Sal Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 (edited) The Tilted Hat - Volume 1 The alternate story of Allegra Nixon ((As this is a character I’ve ported over from LSRP, I’ve had to make some pretty significant alterations to her backstory. Hopefully it’ll be a good read too! This takes place several years ago, and is a work in progress. )) Prologue “Madam Mayor, the people are ready.” Taking just a moment to adjust her lapel in the mirror, Allegra Nixon, newly-elect Mayor of Los Santos, nodded over her shoulder. It had been a long road, and the result had been close, very close indeed. Winning by just four votes, she’d barely snatched victory over the final few minutes of polling. “Deep breath,” she thought to herself, “it’s time.” Striding out onto the balcony of the Mayor’s Estate and into the baking sun, her presence sent the crowd into uproar. Cheers and whistles, clapping, screaming and applause. The campaign fans had come out in full force to celebrate the victory. But so too, had everyone else. Peering down over the balcony, smiling her gratitude, she locked eyes with a group who had given her trouble on the campaign trail. They were screaming too – but jeers, gripes and boos. The more she looked down over the crowd, the more the happy and jubilant cheers were drowned out by hatred and heckling. “You only won because you’re a woman! Anyone can flash their tits for a vote!” No, actually it was very hard – most people still don’t trust a woman to hold a position of power… “You’re a phony – you’re only in this for yourself!” No, I want to help people. I want to help the city. I want to do good… “You’re corrupt as fuck, we know you embezzled all those donations and you’ll do the same to the treasury” No, I would never- “You disgust me, your opponent was far more qualified. How dare you stand up there and lord over us?” But I’m- Turning around, Allegra faced her campaigners – the new Government – for support. Before opening her mouth, however, she noticed that they were already chatting amongst themselves. They were jeering too. Some were wearing fake smiles, obviously plotting their own agendas already, others looked just as disappointed as the angry crowds below. She turned again, grasping her temple. This isn’t how it was supposed to be. This isn’t what I want. This isn’t what I want… Falling to her knees in front of the entire city, Allegra Nixon stared up at the sky. This isn’t me. In that instant, the sky ripped open and the darkness poured through, engulfing her entire consciousness before— The ceiling of her Downtown apartment bedroom appeared. Springing awake and flailing away from the bed, Allegra stumbled into the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. The years had been fairly kind to her – standing there at 34 years old, she still retained a pretty youthful appearance and had kept the greys at bay. It was only a dream. Just a bad nightmare. It never happened, none of it happened. Letting herself smile and return to her senses, she splashed her face with cool water and rubbed her eyes. “No, Allegra, it didn’t happen. But it should have done.” said a shadowy figure she swore she saw behind her. A figure that looked just like her, wearing a grey suit and for some reason, a bizarre fedora-esque hat sitting on her head with an overt tilt. Spinning to confront the intruder, she turned only to see the blackness of her apartment. Clearly, she’d had too much to drink. Chapter 1 – Deviation Waking up properly the following morning, Allegra helped herself to breakfast and unfurled a copy of the SAN Post. As usual, it was filled with dreary news of crime and deceit and – as usual – a long section on the inactivity of the current Government. It had been many months since the previous Mayor had taken power, but he had barely been seen since his inauguration. Such was commonplace at the time; it was a position that many seemed to underestimate. Mayor Olmos appeared to have done the same. Heading over to her closet, Allegra needed to decide what to wear for the day. She had very few plans before heading to City Hall – just a quick visit to her friend Jenny for a coffee before work. Rooting through her things, she noticed something familiar. A grey suit; one which she had worn for important occasions in the past, and one which seemed to have quite a nostalgic feel to it. Hung up next to it was a fedora – just like the one she’d seen on the strange figure from the night before – except this was one she’d wore when she was experimenting with her “investigative journalist” look. She hadn’t worn it since. Brushing past the idea that some kind of poltergeist may be living in her Downtown apartment and wearing her clothes, she picked out her black trouser-suit and proceeded to get dressed. She may not have been anyone of importance, but City Hall required that everyone dress formally to give the right impression to the public. “You should do it, you know,” Allegra suddenly returned to the conversation – realising now that she’d been on autopilot since leaving her flat, “you’d be perfect. Everybody would be behind you, one hundred percent. I would.” Jenny had always been a great friend to Allegra – they shared similar burdens of responsibility. She was a high-ranking medical professional, and Allegra was a Civil Servant working in Comms at City Hall. This topic of conversation was bound to come up too, what with the news agenda pushing for early elections. It was true that Allegra had made her share of friends during her time as a Civil Servant. She often served as the front woman for a lot of events, and was regularly featured in the news when delivering press conferences. For all intent and purposes, she had a fairly high profile despite not holding much responsibility. “I don’t know, Jenny. I know I always said I’d want to do it but… now that I think about it, am I really ready for such a big leap? Could I do it?” Jenny tutted and rolled her eyes, smiling over her latté, “of course you can, dipstick. You’ve handled high pressure jobs before, and you’ve helped us out so much already too.” It was true – Allegra’s career history had been fairly exciting to date. She’d managed to work her way up in the world of journalism, and had progressed into her role at City Hall when it became clear that she could help more people there. Even so, Mayor? After last night’s dream, she wasn’t so sure. “Let me think about it. I need to get in, anyway. I’ll call you later.” The friends departed the coffee shop, leaving to their respective jobs. Allegra sat back in her car and adjusted the mirror, swearing that she saw- “She’s right. You can do it. You should do it. Why are you afraid? This isn’t you.” Turning rapidly to look at the back seat of the car – only to find it empty – Allegra was once again irked by the vision of the fedora-wearing shadow. It spoke to her in a firm, confident voice this time. A determined, fearless tone. But what’s more, it wasn’t just any voice. It was her voice. Shaking her head once again, Allegra wondered whether she may still have been over the limit from last night’s bottle. How much had she drank, anyway!? Chapter 2 - Consideration It had been a dry and boring day in the office, despite the rumblings from the media. Allegra herself had already been told not to speak to the press until the State had a plan in place, and so she’d pushed past the lines of reporters just to get back to her car at the end of the day. If there was one thing for sure, it’s that life in politics was never dull. But today, moreso than any other day, she’d begun to notice things about her job that she hadn’t really focused on before. The unhappiness of everyone around her, for a start. The vast majority of people at City Hall were under so much pressure to perform that they often seemed miserable. And if they weren’t miserable, they were making other people miserable. It was a pretty destructive and toxic cycle. The many citizens who visited during the day had only seemed to come in to complain or ask awkward questions. Suddenly, it also seemed to dawn that this was a thankless line of work even if you were doing everything “right.” Other visitors had been from different political parties, all now vultures around the rotting corpse of the remaining Government. They always did come out of the woodwork whenever they could smell an election around the corner. Again, it seemed to dawn on her that most people were only in it form themselves, or furthering some kind of fame agenda. Perhaps this hit home harder than most. She’d worked in the communications and PR department for several years now, and her job had been mainly “to make the Government look good.” So, was she any different? Uncorking a bottle of wine, she listened to some of her answer machine messages. More and more of her friends had left messages of support, urging her to “go for it”, with encouraging words like “we know you can do it,” and “we’ll be behind you all the way.” Could I do it? Do I even want to? She took a sip of wine. Then another, and another. Before she knew it, she’d polished half of the bottle. Her thoughts turned back to last night’s dream. To the screaming crowd that seemed to turn almost instantly into a rioting, chaotic mob. To the “friends” who had pledged their loyalty, plotting behind her back. Is that how it would turn out? “Probably,” said the familiar voice. The presence of her seeming alter-ego no longer shocked her as it did previously; she’d come to terms with it probably being something to do with the wine and her stressed mental state. “But you can handle it. You know you can. It wouldn’t be easy, but you can make a difference. That’s why you’re considering it. Fulfil your destiny. Go for it.” Shaking her head and staring out of the window across the night sky, Allegra pondered whether she really believed in such things as destiny at all. Chapter 3 - Nightmare A few days had passed and the State Government had confirmed that Mayor Elections were imminent. The process of applying was far from simple: it involved a lengthy application process, various background checks, and the creation of a manifesto. She did know all this, and had previously prepared everything in advance, even long before the Mayor’s disappearance. This was, after all, her dream. Ever since she was little, Allegra knew she wanted to make some kind of positive difference to the world. She first thought she could do that by putting her talents as a writer to good using: working for the San Andreas Network. She had done – but then the opportunity came up at City Hall and it seemed too good to refuse. In the years that followed, she’d managed to establish herself throughout the city with both the common citizens and those in a position of power. She’d learned how to navigate the “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” culture of politics in this city, and had never really had an issue with it. Not until now. Putting the issue to bed, quite literally, Allegra lay down and hoped that she wouldn’t be visited by her fedora-wearing conscience. However thanks to her whirring thoughts and another generous helping of Merlot, her sleep was fraught with more, strange dreams. This time, she was back on the balcony looking down over the citizens. She couldn’t tell if they were happy or sad, it didn’t seem to matter this time. What was different however, was that this version of Mayor Allegra Nixon had been in the position for some time. In fact, she’d served her full term. In her mind she knew that she’d managed to achieve much. She’d published new laws, been as visible and active as she could have been, and the people had appreciated it. For once, it seemed like this dream was going to be nice and encouraging. Stepping down the stairs of the balcony, flanked by two security guards, Mayor Nixon headed across the gardens. The crowds were cheering and screaming their thanks, some were begging her to stay. Fireworks above and music all around, this was quite the leaving party anyone could ever hope for. Striding across towards the helipad, a familiar face (but one that she couldn’t quite place) opened up the door for her. This was it. She had done her job, and it was time to go and let some other Mayor take the reigns this time. The door shut and the chopper departed, before – A huge explosion rattled through the cabin. Struck seemingly by a rogue firework, the helicopter was freefalling back down towards the earth. Down, towards the crowds of supporters who had wished her well. It hit the ground with a startling crash, sending rippling screams through her head. Blood poured and fleeing citizens were dismembered by the uncontrollable helicopter rotors. Then, all went black. Chapter 4 – Decision Waking up in a hospital bed, Allegra could not move. Had she lost all her limbs? Was she dead already? The fear permeated her very being, before that familiar face reappeared in front of her. Propping her up against the pillows, he placed more copies of the SAN Post in front of her. “10 Years Since Nixon crash – memorial” read one of the headlines. Now she understood – she had been in a coma. And no doubt, she wasn’t Mayor Nixon any more. “Final Nixon laws rescinded” – what? What had happened? What about all the time and effort that had gone into- “New Mayor declares Nixon’s legacy ‘just another page of history’”. Staring but unable to move, speak or comment, Nixon looked down at her life’s work dismantled since her demise. Is this what would become of her, if she pursued her dream? “No, you wouldn’t end up in a helicopter crash,” commented the fedora-wearing version of herself, who must have been stood at the foot of the hospital bed the whole time, “but yes, every Mayor wants to change everything so that it has their name on it. You know this. It’s inevitable. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t good progress.” Glaring into the firm eyes of her alter-ego, Allegra realised just how different she was from this version of herself. She shook her head, now able to speak: “No. You’re wrong. This is a mug’s game. This isn’t worth it whatsoever. I’d be giving up years of my life for what? Hatred, heckling, resistance, backstabbing and more? Then all my work would go to shit just for the sake of someone else’s ego? No. I don’t think so. You’re wrong. This isn’t me at all.” Mayor Nixon seemed to glare back at Allegra, conveying her own disappointment. She adjusted her fedora, tilting it even further at and angle, before turning to face the door. “This is your only chance, Allegra. You will not have another.” The room disappeared around her and once again, Allegra found herself staring up at her apartment ceiling. Epilogue Allegra looked around her flat – wondering if she’d managed to box everything up. The removal company would be here soon, and she didn’t have time to sort out any more before her taxi came as well. Walking over toward her desk, she found the folder with the Mayor’s Application and mock manifesto from several weeks earlier. Staring at it for a few moments, she pondered the decision she was making today. Was it the right one? Would she regret it later? Deciding that such thoughts were pointless, she picked up the folder and threw it into a nearby box marked “To shred.” Stepping out of her flat just as her taxi pulled up, she took one last look around the city she loved so much. She was going to miss it, but she knew that she needed to get away. No doubt she’d return some day, and perhaps things would be different. But for now, it was time for her to live her life her way. Edited August 8, 2020 by Allegra Link to comment
Legate Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Damn I remember Allegra Nixon. Link to comment
Mecovy Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 damn bro, u embracing the meme Link to comment
Sal Posted July 29, 2020 Author Share Posted July 29, 2020 Just now, Mecovy said: damn bro, u embracing the meme Famously. Best had. Link to comment
Tiffany_Jouchi Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 On 7/22/2020 at 4:59 AM, Captain said: Damn I remember Allegra Nixon. Link to comment
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