Nothing But Trouble

by Matt Cain

  ‘Yeah but apparently she’s looking for me. Here, have a read of this.’

  He handed Tiny the phone and watched as he quickly scanned the text message.

  ‘Yeah but that doesn’t prove anything,’ he glowered at him. ‘Anyone could have sent that.’

  Don’t let him fob you off, mate!

  ‘But she’s just told my producer she wants to see me. And I need to speak to her about something really important.’

  Tiny let out a loud huff, his nostrils bulging so wide Freddy could see right up his nose. ‘Listen, fella, I’m having a really shitty day and right now I don’t need any more grief. I’m telling you – Lola’s busy.’

  Freddy looked him in the eye and held his nerve.

  ‘And I’m telling you I need to speak to her!’

  *

  Lola was sure she could hear Freddy’s voice coming from the other side of the canvas. She was leaning over a line of coke chopped out on her dressing table, trying not to notice Amina’s look of disappointment. She could hardly blame her; she too was disappointed – disappointed in herself. But she was also desperate – more desperate than she’d ever imagined she could be. Trixie handed her a rolled-up note and she lifted it to her nose.

  ‘But you don’t understand,’ came the voice from outside. ‘I have to speak to her – it’s really urgent!’

  Lola froze rigid.

  Just a minute, it IS Freddy’s voice! And he seems to know what’s going on . . .

  She dropped the rolled-up note onto the table and rushed over to the entrance.

  ‘Freddy!’ she burst out, flinging open the canvas curtain. ‘What the hell’s going on?’

  ‘All right, Lola?’ he said with a nervous smile.

  Their eyes met and she immediately felt safer.

  ‘Come in,’ she squealed, grabbing his hand and almost yanking him after her. She came to a stop in the centre of the room and folded her arms. ‘Come on then, what’s going on?’

  Freddy took a deep breath and she saw his thickly muscled chest strain at the buttons of his shirt.

  ‘Look, I’m going to tell you this quickly because we need to move fast.’ There was something about the musicality of his Welsh accent that Lola found instantly calming. ‘Someone close to you has got footage of you snorting coke and they’ve tampered with tonight’s show and it’s going to be played on the screens during the opening number.’

  ‘Fuck!’

  Not even Freddy’s accent could make her feel calm about that. It was worse than she thought. She spotted the line of coke on her dressing table and felt a shudder of shame. Had she really been about to snort it? She inched across the room and positioned herself in front of it so Freddy wouldn’t see.

  ‘But everything’s started now,’ she yowled. ‘And Vlad said once it’s started it can’t stop.’

  ‘Well, I really need to speak to Vlad. I’ve been trying for ages but nobody will let me anywhere near him.’

  At the entrance to the tent, Tiny was standing open-mouthed. Lola had no idea what had got into him but ever since the pre-show huddle he’d been all over the place.

  ‘Tiny,’ she barked, ‘get on that walkie-talkie and radio through to Vlad. Tell him he needs to switch the footage straight away.’

  Tiny snapped out of his daze and picked up his walkie-talkie. ‘Security to technical. Do you read me?’

  Lola reached for her bottle of water and took a swig. The way he was talking was like something out of a bad cop film. She looked at Freddy and he gave her a reassuring smile.

  ‘Roger,’ came a voice from the walkie-talkie. ‘What’s the problem?’

  ‘You need to change the footage,’ Tiny said somewhat cryptically.

  Oh what’s the matter with him? How’s Vlad supposed to understand that?

  ‘What?’ It sounded like Vlad couldn’t even hear him. From his position in the middle of the arena he must be almost deafened by the sound of the fans chanting.

  This is all I need!

  Lola thought her legs were going to give way and she clung onto the table for support. Belle, Scarlett and Trixie stood gawping at her in shock. Amina’s brown skin was in the process of turning white.

  ‘You need to change the footage!’ Tiny repeated louder.

  ‘What footage?’ Vlad replied.

  ‘On the screens!’

  ‘What?’

  ‘On the screens!’

  ‘But why? It’s all cued up and ready to go.’

  Oh for fuck’s sake!

  Lola snatched the walkie-talkie off him. ‘Vlad, this is Lola,’ she shouted in as clear a voice as she could. ‘I don’t know if you can hear me but Freddy Jones is coming to see you. I need you to listen to him and do as he says. Just do as he says. Do you get that?’

  ‘Roger,’ came the reply.

  She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to respond and thrust the walkie-talkie back at Tiny.

  ‘Tiny, take Freddy round to see Vlad now. And Trixie, give him your pass.’

  Freddy took the AAA pass and reached out and squeezed Lola’s shoulder. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll fix it.’

  She looked in his eyes and felt like she was going to faint.

  She trusted him. She trusted him completely. But Vlad’s technical booth was practically at the other side of the arena – and at the top of three flights of steep stairs. How the hell was he going to get there in time?

  *

  As she ran her tongue over her teeth and sauntered past the tent labelled ‘Artist’, Gloria pictured Lola pacing around inside, working herself up into a frenzy about the show but remaining completely oblivious to the disaster that awaited her once she stepped foot on stage. God, it felt good – it felt really good. So good in fact it almost wiped out of her mind the memory of having to get down on her knees and blow Vlad a few hours ago.

  Although if she were completely honest, Gloria wouldn’t have cared if she’d had to suck a mile of cock to get the outcome she wanted from tonight’s show. She was so excited she almost skipped over to her position in the wings to stand by and wait for her entrance. She could hardly believe that after everything she’d been through, after everything Lola had put her through, it was finally time for payback. She looked at her watch. Just ten minutes to go . . .

  She was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of raised voices coming from Lola’s tent. Hmpf! The silly bitch is obviously having some kind of tantrum before she goes on. She was probably worried that the world was about to realize she had no talent. Well, some people – some people like Gloria – had cottoned on to that one years ago. And she could hardly be expected to feel any sympathy for her now. Not when she stepped in and snatched away my career – not to mention my man. And come to think of it, from what Gloria remembered, Lola hadn’t felt any sympathy for her on either occasion. Well, she’d enjoy watching her regret that later.

  And boy, would she regret it. Gloria looked at the tent and wondered how nervous Lola would be if she had any inkling of what was actually coming to her. The idea was so intoxicating she could hardly bear to imagine it.

  *

  Inside the tent Lola held out her arm and swept the line of coke into the bin.

  ‘Do me a favour, girls,’ she said sternly. ‘Never offer me any coke ever again.’

  Belle, Scarlett and Trixie were speechless.

  ‘I’m serious,’ Lola went on, pacing the floor. ‘You know, I might be about to lose everything because of that shit.’

  There was a tense silence filled only by the sound of the fans on the other side of the stage continuing to chant her name.

  ‘Lola! Lola! Lola!’

  It was so loud it almost drowned out the sound of the album promo Lola could just about hear playing on the screens.

  Shit, that means there’s only ten minutes to go . . .

  ‘Lola! Lola! Lola!’

  I hope to God they’re still chanting like that at the end of the show.

  ‘Anyway,’ she spewed, reaching for her bottle
of water, ‘I don’t want to talk about that now.’

  No, there’d be plenty of time for that kind of thing later. Plenty of time to regret taking coke – and to work out who it was that had filmed her and was now trying to use the footage to destroy her. But right now she needed to figure out what the hell she was going to do with the show. Surely she couldn’t go on stage knowing what might be waiting for her?

  God, I wish Harvey was here!

  ‘Amina,’ she croaked, ‘what the fuck am I supposed to do? Should I just cancel the show?’

  Amina stepped towards her and put down her iPad. She looked at her thoughtfully – with an almost maternal concern Lola hadn’t seen in her before. For some reason it made her want to cry.

  ‘Oh, tell me what you think, darlin’,’ she almost blubbed in her face, ‘what you honestly think. Please don’t do what everyone else does – please don’t tell me what you think I want to hear.’

  Her eyes flitted across to Belle, Scarlett and Trixie and they all looked down to avoid her.

  Amina stiffened her mouth. ‘Lola,’ she said firmly, ‘I think you need to be really brave and just get out there. If you don’t, people are going to wonder what’s happened – especially when Channel 3 News are supposed to be broadcasting clips of the show while you’re still on stage. It’ll be a big story if you cancel at the last minute, and whoever it is who filmed that footage might still have it – or might still blab. Some people might see pulling out of the show as an admission of guilt.’

  ‘Fuck,’ Lola gasped, ‘I hadn’t thought about that.’

  ‘Well, don’t think about it. Let’s just worry about tonight for now.’

  ‘OK. But do you think Freddy can switch the footage? Do you think he can even get over to Vlad in time?’

  ‘I think if anybody can, he can. He’s a good man, Lola, one of the best. I can tell – I can always spot them.’

  ‘Yeah, well, I wish I could say the same. And then maybe I wouldn’t be up to my neck in this shitstream.’

  Amina rolled her eyes affectionately. At that moment Lola realized just how badly she’d underestimated her – and vowed to make a better effort to appreciate her in future. She took hold of her hand and squeezed it.

  ‘Now why don’t we keep trying Harvey?’ Amina suggested.

  At the mention of his name Lola felt a rumble of reassurance. She decided to give his phone one last try.

  *

  Harvey was in the disabled toilets holding his wet trousers under the hand drier when he heard his phone ring. It was Lola.

  Thank fuck for that!

  ‘Lola!’ he practically barked into the phone, stepping away from the loud burring. ‘Lola, I’ve been trying to get hold of you for ages!’

  ‘I know, darlin’, and I know everything that’s going on – Freddy’s just filled me in.’

  Harvey was surprised how good it felt to hear her voice; it was as if all the bad feeling between them had instantly evaporated. The machine snapped off.

  ‘He’s trying to sort things now,’ Lola went on. ‘But I really need you here too, darlin’.’

  ‘All right, I’m on my way. But you’ll have to send someone to let me in – everyone knows I’m not working for you anymore and they’ve already struck me off the list.’

  He heard Lola clearing her throat. ‘All right, I’ll send Amina down now. And I’m sorry, Harvey.’

  ‘Sorry? For what?’

  ‘Oh, for everything. For not listening to you when you were right. Because you’re always right, Harvey. It’s just sometimes hard for me to take it.’

  Even though he was standing in a disabled toilet damp and half naked, as he listened to her words Harvey could feel himself welling up with emotion.

  ‘Don’t worry about that now, Lola. We can talk about that later.’

  ‘Yeah, all right. Just as long as you let me give you a little surprise first.’

  Harvey could feel his chin wobbling. ‘I think I can handle that. Just as long as you don’t give it to me when you’re on stage.’

  ‘All right, darlin’,’ Lola swallowed, the emotion clearly getting to her too. ‘But only if you’ll agree to come back as my manager. And my best mate.’

  ‘Agree? You just try and stop me.’

  *

  As Freddy and Tiny dodged their way through the few fans still lingering in the front-of-house areas, Freddy felt grateful nobody was trying to stop them. The odd security guard called out to ask what they were doing but Tiny replied and Freddy barely even registered what he said. All he could think about was getting through to Vlad and switching the footage before Lola stepped foot on stage.

  He banged into a pear-shaped man cramming a last-minute hotdog into his mouth.

  ‘Sorry!’ he shouted back at him.

  The man did a double-take as he recognized Freddy from the TV and dropped his hotdog on the floor.

  ‘Really sorry, mate!’ Freddy called back over his shoulder.

  As he carried on running he could feel a sweat patch beginning to form on his shirt – something he ordinarily had to watch out for before a live broadcast. He loosened his tie to try and cool down but the truth was he didn’t care. Right now all he cared about was Lola. And the way she’d looked at him in that changing tent had made him think she still cared about him too. Spike had been right, there was still something there between them – and whatever it was, it was spurring Freddy on with a new spurt of energy.

  *

  Lola allowed herself to be led through the wings by a smiling stagehand. She looked at the name on his laminate – Vaughan.

  ‘It rhymes with porn,’ he joked, following her gaze. She’d have laughed if she didn’t think she was about to wet herself with fear. This guy obviously had no idea what was going on behind the scenes – or in her head.

  ‘Just try not to be too nervous,’ he offered brightly. ‘You’re going to be great.’

  Am I? She could feel her entire body gripped by such an acute state of panic that she seriously doubted it. She wasn’t even able to walk without trembling. She had no idea how she was going to dance – let alone sing.

  ‘Thanks, Vaughan,’ she creaked. ‘I’ll do my best.’

  He left her standing in a small chamber under the stage and closed the door to seal her in. From now on she was on her own, completely on her own. At least until the platform she was standing on shot up and propelled her onto the stage – and into view of the thousands of fans who were still chanting her name.

  ‘Lola! Lola! Lola!’

  More than anything in the world she wished they’d be quiet. Didn’t they have any idea how little she deserved their adulation? Didn’t they realize how badly she was about to let them down? She concentrated on regulating her breathing and could feel her inhalations falling into rhythm with their chants.

  ‘Lola! Lola! Lola!’

  She heard the album promo come to an end and the band’s intro to Tramp kick in. There was a roar of excitement from the audience that made the wooden walls rattle around her. She knew from rehearsals that very soon the dancers would be joining the band on the stage. And then it would be time for her entrance.

  There were just five minutes to go. Five minutes until her entire future would be decided.

  Come on, Freddy. Don’t let me down!

  *

  Spike followed Barbara through the arena and slid into position next to Big Phil on a podium about a third of the way back from the stage. He’d just been in the satellite truck editing the backstage footage that would be laid under Freddy’s live broadcast. Although he knew the footage Phil was about to shoot of the performance would be much more important.

  That is unless Freddy manages to kill the story . . .

  The truth was Spike had no way of knowing how Freddy was getting on as for some reason he had n’t replied to his texts. The first he’d get wind of it now would probably be when he watched Lola perform in front of the screens.

  He felt his shoulders seize up as six dance
rs sizzled their way onto the stage to the sound of the band’s rousing intro. Lola couldn’t be far behind. And, judging from the thunderous roar coming from the fans, they couldn’t wait to see her.

  He only hoped they weren’t about to witness her execution live on stage.

  *

  Freddy burst into the technical booth without pausing for breath. He’d just flown up three flights of stairs and was hissing out air like a deflating balloon. Three men looked up at him, their faces illuminated by a row of computers.

  ‘Which one of you’s Vlad?’ he panted.

  A weasel-faced man who for some reason smelled of TCP stood up to shake his hand. ‘I’m Vlad – and you’d better tell me what’s going on.’

  ‘There’s no time to explain properly,’ Freddy replied, ‘but somebody’s hacked into your computer and edited footage of Lola doing something she shouldn’t into the video for the first song.’

  ‘Fuck!’ Vlad dropped into his seat and quickly opened up the timeline on his computer. Freddy swept into position behind him and watched as he dragged the cursor along the edit. ‘There it is!’ he said, pointing at a chunk of pink appearing on an otherwise green oblong. ‘That’s got to be it!’

  ‘Well, can you cut it out?’

  Vlad looked at a timer in the corner of the screen.

  ‘That video sequence doesn’t kick in till Lola hits the stage,’ he explained, ‘which is in less than one minute’s time.’

  Freddy gulped.

  ‘It’ll be tight,’ Vlad went on, ‘and I’ll need the changes to render, which will take about thirty seconds.’

  Freddy looked at the timer. 55 seconds.

  The three techies stared at him in expectation.

  ‘Let’s do it!’ he boomed.

  Vlad’s fingers instantly began zipping over the keyboard and Freddy leaned forward to watch.

  Oh come on! Please hurry up!

  ‘That’s it,’ Vlad commented with a blast of TCP, ‘we’ve made the cut. Now for the substitution.’

  Freddy looked at the timer. 43 seconds.

  He felt as if his stomach were being run through an old mangle. He was so overwhelmed with fear he could almost taste it at the back of his throat.

  ‘Done!’ Vlad gasped. ‘Just let me hit Render.’