Prologue
Pete punched in the key-code combination controlling access to the lobby of the six-story artists’ commercial building in downtown Brooklyn. The shoddy security resulted from the tenants’ preference to come and go without the hassle of keys. A few years back, Pete had rented space in the building as an office for his video game development company. Pete headed to the third floor and then towards the back of the building, past a slew of artists’ studios, and stopped at a non-descript door. This was the back entrance to an office suite he could no longer afford to be a part of, but he knew of a tiny area which had been essentially walled off on the inside to provide a noise barrier. Apparently everybody had forgotten about this space, and now it had become Pete’s home.
Pete’s new anonymity was a far cry from just two years ago when he was the toast of the neighborhood after the successful release of his game, “Silversmith”. Boosters crowed that the area would become the leading video game development cluster in the nation. Pete’s company, Locksmith Games, hired two new developers from MIT. But that was all before Locksmith was sued by a starlet who claimed that “Silversmith” had violated her rights of privacy and publicity; somehow things had been going downhill ever since.
Settling in, Pete was anxious to complete the new playlist he had just constructed of top female-led Celtic Fantasy musical groups. Pete relished his role as a super-fan, and he treasured the trinkets he received from his idols in response to the dedicated series of micro-payments that he made to their sites. Pete had been following one singer in particular since the days when she was at NYU and he was at NYU Polytechnic, ignoring for now that that is what led directly to the disastrous lawsuit, and yet aware enough of the reality to make sure to disguise his identity. Every night, Pete would check the schedule of his idol / nemesis. Tonight, she would be performing at Club 13 in the Village. Maybe he could catch the late show, incognito? Pete double-checked the times. Sure enough, Club 13 gave top billing tonight to Lexi and the Plebes. It was actually a holdover performance from her successful weekend run there. It was Monday, April 1, and it looked like the Club thought it could get one more great night from Lexi and the Plebes.
As if addicted, Pete started checking fan sites where Lexi had accounts. What harm could come from making a small pledge, although his attorney had told him to stay away no matter what. But Pete had already reached almost the platinum level of fandom, having been a fan since his college days, so he saw no reason to stop now. Meanwhile, Pete was still getting payments from his ex-partners at Locksmith Games, as “Silversmith” remained popular among streamers and e-sports fans. Plus, it was April Fools’ Day, and Pete had always been a prankster at heart anyway. So Pete made another pledge to Lexi and the Plebes. But this time, Lexi’s team was ready, and a sting operation was activated. Given that a restraining order between Pete and Lexi was already in place due to complications from the lawsuit, when Lexi’s attorneys received notification that a contact had been made, they called the police; then cops were dispatched to interview Pete and deliver a warning. And when Lexi got wind of what was transpiring, she became too distraught to continue with the scheduled concert at Club 13. Informed that the star would not be performing, the Club’s patrons spilled out onto the streets of Greenwich Village, and cops were dispatched to that location as well.
