After the charity event…

Later that afternoon at the hotel, Darius was still digging banana cream pie out of his ears as Tommy dried his hair with a small towel and Kwest used baby wipes to remove any remaining clown make-up.

"Well, that went well." Kwest said nonchalantly as Darius raised a brow and sat down with a sigh. Tom and Kwest glanced at each other uneasily.

"It actually went much much better than I or the sponsors expected, which is why I have other things planned to bring Jude's tour more into focus." Darius said with a lift of his shoulder as Tommy took a seat expectantly across from him. Placing his elbows on his bent knees, Tom looked Darius straight in the eye suspiciously.

"What kind of things, D?" Tom asked in a concerned tone as Kwest sidled up beside him guardedly. Darius shrugged as a smile snuck across his dark face, allowing his teeth to shine eerily white throughout the room.

"We can't bring our entire staff over here to Europe so I've proposed that we take on some extra personnel for the remaining time that we are over here. The sponsors jumped at the idea and went amazing places with it. We figured that if we're going to do this, then we want to do it right by bringing prestige and variety to the mix. That's why I asked Giselle Morteau, the supermodel, to take up some of the slack for Portia whenever she's in Toronto." Darius replied coolly as he sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers together almost derisively. Tom's jaw clenched as he let the information absorb into his brain, and he leaned over menacingly before pointing his finger at Darius's chest in warning.

"This has an awful personal feel to it, D," He stated heatedly as Darius shrugged innocently.

"There's nothing personal about it, Quincy. You, better than most, know Giselle's past history in the biz. She is the face of Europe. If anyone's making it personal, Tom, It's you. Why, do you consider it a problem, Q?" Darius asked on a snarl as Kwest cut between the two.

"This isn't a dog fight, and I'm sure as hell not a moderator so you two go take a dunk in a cold shower if you can't leave your issues out of the industry." Kwest said with a shake of his head before looking Darius straight in the eye as he pushed Tommy back into his seat. Darius glared at Kwest before getting up to pace across the room.

"And when did this become a democracy, Kwest?" Darius asked snidely as Kwest gazed pointedly at Tommy before sitting down in the seat Darius had just vacated.

"When it started interfering with the work, D. So, if we've resolved your petty issues, Darius, then you might want to explain to us what other surprises you have in store for our artist." Kwest finished resolutely as Darius stared a moment before nodding his head in acquiescence.

"Fine." He stated shortly. "We want the audience to get a personal feel for the artist so we've planned one of the biggest pranks in music mogul history." Darius said with a quirked brow as he saw both Tommy and Kwest's eyes light up with interest.

"Which would be what, per say?" Tommy asked carefully as Darius grinned and pointed to a map against his hotel room wall. There were flags tacked into the material, and Tom and Kwest realized rather belatedly that it marked the general leg of Jude's tour.

"And?" Kwest queried as Darius walked over to where each of them sat stoically, almost if they had seen a snake and were just waiting for it to strike. Standing between them, Darius placed one hand on each of their shoulders before smiling sweetly.

"Okay Boys. Here goes. We want SME and Jude to fully enjoy the European experience at it's fullest so we've planned a fake heist in which they will find themselves in sudden dire need to make it to a concert before the start of the show." Darius related as Tommy's jaw dropped in astonishment.

"You want to do what?" He asked in stunned anger. Darius just squeezed his shoulder demandingly before easing back enough to create personal space.

"Not want to, Q. Key word here: Going to. Don't get me wrong, it won't happen until this moment." Darius stated pointedly as he leaned over and pointed to Sweden on the map.

"We planned this part of her tour so that she would have to travel from Sweden to Paris for her last performance. So what happens when you and your group are alone with no money and no way to call for help? You backpack." Darius said with a shrug as he smiled wickedly before looking again at the two men seated before him. Both just sat there stunned.

"You have got to be kidding?" Tommy stated flatly while peering inquisitively into Darius's face for any sign that this was some sort of hoax. When he realized that the man wasn't kidding, he stood up in outrage.

"Do you know how dangerous something like that is, Darius? Are you that desperate for publicity because it seems to me Jude is doing just fine on her own." Tommy said with a flip of his finger as Darius stormed up to his face.

"It will be a well controlled environment, Tom. We plan on tracking them the whole way. Nothing will happen." Darius said just as angrily as Kwest stood up with a wary shake of his head.

"You can't guarantee that, D. I mean you have heard of liability acts and things like that, haven't you? Jude could sue you for every penny you had if she found out about this." Kwest said knowingly as Darius shrugged nonchalantly.

"Not if Jude signed a liability contract right before her tour. And you know how Jude is about skimming through a contract especially one handed to her by someone she trusts." Darius remarked with a small smile as he looked pointedly at Tommy, knowing that Tommy had been the one to take the paper for her to sign. Tommy lunged at Darius as Kwest intercepted him by grabbing him by the shoulders.

"Why you son of a bitch!" Tommy yelled as Kwest whispered something in his ear to try and calm him down. Brushing Kwest off his back, Tom visibly controlled his anger before turning back to Darius.

"And you actually expect me to keep this from her?" He asked with sudden derision as Darius smiled sourly.

"If you don't want to be forced to leave G Majors, you will. Trust me, its all part of the contracts you both signed right before the tour." Darius saidon a final note as Darius turned to leave the room.

"Remember that, Tommy." Darius reiterated before walking out. Kwest turned to Tom in silence and they both just stared at each other deep in thought before glancing one last time at the map behind them.


Author's footnote: Originally, I had no intention to have Darius be behind the whole heist that would cause Jude and the band to be stranded in Europe, but hey, what better way to cause turmoil. Now, Tommy's going to be forced to keep a secret from Jude, and it just creates so many more places I can go with the story. Please Please Please R&R and let me know what you think. Will PMS. Smiles.