by Palladian
Lex raised an eyebrow. “That should fit in well with what we’re planning. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that they don’t decided to move sooner.”
When the day of the show came, Lex found herself feeling happier and more relaxed than she’d been for weeks, probably because there had always been something for her to do, and because they’d gotten one step closer to leaving. Everyone worked in concert to carefully pack the van full of the things they’d be taking along with them on their trip and their musical gear needed for the show.
“OK, let’s do a final circuit to make sure no one’s forgotten anything,” Casey suggested when everyone stood around the van with nothing else to pack into it.
All six of them moved through their place silently. The main room looked much as it usually did, except all of the musical gear, save for the recording machines, had been packed into the van. They’d cleaned and put everything away in the kitchen, and had disassembled the makeshift weight room and stacked the refuse in the corners, aside from the commercially available equipment they’d bought.
Victor’s lab room had been mostly cleaned out, but he pocketed a couple small things as they passed by. The rooms upstairs were clean and had had most of their personal belongings removed, as had the bathrooms. When they all met up downstairs again, Lex found herself blinking more than normal and taking a deep breath to calm herself. Casey patted the doors from the outside after she locked them for the last time.
“You’ve done well by us,” Lex could hear her friend murmur to the building. “Sorry we have to go.”
Lou and Casey held hands all the way back to the van, and Lex found Kate leaning against her as they followed their taller friends. “I’m really going to miss this place,” Kate almost whispered, and Lex grabbed her friend’s hand in response. All of them quietly got into the van, and Lex even caught Riss turning for a last look at the building they’d lived in as Lou got out to lock the gate behind them.
They carefully made their way downtown through rush-hour traffic and stopped at a rather nondescript office building while Victor got out to go in. He turned back just before closing the door, however, and said, “I almost forgot. Keys, please, everyone.”
Everyone in the van reached into pockets or bags to fish out their copies of the keys to what used to be their home. Victor put them all in an envelope and headed inside.
When he got back in about a half-hour later, Kate asked as the van started moving again, “So, are they going to get started tonight?”
Victor shook his head. “They said they’d send a team out tomorrow to get everything ready for the auction on Saturday morning. The guy I talked to said they’d done some good advertising in the area, and I guess on the ‘net, too, so they’re hoping for a good turnout.”
“Hmmm,” Lex said, sitting on the bench between Kate and Victor, “I wonder how much people will actually be willing to pay to get our old stuff.”
Victor actually grinned at her then, and Lex couldn’t help but grin in return because she’d rarely seen him do so. “More than that,” he continued, “since we’re, as they put it ‘minor celebrities,’ they thought it would be best to charge admission to keep away people that would want to come only out of curiosity. So, they’re charging $20 a head to get in.”
Lex stared at him. “Do they think anyone will come at all for that price?”
He chuckled. “They’d actually talked about setting the price lower, but they’ve been getting so many inquiries about the sale that they thought they should charge more. That way, even if there are people who just come to see our old place, at least we’ll make something out of it.”
Riss turned in the front passenger’s seat to look back at them. “Since we just moved out, I’ve posted the address on our website. I posted the event weeks ago when Victor and Kate started arranging for the sale, but I figured I wouldn’t tell anyone the address until we’d left. I did post the auction house information, though, so that may have been the source of the questions.”
Lex shook her head. “Good job, everyone. Thanks for setting all of that up; I know it couldn’t have been easy.”
For the rest of the ride to the venue, which in downtown Phoenix wasn’t far from their former home, Lex thought everyone seemed in much better spirits.
Lex walked through the stadium with her friends, examined the stage that had been set up, and found everything in order as requested. The only thing that felt strange, and sent Lex’s stomach reeling, was the amount of space in the place. Even half-filled, Lex realized, it would be the largest number of people they’d ever played to. Turning down the offer yet again to set up additional seats in front of the stage, Lex smiled at the person asking them.
“No, we have something special planned for late in the show,” she explained. “We cleared it with the people here already, and that’s why we have a couple extra security people here tonight.” People who have strict orders to let no one but the bands backstage, Lex thought with a smile.
The stadium manager nodded and walked away as the band got down to business and started setting their gear up. The members of the other bands came filtering in as Lex and the rest of Alexander’s Army finished setting up, and everyone paused to greet and hug one another.
“Well, what do you think?” Lex asked, her gaze sweeping the stage and the stadium itself.
The members of the other bands looked around with awe and some dubiousness. Laura returned Lex’s smile without reservation, however. “It looks great. Are you guys all ready to put on the best show we’ve ever done?”
Lex nodded and felt her own smile widen in response. “Yeah, I think we are,” she said as she looked around at her friends and band members. “How about you?”
“We’re going to make everyone who comes forget they’ve ever seen another show,” Laura said confidently, tugging at Eddie’s hand until he smiled as well.
“Come on, all of you,” Casey called from up on the stage, “let’s get everyone set up and get in a good sound check.”
Lou and a couple of people they’d hired for the day to carry gear arranged and rearranged the three bands’ gear. The group finally decided that End of the Road would go on first, since they had a drum kit to assemble and disassemble, and that once they’d finished their set, their gear would be cleared and Jacob’s Hammer would go on next, then Alexander’s Army last. For now, the second and third bands’ gear had been set up in opposite corners of the stage.
“All right, let’s give it a go in the order we’re planning to go on,” Lex suggested. “For those of us who aren’t checking, we can split up around the stadium to make sure we can hear the music and that it sounds like it’s mixed right. Take Victor’s number and call him if you think any adjustments need to be made.”
They ran through the sound check, and as Lex walked around listening to her friends play little bits of their songs, she watched as Victor argued with the sound man at the stadium, a tall man with cowboy boots and hat plus a paunch and an attitude. Somehow Victor prevailed, even though anyone watching would have bet against his quiet demeanor, good grooming, and simple but well-fitting outfit as part of someone who could overcome a cowboy.
Lex smiled at Rachel as she passed the other woman on the stairs while she made her way to the stage for the sound check for Alexander’s Army. Once she, Lou, Riss, and Kate had assembled, Lex looked around at the stadium and couldn’t help but pause to smile at her bandmates.
“We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?” she asked them. As they returned her smile, Lex asked, “OK, who wants to go first?”
Riss kicked it off, followed by Lou and Kate. As it came to be her turn, Lex began to play a piece they’d started to work on a while ago but hadn’t completed due to all of the excitement over the past few weeks.
Stones of the earth, hold me fast against the waves
Bones of the land that made me, protect me from the storm
All of the living, I call to you
Share your lives
with one another
Turn none away
Lex let her song trail away as she took her next breath, sure that it had probably been enough to sound check. As she raised her head, however, she found that everyone in the stadium, even those who’d been engaged in other jobs to get ready for the show, had stopped what they were doing and had their eyes turned to her. Many of them had radiant looks on their faces that made Lex smile weakly back at them and then drop her face to the ground. A few seconds later, as she quickly looked up again, it seemed people had begun to move again, although perhaps a bit more slowly than they had been before.
“Victor, if you think you’ve gotten enough, how about we have dinner?” Lex asked as she looked down the field at her friend. The mixing board had been placed in a fenced-off area just beyond the empty lawn in front of the stage, and Victor gave her a thumbs-up as she watched. Lex smiled and then made her way off the stage as Lou and the temporary stage hands set up for the show that would start in a couple of hours.
Someone had ordered some food in, and all of the members of the various bands made their way back to the rooms that had been set up for their use before and after their performances. The meal seemed both boisterous and quiet at times to Lex, as everyone enjoyed being in each other’s company, and then realized in turns that this would probably be their last dinner together. Finally, when everyone had about finished eating and things had gotten solemn, Laura spoke up.
“Hey, all of you,” she said, her glance going around the tables they’d pushed together to make one long space for everyone to eat on. “Remember why we’re here tonight. Don’t be so sad; we’re here to put on the best show all of us have ever done. Get your minds there, because we’re going to play so good tonight that it’ll make everyone that came forget all their troubles for a while, even us. OK?”
Rachel and Sarah looked at each other, smiling, while Kate elbowed Victor. Lou and Casey had obviously been holding hands underneath the table and looked at each other with a small smile. Laura reached over for Eddie’s hand with a smile as well and leaned against her brother with her other shoulder, watching Jack and Kate as they grinned at each other. Lex and Riss eyed one another as Riss’ expression changed to show one of her tiny smiles.
“Laura’s right, everyone,” Lex agreed, smiling herself. “Let’s get ready to amaze all of those people out there, because we’re going to give them a performance they’re never going to forget.”
They gradually broke up as Laura, Eddie, and Hal left to get themselves ready to start the show, Victor went to tend the sound equipment, and Kate and Jack wandered off somewhere to be alone. Rachel and Sarah settled onto a couch in the corner of the large room to rest a bit before they were scheduled to go onstage, which left Casey, Lou, Lex, and Riss at the makeshift dining table in the center of the room. All of them watched silently for a few minutes as Riss unpacked a couple of laptops from the backpack she carried whenever they left the house and fired them up, finally bringing up a view of multiple video camera feeds.
“This should be all of them,” she said quietly, cycling through a number of different angles of the stadium until she settled on one of interest. “Looks like people have started to show up, including them.”
She was pointing at a man dressed in a dark trench coat who stood near one of the aisles that went up into the stadium seating. He wore sunglasses even though darkness had fallen and there was only artificial lighting in the stadium, and as he moved, they caught sight of a business suit underneath the trench coat.
“They stick out like sore thumbs,” Lex murmured as she stared at the figure. “Why are they dressed like that?”
Lou shrugged as he turned to look at Lex. “They may be trying to conceal weapons,” he said quietly. “If you had to carry something the size of a shotgun, you’d probably want to wear something to hide it.”
Lex felt her stomach sink. “Do you think they’ll actually start shooting in a crowded stadium?”
She looked over as Riss shook her head. “One thing I’ve learned as I’ve gone through their files is that they’re paranoid about drawing attention to themselves. They learned from a few cases in the past that the general public isn’t sympathetic to their goals once they’re brought out into the open, so they’ll probably try to avoid open shooting.”
As Lex looked over at Riss with a raised eyebrow, the other woman glanced at her and then continued. “Examples? Several years back, they were working more closely with the police. Apparently, a beautiful young psychic ran from their facilities and the local police picked her up. By the time MSI arrived, she’d convinced the police of the entire story of what had happened to her, and the police were ready to arrest the people who came to pick the girl up.”
“What finally happened?” Lex asked.
Riss shrugged. “Not sure. Apparently, one of the officers released the girl while the police and the people from the lab were arguing. Nothing is in the records about her being picked up again.”
Lex nodded as she turned her attention back to the screens, noting that it looked like the stadium had really started to fill up. Casey’s voice broke into her chain of thought. “So, do we know how many people are coming today?”
“Well,” Riss said, flicking her attention from one screen to an alternate window, “we got somewhere around 10,000 in pre-sales, but they’re still selling tickets at the door, so it may end up being more. I don’t think we’ll fill the place, though, because we’d have to almost double that.”
They all looked at each other for a moment, Casey grinning widely. “I never expected so many,” she said as she stood up and gave Lou a kiss. “I should go out to work the merchandise booth,” she continued. “I bet we’ll sell a lot of CDs today.”
Lou watched as she went out the door, then turned with the others and continued looking at the security screens. Around the time End of the Road was supposed to take the stage, one of the temporary stage hands came into the room and handed a set of keys to Lou.
“Everything’s been moved over,” he said, and Lou responded with a nod of thanks.
He glanced at Lex, who looked over to the corner and noted for the first time that Rachel and Sarah had gone to get ready for their own set. She looked over to the door a couple of seconds later and smiled as she saw Jack and Kate come back into the room. Lou handed her some keys and she walked over to the couple, smiling as she held out the hand with the keys in it.
“You know we’re all really thankful for this,” Jack said as he took the keys and put them in his pocket. “We’ve needed a new van for a while now; I’ve really been holding it together with baling wire, hope, and too much work.”
Lex laughed in response. “Well, you all are going to have to earn it tonight,” she replied. “Thanks for being willing to stick your necks out for us.”
He hugged Kate a little tighter as he looked over at her for a moment, then back at Lex. “Laura and I wouldn’t have it any other way. The rest of us know what’s being done isn’t right, too, so we’re all glad to help you out.”
Smiling a little sadly now, Lex nodded. “It’s out on the loading dock. And thanks, really.”
Jack nodded as he and Kate headed for the couch in the corner that Rachel and Sarah had vacated not long before. As Lex rejoined Riss and the others, she heard the three of them talking about some of the plans that had been made for later.
“I’ve added bookings for us for flights out of L.A. and Vegas, and bookings through to Europe out of New York and Boston, and even a ship booking out of New York, as well,” Riss said in a low voice, answering a question that seemed to have been posed to her.
“Good,” Lou replied. “The limo is supposed to show up here around the time we finish the set.”
Riss nodded back at him, her almost invisible smile in evidence. A moment later, however, a couple of screens placed around the room came to life, showing the stage they’d be on later, now with Laura, Eddie, and Hal in place, ready to perform.
“
Hello, Phoenix!” Laura yelled into the microphone as the crowd started to cheer. “We’re End of the Road and we’re here to rock this house down!”
They broke into one of their most lively songs, “This House.” Halfway into it, as Laura really started to let go with her singing over the driving bass she played, Eddie stepped up the guitar piece as she started belting out the chorus of the song
This house ain’t big enough for our love
It wanders around in the night alone
This house is only the place we keep our stuff
We keep our dreams inside alone
By the time the song had ended, Lex thought everyone in the stadium seemed to be standing and screaming for more, but they didn’t allow much time even for the applause to die down, just started ripping into the next piece. Lex looked around at her bandmates and smiled.
“Laura wasn’t kidding, was she?” Lex commented, still grinning. “They’re really hot tonight.”
The four of them split their time between watching the cameras and paying attention to the show. About halfway through End of the Road’s set, Jack left to get ready for his own set and Kate joined her bandmates at the table.
“How’s it going?” she asked as she slid into the chair next to Victor.
Riss shrugged. “About as expected. I’ve spotted about twenty of them strategically scattered around the stadium.” She pointed at one of the trenchcoated figures as Kate leaned forward to see.
It didn’t seem like too long to Lex before End of the Road had finished their set. As the friends watched their temporary roadies move the instruments around and off the stage, Laura, Eddie, and Hal showed back up. Lex rushed to hug Laura.
“You weren’t kidding about your performance tonight!” Lex said with a big smile.
