Editing Getting the Band Together (section)

==A visitor from the Middle==
[[File:Gadget guitar2.jpg|150px]][[File:Adrian2.jpg|150px]][[File:Cali-guitiar.jpg|150px]][[File:Tiffy's violin.jpg|150px]]
 
The night was going well. Midnight had passed, and no one had been thrown out.

The Ugly Ferret was gaining a very different reputation since Gadget brought the Stone Bench Group to perform. The small stage had been expanded, and better lighting installed. Eddie, on lead guitar, and his girl Tiffy, on violin and piano, led the group. Holden, a tall, quiet youth, handled rhythm guitar. Jax, the hyperactive Black drummer, laid down a righteous beat that kept things moving.

Cali had started to attract her own following—drawn in by her legendary refusal to face the crowd while playing and her near-total silence offstage. She and Jax mostly kept to themselves. But Cali played a powerful four-string bassline, while Gadget led a heavier six-string bass with her new resin-cast bass guitar, the colored marblees in resin gleamed and sparkled whenever light hit them. .

Behind the scenes, Waldo—the group’s massive chief roadie—moved a pair of guitars over to Cali and Gadget’s side of the stage in preparation for the upcoming Devo cover.

Saturday nights at the Ugly Ferret had become enough to keep the band fed without needing to spend the week busking. That meant more time to write songs, relax, drink—and do other things that maybe weren’t so good for them. Still, they managed to hit the stage each week to the roar of growing dive-bar crowds.

Lucky couldn’t believe how much his life had changed. The Blind Reapers were gone, never to return, and with their absence came freedom from the daily fear that the biker gang would kill him—or any random walk-in—just to make a point.
Wrecker, a middle-aged man with a history as a truck driver, punk rocker, band roadie, and sometime knee-breaker, sat at the bar alongside his partner Reggy, a disgraced ex-police detective turned muscle and roadie. They listened to the surf-punk sound of the Stone Bench Group with Lucky.

Reggy said to Wrecker and Lucky, “They’re really building their sound. Hard to believe how much I’m growing to like their style. I’d have lost a bet about it six months ago.”

Lucky added, “Six months ago, I woke up every morning dreading the day. I keep hoping the Blind Reapers don’t come back and try to take the place over again.”

“They won’t,” Wrecker said flatly.

Reggy nodded. “And like I said before, if they do come back—it’s okay. We know some necromancers.”

Wrecker chuckled as Lucky shook his head, not sure why Wrecker found that funny.
“Not much rough trade tonight,” Lucky said. “The Sixth Street boys must have found someplace else to go.”

The night wore on. At 2 a.m., the band moved into their final set and two encores.

A tall man entered quietly and slipped up to the bar. He had long blond hair braided down his back, colorful beads woven into the strands. Dressed in blue jeans and a jacket held together with patches from around the world, he looked almost gentle despite his height. He ordered a draft beer and listened for a while.

After a few songs, he walked over to the trio and stood before them, smiling.

Reggy asked, “Something on your mind, buddy?”

The man leaned over and handed a folded bundle of bills to Lucky. “Can I set up a tab?”

Lucky glanced at the wad. “Hell yeah. There’s two grand here. That’s a hell of a tab. What’s the coin?” He rolled a silver coin over his knuckles.

“It’s a tip. You’re Lucky, right? Keep that coin on you at all times.”

A warm sensation filled Lucky’s head, and without knowing why, he turned and walked into the back of the bar.

Wrecker and Reggy felt the same wave of warmth—recognizing it as supernatural but uncertain of the source.

The man said, “Wrecker. Reggy. Such an interesting pair. Here—keep these coins on you. With my gratitude for helping Gadget. It’s been invaluable.”

Reggy held the pair of silver coins in his hand. “Ah… okay. Who are you?”

“Just a friend of Gadget’s. Call me Adrian. I’ll be around. I’ve loved the Stone Bench Group in some of the other shadows. Gadget seems to be steering them clear of the worst troubles. You two—were you the ones who eliminated the Blind Reapers?”

Wrecker replied, “What do you mean? I deny it uncategorically. How would you know that?”

Adrian finished his beer and leaned between them to pour another.

“Oh dear. Haven’t you seen enough of the universe to know the answer is complicated? Give my regards to my brother Dalt. I hope to meet him one day.”

Adrian turned and faded into the crowd, savoring the music. An ancient musician himself, he smiled as he caught Gadget’s eye—just for a moment. His goddaughter. The daughter of one of his lords.

He thought to himself how well she had grown.