“Confirmed.” Weston’s voice comes through the device in my ear.
“Well, that was terrifying for a second there,” I admit, my eyes focused on the monitors in front of me, watching as the crowd filters in past each of the security checkpoints.
“Having flashbacks, Kels?” Carter teases, lightly banging my shoulder with his.
“Not the time for jokes.”
“We’ve got this,” he says with more confidence than I’m feeling.
I’m on edge, and I can’t figure out why. The team is ready. We’ve got our full team tonight, even bringing in an additional coordinator to work with the personal security teams who will be with celebrities around the venue tonight. We know what we’re doing at this point in the tour, and even if we haven’t figured out the source of the last breach, we feel fairly confident we can have the system up and running again in less than thirty seconds should it go down.
It’s not perfect, but it’s the best we can do.
A message from Lila pops up on my computer screen.
Lila:Possible Bennie sighting at C. Fourth line.
Attached is a picture of a woman wearing a large cowboy hat, jean jacket, and boots. It’s hard from the picture to tell if it’s her or not. It definitely could be, but it could also be almost any woman at this concert.
Me:I’ll get one of Mitchell’s floaters on it.
Lila:Already asked. Eddie is trying to find her.
“Carter,” I say, pointing to my screen to keep him in the loop.
“Just what we need,” Carter says. “How many possible stalker sightings are we going to get today?”
“It’s the last day. My team is being extra vigilant. Plus, the sighting from earlier ended up being a false alarm. Maybe this one will be too.”
We sit in silence, watching as the opening act performs their first two songs. Being on tour with Jaxon has given this group a lot of confidence, particularly the lead singer. She has an amazing voice, and the crowds have been coming in earlier each concert to see them play rather than waiting until it’s almost time for Jaxon to start like they did in the beginning.
My eyes continue scanning the screens, continually going back to the one showing Eddie searching the concourse.
“What’s Eddie doing?” I ask Carter when I can’t wait any longer for an update.
“Fuck if I know,” he says, raising his hand to his ear to ask him.
“Eddie, we need a status report on the potential Bennie sighting.”
He tilts his head, listening to the response. Eddie isn’t on the same channel as I am, so I don’t get to be a part of the conversation.
“He says he can’t find her,” Carter relays.
“Not acceptable. Is he working with my team to spot her from above?”
“They can’t find her either. She turned a corner and got lost in the crowd. There are about ten thousand hats just like hers out there, and that’s assuming she even still has the damn thing on.”
Me:Need the seat info for the Bennie potential.
Lila:Already sent to Eddie. He’s headedthere now.
“He’s headed to check her seat,” Carter says at the same time Lila’s message comes through. As frustrated as I am that we can’t seem to find this woman, I’m impressed with how well Lila is anticipating every move I’m going to make and even beating me to it. Plus, she and Eddie are coordinating well without Carter and me having to be the middlemen. It’s seamless and so different from when we first started six weeks ago.
I’m about to have Carter check in with Eddie again when a sudden crackle of static fills my ear.
It’s gone just as quickly as it came.
“Did you hear that?” I ask Carter, my heart rate quickening.
