Note/s: Song lyrics are from "Chances Are" by Johnny Mathis. I recommend checking it out. Once again, your comments and reviews are greatly appreciated. It'll make my day to hear from you guys.
The city of Arendelle was a broad with two sides. A mild-mannered lady, dressed to the 9-5s of the daytime, but at night…she shrugged off the goody-goody character, put on her neon make up, and walked the streets with a cool air. There needn't be a full moon for these transformations. It was at night that the fringes of society gathered in every seedy pocket of the underbelly. In the haze of decadence, there were no friendly faces or—
"Anna! Sweet child! Is that you?!"
It took Anna a few seconds to recover from the interruption of her internal thoughts.
"Umm…err good evening, Mama Odie…what are you doing…out so late?"
"Late night bingo! I'm gonna win me the jackpot!"
"Oh…umm, that's great."
"I know what you're thinking! How can a blind woman like myself possibly play bingo? Well it's easy! First of all, I"— The old woman then spent the next ten minutes explaining how it was possible (though Anna found it more perplexing that the sweet blind lady was able to spot her in the first place. Just how internal were Anna's internal monologues exactly?).
Afterwards, Anna offered Mama Odie to take her to the bingo house but was swiftly refused ("I've been going there for twenty-three years! Ain't nothing gonna hold me down!"). As the old lady caned away, Anna wondered if she should tail her just to make sure she was safe.
Then again… She took in her surroundings and noticed that there were lots of people out, some even had kids with them!
Anna frowned, deciding she'd have to rethink the whole "seedy" aspect of her piece.
She resumed walking until she reached her destination. Tiana's Place.
Jazz music greeted her as she pushed open the doors. The place had a speakeasy feel. A live band played on a small thrust stage, surrounded by round tables of relaxed spectators. By stage left was a bar. Anna weaved her way through the tables to get there. She removed her hat, plopping onto a stool with a smile…which she promptly erased. Disinterest! She scolded herself.
"Barkeep!"
The man who had been polishing a glass spun around. He smiled widely in recognition.
"Anna! Ashitanza!" He exclaimed with a strong Maldonian accent. "I usually only have Kristoff come here in these parts! What brings you here?"
Anna and her sister were frequent patrons at Naveen and his wife's other establishment, Tiana's Palace, an upscale French restaurant that was more formal (totally up Elsa's alley). Tiana's Place on the other hand was low-key and casual, and functioned only in the late evenings. Anna had only been to the grand opening a couple of years back.
This place sure has grown popular. Anna wouldn't mind coming here a lot if it weren't so out of the way.
"Hello Naveen," she kept her voice neutral, "I wish I could play nice but I'm on a mission."
"Why are you talking like that?"
He looked genuinely interested, so Anna leaned forward and excitedly whispered. "I'm being a detective right now, Naveen! A real one! I'm on my first case. Kristoff finally let me!"
"He did? Bjorgman? That man has always been droning on and on about what a klutz you are but now—here you are!"
"Thanks, I—wait, what?"
"I should break out the champagne!"
"No you don't have to!" Anna stopped him just before he could take a step back. "I'm not here to celebrate. As I said, I'm on a mission. To find a snitch."
The snitch was actually just another one of Kristoff's intels. Flynn Rider (real name Eugene), was a reformed thief who had managed to turn his life around. He was a fountain of vital information as his past connections still made him privy to the going-ons of crime circles.
Naveen's eyes sparkled in understanding. "Oh I see. Serious business. I can do that too." He turned his back on her, cleared his throat dramatically, then faced her again with a look of perfect detachment.
Pulling a rag from his pocket, he proceeded to wipe the counter. "'Ey, what's your poison?"
Anna matched his tone with hers.
"Get me a spot of gin…" then in a sharp whisper, "…ger ale."
"Comin' right up."
As he busied himself with her drink, another customer dropped down on the stool next to her, who just so happened to be her snitch.
"Hey Naveen! Fix me another beer, would ya? I lost another hand. I swear one of those Stabbington brothers is a stinking cheat"—
Anna swiveled in her seat.
"Hello Rider."
Flynn jumped about an inch off of his chair (and life). "Anna?! What are you doing here?" His surprised eyes quickly scanned her detective garb. "And what's with that outfit? I usually only see you wearing some pastel get-up."
Anna shrugged. "Came for a drink, stayed for the ambience."
Flynn blinked at her. Then, he turned to Naveen, whose usually perpetually-cheerful face was hard as stone as he slid Anna her drink.
The confused man threw his hands up in the air. "What is wrong with you two?!"
"Listen Rider," Anna said, "I didn't really come here for pleasantry."
"Go figure."
"Knock it off, wise guy." Naveen growled in a tough voice.
"Knock what off?!"
Anna studied the ice cubes in her drink. "Let's cut to the chase." She took a sip, lightly smacking her lips. "I came here to find you." She then slammed her glass down before looking Flynn straight in the eye. "And I did."
"How did you even know I was here? I keep a low profile."
That question was so ridiculous that Anna relapsed to her usual self. "Flynn! You posted a picture on instagram with the caption: "I'm here!" hashtag nightlife!"
"You even snapchatted it," added Naveen, breaking character as well.
…
…
…
…
"I don't know how to respond to that."
"Kristoff finally let Anna be her own detective Flynn," Naveen informed his friend, steering them into the relevant topic at hand.
"Whoa! For real?" The former thief slapped his knee. "Didn't he say that Anna couldn't even make a decent sandwich without somehow screwing it up?"
Anna blinked. "What?"
Naveen laughed. "Remember that story of Anna accidentally buying Elsa foot cream instead of toothpaste"—
"Hey!" Anna defended herself, cheeks ablaze, "those products were identically packaged and placed right next to each other!"
The two men tossed their heads back in laughter.
When they had their fill at her expense, Flynn wiped a tear from his eye. "So Detective, what exactly did you want from me?"
"You guys talk," Naveen said, decanter in hand, "I'm gonna tend for a while."
Anna was still peeved but she nonetheless filled Flynn in on the case. She might not have all the full details just yet but at least Flynn would be made aware and hone his radar. After all, his specialty had been thefts and heists.
"The Blue Olaf. Sounds like a kiddie movie." Flynn took a few gulps from his beer, then flashed Anna his signature smirk. "Okay, I'll see what I can rustle up. You'll have to give me more than a cartoon name though."
"I know." Anna said. "I'll contact you as soon as I get more info from my client. I have an appointment to see him tomo"—
Anna was drowned out by sudden applause. "What the?"
"Oh it's going to start soon." Naveen beamed, coming back from the other side of the bar.
"What is?" Anna asked. The band had stopped playing.
Flynn answered her as he hopped off from the barstool. He grabbed his second bottle. "It's Naveen's singing showman. He sings every MWF, started last week."
"Eh, customers can sing on stage if they want," Naveen said, "but this guy might as well have his name on the marquee. He brings in good business." He gestured his head to the crowd of women in rapt attention, their backsides at the literal edge of their seats, "I should really hire him."
"Wow," was all Anna could say.
"Yeah I'm gonna bounce to the game room." said Flynn, reinvigorated for another game of cards. "Put everything on Bjorgman's tab."
Naveen rolled his eyes. "As always."
"Anna, give my regards to Blondie. Tell her to call me. Ciao!"
"Call Rapunzel yourself!" Anna yelled at his retreating form.
"Anna, you should watch the show." Naveen suggested, refilling her glass. "The guy is not just popular for his singing. He has the looks too."
Anna quirked an eyebrow. "Oh, so he's the total package?"
Naveen's smile was all teeth.
"Interesting choice of words."
Naveen gave her the best seat in the house, right in front of the stage, barely a few feet away from where the microphone stood. Anna could feel the other women shooting daggers at the special treatment. If looks could kill…
The lights suddenly dimmed, and the menacing aura disappeared as the place plunged into momentary darkness. There were a couple of cheers that were immediately squashed with harsh shushes as the piano keys twinkled. Then slowly, the stage lights softly flowered to reveal…
…
…
…
…
Anna had to be dreaming.
Please tell me that isn't my client in front of me.
"HANS I LOVE YOU!" came a shout from the far back.
Oh God that is my client in front of me.
Anna tried to shrink herself in her seat, pulling her hat down over her head. She wanted to up and leave but knew that would only draw attention to herself. The last thing she wanted! Hopefully the subdued lighting would work in her favor.
Hans was dressed in a dark form-fitting tuxedo, complete with pocket square. His hair was pushed back and gleaming. He looked like a perfect gentleman—and every bit as attractive as he did when he only wore a shirt and jeans.
He placed a caressing hand on the microphone.
"Chances are….'cause I wear a silly grin the moment you come into view…"
Anna bit her lip. He had only jusy begun but his effect was palpable.
"Chances are you think that I'm in love with you…"
Hans continued crooning his magic as Anna tried her extreme best to look inconspicuous.
Okay, stay cool, Anna. It's fine. You can live through this. Take a sip. She followed her own instruction and took a sip from her now-tasteless ginger ale. As long as he doesn't see you, you'll be fine, you'll—Oh God he saw you!
He was now staring intently at her with his green eyes. "In the magic of moonlight…when I sigh "hold me close dear"." Anna's eyes widened in horror, as he removed the mic from its stand. Surely he wasn't going to! Oh God he was!
"Chances are you believe the stars…" He was slowly making his way towards her. "…that fill the skies are in my eyes…"
He stopped directly in front of her table.
"Guess you feel you'll always be…" He slowly circled around until he was right beside her. Anna painfully did her best to ignore the sex on the stick next to her by averting her eyes away from him. "…the one and only one for me…and if you think you could…"
Her jaw dropped when he took her hat off. She stared at him in disbelief as he tossed it on the table. He had the most self-satisfactory smile in existence.
"Well…chances are your chances are awfully good."
Okay, that's it. Anna thought. I'm gonna have to make a run for it. But just as she pushed down on her heels, Hans did the unthinkable. He straddled her. His long legs trapped hers in between his. He half-supported himself against the edge of the table with his rear so that he wasn't using his full weight on her. There were gasps all around them.
With the gloved hand that wasn't holding the mic, he cupped her chin and made her look at him.
"Chances are you believe the stars…that fill the skies are in my eyes…" He began tracing his finger along the bridge of her nose as his face slowly drew closer with every musical word.
"Guess you feel you'll always be…the one and ~only~ one for me…" His sharp nose skimmed a line from her chin to her lips. "…And if you think you could." Anna dared not to breathe.
At this point the microphone could barely pick up anything he sang, as his mouth was only a hairsbreadth away from hers. "Well, chances are your chances are ~awfully good~"
Anna's lips parted. Then all too quickly, just like that, he pulled away and got back up on stage.
"The chances are your chances are…awfully good~" He finished with flourish.
The audience gave him a standing ovation.
Detective log: My client, Hans sin-in-my-pants Westergård, just had sex with me with his voice. There's nothing more to say.