Wackos to Obliterate: Book Two (Chapter 10)
The next week or two Marden made no contact and since Trink had quit working at the convenience store, he no longer saw the old couple, but knew the other band members were curious what was happening. Instead of contacting, though, he knew it was best to be patient and wait for Brad’s call.
“I think I’ll take Limey for a walk,” he told Madelyn while she sat on the sofa watching a drama.
It was a good day to be outside, the leaves on the maples were competing in shades of yellow and red, and there was a small flock of ducks flying overhead. The ducks reminded him that Ryuji and Malcolm were hunters. He didn’t recall Ryuji mentioning guns back in the day. No doubt, it was something he got into since the breakup. Maybe he developed the interest through his current career in photography. More likely he started assassinating birds after meeting his roomie.
That Ryuji was gay surprised him since Ryuji had not been very supportive when the news broke about Madelyn. At that time, his reaction was to be expected; it was much the same as everyone else at the time. Ryuji, though, even more than either Nils or Barry reacted violently and was more sarcastic and cruel in his comments. His did not reach the level of Sophie, but it was hurtful. Perhaps, being the bassist made him more sensitive to the underlying rhythm of the group, and he knew this rift had destroyed what was there.
All in all, it was astounding how long Madelyn and he were together before anyone knew, but maybe not since she is so feminine in both appearance and demeanor. In fact, he never suspected it until they had sex. At the time, of course, Trink was surprised, but by then he was so smitten that he hesitated just a second before the passion drove him on.
Perhaps the biggest reason the other band members were so combative was that Maddie had been the assistant to their previous manager, but took over after he had died of a drug overdose. When she took charge it was six months before problems began. Trink and she had started getting close about a year before the manager’s death and had begun living together just before the tragic event. Shortly after, it was rumored Trink was living with a transsexual, which became a media sensation at the time. The manager’s demise, however, overshadowed those rumors until the second phase hit with the revelation that the trannie was their manager. This was followed by an investigative piece that highlighted a discrepancy in royalty payments, which favored Trink over the other band members. Madelyn promptly sued the news agencies over slander, an expected action by a manager, but one which resulted in widening the rift between Trink and the others.
As the weeks passed, the others started to question whether the business allegations were factual as questions asked in interviews focused on the allegations and on their opinions about transsexuals and such. These resulted in slanted articles in which certain members said some pretty hurtful things. Maddie and Trink were then hounded to respond to these, Maddie went a little overboard and things escalated to the point where the atmosphere between the members, already worn by clashing egos, became toxic.
On top of these developments, more investigation revealed Trink and Maddie had earned the lion’s share of the proceeds from their last two tours. These figures could be explained considering she was the manager and he was the main lyricist (also the leader indicated by the fact that the band’s name was taken from his own), but things had gotten so ugly lawyers had been hired and steps to litigate were initiated.
During the court proceedings, it had been revealed their original manager had received a 25% share of royalties on their earlier songs and was able to get that agreed to by the band since they were oblivious to business transactions. This provision had been passed on to Madelyn automatically upon the death of the first manager, under a proviso written in the contract that stipulated the manager’s percentage would be inherited by the new manager if the current manager had not stipulated differently. Since their first manager had been an orphan and never married, he had no heirs. The band members sued Maddie over this condition since it had been added only a year before his death; they alleged she somehow was able to coax the first manager to amend the contract. After even more heated litigation, Maddie finally agreed to renegotiate the royalty agreement, which was more equitable; by that time, however, the magic was gone and the wall between the Trink/Maddie side and the others had become too high to breach.
As Trink gathered Limey’s poop into a plastic baggie, he wondered why Sophie was unable to find success in going solo. He knew that in the early years she had made an effort, but it quickly fizzled. In fact, he had no idea what she did in her post-TRinket phase of life besides raising her son.
“I think he’s old enough,” he said as he tied up the bag of dung. He thought about heading back to the house, but decided, since there was no threat of rain and since they had walked almost as far as the bicycle/jogging path by the river, he’d keep going. Madelyn is absorbed in watching that bloody drama anyway.
“Why do you keep forgetting to take your phone?” Madelyn said when he returned with Limey.
“Did the president ask me for advice on which country to attack next?” he said looking up at her as he cleaned the dog’s paws with a rag.
“Not quite, but Chelsea called.”
“And?”
“And she asked if we’d like to fly to Neverland,” she said as she walked into the kitchen, leaned against the refrigerator and watched Trink fuss with the dog.
“Can’t they get Tinker Bell to sprinkle a little dust over them and fly over here?”
“I think you remember Brad’s aversion to travel.”
“But he doesn’t mind if we risk the trip,” he said as he let Limey free and stood up.
“What’re you worked up about? Don’t you want to know where he’s willing to take this?”
“Are they supplying the pixie dust?”
“I’m sure they’ve got plenty of that lying around.” As she said that he wondered how Sophie and the other members will respond once they notice Maddie behind the scenes. No doubt they already discussed this while he wasn’t around. Perhaps, one of the reasons Sophie vehemently refused to talk with Maddie the other day was related to an earlier conversation she had with the other two. Probably she thought Maddie was starting a divide-and-conquer campaign by wanting to talk with her without the others present.
Once they arrived at Marden’s, it was clear Brad knew all the problems surrounding the TRinkets. No doubt it was one of the factors that convinced him to utilize them beyond his discovery of Trink in the neighborhood.
“Before we go any further, we need to sketch out a battle plan. You’re aware I intend to have the group perform at some legalization events, rallies, or what have you. How available are the other members, or how many of them can we count on?” Brad asked as the four of them sat around the Marden living room.
“It depends on numbers,” Madelyn said as she rubbed her hand back and forth over a jean-covered knee of Trink sitting next to her on the couch.
Brad sat in his wheelchair in front of the picture window in the living room. “Well, there’s no way we can pay an advance. The group has been defunct for too long.”
“She means sales, dear,” Chelsea said, sitting in her rocker next to her husband’s wheelchair.
“Not only sales. If the number of hits continues to rise on the video websites, they’ll think their popularity is increasing, which should get them itching to perform.”
Trink shook his head in agreement. “That’s the main reason I was able to get them together this last time. Everyone had noticed how our old songs were becoming popular on the internet.”
“Since you brought up sales, how are you planning to promote it?” Madelyn asked Brad who looked old and frail in his chair.
“I didn’t, she did,” he smiled, nodding to his wife. “Obviously, since there’s only one song, there won’t be a CD. It’ll be a digital download. Actually, if you approve, it can be available on the major commercial sites and a couple of dozen smaller music-specific distributors. Also, we’re planning to have ads and purchasing links on all the pro-legalization websites in the next couple of days; pending your approval. Of course, we need to have a few interviews scheduled with some media outlets.”
“We thought the Pixie Palace would be a good backdrop for those,” Chelsea said.
“I’m sure we can get approval from everyone by tomorrow at the latest,” Madelyn said, smiling. Trink was a little surprised at how quickly she took charge. It reminded him of that old adage, something to the effect: you can take the manager out of the band, but you can’t take the band out of the manager.
“Doctor, there’s a Mr. Bohlin on line one,” the receptionist said.
“Thanks,” he said and pressed the extension button. “So, what’s the latest TRinket tidbit you’ve got to share?”
“Oh Doctor, my hallucinations have returned. I believe I’m seeing transvestites taking over my band. What kind of medication can you prescribe to make them go away?”
“Well, previously we tried litigation, which didn’t seem too effective unfortunately. You know, I’m at my wit’s end.”
“Can’t you get in touch with some mafia types at a res casino? Surely, you indigenous folks have links to crime syndicates through all of your gambling establishments,” Nils joked with Barry.
“Sorry, don’t have enough wampum to finance a hit. I guess you’re out of luck then. Seriously, man, what’s new?” Barry asked as he leaned back in his office chair and stared at an abstract painting he bought a couple of weeks ago. It was hanging on the wall opposite his desk. The artist was a young woman who lived on the West Coast, but had her first exhibit in New York recently. The painting was reasonably priced, which was a little surprising since she had been developing some notoriety by publically criticizing the political actions of a foreign government that financed a talk show she had on a cable network.
Regardless the backstory, it was a good addition to the others on the walls in his office. He found abstracts seemed to give the mind a lot more freedom to process input. Currently, he was hoping this painting would help him decide his next move in this new development with the band for which he spent a good part of his youth playing guitar – the gig he loved until he discovered their manager dead in his office from a supposed overdose of jimson weed, an herb for which both of them shared a morbid passion.
“We’re going on a legalization tour throughout the state to help push for passage.”
“How’s the new guitarist working out?”
“He’s fine on the new stuff, but definitely needs work on the older material,” Nils said over the VoIP connection; still amazed at how good the connection was for being a free app.
“What would you say if I told you I’ve got a vacation starting in a couple of days?”
“Do you intend to make it to a few legalization rallies?” Nils asked, pleased he could see his old friend so soon, but even more excited that they may get the chance to perform onstage again.
“You think it’ll be possible to make a guest appearance?”
“That’ll be amazing man. I can’t guarantee the new guy would be thrilled, but he might love the opportunity to share a few licks with you. He’s kind of a fan.”
“No shit, really? You mean it may be a wet-dream of his if I show up? I was thinking mostly as a way to throw a monkey-wrench into that faux wench’s works.”
“Oh, Maddie will be madder than hell, I’m sure,” Nils said, smiling.
“Just like old times,” Barry said, a big smile covering his roundish face, vaguely resembling a famous portrait of Sitting Bull taken before the massacre at Wounded Knee, framed by dark hair parted in the middle and braided to hang down on either side of his grey vest and white business shirt. “How do you think Sophie and Ryuji will react?”
“Hell if I know, but I’m sure everyone will be more elated than pissed off; except for Maddie and Trink.”
“You really think Trink’ll be pissed?”
“If Maddie’s pissed, he’ll be pissed.”
“Well, let me assure the spiritual part of you, miracles do exist.”
“Coming from a medicine man, I guess I have to take you at your word.”
“I’ll be wearing my ghost dance shirt; just in case.”
“Don’t forget, it didn’t protect Sitting Bull, did it?”
Before Nils hung up, they firmed the date when Barry would arrive and Nils assured him he would reserve a room in the same motel Sophie and he would be using. At the outset, as a way to ensure as much freedom as possible, Nils made it clear to Madelyn that he had special arrangements with an online booking service he had been using for years on the New-Age itinerant preaching circuit.
Barry knew his presence would be a nail in Maddie’s side, but wanted to make sure he could infiltrate the mask she must be using to cover her real intentions behind this resuscitation of the TRinkets. He would have gotten involved at the outset, but had been too busy with his clients to take off some time. Specifically, he had been tied down by having to console and ensure the mental stability of a high-profile client’s wife after her husband, his client, died recently of an alleged heroin overdose. When he first started his practice, both his connection to the music industry and the urban legend that surrounded the death of the TRinket’s original manager attracted patients who were musicians or people connected to the New York music scene; not surprisingly, most of these came to him for drug-related problems. The more established he became, more and more of his patients were people who had some brush with the legal system and the rising obsession with rehab clinics as a way to “solve” the issue. To his financial benefit, one side-effect of rehab was to wed these “addicts” and “substance-abusers” with shrinks. As a result, he was backlogged with cases; luckily, very lucrative cases of patients with very deep pockets.
Links to the previous chapters of Book Two
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Copyright (©) by Kenneth Wayne
Cool another one of these. I'll read this after I get some sleep.
I've tweeted your book link. I am a writer, and I believe in writers giving out their books for free. For some of us, it's not about money, it's about enjoying writing so much that you want others to have an equal experience by ready your work.
I'm also not against selling one's work. Each artist decides in what direction each finished work should go.
Thank you for sharing your passion with us.
Thanks for your nice comment. I agree with you. I just enjoyed letting the characters go with the flow. I hope some others will enjoy experience as much as I had in writing it.