[@knifeman][@ProPro][@Old Amsterdam]
The moment the man’s eyes fell upon Leonard’s weapon, they widened slightly. Thus warned, both overtly and subtly, he removed his hand from the girl and stepped away from the three of them, at least as far as he could with the density of the crowd; though Mieke reassured them that all was well, he remained plainly jarred by the situation in general.

‘Hey, listen, I didn’t mean ta cause any trouble...’ he uttered, a bit faster than he’d been talking before, more to stave off harm than justify himself. ‘Just wanted ta get her attention in the crowd, was all. Er, anyway, thanks fer the tip, miss.’ Waving farewell, he made a quick exit out of the theatre, apparently more concerned with keeping himself safe than getting the value of his ticket. Other than this, no other interruptions occurred as the trio made their way to their seats.

[@Lugubrious][@LemonZest1337][@knifeman][@ProPro][@Old Amsterdam]
And a few minutes later, the show began. Abruptly, a loud bang and a cloud of smoke obscured the stage from both the audience and those positioned backstage or elsewhere, and as it cleared, the crowd would see the platform already filled with a variety of stunt equipment, and the men of the hour already in the middle, standing proudly in order from biggest to smallest, all with wide grins. The Crazy Crue Brothers, their first appearance to most of the group, and only the second for Mieke in particular.

‘Ladies and gentlemen... wwwwWWWWWWELCOME TO THE SHOOOOW!’ the eponymous header for the trio crowed, to the great applause of the assorted audience members as his voice echoed out from speakers to the masses. ‘I hope you’re all ready, because THIS is like NOTHING YOU’VE EVER SEEN BEFOOOORE!’

And with little delay, they leapt right into it. The next hour and thirty minutes was, to most present, astounding to witness. High dives, displays of choreographed acrobatics set to music, the occasional group performance, even a car crash despite the implausibility of fitting a car into the theatre, and more sharp objects than one could count, all punctuated by entertaining anecdotes from each brother that could well be turned into a show all by themselves. And at no point were the crowd subjected to anything akin to the gruesome scene that had played out in the park a day earlier.

‘Thank you, ladies and gentlemen!’ the eldest announced after their latest stunt, a ludicrous foray into juggling as many dangerous objects between two men as might be feasibly plausible, including a third man. ‘We hope you’ve enjoyed the evening so far, we have another half an hour before the show ends, and plenty more to cram into that time - BUT FIRST! Our next stunt WILL require a volunteer, and it’s going to be one of YOOUU lucky viewers tonight!’

One of the viewers? “Oooh”, murmured the crowd in response, muttering to itself with mixed glee and concern as they realised what this might mean for them - involvement with the sharp objects and dangerous stunts going on. ‘I hope your fingers are CROSSED for this!’ the elder Crue added, before calling ‘CUE THE LIGHTS!’ At once, the room went dark, not too dark to see, just so that a number of spotlights could visibly be seen raking over the crowd, their beams gradually crossing over every individual in their path as a drumroll played in the background.

Several seconds pass in heated suspense. Not much seems to happen. Quite suddenly, the lights all focus on one person - the shy girl in the seats between Leonard and Laurie. Mieke Choux.

'THE GIRL IN SEAT 2438! COME ON UP, YOUNG LADY!' the announcer crowed, over the sound of the crowd cheering for the lucky young lady. Oh, certainly she was a trained professional, that was how it always worked, but what they wouldn't give to be in her position right now!