[ WP ] Rewrite your favorite song as a story .

The Ballad of Mona Lisa by Panic! At The Disco 
 ___ 
 Marilyn sat in the corner of the room, sunk into a red paisley armchair, painting her fingernails a deep burgundy that flirted with black. Each stroke of the brush was deliberate and intense, the glossy handle flashing in the low light that glinted off her teeth. Morgan watched from the bed, unsure of why she'd be smiling. He glanced about the room, counting three empty bottles of gin and a few more half empty. 
 
 *What have I gotten myself into? * he asks himself. 
 
 `` Shall we go?'' Marilyn asked from the corner, interrupting his dark thoughts. `` I'm ready to go.'' 
 
 `` Let's go, then,'' He answered. 
 
 They took a car, sleek and black, to the ball. Morgan showed the forged invitation, his tie feeling like a snake tightening around his neck until the bouncer nodded and said `` Welcome, Mr. Strumford, enjoy the evening.'' 
 
 Marilyn divorced herself from his arm as soon as they met the crowd, and disappeared. `` I'm going to powder my nose,'' she had said. Ha. Marilyn did n't even wear makeup most nights, and even then it was only lipstick and eye shadow. Still, she outshone every other woman in the room. If they were diamonds, then she was the moon, rarer and more precious than all of them put together. 
 
 He wandered to a circle of revelers, holding glasses of champagne in their perfect hands and making small talk amongst themselves. They parted to let him join, and Morgan became acutely aware that he was out of his depth here. 
 
 He was a businessman of sorts, dealing in small crimes and information. Enough to afford him a taste of the finer things, but never truly sink his teeth. These were the men who lazed, stuffed on caviar and cocaine in homes he could n't afford to walk past, and yet Morgan was going to con them. 
 
 `` Who might you be?'' asked the leader, tall and blonde with a perfect part and dazzling smile. Gianiss, a mob man and owner of two casinos. 
 
 Morgan paused, remembering what Marilyn had told him. *Lie all you want, lie every word, but never give them enough to know who you are. Better known as a pretender than a thief. * 
 
 `` I'm new in town, off the trains just a month ago. Looking to expand an empire.'' 
 
 `` What sort of empire?'' Gianiss inquired. 
 
 `` One I'm not ready to discuss in pleasant company,'' Morgan answered. 
 
 `` Well, here's a bigshot. What do you think, fellas? Should we introduce ourselves to Mr...'' the question was heavy. If Morgan used one of his usual pseudonyms, there was a chance he'd be found. A name that they'd heard before, and he'd be quizzed on connections. What had Marilyn said? 
 
 `` Stanford, no relation.'' 
 
 They welcomed him, then. They found a table and talked shop, staring at the beautiful women who walked past, pretending not to notice a table of rising mobsters and businessmen. 
 
 `` Are any of them yours?'' Morgan asked Gianiss. 
 
 `` I took it you had your own working girls, Stanford.'' 
 
 `` For men of baser taste, absolutely. But you employ women for the likes of us, do n't you?'' 
 
 Gianiss threw his head back and laughed. `` I guess no man comes to sin city to live a pious life, but I had hoped you were an exception.'' 
 
 `` There's nothing wrong with just a taste of what you've paid for.'' 
 
 Gianiss whistled with his fingers, and three women approached the table. 
 
 Morgan kissed the hand of one with auburn hair and green eyes. `` What plans do you have for tonight, Miss?'' 
 
 She smiled, slightly too wide and whispered into his ear. Morgan blushed and rose from the table. `` I think I'll take my leave, gentlemen. It was great to meet you.'' 
 
 She lead him from the table and up the grand staircase. The party below went on. Morgan was not missed. 
 
 She opened a door on the third floor and pushed him in. Sitting under the room's single lamp was Marilyn, still grinning like a jackal. `` Sit, speak, give me a sign.'' 
 
 `` I got it. Gianiss told me he had three cars defending his shipment. Did n't mention where it was coming from, but I trust you have that under control.'' 
 
 `` I want to believe what Frederick Van Dyck told me, but I had hoped you would corroborate it. Never mind, we're going to the docks. When this is all over, you'll have your money, and I-'' she broke off. 
 
 Morgan smiled back at her. `` I'd pay to see you frown, my Mona Lisa.'' 
 
 She smiled wider, `` Now would n't that be a treat.'' 
 
 In that moment, he knew he'd do anything for her. `` You're guaranteed to run this town.'' 
 
 She replied, `` I just want to feel the sun rain down on me again. Too much skulking in the darkness for my taste.''
