Rockin' the USA

By Leigh Kimmel

It's not easy being married to the leader of the band, even in the best fo times. When everything becomes political, you've got a nightmare

 

Laurel had her doubts when her husband signed on to headline Governor Thorne's Independence Day concert in Candlestick Park. Now that the band is committed to the show, the Flannigan Administration has decided to shut them down, with prejudice.

 

Laurel knows she has to fight this attempt to stop the signal. But doing so may put her in more danger than she could ever anticipate. And it puts her loved ones at ri sk as well.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Starship Cat Press
• Release date: Jul 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201550790

Book preview

This book is a work of fiction. All names of persons, places and organizations are fictitious or used fictitiously.

COVER CREDITS:

Flag: Prawny from Pixabay

Concert:  Alexander Fradellafra from Pixabay (modified with GIMP)

Font: Dragonforce

Published by Starship Cat Press, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.

http://www.starshipcatpress.com/

In her years of marriage to the leader of the band, Laurel Sinclair had learned plenty about dealing with problems: flaky studios, incompetent roadies, goofy groupies, even crooked managers and record company execs. But political trouble? It felt more like something out of a historical movie, of people having vapors over  Elvis Presley's on-stage gyrations, or an entire town in an uproar over the moral threat of ragtime.

Squaring her shoulders and trying to look taller than her modest height, she faced the man in Navy dress whites. But Kim and the Humdingers isn't a political band.

However, it is a band led by a clone. One with genetic modifications. Admiral Alton gazed back at her with those blue eyes so much like her husband's, only with deeper lines around the corners. And these days, that in itself is a political matter. Particularly when your band is here at the request of a governor publicly at odds with the Administration. In an election year.

True. The admission tasted sour in Laurel's mouth. She'd felt uneasy about this gig ever since Kim had first mentioned it. But you didn't refuse Governor Thorne's personal request to headline her special Independence Day concert at Candlestick Park. Flannigan must really have a bug up his butt this time. He's been beating the drum of anti-biotech hysteria ever since the incident in Hawaii, and—

She stopped, noticing the right corner of Alton's mouth twitching, hard. Kim had already left the Navy when they met and married, so most of her understanding of an officer's obligations were theoretical. Sorry, I shouldn't be putting you in the position of criticizing the President.

Was that a hint of warmth in Alton's expression? Actually that's a misconception. A commissioned officer is allowed tactical criticism of the President's positions and policies, so long as it is stated respectfully. After all, he is our commander-in-chief, not our god. A pause, as if considering what he wanted to say. Right now I need to speak to your husband. I have on good sources that the Department of Security will get an order to shut down this concert, and I want to give him an opportunity to ensure he never receives it.

Ah, to put the telescope to the blind eye. Jack Alton might not be the Nelson buff Laurel was, but she had confidence a professional Navy officer would recognize the reference. I don't have any spare backstage passes on me, but I'm sure I can talk you past security. After all, you are Kim's clone-brother.

Then let's get going. Admiral Alton set a brisk pace. At least here in the service corridors of Candlestick Park they didn't have to push their way through the crowds that