Chapter 1
Release Date, Pt. 1
(Petri Soisalo, Niina Soisalo, Aki Wallin, Matti Lehto, Travis
”Maskmaker” Marston)
~
June 2014, 16 years before present
Petri Soisalo tapped a waiter on his elbow, as he was walking by. Glasses of all sorts were clinging around him, and chatter muffled down to a mere abrasive ambiance.
He could see the embarrassment rise on the face of this man – whom he remembered to be the one named Tiitus. Tiitus was one of the servers they’d hired for this book-release-party.I still kinda grasp at the reality that I’m having a book-releaseparty. Not where I anticipated to be after all the shit last year. This waiter had a face Petri remembered for some odd reason. Tiitus quickly turned to look back, at Petri, the man of the evening, whom a caterer had no right to go on ignoring like that. Wheelchair or no wheelchair.
— ”Never mind the fucking courtesies”, Petri addressed Tiitus with a familiarity, but a dash of assertiveness which he tried to keep graceful. ”Just give me whatever you got that’s strong on that plate. They’re about to call me up on stage.”
Through emerging stage-fright, Petri made his next attempt at a winding and cycling glance across the room. The sounds of glasses clinking against one another, got a face to it as he looked out to a scattered crowd. This beautiful near-shore loft at Oulu City, was packed with a guests wearing their best and acting their chirpiest. There was no way around it. Petri was scared.
I’m as mentally prepared for this as I’ll ever be, he noted to himself internally and got re-concentrated, starting to make the first movements towards the small stage that had been propped up right in the center of the living room’s back-wall. So behind it there could be a presentable sea-side view, and people could take presentable photos of me, looking presentable. This evening is also about the publication-scratch. Half of these guests are here for a job. I wonder if I’ll ever be this important again…
Somehow, in the year since the Sundberg-disaster ended, Petri Soisalo and his family had become a big deal, but no one was as big of a deal as was Petri’s book,My Fight.
Petri regretted giving it that title. Playing off of a not-sopresentable historic figure’s controversial material for the sake of getting reactions was a childish thing to do. This he admitted to himself every night. But with judge Ojala giving away the title so quick to the press…
…ah, what am I thinking about this shit again for? It’s happened, people seem to like it. They seem to think it’s a charming title, even if I’ve already gone back on it in my mind. Focus now, Petri!
Aki Wallin was standing at the left end of the stage, with his eyes wandering so fast it was apparent they were trying to keep up with streams of thoughts. As soon as he saw Petri approaching the wheelchair-ramp on the left edge of the stage, however, all that stopped and it looked like he’d been awakened.
A fast tap was given on the shoulder ofNiina Soisalo, Petri’s sister, standing idly by Aki’s left side, looking pretty as ever and presenting her engagement-ring. Just as Aki rushed in to help Petri up a rampwhich he knows fucking well I can do myself, Niina went up on the stage to perform a mic-