Thug and Idol: 10X Rewards Second Identity System

Several hours later.

"Host a charity stream? Oh shit, that's such a cool idea, Tris! We can show off the latest gifts that we got. My fans are insane like that—I already told them I'm at full health, but they still sent them! And some of it is just a delivery delay."

Nelson shrugged.

"Either way, man, I have a dozen of them still in boxes because I didn't have time yesterday. Feds have called me for another 'interview'… Tsk. They needed two hours to understand that I knew nothing about these terrorists. Always asking the same questions, too."

With a huff, Nelson reached from his spot on Tristan's couch, took a can of cola, and made a big gulp.

"I have unopened gifts, too," Tristan said. "This is all mostly to talk about Gospel, though. Now that he's banned, I want to really bring it home that behavior like his is unacceptable… And neither is support of the terrorists. There are people who actually made hating celebs their religion, you know?"

He was thoroughly enjoying this moment, and the alcohol-free mojito he's been sipping through a straw. The TV mounted on the wall was on a music channel, but the volume was set to almost inaudible and neither of the young men were watching it right now.

"These freaks? Yeah, I know." Nelson nodded. "No-idols… No-idol-ism, that's what they called their 'religion'? There were so many various freaks online when Gospel dropped his nuke that they all got mixed up."

"And now they are settling in their own respective layers again. Like milk and cream." Tristan smiled unkindly. "I hope they will be too afraid to ever speak about their opinions aloud. And the two of us can chat with fans in real time! I looked up some streams—they seemed to be very fun. And the charity will do something to support victims of terrorism world-wide."

Nelson grinned.

"You don't need to sell this to me, man. Uh… We still have to run it through Derek, though. He would know something about how to set a stream up."

Derek thought a charity stream was a great idea. Tristan and Nelson's popularity was already at its peak, and their albums sold great, but it was important to keep advertisements to stay relevant.

"Besides, with the way things are going, streams and online performances might be the best we will be able to do for the next while. I heard rumors that the temporary ban on concerts in Los Angeles and California won't be lifted anytime soon. The state government is afraid of more terrorists. Before, most celebrities were too sick to perform in the first place, but now they aren't, and they begin to complain again."

The celebrities weren't the only ones. No one was happy that concerts were canceled, except for people who probably wouldn't have gone in the first place. Which created their own very vocal and fearful minority.

In the wake of this, even such a minor event as a charity stream where Tristan and Nelson were going to play some of their old songs, unpack gifts, and talk with fans, had been met with wholehearted approval of the fans.

Tristan Gemello's public page had announced the date of the stream in five days' time—enough for Derek to prepare everything.

In the meantime, Tristan Hayes organized a search for Michael. Like he had hoped, scouring the area with a fine-toothed comb discovered trails: a storefront camera pointing in the right direction, a hobo who spent nights in the alleyway near the abandoned building…

It was going to take time to find Michael this way.

First, Tristan's people had to question everyone and get every recording. Then Tristan had to put everything together and point his subordinates into the place where to continue questioning.

And on the side of all this, Tristan used his incredibly dense brain matter and amazing hacking skills to break into the databases of the FBI Counterterrorism Division.

***

Five days later.

The stream was held in a GTG agency recording studio. Several boxes with gifts were standing on a table nearby, and some snacks and drinks were placed on another table. A camera was pointed at Tristan and Nelson.

They wore black and white respectively, but their clothes were casual: just jeans and T-shirts. And the only makeup they had on was "natural" type, the one that made them look handsome and pimple-free on camera without seeming to exist.

There was a large tablet hanging from near the camera, showing how the stream looked for viewers, the chat, and other data. Right now, the stream feed showed only a dark screen with the "PLEASE WAIT" written on it.

Even before the stream started, the chat was already full of messages. There were already over 10000 people on the stream waiting for it to begin.

Tristan exchanged looks with Nelson.

"Ready, Nel?"

"Jittery with excitement and ready to blow. In a good way." Nelson laughed. "What do I press to turn the thing on?"

Tristan reached for the screen and pressed the button. A moment later, the black screen was replaced by his and Nelson's faces.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Hello, everybody!" Nelson greeted, waving his hand at the camera.

"Hi. Welcome to our stream—and a reminder that all donations gathered today will be given to the Helping Hand Foundation, which helps victims of terrorist worldwide to get medical help for their often crippling injuries. There are people like these in Los Angeles today, too…"

Tristan shook his head somberly.

On screen, he could see the chat moving with the speed that made it impossible for a normal person to read anything—but Tristan was above a normal person.

He read well wishes, rows of sad emojis, declarations that all terrorists deserved to burn in Hell, and more.

There were already donations, too.

Tristan smiled.

"Well, let's not make this only about grim stuff, right, Nel? We are hosting this stream because we still don't know when we can hold our next concerts. So let's jam!"

THIS CHAPTER UPLOAD FIRST AT NOVELBIN.COM