Midnight

Chapter 1

New York City

1996

"All our times have come

Here but now they're gone

Seasons don't fear the reaper

Nor do the wind, the sun or the rain...we can be like they are

Come on baby...don't fear the reaper

Baby take my hand...don't fear the reaper

We'll be able to fly...don't fear the reaper

Baby I'm your man..."

     Desmond Pierce closed his eyes as the music filled his ears, blocking out all of the other sounds around him. The melodic chant reverberated in his head and his heart seemed to beat in rhythm with the music. There was no time, there were no days; there was only the melody.

     "Desmond!" a voice said from far off.

     Desmond ignored the voice, instead he listened to his song and let himself drift along with the tune. Music was so simple to him; it conveyed emotions simply through the usage of sound. Sometimes, he would just shut himself up in his room for hours and live in the world of sound because it was like an escape for him.

     "Desmond!" the voice said, that time louder.

     There was a yanking motion as Desmond's headphones were pulled off, and he quickly glanced up into the eyes of his father. He immediately regretted ignoring him and could not look the man directly in the eye.

     "Yeah?" Desmond said, feeling a familiar annoyance fill him. "What?"

     Desmond's father, Aaron Pierce, was dressed in a crease-free black suit paired with a riveting blue tie. His hair was gelled back and his beard neatly combed, both characteristics that added together to create a man of power. Aaron Pierce's eyes, the same hazel eyes that Desmond had, stared through him with a startling intensity. He took a hold of Desmond's headphones and held them in front of his son's face.

     "What did I tell you about using these?" he asked.

     Desmond shrugged, "That I shouldn't use them....because they're a -"

     "Distraction," Aaron Pierce interrupted, winding up the cord and placing the device next to Desmond. "Desmond you have to stay focused. Someday," he gestured around the room, "all of this is going to be yours," he paused. "Do you remember what a good businessman is?"

     "One who doesn't waste a single moment," Desmond recited. "I know this Dad you've told me like, a million times."

     "Exactly," Aaron Pierce answered with a look of pride. "We are a family of businessmen. Tell me, you're what...fourteen years old?"

     "Ten," Desmond answered, "I'm still ten."

     Aaron Pierce smiled, "But you cannot run away from the fact that someday you will be fourteen, correct?"

     Desmond looked quizzically at his father, "Yeah..."

     "It's just like how you can't run away from the fact that you will be the head of this business," Aaron Pierce mentored, once more picking up Desmond's headphones. "These will only distract you, and I say this only because I see so much in you Desmond."