The Price of Fame
By Dominic Spencer
By Dominic Spencer
You would have to say that Michael Dunleavey lived on the edge. He was not a big time criminal by any stretch of the imagination, but he was often involved with scams and sometimes even illegal activities. He had lived in the same neighborhood all of his life, and just about every one of his friends or acquaintances who were successful in life had moved away. In fact, that was the normal formula for success — get out of this dead end existence. The neighborhood was populated mostly by low end working class people and it was an area where the local mob did a lot of their business. The only real middle class people in the neighborhood were store owners who managed the few shops, restaurants, and the ever present corner bars. The local sage of the neighborhood, Frankie Marlowe, who held court in his bar on the corner of 35th and San Pablo just about every evening, described things this way: “You gotta have five-way insurance to live around here — a cut for the cops, a cut for the mob, a cut for the government, a cut for your suppliers, and if you are lucky a cut for you!”
This evening, Michael was renting a van because he had been asked to haul some stolen goods for a local fence. He was dressed in his usual outfit of white tee shirt, black Levis, dirty running shoes, and a well broken in black leather jacket with wool trim. Michael hopped onto the #45 bus, which had a stop right by a downtown parking garage with a rental agency, where he liked to rent vehicles for his various excursions because they take cash with few questions asked. Of course this business all happened after 11:00 PM at night when the regular rental agency was closed. After paying for the vehicle, he went into the garage to get it. He glanced in the back and saw that the furniture pads and tarps were there that he requested. The keys were in the ignition and he drove off. He pulled out of the garage, got on the freeway and started heading toward his home. A few miles later there were the remains of an accident in two of the lanes, and he had to come to a stop while the backed up traffic slowly wended its way by the wreckage. Michael suddenly realized that he was hearing more sounds than just the traffic outside. He heard strange muffled sounds coming from the back of the van. When he looked back there he also saw some movement underneath several tarps in the back.
After getting by the traffic, he took the next exit off of the freeway to check it out. He found a parking lot in front of an office building where no one was parked because it was nearly 11:30 at night. Michael stopped the van and went into the back area. Underneath the tarp he was shocked to find a teenaged boy about 19 years old who was gagged with a ball gag and bound hand and foot in a handcuff and chain device. The teenager looked at him with pleading eyes and mmphed at him through his ball gag.
Michael told him, “It’s okay, kid. I am not one of the people who did this to you. You are safe with me. I am going to try and untie you. Please don’t yell out or attract any attention.” Michael tried to remove his gag and release his bonds but he couldn’t. The boy’s bonds were too tightly secured to be removed by hand. The ball gag was locked in the back and Michael had no key or pick to try and release any of the boy’s other restraints. Because he was in a rental vehicle, he didn’t have any tools with him to cut the boy free. “Someone sure did a number on you, kid. I’m sorry I don’t have any tools with me to cut you loose, but I do have some at home.”
Then a real sinking feeling came to the pit of Michael’s stomach. Obviously this wasn’t the rental van he was supposed to pick up, and now he was mixed up in a kidnapping of some sort. “Oh, shit!” he thinks to himself. Once the kidnappers discover he has taken their van, they will learn who he is from the rental place, and will be headed out to find him and the boy. Probably the first place they will go to is his house. So it would be a big mistake to go there. He knows that somehow he has to get out of this mess, but he doesn’t even know what mess he is in.
Clearly the kidnappers are very serious and have planned this out. It was no accident for the boy to be so securely bound and gagged like he was. Michael is afraid to call the cops, because he has 20 outstanding parking tickets, and not a good reputation with them. They would probably arrest him right on the spot as an accessory to the kidnapping, and he can’t afford that, because he needs to make his delivery for the fence tomorrow. He knows the only way he can find out what is going on is to release the boy and talk to him, but it is too late to go to a hardware store, they are all closed. And now he is afraid to go back to his house. He then remembers his friend Joey. Joey is a great handyman and has a lot of tools that he always keeps with him in his pickup truck. Best of all, he knows that Joey usually is up late every night. He calls him on his cell phone, explains that he is in a little bit of a bind, and asks if can Joey meet him somewhere. They agree to meet at the parking lot of a 24 hour chain restaurant that is about five miles north on San Pablo Avenue, the road that Michael is currently parked on.
Michael gets back behind the wheel of the van. He yells back at the boy, “Hey, kid, we are in luck. My friend Joey is going to meet up with us in about ten minutes or so. He has the tools to cut your chains and gag off.” Michael hears the boy mmph back and he drives down the avenue. When he arrives at the restaurant, he drives the van to the back of the parking lot where no one is parked. He gets out of the van and waits impatiently for Joey. “What the hell have I gotten myself into?” he says to himself. But he feels some sympathy for the boy, who obviously has been struggling with his bonds for a while.
A few minutes later, he sees Joey’s pickup truck drive into the lot. He waves at him, and Joey drives over and parks next to him. “Hey Michael, what’s up? Why do you need my tools so late in the night?”
“Joey, my man, thank you for coming out at such short notice. I have run into a bit of a bind, literally. I went to rent this van at the usual place, but ended up with a little more cargo than I expected. He then opened the rear doors on the van and lifted the tarp off of the boy. When Joey saw that the kid was bound and gagged, he whistled and said, “Where did this kid come from? He looks vaguely familiar!”
“I don’t know, Joey, and I haven’t been able to talk him obviously! Do you have some cutters or picks that we can use to release him?”
“Oh, yeah, Michael. I always come prepared for anything.” Joey went to one of the toolboxes mounted on his pickup, unlocked the lock, and rummaged around for some wire and chain cutters. He found a small but really sharp pair of wire cutters which he was able to pry under the plastic coated chain that held the ball gag in place. He snipped it in half and pulled the ball out of the kid’s mouth.
“Thank you, thank you!” the boy said gratefully. “Wearing that thing was real torture.”
“No problem,” Joey replied. “Now let me see if I can cut through your chains.” Joey took a bigger pair of wire cutters and snipped through the four x parts of the chain device that had been holding the boy in a hog tie. With his arms and legs at last free, the boy brought his arms in front of himself and moved to sit up on the floor of the van.
“You are a life saver, Joey. Does anyone have any water?”
“Sorry, I should have thought of that,” Joey replied. “I have a half bottle in my truck. Is that okay?”
“Oh, yes,” said the boy. “I am so grateful to you for helping me!” Joey handed him the bottle and he took a couple of long drinks from it.
Joey went on, “Let me see if I can cut or open the cuffs on your wrists and ankles.” Soon Joey had completely cut off the handcuffs and leg irons around the boy’s wrists and ankles.
Now that the boy was released and able to sit up in the light, Michael took a good look at him. The boy had curly black hair, was very good looking and was wearing an expensive light cashmere sweater but no shirt underneath. He had on blue jeans with holes in them, which on closer look turned out to be very pricey top of the line designer jeans, and a pair of black Converse Chuck Taylor high top sneakers. “Who are you, kid, and who did this to you?” Michael asks.
“My name is Johnny Rocker, and I am a professional singer and musician.”
“Of course,” Joey exclaimed. “I thought I recognized you. My younger sister and her friends are completely into your music! Wow, I’ve never met a pop idol before!”
“That explains your look and clothes,” Michael said, “but not the how why, and who. I thought big stars like you had tons of security and protection. How did they get to you and why were you kidnapped and tied up this way?”
“Oh I had big time security all right, but somebody got to them and paid them off so they would look the other way when these goons came and grabbed me! Those bastards! And to think of all the money we paid them to protect me and my band mates!”
“So you got set up and screwed over. Sounds familiar,” Michael answered. “Do you know who was responsible and why they decided to take such a big chance by kidnapping you?”
“Oh yes, I do. I have had the dubious pleasure of meeting them and being in their company the last couple of days! At first it was like a joke, a bad dream, or one of those gotcha skits you see on television sometimes. Somebody was paid to spike my drink with a knock-out drug after my last show. After I had passed out, I was put in a bag or box and carried away. Supposedly nobody saw a thing, but people had to be on the take. I was told by my captors that a press release had been put out saying that I needed a retreat from the pressures of performing and being in the public eye and so I would be at a private resort for a few days. In actuality, I was captured by mobsters who have their claws in Polyplat Records. They wanted me to ditch my current management and record label and go with them. They wanted complete control over my life and money.
“When I awoke from being drugged, I found myself in some dank warehouse room being watched by two goons. They started on me with this stupid hard sell to change record companies and sign an exclusive contract with Polyplat. I got up to leave and was half way out of there when they ran after me, grabbed me again, and started to tie me up. They dragged me back to the room I had run from, tied me to the chair, and tied a bandana in my mouth to gag me. But they were idiots and didn’t know what they were doing. I used to work for my uncle’s magic act when I was a kid, so I knew all the tricks to getting out of ropes, and flexing my arms so the knots would give.
“When they left the room later, I immediately tried to escape again, and would have, except one of the idiots happened to be outside smoking a cigarette and saw me leave. Again I was pursued and caught by them, brought back and badly tied up. This time they added a blindfold to their tie up and gag, but it didn’t take me long to get out of that also. Once more I was getting out of there, but had the worst luck. Just as I was escaping, the big boss arrived in his limousine with his henchmen. They were not amused to see me running away. Unfortunately the guys he had with him were serious muscle, and they soon grabbed me and brought me before the big boss, Marcello Galliano. Needless to say he wasn’t pleased with my nearly successful escape attempts and with my attitude that I would never sign with Polyplat Records. Marcello told his henchmen and me that I needed to be taught a real lesson. ‘I want you to tie and gag this upstart punk in a way that he can’t escape from, and then he needs some serious persuasion at the factory. Either he signs or he has a real bad accident!’
“They punched me in the gut a few times to soften me up, and then Marcello said, ‘I am going to save your face for now, pretty boy, but if you don’t end up signing, you are going to be one ugly looking guy!’ Later his main henchmen Angelo came back with the ball gag which they stuffed in my mouth and locked shut, and the chain device which they bound my hands and feet with. Tonight I was dumped in the back of the van, I guess for transportation to ‘the factory’ as he described it. I was scared shitless, but I wasn’t going to back down. Fuck them and their fucking mob label!”
Michael whistled in amazement. “Wow, you are one brave dude, Johnny, but you are up against some really mean and determined people. You need to disappear and fast. Those people will have no problem torturing and killing you if they don’t get their way! And I am afraid that Joey and I are in for the same treatment if they discover that we helped you! They are probably not very happy that we grabbed their prisoner, even if it was a mistake!”
“Oh shit!” Joey exclaimed. “Are you saying that we are in trouble?” He imagined a whole car full of mob enforcers hot on their trail. “What are we going to do now?”
“Don’t worry about them!” Johnny said. “Call the police or the FBI! Kidnapping is still a crime isn’t it! I sure don’t want to be retaken by those mob people again!”
All of a sudden about three cars came speeding up to their location, and six or seven mean looking mob enforcers got out.
“Run for it!” Michael yelled. But they were outnumbered and outmanned. The three were quickly pursued and grabbed by the men who proceeded to beat them up, until they fell on the ground. Guns were held at their heads, and then one of the men got out a roll of duct tape and proceeded to bind their hands and feet with long strips of tape, then gag and blindfold them with more strips of the tape. The men then dumped them into the back of the van and drove it off.
They were brought to a warehouse for the rest of the night, and dumped on the cement floor. “God, am I in for it now,” Michael thought to himself. “How am I going to get out of this alive?” He struggled a bit with his bonds but the men had done their work well, and Michael was unable to work himself free. He dozed off restlessly for the remainder of the night.
The next morning, someone came up to Michael and cut the tape binding his hands and feet. “Get up,” a voice ordered. “Come with me.” Michael mmphed at him through the tape gag. “Yeah, you can take off your gag and blindfold!” Michael began pulling at the tape, and eventually was able to remove it from his mouth and eyes. He was brought into a room where there was a very mean looking man seated at a table. Michael recognized him as Angelo Fortuno, someone very high up in the Galliano mob family. But Angelo wasn’t acting angry with him.
“Sit down, Michael,” he ordered. “Help yourself to a drink if you want.” He pointed to some water bottles on the table.
“How do you know my name?” Michael asked.
“When our van was taken by you, we asked the rental guy who you were. He was more than willing to cooperate,” Fortuno said with a laugh.
“How were you able to find us so quickly? When I realized that I had taken the wrong van I didn’t dare go home.”
“Do you young punks think that you are the only ones who understand technology? Whenever we have a vehicle out with an important asset in it, we always put a tracking device on it. It was just a matter of time before we found you. We also checked you out and found out that you were working for Vinny LaForge, and that you taking the van was an honest mistake. He vouched for you and said you were just picking up a van to do a job for him. So you are free to go. You can take the van you were driving. We won’t need it any more!”
“Okay, but what about my friend, Joey, and the kid, Johnny Rocker?”
“Don’t you worry about them. They are going to be our guests for a while longer.”
“But Joey didn’t have anything to do with this either. He just came to lend me some tools.”
“Well, that’s his problem. Until our friend Johnny Rocker starts to cooperate, Joey will be our guest also. He might give us some more leverage when Johnny Rocker sees him being tortured too.”
“Don’t do that to Joey! He didn’t mean you any harm!”
“Look, Dunleavey, don’t even think about interfering in our business. We have shown you more than enough courtesy. Now get out of here and don’t try anything cute. Otherwise we will come and gun you down! Got it?” Angelo then ordered his men to take Michael outside to where the van was parked. Michael was not too gently escorted to the door of the warehouse, and then roughly pushed outside into the morning light.
One of the henchman said, “Beat it, and don’t think about doing anything funny if you ever want to see your friend alive again! Just go about your business like nothing happened.” They then slammed the door shut.
Shaken, Michael got into the van, and started it up. “What have I gotten myself into! I don’t want Joey to get hurt, and it’s not right for them to treat that kid Johnny like they have been doing. He’s just a teenager, even if he is a pop star.” But then he thought about the consequences. The Galliano gang had a pretty ruthless reputation on the street. He knew that they would probably not hesitate to take him out if he crossed them or got in their way. The cemeteries and lake bottoms of this area were filled with the bodies of people who had tried to do just that. Michael shuddered at the thought.
Michael began to drive off and even had traveled a coupled of blocks, when he had to pull over and stop the van. He just couldn’t leave and do nothing. He knew that it meant the kiss of death for him, but as he thought about his life, it was sort of a useless existence anyway. He lived from one odd job or scam to another, or did low level errands for underworld types like Vinny LaForge. That was okay for someone like himself, but Joey was good people. He didn’t even think about himself when Michael had called him at 11:30 at night. He just said, ”Sure, I’ll help you out, Michael,” and then drove to meet him. And now Michael was leaving him to the mercies of those mobsters who wouldn’t hesitate to injure him, torture him or even kill him if they were ordered to do so. And what about that kid, Johnny? He seemed really brave to stand up to the mob, and Michael cringed to think of what they might do to him if he kept on refusing. The kid had guts and didn’t deserve to become another mob lackey, afraid to make a move until the mob boss told him it was all right. But those bastards wouldn’t hesitate to cut off a finger, or throw acid on his pretty face if they didn’t get their way.
Michael knew that he had to do something, but what could he do? If he called the police they would just laugh at him. Probably the mob had ears somewhere in the department and in the long run it would mean a pair of cement shoes for Michael. Bad idea! But somehow the authorities had to be notified, and somehow the mob had to be stopped! But how? Michael had to persuade someone with impeccable credentials to get the authorities to pay attention, and he was fresh out of friends in high places.
Yet Johnny Rocker was a genuine star, he thought. Maybe his public would get upset if they knew what he was going through. And at that thought, Michael suddenly realized there was something that he could do. He got on his cell phone and called his niece Emily. Emily was very much into the latest music and trends, and he figured that he could find out more about Johnny from her. “Hello, Emily. Yeah, it’s your Uncle Mike. Yeah, I’m doing okay. Tell me something, what do you know about the pop star Johnny Rocker? Is he real popular right now? Is he an A-list kind of star?”
“Are you kidding, Uncle Mike? Where have you been? His latest concert sold out three performances at our arena in a half hour! He is every 13-year-old girl’s dream boy friend. Why are you asking? Did you suddenly get an interest in pop music?”
“Well, listen, Emily. Johnny is in serious trouble right now. He needs help and you and all of his fans are the ones that can provide it.” Michael went on to explain how Johnny had been kidnapped and was probably going to be tortured and maimed for life if he wasn’t rescued and rescued soon from the mobsters that were holding him. “I want you to get on the horn and contact everyone you know who is a fan, and contact every fan site and start rallying his fans. Here is the address of the warehouse where he is being held. They need get out here as fast as they can, and try and persuade any law enforcement officials that they know to come and check it out. Otherwise Johnny could be a goner!”
“No!” Emily shrieked into the phone. “This cannot happen! Johnny is too much of a dream boat to become the victim of your goombah type friends!”
“Then you have a sacred duty, Emily. I am passing the torch to you on this. We need to get as many people as we can to surround the warehouse and also surround the corporate headquarters of the Polyplat Record Company who is trying to crush Johnny into submission and torture him into signing a contract with their crooked operation.”
“Oh, yes, Uncle Mike. I am on it. The fans of Johnny will never let this happen!”
“Be sure to hurry, Emily. There isn’t much time.”
“Thank you for telling me, Uncle Mike. You are a hero to young teenagers all over the world!”
Michael couldn’t believe what he had just heard. No one had ever called him that in his entire life! Michael knew that he couldn’t just rely on Emily to get the word out, although he was sure that she would know how to get the word out to Johnny’s fans. He then began to call as many local television and radio stations as he could find, and at each one left an anonymous tip that something was going down with Johnny Rocker, he was being held against his will in town here, and that he needed help. He then would say, “Don’t take my word for it, check it out on the streets and the Internet, and go interview the people running Polyplat Records.” Although he knew that the stations wouldn’t immediately put this on the air, eventually if he contacted enough of them, one would air the rumor, just to get the scoop on the others.
Meanwhile, a strange phenomenon was happening in the city. It was first noted on the traffic reports, as large numbers of cars were suddenly descending on a normally quiet industrial area, causing traffic jams on the freeway. Some of the teenaged fans had parents who worked in law enforcement, and they were bugging their parents to do something about the threat to Johnny that they had heard about. Within three hours, the entire industrial area was completely clogged with traffic and no one could drive anywhere. That didn’t stop the kids, and soon a large angry mob was standing outside the warehouse where Johnny and Joey were being held. As soon as word got out about the crowds, suddenly all of those law enforcement parents became very concerned about their sons and daughters, and police units were sent to the area, to check things out and deal with traffic.
In another part of town, a large crowd of teenagers was also gathering around the corporate headquarters of Polyplat Records. They began chanting and shouting, “Free Johnny! We want Johnny!” over and over. The news media arrived and tried to get interviews from executives in the company who were told to stonewall. So the media concentrated on the fans outside. For the owners of Polyplat, it soon was their worst nightmare: an angry crowd wanting to vent their rage on Polyplat employees and Polyplat products with full media coverage. Some of the kids had brought CDs that they owned and began throwing them at the building in anger. Then a few of the teens gathered up the discs and started a bonfire with them, to the rolling cameras of the media. Soon a frantic call went out to the warehouse people to get out of there or let Johnny go.
Michael continued to stay near the warehouse to see what was happening. He was no longer worried about Johnny after all his fans arrived, but he wanted to be there to make sure Joey was okay and could also escape. Michael continued to spread rumors about how Johnny was being treated so that the mob began working up a rage. The mob began yelling “We want Johnny!” over and over again. Then some police began knocking on the door and demanding to be let in. A police negotiator got on his bull horn and ordered, “Everyone inside needs to come outside with their hands up!” The tension was becoming unbearable until the warehouse door opened, and out walked Johnny Rocker. When they realized who it was, the crowd began to cheer. They continued their chant, “We want Johnny! We want Johnny!”
Johnny told the police that he had been kidnapped and held against his will by the people inside. He also told them that there were two brave men who had helped him, and they probably were still in trouble. When Johnny had come out, Michael began moving toward the door so he could find out about Joey. When Johnny spotted him, he said, “That man is one of the two men who helped me. He is a hero.” Michael came up and asked Johnny if he had seen Joey, since they were captured the night before. “No, I haven’t. After we were brought here, I was separated from you and Joey.”
“Johnny, you have to help Joey. Tell the crowd about him and have them yell for his release.”
Johnny then took the bull horn and told the crowd about the two brave young men who had tried to help him. “There is still one of those men inside. Help me get him out! Yell with me, Free Joey, Free Joey!” Soon the crowd picked up on the yelling and echoed the chant all over the area. The police knocked on the door and demanded through the bull horn that Joey should be released. Finally after ten minutes, the door opened again and Joey was shoved outside. He still had stickum over his face from the duct tape, but Michael didn’t care. He went up to him and gave him a huge hug. “Joey, I am so happy that you are now safe!” The crowd then cheered.
With both Johnny and Joey released, the police quickly went inside and arrested Angelo Fortuna and his henchmen. It was the beginning of the end for the Galliano organization and Polyplat Records. Law enforcement officials were ecstatic. They had been trying to get something on the Galliano organization for years, and now they were caught red-handed in a kidnapping case. They got warrants and began arresting everyone in the organization. Johnny was so angered by his treatment that he made a point of having an immediate press conference denouncing Polyplat Records and their mob connections. Johnny was a hero to his fans and other performers in the business for standing up and fighting against the mob and evil in the industry. Over the next few weeks, Johnny’s record sales soared. Gargantuan Media, the largest entertainment conglomerate decided to sign Johnny to a long term multi-million dollar contract. Soon Johnny was bigger than ever and all over the airwaves.
Meanwhile, back on that fateful day, Michael took Joey in the van to where his pickup truck had been left so he could drive it home. Joey was very grateful for his help, and for not abandoning him when it would have been easy to in the face of the mob threats. “You know, Michael, I was never quite sure whether you were a trustworthy person or not. I mean I liked you as a friend, and all, but I had heard a lot of rumors and stories about you. I am sorry that I put any credence in them at all. You saved my life, and probably a lot of pain, as I overheard them talking about how I was to be a hostage and someone to torture in front of Johnny if he was still being stubborn. They kept me bound and gagged with that tape the whole time. If it wasn’t for you, I would still be there. I owe you a lot, Michael!” Joey came up and gave Michael a big hug.
“I am so happy you are safe, Joey. I’m afraid that probably a lot of what you heard about me was true, but now I am going to reform. I knew that I couldn’t just let them torture and abuse you. All you did was try and help a friend. And that friend was me! I am honored that you think of me as your friend. I probably don’t deserve it!”
Michael went home, and parked the van. He had totally missed his delivery pickup with Vinny LaForge. There was a nasty phone message from Vinny saying how he had gotten someone else to take care of things for him, and that he wouldn’t be using Michael any more. He suggested to Michael that he had better watch his back. “You don’t screw around with me, punk!”
Michael knew that he would have to probably leave town or do something entirely new to survive now. But he was too exhausted from the ordeals of the last 24 hours, and he just ended up crashing on his bed. He ended up sleeping for nearly twelve hours. The next morning Michael got up and took a long shower. There were still some sticky spots on his face from the duct tape, and bruises on his body from the beating he had taken. After a thorough cleaning and treatment with antiseptic, Michael went into the kitchen and ate a leisurely breakfast. He was just finishing it when there was a knock on the door. Fearing the worst, Michael peeked through the eyehole to see who it was. There was a man in a uniform, but he wasn’t a cop.
When Michael opened the door, the man asked, “Mr. Dunleavey? I am here to pick you up and give you a ride. Mr. Mersching would like to see you now if you are free.”
“Who is Mr. Mersching and why does he want to see me?”
“I am sorry, sir. David Mersching is the real name of Johnny Rocker. He wants you to know how grateful he is for your assistance yesterday. He would really like to see you in person if you are available.”
“Available,” snorted Michael. “Yes, I am available! I don’t think that my previous employer has any plans for me today.”
“That’s wonderful, sir. Please follow me.”
The chauffeur, whose name was Frederick, led Michael out to the car. Soon they were in a very nice part of town. “Where are we, Frederick?” Michael asked.
“This is Mr. James’ house. He is Mr. Mersching’s attorney. With all that has gone on, he felt that David would be safer staying with him.”
They got out of the car and went to the front door of the house. As they got there, the door opened and there was David/Johnny Rocker. He looked pretty much the same as he did a couple of night ago, but instead of the cashmere sweater, he had on a peasant shirt that had the most incredible embroidery on it. He still had on his hole-filled designer jeans and his black high top chucks. “Michael, I am so glad to see you, please come in!” David then came up and gave Michael a big hug. He brought him inside, and into a beautiful sitting room. An older man was sitting there, wearing a dress shirt and tie, who immediately got up on their entrance. “Michael, this is Mitchell James, my personal attorney and our host today.”
Mitchell put out his hand and shook Michael’s. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Won’t you sit down? Would you like some coffee or other refreshment?”
“Coffee would be nice,” Michael replied.
“An excellent idea,” Mitchell responded. He rang a bell. Immediately a servant came in. “Please bring us coffee for three.”
Soon they were seated with refreshments, and David continued the conversation. “Ever since our encounter two nights ago, I have been trying to think of how to repay you for the great service that you did for me. You literally saved my life and my career. I hope you understand how important that is to me.”
“Well, Johnny, er, David, I want you to know that I am not a perfect person and much of my motivation was not because of you but because of my friend Joey, who stuck his neck out for you not even knowing what the consequences might be!”
“Don’t worry about your friend Joey, Michael. He is being taken care of as we speak, and I can’t think of a finer person that you could have to be your friend!”
“What are you doing for Joey?”
“I have put him on our tour maintenance and troubleshooting staff. It is his job to make things work no matter where we are or what conditions we are forced to perform in. It is a perfect job for Joey. We have just met once, and already he came up with two great ideas that will facilitate our road shows. Your friend is not only loyal, but he possesses great creativity!”
“Well, that is really great to hear. Joey went the nine yards for you and he didn’t even know who you were.”
“Trust me, Michael, when I say that I very much appreciate everything that Joey has done for me. He is being truly rewarded. Now let’s talk about you. What you did yesterday was pure genius! It is the most creative solution to a kidnapping that I have ever heard of! How on earth did you come up with that plan?”
“I don’t know, David. I was told to buzz off, and I was just about to follow their instructions when a voice inside me said, ‘Michael, you can’t just go off and leave those two guys in peril. You are the only person in the world right now who can help them!’ It wasn’t right what they did to you and what they did to Joey. Even though I am not the best person in the world, when I thought about the way that I found you with that stupid ball gag in your mouth, and hogtied in those chains, and how they were going to continue to keep you captive and break you down, I just had to do something. And Joey came to help you with no questions asked and meaning no offense to anyone. Yet they were going to keep him as a hostage and torture him to soften you up. I just couldn’t let that happen; it wasn’t right. I certainly am no saint, David, but this was going too far! I guess I finally had a moral moment in my somewhat questionable life! ”
“Indeed you did, Michael, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. But how did you come up with such a great plan so quickly?”
“I realized that your greatest power in this situation was your celebrity. The mob can only exist in silence and secrecy, and they spend a lot of time keeping things that way. One on one they are pretty mean and unbeatable but 50,000 or 100,000 to one, that’s another story. When I called up my niece to ask about you, she said that every 13-year-old girl was gaga over you. I realized that what I needed to do was mobilize that energy.”
“It was a great plan, and now you will even get more caché with your niece when you can give her VIP seats at my next performance with backstage passes for her and five of her best friends!”
Mitchell James then interceded in the conversation. “Michael, since yesterday we have been checking you out, and you do have quite a few problems in your life that could use solving!”
“Yeah, everything hasn’t been exactly going my way these past few years, but somehow I get by. It’s going to be tough now that Vinny and the others in the mob are on my case.”
“Nothing is insurmountable, Michael, if you put your mind to it.”
“Well, thanks for the advice, Mr. James, but I’ve heard it all before. I’m afraid I am dug in a little too deep for your advice to apply to me.”
“Nonsense, Michael, we have already been arranging a few things for you. First of all, I have worked things out with the city parking division, and all of your tickets and fines have now been settled. You are free from all liens and attachments from the city, and they are happy about it!”
“You did this for me?”
“Oh yes,” David interjected. “I can’t have my new chief of security in any kind of trouble with the law.”
“Chief of security? What are you talking about?”
“After what you did for me over the last couple of days, Michael, I feel I owe you big time. You saved my life and you saved me from being exploited and bullied by those low life mobsters.”
“Well I was glad to help you out, like I said before, but I have no experience with matters of security.”
“Michael, I can get conventional thinkers and trained rent-a-cops by the dozen if I want. What I can’t just buy is somebody with a creative mind, somebody willing to think outside the box, somebody with enough street smarts to know what is up and how to deal with dangerous thugs, and somebody with real honor. Those things don’t come out of a box; they are the qualities of a special person! You have demonstrated these attributes by the courageous things you did to help me and your friend, Joey. Loyalty is a rare commodity that is only proven in battle and you came out with flying colors! Now that you have burned your bridges so to speak with the local mobsters that you have been forced to deal with all of your life, it is probably a good idea for you to get out of town for a while anyway. My next tour is scheduled to begin in just a couple of weeks and there is a lot to do and plan for. We need to get you trained and on the job right away. Is $100,000 a year salary adequate for you?”
“Adequate? Are you joking? I think I could probably get by on that amount, David, or should I now call you Mr. Mersching?”
“Please continue to call me David. After what you did, I think of you as a friend, and someone I want to know on a first name basis!”
“I am honored that you want me to come and work for you, David. I hope that I won’t be a disappointment for you.”
“Somehow, I have a lot of confidence in you, Michael. You certainly proved that you were willing to go the extra mile for me and look out for my personal safety. I hope you will continue to do so.”
“Thank you David, and thank you Mr. James. I think you are the ones saving my life now!”
As it turned out, Michael was an excellent choice for chief of security and he served Johnny Rocker ably for many years. With his act cleaned up, Michael became a positive force rather than the borderline negative one he had been for so many years. Every now and then, he would go back into the old neighborhood, and spread some good will around, giving out concert tickets to some of the kids, and contributing money to programs that were designed to help troubled kids like he once was. As Frankie Marlowe would say, “There’s nothing wrong with a little insurance!”