"It's not like there's a natural disaster so we have to cancel," Iris said. "This is only a minor hiccup. There are no serious injuries, aside from three unconscious girls who were, without a doubt, the perpetrators of this ruckus. There are no dead bodies. Just patch up the injured ones and haul those three girls away." She clapped her hands and gave everyone a firm look. "Let's get moving."
The band musicians didn't move.
Iris narrowed her eyes. "You don't want to? Fine, you may all go. I'll perform by myself."
"Dammit! I practiced so hard for this. I'll perform!" The drummer said aloud, massaging his crotch. "It's not like that b*tch castrated me. I'll be fine. It was just a mic stand, not a f*cking bulldozer."
"Right. I never rehearsed so hard before this. I'll perform too," the male backup singer said. "But can someone bring me some ice? My balls still hurt. F*ck!"
"Ah, me too! I hope my beloved sperm cells are okay. I still want to make a baby with my girlfriend someday."
With these two's decision, the rest of the musicians announced that they too would perform. Most of them were still clean, so they didn't need to change clothes.
The ones who were hit by raw eggs and splashed by urine had to change into regular clothes. They were no longer dressed as fancy as before, but at least they were clean. The ones who didn't bring any extra clothes had to buy T-shirts and sweatpants sold as merchandise at the pop-up shop.
Iris promised to reimburse them, as long as they send the receipt to Dom. However, nobody planned on doing so. After working with her, they already grew great respect for Iris' creativity, skills, and professionalism as a fellow musician. They felt like it would be an insult to her if they allowed her to reimburse their merchandise purchases.
The first-aid responders in the convention centre treated the injured. Nobody was heavily injured, just a few scratches, swelling and bruises.
Some of the people were already preparing to leave, but stopped when they heard an announcement that the launch party would continue after the stage and the musicians were cleaned up. Everyone stayed after that. They excitedly chattered about the incident with each other and shared it online. The refreshments were also refilled because the majority of them ate as they waited.
By this time, the Alarm Girls finally woke up. They were groggy at first, but started screeching like tormented spirits in hell, especially when they saw the familiar police uniforms.
'Not again,' they thought.
Some of the police officers and the paramedics had to forcefully restrain them because they were getting violent in their struggles.
The police got the gist of what happened after questioning a few people. They arrested the Alarm Girls on the spot, especially after one of the officers recognized them and revealed to his colleagues that the three girls already had a record. They were only out on bail. And their previous record was also because of physical assault, which they were once again being accused of now.
Backstage, Iris and her management were being questioned. The police wanted Iris and the others to follow them back to the police station for further questioning.
"I will fully cooperate with the police," Iris told them. "However, I still have a show to perform so I can only go to the police station after this event ends."
"Miss Long, this is a very important legal matter that we're talking about," the police officer replied. "Just cancel the event and do it another time."
"The event is scheduled for today. I've already kept the audience waiting for too long."
"Miss Long, this is not some trivial matter that you can put aside. We are the police. We have the authority. We are asking you to cancel your event and follow us to the police station."
She took a deep breath and spoke in a calm manner. "I already mentioned that I will fully cooperate with the police. I'm not refusing to follow you to the police station. I'm only asking for a delay of a few hours at most. Rest assured that I will immediately go to the police station as soon as I finish performing."
"Miss Long―" The stern officer was interrupted by a colleague. The colleague held a phone and then whispered something to his ear. His eyes widened. He smoothed his stern expression into a mild one before answering the phone. "Hello, Chief! What an honour!"
He spent a few minutes on the phone, his earlier sternness gone. Instead, he was very subservient, even fawning to the person on the other end of the line. Finally, the call ended. He turned back to Iris with a big smile on his face.
"Miss Long, I didn't know that you are acquainted with the Chief of Police!"
She frowned, confused. What did he say? Was he joking? How could a person like her who was allergic to the police become acquainted with their Chief? But before she could say anything, the officer continued babbling.
"You should've told us earlier, so that we didn't have to make it hard for you. Of course, you can finish up your performance. Go ahead, go ahead. I can see that everyone's been waiting for you. Wow. There are a lot of people here today. You can visit our police station anytime that's convenient for you. Even if it's tomorrow, no problem…"
He was babbling so much that Iris couldn't find the right time to interrupt him.
At one of the tables in front of the stage, Feng Wan sipped a glass of sparkling water. She glanced at one of her friends who was talking on the phone. After a few seconds, the friend hung up and smiled.
"All done?" Feng Wan asked.
"That's great," the second friend said. "Now the performance won't be cancelled."
"It must be amazing to have the Chief of Police as your husband," the third friend commented.
"Of course!" The Chief's wife agreed, her expression very proud.
Feng Wan smiled, happy for her friend, even when the word "husband" made her heart ache. She couldn't wait to hear Iris sing "The Phantom of Your Love" live again. She sighed. Then she saw the police dragging the Alarm Girls away. Her gentle eyes turned sharp.
"I hope the Chief of Police makes sure that such malicious and violent people won't be able to attack or hurt others again," she said in a tone that sounded like she was commenting on the weather.
"Of course. My husband hates injustice the most," her friend replied in a similar tone.
The four posh ladies clinked their glasses.