Axe VictimChapter 17
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Friday night found Stix and Don sat at the bar of a restaurant chatting and drinking beer while waiting for Robin, Leslie and the girls to show up. Stix turned to the bartender to order another when he noticed Keys on the television screen. He waved at the bartender.
"Can you turn that up?"
Don turned and looked where Stix was pointing.
"Musically the show Monday was horrible, Crystal," Keys said. "Oh, I'm sure the audience didn't notice, but it was a technical mess. And don't get me started on that blatant display at the end. I mean, come on, Axe and his daughter screwed that song up. It won't be played like that on the road."
"Easy, Don," Stix said, noticing his friend's fist clenching.
The interview went on for another fifteen minutes. Don was flabbergasted. Keys was rewriting history. Barrier Riff had been Keys' idea, apparently. Even most of the early hits were influenced by his musical knowledge, after all, Keys was the only member of the band to have finished college. And his degree was in music.
"I'll kill him," Don said softly as the news program turned to other things.
"Not if I get to him first," Stix replied.
Robin snaked her arms around Stix and kissed his neck. "Who are you two killing now?"
"Keys," Stix said, pulling Robin close and patting his son on the head.
"What now?"
Stix explained what he and Don had just heard. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Robin exclaimed.
Leslie and her charges arrived and the group sat down to a nice dinner. Don and Stix kept Keys and his interview out of the discussions.
"So when does the tour start, Don?" Leslie asked.
"We're opening up in Cleveland on October 12th."
"Twenty cities in thirty-five days," Stix added. "We'll be back here for Thanksgiving. Then we're hitting the west coast for two weeks. We're taking a month at Christmas and then doing the east coast in January."
"And then home again in time to welcome the next member of the Matthews brood," Don added.
Kasey put her hand on Don's arm. "Can we go on some of the tour, Dad?"
"We?"
"Jenny and me."
Don hesitated for a moment. Leslie jumped in. "School comes first, but if there are some shows during your breaks, I don't see why Jenny can't go along."
"Please, Dad," Kasey begged.
Don smiled. "We'll check the calendar and see what we can do. Otherwise, you're stuck here with Leslie and Robin. Okay?"
"I guess."
Don was the first to arrive at the band's rehearsal space. He opened the door and started warming up the equipment. He filled the refrigerator with some Bud Light as tradition dictated and then walked over to the white board. He began writing a tentative set list on the board. A two hour show meant that most of the new CD's songs would get played as well as all of their big hits and a few other songs from the earlier ones.
He blocked out three songs to be encores and began fitting things into a tentative order.
"No way will 'Lost Without You' be an encore number, Axe. We're not doing that on stage again. I want no chance of a repeat of that garbage from Monday," Keys said erasing the song from the board.
"Hello to you, too, Keys."
"'Lost Without You' stays," Bass said firmly as he nudged Keys aside and wrote it back on the board. "I don't know where you get off criticizing Monday's show. You did everything you could to sabotage it, both during and after."
"Kiss my ass, Bass," Keys replied drawing a line through 'Lost Without You' on the board. "I'm not giving Axe a chance to do that crap with his daughter on my tour."
"Your tour?" Stix was incredulous. "It's our tour, too. And I'm with Bass, 'Lost Without You' stays. With or without Kasey, it's still one of our best. The audience expects our best and we're going to give it to them."
Don stepped away from the board and watched as the three argued about the music. He thought he'd be the one who had to argue with Keys about everything, but Stix and Bass were stepping up and having their say for the first time in a long time, especially for Bass. Don wondered what had changed in Bass. Usually he was siding with Keys and the band was split on things until Don worked out a compromise.
Don turned and opened the fridge, gathering four bottles of beer in his hands. He turned in time to catch Keys next outburst. "'Lost Without You' goes or I go."
The room was silent for a moment and then Bass turned and looked at his friend. "Well, there's the door. Don't let it hit you on the ass as you leave."
The next two weeks went by in a blur of activity for Don and Hailey. There were dates to choose and people to see and when the two weeks ended, Don sat back and sighed. His first marriage hadn't been such a hassle. But the smile on Hailey's face when some part of her dream could be accomplished was worth every minute. And so it was that Don found himself on the couch idly sipping at a bottle of beer. Hailey was in the bedroom with Leslie, Jenny and Kasey. It was time for the prom. Don was...
School began two weeks after the funeral and Don drove Kasey to school and then returned home to work out the details of his return to the spotlight. After the first day, Kasey asked to ride the bus like the other kids. She didn't want to be treated differently. Don reluctantly agreed. And so it was that after she left for school, the members of Barrier Riff and their agent, Morty Andrews were gathered on Don's deck. "Okay," Don said, breaking up the side conversations. "Here's how...
For a couple of weeks, it was like Hollywood magic. Don couldn't believe his good fortune. His time with Jessie was just as special as it had been so many years before. Kasey was wary at first, but she quickly warmed to him. Now it was as if they had been together the whole time. Even his song writing had returned. His life had focus once again. Barrier Riff returned to the studio and even Keys was enthused by the new songs Don was writing. With the new songs, Don was moving the group in a...
Don slipped into the bar quietly. It was early and there were only a few customers. He knew that Cmonster was playing that night and hoped to catch them before they went on. "Omigod!" he heard a woman's voice from the doorway as he sat down facing the stage. "Relax, Candy. He probably just stopped for a drink." "Do you think he'd mind if I sat with him, Hailey?" Don smirked and then wiped the smile off his face and turned toward the door. He could see Hailey Marshall and Candy...
Two weeks later, Don and Wes were tuning up in the practice space, waiting for Charlie and Hailey. Don's cell phone rang and as he opened it, Stix opened the door and walked in. "Oh boy, when Keys messes up, he does it big time," Stix said, striding into the practice room with a newspaper under his arm. "No kidding, Stix," Bass replied, pointing at the paper on his amp. "Glad to see you could make it, Stix," Don said with a smile as he closed his cell phone and turned...
"Oh, my god, Jessie, what are you going to do?" Leslie Noonan asked as she slid a cup of tea across the counter to her friend, Jessica Mayberry. "I don't know, Les. I'm still in shock." "Well, yeah. I mean, what about Kasey? I could take her, of course, but I..." "I know, Les. You have things you need to do. No, I couldn't burden you with Kasey. You need to get settled in Central City." "The girls are going to flip out on us, you know." "Yeah, I can't say that I blame...
Don paced back and forth outside the ICU. The doctors said Jessie was stable. She was asleep. Emotions raced through Don. He was angry with Crystal. He was mad at himself for letting Crystal maneuver him into the interview. He was worried about Jessie. This was obviously the beginning of the end. More than anything, his heart was sad. His time with Jessie was drawing to a close. He felt bad for Kasey and hoped that he would be enough family for her. His cell phone chirped, interrupting his...
"If this is Saturday night, this must be Cincinnati," Bass said, as he entered the room back stage. Hailey Marshall smiled. "Where's Axe?" "He's at the airport picking up Jenny and Kasey. They'll be here in twenty." "I didn't think they were coming to a show until next month." "Yeah, well, apparently Kasey's having some problems. Don agreed to try to talk to her tomorrow and then send her back to Central City." "What kind of problems?" Wes frowned. "It's not my place,...
Hailey pulled up to Axe's place. His truck wasn't in the driveway. She sat and waited for a while. He'd called and asked her to meet him here. She dialed his cell phone. No answer. With a sigh, she got out and headed into the house. "Axe?" There was no response. He wasn't in the kitchen, his bedroom, on the deck or even in the game room. Hailey felt strange. She tried the cell phone again. No answer. She looked around the game room again. She saw the shiny black baby grand in the...
(two more days have passed) What a day, Donovan sighed, pulling his black pickup into his driveway. He couldn't believe the stuff Keys came up with this time. It was trite schlock. And he told them so in no uncertain terms. Barrier Riff had never fought in the studio before. This one was a doozy. Keys was right about two things. The record company wasn't going to wait forever, and Donovan had nothing better for them to play. There was no way his name was going on an album with that...
Jessie smiled as she listened to the chaos around her. Don's friend Stix was telling stories about life on the road. Kasey and Jenny were watching him intently. She watched as Stix's wife, Robin, tried to keep control of her three boys. It was just what she needed. She felt comfortable now. Kasey had a place to live, a place filled with love and affection. Her pain would be bearable knowing this. Leslie was watching her intently from across the table. Jessie smiled. "I'm okay, Les," she...
The two weeks between the Midwest swing of the tour and Christmas blew past Don in a hurry. Even Christmas came and went in a flurry of activity. Wading through the over one hundred affidavits in support of John West's lawsuit, Don and Ted Hargrove poked more than a few holes in the case. The whole legal process mostly served to exhaust Don. Kasey, Jenny, and their boyfriends were constant visitors in Don's house. Don didn't find much time to spend with them, unfortunately. Between...
Don was chopping onions with his back to the doorway when Hailey slipped into his kitchen. "Guess who?" she said putting her hands over his eyes. "Miss America?" "No." "Miss July 1999?" "Get serious, Axeman." "The sexiest keyboard player in the world?" "Closer." Don spun quickly and smiled. "Hailey!" He kissed her long and hard, pinning her backside against the island in the middle of the kitchen. "How are you feeling?" he asked as they separated, slightly...
Don turned back toward Hailey after he closed the door. "I'm sorry, Don," Hailey said softly. "I didn't mean to come on so strong this morning, especially not after the shower. I, um, just need to know where we are going. I mean what we have is nice, but it's not enough. Not enough for me, anyway. I need more. I'm not sure I said that very well this morning." "Okay," Don said. "So, I was hoping we could talk about what you want. I mean what you want us to be?" Don turned and...
11:45 a.m., Saturday, March 14th 2009: a Freshman Dorm, Athens, Georgia"Ronnie?" I stretched as I uttered my girlfriend's name. My eyes were still closed but I could feel her warm body snuggled next to me. On both sides. Huh? Both sides? I stretched again as I opened my right eye.Ronnie had short blond hair today. Which my still fuzzy brain found strange since she'd always had shoulder length brown hair. So I shut my eye and lay back down against the pillow. Blond hair?"Aaaaaaahhhh." A...
Leslie took the two teenagers with her when she left. It was generally agreed that Jessica and Donovan had a number of things to discuss and they were in the way. Jessica shooed them all away with a smile and a promise that they could come back in the morning and the girls could stay with her and Donovan while Leslie got started on her dream, a fabric store named "A Stitch in Thyme." Donovan cleaned up the kitchen, tossing the empty pizza boxes in the trash and putting glasses in the...
Don frowned as he watched Bobby Jones escort his daughter to his Mustang. Something about the boy didn't sit right with him. Bobby answered all the questions just right. He shook Don's hand, met his eyes, but something just felt wrong. He wondered if he weren't too protective of Kasey. He wanted her experiences to be good. Don sighed as he closed the door and turned back to the movie that Jenny put in. Kasey was frowning when they finally sat down in the theater. The pizza had been...
Midnight was fast approaching. Don walked back to the Game Room and coaxed the teenagers to join everyone in the living room. Hailey smiled as she stepped up next to Don. "Five." Hailey grabbed Don's arm, drawing his attention away from Kasey and Brandon. "Four." She smiled as his eyes turned and met hers. "Three." Hailey pushed herself up on her toes and put her hands on Don's shoulders. "Two." Hailey closed the space between their lips. "One." Their lips touched together...
Don woke with a start. His eyes popped open and he struggled momentarily to remember why he wasn't in his bed. He was in Hailey's bed. He turned his head. Yup, this was Hailey's bed. With a smile, his eyes caressed her bare body as she lay beside him. He was pinned to her bed by her arm. He smiled as her eyes fluttered open. "Good morning, beautiful," he whispered. "Oh my... It wasn't a dream, then," Hailey said, drawing her arm back across his chest and stretching. Don didn't...
They decided to leave her car at the practice space and piled into his truck. Hailey scooted over to the middle of the big bench seat and kept her hand on the inside of his thigh the whole way to his place. Don's jeans felt tight. There was no doubt about his interest. Hailey checked frequently, stroking down his thigh and then back up to the prominent bulge between his legs. "Keep that up and we're gonna crash," Don hissed. "Just drive, Don," Hailey said in a husky whisper. The...
'What the heck was her problem?' I thought back to my fight with Terri. 'I mean jee-zus. Didn't she know we were just jilling buddies. I mean its like she's in love with me or something.' Holding up another outfit, I wondered if it was good enough for today. 'Hopefully it will drive Helen crazy.' Helen was her newest interest. Tossing the cloths on the bed I shuffle through my closet looking for another possible when the phone rang. Picking it up I hears Terry's voice. "Never again to peak,...
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I was stretched out on the couch in my sweats and jersey watching playoff hockey and zoning, when the door opened. Two happy girls entered, carrying bags of clothes. “Did you lose one?” “We dropped Nat off at work, she could only get someone to cover for a couple hours.” Dumping the bags in their bedroom, I was dragged by the hand to my bedroom by Kate. “Shirt, sweats. You know the drill.” I undressed to the smiling eyes of a cute seventeen-year old girl. Leaving only my flannel boxers...
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“Hi, Heather.” I greeted my unwilling morning guest with a wry smile. “What is so important that I need to come over first thing in the morning. I do have a day job, you know.” “How are your ribs?” “Sore as fuck.” “I’m making waffles, want some?” “Okay, but I do have a meeting across town at 10:00,” she replied sitting in my sturdy oak dining room chair gingerly. “Did you bring your toy?” “I brought it.” Displeasure was evident in her tone. I thought I could change that easily. I...
“You know that Grog I stole from you? It saved my life. With my cracked ribs I would never have outrun those three.” Looking better, Heather sat up in my bed the next day while speaking to me. “Then it was a worthwhile theft. How were you able to kill that third Orc?” “Eh? I only killed the one. I thought you killed her.” “Odd, I thought we needed to kill everyone to clear the dungeon.” “Maybe the Boss is the clear condition. He might be only part of the clear condition too. Like, maybe...
I picked up three happy girls from their last half day of classes at the high school level. Compared to their normal clothes, all three were dressed in nice slacks and sharp blouses. Rings, watches and necklaces were evident, not that they went out of their way to show me after entering my car and stowing their bags in the trunk. I didn’t even have room to ask any questions on the way home since they monopolized that with nonstop questions on my house-hunting prospects. Seeing how they were...
I spent the next twenty-four hours in and out of ice baths. I hated those things. My ear stopped ringing the first night with the aid of Kate’s heals. Jude woke Friday morning. I had heard that Kate cried along with Nat, when the medic reported the news. I knew that it was all due to Kate that she lived at all. Kate barely sleeping the last day and night, to maximize her Healing times, enabled Jude to recover as fast as she did. That seventeen-inch long wound, would leave a scar for a...
We summoned Edna and her group back the day after she ran the last first floor Green Gate run with the other half of our team. Based on Heather’s information, which she acquired from the army, the six of us planned for our upcoming run. They had a few teams that passed Indigo’s third floor with regularity. No one was reported to have returned from the fourth yet. That they were willing to admit to. The rest of the world wasn’t sharing either. Our light composite backpacks were supposed to...
According to the Doctors at the hospital, Toff would be kept in a coma for a week, give or take while he recovered. Cait was seriously down when she found out about Toliver’s death. She didn’t join us after our usual powwow at my house for the box opening ceremonies. Heather handed over her Silver Key for a promise of a return Key, Ed’s firstborn and a host of other unreasonable demands. Heather’s untoward cackle had to have been heard three floors down when Edna unlocked her chest, only...
Friday night, the gang all met in my condo for pizza and beer. Francis was an aficionado and brought along a sampling of two six-packs of private brews for us to partake in. I liked one dark one and disliked the pale ale. We chatted and discussed our finds. Only one group in ten dropped anything decent. Most of the breakout boss groups had a leader who held a reward of some type. Typically, a pouch of silver nuggets or a small gem valued in the hundreds of silver nuggets. Cait and Kate...
Or at least Ed’s mom was. She wanted to meet her daughter’s work partner. The last one had been David, but since he was out of action, at least for a while longer, Edna chose me. Besides, David fell far behind the rest of us during his rehabilitation. Even Cait has progressed beyond him. Our former team leader wasn’t too far behind, a few weeks after his return would see him ascend to Level 2, and a month or three more after that for Level 3. Unless we powered-Leveled him. The magic and...
Ed was pissed that I did not include her on Indigo level four Mk two (our second time entering the fourth floor). Even my explanation of wanting her for our third and fifth runs did not improve her mood. Even on the promise that we would continue running and she would always be with me three out of every five runs. We knew that they were dangerous and we knew that one of us had to be in every run, we needed to spread the risk. She still did not like it. Toff, Kate, Nat, (she won the coin...
My condo was too small to hold everyone, especially our new possible add-ons who acted like they weren’t going anywhere. DB needed extra space so he always over-bought or rented when it came to housing. He offered to host. I hadn’t even looked at my Marble or Lockbox until the gathering. My Marble was a bonus to any curse related effect. Cait was going to steal another one from me. All of us were funneling our curses or curse improvement Marbles to her. She even placed an ad on my site with...
“We get instructors, and for every ten tickets, we get a Silver key, lockbox or silver and one in twenty Silver lockboxes I open, I get to choose an item.” “And who in the hell is her?” Nat felt she had held her tongue long enough. “She,” Matt corrected. Earning a death gaze from Natalie. Matt and Nat went at it again. “This is Natasha Kozlov. She is our new teammate.” “And a spy,” Jude didn’t like her. “Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows what the future holds?” “But we do have two Nats....
“What did we get?” Ed was being all practical again. I was still afraid and Koz was half in awe of me. Not good. “A Marble, a Brass key, a Silver lockbox, and a scroll tube with fuck knows what’s inside.” “I have a key,” Ed waved her silver key at us, “and you owe me.” I did? “You do.” Never argue with a woman who thinks you owe her. Especially when she has two razor-sharp swords at her sides. “Koz, can you take the Marble and key? I have tons of keys. I want the scroll.” Awe...
Kate was all mopey the next morning. I’d thought that after the windfall, she would have been on cloud nine. Jude was showering when I left. They didn’t have to report for training for over an hour after I left for the Federal building. On my way to work, I chatted via text with Paula about what was what. Heather had hinted that I needed to spend more time at the office. Questions were being asked and I needed to be available to answer them. Even if that was not part of my original...
I sat gingerly and waited until Kate returned from class. I was not clear enough. I should have asked Francis for healing in the White Room. Or on the way home. I’m such an idiot sometimes. Jude wasn’t all that happy with me either. For that reason and lots of other reasons. “Kate. Can you please heal me?” “You soloed a Death Knight?” “Skeletal Knight. I don’t want to meet the Death version any time soon. No thanks.” “At least you aren’t completely dumb. Take it off.” Frowning at my now...
At 9:25 Sunday morning, I stood on the steps of the condo complex waiting for my ride. A familiar metallic orange Charger glided around the corner. “Morning, Jason.” “Good morning, Ed,” I responded after closing the car door. She looked great. Edna had on a touch of makeup and a smile, enhanced by gorgeous deep red lipstick that set everything off and brighten her face. “Can you tell me your family’s names again?” I asked once we were on the road. I received the rendition along with a...
“Report first, then toys and then you can grill me.” I took control of the circus, which was unusual for me. Normally it was Heather’s show. Miles of interlocking tunnels led either in a spiral up or a spiral down. The ants liked long linked spirals. Down was the direction needed, dead ends were the norm, rather than the exception. The queen was the goal, and she was at the bottom, waiting. The Royal guardians weren’t a hassle, even when they were surrounded. Heather’s Rain of Fire, Kate’s...
I checked in on Kate after returning home with Ed. She was asleep with my pillow between her arms and Nat curled up behind her. Closing the door silently behind me, I joined Ed in my bed and got comfortable. Both of us were still worked up from Koz’s attentions. She was still banged up from the Death run. A gentle bout of lovemaking ensued, then she curled up in a hole Einstein would be proud of, basically on top of me, and we fell asleep with alarms set. (Gravity wells and space time...
‘Natasha! I do not want to get my nipples PIERCED!’ That was what Ed told me that she heard screamed, while walking down the hall from my bedroom. She had been on her way to join me in the kitchen, to help me with breakfast. Koz’s playfulness continued to expand. Kate seemed to be the prime target of her amusements. “They seem to be getting along.” My smirk gave me away. Ed smacked me on her way to the fridge. The two joined us shortly after. Koz followed her bedmate in a buoyant mood....
First thing Wednesday morning I called Todd and let him know that we would not be making it tonight, “Ed’s fine. She is sleeping right now, but probably shouldn’t go anywhere for a few days. There was an incident with a Portal. When she is up and about, I’ll have her call everyone.” We didn’t talk long, but he promised to pass the message to the relevant people, i.e. everyone. Koz was fascinated, Kate horrified. I was worried, fascinated and not horrified. A blood colored hard film had...
Natasha spent the night in Nat’s bed, since Nat hardly ever used it anymore, and left at five Friday morning with a wave. I waved back, half awake. I worried about Ed and had not slept well. At 7:30, I dragged her out of bed and drove her to UE’s training facilities. She dressed, located two reinforced foam swords, and came at me. With only a few breaks, we worked on control for the following nine hours only stopping for water and snacks. She was way too erratic to trust in a...
Not willing to wait any longer, I identified my three new toys. I wished I had stolen the other three from Colonel Scarlet. My situation would have been identical, but no, I had to be honest. And True to myself. A Bestowal Tome of Fire & Ice mastery. Req: Level 5, Intelligence 7, 40 Mana, Fire or Ice Mage. Holy shit. Instant Dual Class for Nat. A Gem of Weapon Improvement: Unlocks and Upgrades a Weapon, adding +1 to a Skill of choice attached to that weapon. Jude could use that. I was...
Tired, bruised, battered, sore and maybe with a cracked rib or three, I stumbled out of the Indigo Gate after killing all four of the Lords. (One at a time, of course.) My newly upgraded Spell was ungodly devastating to mobs of zombies and ghouls. I felt like I spent more time hunting down the ghouls and chopping their heads apart looking for treasure, than killing the first mixed mob of four hundred undead that I encountered. Opening the door of Kate’s former bedroom, I came to a complete...