Chameleon

Chapter 25

'So, tell me Sid, is there really going to be a Black Mass at the Hellfire Club on Saturday Night?'

They were live on the air and Lenny was enjoying himself watching Brass squirm.

'Of course not!' Brass snapped. 'I know nothing about all this.'

'But you do play "heavy metal music" do you not?' The Reverend Malcolm Preedy had a thin, nasal voice that was designed to irritate. He was Lenny's pet vicar who was wheeled out any time Lenny wanted to stir up an argument.

'Yes,' Brass conceded. 'We're a heavy metal club, so what?'

'I think it is well established,' said Preedy smugly, 'that the forces of darkness use that particular medium to spread the satanic message to young and impressionable minds.'

Brass looked as if he wanted nothing more than to tie a reef knot in the Reverend's scrawny neck.

'And whether you know anything about it or not, Sid,' Lenny interrupted, 'it appears that your establishment has been chosen by this particular "dark force" as the venue for his first public appearance in this universe. Let me read you a message that was delivered to this station this afternoon.'

Brass glowered at him. He hadn't been told anything about a message! Lenny produced a piece of paper and began to read.

'Know you, that the time has come for the Dark Spirit of Rock to walk among you. He has sent his voice from the other side to foretell his coming. He shall not be denied. In a ceremony older than time he will walk from the Hellfire to imbue the rotting corpse of Rock with his Dark Majesty's most glorious essence. Be there if you dare, to witness the diabolical incarnation of the one and only Darth Presley!'

Lenny paused for breath.

'Phew!' he said. 'Heavy stuff! And a direct reference to the Hellfire Club, wouldn't you say, Sid?'

'I...uh...I...' Brass spluttered.

'How about you, Reverend?' Lenny smarmed.

'It's perfectly obvious,' said Preedy, sniffily, 'that some malignant force has chosen to use Mr Brass's establishment as the focal point for some demonic exercise. Whether Mr Brass gives his permission or not is quite irrelevant.'

'So, what would you advise?'

'A thorough exorcism seems the only answer,' Preedy replied with a self-satisfied smile.

'Well,' Lenny continued, 'perhaps you could say a quick prayer for us now, Father, because here is the man himself, Darth Presley, exclusive to Avalon Radio and "Voices From The Other Side"!'

* * *

There was a monster lurking under Colin's bed.

He knew that because his parents had always told him so.

'If you're a bad boy,' they would say, 'God won't love you anymore and he'll feed you to the monster under your bed,'

Colin tried so hard to be good, but the monster was still there. He could hear it at night, slithering and sucking and scraping with its claws, and sometimes it would talk to him, calling his name, trying to get him to do bad things. And now it had a face, with long, greasy hair and HATE tattooed across its forehead. Oh, that was the face of the monster all right, and it had captured Cathy! Someone should have told her about the monster. Colin had tried, but she wouldn't listen, and now it had her in its clutches. But Colin could still save her, oh yes, he could. All he had to do was kill the monster and its hold over Cathy would be broken.

But first he had to find the monster.

Colin listened to his new transistor radio and he smiled.

'I know where you'll be on Saturday night, monster,' he crooned. 'I know where you'll be and I'll be waiting.'

***

Sonia sat curled up at Payne's feet. He reached out to stroke her hair and she responded by rubbing her face against his hand, much as a pet cat might do.

At least she's wearing something now! Christina thought.

Payne smiled. There was a barbed wire fence between the two women and it amused him greatly. They stood in Billy's living room surrounded by the debris of a rock 'n' roll existence.

'He was here,' Payne confirmed.

'And now?' Christina snapped. Today had been a bad day for her, full of frustration. Payne had remained at the station until late afternoon, going over the latest developments in the police investigation. Sonia had petulantly refused to give out any more information and had finally curled up and gone to sleep. Christina had stormed out of the room and returned some hours later. This time, Payne was in residence. It had taken them thirty minutes to reach Billy's flat, and less than thirty seconds to pick the lock.

Payne frowned and paused before answering her question.

'He's...' he hesitated, '...gone to ground,' he finished. 'Some kind of interference, electrical possibly, or a natural shield of some kind.'

'So what do we do now?' Christina asked.

Payne bent down and picked up a piece of paper that had become wedged beneath a chair. A slow smile spread across his face.

'What are you doing Saturday night?' he asked.

Christina frowned and he handed her the flyer advertising Darth Presley's debut.

'Don't you see?' Payne laughed. 'It's brilliant! The perfect cover for someone like Charlie.'

'You mean he's actually part of this "Darth Presley" set-up?'

Payne shrugged. 'Why not?' He gestured at the musical detritus that surrounded them. 'All the evidence points to it, wouldn't you say?'

'Okay,' she conceded. 'If you're right, then you should be able to make a positive identification on the spot.'

'Correct.'

'And you're clear about the new instructions?'

Payne nodded. 'We find him, you reel him in. What I don't understand is why?'

'Orders,' Christina snapped.

'And you always obey orders, don't you, Christina.'

Payne's face twisted into a sly smile. There was a molten core, deep in the heart of Christina Laker. A secret that haunted her still. She'd killed her lover. Shot him through the head as he slept. He was a traitor, it's true, but it still tore at her soul. She had been following orders when she pulled the trigger. Warlord's orders. It was her rite of passage. From that day on, he knew he had her, body and soul. She was till following his orders, but the memory remained at the back of her mind. Payne had seen it there many times, skulking, haunting.

Christina looked at him, saw that familiar smile. It was a smile that said; 'I know a secret. And it's yours!' She flushed, but didn't react to the bait.

'Just do your job, Harry,' she told him. Just do your job.'