I was walking out the front door of the hotel the next day when I saw Spied playing obnoxiously on a skateboard near the street, laughing uproariously and waving at me furiously. I was about to turn away from him when, out of nowhere I saw a man in a black ski mask running down the street waving a gun. I yelled to warn Spied but it was too late, and I stared in horror as blood spread across Spied's chest as he fell to the ground in a heap.
Spied lay motionless on the cement sidewalk as I looked in terror at the blood seeping from his chest into the ground surrounding his body, fertilizing the muddy earth. Dropping to my knees, I screamed as I reached for him desperately. Oh Please God! There was no way he could be dead—no way! I could hear people behind me and I yelped pathetically, trying my best to ask them to call somebody for help. I just didn't know what to do. I saw someone pull a cell phone out of his pocket to dial a number while, out of the corner of my eye, I recognized Tommy and the gang entering the room from the side. Glancing at them with my tear-stained face, I saw their faces fall as Tom started reciting 'no, no, no, no, no' over and over again while Patsy placed her hand over her mouth and Kyle, Wally, and Jamie fell to their knees beside me. Not Spied. What were we going to do? I could hear an ambulance in the background as someone pulled me gently away from the body while asking me if I could tell them what happened. Through a fog, I glanced at the man who unsurprisingly was wearing a uniform. The police had arrived.
"I don't know." I said shakily before wringing my hands against my stomach. "I..uh…I was coming out the door when I saw him waving at me. The next thing I knew I saw a flash and heard a bang and 'bam' Spied was down on the ground not moving." I said in a high-pitched panicked voice as Tommy appeared at my elbow.
"Did you see who shot the gun, Ms. Harrison?" The cop asked slowly as if I was in too much shock to comprehend the question. Who knows? Maybe I was. Shaking my head almost mechanically, I looked up at the man forlornly.
"He was tall, but he wore a ski mask. I just don't know who it was. Oh God!" I screamed again as the officer patted me reassuringly on the shoulder before turning to phone into the station. I felt Tommy's hand creep up the middle of my back as he pulled me into his embrace and I relished the comfort as I noticed his lips quirking gently at the corners to keep himself from smiling.
Four hours later…
The hospital waiting area was a mad house when Darius arrived in the middle of the chaos with a stricken look across his face. Yep, Darius was there, and all of us just stared at him miserably with bitter expressions littering our faces. He stood there a moment, staring at us with empty eyes before inclining his head gently.
"I'm sorry." He said so quietly that I almost had to ask him to repeat himself. "I honestly didn't think anyone would get hurt." He said haltingly as I just stared at the floor and Tommy stood up to walk over to him.
"Hurt is an understatement, don't you think?" Tom asked angrily as Darius looked up at him with a wounded expression.
"Is he okay? Just tell me that, would you?" Darius asked with a pained tone as Jamie pointed to the door of the room further down the hall.
"Why don't you see for yourself?" Jamie said sarcastically as Darius looked us all over one more time quietly before shoving his way brutally toward the door. I heard it creak from the pressure as it moved, and I tried desperately to keep from laughing as Darius's body disappeared through the opening. Walking far enough down the hall so that I could see through the door, I saw a very healthy, unwounded Spiederman sitting cross legged on the hospital bed in a meditating position with a black ski mask resting on one of his knees. Cracking one of his eye lids open meaningfully, he gazed at a shocked Darius before closing his eyes again.
"Don't you think it's time to call this whole thing off?" Spied asked on a sigh as Darius almost roared in anger before turning to face the rest of us outside the door. I could tell he was about to explode so I leaned heavily against the doorframe before pointing heatedly at Darius's chest.
"Being lied to—It doesn't feel so good does it?" I asked with a shrug as Darius just stood there in silence. He glanced once at Tommy and then again at me before throwing his arms up in a gesture of defeat.
"Get everyone ready." He commanded authoritatively. "We leave for the arena in France in twenty minutes." He said pointedly to Kwest who had stepped into the room right before Darius had discovered that Spied's injuries had been a prank. Kwest nodded thoughtfully as Darius brushed past us all to rush out the door. Kwest looked puzzled.
"The man in the ski mask?" He asked as Jamie pointed at Kyle.
"The bullet?" Kwest asked again as I looked at him with a raised brow.
"A blank, and the cop was an old friend of Tommy's." I answered with a shrug of my shoulder.
"Well, I'll be damned." Kwest said slowly as he glanced around the room. We just all shrugged while Kwest grinned. "Just remind me never to get on any of your bad sides." He said on a chuckle before motioning for all of us to gather up our things. We didn't argue. We were all ready to get this concert completed and go home. Although, I would miss Europe. It was the place where so many things had happened for me. Looking at Tommy from under lowered lashes, I also realized it was where I had given up my heart.
