Blayne wiggled in his chair to access his pocket as he slipped the phone back inside. He stopped, pulled it out and put it in airplane mode before returning it.
“He means well,” Blayne said, but his voice tilted upward, making it sound more like a question than a statement.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Toyota Center!” a voice blared over the speakers. “Welcome to the stage, Riley Neon.” There was polite applause as a middle-aged woman walked out on stage, waving her hands enthusiastically.
“Who’s that?” Jamie asked.
“Oh, wow,” Sarah said. “I had such a crush on her when I was younger.”
“She was a pop singer from the early nineties, long before you were born,” Kira informed Jamie.
“Oh, so, like in the prehistoric era?” Jamie replied with a smirk.
“Watch it, kid,” Sarah said, leaning forward to give Jamie the stink eye.
The group laughed as the track to Riley Neon’s most famous song,Summer Forever, started playing. “In a world of Discmans and neon lights, we were young, wild, dancing through the night,” the former pop star sang.
Blayne had grown up primarily on contemporary Christian music, so his knowledge of pop music was severely limited. Sure, he’d heard the song on one of the oldies stations before, but he didn’t know the lyrics. On the other hand, Sarah clearly knew every word, because she was singing along with the music.
“Summer forever, we’re catching the twilight. Living in the rhythm, feeling so right,” the chorus started. Three backup dancers joined Riley Neon on stage, and the group executed choreography while she stood stage center and kept singing.
Blayne leaned back in his chair and let the pop anthem pour over him.
Chapter Four
Dr. Hennigan
Dr. Hennigan was not a fan of crowds, so she was glad she wasn’t down in the throngs. She could see nearly everyone she wanted to see using her high-powered scope from her perch in a skybox. She swiveled the scope to find the locations she’d marked earlier. Finding seating arrangements hadn’t been challenging for a techie at The Foundation.These ticketing companies need to up their security game.
She pointed her scope toward the stage, then off to the left. She found Blayne Dickenson and Kira Strickland sitting alongside a woman and her teenage son. Dr. Hennigan focused the scope on the seat next to Kira and noticed a dressed-down Agent Sarah Murphy.
The lights in the arena suddenly dimmed as a voice boomed over the speaker system, welcoming them to the Toyota Center and the launch of ZERO’s North American tour. “The use of photography, videography and cell phones to capture any part of this event is strictly prohibited by law. Violators will be removed from the concert and could be banned from the venue permanently. Get on your feet, put your hands together and let’s hear some noise for Zach, Ethan, Ric and Orr…ZERO, live in concert!”
Dr. Hennigan turned on the night scope, so she could see in the dark. A loud, blaring orchestration started. Even though Dr. Hennigan wasn’t familiar with the music, the fans clearly were. There was a loud, drawn-out note. Then the band was shot up on stage from underneath as the first musical number started. The frenzied motion on stage split people’s attention until one band member sang a solo. She could hear the music, but the words were muffled from her perch. She wasn’t sure if that resulted from her being so far away from the stage or if that’s what pop music sounded like these days.
After listening to three songs, the real reason Dr. Hennigan was there appeared. In another skybox, she saw the lights pop on. A group of five security guards and two dignitaries entered the room. The Foundation had been alerted that the heads of the National Democratic Party of Germany and the Constitutional Liberation Army, a domestic terrorism organization, would use the cover of the concert to meet.
“Denzili, Richardson, on my mark,” Dr. Hennigan said into her communication device. “You are cleared to liquidate.”
* * * *
Ethan
The third song in their set was the title song from their first album,Dog Days. After the speed of the first two songs, Ethan was glad this song didn’t have crazy choreography. Sure, the entire song was scripted from beginning to end, but it allowed him to catch his breath after the marathons of the first two high energy songs in the set.
“The rhythm of summer, in every phrase, we’re living it up, in the dog days.” The harmonies came so easily to Ethan. Admittedly, he’d lost count of how many times he’d sung these lyrics. The tempo changed, and the group started in on the chorus, “Dog days, living free and wild, like a child, let’s get beguiled.”
Ethan and the other guys stood center stage. Most of the stage lights swiveled to focus on Orr, who had the next verse. With his perfectly pitched tenor voice, Orr sang, “Fire up the grill, let’s have some fun. With friends and laughter, the day’s just begun.” Off stage left, Ethan caught something glittering in the arena. It looked like metallic confetti falling on one section.What the fuck?
Ethan traced up to find the source of the glitter, still maintaining his choreography. He long ago admitted it felt like his body went on autopilot when a concert started. All the rehearsing turned to muscle memory. He often let his mind wander. Ethan’s eyes widened. A light emanated from one of the luxury suites on the second tier.Holy shit, that was glass?Time seemed to slow, and the crowd’s din softened into a distant murmur as more eyes turned to trace a trail of shimmering shards falling on the section below.
An icy shiver of shock and fear raced down Ethan’s spine, his heart pounding against his ribs like a desperate, trapped animal. He was rooted to the spot, staring at the horrific spectacle before his eyes. Ric bumped into him. He shot Ethan a ‘what the hell?’ look. Everything seemed to freeze as Zac and Orr realized something was wrong.
A body hurtled through the broken window, tumbling into the open air. Ethan’s breath hitched. Silence descended upon the arena. A collective gasp of thousands of spectators hung suspended as the body descended into the crowd below.
The band stood frozen on stage in the glaring lights. The music continued, but the vocals had stopped.
Then the screaming started.
