9 The Concert

Their bus arrived just on time before 5 pm struck. When they took their seats Shawn went in his bags showing them a deck of cards. "We won't arrive at Prime Castle anytime soon so let's play a game to kill some time" Shawn proposed. Shawna and Cj agreed to it and they played "GUESS THE CARD.

Cj will have the deck of cards and any card he randomly picks up Shawn and Shawna will have to guess. Cj will only give two hints on what the card is. Cj removed the joker and picked up the first card on top of the deck. "You are allowed to go in the deck for a specific card if you want. You don't have to pick what is on top" Shawn added. "Of all the games we could play though" Cj said reshuffling.

"I don't know the slightest thing about card games" Shawn admitted.

"Funny since this is your deck" Shawna teased.

Cj picked a card and gave two hints. "It's not a heart and not an odd number" Cj said smirking. "Those hints hardly helped us. Give us one more" Shawna urged. "It's a diamond" Cj added.

"4 diamonds!" Shawn blurted.

"Wrong" Cj immediately replied.

Shawna guessed "2 Diamonds". "Correct! Shawna got it right" Cj praised. "Hehehehehehe, I'm psychic" She grinned. They played this game filling the bus with their loud voices along the ride. Other passengers were bothered by them but didn't bother to say anything. One hour of playing the same game they eventual got bored. "Shawna guessed 10 cards right while I guessed 21. That's a slaughter" Shawn bragged. Cj pulled out his phone and asked "How are you with video games Shawn?"

"I play a ton, have any in mind?" Shawn asked.

"Street Fighters!"

"Umm, I don't have a phone right now to play anything. Plus I only play the old graphic games" Shawna said embarrassed. "How can you go to a far-away place without a phone? That's pretty brave" Cj commended. "Cheer me on while I beat Shawn on Street Fighters" Cj suggested. For the rest of the trip Cj and Shawn played games on their phone with Shawna spectating. Even though she wasn't a part of the action she found joy just from watching them play. Their expressions, their reactions to victory and defeat all made Shawna happy.

"Terry left me these two didn't he" Shawna almost cried at the thought.

When they arrived at their stop Prime Castle was within sight. It was beyond the 14 meter wall with a gate at the center. Shawn gave the guards three passes for entry then handed Shawna and Cj their concert tickets. "Don't lose them" Shawn said seriously.

When they walked beyond the gates it felt like an eruption happened it their ears. A sudden outburst of screaming, shouting, music and singing rushed at them mercilessly. Sound that they never heard until they entered beyond the gates. The castle was up ahead so the three adjust their hearing and continued onward. "This Armelle Veesta better be good" Shawna said.

The security at the Castle doors asked for their tickets. After tearing their tickets they were allowed to enter and exit the castle for six hours. When they entered the building a huge crowd was inside cheering for a woman and her band on center stage.

"Veeeeeesta!"

"Veeeeeesta!"

Shawn joined the crowd shouting Armelle's last name. Shawna asked Cj "What song is she singing right now? It sounds so uplifting". "Burning Passion! Never let it go because it is what keeps you together" Cj answered.

"Burning Passion, I'll be sure to download that" Shawna said inspired. Shawn got separated from Cj and Shawna in the crowd so they ended up having to search for him. "Let's be sure not to break up. You don't have a phone so it will be a bigger pain if you get lost" Cj said sweating nervously. He gave Shawn a call but he didn't pick up. "PRICK!" Cj shouted.

"Let's enjoy ourselves for now. I'm sure he's busy listening to Armelle's song to focus on your call" Shawna stated. They drank and ate as much as they could while watching Armelle performing her very best on stage.

"Hahaha, she's giving it her all despite performing for such a small audience. She's used to bigger crowds than this" Cj said. "Of course, she came here to entertain. She will take this seriously" Shawna said confidently.

The concert went on for four hours straight until Armelle finally took a break on singing and started talking to her audience. She asked questions about her songs and gave prizes to anyone who answered correctly. That is how Cj and Shawna managed to spot Shawn. Shawn walked up stage to collect a pendant he won from answering one of Armelle's questions. Cj recorded that moment just in case Shawn wanted to see it again. When the three reunited again Shawn apologized for wondering off alone.

Suddenly out of nowhere while Shawn was apologizing two men in black grabbed Cj and ran away swiftly. It all happened so far it took couple seconds before Shawna and Shawn reacted to Cj's capture. "Hey! What the hell?!" Cj shouted. Armelle who was on stage saw what was happening and pointed on the two men in black. "Stop those two men! They are kidnapping a young lad in the middle of my concert!" Armelle shouted.

When the guards finally arrived they were knocked out cold by the two men that are showed to have guns on them. Cj stopped hesitating once a gun was pointed at him. "A large crowd like this is bound to attract some sketchy characters" Shawna said trembling. Shawna left Shawn's company and ran upstairs where the crowd was less. She masked herself from everyone with her sheets then went after the two armed men.

The concert was ruined and Shawn became worried for the two friends he invited. "Shawna? Where did she run off to?" Shawn wondered. Armelle jumped off stage and told everyone to try and help her find the boy. "This is weird! Is this an act?" Shawn wondered.

"Loud music was playing for over three hours. Armelle was fully focused on her singing and nothing else. The audience was focused on Armelle too, why kidnap someone when all of that stopped" Shawn thought. He came to the assumption that Armelle is playing with her audience. She has done this in the past so it isn't a stretch. "First to find the boy gets a car! Come on!" Armelle shouted before leaving the castle.

"YEEEEEEEAAAAAH!" the crowd went wild. They followed her outside and started searching for Cj and the two armed men. "Hehehehe That Armelle is something else. I wished she didn't choose my friend to kidnap though" Shawn sighed. Meanwhile Cj was locked up in the basement at the back of the yard being investigated by the two men.

Shawna found them ages ago but she didn't make any drastic moves. She sat beside Cj silently and listened in on their conversation. "Don't fret kid, you're okay" One man said putting the gun away. The other kept his in his hand and said "This is staged. Armelle thought of a crazy idea to kidnap a kid. It's an event to make her and the participants play. It may backfire though".

Cj gulped and replied "That will definitely back fire depending on the prize. If it's something big people won't work together and they will only fight each other. "Hahahahaha, relax boy, Armelle won't allow any crap at her concert. Let's just wait here until someone finds us. It shouldn't take too long" The man said still holding his gun. Cj let out a sigh of relief.

.....

"We know you work with Detective Ricardo. The same man that arrested our brother" the man holding the gun suddenly said.

"Wha!"

"Our brother is sentenced life in prison. SO what if he killed some jerks. He didn't deserve that" said the man. Cj immediately started worrying again after hearing the man's words. "Sorry for your loss. It's his jobs to catch criminals you know. Can't blame him for…."

BOOOOM!

The man pulled the trigger startling Cj. "Careful, a big mouth might get you killed squirt" said the other guy. They both had their guns in hand and looked at Cj angrily. "We are here to fulfill Armelle's wish but everything was thrown out the window when we spotted you. The moment we did we knew we had to kidnap you"

Cj gulped and asked "What do you want? Can I bargain with you or not?"

"Yes, tell us where your mentor lives and what cases he's on. We want to ruin his career" both men replied simultaneously. Shawna heard everything and found it shocking. What looked like an act to her suddenly became real in a blink of an eye. "Cj, damn it why now, why him" Shawna cried to herself next to him. She touched his face and wondered "If he can't feel me or hear me then why am I here. He doesn't know someone is here to save him".

Cj started by saying "I don't know where Sir Ricardo lives. We meet at libraries, cafes and other public areas and as for the case he's working on. He's dead set on finding out what really happened to All Star Academy soccer team". Shawna was taken by surprise after hearing Cj's words. "The coach killed them" said one man.

"Ricardo seems to disagree. They only blamed it on him so that the school could open up again" CJ stated.

"You're lying about his residence. If you're smart you'll tell us right now!" The men warned Cj. The door to the basement was kicked open by a man filled with piercings.

"YAY! I win a car" the man said happily.

Armelle immediately followed after and cheered. "Ah, Arnold was the first to find them. Everyone congratulate him. There will be more prizes to come" Armelle shouted.

"YEEEAAAH!"

"Crazy bitch" the men said softly.

They took their guns away from Cj's face and glared at him. "We'll be back! You haven't seen the last of us" They warned. "Maybe it's time to stop hanging around that man. He might get me killed" Cj said to himself. Shawna overheard and agreed "Yeah, if your Ricardo finds out I am the culprit to the soccer team then our relationship would never be the same".

Shawn hugged Cj and asked "How did you feel suddenly getting kidnapped?"

"Frightening, Exhilarating, Thrilling, Scary" Cj listed out. "Sweet, I wish it was me" Shawn sighed.

Shawna took off her sheet and showed herself to Shawn and Cj. "Yes, Shawna you're back, thank goodness" Shawn said relieved. "Sorry for worrying you, I somehow lost you during the confusion" Shawna laughed. Cj scratched his head and said "I want to go home now" Shawna agreed with him. "Seriously, the concert isn't over yet" Shawn complained. Cj didn't feel up for any more fun after experiencing a kidnap and Shawna rather go home with her friends instead of spending the whole night with people who might harm her new friends. Cj told Shawn what he experienced word for word by those armed men and Shawn stopped complaining. "Let's go" Shawn said seriously.

Armelle saw them leaving so she gave them free passes for another concert and told them "Thanks for spicing it up. How did the kidnapping go?" Cj broke into tears for the first time and said "I am thinking of leaving Sir Ricardo that's what this caused. Damn it, Shit!"

Armelle didn't understand Cj's anger but she offered them a ride home with her manager Fantasia. Fantasia brought the three home in one peace.