In Venere Veritas

Chapter 1 - Let's Fall Apart Together Now

IN VENERE VERITAS

CHAPTER 1

Helsinki, Finland

October 2007

Ville wasn't a clumsy man. No, actually Ville could best be described as deliberate and methodical. Clumsy he was not. But to Serena, the sound engineer who worked at Finnvox studio, he was the most absent-minded, klutzy, inconsiderate man there was. Serena was a 30 year old sound engineer who had worked alongside the band HIM and many other bands that had utilized FinnVox Studios. She had been a huge help with not only assisting with album production, but with live and acoustic performances as well.

It was Wednesday night, and Serena was at the studio far too late because Ville was a dictator and keeping everyone late. Her long dark brown hair was tied into a messy bun atop her head as she sorted cables, trying to figure out why Linde's wah pedal wasn't working. Her blue eyes squinted with focus behind her thick, black squared glasses. The band was beginning to rehearse their set for an upcoming live album to be called "Digital Versatile Doom." They would be flying to LA next month to record and Ville was extremely pressed on getting this entire performance down to a science. There was no room for error, Ville had warned, and everyone felt the crushing pressure of his words.

But the sooner Serena could fix the wah pedal, the sooner they could finish up this rehearsal session, and the sooner she could go join her friends and coworkers at the bar down the street. As Serena knelt on the floor troubleshooting the faulty equipment, she could feel eyes burning a hole in the back of her head.

"Ville, dude, shooting daggers into the back of my skull isn't going to make me move any fucking faster." Serena muttered, just loud enough for Ville to hear her.

"What will make you move faster?" Ville grumbled impatiently, arms crossed tightly in front of him.

"I don't fucking know, man!" Serena huffed and turned to face him. "It's fucking 9 o'clock at night, I've been here with you for 14 fucking hours, I'm over you and your attitude." Serena reached over to grab a screwdriver to reassemble the wah. "Also, I hit my overtime limit for the week and it's only Wednesday. WEDNESDAY." she emphasized. "So I'm essentially working for free right now, you're welcome!"

For a split second, Ville felt a pang of guilt. He'd known Serena for a few years now, he considered her a friend. He didn't want her working for free, but he wasn't quite ready to leave. It had been a long 10 months since he'd had any female companionship, and Serena was nice to have around to look at and talk to. Bickering with her like this was turning Ville on, and truthfully that confused him. Selena was a slender woman, but not skinny. She had curves in all the right places, and especially where they mattered. Ville loved looking at the way skinny jeans framed her ass. Her t-shirt would ride up as she moved about exposing the pale flash of her lower back, and despite his best efforts, he could never really make out the tattoo on her back, but he didn't want to ask, because then he would have to admit he was looking. He would usually try to figure out the color of her underwear instead. Tonight? A black thong, The "whale tale" was especially obvious as she was on her hands and knees working.

"Don't worry, Serena" Mige spoke up, patting Ville's shoulder "This one will pay for your drinks tonight." he assured her.

"Oh, he'll owe me a hell of a lot more than that." Serena muttered with a wire between her teeth. She spat it out a second later, "Ville, dude, I can't fix this tonight. I don't have a backup wire for this. I'll need to stop by an electronics store tomorrow and get a new one. That's if the wah isn't fucked completely."

Ville sighed, "Fine. We'll all meet back here tomorrow."

The room exhaled with collective relief and people began packing up to leave as quickly as they could before Ville changed his mind. Serena stayed knelt on the scuffed & scratched hardwood floor as she finished up the task, Ville too remained motionless, seated on the arm of a couch, taking his time to watch her closely.