Starlight Mansion

Aja Leith parked in her spot next to Jerrica's car. As she walked to the mansion entrance, she took notice of Mrs. Bailey's van, that was used to shuttle the starlight girls to and from school, which prompted her to glance at her watch.

Aja entered the mansion and came upon Kimber and Raya standing, sullen, in the common area. "Hey, guys, what's going on? Why is the van still in the driveway?"

"We were hoping you could tell us," Kimber replied. "Mrs. Bailey sent us all over town running errands, so we just got back ourselves. Is Jerrica with you?"

"No, and Joanie was pissed that she never came back from lunch," Aja said. "Her car is in the driveway too."

" Sí, but she's not here, and neither is Mrs. Bailey," Raya persisted. "Shana's making some phone calls, trying to get to the bottom of things."

Aja rubbed her chin. "I know who can clear this up." And she left for the 'special' wing of the mansion, followed by Kimber and Raya.

The three of them arrived at Synergy's room and stilled upon noticing that there was no hologram obscuring the entrance. Their spirits fell even further as they crossed the threshold.

Aja dropped her keys, and they fell at her feet, causing an echo in the empty room.

"Synergy's gone." Kimber said, breaking the stunned silence. "On the upside, I don't think things can get any worse."

Shana finally came running into the room. "Hey, guys, I got news—" And she froze. "Where's Synergy?"

Aja shook her head. "What did you find out, Shana?"

Shana hesitated in answering, still taking in the reality of Synergy's absence. "I-I just got off the phone with Mrs. Bailey..."

"That's good."

"No, it's not," Shana said. "According to her, Jerrica, or at least someone claiming to be Jerrica, told her that her services were no longer required. She hasn't been to the mansion all week."

"Has Mrs. Bailey gone senile?" Kimber snapped. "We've seen her just this morning!"

"Or, at least someone that looked like Mrs. Bailey," Aja said.

"I stand corrected." Kimber hugged her chest. "What are we going to do? I'm officially freaked out!"

Aja put her hand on Kimber's shoulder. "I'll tell what we're not going to do: we're not going to panic."

"Aja's right," Shana added. "I'll start by picking up the starlight girls from school. We'll figure this out when I get back."

"No, don't bring the kids back here," Aja said. "Take them to Danse's place."

"Why? Won't that invite questions?"

"I don't feel safe here anymore, do you?"

Shana looked down at her feet. "Good point." She sighed. "I-I'll tell them we have a gas leak, or something."

"Good idea, Shana," Raya said. "What about Synergy? If we find Synergy, we'll find Jerrica, no?"

Kimber mused. "There's only one other place Synergy has ever been: Starlight Drive-in."

"Do we still own that property?" Shana questioned.

"Yes, and it's as good a place to start as any."

Aja nodded. "Okay, but, don't go alone."

"I'll go with her," Raya said.

"Where are you going, Aja?" Kimber said.

Aja shrugged. "The old Starlight house… the basement is still under the foundation. I know it's a longshot."

"No, that's good idea too," Raya said, eager to keep the energy positive. However, even she had to acknowledge the elephant in the room. "Guys, I know Synergy is important to you, but at what point do we consider calling the police?"

"Let's all meet at Danse's after," Aja offered. "Then we'll decide what to do."

With that, the holograms left to their assigned tasks. Aja was the last one to her car. She searched her pockets in vain, realizing that she didn't have her keys.

Shit!

She ran into the mansion, back to Synergy's room, and found her keys on the floor. She knelt to retrieve them and noticed a flash of red at the edge of her vision. She gasped when she spied the Jemstar earring, the jewel in the center catching the light as she picked it up. With trembling lips, she dared to whisper, "Showtime Synergy?"

Aja yelped and dropped the earring as an explosion of light flooded the room. Her eyes came into focus on a holographic rendering of California. A point of light flickered prominently on the map, marked by two sets of numbers:

Latitude and Longitude…

Aja burned the numbers into her memory. Then, just as abruptly as it appeared, the map was gone.

—oOo—

Stingers Sound

"Rio, why aren't you in the studio with the Misfits?"

Rio Pacheco looked up from the wiring panel to regard Eric Raymond, manager of the Misfits and part owner of Stingers Sound. Historically, their relationship has never been amicable, which was all the more reason Rio insisted on observing the niceties whenever they interacted. "Good morning, Eric."

To Eric's credit, he acquiesced. "Good morning."

"I staged the microphones last night," Rio began. "All that needs to be done is to record the guide tracks—something your interns should be able to handle—with as much as I'm charging you, your money's better spent with me recalibrating your equipment's Level and Reverberation controls: whoever your last contractor was, he did a piss-poor job." He leered. "Then again, you probably got what you paid for."

Eric was not impressed. "I need you to re-stage the microphones."

"Why? Is there a problem with my work?"

"In principle, no; however, circumstances have changed," Eric said, coolly. Not being one to linger, he left.

Rio did as he was instructed and proceeded to the main recording studio. When he arrived, it became apparent what Eric meant about the circumstances having changed: only three of the four Misfits were prepped and waiting on deck.

Rio sighed. "Where's Roxy?"

Pizzazz's focus remained on tooling the neck of her instrument as she plainly answered, "She's not coming."

"Okay, but Roxy is your bass player," Rio explained carefully. "We're supposed to be laying down the bass tracks today, right?"

Pizzazz finally regarded him. "I'll play bass." With that she shouldered her instrument and demonstrated by playing Roxy's part expertly.

Rio arched an eyebrow. "Fine. Then I'll need you to stand in Roxy's position by mike number three."

Pizzazz responded with a saccharin smile. "Whatever you say, Rio." And she obeyed.

Satisfied, Rio then took notice of Jetta's new instrument, saying, "What happened to your saxophone, Jetta?"

"It broke," Jetta said. "So, I grabbed this one from the inventory."

Rio pinched his brow. "That's going to be a problem: that's a Tenor Sax… you normally play an Alto."

Jetta rolled her eyes. "I know how to transpose B-flat to E-flat, yank."

"C'mon, Rio, let's do this," Pizzazz said. "Time is money."

On this point Rio couldn't disagree, so he retired to the control room and took over for the interns. Given the circumstances, he anticipated the worst; however, two hours into the session passed without incident, as the Misfits performed on task the entire time.

Unfortunately, such a thing wasn't meant to last.

Rio returned from taking a break to find the Misfits standing quietly in the center of the studio, facing each other with glazed eyes. He pushed the button on the intercom and said, "Ladies, I'd like you to replay that last bridge again; I think Jetta's three to flat nine would sound better if she took it up a third."

They did not respond. He pushed the button again:

"Is everything all right in there?"

Again there was no response, so he left the control room and made his way to the studio. As he entered, the Misfits were suddenly on their way out.

"Where are you going?" Rio asked, nonplussed. "We still have another two hours to go."

Pizzazz brushed past him first. "Sorry, Rio. Something's come up."

Jetta was next. "Besides, you have enough."

"Yeah," Stormer said, bringing up the rear. "Make it work."

Rio pinched his brow, and he sighed. I need coffee.

In spite of the irritation of the Misfit's early departure, the solitude of working alone brought about a welcome change of pace, like putting together the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. However, as Rio continued to remix the audio sources, he detected an oddity in the puzzle pieces, made more pronounced as he refined the various tracks.

His interest was so piqued that when his studio time expired, Rio took the sound files with him to continue his analysis. He went to his third floor office, in his haste leaving the door open, and powered on his Amiga 3000, then he inserted the digital audio tape into his MIDI console.

While he waited for the computer to finish booting, he heard the distinctive sound of high heels in the hallway outside. A familiar form passed by his opened door. He rose from his chair and followed her, calling out, "Hey, Minx."

The blonde turned to regard him, whipping her long hair over her shoulder in the process. "What do you want, Rio?"

He approached. "I need you to listen to something."

"I have better things to do than to listen to the Misfits' dreck."

Rio blocked her path as she tried to pass. "I'd really appreciate it," he persisted. "Yours is the only ear that I trust."

Minx snorted. "Flattery from Rio Pacheco…. Now, I'm intrigued." And she followed Rio to his office.

Once inside Rio directed her to the center of the room. "Stand here." He replayed the track, and with his hands on her hips, he guided her to the room's sweet spot.

Minx nuzzled up against him. "Cozy." But her smile faded as the music droned on. "I give up. What am I listening for?"

"First tell me what you hear?"

"I hear a standard stereo track of sub par music."

"What if I told you that the channel on the left and the channel on the right are two different recordings?"

Minx laughed. "Rio, stop being coy." And she turned into him, saying, "You don't need to go through all this subterfuge to get me alone in a room." Her hands rested on his shoulders. "If you want to play, just ask."

Rolling his eyes, Rio removed her arms. "This isn't about you, Minx."

At this she frowned. "Bah! I don't know why I bother with Jerrica's scraps!" And she pushed him away, making him fall into his chair. "You bore me."

Undeterred, he said, "You didn't answer my question about the music."

Minx straightened, and she folded her arms across her bust. "What? You were being serious?"

Rio smirked. "As hard as it is to believe, Minx, you are resistible."

"Arschloch!" she spat, her frown turning into a scowl. "Why should I help you?"

His smirk broadened into an arrogant smile. "Maybe because you owe me for saving your flat ass from drowning?"

An involuntary guffaw escaped her as she regarded Rio with narrowed eyes. "Fine. Replay it."

Rio turned in his chair and requeued the track. But this time, Minx grabbed the pair of headphones and plugged them in. She then swivelled Rio around and lowered herself onto his lap, straddling him.

She was warm. At first Rio objected. "What are you doing, Minx?"

"Quiet!" she snapped, adjusting the headphones around her ears. "If I am so hideous, then this shouldn't be a problem." She closed her eyes.

Rio regarded her as she withdrew into herself and listened in earnest. Her fine analytical mind, second to none, in terms of music, complemented her soft feminine features—as they weren't being contorted in the pursuit of her often maligned self-interest for a change.

In that moment it became painfully obvious why men usually fall prey to her wiles, and he sighed. She is attractive… when she's not being Minx...

She opened her eyes and caught him staring, betrayed by a fleeting smile, and for the first time they shared an honest look with one another.

However, at the song's end, her stoicism returned, and she removed the headphones. "These channels are effectively identical, but what you are claiming is impossible. It's like trying to sign your name exactly the same every time… there will always be variation."

"I know," Rio said. "So, what do you think is going on?"

"Either your equipment is faulty, or you're an idiot!"

A familiar voice interrupted them:

"Rio?"

Rio looked to the gentle figure standing by his door, and his eyes widened. "Aja?"

Minx regarded the Hologram, and she sported a devilish smile. "Now, this is, how you say, 'awkward'?"

Being ever so subtle, Minx bore down with her hips, and her strong thighs squeezed together—sly actions imperceptible to anyone watching, but not to the man on the receiving end.

Her heat made him grip the armrest on the chair a little tighter, and he glowered. "I'll be right with you, Aja... Minx was just leaving."

"Yes, you have wasted enough of my time." With a knowing look, Minx rose from Rio's lap, but not before whispering in his ear, "It seems that at least one part of you doesn't find me so resistible..." And she left.

Aja closed the door upon Minx's egress. "Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Believe me, you didn't interrupt anything." Rio cleared his throat as he crossed his legs to regain his composure. "Listen, if this is about the other night, can it wait? I have a deadline."

For the first time he regarded Aja's reddened eyes and the tears welling therein, and his countenance softened. He rose from his chair, walked over, and without asking why, he held her.

"Let me guess: she's in trouble?" He felt Aja nod against his chest. "And you can't go to the police?" She nodded again. "What do you need from me?"

They parted, and Aja retrieved a map from her purse. "I think Jerrica's at these coordinates."

Rio pursed his lips, as what she needed became apparent, and he examined the highlighted region on the map. "I'm not familiar with this area, but I know there's a small airstrip out there. If we take my plane, we can be there in no time."

Aja smiled. "Thank you, Rio."

After a quick phone update to Danse's shelter, Aja and Rio wasted no time getting to the airport. The trip was made in silence, even as they exited the car and made their way to the hangar that housed Rio's private airplane.

Rio pulled some strings to get his plane at the head of the queue for takeoff. The only thing he did not rush was his preflight safety check.

Aja stood by patiently, until she noticed Rio handling a large handgun. "When did you get that?"

"Better to have it and not need it, right?" Rio replied. "Honestly, with the weirdness I've seen while I was The Hologram's road manager, I've often asked myself, why I didn't get a gun sooner." He regarded her worried expression. "Tell me I won't need it, and I'll leave it behind." At her silence, he inserted the magazine and engaged the safety before putting the weapon back into the container under his seat. That's what I thought.

The rest of the effort, even after takeoff, was made in silence. Rio doubled checked their heading and levelled the plane at 20,000 feet.

Aja hugged her chest tighter. "Mind if we turn up the heat?"

"Sure." Rio reached for the dashboard and turned the heater on. He placed both hands back on the yoke. A loud snort escaped him.

However, it did not escape Aja's notice. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Rio shook his head. "It's silly."

"My mind is going at a million miles an hour with worry right now, " Aja said. "I wouldn't mind a little silly."

"Well, you just broke the record for the most words Aja Leith has said to Rio Pacheco in a day."

"Are you serious?" She said in disbelief. "When was the last time?"

"The other night at Starlight Music, by the elevators."

"C'mon! I know for a fact that I've said plenty to you before that."

"I don't count conversations related to business."

"Humph..." Aja pursed her lips. "I'm gonna pretend that this isn't all a little strange and ask, when did you start word-counting our conversations?"

"I don't remember exactly when, but the catalyst was that week I came back from college to show off my new car: when I broke up with Jerrica after I caught her flirting with Eric Raymond... The week that you and I…."

Aja gasped. "Oh. That was a long time ago." And she straightened in her seat.

"I must admit that it took me a few years to figure out why you talked me into taking Jerrica back."

"That's because boys don't mature as fast as girls," Aja replied as a matter of fact. "Whatever happened to that car, anyway?"

"I junked it after college. I got tired of maintaining it."

"That's a shame." She smirked. "That backseat was nice and roomy, as I recall."

Rio grinned knowingly. "Do you regret any of it?"

"No… do you?"

"I only regret that we don't talk anymore. I missed you," Rio said in reverie. "That's really why I sought closure with Jerrica the other night: I guess I didn't want to get shut out again..." He frowned. "That's sounds pretty pathetic to hear it out loud."

"No, it's not." Aja said. "We've all known each other all of our lives. You can't just switch that off."

"But, you did."

Aja narrowed her eyes. "Is that what you think?"

Rio averted his eyes. "No."

"The truth is I thought it would make things easier," Aja said. "It doesn't matter anymore, I guess, since I'm with Craig now."

Rio's kept his eyes forward, and he curled his lip. "Craig…"

She eyed Rio suspiciously. "What's wrong with Craig?"

"Did I say there was anything wrong with Craig?"

"You said his name with a disapproving tone."

"I guess I did…. Is he good to you?"

"Yes, he is. Why?"

Rio shrugged. "He seems to have a bit of a temper."

"Holy. Shit," Aja said, exasperated. "You're one to talk... Rio Punch-eco."

"Hey, I don't have a temper. I just choose to express my frustration in ways that society labels as overly aggressive."

"Er… that sounds like the definition of having a temper to me."

"Says the woman who slapped said boyfriend when she thought that he was married to his own sister."

"You ass!" Aja put her face in her hands in a vain attempt to quell her laughter. "...says the man who kicked over an innocent planter as he walked away in a prissy huff!"

"Why are you bringing up old shit?" Rio smiled in recollection. "Besides, that planter was ugly; as far as I'm concerned, I did you guys a favor."

Aja rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, purple-haired pangolin."

"Blue-haired bandicoot."

"Now, that one doesn't count: my hair isn't blue, it's cerulean."

"Cerulean has too many syllables," Rio scoffed. "How am I supposed to make that work?"

Aja grinned, being unapologetic. "That's not my problem, Pacheco. Jerrica would've..."

Then, as quickly as it had come, the light-hearted moment had vanished with the mention of Jerrica's name. Aja withdrew into herself, and she stared longingly out of the window.

"Hey." Rio reached across and placed his hand atop of Aja's. "Jerrica's going to be fine. I have a good feeling."

Aja smiled weakly, and she nodded. Silence returned to the cabin, save for the roar of the plane's engine. The sense of doom and gloom that had weighed on them since takeoff was made lighter by hope.

"Cerulean-haired caecilian..."