The Miranda Contract

by Ben Langdon

  “How’d you do that?”

  “I have been in the business,” he explained.

  “What business?”

  Sully shrugged and stroked his bearded chin, his eyes intent on the image. Bree followed his gaze and saw the Russian yelling. She’d heard the rants before, although never directly as the target. When he lost his temper, the earth moved. She could see the room he was sitting in tremble. A woman stumbled into view, falling forward from where she had been hidden and nearly hitting her head on the desk.

  The Russian stood from his chair and yelled at her as she picked herself up.

  “My kingdom for a volume control,” Sully murmured.

  “Do you know her?” Bree asked.

  “I thought perhaps I did.”

  The woman was thin and young. Her blonde hair was short and she looked like she’d been caught in the headlights of a truck. Another person appeared, his hands on the girl’s back, pulling her back from the desk.

  It was Halo.

  Suddenly the girl shook herself free of him and lunged at the Russian, her finger pointing at him with a silent accusation. Halo grabbed her arm and pulled her back a second time. The Russian’s eyes glowed white.

  “And now we go,” Sully said.

  Bree didn’t understand. The globe mesmerized her, but Sully gently turned her around and she saw the shadows in the corner of the room begin to shift. It was the hallmark of Grandfather Time.

  “I do not look forward to a rematch,” Sully said. “Although honor dictates I do not back down from this.”

  “Huh,” Bree said, but didn’t waste time. She touched Sully’s arm and they both began to disintegrate, even as Grandfather Time materialized.

  Like trains passing in a station, Bree mused, catching his timeless eyes before she vanished completely.

  Chapter 29

  Miranda

  The stadium car park was full, and stragglers moved towards the gates under the protection of umbrellas and glow bands as the rain pelted down around them. It was well-lit but no one noticed Miranda Brody arrive on the back of a stolen Kawasaki Ninja, and that was a relief, because she knew they wouldn’t have been able to get anywhere near the entrance with a riot of fans clamoring around her. Dan slowed the bike and kicked the stand back as it stopped at the curb.

  Miranda had been at the stadium only a few days before, but since then she had been shot at by snipers, nearly blown up by a roadside bomb and then abducted by a supervillain.

  They were late.

  So many of her fans were already inside.

  She let her hands drop from around Dan’s waist as she sat up and slid off the bike, landing on the soaked road but with her helmet still on. Dan switched off the engine and got to his own feet, looking through his visor into hers.

  She heard herself breathing again, the breath fogging up the inside of the helmet. The drone of the engine was gone too. It was just the two of them and a car park. Miranda had been holding him close during the ride, her body pressed against his, and she missed the feeling so much.

  A couple of technicians emptied out of the doors just ahead of them and the noise distracted Dan long enough for Miranda to take off her helmet. When he looked back at her things had moved forward, the pieces of the plan falling into place.

  She had to go inside, even if a monster waited in there for her. She had to go and stand between the Mad Russian and her thousands of fans.

  Dan looked at her and took off his own helmet slowly.

  His hair was curling slightly, and damp. A wisp of it stuck to his cheek and she pulled off her gloves and wiped it away, giving him a smile. He shook his head.

  “Don’t worry about me,” she said.

  Dan let his helmet drop to the road.

  “You should put on a hat or something,” he said.

  Back at the beach house they had watched news reports. Miranda was the lead story. Her people were panicking, media outlets across the world were trying to predict the outcome of what looked like some bizarre kidnapping. And Dan’s face was being shown too. There had been an interview with Alsana and she was not impressed. She had called him dangerous and looking right into the camera she told the world of his history with violence. Miranda turned the television off.

  “I’m coming with you,” she said.

  Dan shook his head.

  “I’m serious, Dan. Those kids need me. They’re in that stadium because of me and I’m not leaving them there for your grandfather’s sick plans.”

  “You can’t help them,” Dan said.

  “You’re wrong,” she said. She sat next to him on the sofa and took his hands which were shaking. He thought she was going to die. She could see it in his face and in his body. “I’m going with you,” she continued. “You might think I’m a passing blip, that my music will be gone this time next year. It’s probably true, but right now, out there… those kids worship me. They sing the songs and they wear the clothes and they’re waiting to see me on stage.”

  “You’ll get hurt,” he said softly.

  “I can’t abandon them. I owe it to them, and you know that’s true. You’re going because you think you need to atone for your grandfather. I’m going because I know I owe it to the fans. They’re there because of me, no accident. I am responsible for them.”

  “He’s a killer, Miranda,” Dan said. “He won’t hesitate, not a second time.”

  “I can’t abandon them. I can’t sit here while they risk their lives because of me.”

  She leaned across and kissed his hair, holding her lips against his head for a few seconds, smelling him so close.

  The Human Tour was at its final concert. Halo had told Miranda about the Mad Russian’s plans to blow up the stadium, to obliterate her fans if he couldn’t burn her. Eventually she had convinced Dan to let her come, to let her draw the attention of everyone while he found a way through the madman’s armor. In the end, he didn’t have a choice, anyway. She could get her own way back to the city.

  She could hear music from the support band inside the stadium. Dan looked like he didn’t know where to go. He was stuck there in the rain.

  “Come here,” Miranda said and tugged at his jacket. She unzipped him and peeled the jacket off, laying it over the bike’s seat. She slipped out of her own jacket and realized she was still wearing one of his old t-shirts. It brought a smile to his lips.

  “You look good,” he said. “Really good.”

  And then he reached forward and kissed her. His lips were soft and a bit cold, but she pressed back against him and she forgot everything. He reached his hands out and held her hips against his. But then she pulled back and caught the smell of his wet hair as she opened her eyes.

  “It’s time,” she said.

  As soon as she slipped into the doors she was discovered. A woman wearing a microphone headset took her arm and marched her down the corridors without a word. Two more officials joined them, chattering away to unseen people.

  Todd Christie appeared around a corner, fury etched across his face. He looked at her with wide eyes, borderline crazy as he took in her wet hair, her clothes and shoes. Then he looked at his watch. She could see the veins in his neck.

  “I’m not late am I?” she asked, shaking free from the woman. “The band sounds great from out there.”

  Christie clenched his jaw again, biting back words.

  Miranda moved past him towards the dressing room, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back, shoving her against the wall. His beady eyes pinned her there with memories of Chinatown and the Mad Russian.

  He swore at her.

  And she closed her eyes against it; against the smell of his breath and the heat of his face so close to hers.

  “Get your hands off me,” she said slowly.

  She opened her eyes and stared directly at him. He hesitated but then the grip relaxed and he started breathing heavily through his nose.

  “You work for me,” she said in a low voice. “Don’t forget that, Todd. I
f I want to see the city where I’m performing, then that’s exactly what I’ll do. If I’m late, you wait. If I’m unhappy, you make me happy.”

  She waited for a response.

  “Do I make myself clear?” she asked.

  “Clear, Miss Brody,” he said, running his hand over his forehead.

  “Good. Now, I need you to organize an orderly evacuation.”

  “What?” Christie’s eyes bulged again and he bared his teeth, spittle flecking outward. He punched the wall and turned around in a rage. The other assistants moved back while Miranda remained calm.

  “We need the people out into that parkland,” she said. “That’s not negotiable.”

  “That’s insane!” he yelled. “Your little star is fading Brody. Your time is over, tonight. Mess it up and you go down with pain, your whole family will be bankrupted, you’ll be ruined.”

  “I don’t think…”

  “You don’t, do you?” he hissed. “Get up on stage and sing your little heart out. Save what little you have left.”

  He punched the wall again and stormed away, leaving the assistants to guide Miranda to the stage door. A girl started working on her hair as they moved, while another slid a black and diamond t-shirt over her head. She looked back but Christie was gone. Ahead of her was the thumping of bass and the distant sounds of a boy band. She didn’t know their names, hadn’t met them yet, but they were out there on stage.

  In the line of fire.

  She shook off the assistants and walked forward.

  She was supposed to arrive via the roof elevator but there was no time. The band had stopped. The main entrance was in front of her. Miranda adjusted the headset microphone and looked to the girls around her. None of them looked familiar.

  “Let’s do this,” she said softly.

  The doors opened and a roar lifted across the stadium. Lights strobed and then found Miranda walking out onto the main stage. They concentrated on her in a bright white spotlight, shunting everything else into darkness. Flashes from cameras and phones punctuated the crowd. She could hear her name, over and over. Miranda held up her hands and the noise lifted even more, sweeping around the stadium.

  “Hello Melbourne!” she called and laughed at the further roars and whistles. “It’s so good to be here!”

  The lights came on across the crowd, sweeping around the screaming fans and their signs. Parents smiled along with their children, costumed fans flaunted their freak chic. Miranda moved to the edge of the stage. Security gates kept the fans from actually getting close enough to touch but she reached out to them anyway.

  “I’m sorry for being so late,” she said to the crowd. “But you’ve got such a lovely city here.”

  Behind her came the freaks. She saw Kyla leading a group of three girls, all dressed up in bird feathers. The girl’s skin was so pink under the lights, the swirls of blue ink moved across her skin and were magnified on the giant screens flanking the stage.

  Miranda turned back to the crowd. Thousands of people had come to see her final show. She let herself think of Dan and hoped he was somewhere close. She needed him.

  “Can I tell you a secret? Just between you and me?”

  The crowd screamed back at her.

  Kyla and another girl came to stand next to her. The band started up softly, leading her into the first set. Miranda was running out of time. She cupped her hand to her mouth and smiled.

  “You see, Melbourne, there’s this boy…”

  More screams. The intensity built and twisted.

  She held her hands out and waved the sound back, smiling across at Kyla. She saw the green lit exit signs at the edge of the stage, and then turned to spot them throughout the stadium.

  “There’s this boy…” she said again. “But I want to take you someplace special and talk a little more. Do you want to come along, Melbourne?”

  Stage hands at the edge of the platform looked confused. She imagined Christie fuming in the darkness.

  The lights flickered.

  “I need you to be extra sneaky, okay? We’re going to be a little bit naughty. I hope the mums and dads out there don’t mind, but I want to take you all on a journey. Do you want to come with me?”

  The crowd surged, faces glistening with excitement. The security guards looked a little anxious but didn’t look up at her, their eyes on the crowd.

  “Let’s start with all you lovely freaks in bays 10 through to sixteen. I want you to move out through the gates. Come on now, let’s be sneaky, no rushing.”

  It took some time, but then the people directly opposite her started to move. Fans in other areas shifted too and several exits opened.

  “Now all you lovelies over there in bays five to ten, you can start moving. We’re all going to meet outside. I’ve got a surprise for you, a piece of me you can keep forever.”

  The lights flickered again and she caught sight of Christie in the wings.

  “Come on girls, come on boys, we need to get this party started. Everyone else, you can start moving too.”

  There were ripples at the gates. People were stumbling. Security was there, assisting but unsure of how to deal with such a mass exodus.

  “You think this stage is something?” she called.

  Miranda looked over at the runway leading to the elevator. She moved backward, arms up and smiling at the crowds.

  “The real magic is out there. We’ve decked the whole park in magic freak chic, just a little intimate thing for you and me, for my final show.”

  The crowds moved again. She could see empty seats but there were still too many people inside. The lights went out for a few seconds and screams spread through the air. Her microphone dropped out.

  “Get out of here,” she whispered to Kyla. “Get outside.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “You’re in danger here,” she said. “Get the dancers out of the building, please.”

  Kyla nodded, the blue ink on her face flaring quickly before it pulled back under the pink and disappeared. She touched Miranda’s hand lightly and then moved back towards the other dancers.

  Miranda retreated to the runway as the lights returned. White balls of light flickered up and down the path to the elevator. She kicked open the box with her foot and saw the ray-guns. Her chest felt tight as she bent down and took one out, slipping it into the waist band of Dan’s jeans.

  “You see, there’s this boy,” she said again, the microphone only transmitting some of her words. “And he’s out there somewhere, trying his best to be a better person. He’s out there for you and he’s out there for me.”

  Kyla disappeared off stage, along with the band and dancers. Miranda was left alone in the flickering lights.

  “And he’s a freak.”

  The lights cut out again. There was a scream from her left and then more around the arena. The microphone crackled and she pulled it from her head, dropping it to the floor.

  “But he’s my freak and I’m not going to let him down.”

  Chapter 30

  Dan

  She stepped away from him, walking backwards with her eyes still on his. He could sense the explosives behind her, threaded through the stadium like a brightly strung web. They weren’t hidden from him. That wasn’t their purpose.

  Miranda waved at him as she reached the door. And then she turned around, her hair spreading a little as she moved and stepped through. It only took a moment before the doors closed again and she was gone.

  “We have to do this,” she had said back at the beach. “You do your thing and I’ll do mine.”

  Dan jogged to the doors and slipped in, but Miranda was already gone. He could still feel her lips against his, and as his eyes adjusted to the darkness inside the access corridor he realized how much he had been thinking about that kiss. It’d been coming for a long time.

  He breathed out and focused on the network of explosives. He pressed his fingers against a wall and felt the electricity pulsing there. A door unlocked ahead of
him, the electronic mechanism no match for him tonight. With a last glance down the corridor, Dan moved into the maintenance room. He let the door click behind him and took in the monitors lining one of the walls. He saw a band on stage and cameras cycled through a loop of security footage from all the exits. He saw Halo on a screen, looking defiantly up to the camera, tapping his phone which shined in the light of the service corridor.

  Dan shook his head but already his mind had burst outward, into the stadium, to lock down that phone. He located the camera and pin-pointed Halo’s location. Level 2. Dan knew the way.

  It was quiet. The well-lit corridor had several doors leading off on each side but he needed access to the higher levels. Halo’s phone signal called to him from above. He closed his eyes quickly and scanned the area, pushing his mind outward and when he came across surveillance or locks, Dan over-rode them and closed off their circuits. He switched off the explosives as he moved as well, sucking the energy dry and leaving them disengaged husks. Security could cut them out of the walls later, when it was safe.

  It was all too easy.

  The lights remained on in the corridors, but as he moved further into the bowels of the stadium the cameras began to go down, flicking out one by one. The Mad Russian was in the building. Dan moved to the end of the corridor and found the stairs. Beside them were elevators, big service ones which ferried goods up and down the center. He thought about using them but decided against testing his luck so early in the night. He pushed open the door to the stairs and jogged up to the next level.

  As he stepped out into more corridors, two people walked past him, talking fast into their headsets. Dan smiled at Miranda’s name and ducked his head as they passed. Halo’s phone signal led him away from the main corridor and into more dimly-lit spaces where cages held oversized props and promotional material. The air was cooler here too. He saw a Christmas tree slumped up against the wire mesh.

  With the air conditioner chugging away above him, Dan relaxed a little and looked around, his fingers pressing the edge of the tree against the wire. Christmas seemed so far away. He let the plastic pine needles go and stepped further into the semi-darkness. Besides the noise and the physical vibrations from the machine above, the corridor was abandoned and his steps echoed. The wire fences enclosed storage cubicles, protecting brown paper-wrapped merchandise, signs and display cabinets from concerts gone by. It gave the corridor an appearance of order by hiding the clutter behind wire and padlocks.