some time off.” Mona hesitated but there was something about this woman that told Mona that she already knew all about Mona’s stint in Radley.
“We aren’t talking about your grades, Ms. Vanderwaal. We’re interested in your…extra-circular activities.”
There was something about the way the woman said it that made Mona’s skin crawl and a chill to run up her spine. She felt this before, though not often, it was fear. That instinctual flight or fight response that had kept people alive since they were living in caves. But Mona wasn’t one to run, not anymore.
“These games you’re playing, they are just that…games. If you want to step it up, to take on more fun things like toppling governments and destroying lives on a grander scale, you have my card.”
Mona was up quickly as the carrot was dangled in front of her. “Wait...”
“This is a one time only offer, Mona. Come to our New York offices, take the tour, and then make your decision.”
Mona looked to her purse, to the past and a life as A, and then back to Lilah, who was dangling a much more powerful opportunity in front of her. “So when can I go do this tour?”
“Limo is waiting around the corner.” Lilah grinned once more as she slipped her arm around Mona’s shoulders, steering the young girl away from the coffee shop and into her future.