Warlord Metal (11 page)

It's so hard to describe - it was soft and rough at the same time. Hot and wet. All those silly clichés in the Penthouse letters are true! She squeezed my breast and I about fell over, my knees got so weak.... It's definitely not mutual masturbation! Wowza!

And then Lando showed up and Jordan did a fast back pedal. She tried to act all cool and shit about it. She said that she'd hurt me and that I needed someone else to take care of me and treat me right. But she doesn't realize that she's the one to treat me right. I know she won't hurt me - I've known it from that first night at the bus stop. I've just got to get it through to her that she's the One (with a capital O, damn it!)

I'm backstage at some little rock club in some little town in California. Lando and Jordan aren't jumping around as much as usual - they're both feeling pretty crappy. They left the hotel last night and went to a country/western bar, of all places, to pick up chicks.... There was a big fight outside with a couple of the local yokels. Lando ended up with stitches near his eye and his knuckles split. Jordan has a shiner that's so bad she still can't see out of it... They're just lucky that the guys they got in the fight with were troublemakers - otherwise they'd be in jail and we'd be losing money on this contract!

I think she did it because of what happened. Maybe she was punishing herself for losing control with me, I don't know. Maybe she just had all that pent up sexual energy and needed to release it.... I guess a fight would do that.

I don't know how I'm going to do it, but I will. I will get Jordan to love me if it's the last thing I do. That's a promise.

I'm Gonna get Close to You

Queensryche

I like to look at shadows sweating on the wall.

I get excited when I hear footsteps in the hall.

Outside your balcony I have a room with a view,

And I'm watching you.

I dial your telephone each and every afternoon.

I wait by your door till you're asleep at night.

And when you're alone I know when you

Turn out the light

Chorus:

I'm gonna get close to you,

Oh-Oh so close to you.

You fumble for your keys,

I'm six or seven steps behind you -

I'm so close to you.

Are you terrified of me?

What do I know about you?

How did I find out?

You think I'm a fool or maybe some kind of lunatic.

Say I'm wasting my time but I know what to do with it.

It's as plain as black and white.

Chorus

If you knew my infinite charm,

There'd be no reason to be so alarmed.

Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm right,

Maybe I'm some kind of lunatic.

You say I'm wasting all of my time,

But I know what to do with it.

It is plain as black and white.

Chorus

I'm like a hungry Criminal

and your protection is minimal,

So minimal.

Chapter 4

Eighteenth

The Whisper

Queensryche

Cries from the aisles.

The tolling of the judgment bell.

Eyes watched the violence.

The absence of those who have seen, marks the faith of the spell.

Cold, cold is the viper,

stalking the night for the heat

it must find.

Time is the promise,

delivered with stunning consistency,

line after line, time after time.

The innocent victim awaits...

Please take my hand,

don't be afraid.

I am your master,

you are my slave.

Voices are calling me back,

back to the day.

Footsteps had followed me faster... listen.

Screams from a new love,

the passion was burning,

it singed in a stare.

Free under the night sun.

The fear of the hunger will always be

there in my mind, time after time,

the morning will close a new page.

Chorus

Follow the impulse you have, I'll show you the way.

Forget what you've learned in the past now,

Listen...

Sonny stood over the tray of chemicals in the low red lighting. She slid in a piece of paper, using the tongs to fully submerge it. A black and white image developed. This one was a picture of the band from backstage. At the time of the shot, Atkins had just leapt into the air so it was blurred in one corner.

The teenager sighed. She removed the photo and ran it through the rinse tray before hanging it behind her to dry. Ten other students were doing the same thing, developing their very first rolls of film. The instructor wandered among them, answering any questions.

So far, there had been little usable on her roll. Well, you're only on the seventh exposure, she chided herself, preparing the eighth. And this is your first roll.... As she continued with her work, she mused over the past four months.

The tour had finished in March. After a self-congratulatory stop at Disneyland, the band went back home to Portland. By the end of April, they had burnt their first compact disc. They now had five hundred copies that they were selling for ten dollars apiece at the various venues they played.

In May, Sonny had graduated high school with flying colors. Despite several lucrative offers at various institutes she chose to remain at home, accepting a four year scholarship at Portland State. The dark girl had lasted through two weeks of scholastic freedom before she couldn't stand it anymore. Within a few days, she was working part time at a local shipping delivery company and attending a summer course in photography. She'd used part of her scholarship to purchase the camera and accessories needed, putting the remainder in her savings account for the fall semester.

Her goals had changed a bit. She was no longer interested in becoming a news journalist, per se. Sonny had made up her mind to follow a more unconventional path. She was determined to become Warlord's first publicist - doing photography and articles of the band as they gained in popularity. Granted, there wasn't much call for it now, but the teenager was sure that the band would hit the big time soon.

Which was why she had chosen this class. Candid shots of Warlord would eventually fetch a pretty penny. Especially when they became successful and people were clamoring for information from before they had 'made it.'

The next photo began to develop. Sonny blinked at it. "Oh, yeah. That turned out really well." It was a close up, three quarter facial of Jordan as she sat in the armchair at the warehouse. The neck of her guitar moved out of focus to her right. A dreamy look was on her face as she worked on a song. The teenager remembered the irritated glare that had followed the flashbulb with a grin.

"That did turn out well," the instructor said, peering into the tray as he passed. "Definitely a keeper."

"Thanks," the teenager grinned. She transferred the photo to the rinse tray as the instructor continued on his way. "Definitely a keeper."

And that was one goal that had not changed over the last few months. Sonny still had her sights set on the redheaded guitarist.

The teenager had done a lot of comparisons between herself and the standard 'Jordan-Sexpot.' While there were quite a few physical similarities, that seemed to be all. Sonny had cornered the few she could get her hands on. For the most part, they were all pleasant women with no higher education who adored the Warlord. Two outta three ain't bad.

A major point of difference was style. The women usually all wore skimpy outfits and tons of makeup. Sonny wasn't quite willing to concede the point to that degree. She had taken to wearing light makeup. Her wardrobe had changed as well. Gone were the typical baggy pants and shirts her peers were comfortable in. She now wore tight fitting jeans and shirts that showed off her attributes nicely. The first time she'd worn a short skirt, Hampton's jaw had sagged open and Lando had run into a wall.

Sonny snickered at the remembered sight, hanging the ninth exposure to dry. The band, in all its glory, had posed for her like one of those pinup posters in the teen magazines. They were all full of attitude and glaring at the camera, dressed in leather and jeans.

As her appearance became more seductive, she'd received quite a few comments, some of them unpleasant. The only thing that kept her going on this path were the occasional looks she would receive from Jordan. Looks of hooded desire. At first, when the redhead was caught staring, she would put on a sultry smirk and Sonny would blush, dropping her gaze. But, as the teenager became more and more comfortable with her new image, she was able to match Jordan stare for stare. In fact, it was the guitarist who had blushed and looked away the last time.

Sonny had also begun teasing the redhead at every opportunity. Whereas previously there had been the simple adolescent flirting, now she blatantly led Jordan on. The teenager had taken to not wearing a bra. If there was plenty of room in a doorway to pass by, she'd brush her breasts against the smaller woman. Whenever she needed something in the kitchen, it was always in the cupboard that Jordan was standing at and she would press against her to reach for the item. It was driving the guitarist crazy.

And so, the dark young woman continued to work on her photographs, dreaming of an older woman. Dreaming of new schemes to further her plans. Dreaming of a future, happy time of love and warmth.

The radio played softly in her bedroom, the only sound other than the faint scratching of pen on paper. The teenager was propped against her headboard, a composition notebook in her hand. A few times she paused, pale blue eyes searching the distant thoughts. And then the writing would resume.

On the bed beside her was a handful of black and white photos spilling out of a manila folder. One was missing from the pile, having replaced the bedside photo of her parents. The face of the Warlord guitarist stared just off camera as she composed.

Tuned so fiercely into her thoughts, Sonny didn't catch what the radio disc jockey had said. The word "Warlord" snagged her attention and she glanced sharply at the bookcase stereo on her dresser.

"...so that's this week's Lick It or Stick It, folks," Craig, the Dog Faced Boy, from KUFO said. "We'll have that one up in just a couple of minutes. Remember, all this week we'll be doing local bands for a change. Let's just see if Warlord's any good."

A commercial started and Sonny was off the bed and out the door like a shot. Clambering down the stairs, she burst into the living room where she found her brother with Hampton and Foley. "Turn on the stereo!" the teenager ordered, doing just that. The commercial for a local auto sales company blared into the room.

"What the hell, Sonny?" Middlestead complained loudly with a wince. "Turn the damned thing down!"

"No!" Sonny whirled around with a big smile on her face. "Warlord's gonna be on Lick It or Stick It!" While that got a round of appreciative comments, Sonny frowned. "Is Jordan home?"

"Um, I think --" Before the dark man could finish, his sister flew out of the room and out the back patio door. He rose to his feet and yelled after her, "I think she's got company, Sonny!"

"Tough!" floated back on the summer evening air.

Middlestead shook his head and rolled his eyes. He went over the stereo and turned down the volume.

At the bottom of the stairs leading to Jordan's room over the garage, the teenager paused. For a quick second, she took stock of her appearance, adjusting her blouse before trotting up the wooden steps. At the top, she paused and took a steadying breath, then knocked on the door.

Jordan threw the door open with obvious irritation. She was wearing nothing but a button up denim shirt, the two buttons at her belly the only ones fastened. Upon seeing her visitor, her manner changed.

As Sonny had become better able to counter the redhead's responses to her flirtations, Jordan had become more and more irritated. A sultry look of superiority didn't work anymore, the teenager simply responded with one of her own. Being stubborn, the guitarist wouldn't back down. So, their flirting became increasingly pronounced, one escalating the other until the pheromones were so thick, the men would dive for cover.

Even Atkins had noticed Sonny's changed behavior. At one point, he'd cornered his band mate to remind her of just who she was dealing with. And then he commiserated with her in sympathy for the extreme pressures being put on her. "Shit, I don't think I coulda lasted this long," he had said with a headshake.

So, the level of sexual tension had risen over the months. Seeing Sonny at her door brought it immediately to its current intensity. The redhead went from irritation to seduction. She leaned casually against the door, one hand running lazily through red gold hair. "Yeah...?" she drawled.

Sonny forced herself to not tremble. What would Jordan do? she asked herself. Her skin tinted a little, but she kept her cool. A pale blue eye wandered slowly down the half clad frame. The slight smile on her face indicated she liked what she saw. She fought to keep from giggling nervously as their eyes met. "Warlord's playing on KUFO," she purred.

It took a second for the young woman's words to register. Jordan blinked at her, dropping her seductive pose. "What?!" she demanded in astonishment.