Sad_Girl
Blue Crack Supplier
Disclaimer: It’s only make believe
Chapter Three: Gypsy Dance Part 3
“You should get your hair cut; have some layers put in.” Cat was saying as she and Trine looked into the mirror in the changing room as they tried on yet another ridiculously expensive article of clothing. In this case, it was Trine trying on a pair of black leather pants just like the ones Cat had already purchased.
“I like my hair.” Trine grumbled.
“I’m not saying I don’t like it.” Cat told her reaching out and brushing it out of the girls face. “But it hides your face.”
“That’s kinda the idea.”
“You’re very pretty.” Cat told her, arms crossed as she examined the girl as if seeing her for the first time. Trine rolled her eyes in disbelief.
“Not exactly. You’re just saying that because I look like him.”
“I might be a little prejudiced.” Cat admitted with a smile. “But to be fair, he makes a very pretty woman, too.”
“What?” Trine asked, turning to look Cat in the eye, her face twisted up in surprise and doubt.
“Haven’t you ever seen any of the pictures of him dressed up? You know, like from when they filmed the video for ‘One’?” Cat asked with a little laugh.
“Are you saying Adam’s a drag queen?” Trine asked in shock and dismay, and Cat laughed out loud at the look on her face.
“No! God, no. They all did it, it was just kind of a lark.” Cat told her. “Make your mind up about the whether or not you want the pants, and we’ll go see if we can find a bookstore or an internet café’. I’ll show you what I mean.”
“What do you think?” Trine asked, turning back to look at herself in the mirror.
“I think if you get them I’ll feel self-conscious in mine.” She teased. “You look good.”
After they paid for the things they had picked out, they discovered a big bookstore within walking distance. Cat found the rather large, expensive book ‘U2 and I’ which was a collection of photos of the band by their long time friend Anton Corbijn. Cat paged through until she found a picture of Adam dressed up in fancy dress and wig, among pictures of the others dressed the same.
“Oh my God!” Trine squealed, slapping a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide and round as fifty-cent pieces. “He has better legs than I do!” she said, and Cat nodded as she laughed at the girls reaction.
“See, you can’t say you aren’t pretty because you look like him.” Cat told the girl as she flipped a page to find a group shot of all of the men dressed up, Adam with his hands behind his head and one sneaker wearing foot propped up on the coffee table immodestly. His strapless dress drooped to reveal a nipple, and Cat was more than a little certain it was no accident.
“He’s a little slutty, too.” Trine joked, staring at the pictures intently.
“He’s not shy.” Cat replied. “Hey, were you serious about those other piercings or were you just trying to freak Larry out?”
“I was just trying to freak him out.” She admitted. “Although I do want to get my belly button done.” She added more seriously.
“It hurts like a sunovabitch.” Cat told her, flipping through the pages of the book and scanning the pictures. “But it does look cool.”
“You have your belly button pierced?” Trine asked.
“Yeah. Why, you think I’m too old?” Cat answered with a smile. Trine simply shrugged, but her blushing cheeks told Cat that had been exactly what she was thinking. “Besides that, guys seem to really like pierced navels.” She added, segueing into her next question.
“Ewww… don’t go anywhere near that. I may not know him well but he is my father.” Trine said, acting like she was going to stick her finger down her throat and gagging.
“I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. He hasn’t seen it.” Cat told her. “But I wasn’t going to do that to you anyway.” She assured the girl, closing the book and replacing it on it’s display table. “I was going to ask if you had a boyfriend.”
“Yeah, right.” The girl snorted.
“Why not? Don’t like boys?” Cat asked, arching an eyebrow at her playfully.
“Yes, I like boys. Boys don’t tend to like me. Not decent ones, anyway.”
“Well, I’m going to tell you a secret.” Cat said as she and Trine weaved through the tables and shelves full of books. “And don’t think I’m saying you have to stop expressing yourself, because I would never say that. Still, when the message you’re expressing is ‘I don’t care what you think’ and ‘stay the hell away from me’… most guys will steer clear.”
“That’s stupid.” The girl complained.
“I know, but unfortunately that tends to hold true. You can still express yourself, but maybe soften it up a little. Get your hair layered. Maybe lose some of the hardware in your face. Wear something that isn’t black once in awhile.” Cat suggested.
“I want a boyfriend who actually likes me for me. Hardware and all.” Trine told her defiantly.
“I know.” Cat agreed, nodding her head. “And I think the nose stud, for example, is actually very flattering. But relationships to other people require a little compromise. It’s the truth with anybody. It’s why we don’t go around saying everything we think or punching everyone who irritates us.”
“I see what you’re getting at.” Trine said. “I’m still not sure I’m willing to change the way I look.”
“I’m not telling you to dye your hair blonde and start dressing like Brittany Spears.” Cat told her.
“Oh, barf!” Trine replied, screwing up her face in disgust.
“Want lunch?” Cat asked, changing the subject as they climbed into a cab. Trine agreed that lunch was a good idea and they asked the cabby to direct them to a good place to get hamburgers. A rather handsome young man of about eighteen or nineteen took their order, and Cat saw the way Trine watched him. She could tell the girl was deep in thought, so she simply waited for her to speak.
“Ok.” She finally said, her eyes still on the waiter, “I’ll think about it.”
***************************************************************************
“For fuck’s sake, man, just call the FBI and ask them where she is already!” Adam was saying, having listened to one too many depressing new lyrics.
“I’ve tried, they won’t tell me a damned thing.” Bono replied, tossing his pen aside and wadding up the paper he’d been scribbling on.
“I didn’t even know there was anything going on between you. You’re acting like someone ran over your puppy or some such shite.” Larry said as he rose and moved around the drumkit they’d set up in the living room of their safe house apartment.
“There wasn’t… I mean, it wasn’t like the usual ‘I ask her out and we go on a date’ and all of that shite, but she was so ….” He ran his hands through his hair in frustration.
“You didn’t feel like you had to be anything but yourself when she was around.” Adam suggested. “You felt comfortable, relaxed.”
“Yeah. Yeah. And sometimes we’d start talking and we’d talk for hours.” Bono agreed.
“That’s hard to imagine. You, talking for hours.” Edge joked, and for the first time in days Bono actually smiled.
“It just seems odd. She’s so different from you.” Larry told him.
“Why is that bad? She’s everything I’m not. Isn’t that kind of the whole idea with a man and a woman? Two halves that need each other to create a whole?” Bono replied, and Adam picked the pen up off the floor and handed it to his friend.
“Now that, you should be writing down.” He told him with a smile. Bono started to write, but had barely put pen to paper when his mobile phone began to ring.
“Yeah.” He answered casually, trying to hold the phone with his left hand and write with his right.
“We got him.” The voice on the other end of the line informed him without bothering to identify itself. “We got the guy cold. You’re going to be cleared to go shortly. I just thought you would like to know.” The man told him.
“Who is this?” Bono asked, wanting to make sure he was hearing what he thought he was hearing.
“I’m sorry. This is Ben McMillin. I was Angel’s partner.”
“Oh, right of course. Wait, was? What do you mean was?”
“You didn’t hear?”
“Hear what? Is she ok?” Bono demanded, less concerned with the details of the capture of the man who had tried to kill him than he was with Angel’s welfare.
“Yeah, she’s fine. I guess she didn’t want to go through another round of internal review, though. She quit the day you were sent to Vegas.”
“Again?” Bono asked, “What do you mean?”
“Oh, boy. I just opened a real can of worms for myself, didn’t I? Ok, let me see if I can give you the short and dirty version.” He replied before telling Bono about Angel’s history over the course of the past two years. He told him about the engagement to Greg and about the investigation after she shot and killed the man who killed Greg.
“They determined it was a completely acceptable line of duty shooting, but once the internal affairs bureau starts looking at you, they never really look away. Everything she has done for two years has been gone over with a fine tooth comb, looking for any sign of illegal activity.”
“So they were looking for a reason to get rid of her all along?”
“More or less. I was glad she didn’t give them the chance.” The older man told him. “It’s really the Bureau’s own loss. She was one of the best.”
“Where is she now?”
“I don’t know, to tell you the truth. I honestly expected her to come out there and find you.” He replied, pausing for a moment to think of where else she might be, but coming up empty. “Anyway, the reason I called. We apprehended the man we believe sent you the letter and who built the bomb. It looks like he acted alone.”
“I thought you guys were looking into some cult?”
“Yeah, the disciples. You were on their list of potential ‘doom bringers’ as they called them. The thing is, apparently they had decided to focus on someone else, dismissing you as a possibility. There was one excommunicated member though, Drew Levinson, who decided it would be better to be safe than sorry. He was planning to get rid of all fourteen people on the list, just to make sure.”
“It sounds like you’re pretty certain.”
“We have more evidence than we could have hoped for, journals and audio diaries he kept. It’s almost better than a confession.”
“You don’t have a confession, though?”
“No, uh… no. He was killed when we tried to take him into custody.” Agent McMillin informed him. “But with his history, and the evidence we had, he would’ve been put away for years. There’s no doubt that you’re safe. From this particular attacker, at least.”
“What about these disciples? Are they going to change their minds and decide to be safe rather than sorry?” Bono asked, chewing thoughtfully on the fingernail on his thumb.
“No, we’ve taken them out of the picture as well. The higher-ups in the organization are all in custody. I think the disciples have seen their last days.” Ben assured him.
“An agent will be by sooner or later to show you some pictures and see if you recognize Drew Levinson from anywhere. Chances are he was lurking around for awhile. We’d like you to stay in Vegas for the rest of today, just in case there are pressing questions which come up. Tomorrow morning, you’ll be free to go on with your life as usual.”
“Thank you.” Bono told the man. “And, if you hear from Angel…”
“I’ll let you know. Good luck, man.” Ben told him just before hanging up the phone and breaking the connection.
“I guess we need to call Paul and the others about the LA show on Friday.” Bono said to the others. “We’re going to be out of here first thing in the morning.”
“That’s great news!” Edge said, grabbing his friend in a rough hug. The relief was clear on all of their faces, though Bono’s smile did not quite reach his eyes.
*******************************************************************
“Hey. Looks like you two had fun.” Adam said when he saw Trine and Cat enter the apartment carrying as many bags as they could hold, followed by an FBI agent who had also been burdened with several packages. They had met him in the hallway as he was leaving and roped him into helping them.
“Vegas is so cool.” Trine told him, her blue eyes shining. It was nice to see her smile, really smile, for the first time. Adam smiled back at her, taking some of the bags from the slightly irritable federal officer. “This one guy tried to hire Cat to work as a stripper.” She told him, and he raised an eyebrow at Cat playfully.
“What? I said no.” she told him with a smile.
“So what’s yours and what’s Cat’s?” Adam asked, wondering where to put the bags.
“Ummm, most of it is mine.” Trine admitted, leading the way to her room.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Cat called, catching up to them and taking a small, pink bag with the name of an exotic lingerie boutique printed across it. “This one’s mine.” She told him, meeting his eyes and smiling wickedly. He smiled right back at her although he tired to act unaffected by her flirtation. Cat turned and took her things into her room as Adam followed Trine. He sat the packages down on the bed for her and turned to leave.
“Um, Dad?” She said, the word feeling foreign to her tongue and seemingly sounding just as strange to Adam. He turned to look back at her and she brushed her hair back behind her ear and shifted her weight nervously from one foot to the other. “Thanks. For, you know, everything.” Adam smiled at her, a strange feeling in his chest. It was a whole new kind of love, and it was just starting.
“You’re very welcome.” He told her, surprised once again when she rushed forward to wrap her arms around him and hug him as only a daughter could. It was only a brief moment before she pulled back, looking embarrassed, but he managed to wrap one arm around her and pat her tenderly on the back before that.
“Trine? Could I ask you a favor?” He asked suddenly.
“Sure, I guess. What?” She asked, beginning to sort through all of the bags on her bed.
“I have some things I need to do, and I need you to distract Cat for the rest of the afternoon for me. I want to get her something, and I want it to be a surprise.” He told her, and she turned to look up at him, eyes narrowing as she tried to guess what he was up to.
“Yeah, I can do that. She’s pretty cool.” She told him. “I’ve never known anyone her age that still acts like a kid before.” Adam smiled at this, thinking she’d definitely gotten to know one of his favorite sides of Cat.
“I appreciate the help.” He told her before leaving her to search through her packages. He hurried down the hall to find Edge sitting on the couch, guitar in hand and Larry slouching in a nearby chair.
“Hey, I need your help with something.” He told them, settling down on the couch beside Edge and explaining what he had in mind.
********************************************************************
“Hey, I heard the news.” Cat said, after knocking on the doorjamb since his door was open. Bono looked up from the book he was paging through and smiled at her. “Congratulations.” She told him.
“Thanks. Yeah, it seems like a strange thing to celebrate. Someone did die, after all.” He said, rising from his seat and moving to stand closer to her.
“Yeah, but at least it isn’t you.” She replied, reaching out and putting a small hand against his stubbled cheek. He rested his hand over hers. “So why are you still so sad?” She asked softly.
“I know none of you seem to have seen it, but Angel and I were getting really close.” He told her. “I miss her. I miss her like you miss someone you’ve had close all your life, not just for a couple of weeks.”
“Oh, B. I’m sorry.” She sighed, opening her arms to him and finding herself enveloped in one of the man’s incredibly big hugs. It was one of her favorite things about him, the way he enveloped her when he hugged her. She hoped she could return some of the comfort he’d given to her when she had needed a friend most.
“She didn’t think we could make it work because our lives were too different.” He told Cat in a coarse whisper. “She’s so damned stubborn, I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again. At least before today I had hoped there would be a trial, and I would have one more chance to talk to her.”
All Cat could do was hold tight to him and let him talk, and she hated the helplessness of it all. She wasn’t sure how long they stood there before they heard someone behind them clear their throat.
*Ahem.* Bono loosened his grip and she turned to glance over her shoulder at Larry, leaning against the wall in his usual manner. Waiting for a better moment to interrupt. Apparently he couldn’t wait any longer.
“Adam’s looking for you.” He said brusquely.
“Me?” Cat asked, Bono’s arm still around her waist.
“Uh, no, actually. He’s looking for him.” Larry said, his eyes on the floor, as if suddenly fascinated by his own feet.
“Ok. Thanks.” Bono told him, patting Larry on the shoulder as he passed, smiling at Cat to thank her for her concern. Larry pushed himself up off the wall and started to follow, but Cat caught him by the shirttail.
“Wait. Wait, I have to ask you something.” She said, and he turned to scowl at her over one broad shoulder. “Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you to make you dislike me so strongly?”
“I don’t hate you.” Larry told her shortly, turning to walk away, but she stepped in front of him.
“Then why is it you never have two words to say to me unless they’re rude or critical?” She demanded, and he tried to step around her but she spread her arms to block the hallway.
“Don’t do this.” He warned, his silver eyes flashing a warning that didn’t register in her mind.
“No, I want to know.” She said. He sighed and pursed his lips, scowled at her and tried to wait it out. His patience was shorter than hers. Finally he tried to explain the situation from his point of view.
“The four of us Cat, we’re like a rock. Like a rock, it seems like we’re so solid, nothing can break us up. Sometimes, moisture can seep into a rock, slowly, unnoticeably. Water doesn’t seem particularly dangerous, but if it freezes, that water will shatter the rock into pieces. You are the water, Cat. You could tear apart something that seems unbreakable, without ever intending to.”
“I don’t want to break you up…” she started to argue. They were chest to chest now, and she was still blocking his exit because she was too surprised by his suddenly aggressive behavior to move. He lowered his head and kissed her with a ferocity that took her breath away, pinning her against the wall, still too stunned to think.
“Is that better? Do you prefer that? Because I don’t feel anything in between with you, Cat. It’s either focus on the things I hate and avoid everything else, or this.” He whispered hotly into her ear before kissing her again. He could feel her shaking beneath his kiss, and pulled away.
“I’m sorry… I had no idea.” She told him, and he stepped back raking his hand through his dirty blonde hair. He scowled at her once more.
“I know you didn’t. I also know you love Adam. So, just let me hate you. Give me some time to get through this, and please don’t say anything to him.” Larry told her before turning and walking away, his broad shoulders slouched as he shoved his hands in his pockets. Cat touched her fingers to her lips, still in shock.
“Well that was interesting.” She heard a small voice say from a doorway on the opposite end of the hall. She turned to see Trine standing there, her hands on her hips.
“Oh, God. Trine, it wasn’t what it looked like…” Cat started, her heart running cold with fear.
“I heard what it was.” She said, and Cat sighed. “Although I saw what was going on from the first day I got here.” She added.
“What? How?” Cat asked, absolutely baffled.
“It’s just the way boys always are. If they like you, and especially if they aren’t getting the attention they want, they pull your pigtails and drive you nuts.” Trine explained.
“How did you get so smart so young?” Cat asked with a sad smile. Trine just shrugged.
“I guess the guys are going out for awhile to celebrate the fact that the feds got the psycho who was trying to kill Bono.” Trine told her. “It’s just the two of us girls here for awhile. I wanted to show you those lyrics I was telling you about earlier.”
“Oh. Ok, sure.” Cat agreed, disappointed that Adam was leaving right after she got home. “I have to call Krash and Alex at home real quick and let them know we’re on for the last show.” She informed the girl.
“You guys are still planning to open? Even without Shane?” Trine asked, having seen only the last show in Chicago but having heard about the disastrous first show in New York.
“I guess we’ll have to try. I don’t know what else to do.” Cat told her as she turned and walked away to find the telephone. She paused and turned back, looking the younger girl in the eye. “You aren’t going to say anything to Adam, about this, are you?” She asked, and Trine simply shook her head.
******************************************************************
“So you guys will meet us in L.A. tomorrow night?” Cat asked, winding up her conversation with Krash. He had been excited to hear they had another chance, and Cat suspected he had believed she would go on with U2 as Adam’s girlfriend and forget all about the band.
“Yeah, that shouldn’t be any problem.” He assured her. “What is that Edge is playing in the background? Is that a Greenday song?” He asked, and Cat realized there was someone in the living room playing Edge’s guitar. She had become so accustomed to the sound she hadn’t even thought about it.
“No, the guys just left.” She said, her brows drawing together as she wondered at this. She turned and made her way to the living room to see Trine standing with her back to Cat, playing an extremely challenging song. “It’s Trine.”
“Adam’s kid?” Krash asked from the other end of the line. “Are you serious? She’s only like fifteen, isn’t she?”
“Yeah, but listen to her!” Cat said, holding out the mouthpiece of the phone for a moment.
“That’s incredible.” Krash told her when she returned the phone to her ear.
“I think we just found our fourth member.” Cat told him, hanging up the phone without saying goodbye, so distracted by this surprise. “Trine!” She called out to the girl, who turned to look back at Cat, her shaggy black hair hanging in her eyes. “I didn’t know you could play!”
“You never asked.” The youth replied coolly. Cat shook her head in disbelief.
“You ever picked up a bass?” Cat asked, and the girl nodded, continuing to play. “How do feel about being in front of a crowd?” She asked.
“I don’t care.” The girl told her.
“What song is that?” Cat asked, realizing she couldn’t recognize it.
“Something I’m working on.” She told her, finally setting the guitar aside. “It’s based on this poem by Dorothy Parker, called ‘mortal thoughts’. There’s this verse that goes ‘if wild my breast and sore my pride, I bask in dreams of suicide, if cool my heart and high my head, I think how lucky are the dead’ which is basically already perfect for a song.” She said, exhaling sharply to blow the hair out of her face.
“Trine, that’s incredible. How long have you been playing? And writing, no less.”
“I got a guitar for my seventh birthday, I think.” She replied.
“Do you have any more lyrics? The ones you were telling me about?” Cat asked, and Trine produced a tattered notebook, which Cat eagerly accepted. After scanning through the pages for a moment she looked up at the girl.
“Have you ever thought about being a professional musician?” She asked, and Trine smiled a broad, toothy smile which reminded Cat so much of Adam it was almost eerie.
“I thought you’d never ask.” She replied smartly.
Chapter Three: Gypsy Dance Part 3
“You should get your hair cut; have some layers put in.” Cat was saying as she and Trine looked into the mirror in the changing room as they tried on yet another ridiculously expensive article of clothing. In this case, it was Trine trying on a pair of black leather pants just like the ones Cat had already purchased.
“I like my hair.” Trine grumbled.
“I’m not saying I don’t like it.” Cat told her reaching out and brushing it out of the girls face. “But it hides your face.”
“That’s kinda the idea.”
“You’re very pretty.” Cat told her, arms crossed as she examined the girl as if seeing her for the first time. Trine rolled her eyes in disbelief.
“Not exactly. You’re just saying that because I look like him.”
“I might be a little prejudiced.” Cat admitted with a smile. “But to be fair, he makes a very pretty woman, too.”
“What?” Trine asked, turning to look Cat in the eye, her face twisted up in surprise and doubt.
“Haven’t you ever seen any of the pictures of him dressed up? You know, like from when they filmed the video for ‘One’?” Cat asked with a little laugh.
“Are you saying Adam’s a drag queen?” Trine asked in shock and dismay, and Cat laughed out loud at the look on her face.
“No! God, no. They all did it, it was just kind of a lark.” Cat told her. “Make your mind up about the whether or not you want the pants, and we’ll go see if we can find a bookstore or an internet café’. I’ll show you what I mean.”
“What do you think?” Trine asked, turning back to look at herself in the mirror.
“I think if you get them I’ll feel self-conscious in mine.” She teased. “You look good.”
After they paid for the things they had picked out, they discovered a big bookstore within walking distance. Cat found the rather large, expensive book ‘U2 and I’ which was a collection of photos of the band by their long time friend Anton Corbijn. Cat paged through until she found a picture of Adam dressed up in fancy dress and wig, among pictures of the others dressed the same.
“Oh my God!” Trine squealed, slapping a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide and round as fifty-cent pieces. “He has better legs than I do!” she said, and Cat nodded as she laughed at the girls reaction.
“See, you can’t say you aren’t pretty because you look like him.” Cat told the girl as she flipped a page to find a group shot of all of the men dressed up, Adam with his hands behind his head and one sneaker wearing foot propped up on the coffee table immodestly. His strapless dress drooped to reveal a nipple, and Cat was more than a little certain it was no accident.
“He’s a little slutty, too.” Trine joked, staring at the pictures intently.
“He’s not shy.” Cat replied. “Hey, were you serious about those other piercings or were you just trying to freak Larry out?”
“I was just trying to freak him out.” She admitted. “Although I do want to get my belly button done.” She added more seriously.
“It hurts like a sunovabitch.” Cat told her, flipping through the pages of the book and scanning the pictures. “But it does look cool.”
“You have your belly button pierced?” Trine asked.
“Yeah. Why, you think I’m too old?” Cat answered with a smile. Trine simply shrugged, but her blushing cheeks told Cat that had been exactly what she was thinking. “Besides that, guys seem to really like pierced navels.” She added, segueing into her next question.
“Ewww… don’t go anywhere near that. I may not know him well but he is my father.” Trine said, acting like she was going to stick her finger down her throat and gagging.
“I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. He hasn’t seen it.” Cat told her. “But I wasn’t going to do that to you anyway.” She assured the girl, closing the book and replacing it on it’s display table. “I was going to ask if you had a boyfriend.”
“Yeah, right.” The girl snorted.
“Why not? Don’t like boys?” Cat asked, arching an eyebrow at her playfully.
“Yes, I like boys. Boys don’t tend to like me. Not decent ones, anyway.”
“Well, I’m going to tell you a secret.” Cat said as she and Trine weaved through the tables and shelves full of books. “And don’t think I’m saying you have to stop expressing yourself, because I would never say that. Still, when the message you’re expressing is ‘I don’t care what you think’ and ‘stay the hell away from me’… most guys will steer clear.”
“That’s stupid.” The girl complained.
“I know, but unfortunately that tends to hold true. You can still express yourself, but maybe soften it up a little. Get your hair layered. Maybe lose some of the hardware in your face. Wear something that isn’t black once in awhile.” Cat suggested.
“I want a boyfriend who actually likes me for me. Hardware and all.” Trine told her defiantly.
“I know.” Cat agreed, nodding her head. “And I think the nose stud, for example, is actually very flattering. But relationships to other people require a little compromise. It’s the truth with anybody. It’s why we don’t go around saying everything we think or punching everyone who irritates us.”
“I see what you’re getting at.” Trine said. “I’m still not sure I’m willing to change the way I look.”
“I’m not telling you to dye your hair blonde and start dressing like Brittany Spears.” Cat told her.
“Oh, barf!” Trine replied, screwing up her face in disgust.
“Want lunch?” Cat asked, changing the subject as they climbed into a cab. Trine agreed that lunch was a good idea and they asked the cabby to direct them to a good place to get hamburgers. A rather handsome young man of about eighteen or nineteen took their order, and Cat saw the way Trine watched him. She could tell the girl was deep in thought, so she simply waited for her to speak.
“Ok.” She finally said, her eyes still on the waiter, “I’ll think about it.”
***************************************************************************
“For fuck’s sake, man, just call the FBI and ask them where she is already!” Adam was saying, having listened to one too many depressing new lyrics.
“I’ve tried, they won’t tell me a damned thing.” Bono replied, tossing his pen aside and wadding up the paper he’d been scribbling on.
“I didn’t even know there was anything going on between you. You’re acting like someone ran over your puppy or some such shite.” Larry said as he rose and moved around the drumkit they’d set up in the living room of their safe house apartment.
“There wasn’t… I mean, it wasn’t like the usual ‘I ask her out and we go on a date’ and all of that shite, but she was so ….” He ran his hands through his hair in frustration.
“You didn’t feel like you had to be anything but yourself when she was around.” Adam suggested. “You felt comfortable, relaxed.”
“Yeah. Yeah. And sometimes we’d start talking and we’d talk for hours.” Bono agreed.
“That’s hard to imagine. You, talking for hours.” Edge joked, and for the first time in days Bono actually smiled.
“It just seems odd. She’s so different from you.” Larry told him.
“Why is that bad? She’s everything I’m not. Isn’t that kind of the whole idea with a man and a woman? Two halves that need each other to create a whole?” Bono replied, and Adam picked the pen up off the floor and handed it to his friend.
“Now that, you should be writing down.” He told him with a smile. Bono started to write, but had barely put pen to paper when his mobile phone began to ring.
“Yeah.” He answered casually, trying to hold the phone with his left hand and write with his right.
“We got him.” The voice on the other end of the line informed him without bothering to identify itself. “We got the guy cold. You’re going to be cleared to go shortly. I just thought you would like to know.” The man told him.
“Who is this?” Bono asked, wanting to make sure he was hearing what he thought he was hearing.
“I’m sorry. This is Ben McMillin. I was Angel’s partner.”
“Oh, right of course. Wait, was? What do you mean was?”
“You didn’t hear?”
“Hear what? Is she ok?” Bono demanded, less concerned with the details of the capture of the man who had tried to kill him than he was with Angel’s welfare.
“Yeah, she’s fine. I guess she didn’t want to go through another round of internal review, though. She quit the day you were sent to Vegas.”
“Again?” Bono asked, “What do you mean?”
“Oh, boy. I just opened a real can of worms for myself, didn’t I? Ok, let me see if I can give you the short and dirty version.” He replied before telling Bono about Angel’s history over the course of the past two years. He told him about the engagement to Greg and about the investigation after she shot and killed the man who killed Greg.
“They determined it was a completely acceptable line of duty shooting, but once the internal affairs bureau starts looking at you, they never really look away. Everything she has done for two years has been gone over with a fine tooth comb, looking for any sign of illegal activity.”
“So they were looking for a reason to get rid of her all along?”
“More or less. I was glad she didn’t give them the chance.” The older man told him. “It’s really the Bureau’s own loss. She was one of the best.”
“Where is she now?”
“I don’t know, to tell you the truth. I honestly expected her to come out there and find you.” He replied, pausing for a moment to think of where else she might be, but coming up empty. “Anyway, the reason I called. We apprehended the man we believe sent you the letter and who built the bomb. It looks like he acted alone.”
“I thought you guys were looking into some cult?”
“Yeah, the disciples. You were on their list of potential ‘doom bringers’ as they called them. The thing is, apparently they had decided to focus on someone else, dismissing you as a possibility. There was one excommunicated member though, Drew Levinson, who decided it would be better to be safe than sorry. He was planning to get rid of all fourteen people on the list, just to make sure.”
“It sounds like you’re pretty certain.”
“We have more evidence than we could have hoped for, journals and audio diaries he kept. It’s almost better than a confession.”
“You don’t have a confession, though?”
“No, uh… no. He was killed when we tried to take him into custody.” Agent McMillin informed him. “But with his history, and the evidence we had, he would’ve been put away for years. There’s no doubt that you’re safe. From this particular attacker, at least.”
“What about these disciples? Are they going to change their minds and decide to be safe rather than sorry?” Bono asked, chewing thoughtfully on the fingernail on his thumb.
“No, we’ve taken them out of the picture as well. The higher-ups in the organization are all in custody. I think the disciples have seen their last days.” Ben assured him.
“An agent will be by sooner or later to show you some pictures and see if you recognize Drew Levinson from anywhere. Chances are he was lurking around for awhile. We’d like you to stay in Vegas for the rest of today, just in case there are pressing questions which come up. Tomorrow morning, you’ll be free to go on with your life as usual.”
“Thank you.” Bono told the man. “And, if you hear from Angel…”
“I’ll let you know. Good luck, man.” Ben told him just before hanging up the phone and breaking the connection.
“I guess we need to call Paul and the others about the LA show on Friday.” Bono said to the others. “We’re going to be out of here first thing in the morning.”
“That’s great news!” Edge said, grabbing his friend in a rough hug. The relief was clear on all of their faces, though Bono’s smile did not quite reach his eyes.
*******************************************************************
“Hey. Looks like you two had fun.” Adam said when he saw Trine and Cat enter the apartment carrying as many bags as they could hold, followed by an FBI agent who had also been burdened with several packages. They had met him in the hallway as he was leaving and roped him into helping them.
“Vegas is so cool.” Trine told him, her blue eyes shining. It was nice to see her smile, really smile, for the first time. Adam smiled back at her, taking some of the bags from the slightly irritable federal officer. “This one guy tried to hire Cat to work as a stripper.” She told him, and he raised an eyebrow at Cat playfully.
“What? I said no.” she told him with a smile.
“So what’s yours and what’s Cat’s?” Adam asked, wondering where to put the bags.
“Ummm, most of it is mine.” Trine admitted, leading the way to her room.
“Wait, wait, wait!” Cat called, catching up to them and taking a small, pink bag with the name of an exotic lingerie boutique printed across it. “This one’s mine.” She told him, meeting his eyes and smiling wickedly. He smiled right back at her although he tired to act unaffected by her flirtation. Cat turned and took her things into her room as Adam followed Trine. He sat the packages down on the bed for her and turned to leave.
“Um, Dad?” She said, the word feeling foreign to her tongue and seemingly sounding just as strange to Adam. He turned to look back at her and she brushed her hair back behind her ear and shifted her weight nervously from one foot to the other. “Thanks. For, you know, everything.” Adam smiled at her, a strange feeling in his chest. It was a whole new kind of love, and it was just starting.
“You’re very welcome.” He told her, surprised once again when she rushed forward to wrap her arms around him and hug him as only a daughter could. It was only a brief moment before she pulled back, looking embarrassed, but he managed to wrap one arm around her and pat her tenderly on the back before that.
“Trine? Could I ask you a favor?” He asked suddenly.
“Sure, I guess. What?” She asked, beginning to sort through all of the bags on her bed.
“I have some things I need to do, and I need you to distract Cat for the rest of the afternoon for me. I want to get her something, and I want it to be a surprise.” He told her, and she turned to look up at him, eyes narrowing as she tried to guess what he was up to.
“Yeah, I can do that. She’s pretty cool.” She told him. “I’ve never known anyone her age that still acts like a kid before.” Adam smiled at this, thinking she’d definitely gotten to know one of his favorite sides of Cat.
“I appreciate the help.” He told her before leaving her to search through her packages. He hurried down the hall to find Edge sitting on the couch, guitar in hand and Larry slouching in a nearby chair.
“Hey, I need your help with something.” He told them, settling down on the couch beside Edge and explaining what he had in mind.
********************************************************************
“Hey, I heard the news.” Cat said, after knocking on the doorjamb since his door was open. Bono looked up from the book he was paging through and smiled at her. “Congratulations.” She told him.
“Thanks. Yeah, it seems like a strange thing to celebrate. Someone did die, after all.” He said, rising from his seat and moving to stand closer to her.
“Yeah, but at least it isn’t you.” She replied, reaching out and putting a small hand against his stubbled cheek. He rested his hand over hers. “So why are you still so sad?” She asked softly.
“I know none of you seem to have seen it, but Angel and I were getting really close.” He told her. “I miss her. I miss her like you miss someone you’ve had close all your life, not just for a couple of weeks.”
“Oh, B. I’m sorry.” She sighed, opening her arms to him and finding herself enveloped in one of the man’s incredibly big hugs. It was one of her favorite things about him, the way he enveloped her when he hugged her. She hoped she could return some of the comfort he’d given to her when she had needed a friend most.
“She didn’t think we could make it work because our lives were too different.” He told Cat in a coarse whisper. “She’s so damned stubborn, I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again. At least before today I had hoped there would be a trial, and I would have one more chance to talk to her.”
All Cat could do was hold tight to him and let him talk, and she hated the helplessness of it all. She wasn’t sure how long they stood there before they heard someone behind them clear their throat.
*Ahem.* Bono loosened his grip and she turned to glance over her shoulder at Larry, leaning against the wall in his usual manner. Waiting for a better moment to interrupt. Apparently he couldn’t wait any longer.
“Adam’s looking for you.” He said brusquely.
“Me?” Cat asked, Bono’s arm still around her waist.
“Uh, no, actually. He’s looking for him.” Larry said, his eyes on the floor, as if suddenly fascinated by his own feet.
“Ok. Thanks.” Bono told him, patting Larry on the shoulder as he passed, smiling at Cat to thank her for her concern. Larry pushed himself up off the wall and started to follow, but Cat caught him by the shirttail.
“Wait. Wait, I have to ask you something.” She said, and he turned to scowl at her over one broad shoulder. “Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you to make you dislike me so strongly?”
“I don’t hate you.” Larry told her shortly, turning to walk away, but she stepped in front of him.
“Then why is it you never have two words to say to me unless they’re rude or critical?” She demanded, and he tried to step around her but she spread her arms to block the hallway.
“Don’t do this.” He warned, his silver eyes flashing a warning that didn’t register in her mind.
“No, I want to know.” She said. He sighed and pursed his lips, scowled at her and tried to wait it out. His patience was shorter than hers. Finally he tried to explain the situation from his point of view.
“The four of us Cat, we’re like a rock. Like a rock, it seems like we’re so solid, nothing can break us up. Sometimes, moisture can seep into a rock, slowly, unnoticeably. Water doesn’t seem particularly dangerous, but if it freezes, that water will shatter the rock into pieces. You are the water, Cat. You could tear apart something that seems unbreakable, without ever intending to.”
“I don’t want to break you up…” she started to argue. They were chest to chest now, and she was still blocking his exit because she was too surprised by his suddenly aggressive behavior to move. He lowered his head and kissed her with a ferocity that took her breath away, pinning her against the wall, still too stunned to think.
“Is that better? Do you prefer that? Because I don’t feel anything in between with you, Cat. It’s either focus on the things I hate and avoid everything else, or this.” He whispered hotly into her ear before kissing her again. He could feel her shaking beneath his kiss, and pulled away.
“I’m sorry… I had no idea.” She told him, and he stepped back raking his hand through his dirty blonde hair. He scowled at her once more.
“I know you didn’t. I also know you love Adam. So, just let me hate you. Give me some time to get through this, and please don’t say anything to him.” Larry told her before turning and walking away, his broad shoulders slouched as he shoved his hands in his pockets. Cat touched her fingers to her lips, still in shock.
“Well that was interesting.” She heard a small voice say from a doorway on the opposite end of the hall. She turned to see Trine standing there, her hands on her hips.
“Oh, God. Trine, it wasn’t what it looked like…” Cat started, her heart running cold with fear.
“I heard what it was.” She said, and Cat sighed. “Although I saw what was going on from the first day I got here.” She added.
“What? How?” Cat asked, absolutely baffled.
“It’s just the way boys always are. If they like you, and especially if they aren’t getting the attention they want, they pull your pigtails and drive you nuts.” Trine explained.
“How did you get so smart so young?” Cat asked with a sad smile. Trine just shrugged.
“I guess the guys are going out for awhile to celebrate the fact that the feds got the psycho who was trying to kill Bono.” Trine told her. “It’s just the two of us girls here for awhile. I wanted to show you those lyrics I was telling you about earlier.”
“Oh. Ok, sure.” Cat agreed, disappointed that Adam was leaving right after she got home. “I have to call Krash and Alex at home real quick and let them know we’re on for the last show.” She informed the girl.
“You guys are still planning to open? Even without Shane?” Trine asked, having seen only the last show in Chicago but having heard about the disastrous first show in New York.
“I guess we’ll have to try. I don’t know what else to do.” Cat told her as she turned and walked away to find the telephone. She paused and turned back, looking the younger girl in the eye. “You aren’t going to say anything to Adam, about this, are you?” She asked, and Trine simply shook her head.
******************************************************************
“So you guys will meet us in L.A. tomorrow night?” Cat asked, winding up her conversation with Krash. He had been excited to hear they had another chance, and Cat suspected he had believed she would go on with U2 as Adam’s girlfriend and forget all about the band.
“Yeah, that shouldn’t be any problem.” He assured her. “What is that Edge is playing in the background? Is that a Greenday song?” He asked, and Cat realized there was someone in the living room playing Edge’s guitar. She had become so accustomed to the sound she hadn’t even thought about it.
“No, the guys just left.” She said, her brows drawing together as she wondered at this. She turned and made her way to the living room to see Trine standing with her back to Cat, playing an extremely challenging song. “It’s Trine.”
“Adam’s kid?” Krash asked from the other end of the line. “Are you serious? She’s only like fifteen, isn’t she?”
“Yeah, but listen to her!” Cat said, holding out the mouthpiece of the phone for a moment.
“That’s incredible.” Krash told her when she returned the phone to her ear.
“I think we just found our fourth member.” Cat told him, hanging up the phone without saying goodbye, so distracted by this surprise. “Trine!” She called out to the girl, who turned to look back at Cat, her shaggy black hair hanging in her eyes. “I didn’t know you could play!”
“You never asked.” The youth replied coolly. Cat shook her head in disbelief.
“You ever picked up a bass?” Cat asked, and the girl nodded, continuing to play. “How do feel about being in front of a crowd?” She asked.
“I don’t care.” The girl told her.
“What song is that?” Cat asked, realizing she couldn’t recognize it.
“Something I’m working on.” She told her, finally setting the guitar aside. “It’s based on this poem by Dorothy Parker, called ‘mortal thoughts’. There’s this verse that goes ‘if wild my breast and sore my pride, I bask in dreams of suicide, if cool my heart and high my head, I think how lucky are the dead’ which is basically already perfect for a song.” She said, exhaling sharply to blow the hair out of her face.
“Trine, that’s incredible. How long have you been playing? And writing, no less.”
“I got a guitar for my seventh birthday, I think.” She replied.
“Do you have any more lyrics? The ones you were telling me about?” Cat asked, and Trine produced a tattered notebook, which Cat eagerly accepted. After scanning through the pages for a moment she looked up at the girl.
“Have you ever thought about being a professional musician?” She asked, and Trine smiled a broad, toothy smile which reminded Cat so much of Adam it was almost eerie.
“I thought you’d never ask.” She replied smartly.
