James Brighton Society, Chapter 8: Pages 21-22
Page 21, 5 Panels- Skies/Street, Jeddah Saudi Arabia/Washington D.C.
Panel 1-3: A three-part set of panels, from the perspective of the mystery weapon, as it tracks the flying carpet in the skies above Fireland. It all leads up to some type of explosion by the time we get to Panel 3. Though we don't see the result of what happened afterwards because...
Panel 4-5: The scene immediately moves in Panel 4 to a rear shot of an exhaust pipe belching out smoke. In Panel 5, the layout widens to take in a white newspaper van moving along the same street where Grem's apartment in D.C. just as morning arrives.
CAPTION [Panel 5]: Outside Grem's Apartment December 31st Morning
Page 22, 6 Panels- The Cloak Room, Washington D.C.
Panel 1: Cut to an interior shot of the Cloak Room, showing Tasha pushing open one of the doors and stepping inside. She looks considerably exhausted from lack of sleep, wearing one of Grem's white shirts and a pair of baggy dark pants. The glow of the morning sun can be seen rushing into the scene from the background as you can hear the sound of a guitar playing off-panel.
DORIAN [Off-Panel, to Tasha]: Good morning, Natasha! TASHA [grunts]: mergh...
Panel 2: We move to the bar area where Dorian is standing, dressed in a dirty white Line Cook's outfit. He notices the young woman coming over to his position and grins slightly. You can see Tasha in the background through the reflection of the mirror showing her coming toward the mecha-man.
DORIAN [pleasant chuckle]: I see the feline provided you with a thoroughly restless evening. TASHA [nodding, with a yawn]: Yeah. I'm pretty sure that little furball doesn't sleep! DORIAN [Bubble 2]: I tended to Athena many times, and I can tell you- I genuinely have no idea. TASHA [Bubble 2]: Ha...that's weirdly comforting!
Panel 3: Close-up on the former Detective a few moments later, taking a seat on one of the barstools. Her arms laid out on the counter top, stacked one on top of the other like a pile of pancakes. The background behind her is similar to what we saw in reflection in the previous panel, albeit without the flipped perspective.
TASHA [Cont., curious]: Have you ever gone out on an adventure with Gremlin before? Like fight monsters, searching for artifacts and stuff?
Panel 4: Cut back to Dorian in the same setting as Panel 2, zooming in slightly on the mecha-man's face compared to the layout from that particular panel. He shakes his head and gives her a puzzled look in regard to her statement.
DORIAN: I cannot say that's ever happened to me before. Why do you ask?
Panel 5: Back to Tasha in the same setting and layout as Panel 3. She shrugs in regards to the statement, shifting her body slightly with the left arm drifting off the countertop down to her lap off-panel.
TASHA: Just curious. He's supposed to be ringing soon saying whether he'll be back for the Ball tonight. And...I'm not the biggest fan of waiting. DORIAN [casually, Off-Panel]: It'll be fine, my dear. He's probably just going through a tall tankard of ale...or a tall Blonde. Either way, I suspect you won't be left out in the lurch for too long. TASHA [Bubble 2]: Yeah, probably.
Panel 6: Same setting/layout as the previous panel. A few beats later, she looks around toward the kitchen area that is off-panel at this point. Her stomach just growling at that point to heighten the necessity of the question she asks.
TASHA [Cont.]: Do you guys serve breakfast here by chance?