Page 7 of Guarding the Shadows
“And you can see Gwen doing that to me?”
“Not really, but when you’ve been dealing with guys like ours for as long as we have, I guess I’ve grown to figure that anything is a possibility in this strange old world of ours.”
Like I suspected, dealing with the mall situation was a test of real skill in how three guys and the mall’s own security could keep five, world-famous rock stars from being … if you’ll excuse the pun, mauled.
The risk assessment we’d carried out had been extensive in preparation for this, since the band was performing in a public place that had so many entries and exits, and no one had paid to get in. We not only had to establish safe routes in and out of the store, and the mall itself, we’d also had to identify alternate escape plans and liaise with the guys operating the security cameras.
After we’d taken in the likely crowd numbers and the aspects of safety for everyone, we contacted the watch store premises staff and briefed them on all our expectations for their behavior as well. We then checked our comms systems again for signal, and only then were the excited, screaming crowd, allowed to trickle in, to see the guys perform.
6
Raff
I had forgotten how loud Screaming Shadows’ music and their fans were when they played in a confined place. They sounded nothing like they did in a sterile environment like a recording studio, or in a large venue where there was enough space to absorb some of the vibration and amplified sounds.
The mall’s own risk assessors figured five hundred fans to be a safe number, but within the confines of a large store front the noise rivaled a much larger venue.
“Thanks for coming out to see us,” Levi called into the mic. Bodhi grinned at me, because the fans before him were mostly minor girls, around fourteen years of age. It was a far cry from his usual cursed greeting toward his fans at a nighttime gig.
Deakon was … Deakon. He always presented the same way, regardless of who was watching, with his shirtless body on full display, his attitude full of mischief and his guitar slung low on his hips.
“Like I said, thank you all for coming out to see us today,” Levi mumbled again, instantly gaining another collective, hysterical cheer from the girls. “I figured as we haven’t got much time today, we’d start with the song that started our band,Screaming Shadows, on the road to success.” As the riff for one of their oldest and most famous songs began, a girl somehow jumped across the barrier and headed toward the small stage.
Sweeping in, I scooped her legs up off the floor. I carried her off to the side, screaming and bucking, her arms and legs flailing around her in a helicopter like move, until she was safely confined before I dropped her to her feet, pinned her by her shoulders and shoved her against the nearest wall.
“Are you fucking serious?” I growled. “You will not cause a safety issue for my band on my watch, you hear me, girl? Your stupid action could have caused an accident or worse, you could have brought that barrier down, putting your music heroes at risk. Hell, you could have caused a stampede. That’s the end of your free gig. The only place you’re going is home.”
Turning, I eyed two of the mall’s security guards and gestured to them with a jerk of my head to come and take over from me. “She’s leaving. Make sure she’s completely clear of the mall.”
As I headed back to my position, I watched her attempts to struggle out of their arms, until one of the guards looked like he’d had enough and hoisted her up in a fireman’s lift.
Right then, I knew the gig, although short for the band, would prove to be a busy time for Bodhi, Mikey and I since several more attempts to reach the guys on stage had needed to be swiftly dealt with.
It was almost half an hour after the appearance finished before we could eject the band safely out of the mall. Compared to the smooth operation at the much larger venue, it had been areal shit-show. We’d been prepared for another long day which included an afterparty, where the instruction from Jude was that there would be a maximum twenty-minute meet and greet, and only a forty-five-minute appearance at the after party, then we were supposed to take them all to the airport.
“Don’t agree to any shit like that mall gig again. I don’t care how much they’re paying you,” Jude snapped at Levi. “We’re not small-fry anymore, and if I’m honest, that’s the first time I really haven’t felt safe.” Jude met my eyes and although he was pissed, I saw how annoyed he was at needing to spell his demand out to his closest friend.
“One of those kids grabbed my dick as we passed them on the way to that back room,” Korry rightly complained about the bodily contact.
“Sorry, Korry. I did try to cut her off with my body, but I was still dealing with that crazy girl who tried to jump on your back,” Mikey insisted. I felt for Mikey because it had been the only contact with anyone, and I knew he’d beat himself up about that, even though it couldn’t be helped.
“That was my bad. I fucked up,” Bodhi stated. “This is the last time we depend on security from anyone else if you perform in a place like this.”
“We’re never playing in a place like that again,” Jude affirmed, glaring at Levi. “You’ve got enough money sitting in the bank. You don’t need to cheapen yourself by endorsing fancy watches. Fuck, you don’t even wear one.”
“Their watches start from twenty-five big ones,” Levi argued.
“And you’ve pissed that much up against a wall on many a night out before. No more fucking sponsorships. Save it for when you’re old and not making music for a living anymore … or don’t involve the rest of us. You put all of us at risk today. What would have happened if one of us had been hurt? There’s a stadium full of people on their way to see us tonight.”
“Fuck me, what happened, happened. Get over it. This is giving me bad vibes for the gig later. Put your feelings to bed and let’s just get through this last gig, then we can all get some space from each other,” Levi demanded.
“Yeah, I agree. But we’ve still got work to do this evening, and then a couple of weeks’ break will reset us all,” Korry agreed.
One of the reasons I loved working with Screaming Shadows was that they were a real band of brothers. They had each other’s backs one hundred percent, vented instead of festering, and moved on quickly after a disagreement.
This was apparent when they stepped out on stage that night and played like they were having a ball. Fortunately for Bodhi, Mikey and me, their security remained tight, the meet and greet flowed smoothly, and the afterparty guests were contained to a couple of dozen VIPs and management of the venue.
By the time they all climbed into the van to take them to the airport, they were so buzzed that they’d made it to the end of the tour, that they were back to bantering and humorously calling each other out on stupid shit that had happened during the previous few weeks.
