Lusso hit connect, and he was sucked back into Ria’s world. In the short sensory vacuum, it occurred to Lusso that Ria’s DNA footprint was accessible to all the suspects so far. Ria’s manager, Samantha, was with her around the clock, and the head of security, David, had taken a vial that Ria drank from.

When Lusso arrived, Ria was taking an Expie pill, like the one she’d taken to connect with Lusso. A short mess of flab and spiked greasy black hair stood in front of her. He cocked his head to the side, and the reflective sheen of oil on his face caught the light. Vera Instance was just as Ria had described. He looked like he’d just walked out of an oil bath.

Ria said, “Am I done?”

Vera picked at his yellow teeth with a dirty nail in quiet meditation. He burst into words, “Yessum…. No, no. Almost. Right this way.”

Vera led Ria in a brisk thirty second walk towards a circular clearing in the middle of a forest of cameras. Lusso could only contribute Vera’s features to a disinterest towards appearance, or a complete obliviousness to how he looked. Lusso guessed even a small fraction of Vera’s salary invested into cosmetic treatment or surgery would have him looking handsome, or at least presentable. Even so, Lusso thought that he'd rather be Vera with his salary than himself.

Lusso felt Ria’s heart begin to thump faster as she approached the clearing. Lusso thought Ria might as well have been desensitized to her place in the spotlight by now, but it seemed to him even she had stage fright. Lusso began to hear a small, high pitched ringing noise in Ria’s ears. Lusso attributed it to a bug in the bootleg Expie tech.

Ria edged by a small slit in the circle of cameras, and trudged to the center of the well-lit circular space. It was just a couple meters in diameter. Except for the way Ria had gotten in, every other square centimeter was packed with cameras and lighting equipment. Ria took a deep breath, then began to pose. Ria’s body, with practiced, lithe movements, flowed from one pose to the other in a sort of dance, with frequent pauses. The lenses followed Ria’s every move, hungrily capturing her in her entirety. Each cock of her head, stretch of her arms, jut of her hips, was organic in form, but mechanical in precision. But Ria’s frenzied heartbeat, weakening legs, and the sweat dripping from her head down warned Lusso the well-oiled machine was on the verge of breakdown. The high pitched ringing grew louder.

Ria stopped mid-pose, like one of her internal gears had caught a hitch. She teetered. Her legs gave way. Ria’s vision blurred as she fell, the studio’s lighting equipment turning into a million small suns, whiting out everything else. The high pitched ringing came to a crescendo, like someone was scraping their nails on chalk right next to her eardrum

Lusso grit his teeth, fighting to stay conscious during the sensory overload. Was it a spiked drink? The one Ria had taken from David? Had Samantha spilled a chemical powder down Ria’s back while she hugged her?

Ria whispered to herself, almost imperceptibly, “Maru.”

Then she was swept up in strong arms, and carried away. With every step, Ria bumped into someone’s chest, releasing another disorienting wave of nausea. Lusso guessed it was David. Ria’s heart continued to beat at a frenzied pace. After she was set down, Ria felt a small prick in her right arm. Her heartbeat began to steady and slow, and the noise petered out.

Ria sat up. When Ria’s vision focused, the first thing she saw was Samantha reaching forward to hold Ria’s hand. Next to her was David, his hardened square rock slab of a face, then next to him, Vera, taking a drag from his vape. Ria withdrew her hand reflexively, hugging it to her chest.

David uncorked a bottle of clear liquid set on the desk next to her cot, and poured some into a glass. He handed it to her, saying, “Vodka. A downer, like the shot we gave you.”

Ria gulped it down, gasping at the sensation of fire in her throat.

Samantha said, “Are you okay?”

Ria nodded.

Vera said, “Panic attack. Ya know the drill.”

Samantha said, “I think it’s her first time. Right?”

Ria nodded.

Vera said, “Bound to happen. I see it all the time.”

Vera patted her on the back.

Vera said, “Welp. We gotta keep on sched. See me in ten at the photobooth. A couple more and you’re done.”

As Vera headed toward the door, three quick raps in succession sounded on the door.

David said, “Come in.”

The door cracked open, and a yellow eye, like blown glass, peeked in. The door swung inwards, nearly slamming into Vera’s face.

Vera said, “Whoa, Ulrich, you almost killed me.”

A sea-green tweed trench coat drooped from Ulrich’s shoulders like a wilted plant. He was a head shorter than Ria. His head, like a large gourd, sat squarely on top of his thin neck, and stringy strands of brown hair fell across his face, coming down to his shoulders. He pulled his hair back with both hands like they were curtains.

Ulrich shrugged and said, “Apologies. Apologies for the interruption. I was just worried about dear Ria.”

Vera said, “She’s doing fine, thank you. Panic attack.”

Vera waddled off in a huff, leaving a blue cloud of vape behind him. Ria had told Lusso that Ulrich was the head audio engineer for the concert. He’d worked with her on her first two albums, the ones that had kickstarted her solo career. Ria had secretly asked for a new producer. She didn’t like how pushy Ulrich was getting in the recording studio, telling her that he’d been the one responsible for her success. She hadn’t heard from him since.

Ulrich said, “Every time I see you, I think back to our days in the studio. You had me worried, but you’re looking good. A bit pale, but good.”

Ulrich smiled lopsidedly, the left half of his face contorting to accommodate his smile. Ria didn’t respond. She was looking at Ulrich, but not at him. She was looking past him, in a stupor.

Ria got down.

Ria said, “Thanks. I’m going to use the bathroom. I’ll head back to Vera after. On my own. Sam, so don’t worry about me.”