One Man Band System

A week quickly passed. Eric sat inside his car, scrolling through his smartphone, reading messages from Ruby. She mentioned she was still at Joe’s hotel alongside Martin and Tina, while Tina’s family had safely returned home under the watchful eyes of the police and federal agents, a protective measure Norman had requested through Julian.

Eric texted back before slipping the phone into his pocket. Looking through the windshield, his gaze landed on the music auditorium, where Emma and Tania were competing in the piano semifinals. This time, however, he wasn’t allowed inside. The girls wanted a fair competition between Emma and Tania, so the only ones allowed in the auditorium audience were Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura.

"I don’t even know who I should be rooting for to win... hopefully Emma, though," Eric thought to himself.

He leaned back into his seat, relaxing as a wave of fatigue hit him, his body felt sore, his knees were shaky, and his eyelids weighed heavy. He recalled how every single night, one of the girls would sneak into his bedroom, guaranteed to turn into a full hour or hour-and-a-half workout with whichever girl visited him.

"This is insane... one or two days was fine... but after three straight days... my whole body is completely drained... But what can I do? They even drafted up their own private contract agreement," Eric thought, remembering the contract Chloe had already shown him.

While he was unwinding in the car with his eyes closed, a melody suddenly began floating through his head. He started whistling, his fingers tapping along the upper headrest of his car seat. Bit by bit, the rhythm grew clearer and flowed more naturally. Opening his eyes, he pulled out his smartphone, launched his music creation app, and began keying in the notes. Whenever a note felt off or dissonant, he erased it and tried again.

His fingers tapped along the steering wheel and the side door frame while he closed his eyes once more, soaking in the melody echoing in his mind. He kept at it for nearly an hour until the entire piece, clocking in at four minutes and twelve seconds, was fully composed. He began drafting lyrics for it, aiming for a slow tempo that wasn’t overly mellow and still carried a solid beat. Trying to brainstorm lyrics, however, hit a sudden wall. He yawned, leaning back to stretch both arms and relax his body.

Just as he closed his eyes, "knock... knock," someone tapped on his car window. Eric turned to see Philip standing right outside. He must have just arrived, since no car had been parked next to Eric’s earlier. Opening the door, Eric stepped out of the car.

"Hey... Eric, why aren’t you heading inside?" Philip asked.

"Not this time, sir," Eric answered with a smile.

"If you want to go in, come on, walk in with me," Philip invited.

"No, sir, I’ll just wait out here this time. I don’t want to distract Emma and Tania while they compete," Eric replied. "Even though it was actually their explicit request," Eric thought to himself.

Philip studied Eric’s face for a moment, then "sigh," let out a breath and smiled at Eric.

"Alright then, I’ll head in first," Philip said.

"Sure thing, sir," Eric replied.

Philip waved his hand, turning on his heel to walk toward the auditorium entrance with a quickened pace, already running late. Eric stepped back inside the car. Just as he pulled the door shut, "ring," his smartphone went off. Checking the screen, he saw Norman calling, and picked up on the second ring.

"Mr. Eric, sorry to bother you, where are you located right now?" Norman asked.

"I’m at the auditorium building, sir. Is something up?" Eric asked.

"Inside or outside?" Norman asked.

"Out in the parking lot," Eric answered.

"Great, stay outside. Information was just sent to the office, there’s a bomb inside the auditorium," Norman replied.

Eric froze for a moment, trying to process what he had just heard. He looked up at the auditorium building.

"What... did you just say, sir?" Eric asked.

"There’s a bomb inside the auditorium. SWAT bomb squad is en route," Norman answered.

"What? Emma, Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura are all inside... Tania’s inside too!" Eric shouted, panicking.

"Please do not panic and go running inside to save them, putting yourself in danger. The police are on their way and the SWAT team is already moving, please be patient," Norman said.

"Who would try to bomb a piano competition venue?" Eric asked frantically.

A pause lingered for a few seconds before Norman let out a sigh. Eric could immediately tell why Norman hesitated to speak up.

"Let me guess, Emma’s father," Eric said.

"That’s why it’s extremely dangerous if you’re inside. As long as his daughter is in there, I don’t think he’ll have his men detonate the building," Norman replied.

"Then why did he send a notification to the police station?" Eric asked.

"He’s threatening us to stop poking around deeper, which is why he sent that letter... This is just a guess for now, but in my opinion, he has access to monitor his daughter, Emma. I beg you to be careful," Norman answered.

Eric went silent. He closed his eyes, trying to process everything Norman had just laid out. Finally, he asked,

"Are you saying... Emma is still in touch with her father?" Eric asked.

"Maybe not to that extent, but he can track his daughter’s schedule and activities, possibly through other channels, though we’re still investigating that. I’ve already briefed the federal agents on this. They’re ramping up their investigation and will move in for the arrest as quickly as possible," Norman answered.

"I hope this gets wrapped up quickly, sir. What about Jason, my brother?" Eric asked.

"Right now, we still can’t take action against him, but we’re keeping a close eye on his movements. One thing’s for sure, he’s still in town," Norman answered.

"Alright, I understand," Eric replied.

"I’ll take my leave now, Mr. Eric. Please don’t do anything reckless and stay in the parking lot," Norman replied.

"Understood, sir," Eric replied, even as his mind spiraled into utter chaos.

The call disconnected. Eric tossed his smartphone onto the passenger seat, his eyes glued to the building’s entrance. Moments later, SWAT vehicles pulled up in front of the auditorium alongside several police cruisers. The parking lot, which had been quiet moments before, suddenly turned hectic.

Eric’s anxiety surged. He stepped out of his car, but officers were already cordoning off the area with yellow tape. Eric stood anxiously behind the police line, repeatedly dialing Emma, Monica, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, and Laura one after another, but none of them answered his calls.

As the police began evacuating the building, Eric’s heart hammered against his ribs. Finally, he spotted Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura being escorted out by the officers. The moment they caught sight of Eric, all five dashed toward him as soon as the police gave them the green light.

"Emma and Tania are still inside!" Priya said in a panic.

"What do we do? They’re backstage, and they’re only evacuating the audience area!" Monica added.

"Yeah... they wouldn’t let us go to the back. A cop even chewed me out just for asking!" Laura chimed in.

"Who the hell goes around trying to bomb a music auditorium anyway? This is absurd!" Chloe protested, visibly shaken and agitated.

"Ugh... Emma, Tania... I hope you’re okay," Heidi said, her hands tightly clasped in front of her.

"Everyone, please calm down. Get outside the yellow tape, fast," Eric said.

Eric lifted the tape, and they all ducked under it. The five girls immediately threw their arms around Eric, who wrapped his hands around them with trembling arms. Suddenly, "blam," an explosion rocked the air. Everyone whipped their heads toward the back of the building, where flames burst out and thick smoke billowed into the sky. The faces of Eric, Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura drained of all color instantly.

An explosion at the back meant the holding area where contestants waited for their turn, where Emma and Tania were currently located. Eric’s mind went completely blank. He stepped up to the yellow tape and lifted it, but Chloe grabbed his hand.

"Don’t, Eric... don’t do it!" Chloe screamed.

"Let go," Eric replied.

Seeing Chloe struggling to hold Eric back from running inside, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura snapped out of their shock, their faces pale as they rushed to help Chloe pull Eric back.

"Don’t do anything reckless, babe!" Monica yelled.

"Yeah... I’m sure Emma is fine!" Heidi added.

"Look over there!"

Everyone turned toward the main entrance. Emma, Tania, Philip, and several staff members, teachers, and other contestants were being escorted out. Relief washed over Eric the instant he spotted Emma and Tania. He sprinted toward the two girls as they were led toward an ambulance, with Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura right on his heels. As Eric closed the distance between them and Emma,

"Emma... Tania!" Eric shouted.

Both girls turned around. Emma’s face crumpled into tears as she dropped the blanket wrapped around her and ran toward Eric, with Tania doing the exact same. Eric pulled both of them into a tight embrace, feeling them trembling in his arms, before the other five girls joined in to hug them all together. The paramedics and police officers watching the scene simply stood by, waiting patiently for them to finish their embrace.

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