silent movie, there are some jokes like someone falling after stepping on a banana skin. I saw nothing exceptional or specific, and I was puzzled about where Martin took this footage from. And what purpose he followed with this I didn’t know. Can it help to make some documentary film? Maybe that will be the first ever black-and-white silent documentary. And then it may make a revolution on the next Cannes film festival. I suppose critics will piss with the boiled liquid out of pure excitement.
And finally, after a couple of hours in which we tried to see something in this footage, Martin informed me that he made an appointment for an interview and if I don’t mind, he would like me to be present on the spot at the day. I did not mind, and so I will meet the interviewee too, in a couple of days from now.
And now I am going to sleep, so – end of a line.
Nov, 5. Susan’s Interview One. from Dictaphone Record. by Martin and Elise
Martin: What we are going to talk about is an extraordinary case. We talked about it with you on the phone yesterday. And as you remarked yourself, it is not easy to believe that all of this is quite true. And now as you agreed to talk to me not concealing any facts, I’m going to ask you once more the same question as yesterday. Are you really ready to talk about all of this?
Susan: Yes. I’m ready… Absolutely.
M.: As I told you before, if there are any reasons for it, for example, if you are afraid that someone may use this information against you somehow or if there is any personal threat to you or to someone who has a relation to you, you may decide to tell not everything. But in this case, we just need to set the limits of our talks.
S.: Well… No. I don’t think there is something… threatening. I don’t think there is something to hide from people. Absolutely so. And I didn’t commit any sort of crime in my life. I suppose… I think that if anybody on any TV show would ask me, I am ready to tell the entire story. All the true. I mean I would tell it to any open media source without any problems.
M.: Sure?
S.: It’s OK. You may just ask.
M.: And one more thing. I asked my friend to support me in this interview. Her name is Elise. What I mean, she may add some additional focus for things. Don’t you mind this?
Elise: So? Can I stay, Susan?
S.: Sure. And you may call me Sue.
M.: Then, let’s begin. First things first. And what I’m going to ask you, in the beginning, is – when and how did it all start?
S.: You mean… When did it begin?
M.: Exactly. I mean, when it was that moment when you might say you felt your life began to change. Just tell the first line of the story.
S.: Well. It all began as I suppose… when Jane appeared. When Jane appeared in my life and at our office.
M.: And who is Jane?
S.: Jane is a girl who worked with me. She is not from our town. As I know, she lived in the other city. She worked for our company for some years, and when she moved from her hometown, she got a place in our city.
M.: Can you describe her? What was she like? Tell us something about her personality.
S.: Jane – If I would try to describe her in a single word – I think I would just spell her name. Jane [soft laughter]. Well, when I saw her for the first time, my only thought was that she is a pretty woman. Maybe it is better to say that she is almost striking… beautiful. No. She is. Striking beauty. Jane is a little taller than me. And she has red hair. And she is very good-looking.
M.: What were your relations when she just appeared at your office?
S.: From the very beginning, we did well. And after a week I would say we made friends. Yes, I think we were friends on a second week after we met. We were doing some similar stuff at the office. And after the first week, uh, we always spent coffee breaks together. We mostly were chatting about different things. I found out that Jane was not only good-looking but also a lovely, smart, and well-humored person. She was a fantastic company. She was fun.
S.: And then, one day, she told me some story. I could believe it or not. As I wish. She said it was my choice to believe it or not because a story was, no matter, an interesting one. Just she kinda tells me I better do not tell it some other people, at least as a true story. She tells me that there is some funny, unusual work she has on the side. There is some Agency that does not advertise its services too much. It is some kind of private entertainment company – a nice little company. And it helps people to diversify, to widen one’s sexual life. But actually, it is nothing like an escort agency. It is just different.
M.: But then, what did the Agency offer to customers?
S.: It offered some different things. It offered some sort of private entertainment. It was not necessary for someone from the Agency to make love to customer… That could be different. Me, I am not that conscious about prostitution. It is quite a regular thing in our society. Just me, myself, I am not sure I can do it for money. Of course, I like sex like anybody else, but it is a bit different [laughter]. But I don’t have anything against the sex workers. Sure. As Jane told me, the difference is that they try to give an adventure to a person. Some kind of sexy adventure, if you want. The major principle is that they organize it all only when they know well enough what the person really wants. Yes. That’s the thing. But the scenario should be somehow unexpected for her or for him. And yes, there is a scenario. It is an important part of it. I mean how they do it. There is the scenario, and it is prepared according to this person’s unrealized desires.
E.: So, do I understand it correctly? There is some kind of stage show?
S.: Well, no. It is not like a stage show. Maybe in something. A person is involved in some story, adventure. And the Agency makes this person feel good in the way.
M.: Person? – You mean a customer?
S.: No. Actually, not. This person is almost never the customer. I mean it is not the one placing the order. Services… are ordered by someone who knows this person well, who is close to him or her somehow. This one helps us to know about a person. In some exceptional cases this person – the Lead Hero…
M.: Lead Hero?
S.: That is how this person is called. The Lead Hero. It is just another specific term to make a long story short. So, this LH is almost never the one who contracts the Agency personally. It is this way only in some rare, exceptional cases. It is possible, but it is not a rule.
M.: All these things, did Jane tell about them all at once?
S.: No. I actually revealed it all after, in process. I mean, she told some general things. I was a bit intrigued by it. I did not know why she told it to me. Of course, she was always able to entertain me with her stories during a break and after hours, when we met in some cafe or at a nightclub.
M.: And what did happen next?
S.: She asked whether I wanted to fill the vacancy in the Agency.
M.: She did it the same day as she told you… the story?
S.: No. She did it after a couple of days. She said there would be nothing tricky, nothing I was not able to do. And she said for the first time I would not need to do something special. And also she said that they would teach me everything I needed to know when indeed there was not a lot of it. And also she said if I didn’t like it, I could quit at any moment. She said I was possibly a good fit for them. I didn’t know what to answer. Usually, if she took me somewhere to do something funny, I would agree immediately, because it is always a nice time with Jane. I mean she knows how to have fun. But in this case, I was not sure. For a couple of days, I was considering her proposition, and then I just decided to see what it was like. I mean, to see the place and what it was. I was not that sure I would agree. Though, Jane was always the most persuasive person. She easily can persuade anybody.
Nov, 5. Evening. Private Audio Diary of Elise. by Elise
When Martin said that there would be an interview this evening, I did not know who would be our guest. I only knew that her name was Susan. Martin asked me whether I could stay for one