Fade in to inside the Electric Ballroom Nic and Shawnee stand at the entrance. Behind them, Pete surveys the scene warily.

Kara: Oh drat. No one we know's here.
Shawnee: I don't like this.
Nic: Well, what would you like?
Kara: Well, they did let us in.
Nic: Look, don't worry. Everything's going to be fine. Trust me.
Felidae, crimped hair and dressed in velvet, stands at the bar with a bunch of friends. He is talking to Dok, a thin man with tall boots and vaguely cyber-gothic appearance. Felidae sees the group standing at the top of the stairs in front of the entrance. He stops talking and motions to his friends to follow him. He heads off towards them with a grim expression on his face.
Nic: See? My friend. (to Pete) Keep your eyes open, okay?
Pete nods as Nic walks down the stairs. Felidae and his friends head across the room to meet the group.
Felidae stops ten feet from Nic. The two men eye each other carefully. Felidae shakes his head.
Felidae: Why, you dodgy, double-crossing, no-good lush! You've got a lot of guts coming here, after what happened last time.
Nic points to himself innocently, mouthing, "Me?"
Felidae moves threateningly toward Nic. Suddenly, he throws his arms around the startled net.goth and embraces him.
Felidae: (laughs) How you doing, you sad old goth? So good to see you! I never thought I'd see you here again. Whatcha been doing?
The two old friends embrace, laughing and chuckling.
Kara: (to Shawnee)Well, he seems very friendly.
Shawnee: (wary) Yes...very friendly.
Felidae: What are you doing here?
Nic: Ahh...we're bored. There's nothing to do on Friday's in London.
Felidae: What about Gossips?
Nic: Pure Industrial? Hey, you remember, I don't go there anymore. Besides, there's nowhere to park in Soho.
Pete: Hey, whatssup?
Felidae turns and nods at Pete. He notices Shawnee standing behind him and smiles.
Felidae: Hello. What have we here? Welcome. I'm Thomas Neidhardt. Professional Audio Engineer and Technician. And who might you be?
Shawnee: Shawnee.
Felidae: Welcome, Shawnee.
Felidae bows before Shawnee and kisses her hand.
Nic: All right, all right, you old smoothie.
Nic takes Shawnee by the hand and steers her away from Felidae.
Kara: Hello, sir. I am Kara Sears, cultural anthropologist, pleased to....
Before Kara can finish her introduction, Felidae has turned to follow Nic and Shawnee, who are walking toward the dance floor.
Kara: Well, really!
Felidae, his friend, Dok, and Nic lead the way towards the dance floor, followed by Kara, Pete and Shawnee.
The group passes the coat check and enters a small lounge near the dance floor. They walk around checking out the tapestries on the wall. They head up the stairs to the upper floor, where they overlook the main dance floor. Kara lags a bit behind.
Nic: How's the music business? Is it paying off for you?
Felidae: Oh, not as well as I'd like. I've just released a single and it's not gotten that much airplay. And I've had technical problems of every kind. I've had distribution difficulties... (catches Nic grinning at him) What's so funny?
Nic: You. Listen to you -- you sound like a businessman, a responsible artist. Who'd have thought that, huh?
Felidae is reflective. He looks at Nic a moment.
Felidae: You know, seeing you sure brings back a few things.
Nic: Yeah.
Felidae: (shakes his head) Yeah, I'm responsible these days. It's the price you pay for being successful.
Nic and Felidae laugh together, and the group moves on through the corridor.
The lagging Kara passes a cute little goth girl who comes out of the Industrial room.
Kara: Oh! Nice to see a friendly face.
Goth girl: (mumbles) Va te faire foutre!
Kara: How rude!
Kara stops, watching the girl walk away. Then she sees the bar and heads towards it.

Cut to balcony Felidae, Nic, and Shawnee continue down the corridor unaware of Kara's predicament. Pete glances around, but shrugs his shoulders and follows the group.

Fade out

Fade in to main dance floor. Nic and Shawnee are dancing to an old goth classic.

Nic: (shouting over the music) The song is almost finished. Two or three more good songs like this I'll be ready to go home.
Shawnee: The sooner the better. Something's wrong here. No one has seen or knows anything about Kara. She's been gone too long to be dancing.
The song ends and Nic takes Shawnee by the shoulders and gently kisses her forehead.
Nic: Relax. I'll talk to Felidae and see what I can find out.
Shawnee: I don't trust Felidae.
Nic: Well, I don't trust him, either. But he is my friend. Besides, we should leave soon.

Cut to upstairs bar. The room is filled with punks and industrial-types, drinking and chatting. In the corner of the room is Kara, dead asleep. Pete enters the room and spots a casual picking up and inspecting Kara's purse. Pete shouts out, startling the casual, then reaches to grab the purse. But the casual tosses it away from him to one of his friends. This game of keep-away goes on until Kara's purse falls from their grip and falls with a splat into a puddle of beer.

Cut to downstairs lounge. Pete walks up to the table, carrying a sleeping Kara, her arms and legs flopping all over over the place.

Shawnee: What happened?
Pete lays her down on the bench, mumbling an explanation.
Nic: Where? Found her at the upstairs bar?
Shawnee: Oh, what a mess. Pete, do you think she'll be ok?
Pete: (looking at Kara) Yeah.
Nic: We should probably giver her some water.
Felidae appears from around the corner and walks up to their table.
Felidae: I'm sorry. Am I interrupting anything?
Shawnee: Not really.
Felidae: You look absolutely beautiful. You truly belong here with us in the city which inspired the Romantics.
Shawnee: (coolly) Thank you.
Felidae: Will you join me for a little refreshment?
Nic looks at Felidae suspiciously, but Pete perks up at the mention of food and licks his lips.
Felidae: Everyone's invited, of course.
Shawnee takes Felidae's proffered arm, and the group turns to go. Felidae spots Kara's sleeping form.
Felidae: Having trouble with your friend?
Nic and Shawnee exchange a quick glance.
Nic: No. No problem. Why?
The group heads off down the hall. Shawnee walks between Nic and Felidae as Pete follows a short distance behind. Long shafts of light can be seen through the smoke coming off the dance floor.
Felidae: So you see, since I've just got a small operation, I don't have to deal with...uh...major record labels.
Shawnee: So you've set up your own label then?
Felidae: No, not actually. My work is infrequent enough to just be released in compilations or soundtracks... which is advantageous for everybody since I have no desire to deal with the hassle of setting up a label.
The group walks into another corridor and heads for a doorway marked "private" at the far end.
Nic: Aren't you afraid the music press is going to notice you and write a bad review of your work?
Felidae: That's always been a danger looming like a shadow over everything I've done. But things have developed that will insure security. I've just made a deal that will keep unwanted reviews out of the music press forever.
The doors to the private room swing open and the group enters. At the far end of a table sits Simon Price. Standing at his side and slightly behind him is James Forgy, the head hunter. The group stands there aghast.
Price: We would be honoured if you would join us.
Nic gives Felidae a mean look.
Felidae: I had no choice. They arrived right before you did. I'm sorry.
Nic: I'm sorry, too.

Part 3
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