They had plenty of rest and were energetic the next day when they've woken up. The plane just arrived in Germany's airport, and the passengers were leaving hurriedly. It took less than twenty minutes for them to arrive at their hotel. There were thirty-seven stories with around three hundred rooms. The walls were painted with different shades of blue, and a gigantic silver sign with LED lights decorated the entire sign. The words on the sign were shining, getting the attention of every pedestrian. The gleaming words on the sign spelt: Star Rise Hotel.
Two boys entered the hotel with excitement. The lobby somehow looked like a high-class restaurant mixed with an office building. An elegant crystal chandelier hung down from the ceiling. The walls were bright yellow, or perhaps, the yellow lights which had dyed the wall gold. A receptionist table stood in the middle of the lobby, it didn't seem to fit that place, somehow blocking the road. Some tourists were hurrying out of the hotel with luggage for their flight, some were checking in, and some were walking calmly and steadily towards the hotel café. There were a few armchairs on the left side of the wall – besides the main door, with a shoe cleaner machine beside. A few staff of the hotel, white dress shirt, red vests and slacks, were standing at the receptionist, some walking around, and an extraordinary one – the manager, with a black tie, patrolling around the lobby. As they moved towards the receptionist, they managed to see the café of the hotel.
The walls were mainly glass, exposing everything that was happening inside. Mathilde chairs were neatly arranged in front of dining tables covered by silk cloth. At least twenty people were inside having their meals quietly. Cevil noticed that they served Chinese and western both food. Kent was checking-in for himself and Cevil while Cevil was testing the shoe cleaner machine. He adjusted one of his feet in it. The softness of the brush brushing the shoe was comfortable, and it worked too. It had been five minutes when Kent called him, Cevil lifted his foot out of the machine and examined his white sport shoes. It used to be slightly grey and dirty, now, it was almost clean. Then, Cevil rushed into the elevator with Kent.
It was a huge stadium. There were lots of concert LED screens, in both top corners, in both bottom corners and in the middle. It was crowded with ten thousand people inside, everyone holding a sign printed "Richard", "WE LOVE YOU RICHARD", "Fighting" and much more but in German. There was a limit for the audience, there were only ten thousand tickets available, and the average cost for the tickets was three hundred pounds.
Cevil and Kent were led to the front by one of the workers, and they found it hard to breathe in the hall. Suddenly, the lights flickered, and it went completely dark, which made everyone begin to chatter. The lights were back on in ten seconds. A man with his back turned towards the audience was standing on the stage, trying to act mysterious. He wore a black top hat which covered the top of his dark grey hair, with his left hand resting on it. He was wearing a tuxedo with a pair of slacks and polished black shoes.
He turned around.
The crowd gasped. The man had a disfigured face. He had bulging eyes, and his nose was twisted to the right. The skin on his left cheek had melted, a part of it was still red, and the other part had almost recovered to his skin color. The only thing that was slightly normal was his mouth. He had long thin lips. It was completely silent in the stadium, no one spoke or moved, including the two boys.
An evil laugh spread across the hall, and it seemed to last forever. Then, it stopped, and the man said loudly, and in a tone as if trying to flirt with someone, "Hello, everyone!" He had bent his body slightly forward and lower, his eyes scanning the entire hall. "Do you know who I am?" he questioned softly, yet everyone managed to hear it. He took his hat off and reached his hand inside, "Yes... it's safe inside," he cracked up. He caught the nervous eyes of Cevil, "Do you? Do you know my name?" He stepped forwards, bending his body even lower to have a closer look at Cevil. Cevil gulped nervously, and he stepped back a pace, staring at the ground. He knew that he would probably throw up if he stared at the man in such a close distance. Slowly, the man produced something from his top hat. A bomb. The man wore his hat as he made another step forward, his eyes still fixed on Cevil. Everyone gasped again, some people – mostly women, had turned and headed for the door – the exit. However, there were dozens of guards guarding the door, and Cevil guessed that they were probably the gang of the disfigured man on the stage. They gripped hold of the escapers and pushed them back, revealing their guns at the same time. Some people began to cry. Cevil focused back on the man, he was almost squatting down and was still holding the bomb. "Do you know me?" he whispered, but it sounded like a shout at the same time. There was a long pause, "I'm- I'm sorry, I don't- know..." Cevil muttered, he felt his sweaty palms. "Look at me!" he roared, the man squatted and caught hold of Cevil's chin and pushed his head up, making Cevil stare directly at him. "Who am I?" he questioned. Cevil dared not reply. "I'm Richie!" the man replied to himself, "Don't you- don't you know that?" He was still grabbing Cevil's chin. Cevil could feel the sharp fingernails of the man cutting into his flesh. "Of course! I know that!" Cevil answered, trying to sound natural. "Then why didn't you reply to me earlier?" the man asked. "I- I wanted to test if you remember your own name," as Cevil spoke, his voice went softer and softer. Che man smiled, "I like your sense of humor," then he let his hands off Cevil. He stood straight up again, then he kissed his bomb after brushing it. Kent nudged Cevil, who hasn't recovered from the fear.
Both stepped backwards one step every few seconds, and each step was small, afraid of letting the psychopath realize them. Other audiences did as they did.
"Everyone!" the man boomed.
Cevil and Kent stopped moving, they almost had a heart attack.
"You!"
Cevil's eyeballs shifted from left to right, then realized that the psychopath was staring at him.
"You weren't backing away, weren't you?"
A drip of sweat rolled down Cevil's forehead.
"Were you?"
Cevil clenched his fist, "I wasn't," he replied.
"Oh right!" the man began laughing again, then suddenly stopped, and his face was strict and stern again. "You cannot leave me!" he yelled, "You can't" He burst into tears, then knelt on the stage. His left hand was still holding the bomb, and he reached his right hand into his tuxedo. He revealed a revolver and aimed it at Cevil.
Everyone gasped again.
More children started to cry.
"Shut up!" the man yelled furiously. Then, he loaded his revolver, while Kent took a quick glance at Cevil. Cevil was completely white and pale, and he sweated as if he had just finished doing some extreme exercises. "I'll make you stay..." The psychopath was ready to shoot.