Ria said, “Next up is Love at Night!”

A thunderous cheer sounded from the crowd as she began to sing and dance, her holographic back dancers surrounding her once again.

—————————

Ria sat down on the stool in the empty storage room for the fourth time that night. She was heaving, her throat muscles convulsing hard to bring whatever was left in her stomach back outside. Dr. Elosa pulled a dark brown plastic bag out of his briefcase and handed one to her without looking. He was more focused on preparing the next injection. Ria retched into the baggie, watching her stomach acid disappear into the sand-like dust at the bottom of the bag. Ria wiped off her lips with a tissue. Samantha watched from a corner with concern.

Dr. Elosa said, “Nothing’s without a price. You’re feeling good though, right?”

Ria said, “Surprisingly, I’m feeling the best I have in months. Minus the throwing up.”

Dr. Elosa said, “Yeah, that’s what this stuff does to you.”

Samantha said, “Will she be fine tomorrow? You know she has another concert tomorrow, right?”

Dr. Elosa said, “She’ll feel like death once she’s off of this stuff for a couple hours. But it’ll be fine as long as we keep dosing her with more.”

Ria said, “What about after the concert? What then?”

Dr. Elosa said, “Good question. We find that out tomorrow.”

Ria said, “But you said you’ve seen hundreds like me. Just a guess.”

Dr. Elosa said, “I could, but telling you won’t do you any good, so I’ll keep it to myself.”

Ria said, “So… I won’t die or anything like that, right?”

Dr. Elosa said, “You really think we would give Ria Jun, of all people, something that would kill her? Hold still.”

Dr. Elosa finished filling up his syringe and slid the needle into Ria’s shoulder. Ria shuddered a little, feeling the cold, milky-white liquid enter her bloodstream. While Dr. Elosa arranged everything back into his briefcase, Samantha ushered Ria back towards the stage.

Samantha patted her back lightly, saying, “The last stretch. You’re almost done for today. You can do this.”

Ria said, “One sec. I asked David to get something from my purse. He should be back soon.”

Samantha said, “Ria!”

Ria said, “Relax. I think I’ve got something like 40 more seconds, right?”

David appeared from a doorway, striding towards the two with a drink in hand.

Ria said, “Fire-flavored Keli Energy. My favorite. I can’t do my thing with puke in my mouth, right?”

Samantha narrowed her eyes. She said, “Isn’t that alcoholic?”

Ria said, “Just a little.”

Ria took two swigs out of the bottle, and handed it to Samantha as she walked back onto stage.

———————————-

Ria finished her last song, and the crowd burst into cheer. They started chanting for an encore. Ria bowed in unison with her back dancers, and she waved at the crowd.

Ria said, “Thank you everyone for coming out! I’ll see you again next time!”

Lusso could see the whites in the eyes of the people at the front of the crowd as they chanted for an encore. They stretched their arms towards Ria. If they were lucky, maybe Ria would hop over and give them a high five.

Samantha greeted Ria backstage, patting her on the back.

Samantha said, “A few hiccups, but you did alright out there. Try to pull it together for tomorrow.”

Ria said, “I’ll try.”

A staff member pulled Samantha aside to ask her a question. While Samantha was talking, Ria headed back to the dressing room, trying to walk as quickly as possible without drawing attention. Ria unlocked the door and entered the room, seeing everything just as she had left it.

Ria opened up her purse, reaching deep inside to unzip the small pocket hidden at the bottom of the purse. The pocket was lined with a thin layer of metal-ceramic alloy that rendered it scanproof. Ria slipped her hand inside, wrapping her fingers around the neatly folded square that was her second phone. Ria’s shoulders relaxed and she let out a sigh of relief. Lusso disconnected.

Lusso opened his phone and texted Ria. He didn’t want to leave any more evidence of their collaboration than he had to, but it was urgent.

“The door lock. Check the logs for people coming in during concert.”

A little check mark appeared next to Lusso’s message, telling him she’d received the message. He connected back. Ria was tapping on the screen of the Corpsitech patented SMARTPANEL situated on the wall a meter from the door. Ria scanned the screen with her eyes, looking for the door lock settings. Her eyes stopped when she found it. It was right next to “Temperature Settings”. Scrolling through different options, Ria arrived at the option labeled “Entrance/Exit Logs”. A popup covered the screen, “Biometric Scan Required For Access”. Ria pressed the fingertips of her right hand into the panel. A red error message popped up, “Access Denied: 4 Tries Remaining”. Ria tried again. She was denied.

Ria muttered, “Don’t look at me like I’m stupid. I’ll try another time just for the heck of it, okay?”

Ria tried again. This time, the screen opened up the logs of the users that had come into and out of the room. Ria stared at her fingers for a good five seconds before she snapped back and scrolled through the most recent logs. Only one person had entered and exited the room before she’d come back. Ulrich Simmons.

Ria swallowed. She said, “Is it… him? But where’s David? I told him to get me the drink in my purse.”

She said, “I’ve got to go ask them. Figure this out. Don’t I? I’ll do it for us, Dan.”

Ria took off her dress, hung it up on the side, and slipped into a pair of sleek black sweatpants, a t-shirt, and one of her merchandised hoodies. It read, “I’m Doing Alright” on the back, over the JGE logo. Ria walked out the door. She ran into Samantha on the way out.

Ria said, “Sam, my dress is on the side. I’ll be back. Off to thank the staff.”

Ria brushed past her without waiting for an answer.

Ria moved through the same silent, intricate dance of roadies backstage, looking for faces. Two faces in particular. She found Ulrich first.

Ulrich was watching the roadies pack up his audio mixer.

Ulrich said, “Hey, watch the corners! This thing’s worth more than a year of your salary!”

Ria said, “Ulrich, do you have a moment?”

Ulrich turned around to meet her. His eyes widened for a moment, then he smiled sweetly. Lusso thought the gesture would have been charming if Ulrich was handsome, but he wasn’t.

Ulrich said, “Come to accept my offer?”

Ria said, “Still thinking about it. I’m an indecisive person. Thanks for your help tonight.”

Ria said, “But, I’m looking for something right now. An accessory. Have you seen it?”

Ulrich said, “What does it look like?”

Ria said, “A pair of earrings. They were in my purse.”

Ulrich said, “Really? Can’t say I’ve seen your purse, though.”

Ria said, “Yeah, my purse was in my dressing room.”

Ulrich said, “So?”

Ria said, “And I looked at the electronic records of people that entered and exited the room, and the only person that went in during that time was you.”

Ulrich said, “Are you accusing me of stealing your earrings?”

Ria said, “So did you go into the room, or not?”

Ulrich said, “No. There’s no way. That has to be a glitch, or something. I was here the whole time, right next to that thing!”

Ulrich pointed at the audio mixer, being taken away by the roadies.

Ulrich said, “Ask anyone. Anyone who was working with me. They know I was here. The whole time.”

Ulrich said, “Over there. Those are the other people in the audio team. Go, ask them. I’m off. I’ve got to go to the bathroom.”

Ria moved out of the way as Ulrich stomped away towards the bathroom. Something fell out from his back pocket. Ria was too far to see what it exactly was, but she had still gotten a glimpse of it. It had legs, and it was a long oval, like a cockroach. Ria walked over to pick it up, but by the time she reached the spot where it had dropped out, it was gone.

Ria said, “Didn’t he just drop something from his pocket? Maybe it’s the drugs. Anyways, Lusso. He’s lied to me a couple times before. Either he’s gotten really good at lying, or he’s telling the truth. Then is it David?”

Ria found David watching other members of the security team pack up their equipment.

Ria said, “Hey David.”

David turned around, staring down at Ria. He stood at least 20 centimeters above her.

David said, “Hello.”

Ria said, “Thank you for the help tonight. Especially for getting my drink. You took it from my purse, right?”

David said, “Yeah. Do you want something from me?”

Ria said, “No. I’ll be off now. Just wanted to thank you.”

Ria whispered, so that only Lusso could hear. “You’ve got to tell me who you think it is. I’ve got no idea, and we don’t have a lot of time until this tour ends. I’ll call you.”

Lusso disconnected. As his senses came back, he began to feel a splitting headache. He massaged his temples, watching Micky and Ding collapsed side by side against the wall in a deep slumber. He shook Micky gently. Micky rubbed at her eyes.

Micky said, “You know who it is now?”

Lusso swallowed. He tried his best not to look at the security camera that was placed just above them, keeping his gaze fixed on Micky.

Lusso said, “I think it’s David Asknow. Someone’s trying to frame Ulrich Simmons.”