The Atua Man: A Novel

Gary and his team met with the staff of the Hall and went over the security for that evening. The Metropolitan Police were to control the crowds and secure the streets. People were already queuing up. Since it was an open assembly, and no tickets were required, the Hall ushers were instructed to seat people by section and not allow them free reign of the house. Each section needed to be filled before moving on to another.

Gary supervised the placement of the table on the dais. With his usual attention to detail, Gary marked where Jason would sit and chose a leather wing back chair from what was offered by the hall. He made sure his staff knew exactly where to place the chair and let them know that the table would be covered in flowers. He went over the sound system with the engineers, making sure the microphone would be hidden in the flowers, and told his security personnel where to stand for the optimum crowd control. When he finished with his staff, he walked to the elevator by the stage door pulling a wheeled case behind him.

An Albert Hall security guard stopped him. “Where are you going with that?”

“I’m moving some special sound and video equipment to the back of the hall,” Gary replied.

“Mind if I look inside?”

Gary laid the case on the floor and opened it. It looked like a typical audio/visual trunk; the inside held microphones, booms, and tripod and camera equipment in foam receptacles. “We like to have our own record of Mr. St. John’s events. I have a box on the Grand Tier. It would be easier for me to set it up now than this evening.”

The guard gave the equipment a cursory inspection and stepped aside.

Gary continued, “We have some special cameras that will capture the heart and soul of Mr. St. John’s talk tonight. Thanks.”

Gary entered the elevator and exited on the Grand Tier. He pulled his case down the curving corridor, finding the box he had reserved and unlocked the door. Inside the box he closed the curtains that separated the reception area from the seats. He set up a tripod and using a mono scope lined it up with Jason’s chair. He marked the position of the tripod on the floor, collapsed it and put everything back in his case. He secured the case and left the box, locking the door behind him. Gary walked around the Grand Tier, coming back to his people setting up the stage.