EVENTS OF 22/3/16Billy waits in the passenger seat of a chic black Mercedes-Benz E-Class S212 while on the phone to his band mate Riley Hamilton. The car is situated in a parking lot outside of a 24 hour supermarket and would be totally empty if not for the lone white van parked a few spots down from Billy and a huge green delivery truck at the side of the store, grumbling away as two young men unload the goods from the back. It's 3:46 A.M. to be precise and it's the perfect time for Billy to do some shopping, well the perfect time for his brother Deneil to do the shopping for him. While his younger brother trails around the ghost town like supermarket, Billy enjoys the warmth and comfort of their luxurious hire car. He turns up the heating to fight off the bitter cold that comes with the early hours in London and connects his phone to the Bluetooth device as he talks to his band mate.
"You know what, Riley? I think we should just scrap that part as the chorus altogether. I mean, I think it's great but it would make a fucking killer bridge instead. It kinda takes on a whole different sound and delivery which we could use to break down the track towards the end of it. We have a great pre-chorus that's really fucking built up and I think that the chorus has to be even bigger and like...a smack around the head. The one we've got now is amazing lyrically but would need a lot of chopping and changing to make an anthem-like chorus and I don't want to do that. The melody we have for those lines is wicked and I don't want to tamper with it. I think we should definitely keep it as the bridge instead."Billy looks around, enjoying what he can of the "scenery" inside the parking lot while he talks to his friend Riley. There really isn't much to look at but Deneil seems to be taking forever to return with the small list of groceries he sent him in for so he needs a way to amuse himself. If Billy were to look ahead, he'd see straight into the brightly lit supermarket through the huge windows. It's odd seeing a place usually filled with life look so deserted. None of the checkouts he can see from the window appear to be opened and the aisles are lifeless apart from when the middle aged cleaner makes her random appearances with her mop. Behind the car are multiple shopping cart stations standing in the darkness. To the right, nothing but empty spaces and a few street lights and bins in the distance. To the left is the lone white van. As Riley agrees with Billy and delivers his tired response, complete with yawns and all, Billy chuckles and realises that Riley probably wants to get to bed. His friend is more than likely already half asleep and agreeing to something he's not really listening to.
"Alright mate, you sound fucked. I'll let you go and I'll chat to you tomorrow. 'Night, Hamilton."As soon as Billy hangs up, he relaxes back into his seat and looks to his left towards the van. His stomach leaps as he sees a dark hooded figure look out of the van's passenger side window. Billy never noticed the figure before and he's been sat here for a good 15 or 20 minutes waiting on his brother. It was pretty dark though and the person was wearing all black so they may have just blended into the background this whole time. At least, that's what Billy tells himself before his mind wonders into the "paranormal" paranoia. What slightly unnerves the pop star is that this person's face cannot be seen. It's a total mass of black space under that hood and he or she, appears to be staring straight at Billy. He's not easily scared but there's something not quite right about this situation. He can feel it in the air. Billy taps on the dash and mutters "Hurry the fuck up, Deneil!" under his breath, trying his best to ignore the hooded figure who may or may not still be staring at him. A little side eye to the left and sure enough, he can see this person in the same position, gazing right into the Khan's vehicle. Suddenly, a roaring engine and exhaust pipe spring into life and cause Billy to literally jump in his seat. He turns to see the van lit up and in action. The figure still stares from the passenger side, this time with their leather gloved hands pressed against the window. If that wasn't enough to shake up Billy, he now realises that there must be two of them in the van as the figure he can see clearly isn't the one starting the vehicle up. Slowly, the bulky white contraption trails forward and takes a left, exiting the parking lot and onto the main road. Thousands of thoughts and questions rush through Billy's head but the main one is "Why were they there?". They had been there upon arrival and had sat in darkness almost the entire time. They weren't waiting on anyone coming out from the store nor were they fans or paps eagerly awaiting the brothers' arrival as the decision to go there was very heat of the moment and nobody else knew they were going to be there. Billy isn't usually one to be freaked like this but something isn't right here.
BANG!
"Fuck! Deneil! You fucking little cunt!!" Billy yells, trying his best to seem all macho and dominant after being spooked by his little brother who banged on his window. Deneil had returned to the car without Billy noticing and decided to terrorise his older brother who appeared to be in a trance-like state in his seat. He laughs and pokes out his tongue, taking pleasure in winding up his sibling. He walks around to the trunk of the car and places three shopping bags in before returning to the driver's seat, letting some of the cold night air in with him. Unlike Billy who is dressed in a crisp white suit and smart looking dark jeans, Deneil is wearing a grey beanie hat, a tight white t-shirt and loose grey sweatpants. He always appears more casual and relaxed than his older brother who likes to treat every event like it's part of London Fashion Week. Rather than inform Deneil of the hooded figure and the van, he decides to hound him for taking his sweet time inside. Deneil would more than likely just laugh at Billy and not take the story seriously and the last thing Billy wants is to be ridiculed by his baby brother.
"What took you so fucking long, D?! My arse is numb with all of this waiting around...and I don't know how to work the fucking radio. I'm sat here like a knob while you piss about looking at tins of beans. I only asked for Rice Krispies, peaches and some chocolate bars." "Chill, fam! I had to buy some things for myself, you know. Ain't all about you, bruv. I haven't been out shopping in a while so I was stocking up again. Also, those self checkout machines were well bad. Things kept fucking up. Kept scanning button mushrooms as 25 by Adele. Trying to charge me £9.99 for fungus, bruv. Had to hunt down for a member of staff. What's with you anyway? You're all...jumpy, bruv.""Nothing...I'm sorry...I'm just tired, bro. How much do I owe you?"Nah, it's on me. It was only a couple of quid anyway. Ain't gonna break the fucking bank.""Thanks, D. You mind taking me home now? I just want to climb into bed and sleep straight away. Jerry's away working with his group and won't be back until late tomorrow so I'm stuck with an empty bed. I hate it when he's not in bed with me. Just going to force myself to sleep and not think about the fact that he's not there. Fuck, I've become part of one of the very things I hate - a soppy couple. I used to love my own space but now I need him with me. It's fucking disgusting." Deneil laughs and shakes his head, just enjoying listening to the ramblings of his brother. Even being in love and one of the most famous people on the planet right now, everything he says and does is still so "Billy". While Deneil straps on his seat belt and fires up the Mercedes-Benz, Billy sighs and rests his head against the window. His thoughts are a jumbled collection of missing his fiance for the night as well as the strange situation with the guys or girls in the van. Deneil rambles on as the car leaves the parking lot while Billy drifts in and out, giving one word replies and making noises in agreement every so often without really listening to what his little brother has to say. He's disconnected to it and there's something not quite right about tonight which is gnawing away at Billy. Billy doesn't even comment on his younger brother passing a whole lot of gas on the journey, something which usually earns Deneil a few punches on the arm and insults.
Pulling up to the gates of Billy's grand London home, Deneil gets out of the car and opens the trunk to collect Billy's shopping bag. The younger Khan had been asked to stay over but had declined. Even though Billy really doesn't want to feel alone right now, his pride always gets in the way so he didn't fancy trying to twist Deneil's arm and risk looking pathetic, wanting his little brother to stay and calm his nerves. Billy steps out of the car and takes his bag from Deneil, briefly turning to look at the huge padlocked gates behind him. Even Billy's house stands all on it's lonesome which represents exactly how he's feeling tonight.
"Cheers, D. Was nice hanging with you today, bro. Didn't think we'd be out this late...or early...whichever way you want to look at it. Was fun though. We don't really get to do random shit like this any more."
"That's 'cause you're a superstar who jets around the world and leaves us little people behind. Plus you're planning a wedding, bruv. You're a busy man. You can call me anytime though, man...you know that, right? Things may be different now but we're still brothers."
"Yeah, yeah...I know that. We'll hang more often. I promise. Thanks again for tonight, D."
"No problem, fam. See you later, man."
"Yeah, see you around, bro." Billy and Deneil hug before the younger brother heads back into the warmth and safety of his hired car. Billy turns around to face the tall, locked iron gates once again with his shopping bag tight in his grip. As he fumbles around for the key to the gate in his pocket, Deneil pulls away and drives off down the empty street, leaving Billy truly on his own for the first time tonight. The rattling of the padlock and chains seem to fill the deadly silent road and echo throughout the area. Once inside the pebble filled driveway, the sensor lights come on and illuminate Billy and the entire garden. He closes the creaky gates over and locks up from the inside. Again, something just isn't sitting right with Billy. Everything is rather still and eerie, only adding to the tension. No strong wind, no rain, no traffic passing by, no animals...just the sound of Billy's footsteps crunching on the pebbles leading up to the house. As he puts the key in the door, his phone buzzes, startling him. It's a text message from Jerry.
"I know you're probably still awake at this time. Just want to say goodnight and that I'm really missing you right now. Love you, babe - J xx"Billy smiles, suddenly feeling more at ease after hearing from Jerry. He steps inside the house and switches the lights on before replying to the text. He immediately heads towards the kitchen after taking his shoes off at the front door. Billy places the bag on the island counter and takes out the groceries, double checking to make sure Deneil bought the right things before he opens up his fridge and cupboards, putting the items in the correct place. Reaching up to put his cereal in a cupboard, Billy hears his cat grumbling somewhere in the kitchen behind him. He turns to see his Bengal cat, Zeus, cowering in the corner with his pupils dilated and fur standing up on all ends as if he's in danger. The cat is usually a big softy and comes straight up to Billy whenever he returns home, looking for attention and treats.
"Zeus what's wrong?"Billy closes the cupboard door and slowly walks over to the feline, not wanting to startle or intimidate him even more. He has no idea what's going on. Billy is pretty sure he fed the cat and the dog before he left so it's not as if Zeus is pissed at him for that. He slowly reaches his hand out to pet the cat to show him that everything is OK. Zeus whines before spitting at Billy. Deciding it's better to leave him to come out of his mood on his own accord, Billy sighs and turns his back on the cat before proceeding towards the hallway. Just before leaving though, he can see that his dog's food bowl is still totally full. It hasn't been touched at all. Knowing Chico (and all dogs), there's no way that food would have lasted that long. Adding that with the strange behaviour of the cat, Billy is immediately alerted.
"Chico? Chiiiiccoooo??"Whistling and calling out for his dog, Billy tiptoes around the hallway and tries his best to find the balance between gentle and ready for action. He doesn't want to disturb his pets but after being swiped at by his cat, he also doesn't fancy being attacked by a dog either so has to remain on guard. Walking into the darkened living room, Billy calls out once again and stands in the doorway. After no response, he reaches in and hits the light switch. Touching the switch, he feels something wet on his fingers which causes him to wince in disgust. He couldn't see what it was at first but once the light was on, Billy looks down at his hand and sees droplets of red smeared across his finger tips. He raises an eyebrow and realises that it's blood. How the hell did blood get on his light switch?! More importantly, who does it belong to?
Looking up and into the living room is what truly shakes Billy to the core. His stomach churns. Beads of sweat instantly trickle down his face. His knees knock together and his beautiful tanned skin morphs into the palest of white. All along his walls are smeared, covered and splashed with blood. Drops of dark red blood are scattered over his laminated floors as well as his once white centrepiece rug. Big objects such as his television and glass coffee table still remain untouched but a few vases have been smashes as well as pictures. The huge mirror that once took pride of place in the middle of the feature wall is now on the floor in front of the fire place, smashed into pieces. Now, in place of the mirror, lies to word
"SOON", written in blood with all capital letters and underlined twice, just in case Billy missed the point. Turning to leave the crime scene, Billy stops in his tracks and yells as he sees his beloved dog pinned to the back of the door with one of his chef knives. He covers his mouth in an attempt to stop himself from throwing up. Tears stream down his face but the devastation soon transforms into sheer panic yet again. He realises that the padlocked gate at the front was still chained when he arrived. The only two entrances are the front door which he entered and the one in the kitchen which he passed earlier. Neither of them had any signs of forced entry.
Whoever did this knows how to get into Billy's house with great ease.
Whoever did this knew that both Billy and Jerry would be away for most of today in order to commit such a foul act.
Whoever did this has been watching.