Chapter 18: Positive Promotion

[Chapter 18: Positive Promotion]

"... But your guys shut down the live music, which alerted those three, so my two football teammates and I had to chase after them. You know what happened next," Ryan calmly recounted the situation. The officer sitting across from him took notes, then glanced at his superior.

Seeing no response from his boss, he nodded at Ryan. "Given your motives for the chase, you and your classmates won't face any assault charges. You can now..."

The sheriff abruptly raised his hand, cutting off his deputy.

He stood up and walked over to Ryan, eyeing the small cuts on the back of his hand with a grunt. "Is it cool to play the hero in front of a girl? Do you have any idea how dangerous it was? What if those three guys had guns?" He imposed an admonishing glare at Ryan. The sheriff had a rough face with little hair, appearing quite intimidating.

"Every day there are suspects that get away. Unless the city council provides a better budget, nobody can do anything about it. Now get out of here, and don't let me see you around again, kid." He waved his hand, signaling Ryan to leave.

...

Once Ryan returned to the precinct lobby, he spotted Hank who had just finished his questioning and was waiting for him.

"Paul went to the local hospital to get his wounds treated. Also..." Hank glanced beside him, and saw Deadmou5 and his group.

As one of the involved parties, they had been brought in for a brief questioning and to provide their version of events from that day.

"You could've chased down the suspect without wrecking someone else's stuff, right?" Dead Mouse said with a heartbroken look on his face.

That smashed oversized helmet wasn't just a simple prop; it had special LED lights embedded in its two white eyes, synced to change with the rhythm of the music through a control panel. Besides the basic music monitoring system, the helmet had openings crafted for observing the external environment, along with ventilation and heat dissipation structures, complete with additional support and fixtures.

In short, it was a custom piece packed with various components, and there was no way to get a replacement in just a matter of days.

"Don't you have a spare?" Ryan found himself asking.

"Of course," Dead Mouse shot back, gazing at Ryan. He wore a baseball cap and looked small compared to tall Ryan.

"But the other spare was smashed by your classmate -- the tall, skinny guy. And also, Zimerman's personal computer was completely wrecked, which contained a series of music project files. It's already been sent to Apple's local service department; we don't know if the data can be recovered," one of Dead Mouse's group chimed in.

Ryan felt embarrassed, not anticipating he'd caused such trouble, so he first apologized before recounting the situation.

"I've already heard from the officers, and I understand the main responsibility doesn't lie with you guys. Your brave actions should be commended, and you're just students. You can only blame my bad luck," Dead Mouse sighed.

Ryan exhaled in relief.

Then Dead Mouse changed his tone, pointing to a group not far away. Abigail and the other classmates were standing there, and since they were too far, they hadn't noticed Ryan yet.

"I heard from your friends that you're from Nashville, and you're a local DJ whose electronic music gained some popularity there?"

Ryan nodded vigorously, expressing that he had come to Florida to seek opportunities at the Ultra Music Festival.

"Can I hear some of your music?" Dead Mouse playfully asked.

His buddy quickly chimed in, "Zimerman is currently one of the top five most recognized electronic music producers in North America, even in the top three; he established an independent record label called Mau5trap last year in Canada to provide a good development environment for new DJs. We maintain great cooperation with EMI, and this year's North American tour plan is massive."

"That's enough; I'm not even sure how to explain this to Marvin." Dead Mouse took off his cap and messed up his hair. After all, the Beach Bash music festival was just an extra opportunity -- the main event was the Ultra Music Festival happening a few days later.

Last year's festival had attracted over 50,000 attendees, and this year marked the tenth anniversary of the festival. To celebrate, the organizers had put together a stellar lineup, including two of DJ Magazine's top three DJs. Renowned DJs like Tiesto, Paul van Dyk, Carl Cox, Armin van Buuren, Benny Benassi, and David Guetta would be part of it.

This grand event was one Dead Mouse didn't want to miss, but, of course, the most critical equipment had broken down at this juncture...

...

"Hey, Mouse, I heard you got picked up?! What's going on?"

A boisterous voice came from the entrance, and everyone turned to see a fat man in a colorful Hawaiian shirt and shorts wearing a straw hat. Accompanying him was a strikingly attractive woman in high heels, her long dress revealing her entire back.

"The plane already took off, heading straight for Amelia Island; we could have arrived by this evening. But now I've got to have the pilot turn back. I already paid for round-trip tickets; you have to explain this to me, or you're covering the cost!" the man bellowed while approaching.

"I had a feeling about this."

Ryan noticed Dead Mouse furrowed his brows.

"Marvin, I might have to pull out of this year's Ultra Music Festival," Dead Mouse told this white, chubby middle-aged man, who seemed to be his business partner or agent.

Marvin then turned to Ryan, sizing him up from head to toe, not missing any detail.

"Are you sure you can't participate in the performance?"

"Both helmets are broken, and there's no way to fix them in time."

Finally, Marvin said to Ryan with a serious tone, "Kid, you've put us in breach of contract. I need to call your parents; we have to talk about this."

"Marvin..." Dead Mouse protested.

"This isn't just your issue; it includes me too. Do you know how much we'll lose with this back and forth? Because of a few clueless high school kids... Someone needs to teach them a lesson." Marvin wasn't ready to let this go; then he turned back to Ryan, frowning as he spoke slowly.

"However, considering the time and energy needed for litigation, and considering you're broke, I think I have a special remedy.

Be upfront about everything; tell the public the equipment got damaged while apprehending a criminal. The audience would understand. We might even bring this young man to the stage; he's a DJ too, right? Let him be a special guest at the event! The festival has faced complaints in recent years; he could serve as positive promotion, showing others that rave parties aren't just about people drinking and doing drugs."

"What do you think of this plan?" Marvin looked at Dead Mouse.

"What about the helmets?" Dead Mouse suddenly spoke up.

Without needing Marvin to say anything, Ryan took the initiative. "Helmets can be easily sourced; don't forget, there's a Disney park in Orlando."

"That'll make me pass out from the heat," Dead Mouse quickly shook his head.

"It's fine; this young man will take over the performance from here on." Marvin burst out laughing.

*****

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