An obsessed female fan calling herself SWEET PAIN is stalking her 
favorite rock star, Gene Simmons via cryptic and threatening notes  
He becomes more and more scared and finally lets his bandmate and 
best friend Paul Stanley in on the secret.  And then SWEET PAIN 
strikes, showing she isnt playing around, and almost kills KISS and 
thier crew.  Gene lets the rest of his bandmates as well as thier 
manager in on the problem.  Doc McGhee, thier manager has a 
solution.  Enter Vicki Lyall, a thirty year old private detective/ 
bodyguard.  She is the best in her field and may be the only chance 
to help Gene and save KISS' tour.  Problem?  She doesnt want the job 
but takes it anyway.  Can the serious PI  handle the rock and roll 
lifestyle of a KISS tour?  Will she be able to catch SWEET PAIN and 
save Gene's life...and most of all can she handle Gene Simmons?  
 
To find out read Dont You Let Me Down.  Chapter one below...keep 
scrolling down.
 
 
 
 
 

Chapter 1: Watchin' You
By Christine Criss

Disclaimer: I don't own KISS nor do I claim to. I wish I owned Gene…
or at least temporarily ;p. Anyways KISS and Doc McGhee belong to 
themselves. Vicki Lyall however belongs to me. She is my creation.

** ** ** **

The final strains of `Shout It Out Loud' echoed through the arena. 
The crowd screamed their approval as KISS walked off stage.

As they walked to the backstage area, Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace 
Frehley and Peter Criss were congradulated on their successful show 
by both security and road crew.

They walked over to a group of waiting fans who had backstage passes 
and spent half an hour talking, signing autographs and planning their 
various activities for later that night.

Finally, security escorted the four exhausted men behind the superman 
curtain. They sat down at their respective makeup tables to star 
removing the greasepaint from their faces.

"Not a bad show, huh?" Gene asked picking up a towel and baby oil.

"Not too bad for an opening show of a tour." Paul agreed, dabbing at 
his makeup with his own towel.

Gene and Paul were deep in conversation about the various aspects of 
the show when a loud curse broke their concentration.

"Jesus tap-dancing Christ Ace! What the fuck was that for?" they 
heard Peter yell followed by Ace's cackling.

Gene and Paul turned to see what was going on and saw Peter dabbing 
furiously at the front of his costume and Ace doubled over with 
laughter, an incriminating open bottle of baby oil in his hand.

"That," Ace replied still snickering, was for almost pegging me with 
a drum stick." He snapped the bottle shut and placed it down on his 
table and started working on his makeup again.

"You spaced out and almost missed your damn solo. I was tryin' to 
help you out! I don't think I deserve to get squirted with a shit 
load of baby oil for it. And besides… Doreen is gonna throw a hissy 
fit!" Peter shot back, gesturing wildly. Doreen, the lady he was 
referring to was the person who took care of their costumes.

Doreen walked in , as if on cue. She was an older lady wearing a KISS 
crew t-shirt. "Come on boys, hurry up!" She said cheerfully.

Ace finished scrubbing the makeup off of his face and stood 
up. "Done!" he said as he walked into the next room, where the 
showers were.

"We're workin' on it lady…" Gene mumbled through his towel.

Doreen turned towards him with a stern look. "I heard that Gene. 
Don't make me call your mother." She threatened, jokingly.

Paul laughed. "She got you there."

Gene rolled his eyes. "What's she gonna do? Ground me?" he asked 
rhetorically.

"Yeah…No more rock shows or groupies mister! Go to your room!" Peter 
said, imitating Gene's mom.

"That was good Pete, you almost sounded like her!" Gene replied with 
a chuckle.

Peter threw his towel at Gene, laughing. "Get outta here!" he called 
over his shoulder as he walked towards the showers.

Doreen rolled her eyes. "Come on you two. What do I have to do…pull 
your costumes off of you myself?" she said to Paul and Gene.

"Oh god. You had to say that didn't you?" Paul grumbled, anticipating 
Gene's reaction.

Gene grinned at Doreen. "Sure, why not. Sounds interesting."

"OUT! Both of you! Showers now!" She ordered, trying to sound 
convincing even though she was laughing.

Gene stood and walked towards the showers. 

"Aw man…but I didn't say anything." Paul replied, pouting.

"Save the pout mister. It doesn't work on me. Showers now!" She said, 
hands on her hips.

Paul walked towards the showers with a grin.

** ** ** **

An hour later the four of them finally got to the hotel and went 
their separate ways.

Gene sat down on the king sized bed and leaned back against the soft 
cushions with a content sigh. He glanced at the clocke and realized 
he had a half hour to kill before he had to meet the gorgeous redhead 
he had met backstage. He grabbed the remote from the nightstand and 
turned the TV on. He set the remote down after settling on an old 
black and white movie and notice and envelope on the night stand.

`What's this?' he wondered opening it. A strange perfume wafted up 
from the letter inside. It was so strong it almost made him 
dizzy. `How'd this get here? No one knows I'm staying here…'

He pulled the piece of scarlet stationary out and saw the typed 
message on it. His eyebrows furrowed as he read the message.

Saw you at the show. You were great as usual. Cant wait to get my 
hands on you…I'll be Watchin' you. Sweet dreams Demon.

Love always,

SWEET PAIN

Gene stared at the note in disbelief and took a deep breath. `Its 
probably from some harmless groupie. Nothing to worry about.' He told 
himself. Yet part of him didn't believe that. Notes from groupies 
usually consisted of thank you's or compliments. This note was just 
twisted, full of veiled threats and double meanings… He couldn't seem 
to shake the feeling of dread that washed over him.

He shook himself out of his thoughts and put the letter into his 
briefcase. He'd think about it later but now he needed a distraction.

He grabbed his wallet and headed out the door, thinking about the 
possibilities tonight would hold.

`After all, that redhead is one fine piece of ass.' Gene thought with 
a grin.

** ** ** **

Gene entered the lounge area, glancing around. He didn't see the girl 
yet but then again he was fifteen minutes early.

He walked over to the bar and saw Ace chatting with an attractive 
brunette.

"Hiya Curly!" Ace yelled to Gene, motioning to the empty seat next to 
him.

"Hey Ace. What's up? Where are the others?" Gene asked, sitting down 
in the seat Ace had indicated.

Ace waved the bartender over. "Rum and coke for me and the lady. Want 
anything Gene? My treat for once." Ace joked.

Gene looked at Ace in surprise and shrugged. "Sure. Ginger ale. No 
ice." He told the bartender who nodded and started fixing the 
drinks. "Thanks Ace." 

Ace gave him a thumbs up. Their drinks were brought over a minute 
later.

Ace sipped his drink and said, "Paul's in his room romancing some 
chick and Peter…I'm not sure where he is." 

"What are you doing down here?" Gene asked, eyeing Ace's glass 
critically.

Ace noticed Gene's look and laughed. "Havin' a couple drinks with 
Jenna here…only a couple Gene. I'm guessing your rendezvousing with a 
chick here right?"

Gene smiled. "Remember that redhead? Tall leather mini skirt, fishnet 
top?"

Ace grinned "Oh shit! Wow!"

The bartender walked up to Gene. "Your Gene Simmons right?" Gene 
nodded and the bartender handed Gene a folded piece of paper. "Some 
one put that behind the bar…musta been in the past few minutes. 
Didn't see who it was though."

Gene thanked the man and opened the note, feeling his heart skip a 
beat. He almost dropped the note when he read the message.

Nothing can keep me from you, my beloved demon.

Love,

SWEET PAIN



"Gene…You ok man? Looks like you saw a ghost." Ace said concerned, 
snapping Gene out of his state of shock.

Gene crumpled the note and stuffed it in the pocket of his leather 
pants. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a love letter." He said, realizing that 
his excuse didn't sound to convincing.

"Musta been a pretty disturbing one…"

"You could say that, Ace…"

** ** ** **

The following morning, Gene walked into the dining area. He saw their 
table set up buffet style, with food and coffee already put out. Paul 
was already there sipping his cup of tea and reading the news paper.

"Morning." Gene muttered, sitting down across from Paul. Paul glance 
up and set the paper down at the sight of Gene.

"Morning Gene. You ok? You look like hell…no offence."

Gene took one look in one of the mirrored panels on the wall and had 
to agree. The only thing he had bothered to do this morning was 
shower, shave and get dressed. His hair was a wild mess and he had 
bags under his eyes.

"Rough night. I had a lot on my mind and I couldn't sleep." He 
answered, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Want to talk about it?" Paul questioned, worried. Gene was the most 
together person he know and seeing him worried Paul.

"It's alright Paul. I'll be ok." Gene answered.

Peter and Ace walked in and Gene sighed in relief. You could always 
count on those two for a distraction. Gene managed a half-hearted 
smile. "Have fun last night, Ace?" 

"You bet I did! That Jenna chick is really somethin'!" Ace said 
beaming.

"So you did hook up with her! What about you Peter? Where'd you 
disappear to?" Paul asked joining the conversation.

"I ended up catching a show in town. There was this jazz group 
playing at a club. They were great." Peter answered sipping his 
coffee.

"Sounds like everyone had fun last night." Gene said, staring into 
his coffee cup.

Peter look at Gene with a puzzled expression. "You alright man? You 
look like shit…If I didn't know you as well as I do, I'd think you 
were hungover…"

Gene laughed. "That bad huh? I didn't sleep well last night."

Ace looked up. "What about that chick…the redhead…Lisa I think?" Ace 
asked.

"She was a babe. We had fun for a while and then she had to leave. I 
couldn't sleep afterwards." Gene answered pouring another cup of 
coffee in an effort to wake up.

"It wasn't about that letter that you got in the lounge was it?" Ace 
asked seriously, meeting Gene's eye.

Gene glared daggers at Ace and Ace threw his hands up in 
protest. "Just askin' man! Away with the glare!" 

"What letter?" Paul said, distractedly busy reading an article in the 
news paper.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it." Gene grumbled still glaring at Ace.

** ** ** ** 

A week had gone by. The tour was off to a very successful start. Doc 
McGhee glanced over the tour itinerary. Tonight was the sixth show. 
So far there hadn't been any problems at all. Doc had his fingers 
crossed that it would stay that way. He had a gut feeling that some 
kind of trouble was brewing. He couldn't put his finger on exactly 
what it was but his gut instincts were usually right.

Maybe it was because Gene had been so out of it lately. He sighed and 
made a mental note to have a heart to heart talk with Gene later. 
Gene's strange behavior hadn't affected the tour or the shows or 
anything but everyone hat noticed Gene wasn't quite himself. He was 
quieter than usual and lately he seemed more and more cautious. He 
was even more selective and picky with his groupies, only carefully 
picking one or two a night. He had never done that. If Doc didn't 
know Gene well enough he would swear that he was on drugs or 
something. Knowing Gene though, he knew it wasn't that…but it was 
something.

`But for now' Doc thought picking up the phone, `Concentrate on 
keeping this tour together.'

** ** ** **

Gene walked into his hotel room for the night. He glanced around, 
making sure nothing seemed out of place. After he searched the room 
thoroughly he smiled.

`No envelope!' he thought happily. By now he had a good sized stack 
of envelopes and notes from "Sweet Pain", as she called herself.

`Maybe she really is just a crazy groupie. She hasn't caused any harm…
she just leaves notes.' He tried to convince himself. He wished he 
could believe that. While she hadn't done anything to cause him any 
harm, she did threaten to. And that alone scared him. How long would 
it be until she did. He hoped that she wouldn't. that she really was 
just and obsessed groupie who seemed to magically be able to get the 
notes into his room and know where he was.

Gene stopped thinking about it. He was driving himself crazy with all 
the theories and speculations. For tonight he had no plans, just 
sleep. He hadn't gotten a lot of that lately and tonight he was going 
to catch up on some. He quickly undressed and got under the covers. 
He was asleep within minutes.

** ** ** **

CRASH!!

Glass shattered outward from the window, spraying across the floor. 

Gene bolted out of bed and to his feet, instantly awake. The window 
near the bed was shattered and a brick lay on the ground next to it.

`What the fuck?' Gene walked to the brick, tip toeing around the 
glass so he didn't cut his bare feet, and he noticed the note tied to 
the brick. Scarlet stationary.

Gene felt a cold chill go through him. If the brick had been thrown 
two feet to the right and a couple of feet further into the room it 
would have hit him in the head. He looked down at the note in his 
hands and opened it.

Your friends seem to be catching on. You tell them, dear Demon, and 
you and they will die. Let this serve as a warning. Had this brick 
been thrown at a slightly different angle, you wouldn't be reading 
this. Next time if your not careful I'll go All The Way. Remember, 
I'll be watching you.

Love,

SWEET PAIN



Gene dropped the note, shaking and sat down heavily on the edge of 
the bed, trying to figure out what to do. He could stay here. And 
what would he tell Doc. He could afford paying for the damaged window 
but what would the explanation be?

Finally he grabbed the note and put it with the others in his 
briefcase and got dressed.

He grabbed the briefcase and left his room, walking down the hallway. 
He walked up to one of the door on the other end of the hallway and 
knocked loudly.

After a couple minutes the door opened to reveal a very sleepy Paul, 
dressed in his bathrobe.

"Gene? Jesus…its three in the morning." Paul muttered, squinting from 
the hallway's light.

"Sorry. Are you busy?" Gene asked embarrassed.

Paul was about to read Gene the riot act when he noticed that Gene 
actually looked nervous…scared even. "No. I'm alone. Come on in. You 
ok? Want something to drink?"

Gene walked into the room and Paul shut the door after him.

"All I have is diet coke." Paul offered. Gene nodded.

"That's fine." He responded distracted. Paul fished to cans of soda 
from the mini fridge and handed one to Gene.

Gene sighed, taking the can. " A brick came through my window." He 
said softly.

Paul turned to face Gene, eyes wide. He hoped to hell he had heard 
wrong. "WHAT?"

"Yeah…" Gene said looking down at his feet. Paul attempted to speak 
but the words just wouldn't come out.

"What I'm about to tell you, you cant tell a soul. For your 
protection and my own…along with everyone else's." Gene whispered, 
grabbing his briefcase and opening it. "Promise me."

Paul sat there and gave Gene a very confused look. "Uh…sure…I 
promise." He answered, not quite sure what he was getting himself 
into.

Gene pulled out the stack of letters in chronological order and 
handed them to Paul.

Paul read each one, feeling more and more terrified with each note. 
It all made sense now…Gene's strange behavior. Hell if it was him he 
probably would have had a nervous breakdown by now. He got to the 
last one, the one that had been tied to the brick and he felt his 
blood run cold.

"Gene…these need to be brought to the police or something. This chick 
is insane." Paul said gently and handed the letters back to Gene.

"You read the last one! I cant! She's leaving me with no options!" 
Gene almost shouted. He continued to speak, snapping, letting 
everything spill out.

He was scared and his nerves were getting thin. That combined with 
the lack of sleep was making him very short tempered, Paul realized, 
not taking offence to Gene's ranting and raving that he was currently 
doing.

Paul nodded and Gene stopped talking. "Your right Gene. Police isn't 
a good idea. What do we do though?"

"We tell Doc that a bunch of kids threw a brick through my window. I 
saw them drive away but I didn't get the plate. I came to your room." 
Gene answered, matter of factly.

Paul shrugged. "That works for now. Your crashing here tonight. I'll 
call Doc and let him know." Paul agreed picking up the phone. " But 
tomorrow we start thinking of a plan." He started to dial and 
laughed. 

"God! This feels like I'm a teenager again. Having to call my parents 
and lie my ass off."

Gene burst out laughing and Paul shushed him as Doc picked up on the 
other line.

"Hey Doc……its Paul……Yes I realize its three in the morning but we've 
got a problem."