Amanda brushed her hair, reaching for her duffel bag out of a locker, and pulling out a red wig, the last item to her costume. She glanced at the clock then turned off the light and left the room. She walked down a short hallway which led to a closed door. Amanda knocked softly then moved to the side to wait. I shouldn't have left Laura there, she thought to herself. Amanda was beginning to feel guilty for leaving Laura at the safe house to deal with the aftermath of her leaving. The door opened and Amanda left her thoughts quickly when she heard a voice.
"Hey Amanda, how are you?" The man greeted her with a smile and stepped outside in the hallway, closing the door behind him.
"I am well, thanks Greg," she answered, reaching out to shake his hand.
"Where's Laura? Is she still getting dressed?"
"No, Laura's really sick; she has the flu. I guess I will have to go solo tonight." Amanda and Greg walked back down to the very end of the hall.
"Hey, that'll be alright, you've got this. Go out and do what you're good at," Greg said, giving her a pat on the back. Amanda's stomach turned; going on stage always made her nervous. It wasn't just the stage fright, it was the fact that anything could happen. Amanda walked out on the stage and took the microphone. The lights came on and the announcer said her name. Amanda closed her eyes, still extremely nervous. Amanda lifted the microphone, and opened her mouth to sing. A soft sweet voice filled the air. Amanda closed her eyes again, to pretend Laura was there beside her. Her nerves calmed and she sang another song, then smiled to the crowd and left the stage.
"Amanda!" a voice called to her. Amanda turned around and waved back.
"Hey, Billy!" She said, running back to greet him.
"You were so great," Billy said, kissing her on the forehead.
"Thanks. Do you want to go get something to eat and then maybe take me home afterwards? Laura is really sick, I feel bad for leaving her."
"That's fine. How about I meet you back at the truck?"
"All I have to do is get my bags and change real quick. It shouldn't take long," she said to Billy before he turned to walk back down the hallway to go outside.
Amanda opened the door to the changing room and grabbed her bag.
Before she could turn back around, the lights cut out and a hand covered Amanda's mouth.
"If you scream, I will gut you and your boyfriend, and then I will find your sister and rip her head into pieces. Understand?"
Amanda nodded.
Marshall walked in the conference room, pulling out a chair and sitting down in front of Laura.
"What are you doing here? Did she send you to take my bathroom privileges away, too?" Laura snapped.
"No, but almost. I was able to convince her that having a witness test their bladder would not be a great idea for the chair she occasionally sits in."
Laura rolled her eyes, and looked away. "What do you want?" She asked while staring at the floor.
"To find your sister."
"I don't know where she is."
"Did you know that she was planning to leave last night?"
"No, if I did I would have gone with her."
"Amanda could be in danger."
"No, she's probably with Billy..." Before Laura could finish, Mary stormed inside the room, Laura's cellphone in hand.
"Laura, you need to check your voice mail," Mary said, sliding the phone down the table.
Laura opened her phone, and dialed her voice-mail.
"Put it on speaker," Mary said as she unintentionally began to pace the floor.
"Laura, its Billy. Amanda was supposed to meet me about two hours ago in the club parking lot. She never showed up; her phone is off and everyone here at the club is gone. I just saw her, for about 5 minutes. She was going to go change, then meet me outside. She never came. Do you think she wanted to break up with me or something? She's been acting really strange since that day I picked her up from school, and that bitchy blonde lady made me leave. Look just call me please, I love Amanda. I don't want to lose her."
"It's a ploy; Amanda's with him. I want to know where Billy is. So call and get an address, whatever you have to do. When we find Amanda, the three of us will be making some serious rules. Otherwise, you two will be out of the program. Got it?" Mary said, and then walked to the door.
I'm going to get coffee, do you want some?" Mary asked Marshall
"Nah, that's alright."
"A little thank you every now and then would be nice though," Marshall mumbled, but loud enough so Mary would hear him.
"What?
"Oh, nothing."
"Do you really think that I don't appreciate you?"
"No, you don't."
"Jesus, Marshall, you have got to be kidding me."
"I'm not, and you don't."
"Yes, I do."
"No, you don't."
"Yes, I do."
"Do you really want to argue while your witness is missing?"
"I like arguing with my partner who thinks I don't appreciate him, when I do."
"Oh my goodness! Would you just tell him thank you and shut up already!" Laura interrupted.
Mary looked down at the floor then back at Marshall.
"Thanks for all your help."
Marshall nodded, and Mary left the room. Laura opened her phone and dialed Billy's number. Before she could place the call, a text message came through from a number that she did not know.
Tell Mary if she wants to see her witness ever again, I want $50,000. She has two days.
Laura felt her stomach drop to the floor. She threw her phone to Marshall, who tapped on the glass to get Mary's attention after reading the message himself. Mary ran back inside of the room, and read the text message.
"What the hell? Marshall…"
"Already on it," Marshall said before she could finish her sentence, standing up in a hurry and dialing numbers on his phone.
"Thanks," Mary said, pulling her phone out of her pocket.
Laura watched as Mary and Marshall paced the floor on their phones. They were talking very fast, which not only confused Laura, it scared her. Marshall stood in the doorway after he noticed Stan walking back to his office. "Stan, we have a problem." Marshall said motioning for him to come closer.
"What's going on?" Laura asked repeatedly, gradually getting louder until Eleanor came into the room and took Laura out to calm her down.
