Episode 1.01 of The Management: Welcome to the Afterlife
A/N: This was written for Challenge #3 on BW. It is the pilot for a spinoff using two established characters who are not usually considered for a spinoff plus several original characters. I will be posting the teaser and each of the four acts as separate chapters.
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the Buffyverse. Nor do I own the actors.
Teaser:
Fade in to a dimly lit basement. The walls and floor are bare concrete. A naked light bulb hangs from the ceiling. A tiny patch of the floor is illuminated by the sliver of moonlight coming through the small window set high in the wall. A middle-aged man paces back and forth in the center of the room, muttering to himself. He abruptly cuts off the string of mumbled words with a loud cackle. The camera zooms in on his head and shoulders as a crooked smile spreads across his face. Behind him, another man, Whistler, decked out in a vibrant orange shirt beneath a black suit and a bowler hat, slowly fades into being. He coughs as he steps out of the shadows, alerting the other man to his presence.
Man: Who the hell are you?
Whistler: Nice place you got here. Don't take it personally, but I think it could use a woman's touch.
The man's eyes narrow as Whistler walks around the small room.
Man: Get outta here.
Whistler: Oooh, scary. Sorry to break it to you, pal, but I'm not one of those school girls you like so much. And I'm here to tell you something big, something that'll change your life forever. You got any beer?
Man (growls): No.
Whistler: Didn't think so. Anyway, I'm here to tell you to go back there. To the place you found. You know, the magic place?
Man: Magic's just some dumb kid's story.
Whistler: Magic's as real as you and me. I know where you went last night. You thought it was crazy, but I'm here to tell you it's not. You've got a choice now: hang around in the dark like a bat, or go out into the world and make a difference. Become someone.
Man (scornfully): You mean like a wizard?
Whistler: The preferred term is 'warlock'. But listen, magic's no joke. It's powerful as can be, and with it you can do all manner of things most people could hardly imagine.
The man's smile grows as he slowly wraps his fingers around the Swiss Army knife tucked in his pants.
Man: Is that so?
He quickly pulls out the blade and launches himself at Whistler, who is just fast enough to get out of the way of a killing blow, instead taking a slice to his side.
Whistler: Damn! What was that for?
The man circles slowly around Whistler, knife still at the ready.
Man: Ugliest damn shirt I've ever seen.
Whistler looks down at his shiny orange shirt, now torn and blood-stained, then back up at the man.
Whistler: Well, I'd love to stay and chat but–
He snaps his fingers and vanishes from the basement. Cut to the lawn outside the house where Whistler reappears a second later, stumbling across the grass as rain pours down and makes the night even darker. With one hand wrapped around his side, he staggers toward the black car parked on the side of the street and pulls the door open. He collapses onto the driver's seat and fumbles through the glove compartment for a small bottle of blue liquid. He splashes the liquid liberally on his side, and leans back in the seat with a sigh as the skin begins to heal.
Whistler: Just another day on the job.
He puts the bottle back in the glove compartment, starts the car, and begins to drive away.
End Teaser
The Management
Credits (theme song: "Angels and Devils" by Echo & the Bunnymen)
Max Perlich as Whistler
Glenn Quinn (R.I.P.) as Doyle
Rosario Dawson as Camilla
Chiwetel Ejiofor as Jeremy
Martin Freeman as Frank
Anjelica Huston as Ophelia
Guest Starring:
Gabrielle Union as Jessica
Clive Owen as Charles