Page 120 of Never Forget

“This is privileged information,” he says, pausing to emphasize his point.

“Who the fuck am I going to tell? We already discussed this. I have no life, no family, and no friends.”

“Things are going to be… changing at the label. New blood. New leadership. New rules.”

“How do you know that?”

“I’ve been acting as an unofficial liaison for the company that’s going to be taking over. It’s my job to ensure a smooth transition, specifically the Lest Is Moore account. I’ve been working behind the scenes to collect information and pull some strings to ensure the band can be brought to heel. The company is going to want loyalists on that team to make sure everyone falls in line.”

“What does that mean exactly, fall in line?”

“No more political bullshit, no more stunts. Just look pretty and sing what we tell you, or you’re out on your ass.”

My eyes widen. “If you could make those guys fall in line like that, you should consider running for president,” I say, laughing lightly.

Francis isn’t amused. He shrugs. “It’s what a good manager does. As much as I went above and beyond to ensure their submission, there might be an executive position for me. Hell, I did such a good job they might not even want what’s left of Lest Is Moore.”

“Is that why you…” I lean forward and lower my voice. “You never said it for sure, but I know you’re responsible for the bomb threat and the drones.”

Francis is laughing now. “Just a harmless prank to get their attention. They were never in any real danger. Technically, Curtis did the legwork for those, but it was my idea.”

“Curtis planted the bomb?”

“He got someone from one of his radical idiot forums to do it for him. He made it though, so it looked legitimate enough to be taken seriously. No one was in any danger though.”

I shake my head, unable to keep the grin off my face. I fucking did it! I got him to fucking say it and he implicated Curtis Howard. Fuck yeah!

“You’re diabolical.”

“You think that’s good… Who do you think orchestrated the chaos that got the resistance tour shut down?”

“Are you serious?”

Whatever he’s seeing on my face is enough to make him extremely proud of himself. He crosses his arms and looks smug as fuck when he tells me the rest.

“Honestly, it didn’t take much. Once the new hires were set up in the secure system, I could see all the new tour dates. All I had to do was make a few anonymous posts in some of those forums that Curtis runs, and then use screenshots of those posts to tip off the authorities that a violent protest was being planned.”

“Holy shit.”

“The really fucked up part is that some of the cops and riot police are in that group, so I probably didn’t even have to tip anyone off. I was just covering all my bases.”

“So you’ve been behind it all,” I say, honestly not even faking my horrified awe. “From the very beginning. The tabloids and conservative media getting ahold of private information, Jesse’s cloud being hacked… all leading up to this takeover?”

Francis shrugs. “I’m persistent. It’s what makes me good at my job.”

“You son of a bitch.”

Francis laughs. He thinks I’m being facetious when really I’m ready to end this whole thing right here and now. Only, I’m liable to bash his face in before the feds can intervene.

Francis’ watch beeps. “Oh, we should probably head over there.”

“Oh, shit, yeah. It’s time. Damn. Like you said… Time flies.”

We leave the small outdoor courtyard of the restaurant and head across the plaza.

“You’re quiet all of a sudden.”

“Heh. I guess I’m a little nervous. I feel like we’re in some kind of spy movie,” I say, remembering AJ León the other day when he and his buddies acted as stand-ins to divert attention for the guys to get to safety.