Zach

As I unlocked the front door of my condo, I could hear the scrape of nails on the marble tile. My two-year-old pomsky Wolfgang was always energetic when I came home. The service I hired to walk him usually came in the mornings and afternoons unless I planned to be home and walk him myself.

After letting him slather me with welcome home kisses, I went to my bedroom and changed into a tracksuit from a famous brand. I grabbed one of my baseball caps and sunglasses. Though it had been years since I had to worry about thirsty fans stopping me, I still tried to cover my face whenever I went out without security. Even still, I never left without bringing my phone and a GPS locator. Maybe it was because of what happened at the gallery, but I was being extra careful.

After my conversation with Joe, I knew it was possible that this guy was targeting me, but I didn’t want to let them mess up the life I had carved out since I left the entertainment industry. The fact that I was hesitating pissed me off. I grabbed the leash and put the harness on Wolfgang. Grabbing his dog bags, I headed out.

Mesial Park was just across the street of my building. There were plenty of other runners with their dogs dressed like I was. You’d think that wearing a brand name workout suit would garner a lot of attention, but this area was populated by a lot of celebrities. Trendy attire was the norm and if I wore anything plainer, I would stand out like a sore thumb, especially at this time of day.

The paths in Mesial had dividers painted on them for bikers and pedestrians. Wolfgang and I took off down one of them. Exercising was a way for me to work through all the tension and worries I had throughout the day. Plenty of the guys I met at the gym preferred morning runs, but I felt that too much happened over most days to forgo a nightly jog. Running, especially in the park, grounded me and reminded me of training for the cross-country team with Joe back in the day.

The amphitheater was along my route, and I could see that they were setting up for a show tomorrow. Stagehands were laying out the speakers and taping down the lines. Wolfgang decided that was the perfect place to empty his bowls. As I waited, I could see the security at the venue set up. I could tell who they were cause there was a tent with SECURITY printed in large letters on the side.

Most of the acts hired local security to supplement their tour security. As I looked over the small group of people, they parted to reveal a small woman in a white button up and dark slacks. Her dark brown hair was tied back in a low bun and I could tell that she was the woman in charge. As the meeting came to a halt, she looked out over the theater and up to me. She was too far for me to make out the details of her face, but I couldn’t help but feel dismissed as she flicked her head and disappeared behind one of the tents set up for the event.

While I was waiting, I pulled out my phone to look up the park schedule and saw that there would be a music festival starting tomorrow. I grimaced as I realized I would have to have my service take Wolfgang out until it was over. I made that mistake after Infinite Chaos disbanded. I ended up at a music festival and spent the next six months fielding questions about a non-existent solo comeback.

For the rest of my run, I couldn’t get the image of the woman out of my mind. There wasn’t anything particularly special about her. I had barely gotten more than a glimpse of her before cleaning up after my dog and continuing with our run. When I got back, I laid out fresh water for Wolfgang. He loved going on these runs, but he always laid out on the floor, panting and refusing to move until I filled his bowl with fresh water and a few ice cubes.

I pulled out the fancy dog food in the fridge and put some in a dog bowl. Heating it up, I let it cool while I made myself a plain ham and cheese sandwich. I placed the bowl down on the dog’s food mat. Snatching a bag of chips and a beer, I headed over to my office where I pulled up the festival information. Steele Security was the local company the venue was working with.

“Why is that name so familiar?”

I pulled my phone out and sent a text to my assistant Dana. It wasn’t long before she sent me a copy of a proposal from Steele Security. Reading though it, the frown on my face deepened. After a while, I pulled up a copy of the security plans that were submitted last year. I compared the gaps pointed out in the Steele Security Plan with the TCSP security overview. Part of me wondered if I was seeing this correctly. According to the submitted TCSP plan, these gaps shouldn’t exist.

I could feel the relief I experienced after my run fade away. Pinching the bridge of my nose to stave off a tension headache, I sighed before calling Dana up.

“Mr. Soest, this is unexpected.”

“Sorry about this Dana, but I am going to need to get everything about our contract with TCSP. We have a meeting with their director on Friday, right?”

“Yes sir, at nine am.”

“Have they been interviewed by the police yet for the investigation?”

“I know that the guards on duty were interviewed on site.”

“Has the facilities team also been interviewed?”

“I believe that they are scheduled to be interviewed tomorrow.”

“Good. Set up a meeting with the guards assigned to the gallery tomorrow first thing. I have some questions for them. Also, I’d like to have you book a consultation with Steele Security.”

“Yes, sir.”