Lola

(Part 1) This week's edition of "As The Pegasus Flies." Lola knew it wasn't going to be easy. As a spy for The Ladies' Home Journal, she couldn't slip up even once. The last person who took this assignment never made it back. Something about a wooden cart fatally hitting her on the head. Lola had to get in there, entrench herself, learn as much as she could and report back to her higher-ups as soon as possible. What did Reader's Digest have planned for their upcoming issues? What were their secrets? How were they making money hand over fist? Did they really give out free turkeys to their employees at Thanksgiving? Did they actually have their hands on a living Pegasus? Lola had to find out the answers to these questions. Besides Lila Wallace, the editorial staff was all male. That's why The Ladies' Home Journal had chosen Lola to infiltrate the Digest, hoping her womanly charms would loosen the tongues of her male co-workers. RD assigned her to the elite class of editors known as the "Pleasantville 12." She replaced a man named Martin, who had left the company after inheriting a lot of money. The men of RD were all nice, and friendly to her, but she had to really earn their trust, get close and personal with them, get them comfortable enough to spill their ideas. They were a little wary of having a woman in their presence. It changed the whole dynamic. It was no longer a boys' club. Their masculine banter had to be tempered. Their frank discussions of women's looks had to be discontinued. There were pluses, though. Namely, each one of them secretly had a crush on Lola—even the married ones. Maybe this assignment would be easier than she originally thought...

(Part 2) Sometimes living the double live of a mole got to Lola. She felt alone, isolated, nervous that she wouldn't be able to keep her lies straight. RD was a different world, it had its own culture. In moments of doubt, Lola wasn't sure she could keep it all moving forward. How much should she blend in? 100%? Should she sign up for a garden plot, join the tennis team—or the opposite, keep a low profile? Maybe somewhere in-between. Jake was the first one to ask her out to lunch, just the two of them. Once seated at the restaurant, he lit up a cigarette, blew out a smoke ring. "Care for one?" he asked. "Yes! Smoking is so cool," Lola said, even though she didn't smoke. When in Rome, right? "So, I have something to tell you," Jake said. Uh oh, here comes the pass, Lola thought. The first of eleven. But she was wrong. "My girlfriend works in the secretary pool for the Ladies' Home Journal. She said someone who works there has the same name as you..." "Wow, what are the odds?" Lola said, "My name isn't very common." "Wait, it gets better," Jake said. "When I described you, you even look exactly the same." Lola laughed nervously, coughed out some cigarette smoke. Jake continued, "I'm on to you, Lola. And I just want to say, whatever you're up to—I WANT IN!" Lola smiled. Having a partner sure would help. But could she trust him? She knew she had no choice but to trust him, since he already knew her secret. And how could you not trust someone who smokes? "Okay," she said, you're in."

(Part 3) Over lunch, Lola told Jake of her assignment. He nodded and listened. Then she said, "What's in it for you? Why do you want to help?" Jake said, "I've been passed over one too many times for a promotion. My girlfriend and I plan to marry. If I can't join 'em, then I'll beat 'em. We can bring this place down from the inside! Or in the very least, you can get me a job at the Ladies' Home Journal. I hear the grass is much greener there!" "It is," she confirmed. "First things first, though," Lola said. "I have to report back to my boss with something. Does RD really have a living, breathing pegasus?" Jake smiled. "I can't tell you that." Lola asked, "Can't or won't?" "Let me put it this way: I'm not high up enough. It's like only the President knows if the U.S. government has their hands on a crashed UFO. Same thing here." "Want to help me look for it?" "Yes!" Later that evening after everyone was gone, Lola and Jake wandered the halls of the building. There was a courtyard near the Rotunda that they couldn't access. They looked through the glass of the locked door. "I think I see something!" Lola said. Jake shaded his eyes and looked. "You're right! That's pegasus scat!" "Well, where is it now?" Lola said. "They must have moved him," Jake said. "That's right we moved her," a man's voice said. Lola and Jake turned around to see Mr. Wallace standing there pointing a gun at them. "The Pegasus must be protected at all costs. She is the secret to our success. She is our strength, like Samson's hair is to him. I can only imagine what would happen to this company if she died." "Put the gun down," Jake said. "No! Stay where you are!" Jake made a grab for the gun then, but Wallace had an itchy trigger finger. The gun went off, the blast hitting Lola in the chest...

(Part 4) Lila Wallace had the captives in her secret office, two levels below ground. Lola's experimental bullet proof vest had saved her life, but it still hurt! Lila said, "You fools, you could have brought the whole company down! Don't you realize we have been grooming you two?" "Grooming us for what?" Lola asked, rubbing her sore chest. "You're with the Pleasantville 12," Lila said. "It's an elite group that protects the Pegasus. What, did you think they were just editors? Normal editors don't have such expensive suits." Jake looked down at his own suit, which was very stylish, he had to admit. Lila continued, "Peggy, as I call her, is the last pegasus alive. We've been searching for a mate for her, but there is none. We MUST keep her alive as long as possible. She's magical. When she dies, so does this company." "Hey," Jake said. "I just signed up to be an editor, not some sort of zoologist. I'm not paid enough!" "You fool!" Lila spat, "Without the company, you wouldn't have a job, and wouldn't be earning ANY salary. If the company goes under, so do you." "She's got you there," Lola said. "That's why I have now implemented a new plan to keep Peggy safe," Lila said. "The Pegasus Action to Cease Extinction--PACE PLAN for short." "Ooh, I love acronyms!" Lola said. "I do too," Lila said. "I believe acronyms are the wave of the future." Lola said, "I agree. Okay we're on board. Let's save the Pegasus!"

(Part 5) The Wallaces allowed Lola and Jake to leave, convinced that they now had them on their side--the side of all that is right and good, the side of the Pegasus. They could now go through the hazing ritual that would finalize their placement in the Pleasantville 12. Sort of like the Supreme Court's ritual, but not so bloody. "You believe that crazy story?" Jake asked. "I believe that THEY believe it," Lola said. "But one thing I can't stand is a caged animal." "Oh, boy, why do I think you have an idea?" "Because I have an idea," Lola said. "We're going to release the Pegasus back into the wild!" "I was afraid you'd say that." Lola said, "We have to be quick, before they move Peggy again." It was dark now, and the two set out to search the rolling grounds of the RD campus. The wind kicked up, and they thought they heard a wail on the wind. "Don't be scared, that's just the echo of the Ultimate Wedgie someone named Martin got a while back." "Okaaaaaaay...," Lola said, then, "Let's check those far woods out back." They crept up a rise and entered the dark woods, the only light the bright moon above. Soon they heard animal-like heavy snorting. They passed a thick stand of trees to see a magnificent winged creature, straining against a leash tethered to a tree. It was stamping one foot, its wings were clamped but not clipped. "There she is!" Lola and Jake said in unison. "What now?" Jake said. Lola cocked an eyebrow at Jake. "You know what we have to do," she said. Jake nodded his head.

(Part 6) The thrilling conclusion to this week's "As the Pegasus Flies." "Okay, let's do it," Jake said. They approached Peggy, Lola patting her on the back soothingly. Lola slipped off the clamps from its wings. The pegasus immediately stretched out her wings high above her, flapped them a few times to get the kinks out. Lola then went to the tree and cut the leash, using a knife she had tucked inside her bullet proof vest. Peggy turned toward them and gave a whinny of appreciation. Then she took off running, darting between the trees until she reached the parking lot. She flapped her massive wings, creating a loud whooshing sound. Soon she was airborne, flying with the full moon in front of her. Lola and Jake held hands, not romantically, but just sharing the special, magical moment. They watched Peggy get smaller and smaller as she headed south, toward White Plains. "I hope we did the right thing," Jake said. "Time will tell," Lola said. August 2009: It had been over 50 years since Peggy left her captivity, and she still had not found a mate. She was alone, old, tired of hiding, ready to give up. Back in Pleasantville, RD felt her weakness--the company filed for bankruptcy. But then months later, something happened. A male pegasus, Peter, found Peggy. She wasn't the last pegasus after all! Peter, too, had thought it was the end of the line for him. After they mated, he lit up a Camel cigarette, blew out two perfect smoke rings from his flared nostrils. "Want a puff?" he asked Peggy in Pegasusese. "No thanks," she said, patting her stomach. "I'm with child now." Peter smiled, proud of his studliness. The next day RD emerged from bankruptcy.