The Band

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I

I Eat Brains

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Terminus, the world's biggest and most beloved metal band, have just finished their world tour. The night finishes with flame alighting the entire stage, illuminating each of the five members against a jet black backdrop depicting a blood red skull with a crown of barbed wire - a personal symbol of their success. They are all right where they want to be... except one.

Torn with desire to both stay and leave, the Judas drowns her sorrow with narcotics and booze while the others party at the after party or call it a night and head back to their comfy six star hotel bed. Morning follows and thus the Judas arrives at her decision that would affect The Band forever.
 
Seraph cradles her head with one hand and uses the other to block the sunlight creeping in through the windows. She rolls over and buries her face in the pillow on the couch and takes a deep breath. She sighs and sits upright and continues to cradle her face in her hands, peering out between her fingers. On the coffee table before her she can see crack pipes and empty beer bottles and a pot filled to the rim with gasoline. Narcotics are scattered along with the mess and Seraph can still smell the glue she pasted on her upper lip from the previous night...one which she can't quite remember.

Whilst pulling her phone from her back pocket she rubs away the remaining glue from her face. It doesn't take long to get Adrian on the phone.

"Dude...can you come get me?"

Seraph looks around but can't find anyone around. She's not quite sure where she is but a quick peek outside and she finds an address number as well as a street name.

"I'm pretty jacked up still...and...we need to talk."
 
Her head had been pounding with excitement all night long during their final performance and the party. It took Jackie a long time to convince herself to get to her bed and sleep last night. Her arms were wrapped tightly around one of the pillows, her red hair a giant mess around her face as she slept peacefully. Sunshine was bleeding through the blinds of her room, making a soft glow through the velvet curtains so the room was a gentle tint of green.

The red head's eyes blinked open, everything a blur for the first minutes she was laying there awake. She wasn't a tremendous fan of alcohol because a small amount could get her buzzed - She could tell she had more than a little.
Mentally shrugging it off, she sat herself up, grinning at the wall when her vision smoothed itself out. After some silent laughter, she put her head into one of her hands while she tried to remember what happened exactly.

With the thought still in mind, she kicked off her covers and went over to the table a few feet from her bed with beverages set on to it. Coffee, a couple cans of energy drinks and a pitcher of ice water. Jackie poured herself a cup of the icy water, her head starting to relax after a couple sips.

The drummer decided she should clean herself up before meeting with the rest of the group. In case someone were to walk in in need of her, she took out her notebook with the mini skulls with adorable pink bows on their heads on the cover. She flipped past some pages with words on them, beginning to write on a clean sheet,

'I'm in the shower. Leave a message if you need me or wait in my room. Knock the door and scream your ass off if there's an emergency. ;) Love, Jackie.'

The notepad was set down on to the beverage table, the pen beside it. She rubbed at her tattooed arms while she made a yawn, the door to her restroom being closed right behind her.
 
Sunlight breached the shield of curtains inside Jesse's hotel suite and lightly caressed his face. His eyes stammered open and he shielded his gaze from the light, squinting into the semi-darkness of the room. Clothes, music sheets, food scraps and various other items were strewn across the room haphazardly, some staining the carpet and others drying to a crusty residue on the walls. He grinned.

The cleaners were going to have a shit time cleaning up this joint.

Yawning, Jesse stretched leisurely before leaping off his bed and rubbing his face with both palms to wake himself up. He thought about the night before as he walked towards the restroom to take his morning piss.

It was probably one of the best concerts they did but that didn't mean that they could do better. He remembered watching Seraph as she rocked on her guitar; she didn't seem all that into it like the others, including himself, who were all sweating profusely and banging their heads around like crazed lunatics. No, she seemed... out of it. There was no other way to explain it.

Finishing up, he washed his hands in the sink, brushed his teeth (he liked to take care of his teeth), and then dressed himself in the same black jeans and black tank he was wearing the other night, and made his way to Seraph's hotel door. He would talk to her, ask her what's wrong and maybe help her out a little.

"Seraph!" He shouted as he banged his fist on the door, not caring whether he would disturb the other guests in the hotel. He twisted the knob and found the door was unlocked. Jesse looked in but found that the room was devoid of human life.

Had she returned? He couldn't remember Seraph attending the after party but then again the entire night was a bit of a blur not from being drunk, he would never allow himself to get drunk, but from the euphoria of playing in one of the best and biggest concerts they had done. Seraph was a big girl though and, like the party-hard girl she was, she probably wasn't even finished yet.

Shoving his hands into his jeans, he made his way towards Jackie's suite, knowing full well that Adrian wouldn't be awake and if he was, he would be doubling over from a massive hangover. He wondered whether Charles or Vlagimir were awake yet.
 
The van was parked in the service entrance of the hotel, two men standing by the rear doors. One wore khaki slacks, a white camp shirt with red hammer and sickles all over it, and a gold chain with a red star hanging from his neck. The other wore a black suit and a navy blue turtle neck, a pair of sunglasses perched on his narrow face. There was a scar running from the top of his left brow to his jaw line.

<"Where is he..."> the suit asked as he lit another cigarette. There was a small pile of unfiltered cigarettes at his feet.

<"You don't rush quality work, vanya. Be patient."> the other man replied as the service doors opened. The suit's right hand immediately went into his jacket as a linen car was wheeled out.

<"Anatoly, Pasha, you came!"> Vlagimir Khukov, Terminus' lead body guard said as he pushed the cart out. The three men shared a traditional Russian greeting, consiting of a big hug and a kiss on each cheek. Khukov wore a pair of jeans, a blue and white striped sleeveless shirt, which was standard issue for the Russian military, his dog tags, and the ever present red beret.

<"So what have you got for us this time?"> Pasha asked as Anatoly opened the doors.

<"Paparazzi. He was trying to snap some pictures of one of the band members stoned and drunk."> Khukov replied, pulling the sheets away to reveal the body of a man. There was heavy bruising around his neck. Anatoly had a body bag laid out on the deck of the van. On the walls were various cutting tools and surgical devices. Pasha picked up the body and deposited it into the large black bag, zipping it up. Anatoly reached into his suit jacket and handed Khukov a stack of bills. Khukov split the stack and handed half back to his comrade, pocketing his cut.

<"So where's the next tour going?"> Anatoly asked as he put his cigarette out, Pasha returning with a leather bound flask. He handed it over to Khukov who immediately took a long pull of vodka the likes of which would turn Westerners green. He handed it back, Pasha taking a quick pull before Anatoly got his drink.

<"For now I believe the band is looking to recover. They had a hard tour.">

<"I guess this is the first time you traveled without being in a Ilyushin* or a Krokodil,** eh?"> Khukov nodded to Pasha, recalling his time in Spetsnaz. The three of them had survived that hell only to be RIF'ed a year later. A former KGB operator had gotten them to America, depositing them in New York City's Brighton Beach where they found many more of their kind. Anatoly and Pasha found a niche in 'involuntary organ donation,' harvesting parts from murder victims and the like while Khukov put his skills as a professional soldier to the body guard market. He pulled security for several bands between then and now, finally settling with Terminus as they had expressed a desire for a true professional. He was such a professional and very good at what he did.

<"That is very true."> Khukov replied. <"It's a nice change of pace.">

<"I bet. At least you don't have to worry about a raghead mujahedeen trying to shoot you down these days."> Anatoly added.

<"I remember that day. Sergetov got shot in the ass."> Khukov said, remeniscing about their former platoon lieutenant.

<"Well, you call us when you have another one to dispose of, okay?"> Pasha said as he closed the rear doors. Khukov nodded, Anatoly lighting up yet again.

<"Alright. If you can, get Sidorovich to send some more Cossacks. The vodka here is watered down."> Khukov said as his compatriots boarded the van and drove off. He wheeled the laundry cart back inside, leaving it near the hotel's laundry room before going back up to the floor the band was staying on. He had to check on their wellbeing, lest his bread and butter be proper fucked.



*Ilyushin: Refers to the IL-86. Russian cargo plane.
*Krokodil: Refers to the Mi-24 Hind gunship.
 
As Usual, the Manager's room was silent one would have to listen very closely to hear the faint sound that was Charles Foster Ofdensen sleeping.
as the clock radio clicked over to five thirty, the LED display making the change silently, Ofdensen cleared his throat, though this was also quiet.

Charles Reached for the table next to the chair in which he had slept, taking his rimless, squared glasses and putting them on without even thinking, the action almost as routine as breathing.

wearing grey wrinkled suit pants, a plain white long sleeved, shirt, the collar and cuffs unbuttoned and a pair of thin, navy blue socks Terminus' manager strode over to thin wooden double doors, ignoring the empty smirnoff bottles that he had to step over to get there.

Charles pulled a hangar, complete with an ashen grey suit jacket and pants, on another hangar was a white shirt, white singlet and a blackish red tie.

taking both hangars, Ofdensen laying both hangars on the unused bed before moving to the bathroom.

when he emerged, fifteen minutes later, Ofdensen had not only showered, but shaved and releived himself, though he didnt seem to look like it, Terminus' Manager had spent a long night looking after some of the band members, though thankfully not actively, as the band hadn't had much need of him.

another five minutes later, Ofdensen was dressed and gathering his wallet, mobile, watch and other belongings he usually carried with him, incidentally, he was also wondering how Khukov had dealt with the Photographer.

Ofdensen and the Big Russian had discovered that the man was just a freelancer, aiming to exploit one of the bandmembers in order to enhance his career prospects.
before he left the room in which the two had, 'questioned' the parasite, Ofdensen had made it explicitly clear that so long as it didnt come back to confront the band, he didnt have any qualms or cares about how the 'problem' was dealt with.

by the time he had completed the though, Charles had closed and locked the hotel room door behind him, intent on seeing how the bandmembers were doing, the first door he approached was Jackie's, and it was there that he came across Jessie, Ofdensen smiled a warm, fraternal smile at the bassist
"Excellent show last night, but I'll save the speech for when i see you all together" Ofedensen said, the smile slowy melting into the muted mask of calm content that Ofdensen seemed to display around the band, who he regared as some kind of cross between children and younger siblings, though he was careful not to be condescending with that regard.
 
"Ofdensen!" Jesse greeted the manager with a wide easy going smile. He slapped him on the shoulder before shoving his hands deep into the pockets of his jeans then smiled crookedly in reply, "Sure, sure. Awesome playin' on that stage and shit. Can't believe some of those girls out there, you know..."

Jesse thought back to that moment on stage when a group of raucous girls near the front row lifted up their shirts, revealing their bouncing rounded breasts sporting each letter of Terminus on each mammary. He thought it was pretty cool and hoped the camera men captured the feat on their video camera to throw onto the special features of their World Tour DVD.

"Say, you seen Seraph 'round?" He asked casually, leaning against Jackie's hotel room door.
 
His eyes were fixed on the ceiling, his hand was idly hanging over the edge of the bed with the cellphone on it. That hadn't been too much of an interesting conversation, and Adrian was thinking twice about having to go pick her up, of course, not many people would be around after that party last night, and he didn't mind signing a few autographs if he had to.

He groaned and sat on the bed, looked at the ground and stared at it for a few seconds with his eyes shut, he stretched and got up slowly, good thing he'd only drank beer last night, a short trip to the toilet didn't seem like such a good idea today.

Adrian got up from the bed and looked down with his eyes shut once again, fuck that hurt. Then again, Seraph probably wasn't any better than him, probably even worse with the way she spoke. He could do with a good meal, a damn good meal. Vlag was the one for that, certainly, the man had been drinking enough vodka through his lifetime to know what was really good for hangovers, he couldn't deny that Russians could party harder than 80's rock stars.

He checked himself in the mirror, his hair looked just like yesterday, he hadn't shaven in a week and he wasn't exactly smelling of roses. Good enough for him. Hell, he hadn't cared long before they had hit it big.

Adrian rubbed his eyes and slowly made his way out of the room, he couldn't help but think that it would have been a far better party if he'd got laid, but he didn't remember much about last night.

Outside of the room, he caught sight of Charles and Jesse, he slowly approached them as they chatted, his mind wasn't working so well right now but hey, Seraph needed help, and nobody could afford to lose their lead guitarist. He preferred to make a quick job out of this, and he'd known her for long enough to know she probably wasn't in the mood to have a chat with them all, and hell, she trusted him more than the other guys, they spent a lot of time together creating the riffs.

"Hey guys, great show last night, right?" he asked, not really looking for an answer besides a reassuring yeah.

"I'm gonna go buy a pack of cigarettes, the store's not too far away."

He hoped they'd buy it, but they wouldn't take it easy if he told them the truth. The place wasn't so far either, he could walk there, at least he remembered the way when they took the band bus. They let him go and he was on his road to the apartment the party had been held, wondering why the hell it hadn't been placed at the same hotel they were in.

He arrived at the adress, and called her up again, it took a while before she picked it up.

"Será, I'm in front of the building, where are you?" he asked, always pronouncing her name in spanish, she didn't seem to mind when he started doing that.
 
Seraph had made a painful trip down stairs, after realizing she was upstairs, and took a seat just inside the doorway. Her phone screamed out a popular Terminus song and she answered while rubbing at her eyes which were blood shot from taking too many shots and too many hits.

"I'm on my way."

She took a moment to unlatch one lock and twist another before opening the door. It stuck and Seraph cursed to herself forgetting she still had Adrian on the line. She repeated her actions in reverse and was able to pry the door away from its jam.

She pulled her shades down over her eyes and made her way towards Adrian; both of them still holding their phones to their faces. She reached him and slipped her phone into her pocket.

"Hey..."

She attempted a weak wave that only extened to the top of her belt and no further. Her lips twitched at their corners, a common expression of Seraph's, and her eyes said every word she would ever think. Today those icy blues were saying "Sorry".

"What did you tell the others?"

Seraph trusted Adrian fully. The both of them shared a healthy relationship thanks to their high school times together as well as their private meetings to work on guitar riffs and other, strictly, band related agendas. Seraph subconciously recalled another time back in high school when she had called upon Adrian for help. Her mother and Seraph had been in yet another fight and the troubled youth left her home in the middle of the night. Near 3 AM she phoned her dear friend and complained of her mothers most recent and most hanus accusation. Hesitant but desperate she asked Adrian if he knew of a place where she could reside and he didn't hesitate to invite her to stay with him and his familia. The rest of that night the two joked and laughed and Seraph never went back home.
 
"Hnngh..."

Gary woke up. 'Aaah, ain't nothing better than to wake up without a hangover' he thought opening his eyes. Looking at his watch, it reminded him it was just three hours since he had fallen asleep.

Stumbling onto his feeth, still with his booths on and most of the same clothes he'd weared the night before. Gary eyed his laptops lined on the hotel-table, turned around and opened the window.

He'd spent hours for the last couple of nights recording and trying out new ideas for his own work. Almost keeping no social contact with the others expect for during jam-hours, interviews and concerts. He was exhausted.

After he was finished showering, Gary put on a big coat, a cap and some big sun-glasses. Everything to keep him from getting any crazy fans from recognizing him on the street.

"Need....food....need....burgers." He said to himself in a robotic voice before leaving the apartment.

He walked quickly to wards the elevator, went all the way down to the 1st floor and headed for the exit. No notice of anyone from the band or other affiliates, Gary headed for the nearest fast food-restaurant.
 
The door closed as the Ivan stepped inside, locking the door behind him. He walked further into the room, checking the two laptops on the table.

Before they had chosen this hotel Khukov had asked Anatoliy to send Lame and Pegleg to case the place, planting motion sensors in the rooms he had picked for them. The sensors showed activity in Jackie's room, the surround indicator indicating her to be showering. There was no activity in Jesse or Seraph's rooms. Seraph had opted to stay at another site, much to his protests. He had given in when she said that she could handle herself. He'd have to do something to block that room from being used for the time being so Lame and Pegleg could recover their devices.

<"Little to no activity, as per usual."> he mused as he went to the refrigerator, popping it open. He threw some leftover pirogi into the microwave. One of the laptops beeped, indicating movement. Khukov went over, looking at the left screen. There was movement coming from Gary's room. The microwave drew his attention once more, the guard going for his morning meal. While he had become accustomed to American foods there was just something comforting in the taste of traditional foods.

Granted pirogi came from several different nations. Khukov stepped back over to the laptops, opening a music player.

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The Red Army Choir filled the hotel room with their music as Khukov typed up a report for Charles. As per usual he referred to Anatoliy and Pasha as 'Ace' and 'Paul,' two road crewmen who specialized in moving the band's gear from point 'A' to point 'B.' If anyone found out about what the Ivan did with the snoopers he got a hold of then perhaps he may just take Sidorovich's offer to work in the Zone. What better place to disappear than thirty kilometers of irradiated real estate.
 
Without waiting for Charles' answer, Jesse knocked hard a few times on Jackie's door before walking in (no one ever locked their doors, it seemed), leaving the band manager at the doorway waiting for the others to leave their hidey holes.

Though, just before Jesse lost the view of the hotel hallway, he spied Gary quickly stepping out. Where was he off to at this time of morning? The guy seemed to stick out like a sore thumb on stage but Jesse liked him all the more for it, and wondered whether Gary had gone down to get himself something from the buffet downstairs.

"Hey, Jackie!" He shouted over the muffled sound of rushing water. He picked up the note lying on the bench, then dropped it again before plonking himself on the couch, his heavy boots resting atop the polished coffee table.

Yep, he thought to himself, the cleaner's a definitely going to have a shit time after we're through here.

"What the frickin' hell is that?" Jesse said aloud as some kind of strange marching music softly tickled his ears. "Is that Khukov?"

He tilted his head and listened a little harder. Being on stage for so long and listening to such loud music really had taken a toll on his hearing.
 
Jackie's fingers combed through her red hair after she turned the water off, aware that Jesse had entered her room and had been talking to her. She'd have said something in response if she could... It tickled her a little when her friends would speak out loud as if expecting her to talk back.

Moments later, she stepped out of the bathroom in her usual punk-like style of dress. She threw her hair up into a messy pony-tail and had on fish net sleeves over her heavily tattooed arms. She smiled cheekily at the man on the couch of her hotel room, making a short wave with her hand.

A hand was cupped around her ear as she tilted her small form to the side a bit, listening for the music Jesse was talking about. Afterward, she just grinned and rolled her shoulders back. She stood in front of her very dear friend, wrapping her arms around his torso so she could give him a hug. That been done, Jackie sat beside him on the sofa, though sitting on the edge so she could turn to face him.

The mute began a series of hand gestures, hoping he'd comprehend,

"How are you? Thank you for coming to see me. Would you like to get breakfast or something?"

When she finished, Jackie picked up her notebook and pen, prepared to write everything down if he didn't understand. After all this time she has known these band members, no one could quite read her sign language still... At least, that's what she gathered lately.
 
Jesse embraced Jackie, whom he saw as something like a little sister, and dug his knuckles into her wet hair, messing up her already messy pony tail and laughed out loud as the two collapsed onto the couch together. With his arm behind her head, resting against the back of the couch, he watched her curiously as she made some of her hand gestures.

Sure he'd read those information books that she'd handed out to everyone a while ago but remembered it all? Hell no. He'd only gotten so far as 'How are you?' (the simplest of gestures and the only gesture he had remembered from the entire book) before Jackie seemed to get fed up at his blank expression and resorted to writing down what she had said in her notebook.

How are you? Thanks for coming to see me. Would you like to get breakfast or something?

Oh, he thought sheepishly then ruffled Jackie's hair and leapt off the couch pulling her along by the hand. "Sure, Jack, I'm frickin' starving here. Gary went down before, lets go catch up with him."

Jesse walked out the room, his arm over Jackie's shoulder and they passed Charles as they headed to the main lobby. "See ya. Just heading downstairs for a bite," He said before disappearing.

The hotel's buffet restaurant was awesome. Even during breakfast time, they had every different kind of food anyone could imagine. He grinned as he eagerly grabbed a plate and heaped seafood, roast beef, roast chicken, potato salad, sushi and a whole load of stuff. He didn't care if he was going to finish it all.

"Jack," He said while stuffing his face as she helped herself to the generous buffet. "You seen Seraph or Adrian around? I haven't seen 'em all morning and she ain't in her room."
 
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