Righteous Obsession (9 page)

Colin looked up to find Jazz and his ever-present
cassette recorder.  He laughed.  “Well, I’ll put it this way.  I doubt Nikki
Sixx was this nervous when he was getting that alleged tattoo on …?”

“That nervous, huh?”  Jazz asked, cutting him off
short.  “Are you anxious to get this gig started?”

“I’m really looking forward to it!  I’m anxious to see
how our new songs sound live.”

“I’ve just been backstage watching Armageddon.  I
think they’re going to be huge by the end of this tour, maybe even before the
end.”

“I agree and I’m glad we could offer them a hand
getting there.”

“I was also out in the lobby too.  The Rock the Vote
booth has been doing mega-business!”

“I’m glad to hear it, Jazz because I think the younger
voters are going to play a key role in the upcoming election.  I don’t want to
preach, but if you don’t vote it’s a vote in favor of keeping things the way
they are.”

The volume of cheering, screaming and clapping of the
audience suddenly rose dramatically, interrupting them. Colin glanced at his
watch, figuring that Armageddon was coming off stage.  Confirming his guess,
Russ appeared from the stage area.  “Twenty minutes, Colin.”

“Okay, Russ.”

“Twenty minutes!  That’s not very long between
bands.”  Jazz remarked in a surprised tone.

“We’ve streamlined things as much as possible.  Both
bands use the same sound system and Mace’s drum kit is already assembled. 
Armageddon’s crew pushes “Bash” Brower’s kit back and our crew pushes Mace’s up
front.  The idea is to keep the time between shows short enough so the fans
don’t get bored and start looking for trouble.”

“Your rider doesn’t allow beer to be served?”

“No. I think when you’re really thirsty any cold drink
will do.”

Russ came back, knocked on the door of the dressing
room and called, “We’re ready for you guys.”  He turned.  “Are you ready,
Colin?”

“Coming.”  He clapped Jazz on his arm.  “Catch you
later.”  He paused at the door of the dressing room and saw that Liam had once
again stopped in front of the mirror to check out his hair.  Colin grabbed his
arm.  “Come on, Liam!  Your hair looks great and all the girls in the front row
will keel over in a dead faint when they see you!”  He didn’t have the heart to
tell Liam that after a half-hour under the hot stage lights his perfect hair
was going to be a sweaty mess.

The house lights were just going down when they
arrived in the wings.  Again, the fans gave scattered screams and shouts
followed by foot stomping and applause.  Peter and Amanda gave them a hug. 
“Good luck!”  Amanda said.  Colin nodded then put in his earplugs, put his
guitar strap over his shoulder and fitted his headset on securely.

Although the stage was completely dark, Colin, Mace
and Jake had no trouble finding their way around.  Liam followed, but at a more
cautious pace.  When he was behind his keyboards, Colin nodded to bring up the
lights. As the lights came up, he winked at Liam.  Unforgiven started off with
their current hit, Ruins of Love, followed by a crowd favorite from their first
CD, A Snowball’s Chance in Hell.

“How’s everybody doing tonight?”  Colin shouted over
the screams and applause.  Even louder screams, cheers and applause answered
his question.  “Sounds like you’re all fired up and ready for a great time and
we plan to give you one, too!”  There was more cheering and applause.  When it had
died down some, Colin said, “I’d like to introduce you to Unforgiven.  On drums
and, in my humble opinion, one of the best drummers around, Mace Saxon!”

Mace did one of his extra fancy drum rolls, tossed his
sticks up into the air, stood up and bowed then caught his sticks as they came
down again.  The audience went wild, showing their approval.

“Playing bass is a great guy and a hard and heavy
player who I met five years ago when we played in BodySnatchers, Jake
Rousselle!”

Jake bowed.  He straightened up again, tossing his
long curly hair over his shoulder in a sexy move designed to make the female
fans scream, and they certainly obliged him.

“On keyboards is our newest member.  He’s been tooling
with the keys since he was a little kid.  He’s gotten so good he was offered a
scholarship to a prestigious Eastern music school, but chose to join us
instead.  He also happens to be my younger brother, Liam Matthews!”

Liam ran his hand over his keyboards producing a
variety of strange sounds then bowed as the audience whistled and screamed.

Colin noticed that Liam seemed at ease and also
noticed the heightened interest of a few female fans in the front row.  He
smiled as he recognized the same young woman who’d spoken to Liam at the
in-store earlier.  His attention suddenly came back to the present where Jake
was introducing him.

“Playing lead guitar is one of the best guitarists
I’ve personally ever performed with and he’s a pretty decent singer in the
bargain, Colin Matthews!”

Colin bowed; allowing his waist-length hair to fall
forward then took his hand and swept it back over his shoulder, causing more
screams from the female fans.

Unforgiven slammed into their next song.  They
performed songs from all three of their CD’s.

Colin always found it amazing how fast the time passed
when he was performing.  The concert ended before he even realized it.  Amid
screams and cheers, the band left the stage.  When he got off stage Colin
grabbed a bottle of spring water and gulped half of it.  “Whoa!”  His shirt and
hair were soaked with sweat.  He wiped his face with a towel and listened as
the fans screamed, chanted, stomped and applauded for the band to return.  He
turned to his band mates and asked, “You guys ready to go back?”

The band members reappeared to see the audience
holding up lit matches or their lighters.  Small flames dotted the entire
coliseum.  In response to their enthusiastic call back, the band did two more
songs.  

“Thank you,” Colin said when the applause had
quieted.  “You’ve really been a great audience to play for and we’ve had a
great time tonight!”  He waited for them to calm down.  “You know, my parents
are long time rock fans so I grew up listening to Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin,
the Doors and Led Zeppelin.  For our last song we’d like to do a song Jimi
Hendrix recorded that was written by Bob Dylan called, ‘All Along the
Watchtower’
©
.  It’s a personal favorite of mine and I hope you’ll enjoy
it as much as I do.”

The kids listened attentively and seemed to enjoy the
song even though most of them were born long after Hendrix had died.  Maybe
this would inspire some of them to give the hard rock of the sixties a try.

“Thank you and goodnight!”  Colin shouted as the band
members all came to the front of the stage, linked arms and bowed.  He made a
final announcement, “As you probably know,
Rock the Vote
has a booth in
the lobby.  If you’re eighteen and haven’t registered, please do so before you
leave because it’s one of the most important things you’ll ever do!”

The band was leaving the stage when Colin noticed that
Liam was missing and turned to see where he’d gone.  He spotted him talking
with the young woman he’d met that afternoon.  He decided not to disturb them. 
He had already showered, dressed and was drying his hair when Liam burst into
the dressing room.  He took his brother’s arm and dragged him to the other side
of the room, out of earshot of the other people still in the room.  “Colin,
Alison asked me to go club hopping with her.  I know Steve won’t approve, but
I’m going anyway!”

“Go ahead.  I’ll cover for you.”

“Thanks, Colin!”  Liam showered, dressed and left in
record time much to his brother’s amazement.  He didn’t even stop to make sure
his hair was picture perfect.

Colin shook his head and smiled.  Alison must really
be one special lady!  He joined his parents who were waiting in the hallway. 
“How’d you like the concert?”

“I thought the band was excellent!”  Amanda said. 

“You were as good as any of the superstar bands I’ve
seen over the years and that includes the Stones, Zeppelin, and the Who,” Peter
added.

Jazz came up and clapped Colin on his shoulder. 
“Great concert!”

“Thanks.”

“So where’s Liam off to in such a rush?  He just about
ran me over!”

“Hot date,” Colin whispered in a conspiratorial tone. 
As Russ hurried past he grabbed him.  “Russ, tell Steve I’ll see him back at
the hotel.”

“Will do.”

Colin turned back to find his mother, a worried frown
clouding her face.  “What’s wrong?”

“Liam went out with a girl he knows nothing about?”

At this point Jazz excused himself and went over to
talk with Mace and Jake.

“Mom, Liam’s not a little kid any more,” Colin pointed
out as gently as possible.

Amanda sighed.  “I know and I’m sorry.  I guess I’m
having a hard time accepting that you’re both grown and don’t need me as much
as you did before.”

Colin gave her a hug.  “Mom, one thing you can be sure
of; we’ll always need you no matter what.”

“Thanks,” she replied, touching his cheek.

Accompanied now by McGregor, Colin and his parents
walked outside.  There were still a few kids waiting by the stage entrance and
when they saw Colin, they immediately surrounded him, everybody talking at
once, asking questions and begging for his autograph.  Colin, with the ever
watchful McGregor standing close by him, smiled as he patiently answered their
questions and signed autographs.  When the fans finally left he walked over to
the car where his parents were waiting.

“You look exhausted,” Amanda said sympathetically.

“I am, Mom, but it’s a good kind of exhaustion,” Colin
answered as he and McGregor got into the back seat.

“What time are you guys leaving tomorrow?”  Peter
asked.

“Ten,” he replied, groaning.

They parked the car in the hotel garage and rode the
elevator to the twelfth floor where Peter and Amanda left.  Colin held the
doors open.  “I’ll see you tomorrow before we leave.”

“Okay.  Be sure to tell Alethea we said hello.” 
Amanda requested.  “Sleep well.”

“Goodnight, Colin,” Peter said, putting his arm around
his wife.

“Goodnight.”  As the elevator doors shut again Colin
pondered on how his mother knew he was planning to call Alethea.

They got out on the seventeenth floor.  It was eerily
quiet as they walked down the hall to their rooms.  McGregor saw Colin safely
into his room before he went into his own.

Colin opened the sliding glass door and stepped out on
his balcony.  Atlanta by night was very beautiful – well, maybe not as
beautiful as the San Francisco skyline at night, but close.  He stared at it,
lost in his own thoughts, until a sudden explosion of noise in the corridor
brought him back to the present.  It sounded as if Mace and Jake had brought
half the fans that attended the concert back to the hotel with them and knowing
their penchant for throwing a great party, they probably had.  Colin sat down
on his bed and had just picked up his cell phone when there was a knock on his
door.  “Come,” Colin called in imitation of his favorite television character,
Captain Jean-Luc Picard of Star Trek the Next Generation
©
.  He was a
major Trekker.

Jake stuck his head in the door.  “We’re having a
party …”

“So I gathered,” Colin laughed.

“We have some really foxy ladies…” He forestalled
Colin’s next question by quickly adding, “They’re all of legal age, of course.”

“Of course,” Colin agreed.

“Are you going to drop by?”

“Thanks for the invitation, but I’m going to pass.  I
didn’t get much sleep last night and I’m beat.”

“Okay, but you’re missing a great time.  Say, as long
as I’m here, can I borrow…”

“A condom?”  Colin asked.  He pointed at his larger
suitcase.  “Look in there.”

Jake opened the suitcase and lifted some of the
clothes.  “Jesus!  You have enough condoms!  Are you expecting to be attacked
by a harem?”

“No, but I knew you’d be borrowing them from me the
entire tour and I didn’t want to run out,” he laughed.

“Well, thanks, Colin,” Jake replied and beat a hasty
retreat.

Colin laughed again and shook his head.  He fast dialed
Alethea’s number and lay back.

“Hello?”

“Hi!”

“Colin, how was the concert?”

“Great!  The audience was really terrific and they
called us back for three encores!”

“How did Liam do?”

“He was pretty nervous at first, but I gave him my
secret for avoiding stage-fright and I guess it worked for him,” Colin
explained.  “By the way, thanks for calling and for your telegram.  How was
your interview with Megadeth?”

“It was interesting to say the least and no, they didn’t
talk me into going skydiving with them though it wasn’t for lack of trying!”

“I’m sure,” He laughed.  “Mom and dad said to be sure
and tell you hello for them.  They’re here in Atlanta.  Dad surprised mom with
tickets to Atlanta this morning and they’re leaving for the Caribbean for two
weeks tomorrow.  I think Mom’s having kind of a hard time adjusting to her
youngest child being out on his own.”

“Your parents are so thoughtful of one another.”

“I know.  So, what are you doing right now?”

“Not a thing.  I’m just laying here in bed – wearing
nothing!”

Colin groaned.  “I wish you hadn’t told me that!”

“Why not?”  She teased him.

“Because I’m three thousand miles away from you and I
can’t do a damn thing about it!”

Alethea laughed softly, intimately.

“The next time I’m in Los Angeles I’m going to make up
for lost time!”  Colin promised her.

“I’d expect nothing less!”

 “I’m looking forward to it!”  He replied.  “Well, as
much as I hate to, I’d better let you go.”

“I’ll talk to you soon.  I love you.”

“I love you too.”

“Sleep well – if you can!”  She teased.

He chuckled and hung up then folded his arms under his
head and stared up at the ceiling.  He found himself fantasizing about being
married to Alethea.  Thoughts of marriage seem to be occupying his mind a lot
lately even before Liam mentioned it.  He shook his head and checked his cell
for messages and saw he had a voicemail.

“I hope you’re counting the days, Matthews, because
you haven’t got many left!  You’re a dead man!  I swear this to God who
appointed me His Holy Avenger!”  It was the same person who had left the
threatening messages the previous night. 

“Fuck it!”  Colin swore, tossing his cell on his bed.
He picked it up again, listened to the voicemail a second time and then saved
it.  He got up and started to pace around the room with his hands jammed into
his pockets then suddenly stopped.  Fuck!  This is just what this creep wants –
to make me worry and fret about what he says he’s going to do!  ‘Well, I’m not
going to oblige the dickhead!’  Colin thought.  He got undressed and went to
bed.  He stared into the darkness once again trying to figure out how this
person had come by his cell number.  He couldn’t and wouldn’t let himself worry
about the threats on his life.  Colin finally fell into a restless, uneasy
sleep, dreaming that somebody was chasing him.  He glanced over his shoulder,
but couldn’t see anyone. He could hear them, very clearly, running after and
gaining on him.  Just when they were practically on top of him and planning to
do God only knew what to him, a loud buzzing sound rescued him.  He jolted
halfway out of bed, his heart hammering, his breath coming in gasps and his
hairline damp with sweat.  He drew a deep breath and collapsed back into bed. 
Obviously, the threatening message he’d received last night caused this
nightmare.  What in the hell was this person’s game plan?  Was he actually
planning to kill him or just drive him nuts with empty threats?  By the time
Colin got himself together, it was nearly nine o’clock.  He threw back the
covers and scrambled out of bed, angry with himself for letting this person
dominate his thoughts and spoil his morning!  While dressing and packing, he
wolfed down breakfast.  He was brushing his teeth when he heard a knock on his
door then heard Russ call, “You got ten minutes, Colin.”  He raced around the
room throwing stuff into his suitcases then shutting and locking them.  He took
a quick tour of the room to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything and then
grabbed his denim jacket and carried his suitcases out into the hall.  He met
Liam who also seemed to be running late.  Liam did his best to hide the hickey
on his neck and Colin smiled when he spotted it, but said nothing.

Steve was standing out in the hallway.  He glared at
both Colin and Liam as they straggled up with their luggage and added it to the
pile.  “Before we leave there’s a problem I’d like to address.”  There was a
loud groan from the band, especially from those members who had partied too
much the previous night and were now paying the piper.  “I’m referring to the
continuing problem of people going out without their bodyguards.”  Steve fixed
his stern glare on all four of the band members.  “We’re paying these people to
protect you guys, but they can’t do that if you won’t cooperate with them!  I
do not want to have to repeat this lecture again.  Understood?”

“Whatever, Steve and I think I speak for everybody,”
Jake replied.

The elevator dinged then opened.  Steve looked up
alarmed, but relaxed as he saw it was Peter and Amanda.

“We just came up to say goodbye,” She explained to
Steve then held out her arms to Colin and Liam.

Colin gave both of his parents a hug.  “Have a great
time in the Caribbean!”

 “We’ll do our best,” his mother assured him.

Liam gave his parents a hug too.  “Have fun and send
us a postcard.”

 “We’ll do,” Peter promised.

The band members took the elevator down to the lobby. 
As they walked out of the hotel to their waiting limousine, Jake said to Colin,
“Jesus!  I never realized what a babe your mom is!  I’ll bet she has guys
drooling all over San Francisco!”

Colin frowned as he thought about his biological
father.  There was at least one guy who had apparently been immune to her
charms!