young, scrappy and hungry | a hamilton story | √

Chapter 18

Kasey didn't sleep much that night. She left her phone on, just because she knew everyone wanted to know if she was alright. She'd had a frantic conversation with Wendy and Paul, but reassured them that she was safe and uninjured.

The next morning, Kasey found herself looking forward to seeing Jace. Being surrounded by so much sadness within the Hamilton cast made Kasey sad and somewhat angry.

She walked into the coffee shop and Jace instantly stood up.

"Kasey," he said, waiting until she put her stuff down to hug her. "I'm glad you're alright- we heard about the threat before our second act and then we heard that there were shots fired once we finished our show. Kaitlyn and Araella were worried, and I was, too."

"I'm alright, but it means a lot," Kasey said. They sat down.

"And everyone in the cast, are they alright?"

"Javier was injured, but I think he'll recover quickly. He just had a pretty deep scratch, which required stitches, and they wanted to watch it overnight," Kasey said. "The one I'm concerned about is Pippa."

Jace frowned. "Why?"

"She got trapped in the main theatre, where most of the shooting happened, and she's shaken up. She's such a vulnerable person, and I think it's affected her pretty badly," Kasey explained. "She's not her happy self, and that's what's eating Lin up the most."

"He's got to know that none of it was his fault. It was those racist assholes," Jace said forcefully. "You all were just the targets."

"Lin feels responsible because Hamilton is his show," Kasey explained.

"It's not his fault," Jace said.

Kasey ordered frozen hot chocolate. It was now late September, but it still wasn't cold enough to start drinking hot chocolate. Jace asked for iced coffee.

"So you're alright," Jace said, sipping his coffee.

"Not alright, but I'm getting there. Our theatre is ruined, and we're all pretty shaken up. It's going to take at least two weeks for us to reopen- they need to recarpet a lot of the theatre, fix the stage, replace the curtain, and redo a lot of the lobby," Kasey admitted. "It's hard, but it's so amazing to see the fans come together."

"I wish this had never happened, and we could go back to the way it was before," Jace told her. "For something like this to happen to Hamilton- it affects every single Broadway show, not just you guys. Broadway is family."

"Broadway can be a wonderful place. I've been surprised at how close everyone is. Like, I know a lot of your cast members now. Sometime you should meet some of mine," Kasey agreed.

Kasey got a text.

"I'm sorry, I wouldn't normally check immediately but after the 24th it's pretty urgent that I reply to most texts," Kasey apologized.

Jace waved her on. "It's totally fine, I get it. You need to tell people you're alright, and I'm sure there's lots of things you guys have to sort out."

Kasey checked.

Lin: An update on the extremists: four of the shooters have been presented before a judge placed on a million dollars bail. Preliminary court date is set for December 7th.

Kasey exhaled a breath. She'd thought it could have been worse: one of the shooters had escaped, or another Broadway show had been involved in another shooting.

But for a court date to be set was shocking. Kasey had heard about court cases for extreme situations like a shooting, but she never thought she would have to be part of one.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Jace asked, concerned.

"The extremists have been placed on a million dollars bail, and they've set the preliminary court date to December 7th," Kasey said, still stunned. She stood up. "I'm sorry, I have to go."

Jace stood up, too. "I'll get your drink. Just go, I know it's probably important. Don't worry about it," he said instantly. "I'll see you around, Kasey."

"Thank you, Jace. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer," Kasey apologized. "I'll text you when I can."

"Stay safe," Jace said as Kasey left.

~~~~

Jace, on his way back to his own apartment, stopped by the Richard Rodgers to see what it looked like. There were at least five different news trucks, and there was a quickly-growing pile of flowers, stuffed animals, candles, and notes piled by the stage door.

Where the cast had once performed energized Ham4Ham shows was now a memorial to the nineteen people who had died at the theatre. Jace never would have thought that a Broadway cast and a show would ever have to go through or even consider something like this happening.

Jace went back to his apartment and opened his laptop. He checked his email. The Broadway shows were trying to put together a video for the Hamilton cast. He hadn't told Kasey because they wanted to surprise them all. It was empty.

He then went to check the news, which was awash with articles and stories about the Richard Rodgers shooting and its survivors. Rumors were circulating about the cast, who had done it, and why they'd done it. Jace guessed that the police hadn't released all of the information yet.

There were rumors that a cast member had done it, that Phillipa Soo was dead, that the shooting was a way of getting attention, that the shooting had happened during the cast's bows, and perhaps the worst of all: that Kasey Winslow had done it.

Jace hated that rumor most of all. He hated that people thought someone as kind and generous as Kasey could have killed all of those people. She might not have been American, but that didn't make any difference to Jace. How people believed that Kasey had done it as an act of patriotism was outrageous to him and anyone who had met Kasey. Even fans were rising to her defense, saying that at the stage door she had been one of the most friendly and open.

He'd been trying to look at the news reports to get a good idea of what happened. Reports were mixed and chaotic. Some reporters said that they'd only heard four shots, some that the killings were in secret and behind closed doors. One report said that more than half the cast had been killed, another said that there was a conspiracy in the cast to murder audience members. The only constant was the cast members' social media pages.

@cmbettiol: My heart is broken today, but I am thankful for the safety of so many of the audience members. #raiseaglass

@Lin_Manuel: I never expected a show like Hamilton to have such an awful conclusion. To the world watching, thank you for the support. To those who try and bring us down: you can never take away our freedom. #raiseaglass

@JasCephasJones: I'm praying for all involved here at the Richard Rodgers. My thoughts go with you all, and to the lovely fans, thank you so much. You give me hope for a better future. #raiseaglass

@KaseyWinslow: Although Hamilton is not about the UK, it is my home and it is where my heart is. I cannot believe that something like this could happen, but love is love. #raiseaglass

@JMunozActor: Thank you for the prayers. I am recovering and yes, I plan on returning to Hamilton. To the victims and their families- #raiseaglass

Seeing such sadness and such heart wrenching messages from the cast was extremely moving. Even worse, there were still the skeptics that didn't believe the Richard Rodgers shooting was real. There were also those who weren't respecting the cast's privacy.

But worst of all was knowing that more than one person had hated Hamilton so much that they decided to kill and injure innocent people.

It was unimaginable.