Fury

by Tammy Coons

  Cedric met them in the lobby at noon. Though Cheyenne had seen pictures and talked to him on Skype, she was struck by how attractive he was and understood why Steph teasingly called him “Father What-a-waste”. Short of the cane he needed to get around, his appearance was preternatural. As they devoured pasta at an outdoor café, Cheyenne was amused as women of all ages seemed taken with him. Small in stature like the other Briers, he had auburn hair and pale eyes like Steph. It was eerie how physically alike they were in mannerisms and speech patterns. As they dined, Steph regaled Cedric with highlights of their recent trials and tribulations. She made no attempt to curb her language or leave out many details. Embarrassed and appalled, Cheyenne’s nervously eyed Cedric’s collar.

  “Fear not, Cheyenne. I’ve known this abomination her entire life. Nothing that comes out of her mouth surprises me anymore.”

  “Oh.” Steph ignored the comment and riffled through her handbag. “I brought you something.”

  She placed the ring box in front of her brother.

  “It’s a donation from Kevin. I heard he came to visit you. I’m so sorry.”

  “I’d love to hear your opinion of Kevin.” Cheyenne interjected as she studied Cedric, waiting for his serene façade to disintegrate. He smirked and rolled his eyes as he opened the ring box.

  “Let’s just say I am very relieved to see this atrocity still in the box. Do the right thing for once in your miserable life and give it back.” Cheyenne smiled and felt much more at ease to see that though he was a priest, he wasn’t a saint.

  Fine. I’m shipping it back to dad so I don’t have a cavity search at the airport.” Steph left abruptly, muttering swearwords.

  “You must have the patience of Job to work with both my sister and my father. Now you see why I live on the other side of the world.”

  Cheyenne uttered a surprised giggle at his candor.

  “How on God’s earth does a lady of your caliber put up with that mouth 24 hours a day?”

  “If you only knew what caliber of lady I actually am, you’d probably drown me in Holy water.”

  “I’m sure I have heard worse in confession today alone.”

  Cheyenne laughed nervously thinking about her recent exploits. “Not only am I going straight to hell, I’ve got a first class ticket and a penthouse suite overlooking the lake of fire.”

  Cedric had just taken a mouthful of wine and spit his drink everywhere in a fit of laughter. Cheyenne laughed with him as she blotted her shirt with a napkin. Surrounding patrons eyed them suspiciously as they spent several minutes trying to regain their composure.

  “Oh, Cheyenne. I’m so sorry. I think I’ve ruined your shirt.”

  “I’ll consider it a blessing.” He was rocked with laughter again.

  “I haven’t laughed that much in a very long time.” He sighed and held his side.

  “Me either.”

  “All kidding aside, how are you coping? From the sound of things, you’ve painted yourself into a bit of a corner.”

  “Yes, I have.”

  “And Scot?” His stunning eyes seemed to search hers.

  “What about him?” She swirled her wine, took a drink, and nervously cleared her throat.

  “My curiosity is peaked. Is that how your story ends?”

  Instinctively, Cheyenne replayed all the moments she’d shared with Scot from the first moment they locked eyes on his terrace in London to his soothing embrace on the flight to Rome. Overcome with grief, she burst into tears. Cedric looked startled and fumbled around in his pocket, producing a handkerchief.

  “It has to be the end, Cedric,” Cheyenne sobbed.

  “Clearly.”

  His sarcasm doused the embers of emotion before they had a chance to fan into a flame. Cheyenne stopped sobbing almost as suddenly as she started. She blew her nose and smiled at him.

  “Ah. You are a Brier.”

  Cedric smiled and handed her another handkerchief.

  “How many of these do you carry? I feel like I’m in a magic act.”

  “Confession, remember?”

  She took several moments to compose herself.

  “It’s evident your feelings for Scot are more than sexual.”

  Cheyenne remembered who she was talking to and blushed. He rolled his eyes as he seemed to read her mind.

  “Please, Cheyenne. I wasn’t born a priest. I was in love once …a long time ago.”

  “Are you two ready to go? I’ve decided where I want go first.”

  Cheyenne turned to see Steph struggling to fold a map. Doing a double take at Cheyenne, she glared at her brother.

  “Have you been working your voodoo on her? We don’t have time for the amount of Hail Mary’s she’d need to say. Can we just go to the Coliseum?”

  Cheyenne and Cedric erupted into another fit of laughter. Steph raised an eyebrow.

  “How much wine did you guys drink?’

  Five minutes later as they climbed into a cab, their laughter showed no signs of waning.

  As Steph had proposed, they spent the following five days in Italy as tourists. Cedric accompanied them for the first three. His remarkable presence soothed Cheyenne’s frayed nerves and she was endlessly amused by Steph interactions with him. Though surprisingly accepting of his baby sister’s caustic behavior, a simple cross glance from him could stop her dead in her tracks. Never had two such different people coexisted, let alone had such obvious love for one another.

  As they said their farewells, tears streamed down Steph’s face as she cussed him out and demanded he come home for good.

  As Cheyenne went to shake his hand, Cedric pulled her in for a farewell embrace.

  “There is a great deal of ugliness in this world, and there’s beauty hiding in plain sight. Don’t be afraid to grasp happiness when it’s dangled in front of you.” He kissed her tenderly on the forehead and hobbled away. As Cheyenne watched him disappear into the crowd, sorrow gripped her soul. Deep down inside, she knew that what she and Scot shared in their short time together was extraordinary and that she’d probably never find anything like it again.

  She caught up with Steph boarding the train. Cheyenne grasped her hand to get her attention. “Your brother…he’s enchanting.”

  “I know.” Steph’s sorrow was blatant.

  After a 5 hour train ride north, they spent their final two days in Venice. Steph had a photographic field day, but Cheyenne found the city so heartbreakingly beautiful that she couldn’t enjoy it. She imagined how romantic it would be to ride the gondolas with Scot at her side and her chest ached. Conceding that Cedric’s instincts were accurate, she understood her altruistic act of walking away from Scot was fallacious. The misgivings she had were no longer directed at Scot. There was work to be done, and it was work on her damaged self.

  On the plane ride home she was reticent and withdrawn. Upon landing at O’Hare, they mutely claimed their bags and, as they walked through the terminal, Cheyenne felt like she’d aged a hundred years.

  “I would kiss the ground right here and now if I didn’t think I would get Hepatitis,” Steph deadpanned.

  Gerald was waiting to retrieve them and Cheyenne thought he looked prettier than she and Steph combined.

  “Girlfriends!” His little dance had Cheyenne grinning.

  “Ger Bear!” Steph was hugging him.

  “So what’s it like to make out with David Evans! Spill it, Spill it, Girl,” he called.

  Steph pantomimed strangling Gerald.

  “I missed you, you raving Queen,” she mumbled.

  “I missed you too.” Gerald looked at Cheyenne and raised his eyebrows excitedly.

  “No offense, y’all but you could both use some beauty sleep.” His perfect black features took in their disheveled appearance disapprovingly. “Come on, the car is waiting.”

  They walked to the limo, and left the luggage to the driver. As they climbed in, Gerald admired his reflection in the window and sucked in his cheeks.

  “A limo? Serious
ly?” Steph shot Gerald a sardonic side glance.

  “I figured you two would be so spoiled it might take a little reconditioning before you can acclimate to society.”

  “Hardy-har-har,” Steph murmured sarcastically.

  “I know you’re both exhausted but your father wanted me to tell you that there will be a meeting tomorrow afternoon; Agent Goddard will be present. He said you’d both have a lot of questions.” Gerald folded his hands in his lap.

  “You could say that.” The prospect of Adam’s revelation gave Cheyenne an unexpected second wind.

  “We’re here, Sir,” the driver announced.

  They all got out of the car and the doorman grabbed their luggage.

  “I’ll see you both tomorrow.” Gerald climbed back into the limo.

  After entering their apartment and ditching their luggage, Cheyenne entered the kitchen.

  “You hungry?” Cheyenne looked through the refrigerator.

  “I guess,” Steph called from the sofa.

  “Do you want Chinese?” Cheyenne proposed, seeing that everything in the refrigerator was past its expiration date. The only exception was two bottles of beer.

  “Sure.”

  Cheyenne picked up her cell phone and ordered a Chinese feast of their favorite dishes and a 6 pack of beer. Grabbing the two remaining beers, she plopped on the couch next to Steph and handed her one.

  “Do you feel like you just woke up from a nightmare?” Steph asked.

  “Yep.” Cheyenne lit a cigarette.

  “Did all of that really happen?” Steph rubbed her eyes.

  “Unfortunately, yes. I'm sorry for being such a stupid bitch.” Steph grinned then giggled like a lunatic; Cheyenne wondered if Steph had lost it.

  “How can I judge you when I did the same thing?”

  They both paused, picking at the labels on the beer bottles. Silence hung between them like a thick blanket of fog.

  “When you had your little talk with Scot, what exactly did he say about me?” Cheyenne had debated all the way across the Atlantic about whether she wanted to ask Steph this question. Fretting that she’d never see Scot again and realizing that Steph no longer judged her, the words spilled out of her mouth.

  Steph looked at her then at the floor, exhaling a ragged breath. “Do I really need to answer that question?”

  “Yes.” Cheyenne grasped at the knowledge, in hopes that hearing his words could somehow keep her connected to him. She realized she’d been twisting her sapphire ring and ached for her mother’s advice.

  Cheyenne felt Steph watching her. When she glanced over to meet her friend’s gaze, the empathy she saw on Steph’s face was enough to make her throat close, and she found herself sniffling.

  “He asked me if I believed in love at first sight.” As the weight of her words came down upon her, Cheyenne’s heart seized in her chest and she struggled to hold back the tears. She knew once the floodgates opened, she’d never be able to stop.

  “Life lesson learned?” Steph’s lip quivered and put her arm around Cheyenne.

  She nodded in reply, choking back her pain.

  “I’m going to get help.”

  Steph acknowledged Cheyenne’s announcement with a nod.

  “In the meantime, we have a lot of work to do.” Steph stood and walked to her bags. She began unpacking her equipment.

  When the doorbell rang, Cheyenne paid for the food and returned to her spot on the couch.

  Cheyenne laughed as Steph held up one of her pictures of the band for her approval. “Is that the one that Goddess took when she was passed out on the floor?”

  Steph nodded enthusiastically.

  “It blows my mind that it was all an act!” They spent the rest of the evening guzzling beer and laughing as they recapped Goddess’s antics.

  “Wake up you forgot to set your alarm.” Cheyenne shook Steph.

  “Are we home yet?”

  “Duh! Come on, get up. Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”

  Cheyenne went into the bathroom to apply her makeup. She dug for her compact she felt something out of place. She frowned and pulled out a photo. It was a picture of her and Scot together on their date. It dawned on her that Margaret must have slipped it into her bag.

  Steph entered the bathroom. “What’s wrong?”

  Cheyenne handed her the picture.

  “It’s going to work out the way it was meant to...”

  “I’m so stupid.” Tears began to steadily stream down her face.

  “No you’re not. You’re just…troubled. Besides, his life is a total zoo. And being with a celebrity is more complicated than being with other men. Now stop that shit before you make me cry!” Steph’s expression was hard as she handed Cheyenne some tissues.

  Cheyenne blew her nose and wiped the tears away. “What am I going to do?”

  “Get the story done. As Ian would say, ‘the show must go on’.” Steph’s face clouded over. “Cheyenne, I really think you need to get help like you said you would last night. You need to take care of you.”

  Cheyenne nodded and once again began applying her makeup. Once Steph left to take her shower, she picked up the picture again and touched Scot’s face before placing it back in the bag.

  Pull yourself together girl.

  Once at The Sound Wave , they walked past a sea of gawking staff to Adam’s office. As always, they had to sit outside and wait.

  “Cheyenne, Stephanie. How was your flight?” A familiar figure strutted down the hallway toward them. Margaret took off her sunglasses with flourish, a move that totally made her look like a FED. She took a seat across from them. “Jetlag is kicking my ass today.”

  “We survived.” Cheyenne crossed her arms. She and Steph stared at Margaret.

  “What?’ Margaret asked as a wraith of a smile tugged at her lips.

  “You just look so normal and sound so articulate.” Steph grinned at her.

  “You two were awesome. You helped so much by distracting Fury. It made my job a lot easier.”

  “Gee thanks,” Cheyenne mumbled, smiling.

  “Everyone, please come in,” Adam greeted them as he opened through the door.

  They entered the office.

  “Did you get some sleep?’ Adam asked, greeting Steph with a kiss and a huge hug.

  “We tried. The curiosity is killing us, so can we just cut to the chase? No offense.” Steph’s attempt to be sociable to the agent nearly made Cheyenne guffaw, but she bit the inside of her lip.

  “Alright, Bonnie.” Adam gestured to Margaret. “Would you care to explain?”

  “Sure.” She turned to Cheyenne and Steph. “Interpol had been tracking Ian for months and though we had an inside man, we couldn’t get close enough to the band to assess their level of involvement. When the agency heard Ian was coming to Adam for the ‘coming out’ interview, it was decided that someone should go undercover as a Sound Wave staff member. I was chosen to masquerade as an intern because I had a background in crime scene photography. We contacted Adam and he agreed to help out.”

  “So you put us in danger just to get a story.” Steph’s looked aghast as she blinked at her father.

  “I can assure you that you were both safe,” Margaret said. “No one got into your rooms without my approval, and you were followed continuously.”

  This made both Cheyenne and Steph flush a rosy color.

  “I bugged your rooms and you always had a microphone on you somewhere.”

  “You bugged us?” Cheyenne wanted to die, she was so embarrassed.

  “Yes. Fear not. We only used what was relevant.” Margaret shifted in her seat a little.

  Cheyenne put her hands on her face.

  “If someone followed us all the time, why did Phillip and I get stuck in the middle of nowhere?” Steph looked thoughtful.

  “You left your phone at the hotel, so it took us a bit to track you down. Do you remember the tow truck driver? He's one of us.”

  Steph looked away, flabbergasted.r />
  “Was the assignment real?” Cheyenne tried not to look as wounded as she felt.

  “Oh yes. The assignment was very real, and I can’t wait to read your material,” Adam replied crossing his arms. “As a matter of fact I was just on the phone with Mark Smith, the new manager of Fury.”

  “Wait who?” Steph asked.

  “Mark Smith,” Adam repeated.

  “Wasn’t he the accountant?” Cheyenne looked at Steph, confused.

  “Actually...” Margaret began, “he was the whistle blower.”

  “As I was saying, I spoke to Mark this morning and he said the concerts were going on according to plan. Fury will be in New York in three weeks to attend the anniversary party and celebrate the launch of the tour,” Adam continued.

  “Three weeks! I thought we had a little more time.” Cheyenne gasped.

  “The date has been upped.” Adam shrugged.

  Steph growled out loud.

  “Don’t worry. I have all kinds of help lined up for you both.”

  Cheyenne’s stomach did a nervous flip. Awareness surged in her and she felt her heart race as she imagined being face to face with Scot again.

  “Ok, back to Ian,” Steph inquired turning back to Margaret.

  “He was using Fury as a distraction and was actually facilitating Rodney and Steve’s multimillion dollar drug business behind the scenes. His job was to keep the band occupied while Steve and Rodney transported and arranged distribution of cocaine and heroin. They used the band’s tour equipment to conceal the drugs from customs. His biggest downfall was hiring idiots for his henchmen and trying to involve Mark Smith, the label’s accountant. Mark immediately contacted the authorities and has been assisting the task force all along. It was very important to Mr. Smith that the band be protected. He was told by Ian from the beginning that they knew nothing about what was happening and he wanted to make sure we had a clear case that separated the innocent from the guilty. Again, this is where I came in. I got in with Duncan and his minions, who were responsible for keeping the rest of the road crew, and the band, from discovering the conspiracy. We ended up getting the evidence to convict them and clear the innocent bystanders. After Fury was informed of Mr. Smith’s involvement, they chose him as their new manager.