talien
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Dire Wavelengths - Prologue
Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes
I'm afraid it's time for goodbye again
Say goodbye to Hollywood
Say goodbye, my baby--Say Goodbye to Hollywood by Billy Joel
Blade woke up in a cold sweat. He hit the beeping alarm clock and shut it off. This time, he let his teammates know what he was up to.The Rising had barely finished setting up and performing a sound check when people began filtering into the room. All were dressed to the nines, though the attire varied. Some came in suits, others in dress reminiscent of Victorian England. Still others looked like doctors, bankers, rap stars, and gang members. They all gathered around tables, each with their own posse, which made for a crowded room. Nobody was dancing.
The Rising started to play, timidly at first. The men looked on, whispering amongst themselves. Spider wisely switched gears to songs you could talk around, although they still involved a lot of screaming. It just took longer for him to reach the screaming part.
Blade sat down. He was dreaming. Again.
"Oh good, you're here," said a smooth voice.
Jake knew who would be sitting across the table from him this time. It was a thin, fine-looking Arab. He was dressed impeccably in a white suit.
“Hi Jacob. How are you?”
“I’m good. I did what you told me to do.”
“Yeah, that was great. I loved that part where you rammed the Humvee. And that whole thing about terrorists…” Alzis shook his head. “You know they’re saying it’s Al-Qaeda? Can you believe that? Now terrorists are attacking movie directors for their portrayal of ‘loose women in film’. Ridiculous!”
“Yeah, ridiculous,” said Blade.
Alzis glanced down at his own drink. “How rude of me! What are you having?”
“I’m fine,” muttered Blade.
“Oh, right, right. You don’t drink. I keep forgetting.” He paused. “So let’s talk about you. How you feeling? Have you talked to Christine lately? Called her up? Shot the breeze?”
“You know I haven’t.”
“Right, right. Ever since that whole alcoholism thing, hmm? Tough situation, very tough. That kind of thing needs to be handled delicately. Really.”
Blade nodded.
“But you’re not a delicate kind of guy, are you? Look, Jacob. I’m in a real bind here. We’re working on a timeline, so I’m going through the trouble of popping in and out of your head multiple times.” He gestured at the walls of the club. “I’ve got to say, there’s some pretty scary stuff in here.”
“Thanks,” said Blade.
“No need to thank me! I’m just trying to be helpful. I really want you back in your son Alex’s life. I think it might change things for the better, you know what I mean? And what’s more important than a father’s love for his son?”
Blade just looked at him.
“Nothing, that’s what. So here’s the deal: go to the Excelsior Hotel on the corner of Maple. Stop Christine from going to the movie set today in twenty minutes.” Alzis tapped his watch. “Time’s ticking buddy, tick-tock, tick-tock.”
“You said that last time,” said Blade. “Would it be too much to give me a little more of a heads up?”
Alzis looked offended. “Hey now, that’s no way to talk to a friend. I wasn’t going to tell you at all, but you’re going to be dead in a few weeks so I figured I’d…oops.” He put his finger to his lips. “Did I just let that slip? I’m sorry. You’re running out of time.”
“Wait, what?” Blade stood up. “Are you threatening me?”
“Threatening you? No!” Alzis shook his head. “I’m trying to help. But we’re wasting time just talking here. Beep. Beep. BEEP. BEEP!”
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