* * * * *
Michael Romanoff had been born William Gerguin. And, he had never been related, in any way/shape/form, to the ill-fated Russian royal family. Yet, in Hollywood, California (and its neighboring environs), it was not who you were that mattered. It was who you were perceived to be! So, when he had opened the first of his two Beverly Hills restaurants, using the German spelling of the Romanov name, everyone simply suspended their disbelief for the sake of the admittedly good food, sexy cigarette girls, and ultra-courteous waiters.
Unfortunately, times and tastes change. And, at midnight, tomorrow night, both restaurants would be closing their doors forever. It was for this reason that Don Antonio Ivanez (naturalized Spanish immigrant and retired bullfighter-turned-Mexican luchador film producer) had ordered _two_ helpings of Strawberries Romanoff for his dessert!
Yet, he almost lost his appetite when he recognized the man in the pristine white suit and black tie who was subsequently shown to his table. Along with a very attractive Chinese-American woman.
"Buenos dias, Don Antonio," said the Man in the White Suit: "May we join you?"
"Por favor," Ivanez replied (gesturing to the two vacant chairs at his table).
The duo sat down and ordered two helpings of Noodles Romanoff. The waiter nodded, wrote down the orders accordingly, then left. Whereupon, the Man in the White Suit whispered:
"It is good to see you again, Kamerad Berkov."
"Ivanez" managed to keep a straight face as he replied (also in a conspiratorial whisper):
"I take it you are here about Comrade Rusalka?"
The Man in the White Suit nodded.
"Moscow is very displeased with you over that. Not only did you have no authorization to activate her. You also jeopardized an already on-going operation of the KGB!"
"You mean...Operation: Mordred?"
The Man in the White Suit glowered at him.
"Ja! Thus, before liquidating you with extreme prejudice, I am to find out what possessed you to take the actions you did."
Anatoly Ivanovitch Berkov finished another spoonful of Strawberries Romanoff before replying.
"Because I am even more displeased than Moscow by the lack of security demonstrated at the Cuban laboratory. As a result of which, the Americans now have a working sample of nolongitol! So, to salvage something from that debacle, I had Comrade Rusalka activated. Thereby initiating a campaign of terror that would force the Americans to field test the solution for us."
"The good news is...it worked. Now, Mother Russia can begin mass producing more nolongitol, should the long-feared threat of a giantess army from South America finally materialize."
The Man in the White Suit was about to whisper a caustic rejoinder when the waiter finally arrived with two heaping dishes of Noodles Romanoff. It was only after the latter went to get a pair of vodka martinis (ostensibly, for the washing down thereof) that the East German got to express his sentiment.
"The bad news, kamerad, is that your rationalization in no way commutes your death sentence. Fraulein?"
The "Chinese-American" woman subsequently smiled at Berkov...before kicking him in his right shin.
To his credit, the elderly secret agent managed to suppress whelping at the pain caused by the drug-tipped needle that had emerged from the young woman's left high heel. Ten second later, however, no amount of whelping would have been discernible to the ears of any of the other restaurant-goers, anyway. As the Russian-born octogenarian was now only an inch tall!
Of course, the good news was that his clothes had shrunken with him. The bad news was...they in no way made him impervious to being impaled by the prongs of the young woman's fork. The same fork which she now used to twirl some of the aforementioned noodles around and around. Before slurping them into her mouth, that is, and then swallowing them down with a highly audible sigh of contentment.
tbc
Giantess World
Author's Chapter Notes:
ROMANOFF'S RESTAURANT,
240 SOUTH RODEO DRIVE,
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
(DECEMEMBER 30, 1962)
240 SOUTH RODEO DRIVE,
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA
(DECEMEMBER 30, 1962)