It was a strange situation. Despite six years of being the boss of Dark Blue Music and all its former incarnations, Jimmy Bishop had never actually had to fire someone. Sure, people had left and he had wished them well, and sometimes people, like Bikki last week, needed an extra nudge to keep them going, but he'd never actually had to kick someone out of the management group. He wasn't sure that he had the balls to do it - but then, Michelle T. Blunt, aka. Machete, was doing nothing but abusing DBM's money to pay for her addiction, not releasing any music at all. He knew that she had a problem and had offered many times to help, but she refused to even as much as acknowledge that there was anything wrong. He hated letting someone down when they were at their worst - but hey, maybe it could be a wake-up call for her, to get her arse in gear.

As the plane landed in Christchurch, New Zealand, where the Blunt family was born and bred, he thought through what this place, this family, had given him. First of all, a legend in her own right, one of the original Rekordfirma van Mouschi Power Three, and in his mind, the only lady to ever truly deserve the Queen of Pop title - Emma Blunt. Sure, others may inherit the crown, but Emma had it first, and there was no other quite like her. Then there was Maddy B, lead vocalist for Moronic Changeling for a time while Kaethe Jenkins was busy with K.I.C.K.A.R.S.E.; not as much a legend as Emma, but still a hard worker and very much a success. Firecracker 47's drummer Modi Blunt, formerly of Moronic Changeling. Sure, she had a bit of a dodgy past, but Jimmy considered her a success too, proof that some Blunt leopards can change their spots .... but not all.

Machete had been with DBM for years, and had put out one free download song. Sure, Mache had shown potential there, and in her collabs with the Moronics, Raven Storme and Kamikaze Kate, and she had the kind of 'bitch' personality which people were falling in love with at the moment, but potential and personality weren't enough for a management CEO. She had to be selling or at least making music, not just sitting there drinking and bitching. Jimmy hated to admit it, especially since he had a wife and three BFFs in his signings, but to DBM the faceless company, these people were products, and had to be treated as such.

He sighed as he walked across the soft grass leading up to the Blunts' home, where Emma, Maddy, Modi and Mache had lived for most of their lives, wishing that he was anywhere else. He put his hand to the rusty old door-knocker, and a familiar female Kiwi accent told him that the door was open ....

Edited by user 20 June 2011 00:40:37(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

OOC: Well written :) interesting stuff :)

"Please, Modi, Nykia, could I speak to her alone for a few minutes?" Jimmy pleaded. "It won't be for long. We can have a drink after!"
"No no," Machete piped up, speaking for the first time. "Drinksh .... come firsht."
"Never mind us!" Nykia squawked. "We won't get in the way. Just get on with it!"

There was clearly no way out. Jimmy had to hold his head up, face his fear, and trust the ex-cons. "Michelle," he said, matter-of-factly.
His 'product' gulped. "Yesh?"
"We have met, many times, over many months and years, to discuss your music - or lack thereof. We have also discussed your addiction, and offered help via our contract with Bethlem Royal Hospital, which you have refused to take. So, you have left me with no other choice. I'm sorry ...."
"NO! I'll do shum shongs! Done one!"
Jimmy shook his head as Mache sung half-forgotten lines of 'Nightside Blonde', the only song that she had ever written, which was made to be an insult to Raven Storme and had not made Dark Blue Music any money.
"That's not enough. You have potential, you have personality. But if you're not bringing home the bacon, what am I supposed to do?"
"Keep her," said Modi, quiet but sharp. "Look at her, Jimmy. How could you kick her when she's down?"
"We've offered help, Modi," he repeated. "She doesn't want to be helped."
"Don't - need - BEDLAM!" Mache shouted, vomiting all over Jimmy's shoes as if trying to prove herself wrong.
"She's going to stay signed." Modi smiled. "Isn't she, Nykia?"

Nykia said nothing, but the click of someone loading a shotgun proved that she was in agreement. Jimmy had no choice - comply or die.

Jimmy turned round to make sure that it wasn't all in his head - it wasn't. Hot shotgun in her right hand, cold beer in her left - that was Nykia McNamara for you. She could be sickly-sweet one minute, and a psycho ready to blow your brains out the next. Jimmy looked for some route of escape - there was none. All he could do was move as far away from the firing line as possible, sitting next to Machete, but he knew that he was only stalling. Modi ran up to him and pushed him up against the wall. He never thought that he'd be so unhappy to be trapped against a wall by the largest natural pair of breasts he had ever seen, but this was a strange twist of fate.

"Listen, you fucking pommy fat cat," said Modi. "You unsign Mache and I'm gone too, right? Leaving nobody to hit the kit behind your precious moneyspinner Joshy Firecracker."
"That and you get shot," Nykia added, speaking as calmly as if she was offering him the beer.
"That too. But do you really think I want to hang out with that manus, his talentless fat sister and 'Keeping Up With The Kairiris'? Do you really think I want to be nothing but a pair of tits to the world? I'm in it for the money, just like you. Firecracker 47 and the world's favourite gilfs Moronic Changeling are nothing but cash cows to me, and to you. Admit it, Jimmy."
"That's just not true." Jimmy didn't know why he was being honest when he was walking on broken glass similar to eggshells, the words just came out. "I'm firing Mache because she's doing nothing but drink, lie and refuse help."
"Yeah nah. The Moronics aren't doing anything but parading their trendy gay-pridey new members who have no chemistry whatsoever with them, but you're not firing them! Why not? Oh yes, 13 albums behind them, still raking in the cash from their old-timey fans! Just because Mache hasn't released anything, doesn't mean she won't."
Jimmy wanted to scream out that this wasn't the time or place to discuss this. He had no idea what to say - to DBM the business, yes, that was true, but to Jimmy personally, it was not. Ethically speaking, why was he firing Machete and not Moronic Changeling? Because they were his first ever band, or because they were his best friends?
"I - trust them," he said. "Moronic Changeling forever!"
"So you don't trust my sister?" Modi slapped him round the face. "YOU - STROPPY - BASTARD!"

"Do you want to do the dirty work, Blunty?" Without even giving her the choice, Nykia tossed the gun to her second in command. Modi, keeping one hand still on Jimmy to prevent him from moving, caught it and nodded at Nykia. She faced Jimmy, pulled the trigger, and the bullet set off on its course ....

Modi dropped the gun and jumped to her sister, who was now gushing blood from where the bullet hit her. She pushed her chest up to her sister's, trying to stop the blood flowing. "Mache .... Machete? Michelle? Can you hear me?"
Jimmy edged closer to the dying girl, feeling her already icy skin. "She's going cold, Modi."
"DON'T SAY THAT!" Modi screamed. "NYKIA! CALL 111!"
Nykia shook her head. "No way. What, do you want us to go back to lesbiana paradiso again?"
"I DON'T CARE WHAT HAPPENS! WE NEED AN AMBULANCE! JIMMY!"

Without hesitation, Jimmy called the NZ emergency services number, called for an ambulance, and helped Modi hold onto Machete .... he wouldn't say it out loud, but he could tell that any attempt to save the girl would be hopeless. He held tight, not even in the slightest blaming Modi for her actions. He knew who was to blame.
"This is all same shit, different arseholes to you, isn't it Nykia?"
She flicked her hair. "You could say so."
"When you wanted to kill Emma, you got Catherine to idolise you enough to fire the gun instead of you, so that her sentence would be longer than yours - Catherine missed and shot Britney. Now, in trying to kill me, you got Modi pissed off enough to fire the gun instead of you - Modi missed and shot Machete."
"Yeah nah, Jimmy. People are so dumb and easy to play with. And I don't give a fuck about any of you. I don't give a fuck when Britney died and if Machete dies, though you and Emma were bigger prizes. Third time round, maybe I'll get you, or whoever's next on my list, eh? Or, rather, get someone to get you. And I didn't fire it, I get off with only being involved, yay!"
"I hope you rot in jail."

Soon after, a paramedic pronounced Machete DOA, and a police car took the rest of them away. Modi admitted straight away to shooting her sister by accident. Nykia was handcuffed and taken away immediately - Modi was given a little more time to calm down. Jimmy held her hand, still covered in dry blood.
"I'm sorry, Jimmy," she cried. "I don't really want you dead."
"I'm not mad at you, Modi. You were only misguided - did you know that Nykia was trying to kill Emma the first time?"
She looked at the floor. "No. All I knew was that I was joining this group .... I guess I am just stupid. Just a pair of boobs."
"You're more than that, Modi, much more." He stroked her hand. "You're a talented lady, who got in with the wrong crowd. I know that you wouldn't do this if Nykia wasn't behind you with her evil plans. It's such a shame you'll be getting the blame, Modi."
"I'm the last Blunt standing! What would Emma and Maddy and - Michelle - think of me now?"
"The same as I think of you. Not lost, just a little mislaid."

Edited by user 22 June 2011 05:00:21(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

OOC : Thanks as well as the spanks to everyone who read and enjoyed this post. (: This obviously means a shift in DBM and F47, what with Machete being dead and Modi being incarcerated - the meetings will begin tomorrow. I'm hoping to start up a lot of new fun stuff for anyone who plays TRSG, but I need to clean up my characters first. This is just the beginning. #hope

OOC: I think this is really well written!! It is a great storyline!

OOC: I was waiting for it to finish before I read it or said anything because I wanted to read it all at once. It was worth the wait! Loved the story!

OOC: :O MINDFUCK!!! haha, reallly good stuff!!

OOC: Sorry I haven't commented on this yet... anyway, it's amazing, basically.