James Brighton Society, Chapter 9: Pages 13-14
Page 13, 5 Panels- Front Entrance/Rear Loading Area, JBS Headquarters, Alexandria Virginia
Panel 1-3: A three-part set of panels that centers back on the Mecha-Guard in the same setting and layout that we saw it in in the top of the previous page. The robot looks over Kyle's magic ID for the first pair of panels, scanning the document before looking over and handing it back in Panel 3.
MECHA-GUARD [to Officer Reese, Panel 3]: Everything checks out, Mr. Donoghue. You'll be with the drinks staff. MECHA-GUARD [to Tasha; Panel 3, Bubble 2]: You can drop your boy off in the rear kitchen area, Ms. Andres.
Panel 4: Cut to a shot of the rear kitchen area a few minutes later. We see the opened door and a little section of the busy area illuminated by a series of lights from inside. You can see Mr. Reese's head pop into view from the rear of the car looking on at Tasha unseen in the driver's seat.
OFFICER REESE [exhaling a deep relieved breath]: And now, I can breathe again...and unclench!
Panel 5: We move to a close-up on Kyle a few moments later, taken from inside the car looking out. He cracks a slight smile and looks over toward Tasha in the driver's seat whose back is shown to the reader, holding on to the wheel.
OFFICER REESE [Cont., sighs]: Not so happy to serve a few hundred likely racist rich white people telling jokes. But...I can make it work. TASHA [calm but sympathetic, to Officer Reese]: Neither am I all that excited for old white men to grab my ass every five minutes. Just gotta survive till we know where the Magog's located. OFFICER REESE [Bubble 2]: I'll look for you if I don't hear from you in an hour. Or if I know first...good luck, chica. TASHA [Bubble 2]: Yeah...good luck to you too, Kyle.
Page 14, 6 Panels- Foyer/Ballroom, JBS Headquarters, Alexandria Virginia
Panel 1-2: A two-part set of panels that starts in Panel 1 on Tasha walking a red carpet a few minutes later after we last saw her. You can see in her that she's steeling herself for the battle to come. A process that follows on into Panel 2 when, through a rear shot, Ms. Randolph passes through the two guards (one human, one Mecha) into the building.
TASHA [narration caption, Panel 1]: A cop, a former Detective and a weird Irishman who's (supposedly) immortal (and god knows where at this damn point), fighting against a secret society that wants to take over the world with the help of some freaky Greek monster. TASHA [Cont. narration caption, Panel 2]: Sounds like the start of a great story...or the first sentence of my obituary! Nowhere else to go now...
Panel 3: We move to an expansive shot a few minutes after that of the beautiful front foyer filled with the kinds of powerful, important people that make up the membership of the James Brighton Society along with their guests. The aura of the architecture and the lighting in the room giving it a purely golden aura to the reader.
TASHA [narration caption]: Hope I make you proud, papa y mama.
Panel 4: Cut to a shot of the ballroom in a different part of the compound moments later. The glow of the color scheme is similar, albeit a little muted with the chandelier from the ceiling. You can see the band playing on-stage alongside the countdown clock to Midnight (2 Hours, 40 Minutes at this point).
Panel 5-6: A two-part set of panels that shifts toward a section of the ballroom minutes later. In Panel 5, we see the Grand Vizier standing along with a group of "important looking" people having a grand ol' time and chatting over drinks and cigars. A few moments later, in Panel 6, Reginald's focus is pulled by the sight of someone in the distance signaling for him. His smile firmly erased from his face at that moment.
GV JONES [to the group, Panel 6]: Excuse me a second, gentlemen...