BLOODHOUNDS #4: The Dark Knight

Everly Jordan

I looked at myself in the mirror, looking like a mess. I pulled my long, light ash-brown hair into a messy bun. I washed my face and brushed my teeth.

Yesterday was a very rough day.

I can't sleep because of the note left in my waiting room yesterday. Someone was stalking me, and they wanted me dead. I was up all night and slept around five in the morning.

"Everly." My manager, Natty, short for Natasha, called me. She walked into the bathroom and sighed before showing me her iPad screen.

It's another piece of news about Richard and me. We met yesterday for Tamara's birthday, and people can't stop shipping us after we used him as the actor in my music video. I closed my eyes and nodded.

"Did they find who entered my waiting room?" I asked Natty as I dried my face with a clean towel.

"No. I've talked to Albert, and he's looking for someone to help with the case. The police handled this so slowly because they think it's just a crazy fan wanting to get your attention." I walked out of the bathroom, and Natty followed me.

"It's been going on for a year, Nat. I've been getting death threats. I don't understand why they're not taking this seriously."

"Albert is currently looking for someone for it. He's trying to find one of the best companies for it."

"I don't need more bodyguards, and I have tons of them already. I need someone to find my stalker and put them in jail!" I hissed as I grabbed my phone to call Albert myself.

"We will. I promise. For now, you need to focus on your tour. The opening night is in two days." I put my phone down and looked up at the ceiling.

"The rehearsal will start in 2 hours. Dereck will pick you up." With that, Natty left. I went down to have breakfast that Oakley already prepared for me.

"Donuts for you." Oakley pushed six glazed donuts in front of me. I smiled, thanking him.

"You're the best, O." I ate my breakfast and ended it with one donut because there's nothing that can lift your mood than eating a donut after every meal.

I sighed long, hoping Albert would find someone to find my stalker soon.

Mason Calland

"Sir, we have Mr.Quanto waiting for you." I had just got into our office in downtown Seattle when Leroy notified me that Albert had come.

Albert was one of my parent's family friends. I've known him for more than two decades. He's nice, but also fucking dumb sometimes.

I gave Leroy a nod to bring Albert into the room. I sat on my chair, opening my computer to check my email. Albert walked in with Leroy, and I got up.

"Hi, Mason. How are you?" He asked with a big smile on his face. He brought a black file with him, which caused me to question his presence. He put his hand out, and I shook it.

Albert and I were both from two different sides of the business. He's into the entertainment industry when I'm not. The last time I checked, he owned a record label.

"I'm good. How about you?"

"I'm great." I gestured for him to sit down, and he put the black file in front of me. He's straightforward in letting me know what he wants. I opened the file and there were tons of pictures of small notes.

They are threatening notes.

"Everly Jordan. She got a stalker, and it's been going on for year." I shut the file and looked at him, annoyed.

"You're wasting my fucking time, Albert." I hissed.

"Mason, hear me out first." I gestured for Leroy to come into the room.

"Have the LA PD take care of this or ask the FBI to be involved." Leroy walked in, and I eyed him to bring Albert out.

"We did, but none of them responded and didn't take the case seriously. She's been getting death threats recently, and the stalker sent her many packages!" He opened the file again and showed me all the photos of the dead animal packages.

"I know about your nickname. They called you the hunter." And how did he get that information when he was far from the underground world? Leroy grabbed his arm, making him stand up from the sofa.

"I don't have time to care for this kind of shit, Albert. As much as I'm curious how you know about that nickname, I'm not in the mood to be a fucking security guard."

"Just once. Please help me, and you know that you owed me once back when you were nineteen!" He almost screamed when Leroy dragged him out. "Her opening night is in two days, and the stalker said he will kill her there. I don't know if it's an empty threat, but she's scared."

"Get out, Quanto."

"Just this once. I know your capabilities. I know you can catch whoever that is on her opening night. I knew your reputation, Mason. Please..." I put my hands into my pocket, tilting my head to the side. Leroy dragged him out and closed the door.

I sat down and looked at the file once again.

One picture shows Everly crying while holding a note in her hand. She just opened a package, and it's her mic with blood all over it.

There's a yellow Post-it on Everly's profile that Albert put at the bottom of the file.

It's one of the death threat notes.

"I can't wait to touch your throat, Everly. I want to cut it open and stab your vocal chords until you won't be able to sing anymore."

I looked up when Leroy walked into my office. I gave him the file Albert left, which caused him to question my actions.

"Give me the blueprint of her opening night venue, and I want you to give me the list of all the staff she has."

"But Mr.Calland, you ha-"

"Cancel it."

"Very well. Do you want me to notify Albert that you're taking the case?"

"No. Let's go there a few hours before the concert. I need one hundred people on my team. I need ten snipers. For now, bring Elliot into the team."

Everly Jordan

"Today is the day. You're going to nailed this, Everly!" I said to myself in the mirror.

It's been three years since my last concert, and I can't wait to rock the stage. This concert is called The Black and White Ball, and I'll be performing forty-four songs for almost three hours and a half.

I'm excited because we've been preparing this concert for a year and a half. We've talked about the concept, the outfits, the setlist, and how many countries we will perform, whether a world tour or a national tour. There's a lot of consideration from my team about everything.

And I'm excited because I'll be on a one-year world tour. The news was up a few months ago, and my fans have been going wild about it. I can't wait to meet all of them.

Albert told me that he already has someone who will help me with the case. Since it's a private case, for now, I bet it'll be harder to find the stalker. But... If today is my last day performing, so be it. I want to give all of my fans the stage that they'll never forget.

Someone knocked on my door, "Everly." It's Natty.

"Come in." She opened the door, revealing herself and Albert. Albert gestured for someone to come in, and I gasped to see a handsome blonde man in a grey suit. He's about six foot three, broad shoulders with a hint of muscles. His dark blue eyes looked so intimidating that I couldn't look at them for too long.

"Everly, this is Mason Calland. He will help you find the stalker, and he's the best man in the field. Mr.Calland, this is Everly Jordan." I put my hand out, and he took it. His grip was firm, instantly showing his dominance and power.

"Nice to meet you, Mr.Calland." I smiled.

"We'll have our last briefing with the whole team in five minutes. See you at the back hall, Ev." Albert said, and he tapped Mason to follow him out. They both left the room, leaving me with Natty alone.

"Who is he?" I asked, confused.

"Albert hired him to find your stalker. He's the best in his field. He didn't talk much when Albert introduced me to him, but he's a hottie." I took a deep breath and let out slowly.

"Okay then... if he can find the stalker, I will give him a big reward." Natty nodded.

"Let's go to the back hall." She opened the door for me, and I walked out first. Three guards guard my waiting room, but I never feel safe. It's made me feel suffocated. Ever since my stalker made sure that I knew that they were watching me, I've been checking my back constantly.

When I arrived at the back hall, everyone was there. They clapped my hands for me, and I smiled. Albert and Natty ran everything through and ensured everyone knew what they were doing.

The dancers, the lighting team, the stage team, the LED team, the camera team, the makeup and hairstylist, the security team, the ticketing team, and others that I can't even mention because there's a lot of them.

My eyes landed on Mason, who stood behind the security team, looking at them individually. His eyes met mine, and my eyes widened. It felt like I was caught looking at someone I shouldn't be looking for.

"Everly, please say a few words to the whole crew," Albert said, and I turned my attention to everyone.

"I can't thank you enough for helping me with this tour. This is just the beginning, and let's finish the tour together. Let's rock the stage tonight!" Everyone cheered and clapped their hands. Albert dismissed everyone, and when I was about to return, Natty stopped me.

Once everyone left, Mason turned to the person standing at the door, giving him a nod. The man closed the door, and Mason walked towards me. He stared into my eyes like he was looking for something.

"Could you leave us alone?" He turned to Albert and Natty.

"Sure. We'll leave you two alone." I was going to protest, but somehow, the words got stuck in my throat. Albert and Natty left the room, and there was a long silence before the door to the hall opened.

At least a hundred people are walking in, half of them wearing casual clothes and some of them wearing black combat suits. All of them looked so intimidating in their way.

"Everly meet my team." I got goosebumps when I heard his voice. It was low and charismatic.

"Hi." I smiled at them, but none of them showed emotions.

"Look at them one by one. The people who are wearing casual clothes have a blue strip magnet on their shoulders so you can easily identify them. You can see it without lights, and you can trust them. They'll blend within the crowd on the floor seats." Mason said and gestured for me to walk closer to them. He showed me the magnet, and suddenly, the lights turned off, showing how the magnet lit up. The lights returned, and he led me to the people with black combat suits.

"As for the B team, they'll guard the backstage, the main entrance hall, and also from the highest floor with snipers." I nodded as I looked at them one by one.

"Dismiss." He said, and everyone left except the person opening and closing the door. Mason gestured for him to come, and he jogged towards us.

"This is Elliot, and he will guard you alongside me."

"Elliot, Ms.Jordan." Elliot introduced himself, and I smiled.

"Everly."

"Since you're going to wear an in-ear, we'll give you a small device to help you communicate with us on stage." Elliot opened a small box, showing me one pair of contacts and two small, thin chips.

"We already adjust the contacts to match prescriptions, so you don't have to worry about it. It'll help you identify all of us within the crowd. It will be a little uncomfortable initially, but you'll get used to it." Elliot said, and he wanted me to put it on now.

I took out my current contact lenses and put the new ones on. I closed my eyes for a few seconds before opening it. I stepped back when I saw Mason and Elliot have green dots on them.

"You have to put this near your ear." I was hesitating to take it.

"Can you help me put it on?" I turned to Mason, and he grabbed the first chip. I put my hair to the side, giving access to my ear. When his finger touched my skin, I instantly got goosebumps. My eyes were glued to his sinfully beautiful face.

"The other side." He said coldly. I shoved my hair to the other side, and he put it instantly.

"Everly, can you hear me?" And again, I took a step back and turned to Elliot. He's standing near the door, but I can hear him.

"Give me a thumbs up if you can hear me." He said, and I gave him a thumbs up.

"Will I be able to hear you two despite the crowd being so loud?" I asked Mason, but he didn't answer. His eyes were on Elliot, who was busy doing something.

"Mr.Calland."

"You will." He answered without turning to me.

"Okay then, thank you."

"Let's go, Everly," Elliot said as he gestured for me to go.

"Here goes nothing..."

Mason Calland

"Sir, there's no fingerprints on all the notes and letters. We only found Ms.Jordan's fingerprints and Albert's." Leroy let me know, and I turned to Everly, who was talking to the sound team about her mic and in-ear situation.

"I want you to check all of the CCTV footage, and I want everyone's data." With that, I ended the call and turned to Elliot, who was watching Everly like a hawk.

Once she got her in-ear in, she turned to Natty, asking for a mirror to check her appearance before going to the stage. She's fifteen minutes away from going out and starting her tour.

"I need a report, Jibs."

"Nothing, sir. We've been doing facial scans on everyone, don't worry." He reported back, and Elliot could listen to everything.

"She's going to be transported to the stage," I nodded, " Natty told me. I gave Elliot a sign to go. He will be the one who escorts her to the main stage. I decided to go there first and scanned everyone there.

I dialed Leroy's number, "I want you to look at her past. There must be something."

"Yes, sir. We'll let you know as soon as we get that information."

"Good. I want her friend's list, too." I added and ended the call without waiting for him to answer. I checked everything before Everly got here with a fake speaker cupboard. I was busy scanning the whole stage blueprint.

"Mr.Calland." A sweet voice called my name, and I turned to see Everly looking at me, confused.

"You're standing in my place." She pointed at the red square on the ground. I took a few steps back so she could stand in her place.

"I want you to give me a word to cue you in an emergency," I said, and she looked up to the ceiling, thinking of a word.

"Donuts."

"No."

"Cake donuts because it's not real donuts." She smiled.

"No."

"Then what... I can't think of a word."

"Something that you hate."

"Cake donuts." I let out a long sigh.

"We're not using cake donuts as our secret word, Ms.Jordan." She bit her bottom lips, thinking of something.

"Orange! I hate the color orange!" She said excitedly.

"Very well."

"Everly! You're going out in two minutes!" The staff shouted, and Everly clapped her hands. She smiled at me, waving her hand before she got into a small chamber that would raise her to the stage in less than two minutes.

"I believe you can find my stalker, Mr.Calland." The music started to blast when she said it, but I caught every word perfectly. I gave her a nod, and she took a deep breath before the stage on top of her opened.

"Good evening, Los Angeles." I can hear the whole Sofi Stadium screaming for her. After she was up on stage, I quickly went backstage to watch all the CCTV with my team.

The stadium was filled with almost eighty-five thousand fans. She's so well loved, and of course, this is not the first time for her to get a stalker, but, according to her, the stalker that we're looking for is very persistent and wants her dead.

"Any update, Jibs?" I asked.

"Still nothing, sir." We also have ten men watching her waiting room and backstage. I decided to walk out towards the floor section right under her stage. I looked around and made eye contact with some of my team, but they shook their heads, letting me know they didn't find anything weird.

I looked up to Everly, who was having fun on stage with her dancers. I find her very intriguing because seeing her so charismatic on stage was something that I never experienced before. As if she knew I was looking, she turned to me and smiled before running to the end of the stage for the song's climax.

I decided to walk to the backstage again and checked on Elliot.

"Mr.Calland, through the thermal cameras. We see movements in her waiting room. It looked like th-" I cut Sage.

"Check her waiting room!" I said so they could open the door to her waiting room.

"A man with approx six foot two, running towards the D hall. He's running upstairs towards the higher bowl!" I ran up to the second-floor bowl myself. Sage gave me the screenshot from the thermal camera, and I could see it through my contacts. I saw my team joining me.

"He joined the crowd, blending in with the fans." Shit.

"Any footage?"

"No. We tried to see it, but it seemed he has someone to cut off the CCTV." What the fuck.

I looked around, following the movement that Sage gave me. I saw so many men in the crowd who were singing her songs.

"Take pictures of all of the men on the second floor," I said as I looked at them individually.

"Sir, you would want to see this." Elliot gave me some pictures of her waiting room.

I stopped in my tracks to see a note that said, "Hiring Mason Calland won't stop me from ripping your throat out, my poison fruit. I'm going to kill you soon." The man broke in using the underground tunnel where people usually move things.

He must have known the blueprint beforehand and planned everything at least a week before the show started.

Fucking sick.

I stayed on the second floor as my team checked everything. He blended into the crowd so fast. The sniper can't risk shooting because there are so many people. After fifteen minutes, I walked down to her waiting room.

He made a hole in the ground to put some chocolates and a note. Leroy and some of the team members went down and found lots of tools. They collected it to see if there were fingerprints.

"I need all the CCTV footage from a week ago." I knew that this was not an ordinary stalking.

It's a fucking crime of passion.