SURVIVAL OF THE MISFITS
By Stormkeeper
Disclaimer:
All characters © Hasbro Inc. and Sunbow Entertainment. I'm not making any money off of this and this is done purely for fan entertainment.
Author's notes:
A huge thank you to Denisia and Severine for beta-testing! Somehow when I posted chapter one, I neglected to thank my fantastic beta testers.
CHAPTER TWO
"So how was your date?" Kimber asked Aja. The two friends sat on the floor of Starlight House's spacious workout room. Both wore bright leotards and tights. Aja had also donned her favorite leg warmers. Kimber was lacing up her aerobic shoes, and Aja was stretching her hamstrings.
Aja was surprised to see that her friend had arrived early. Often Aja prepared and stretched alone, or in the company of Jerrica, Shana, or Raya. Class was not scheduled to begin for nearly twenty minutes.
"It was wonderful," Aja said. She tried to say the words evenly.
Kimber bit her lip to keep from breaking out into an amused smile. Ever since Craig had returned, Aja's behavior demonstrated subtle tweaks. She smiled more often. She showed up late to a practice session and even had trouble learning the chords for the newest song. Kimber even noticed Aja sneaking off to Shana's room at odd hours, presumably for some girl talk.
"What did you do?"
"Well, we…." Aja began, "you know, it doesn't matter so much what we do on the dates." She couldn't explain why she stopped herself. She had an inkling that Kimber would be less than impressed with how their activities sounded on paper. It wasn't jogging or renting a copy of "Mr Mom" that made the date special.
"What matters is how you and Craig feel about each other," Kimber said, smiling.
Aja nodded, reminding herself to give Kimber more credit. The sensitive lyricist rivaled anyone when it came to perceptivity.
"I was saying to Shana the other day how strange it feels to be falling in love," Aja began conspiratorially
Kimber's ears felt delighted. One did not hear Aja talk like this every day.
"It's almost like going insane," Aja continued. "I don't think as clearly as I used to. There are a few times lately where I thought that if he asked me to marry him, I would in a second. But I know that's crazy! He's only been back a couple months. We need more time to get to know each other."
"It's so cool to see you like this, Aja," Kimber smiled. "You remember when Shana fell for Anthony?"
"Yes. But she always kept such a cool head about her. She's so steady. No one looking at her would've known what was going on inside her heart – except for us, but only 'cause we knew her too well. Why can't I be like that?" Aja asked.
"You got it bad, girl!" Kimber shifted position so that she sat with her legs in front of her, toes pointed. She reached forward to grasp the tops of her shoes, giving her legs a good stretch. "Do you think it'll be weird with his sister being a Misfit?"
"Sometimes I think that it should be, but it's really not. I don't feel that there's anything wrong with the situation. Of course this is Stormer we're talking about if it was one of the three witches instead, I think we'd be talking about a different story here," she said wryly. She then said, off-hand, "Thank goodness for that truce."
Aja stood up and did some lunges, bringing her arms along with the movement to stretch out her sides.
"Speaking of Stormer, that was a really close call at the concert," Aja said. "What you did was dangerous for you. And for our group, and Synergy, if we'd been discovered." Her voice contained no traces of reprimand, only concern.
"I know, but I had no choice. I couldn't let them arrest her. It would've destroyed her," Kimber said. Her mood turned sour at thoughts of the conversation with her sister that had followed late that night. "Jerrica and I talked about it and she said the same thing. We're lucky that we didn't get discovered."
"And Stormer's lucky too. What if you hadn't been there to help? The Morality Officers would've found out that she's gay, and she could've gone to jail." Aja shook her head. "We might have to worry for ourselves too someday. The Department of Communications reviewing song lyrics and telling us which ones we can perform in concert and which ones we can't. And I heard rumors that we might even have trouble getting permission to travel – because we're unmarried women. Something's gotta be done about all this." Aja knew she was getting worked up. Her aerobics would be more spirited than usual today, fueled along by anger.
"I know. But what can we do? We can't just like solve this one by playing a benefit concert like we used to! It's like there's not much we can do against that Morality Office since they're so powerful. I keep hoping things will go back to the way they were before."
"I do too but –"
Aja saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She saw Raya enter the workout room accompanied by Deirdre and Terri. But during the span of a split second, she'd seen something else too. Ashley had been standing silently by the door. Raya and the others greeted her; clearly Ashley had not come down with them. Aja wondered how long Ashley had been watching and listening.
88888888888888888888888888
Our successful concert led to another coveted TV appearance for the band. We got the call that they wanted all four of us at the studio to do a profile. We knew the host; he'd interviewed us before. (And he totally had a crush on Roxy). When we got there, he asked if they could film some footage of us riding around on motorcycles.
We loved the idea, of course. The producers said they wanted to bring out our image of being the "Bad Girls of Rock n Roll." Pizzazz, Roxy, and Jetta looked positively delighted – both at the appellation and at the chance to ride at fast speeds. (And truth be told, I kinda like being a bad girl too). All three of them wanted to ride their own bikes. I wasn't in the mood for driving this time, so Pizzazz ordered me to get behind her on her motorcycle.
I stifled a smile, thinking back to a memory from a few years ago. We were visiting Venice Beach and decided to make a grand entrance for our beach-side interview by roaring around the beach on four-wheelers, causing havoc before driving right up to our interviewers. Back at the rental place, a bit of a spat had erupted.
"Hurry up you two!" Pizzazz had yelled.
I'd already gotten on behind Pizzazz on her bike, but Roxy and Jetta were quarreling. (So what else was new? Especially back then). Both of them wanted to ride their own bikes but the rental place only had the two vehicles. Somehow Roxy won that fight and got in the driver's seat. Then she and Jetta started snipping because they didn't want to have to share the same bike, and they started demanding that I switch places with Jetta.
"Shut your mouths this instant!" Pizzazz had demanded. "And quit making such a big deal out of it. Sheesh, you're not going to marry the person you're sharing the damn bike with!"
Pizzazz really has this great sense of humor, you know.
Anyway, our motorcycling went well this time as did the post-concert interview. When we got back to the mansion and watched the show though, we found that they had cut out all the motorcycle scenes. The studio interview was there but all that footage of us riding around had been removed. Roxy called the host and asked what happened. He said that their internal controls department had axed the scenes, fearing that airing shots of women riding motorcycles could cause trouble with the Department of Communications.
8888888888888888888888
Then to make matters worse, Techrat called the next day. I didn't get to talk to him since he spoke with Pizzazz only.
Pizzazz reported that Techrat didn't yet have any information on the blood test, where it's being required, or how to fool it. "The only thing he was able to find so far was how this city's treating people who fail it," Pizzazz reported. She glanced in my direction as she spoke. I was shocked to see hesitancy on her face.
Apparently Techrat discovered that some people who failed the blood tests have been sent to jail. Some had been released quickly while others remained awaiting trial. Drug use is, of course, illegal so it wasn't too big of a surprise that those whose tests show that they are using would go to jail. Techrat didn't know whether those who failed the test for other reasons were being sent to jail or not, but he said it seemed possible from what he could gather.
He was going to continue his research. I was a bit numb for the rest of that day.
88888888888888888888
Craig entered the Gabor mansion and surveyed the expansive entrance hall. He could understand why his sister enjoyed living here. As James, the butler went to fetch Mary, Craig looked around. He had expected the foyer to dazzle him with a sparkling chandelier, brilliant paintings, priceless heirlooms, and glimpses of nearby rooms with posh furniture. It did indeed boast those items. But the mansion also appeared unkempt. Craig noticed that the floor could use a sweeping. He walked over to a table made of teak that presented several antiques, and noticed the dust.
"There you are!" a voice called.
Craig smiled at seeing his sister and reached for a hug. As usual she held on tightly.
"I'm so glad you finally came to see the place," Stormer said
He broke off the hug. "Though I gather that a full tour would take most of the day."
"More or less," Stormer admitted.
Stormer led her brother down a hallway, beginning an abbreviated tour of the estate.
"It's like a ghost town," Craig observed, as his sister led him from room to room. They had not encountered any servants during the tour. "She's got all this space, all this furniture, and it's like no one sees it."
"The butler and one or two other servants would be on duty now," Stormer said. "But we usually don't run into them. It's not like they can hang out in the rec room playing Frogger."
"How many people do live here? Just you and the other Misfits?'
"Yeah. And Pizzazz's father but we hardly ever see him. Maybe once a month or so. He has an office here but he prefers his office tower in LA, and I heard Pizzazz once say that he's got an apartment there."
"He lives for his work."
"Definitely. But you know, I actually prefer our family's quaint ranch to all this."
"But your good-for-nothing brother's shacking up there for the time being," he joked.
Stormer playfully swatted at him for his sarcasm, as they entered a new hallway. Craig's head spun. If it weren't for his tour guide, he would not have been able to find his way back to the front entrance.
"This is the wing where our rooms are," Stormer said as they walked towards her room. She pointed out Roxy and Jetta's rooms as they passed them. None of the other Misfits were present at this time. They had invited Stormer on their shopping trip but she turned them down in favor of having Craig finally visit the mansion.
"Do they live here full time?" Craig asked.
"They do now. Roxy had her own apartment for a while but she gave it up a couple years ago. May've been longer ago than that. She never stayed there much anyway. And Jetta's lived here since the day she joined the band."
She opened the door to her room and let Craig in. The first thing he noticed were the two flower bouquets adorning the dressing table of the tidy room.
"Hey, you got someone other than me sending you flowers!" Craig exclaimed, with mock surprise.
"They're from Pizzazz. And thank you again for your bouquet. Sorry about how picked-apart they both look. I'm pressing out the best ones to add to my collection."
"Pizzazz gave you flowers?" he asked, quizzically. He was still stuck on Stormer's first sentence; the subsequent ones hadn't registered.
"She sent them to all three of us before the benefit concert the other night. A kind of gesture sending us well-wishes and good-luck."
"Hmm. I wonder who gave her the idea."
"I think she thought of it herself. She's really not as bad as you think," Stormer insisted. She and her brother exchanged a look. Neither wanted to fire up the old argument about Stormer being in the Misfits. It was not an argument that Craig was willing to concede either, though he did admit that he was surprised at some recent Misfit behavior.
"Well it was nice of her to do that for the big show," came Craig's reply. He seated himself on a comfortable recliner, as Stormer sat on the bed. "And speaking of the show," he began, his tone changing, "I think we should talk more about what happened."
For an unreasonable split second, Stormer's stomach lurched. Now that Craig had more time to think about it, had he decided that he didn't want a lesbian sister? Was he going to tell her to change or get out of his life? Stormer fought back the taunting voice in her head that posed those questions, as her gut told her that was rubbish. She was able to sense the true meaning of Craig's question.
"You mean about the officers testing us," Stormer stated.
Craig nodded. "I'm really worried, Mary. What if they come up with a plan for testing all entertainers regularly? Aja told me that song lyrics are going to have to be reviewed before a band can cut an album. Things are getting so restrictive now, it's hard to know where they'll stop."
Stormer once again felt the naked fear rise in her gut. Her concern over rejection by her brother had faded, only to be replaced by something no less hideous but in a different way. Fear began to gnaw on her innards. The anxiety was the type that made her forget about eating or sleeping, and not want to do anything other than run for her keyboards and compose. Anytime she thought about Chicago – and now, about the blood test before the big concert – these feelings arose inside of her. She also had to deal with the suffocating sense of helplessness.
"What are we going to do about this in the long run?" he asked.
"I don't know," Stormer replied. "I – I did hear that some people who fail the test are being sent to jail, and it might not just be drug users getting sent to jail. It might be people who fail the test…for being gay." She looked down at her hands folded in her lap, knowing her face was changing color again. "I can't say I'm surprised – I feared as much on the night of the concert. Did Aja tell you anything more about how her group…did what they did? Fooled the officers?"
"No. She told me that she couldn't tell me any details."
"Kimber said the same thing to me."
"I really wonder what it is," Craig said, tilting his head upwards. "It's so intriguing when you think about it."
"I know. I've always gotten the idea that that band has…an edge. I can't explain it any more than that. Like they have some sort of almost-magical abilities."
Craig made a face. "I highly doubt they're dressing in black robes and standing around a cauldron, cooking up spells."
Stormer giggled, "Though it would be hilarious if they were!"
Craig smiled and shook his head. "Isn't it amazing to think that at one point each of us came close to joining their band?"
Stormer nodded. She also declined to correct her brother's statement about her "nearly" joining Jem and the Holograms. Had the Misfits not entreated her to return, Stormer may very well have joined the Holograms but it was far from being a done deal. She chased those memories away, glad that she'd chosen to remain a Misfit. Craig, however, had come much closer to once joining the Holograms.
"Yeah we would've been standing at the cauldron with them!" Stormer joked. She enjoyed this teasing banter as it chased away the more serious concerns at hand. But she sobered up quickly, remembering her conversation with the other Misfits the day after the concert and looking at the worry in Craig's eyes.
"I know what you're saying though," she said, seriously. "Jem and the Holograms may or may not be able to help us – help me – next time the Morality Office decides to pay me a visit." She took a breath before continuing. "There is something I wanted to mention to you though. We Misfits are working on this. Pizzazz called a meeting after the concert the others were really concerned about me." She chose to emphasize that fact and felt a tug of satisfaction as she saw it register on Craig's face. "We have a plan," she concluded. "Sorta."
"What are you going to do?"
"Now, Craig, you have to promise to keep this secret. Please, don't mention it to Aja or to anyone. But there's this…guy we know, named Techrat. He -"
"Techrat?" Craig echoed.
"Techrat. No idea what his real name is. But he's this computer genius. He's helped us out before, and he's the one who found out about some of the people who failed the test going to jail. We went to see him the day after the concert, and he's agreed to try to break into the Morality Office's computer systems, to find out what..."
"Break into their computers? Mary! This doesn't sound safe at all to me. I mean, are you sure you can trust this Techrat? What if he gets caught?"
Stormer once again felt the anxiety knife twisting inside her entrails. "I don't know! Craig, I just don't know," she repeated, slumping her head into her hands.
When Stormer lifted her head once more, Craig could see the telltale redness around her eyes and the quivering lips. He got up off the recliner and sat next to her, putting an arm around her. The main reason for his visit today had been to impress upon Stormer the need to be vigilant and to map out a plan of action for dealing with the Morality Office. He could now see that Stormer, who sometimes didn't want to deal with uncomfortable items, understood the seriousness of her predicament. But neither sibling knew how to handle it.
"Hey, hey…we're going to be alright," he murmured soothingly.
"I have no idea what to do if Techrat fails, or gets caught, or if he betrays us. And even if none of that happens, I have no idea what to do with the rest of the information he might find out. I don't think any of it's going to be good." Stormer's voice shook but she was winning her battle against tears.
Craig nodded and tried to remain calm. "Maybe what we do is map out a back-up plan. We would use it if we were left with no other choice. Maybe we need to think about a way for you to go into hiding or leave the country if you have to. I know that this is really awful to think about, and I hate the idea of having to think this way. I'm just suggesting that we have a back up. I wouldn't know where to start though."
"I would," Stormer realized. "Roxy. And Jetta. Both of them have a ton of street smarts. If something like that ever happened…if I ever needed to go into hiding, they could help."
"Really?" Craig asked. "But Jetta's not even from here. How would she "
"Oh, she figured out the lay of the land here pretty quickly. Right after she joined the band, she plotted out the scheme to intimidate Raya's family. She was the one who found the thugs and got them to…." Stormer stopped talking, realizing that her words were not helping her convince her brother of her bandmates' worth.
Craig was shaking his head at Jetta's misdeeds. Stormer looked at him and opened her mouth, but then closed it realizing that there was no point in making excuses. What was done was done. Jetta's actions had been wrong, reprehensible even. Trying to explain it away wouldn't help or change the fact that it had happened.
"Roxy's pretty smart about this kind of stuff too, even though she's not from LA either," Stormer continued. "Maybe that combined with Pizzazz's money…" she let her voice trail off.
Craig nodded. "So maybe what we need is a back up plan to get you, under cover, to Mexico. Something like that. The thought of having to do this someday makes me ill, but it would be better than jail."
"Okay," he continued. "This might work out then. Now, about Roxy and Jetta's street smarts – and Pizzazz's money. They would really come in handy but are you sure they'd help you? Do you think they'd buy into our back-up plan?"
Stormer smiled. "C'mon, Craig, give them more credit. I can't believe you're asking this. I am one hundred percent positive that they will help – in any way they can."
Craig expressed his satisfaction with that, but Stormer looked at her brother's face and saw that he was not completely convinced. She disregarded that for the moment and brought up another piece of information.
"There's something else you should know," she began. "We're convinced that Riot set us up. That he's responsible for the Morality Officers' surprise visit at the concert."
"Really? Why do you think that?"
Stormer explained the rationale behind their suspicions. She also supplied Craig with some of the history between the Stingers and the Misfits, so that he would understand the fact that there really was no love lost between the two bands.
When she finished, she asked, "Do you think Jem and the Holograms also suspect that?"
"I don't know. I haven't discussed it with Aja."
"I wonder what she might think of it," Stormer said, shrugging. "I'm pretty sure Riot did set us up and I wonder if she might agree when she hears all the evidence."
"The pieces do seem to add up this way," Craig acknowledged. He had never really met Riot or spent any time with him. Aja had only mentioned him a few times and it was obvious that she didn't think too highly of him or his band. "I'll mention it to Aja."
A knock sounded at the door. "Hey, Stormer, you in there?" Pizzazz's demanding tone burst through. Craig listened to her voice wondering again how and why the Misfits had so many fans. As a musician, he appreciated the music that his sister composed and recognized its greatness, but he didn't view Pizzazz's singing voice as anything special and her speaking voice was downright irritating as far as he was concerned.
"Right here," Stormer called.
Without further preamble, the door to Stormer's room was opened and Pizzazz, Roxy, and Jetta entered. Each carried only one shopping bag, which surprised Stormer. Oftentimes following a shopping spree, the women finished with enough bags to leave their hands sore.
"Hey, we didn't know you'd be here," Roxy said to Craig. She was smiling as she dumped her department store bag onto the floor.
"Craig wanted to see the mansion, so I gave him a tour," Stormer said.
"We were also discussing some serious things," Craig began, as Pizzazz seated herself in the chair that Craig had occupied a moment ago. Jetta kicked off her heels and sat on one of the chair's armrests. "Like what to do about Stormer's situation."
Craig realized that his sister may not have viewed this as the best time to bring it up, but Craig thought this a very opportune time. All of the Misfits were in the room now. He also decided that he could judge for himself how seriously they were taking his sister's welfare.
"Really? We've been talking about it as well." Pizzazz said. "We had a discussion on during our ride to town."
"You did?" Stormer asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice.
"Don't go getting pissed about it – it just came up when we were driving. And we did give you the chance to join us today but you turned us down."
Craig felt his temperature rise at the dismissive way Pizzazz spoke to his sister. He had the sense that she pretty much spoke to everyone this way but that irked him nonetheless. If she could have read his thoughts, Stormer would have told her brother that Pizzazz was actually far more gentle with her band than she had been.
"So what did you talk about?" Craig asked, not belying his annoyance.
"Well, Stormer, we don't know what other information we can find out or how much help it's gonna be. So we were thinking of having a Plan B."
Stormer and Craig looked at each other as Pizzazz continued.
"Let's say worse comes to worse. We could build another room in the mansion. A secret room."
"A secret room?" Stormer echoed.
"Don't go freaking out – we're only thinking of this as a last resort idea."
"Yeah," Roxy continued. "Like a room we could hide you in, if we have to. I know it sounds shitty, but it'd beat jail if it ever came to that. We can build a room that's got a hidden entrance, that no one would know about."
Jetta's face gave away some of the unease with the idea. She hated small, enclosed spaces and she dearly hoped such a room would not be needed.
Stormer took another look at her brother. "Actually, Craig and I were talking about…stuff like this. Like, back up plans and such." She paused and said, "I don't think it's a bad idea."
"Neither do I," Craig admitted.
Roxy began, "Maybe we can even get Techrat to build us something that tells –" She abruptly stopped and looked at Craig. She then looked at Pizzazz, embarrassed by her blunder of mentioning Techrat to an outsider.
"Oh," Stormer began, "Craig knows about Techrat."
"He does?" Pizzazz asked, angrily.
"Calm down, Pizzazz," Stormer said, with a smile. "I only just told him now, when we were discussing what we were doing…to protect me. I had to tell him since we're going to use whatever additional information we can get from Techrat. Craig's gotta be as much of a part of this as you guys are and we can trust him to keep it a secret."
Craig studied Pizzazz's face. She had looked livid a split second ago when Stormer had told her about revealing Techrat's existence. But he had noticed that when Stormer explained her reasoning for doing so, Pizzazz appeared to be listening and her facial expression relaxed.
"Even from Aja?" Pizzazz asked. She sounded calm now but no less demanding.
"Yes, even from Aja," Craig answered. He once again had the feeling that he had made the right decision in withdrawing from the talent search, years ago. The two bands had such bad blood between them and, as he was discovering, numerous secrets as well. Being the boyfriend of a Hologram and brother of a Misfit was a truly unique experience and difficult enough as is. He was glad he had not joined the Holograms.
"So what were you about to say then, Roxy?" Stormer asked.
"I was thinkin' maybe Techrat can build us some sort of gadget that can tell when a vehicle is approaching the mansion," Roxy said. "Maybe even something that tells when it's a vehicle from the Morality Office. It'd give us some warning if we need to get Stormer in hiding."
Stormer went on to tell the other Misfits of the additional ideas that she and Craig had mulled over. The group concluded that they liked the idea of a hidden room inside the mansion the best, as it seemed much safer than sending Stormer off somewhere else.
"But how are we going to build it?" Stormer asked. "And won't the servants know something's going on?"
"We can send them away for a few weeks," Pizzazz said, waving a hand.
"They will get suspicious though," Jetta cautioned.
"Don't worry – we'll pay them," Pizzazz responded, with her solution to everything.
Stormer wondered for a moment how the housework would get done in the absence of servants, but she decided now was not the time to pose that question. She had a sinking feeling that she would be doing much of it.
"But how are we going to build this room?" Stormer queried. "I have no idea how to construct a – a hidden door, for example. We're really gonna need someone who knows what they're doing with this."
"I'd be glad to work on it," Craig said.
Stormer gave her brother a questioning look. She knew that he had some basic skills, along the lines of building shelves or installing deadbolts. But this project seemed much more involved and complex. Stormer herself would have no idea where to begin.
"I can do it," he insisted.
"I don't know, Craig. We're talking about home building. This isn't easy at all." Stormer was worried that her brother, in a room full of women, may be overselling his skills in this arena.
"I'm pretty good with my hands," Roxy offered. She was leaning against a wall and looking intently at Stormer.
"But do either of you have the experience to – to take on a project like this? I mean, think about it. This is huge. Where would you even start?" Stormer asked. She continued to give Craig a penetrating look.
There was silence for a few moments before Craig finally said, "Well I know someone who could make short work of this. Aja."
Pizzazz, Roxy, and Jetta exchanged looks at the mention of one of their old enemies.
"Aja? Coming here and helping us?" Pizzazz snorted. "I doubt she'd be willing!"
"Well, you're wrong Pizzazz," Craig said flatly. Stormer's heart leapt towards her throat as she feared an altercation between her brother and her lead singer. "Aja's worried about Stormer too. We talked about it. She wants to help Stormer. I know she'd agree to this."
"She could do it, too," Stormer said. "She's great with this kind of thing."
"She's told me that she used to do things like taking down walls at the old Starlight House all the time," Craig added. "She's got a lot more experience than I have."
Stormer looked at Pizzazz and spread her hands open, "Look, Pizzazz, I know it bothers you that Jem and the Holograms know…my secret. They've got one up on us – it's true. But the fact is that they do know and we can't change it. If we could use help from one of them then we should. You agreed that this is a serious situation and we gotta do something. Now we have a solution that could work – we just gotta make it happen. And we probably can't do it without someone like Aja."
"Stormer's right," Roxy admitted. She had always disliked Aja strongly, but her caring for Stormer far outweighed her negativity towards the Hologram. "We can't like bring in a construction company to do this. We gotta make sure that no one who doesn't already know finds out. But Aja already knows so we aren't risking anything. And none of us can do it."
Pizzazz looked at Jetta. Jetta didn't care for this part of the plan at all, but she nodded, recognizing the truth of Stormer's words.
"Okay," Pizzazz said. "If Aja agrees." She took a deep breath. "Maybe things'll change soon and this plan won't be necessary."
Jetta spoke quietly and her voice carried sorrow, "I doubt that, Pizzazz."
88888888888888888888
Craig left shortly afterwards. Pizzazz, Roxy, and Jetta thought that going for a swim might be relaxing after their long day shopping, and the four of us hit the pool. Roxy was wearing her bikini and sunglasses, and she drank a beer as she reclined on this floating device inside the pool. Pizzazz and Jetta lay on recliners, soaking up the sun.
As a kid, I'd never learned how to swim properly. Years ago I had a close call in the water so I took a swimming class. That afternoon, I was kinda doggy-paddling around rather than doing any actual swimming. (Honestly, it was good to know how to swim but it was too much like exercise!) I liked moving around in the water. It also helped diffuse a kind of awkward situation as I didn't want any of the others to think I was checking them out in their skimpy bathing suits. Especially Roxy.
"We haven't had a jam session since before the concert," Jetta said, when I had swum near her and Pizzazz's loungers.
"Yeah, I know," Pizzazz said, as she paged through a magazine. "We oughtta do one."
"Tomorrow," Roxy called. I looked over at her and smiled. She was the picture of contentment and it was obvious that she wasn't going to budge from her floating recliner.
Waiting for tomorrow was fine with me. It had only been a few short days since our amazing concert anyway. I occasionally liked to take a break from composing too, giving the creative juices time to accumulate. But I never wait too long because I also believe that you cannot simply sit and wait for inspiration – you have to go after it with attack.
"Yeah, tomorrow," Pizzazz said. "Today's shot."
"Hey, Pizzazz," I began, "thanks for doing this. The room in the mansion, I mean. I hope it's not a bummer for you that we'll be making changes to your place."
"Yeah, yeah," she said, waving a hand in the air. She didn't want to discuss it anymore.
"You should make sure that your father doesn't have any serious plans to sell this place," Jetta said. She then added, "Do we need to tell him about the…renovations?" Jetta asked.
Pizzazz made a face. "We could host 50-person sex orgies here every day and he'd never notice."
I couldn't help but giggle.
88888888888888888888888888
Riot sat at his desk on the top floor of Stinger Sound. Surrounded by windows, he had a breathtaking view of the city's lights against the darkness of the evening. His eyes, however, were weary and did not appreciate the view this night. His day had been a busy one, containing numerous meetings. Since Eric Raymond's departure, Riot had promoted two other company executives to Assistant Vice President, to handle most of the day to day operations of Stinger Sound. Decisions were still made by Riot though.
His meeting that day with the head of finance was a disappointing one. The diminishing economy contained to drain Stinger Sound and the company had been losing money for over a year.
Even more discouraging than the balance sheets had been the realization that, despite the dire financial picture, the Misfits still brought in a lot of money. The Stingers were the highest-grossing act on the label; their catalog brought in the most profit. However, the Misfits – who had been together longer and had more releases – were second, and they were not a distant second at all. In fact they were right on the Stingers' heels. The musical act that came in third, however, was light-years behind the Misfits in terms of bringing money in to Stinger Sound. Riot was faced with the realization that once the Misfits were destroyed, his company would be bereft of a money-making act and even further in the hole financially.
He chased away that concern. Riot considered himself a rock star first, a music company executive second. The Misfits were still a threat to his band. They were competitors of the Stingers and, although Stinger Sound might suffer in the short-term, in the long run the Stingers would be better off once the Misfits were discredited and gone from the music scene. 'Besides, I can always find another act to replace them,' Riot told himself.
He tried to ignore the voice inside his head that responded, 'Replace them with whom?' There was not an abundance of fresh talent or up-and-coming bands. The selection of music played on the radio and television was extremely limited. He shook his head – there were always bands forming, there had to be, and some of them possessed talent. Riot made a mental note to put more money behind research and development so that new acts could be unearthed. This would be an opportune time to do that since competing labels were probably just digging in their heels trying to survive. He could get a head start on locating that talent.
Aside from reviewing disappointing balance sheets, Riot's day had contained a few other setbacks. His friend from the Morality Office, frustrated at the lack of the promised scandal, was not as forthcoming as he had hoped. Riot had been told that he himself could not review the blood samples taken on the day of the concert. "We dispose of them once the report has been filed," he had been told.
Riot asked whether the blood samples could be reviewed in more detail before they were discarded. His friend had been noncommittal but did say, "I'll see if I can have someone look into it."
Determined to trudge through at least another hour's worth of work before heading home for the night, Riot reached for the stack of letters that he had not yet had a chance to review. He rifled through them, seeking out the most urgent items. A letter from the Department of Communications had arrived that day.
Riot slammed his fist down on the table. The Department had rejected the lyrics of three different Stingers songs for their upcoming album. They were requiring that the songs be re-recorded with approved lyrics. A stunned Riot had never seriously thought that any of their lyrics would be subject to censorship.
He scanned the letter, looking at the snippets of the forbidden lyrics. "I want you….Tonight you're going to be mine" from one song. "Feel my music caress you….Let me take you away" from another. Riot shook his head.
888888888888888888888888
It was Shana who suggested to Aja that she not go to Craig's house again. Aja wasn't aspiring to win an award for chastity, but she was worried about how she took leave of her senses when they were alone together. As she had awkwardly told Craig, Aja wasn't ready for things to move further yet. So Shana had recommended that if she felt too tempted when alone with Craig, then she should consider not going to his house by herself.
Craig had insisted on taking her out to dinner at a trendy restaurant, Braxx. Despite Aja's protestations ("Craig, I could care less where we go to eat. I just want to spend time with you!") she had been talked into it. After Aja had carefully applied her make-up and donned a fancy new dress and heels, Craig picked her up.
"How did your interview go?" Aja asked once they were seated inside the trendy eatery. Despite the depressed economy, there were enough patrons of Braxx that evening. Several couples of all ages were dining dressed in their most stylish clothes as well. Aja gazed at Craig. She found him just as gorgeous in a sweaty jogging suit as in tonight's get up. Her heart again began to spin.
Craig craned his head around before answering. Aja suppressed a frown. He seemed to be checking whether they were at risk of being overheard.
"They offered me a part-time job," Craig said dejectedly. He had interviewed for a day job, to supplement his income from his new gig with the band that played formal events. Craig had no skills or training apart from his music, so he'd interviewed with a shipping company. He would be loading packages.
"That's great!"
"Well, I don't know. The salary's not too bad, but they don't offer any benefits. And they said they can't give me more than thirty hours a week. I'm starting on Tuesday." He silently added that his sister would still need to foot the bill for his health insurance premiums.
"Well, so thirty hours a week? It's great it gives you the time you need to play and rehearse with the band," Aja said. She noticed her boyfriend still frowning, and softly added, reaching to place her hand over his, "What does it matter, Craig? So it's not the world's most exciting job. It's hard work and an honest living. I respect that tremendously."
His eyes met hers, and she saw that dreamy look on his face that reflected her own. "Have I told you how wonderful you are?" he murmured.
Aja's insides melted. She felt the mixture of excitement and fear over this relationship and was too nervous to eat much of her expensive dinner.
During the meal, she asked how his visit with his sister had gone. She lowered her voice when she asked the question. Again his eyes darted around nervously, this time perhaps justifiably so.
"Let's discuss this later," he whispered.
After they had shared a piece of tiramisu (with Aja managing to stomach only a few bites), the couple soon found themselves inside Craig's car. "Would you like to come back to my place for a drink?" he asked.
Aja felt her heart rate jump. She hadn't yet told Craig of her new policy. For a woman who did not hesitate to assert herself, she was finding this concept surprisingly challenging. "Um…how about we go back to Starlight House instead?" she suggested.
"Sure!" he replied.
As usual, Starlight House was bursting with activity. Even late into the evening, teenage and pre-teen girls dominated the estate, playing in the rec room, creating havoc in the kitchen, and arguing over control of the television. A few of Raya's family members were visiting, and her mother was fussing over an involved dessert that she was creating for the eager Starlight girls.
"Did you save room for dessert?" Raya's mother called as Aja and Craig passed the kitchen.
"Oh, thank you, Mrs. Alonso but I think we're full!" Aja responded.
She led Craig towards the back porch, hoping they might find some privacy there. The evening was a beautiful, balmy one with a cooling breeze. But Kimber sat on the porch with Deirdre and a new girl, providing guidance as Deirdre gave an impromptu acoustic guitar lesson.
"Maybe we could help in the kitchen," Craig suggested, scoring immeasurable points with Aja. "Mrs. Alonso looked like she maybe could use a hand."
Aja and Craig ended up mainly assisting in the clean-up of the large kitchen. "Is Jem around tonight?" he asked, as he loaded the industrial-sized dishwasher.
"I don't think so," Aja said, as she pre-rinsed dishes before handing them over. "She'll stop in once or twice a week – more often when we're rehearsing but we don't see her too often apart from that."
Once they were finished cleaning, Aja was asked to take a look at the clothes dryer. It was suspected that a clog in the hose and vents was hampering the machine's effectiveness. Aja changed clothing before she and Craig got out the vacuum and its attachment, and cleaned out the vent.
"How's this for a date?" Aja chuckled, covered in dust. She and Craig were finished with the dryer, now settled inside Aja's room. In deference to Jerrica's wishes, they left the door open. She didn't want to set a bad example for the Starlight girls.
"It was fine by me," Craig responded.
"This is actually a lot more my speed than Braxx. Not that I didn't enjoy Braxx," she added quickly. "I really appreciated the nice evening out. But I just wanted to say that you don't need to do that fancy stuff for me. I like it once in a while. But I don't really need it that often." She paused and then added, "I guess I'm different than other girls."
Craig smiled and reached over to touch her hand. They sat demurely on the twin-sized bed, side by side giving no one who happened to amble by any reason to pause. "I love that about you. I love your difference, the things that make you so special and unique. I love the fact that you can fix anything without even having to think too much about how to do it. You're beautiful and you're smart."
Aja knew she was blushing again. Craig was the only man who had made her blush.
She tried to deflect attention from it and said, in a whisper, "I really appreciate your help with the dryer. No offense to Anthony – he's such a nice guy, but I think he skipped shop class. He's an amazing director but he doesn't know how to do any of the repair-type things. And Rio's pretty good at this stuff but he's been so busy." In addition to his work as Jem and the Holograms' road manager, Rio was – at Jerrica's request – serving as manager for two of Starlight Music's other acts.
"Hey, I like helping. I like doing things with my hands."
Aja found herself looking at his hands. They looked so strong and powerful. Her eyes traveled up his arms. He had removed his jacket, leaving his well-muscled upper arms so visible. As a drummer and fellow workout enthusiast, Craig had well-defined arm muscles. Aja felt her underarms grow slightly damp and her heart rate accelerate.
A few Starlight girls noisily walked down the hallway, providing Aja with another distraction. One girl unsubtly craned her head around, obviously looking inside the room and taking a glimpse at Aja and Craig. Aja smiled at the girl, and she moved along quickly. Giggles could be heard as they hurried down the hall.
"Sorry," Aja said quietly. "I guess there's not much privacy here."
"It's no big deal. I like the Starlight girls. After all, I grew up with a sister who's four years younger than I, so I'm used to teenage girls. But Aja…is there a reason why you didn't want to come to my place?" Craig asked softly. He swallowed and then asked, "Have I….been pressuring you in any way?"
"No! No, not at all," Aja replied quickly. "Really, you haven't!" She dropped her voice another octave, and Craig strained to hear. "It's just…what we talked about before. This is all so new for me."
"Do you want to see each other less often?" The thought scared him but he wanted to give Aja the option. The couple spent time together most days of the week, pretty much as often as their schedules permitted.
"No. No, definitely not." She glanced nervously at him, "You don't, do you?"
"See you less often? No way. I just thought…maybe it would make things easier for you. Give you more time to get used to all this."
"I don't think we need to do that. And the whole thing with not going to your place…it's more about me than you. You're behavior is fine. It's me I'm worried about. Like I'm going to lose control."
Craig smiled and teased, "You mean you're worried you're going to throw yourself at me?"
Aja shook her head. "You can joke about it, but you've got no idea…." she let her voice trail off.
They were interrupted by a tap on the open door. Mrs. Bailey told Aja that she had a phone call. Aja returned to the room shortly.
"It was Jerrica," she explained, sitting back down on the bed next to Craig. "She wanted to know if I had a chance to look at the dryer yet."
After a pause, Aja then said, her voice quiet once more, "So, at the restaurant, we started to talk about your meeting with Stormer."
"Yes," he began, his voice even quieter. No one passing by their room would've had a chance at overhearing them, though the hallway was currently empty. "It went well." He paused, and then said, "It's interesting. I don't feel like anything's different since I found out that she's gay. It's like it doesn't change how I feel about her at all. Just makes me feel more overprotective of her than I did before, I guess."
"In this environment, she could probably use someone to be overprotective of her," Aja mused.
"We talked about that too. She gets it – she understands how serious the situation is. Her bandmates do too. I was there in the room with them and I might not've believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, but those three – Pizzazz, Roxy, and Jetta – really are invested in what happens to Stormer and are trying to figure out ways to protect her. They've been…researching what they can about the blood test."
He briefly told her what they had learned. He managed to do so without mentioning Techrat. He simply told Aja that they had "a friend who's good with computers", and Aja left it at that. She knew all about secrets and not probing too deeply.
"So it looks like there is a chance that she could actually go to jail over this," Craig continued, "if she ends up getting tested again, and if you and the others aren't there….to do whatever it is that you did before."
"That's really scary," Aja whispered. "It's not at all surprising though. So what are you going to do about it? Is she looking at a back-up plan?"
"Funny you should mention that." Craig went on to describe, in very hushed tones, their idea of building a room with a hidden door.
"That's not a bad idea," Aja remarked. "It probably is safer than trying to smuggle her off to Mexico or somewhere else. At least this way she'd be on the premises and you wouldn't have to be worrying about where she's at." The wheels inside Aja's brain began to turn quickly. "But why would you want to build a new room? I bet it would be easier to outfit an existing room, make a few tweaks on it. How will you do that though – have you taken on a project like this before? I doubt any of the Misfits have, and you can't go out and trust some contractor who you don't know."
Craig looked at Aja. "Well….that's one thing I wanted to talk to you about. Do you think you might be willing to work on this? I would work with you every step of the way but…I don't have the level of skill that you do." He took a breath before continuing. "I know that this is a lot to ask of you. And I know that you and the Misfits have a lot of bad blood between you. I – I ask you to do this for me."
He was unable to read the expression on her face. Craig also hated having to ask this of his girlfriend – it was a bit of a kick in the crotch, the fact that he was unable to lead the project on his own and his girl knew more about this than he did. But he continued on, trying to choose his words carefully, "I know you have a lot of responsibilities already, and this would be a big undertaking."
Aja looked straight ahead. A few images from the past few years flashed through her mind. She seized onto one. "Did I ever tell you about the first time I ever…interacted with your sister?" she asked.
"No," he said, with a hint of apprehension.
"She and the other Misfits stole our instruments after our first public concert. We followed them in the Rock n Roadster. Stormer and Roxy opened the back of the Misfits' van and threw our instruments at us."
Craig gulped. "Really?"
"Uh-huh. Oh, Craig, I could go on and on. Some of the things she did back in those days – " Aja abruptly stopped, remembering something else she needed to tell Craig.
"I don't get it. I swear, she wasn't like that when we were growing up. She kinda always had a wild streak but I thought it was a really small streak. I like to think that Pizzazz and Roxy corrupted her somehow. I guess I could've been there for her more after our parents died," he added, pensively, "but I was off chasing my own dream in England."
He stopped and looked at the worry on Aja's face.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"There's something I've been meaning to tell you." The two had been speaking barely above whisper-levels, but Aja dropped her voice even lower. If someone had been sitting in the same room with them, they would not have been able to make out her words. "Yesterday I was talking to Kimber, and I think one of the Starlight girls overheard something we said. Something that outed Stormer."
"Oh no. Who is it? Is she trustworthy?"
"It's Ashley. I consider her very trustworthy and reliable now, but she wasn't always. She had her difficulties growing up. She once ran away, back when we first formed the band. She actually fell in with the Misfits. They used her, to get at us. Maybe some of it was Eric Raymond's doings, I don't know. But there was something really terrible that happened on the day of the day of the Battle of the Bands. Ashley ran off to the Misfits, and Raymond kidnapped her." Aja sadly recounted the rest of the story, nervous about telling it all to Craig. She sensed that Stormer had not shared this story with her brother, and she could see why. "He used her to get us away from the concert, and he told the Misfits to keep an eye on her. They locked her in a trunk." She paused so her words could make an impact, and then continued, "Ashley said that Stormer knew it was the wrong thing to do, and she lifted the lid of the trunk as if she was going to help her. But Pizzazz and Roxy walked in and bullied her into going along with them and leaving Ashley locked up. And that's what she did. She left the girl in the trunk."
Craig's face was pale. "In the past few days, I've learned a lot of things about my sister that I never knew," he finally said. "You…you're sure this is true? Ashley wouldn't make this up?"
"I don't think she would. I guess Stormer and the other Misfits would be the only other people who could say exactly what happened that day but I believe Ashley." Aja paused and asked, "So Stormer's never told you about this, has she?"
"She's told me about some of the…wilder things her band has done but I am getting the idea that she's left out a lot over the years." He reached for Aja's hand. "I'm sorry about it. I knew Mary was always a bit weak-willed and I'm sure she was really susceptible to Pizzazz and Roxy's bullying. And like I said, I really could've been there for her more. But it doesn't matter – she's an adult and she's responsible for what she's done even if she was bullied into it."
"I don't resent her anymore. I guess I don't even resent the rest of her band either. Shana taught us about forgiveness and how we have to turn the other cheek. Kimber always taught us to try to empathize with them too." Aja respected her bandmates and always tried to learn what she could from them. "But I worry about Ashley and what she might've heard yesterday."
"I do too. How sure are you that she did overhear something? And do you think talking to her about it might work?"
"I've been debating that issue with myself over and over. But I think I do need to talk to her. Maybe help her realize how serious this is."
"And you can find out what she thinks of Mary. If she does resent her – and it looks like she'd be justified if she didshe might use this to try to get at her."
"Good point. I'll talk to her first thing tomorrow."
"There's one other thing I wanted to mention about this," Craig began. "Did it cross your mind that the Stingers might be behind the fact that the Morality Office just happened to show up the night of the concert?"
Aja wrinkled her brow. "I hadn't thought of it. But the Stingers hate the Misfits – or Riot hates Pizzazz, at least so it wouldn't surprise me. Is there something in particular that makes you think that?"
Craig recounted the evidence that his sister had presented to him. He concluded by saying, "You add it all up, and it does paint a picture."
Aja listened and then commented, "Well, Rapture always seems to be smirking, so no surprise there," she said wryly. "And given how much the Department of Communications has been monitoring our song lyrics, I think it's entirely possible that the Morality Office took it upon itself to just show up that night. They have no love for rock music in general. But I do see what you're talking about. Several times the Stingers have done things just for the sake of being nasty. Riot probably sees the Misfits as a band that competes with his for the spotlight and wouldn't mind it if a scandal brought them down."
She bit her tongue to keep from pointing out that the Misfits were experiencing a taste of their own medicine. Aja then silently chastised herself. 'This is a lot different,' she told herself.
"Would he do the same to your group?"
"I doubt it, even if he could find something on us. He still has a thing for Jem. You should've seen him fawning over her when we had that meeting at Stinger Sound before the show." Aja paused and then continued. "I'll talk to Ashley. And I will work with you on that room in the Gabor mansion. The thought of being on Pizzazz's property doesn't make me happy, but I'll do it for you and for Stormer's sake."
"Thank you, Aja."
"I'll need to mention it to Jer— um, to Jem. And Jerrica," she stumbled. At the last instant, Aja's mind hadn't been sure if she was going to name Jerrica or Jem, so she tripped over the words. She was used to hanging around the people who knew Jem's secret and had let her guard down around Craig.
"Will either of them object?"
"Oh, even if they do, they can't stop me once I've got my mind set."
Craig smiled. "Why does that not surprise me?"
TO BE CONTINUED
Feedback and reviews are always very appreciated.