Kill Tone

by Lance Winkless

  A chant starts to rise up from Jack’s left, towards the front of the audience, shouting ‘Lady Kai, Lady Kai’, and it isn’t long until the crowds around Jack are joining in. The impatient audience is getting restless, waiting for the show to begin, their excitement beginning to peak.

  Jack has seen no sign of Veronica when he reaches the void behind the sound tower. He could have easily barged right past her on his way over. He has to admit to himself his chance of finding her is gone.

  Disappointed, he takes a minute to decide what to do next. Thankfully, it seems Jenny and Robert have moved on, but still, there is no point standing there like a lemon. Something catches his eye at the side of the sound tower; a door opens and a man emerges. The man is familiar to Jack, but he can’t place him.

  He must be working at the festival; why else would he have been inside the sound tower? Maybe, Jack has seen him somewhere else around the site today, but Jack doesn’t think that is it.

  The man speaks to a security guard who is standing at a gap in the barriers that encircle the sound tower. Their chat is short-lived and when it finishes, the security guard moves to one side, leaving the gap in the barrier open. Out of nowhere, Veronica steps through the gap, with a big beautiful smile on her face and is followed by a blonde woman.

  Jack goes to call out to her, but he cuts himself off as he watches Veronica disappear through the door, and into the sound tower. She is lead through by the man Jack knows from somewhere and is followed by the blonde woman.

  “Bloody hell,” Jack says as the door closes behind them. What now? he asks himself.

  ∼∼∼

  Fiona checks her watch as she walks through the busy backstage area of the main stage. Half an hour until my boss is due to take to that stage, she thinks as she ticks another completed task off the list, that lies on top of the paperwork she is cradling in her left arm.

  How many times has she checked and double-checked that everything is in place and ready for Lady Kai to perform this year? Fiona has lost count. Her boss is extremely demanding; she is notorious for it. Some might even call her a diva and many do, especially the tabloid rags. Fiona doesn’t care what they say about Lady Kai, they don’t understand her. She is an artist of the highest calibre, a free spirit, and a perfectionist. She also happens to be one of the most famous people in the world, man or woman. People who criticise have no inkling of the pressure that comes hand in hand with being so famous, and it is Fiona’s job to mitigate that pressure as much as she possibly can.

  Lady Kai wasn’t put on to this earth to worry about menial things like if her stage is prepared properly for her to perform on. No, that is somebody else’s job and for the last two years, Fiona has been lucky enough to be entrusted with it.

  Had Fiona known what she was getting herself into when she took the job? No. Is her task stressful? Yes, massively. Has she made mistakes along the way? Yes, too many to count. Would she change any of it? No, not on your life! Fiona has the utmost respect for Lady Kai and counts herself lucky to be able to help her spread her magic all over the world.

  Fiona says hi to a few people she knows before she climbs down the stairway and off the main stage. Her feet touch the ground and the grass cushions her feet as she walks away from the back of the monstrous construction that is the main stage.

  Roadies, engineers, and other crew members are rushing around, speaking urgently into walkie talkies, or carrying equipment, as last-minute preparations are carried out for the next performance. Fiona watches where she is going. She knows all too well the people rushing are far too busy to watch where they are going. She does not want to risk a collision that would delay her reaching Lady Kai’s dressing room.

  Fiona reaches a boarded wall that designates the start of the artists’ dressing room area. Two security guards man the door in the funky and bright painted boards that is the entrance to the area. This area is strictly off-limits to anyone who doesn’t have an ‘Artists’ pass; not even an ‘Access All Areas’ pass will gain you entry into this area. The artists’ dressing room area is exactly as it sounds, but the artists have to be high enough up the bill to be assigned a dressing room in it. Unless their management team has somehow negotiated their client a room within.

  Lifting her pass that hangs around her neck for the towering security guard to inspect, Fiona still gets a slight buzz of anticipation. Literally, any A-lister celebrity could be behind the hallowed door that Fiona is waiting to have opened for her. Any of the artists lucky enough to have a dressing room could have invited a bunch of people to join them and very often, those people are celebrities. Many musicians hang out with other musicians or movie stars, and they are often invited along for the ride. Fiona tends to be informed who her boss, Lady Kai has invited, but not always. Sometimes, Lady Kai herself forgets who she has invited to attend and then Fiona has to quickly arrange for them to be let through security and issued with the correct pass.

  Fiona hasn’t got to the point of being blasé about bumping into celebrities that previous to her new role, she’d only ever seen on the TV or on the big screen. She does manage to play it cooler than when she first started to bump into them, however; she does not become a bumbling buffoon anymore, usually.

  Satisfied, the security guard releases the pass to drop it back down onto Fiona and he turns to open the door for her.

  “Thank you,” Fiona says as she steps through the door and back into the artists’ area. At the moment, the area is relatively quiet. A few other artists’ PA’s are milling about, looking at their phones or sitting at one of the communal tables in the middle of the grass, having a drink. Temporary cabins of varying sizes encircle the tables. The cabins aren’t much to look at from the outside and most will be quite basic inside, especially the smaller ones, used by artists further down the bill.

  Waving to one of the PA’s that she has got to know quite well at these occasions, Fiona heads to a small path that leads down the side of the biggest cabin.

  “Hi, Kevin,” Fiona greets Lady Kai’s personal bodyguard. The unassuming man stands at the entrance to the path to stop anyone approaching this cabin.

  “Hi, Fiona. Hair and makeup left about fifteen minutes ago and have taken their equipment to Ms Kai’s stage dressing room.”

  “Thanks, Kevin, it’s nearly showtime,” Fiona says as she walks past him.

  “Yes, another day, another dollar,” he jokes as Fiona walks past him.

  Knocking on the door that has a yellow star fitted to the front and a laminated sign with Lady Kai’s name below it, Fiona waits a couple of seconds. There is no answer, which is not unusual and so Fiona opens the door and enters Lady Kai’s dressing room.

  Red and gold chiffon has been hung over the boring, white-painted walls, under Fiona’s instruction. Five free-standing lamps are strategically placed around the large room of the cabin so that the fitted fluorescent lights above don’t need to be used. Lady Kai’s usual fixtures and fittings, that she takes everywhere on tour, including a large TV, portable bar, fully stocked fridge freezer are also positioned where they should be. The list is endless. The untrained eye would not believe that this room had been an empty shell last night. Fiona looks at herself in the large full-length free-standing mirror to ensure she is presentable. Only then does she address her employer who is lying on the bed next to the mirror.

  “Twenty-five minutes, Ms Kai,” is all Fiona says, over the low buzzing coming from the Magic Wand Lady Kai is using to complete her ritual of masturbating before she goes on stage to perform.

  Fiona had been shocked at first by how open her new employer was about her sexuality. Fiona had been warned and asked if she would be offended in the interview process by her potential employer's sexual openness and of course, Fiona had said no. She had no idea at that stage who she was being interviewed to work as a personal assistant for, only that it was an incredibly famous celebrity. After several rounds of interviews and signing an NDA (non-disclosure agreement), Fiona had reached th
e final stage of the interview process at which she met Lady Kai. Fiona was starstruck at meeting her but had managed to hold herself together professionally and felt she had connected with Lady Kai. In fact, Lady Kai had offered her the job at that very meeting and Fiona started working for her a week later. It was a baptism of fire, and within the month, Fiona was travelling around the world on a pre-arranged concert tour with Lady Kai and discovering just how open she really was with her sexuality.

  Lady Kai considers sex a perfectly natural bodily function, as natural as eating and drinking. She does not feel it should be hidden away, rather it should be celebrated and enjoyed and Fiona admires her for that and wishes she were more confident with her sexuality.

  The first time Fiona had walked in on Lady Kai masturbating before a performance, she had nearly died of shock and embarrassment and immediately turned to leave. Her new employer had asked her not to, however, because she was nearly finished. And so Fiona had stayed, she had stood waiting, not knowing where to look and what to do.

  Then, Fiona couldn’t wait for the episode to be over and when it finally was, Lady Kai had got up and carried on as if she had just finished a cup of tea.

  Lady Kai had thanked her for staying and telling her it was nearly time for that night’s performance. She said, sometimes she loses track of time and it was important for Fiona to ensure she wasn’t late; she didn’t like keeping her fans waiting. She had also explained that while she dressed and prepared for the show, playing with herself relaxed her and helped her settle her nerves, which she always struggled with before walking on stage.

  Now, if Fiona does walk in on Lady Kia before she is finished, she simply tells her how long until showtime and waits. The longer she has been assisting Lady Kai, the more relaxed Fiona has become to be in her presence while she completes her ritual. In the beginning, Fiona had still averted her eyes or turned away, not because she was offended but because she felt it was rude of her to stare.

  Lady Kai had asked her once, why she didn’t look, in her exotic Latin accent. Fiona had tried to explain that she thought it was rude to stare, but she had been told ‘nonsense,’ and that if Fiona wants to see then she should look.

  Fiona would now find it almost impossible not to watch as Lady Kai’s exquisite body quivers under her own touch. She is fascinated by the beautiful creature and believes that Lady Kai enjoys Fiona watching her, that it heightens her pleasure, especially when their eyes meet.

  Lady Kai’s breathing gets heavier and her legs spread wide as the Magic Wand’s buzz increases. Fiona knows her shuddering orgasm is imminent because Lady Kai’s legs start to tremble and her toes curl. Fiona’s timing is well practised, her eyes move along Lady Kai’s quivering body, just in time for their eyes to meet at the point of her orgasm. Lady Kai’s eyes fix on Fiona’s as her brow furrows and her mouth opens to release a long deep groan as she climaxes. Pleasure tingles through Fiona’s body at the same instant. One day, she hopes Lady Kai’s climax will be enough to bring her to her own climax at the same time; she would love that. She is sure Lady Kai would like it too, but she has never said or suggested that Fiona touch herself to help make it happen.

  The heave of Lady Kai’s rounded breasts slows as her breathing starts to normalise. She switches off her Magic Wand and moves it away from her glistening pussy, slowly closing her long legs. After taking a moment, Lady Kai sits up in her bed and swings her legs down to the floor. Fiona watches intently as Lady Kai rises to a stand, her arms reaching above her head to stretch after her exertion, her gorgeously fit body on full display for Fiona’s eager eyes.

  “That was nice, I feel more relaxed. How much time until the show?” Lady Kai asks Fiona.

  “Twenty minutes, Ms Kai,” Fiona answers.

  Lady Kai turns to go to the shower to wash herself off and Fiona watches her every step of the way. The muscles in her legs and the wobble of her full, heart-shaped buttocks fascinating her.

  When she has disappeared into the bathroom, Fiona takes a breath before going to prepare Lady Kai’s exotic fruit drink. The drink is just as much part of Lady Kai’s ritual as her masturbation.

  When Lady Kai emerges a few minutes later, she is dressed in the thonged leotard that she will wear for the entirety of the show. The material is perfectly matched to her tanned Latin skin tone. This will give the impression she is nude under the many revealing outfits she will change into tonight.

  Fiona picks up Lady Kai’s dressing gown for her to step into as she arrives to have her drink, and places it onto her shoulders.

  “How are you feeling, Ms Kai?”

  “I’m very excited. How is the crowd?”

  “The crowd is huge and excited for your show, Ms Kai,” Fiona assures her.

  “Then we had better not keep them waiting.”

  Lady Kai drinks three-quarters of her fruit drink in one go and then walks into the pair of flip-flops that Fiona has placed in the correct position on the floor for her. Flip-flops on, Lady Kai follows Fiona to the door of the dressing room, where Fiona holds the door open for her.

  At the end of the short path, Kevin is waiting to lead them on the walk to the main stage. The area outside the dressing rooms that was quiet when Fiona arrived is now lined with people. Other artists have come out from whatever they were doing in their dressing rooms to catch a glimpse of Lady Kai before she goes on stage. Together with their entourage, they keep a respectful distance and most, if not all, are participating in the low clap of appreciation as Lady Kai passes.

  The appreciation from the other artists, as well as their entourage, makes Fiona buzz with happiness for Lady Kai. She wonders how it must make Lady Kai feel, especially receiving the adulation from her fellow artists. Her employer smiles and nods her head in acknowledgement to her contemporaries as she passes them.

  The door that leads out of the artists’ dressing room area and into the backstage area magically opens just as Kevin reaches it. He holds his hand up to Lady Kai and Fiona to stop before they reach the doorway. He disappears through the door for a moment, talking into his radio as he does.

  Kevin was in Lady Kai’s employ before Fiona, and Fiona knows how much trust Lady Kai puts in his security measures. She never questions his actions or his orders but trusts his judgement implicitly. Kevin is English and very secretive about his past. All that Fiona has managed to discover is that he was previously in the British Secret Services and that he was brought into the position of Lady Kai’s head of security a couple of years ago following an ‘incident’ that almost resulted in Lady Kai’s kidnapping.

  Kevin reappears at the doorway with two more of Lady Kai’s bodyguards, Kevin’s subordinates, one standing each side of the doorway. Turning, Kevin scans the backstage area they are about to walk out onto and he doesn’t signal to Lady Kai to proceed until he is satisfied.

  Finally, Kevin signals for Lady Kai to proceed and he leads her out into the backstage area. The two other bodyguards fall into formation at the rear and behind Fiona.

  The backstage area is even busier than when Fiona walked through it only a short time ago. People are everywhere, staff going about their jobs or VIPs soaking up the atmosphere. The whole backstage area comes to a standstill as Lady Kai emerges to make her way to the main stage. They stand in awe or point their phones at her to get an exclusive picture, instead of living in the moment. Again, an impromptu round of applause spreads out of nowhere from the people around. A chant of ‘Lady Kai, Lady Kai’, drifts into the backstage area as tens of thousands of fans chant her name from the packed audience in front of the main stage. Chills shoot down Fiona’s back as they near the stairs that will lead Lady Kai up to her audience; she can’t help it, the atmosphere is electrifying.

  Lady Kai’s head of wardrobe, Jeremy, waits impatiently at the top of the stairs, itching to get his hands on Lady Kai and get her into her first costume of the night. Jeremy is a very excitable person, but his flair for designing flamboyant costumes is undeniable. Within minutes, he wil
l have Lady Kai dressed and looking like a goddess from another planet.

  Jeremy ushers Lady Kai straight into her stage dressing room to make his transformation of her. They are followed in by Jeremy’s two assistants. Kevin and one of the bodyguards take up position outside the dressing room, whilst the other, under Kevin’s orders, goes to check the stage area and ensure security is as arranged.

  Fiona’s job is complete for the next two hours while Lady Kai performs. Lady Kai’s other staff will take care of her needs while she is on stage. It has all been choreographed and rehearsed over months, down to the last second.

  Fiona walks to the side of the stage to look out at the sea of people waiting for their headliner to perform. She is astonished by what she sees. The audience is massive and stretches out into the darkness almost as far as she can see.

  Only the lights at the edge of the audience show where the audience finishes and the bars and food outlets start in the distance.

  The front of the crowd fascinates Fiona, as they are so tightly packed in down there, she doesn’t know how they can move. She would never have the courage to be rammed into the middle of that. She would be overwhelmed with claustrophobia. The faces of the people tell a different story, though, they are filled with excitement and anticipation as they sing out Lady Kai’s name at the top of their voices, calling out to their idol. The crowd moves in waves from side to side and even the merest hint that the show might be about to start sends the crowd surging forward against the barriers. How are the people at the very front not crushed against the barriers and injured? Fiona doesn’t know.

  Suddenly, a loud buzz erupts out of the towering speaker systems all around and the lights drop. The crowd goes into meltdown, surging forward and cheering as loudly as they can as they realise this is the moment they have been waiting for. Lights twinkle like stars throughout the crowd as mobile phones are lit up and camera flashes ignite. Fiona is aware of Lady Kai’s band moving past her in the darkness to take up their positions on stage, and her excitement builds. She loves watching Lady Kai perform from her privileged position.