Brothers Born in Adversity

by Cindy Combs

  Steven lifted an eyebrow, sure he was still missing something. "So? What's so bad about that?"

  "She was into figure drawing."

  "As in," Steven also began to grin as he guessed, "nude figure drawing?"

  Blair was practically beaming. "Yep."

  Steven snickered, too, before he could ask his brother, "I don't suppose you took her up on her offer?"

  "Hell, no." Jim glared at his grinning guide. "I have no intention of being 'immortalized' that way." He tapped his chuckling brother on the shoulder. "Your turn."

  As Steven signed in and picked up a packet of information, Jim took a deep breath. Ms. Lundy was wearing the same light, spicy fragrance that Megan Connor wore on occasion. It was definitely not the musk scent of the letters. That ruled out the body builder. Good thing, too, considering how his partner was flirting with her. He had to cuff Blair on the head to get him to move away after Steven was done.

  Unperturbed, Blair asked jauntily, "Where to now?"

  "I'm suppose to go backstage," Steven replied, glancing through the information sheet.

  "Then we'll go with you and look around the area for anything suspicious." Jim began to usher Steven forward.

  Steven rolled his eyes. "I'm beginning to feel like an untrustworthy invalid."

  Blair chuckled. "How about 'famous rock star' instead?"

  Steven shook his head as he ducked under a rope. "So now I'm a spoiled, immature brat?"

  "Nah, we already guarded one of those," Jim commented, his eyes sharp. "You're no where near her category."

  "That's a relief."

  "Ellison!"

  Both Jim and Steven looked up to see a tall man waving from a small bunch of good looking men in their thirties and forties. Steven smiled in recognition. "Hi, Chuck," he returned as he walked over to join the group.

  Blair glanced at his partner. "I'll go right, you take left?"

  Jim nodded. "And stay sharp, Chief. I can almost feel her eyes on us."

  "Then you be extra careful," Blair replied. "She's already tried to hurt you once today."

  In answer, Jim patted Blair's shoulder and began his search.

  When Blair returned from his scouting trip, he spotted Steven with the same group of men, listening to Ms. Lesley go over the rules of behavior for the auction dates. Deciding that Bettina Lesley was too skilled at making contacts and manipulating people to be Steven's stalker, Blair stepped up a few rungs on the ladder that led above the stage. High enough to see over heads without triggering his acrophobia, Blair used the perch to observe the people rushing about.

  Then he noticed one of the gophers approach Steven. Unable to hear the exchange, Blair frowned when Steven walked away from the other bachelors. He jumped down from the ladder to catch the young man. "What did you say to Mr. Ellison?"

  "Oh, his secretary's on the phone in the main office. Needed to talk to him."

  "Oh," Blair nodded. He was about to follow Steven when a light voice caught his attention. Turning, he stood dumbfounded when Lily walked up, carrying a heavy clipboard and several folders.

  "Hi, Detective Sandburg," she greeted breathlessly. "Have you seen Mr. Ellison? I have some papers for him to sign."

  "Damn!" Blair exclaimed. "Lily, find Jim and tell him Steven's been lured to the main office. NOW!" The young detective dashed for the office, praying he wasn't too late.

  Lily stared at his departing back a moment, then turned to look at the mass of people surrounding her. She was so short, she couldn't see over the heads of the men present. How she was suppose to find Detective Ellison in this crowd was beyond her. But since Detective Sandburg sounded upset, she needed to try. She managed to slip around one large man carrying a cello when she ran into a hard body. Looking up, Lily easily identified Jim Ellison's worried face. "Ah, Detective Sandburg said--"

  "That Steven's been lured into a trap," Jim finished for her. He had already gently pushed past her and began to run in the same direction as his partner. Wondering how he knew, Lily raced after him.

  Steven walked into the quiet office and headed straight for the phone with the receiver off the hook. He picked it up with easy grace. "Hello? Ms. Lancin?" Dial tone was his only answer. As he jiggled the button on the main set several times, he suddenly felt a shiver climb up his back. Noting just how quiet and dark the office was, he simply knew. She was there. Striving for calm, Steven set the receiver back on the cradle and turned around. "I know you're here." Silence. "Why are you doing this?"

  "I want us to be together before you have to go on a date with someone else," stated the husky voice matter-of-factly.

  "But why," Steven persisted. "I don't even know who you are."

  "Yes, you do. I'm your soul mate, your destiny."

  Blair had said the erotomanics are delusional. Was it better to play along with the delusion, or try to break it? Steven didn't know, but the crawling of his skin determined his path. "How can you say that? You nearly killed me the other night."

  "NO! I didn't hurt you. Your brother hurt you!"

  Steven finally located the voice. He could barely make out the figure in the shadows. "Jim didn't hurt me. You hurt me with that drug. I nearly died from reacting to it."

  "I would NEVER hurt you! I just wanted you to relax." The figure took a step forward. The faint light revealed Terry Hudson. "It had to be your brother. It's all his fault we aren't together!"

  "Steven!" Blair burst in, skidding to a stop. He spotted Steven standing tensely by the desk.

  As Blair turned to see what Steven was looking at, his friend suddenly shouted, "Look out!" Something heavy slammed into Blair's face, sending him crashing to the floor.

  "Leave him alone!" Steven ordered, placing himself between the fallen Blair and the woman who had hit him with the side of a gun.

  "I just want us to be together," she pleaded.

  "You don't need a gun for that." Blair had managed to sit up, holding his eye.

  She tried to aim the gun at Blair without pointing it at Steven. "It's your fault, too. You're helping his brother."

  "Blair is my friend," Steven softly pointed out, trying to catch her eye. "I'm not going to like you if you hurt him."

  "But they've turned you against me."

  Steven shifted slightly, staying between the gun and Blair. "No, no one makes me do anything. The only one who has turned me against you is you."

  "But you LOVE me!" she wailed. "We are suppose to be together forever!"

  "Then drop the gun," Blair softly bargained in his guide voice. "You really don't want to shoot me, and you might accidentally hit Steven." Blair crossed his fingers before starting to slide his hand towards his own gun.

  "He's right," Steven pleaded, changing tactics. "Drop the gun, and we can talk."

  "NO!" Finally spotting an opening, she began to depress the trigger.

  Suddenly, a shot rang out. Shocked, Steven watched as the bullet penetrated her hand, causing her to drop the gun. "Freeze! Cascade PD." Steven didn't think his brother's voice had ever sounded so good.

  Crying out, Terry turned towards the side door, racing for freedom. As she crossed the threshold, a clipboard clobbered her in the face.

  The three men stared a moment at the woman stirring on the floor before Jim walked over to cuff her. Lily poked her head around the corner, still standing on the chair she had used to reach the stalker's face. "Detectives? Mr. Ellison? Are you all okay?"

  "Just a little banged up," Blair replied, hissing as he felt the swelling around his eye.

  "Well, I called your captain. He should be here soon with backup."

  "Thanks, Ms. Lancin." Jim smiled at her before lifting Terry to her feet.

  "Mr. Ellison, are you okay?" Lily asked, noting the haunted look on her boss' face.

  Steven shook his head a moment, then turned to smile at her. "Mr. Ellison is my father. You can call me Steven."

  "Only if you'll call me Lily," the young woman suggested, returning the smile.

  "Dea
l."

  Jim leaned against the stage ladder as he and Steven watched a female officer lead Terry Hudson away. He glanced down at his partner, sitting in a chair next to them. "How's the eye?"

  Blair shrugged as he continued holding the towel filled with ice that Lily had brought him. "Sore. But it could have been worse."

  "Yeah." Jim glared at his brother. "What on earth possessed you to stand in front of that woman's gun?"

  Steven shrugged. "I figured she really didn't want to hurt me, so maybe I could keep her from shooting Blair."

  Before Jim could point out the holes in that theory, Bettina Lesley stormed up to them. "What kind of an idiot are you! Shooting a gun in a theater, at one of MY people no less!"

  Jim glared at her. "What kind of people do you hire? She was about to shoot my partner and has been stalking my brother for months."

  "That's no excuse! You've almost ruined this production!"

  "I'm sure it's not that bad, Betty." Both Jim and Blair straightened up as Commissioner Mathews walked up behind Lesley.

  "Craig, what kind of people do you have in that police department, anyway? I've got a lot of anxious people in this theater. It's a miracle no one's quit yet."

  "Oh, I don't know," Mathews replied easily, glancing around. "Looks to me like it's given everyone something to talk about."

  "Well, you need to make it up to me," Lesley pouted. "You should be in the show."

  Mathews threw up his hands. "I already told you that I have a steady lady. In fact, you've met Rhonda yourself."

  "Then what about the officers who got me into this mess?"

  Mathews looked at Jim and Blair. Blair smiled as he lowered the towel. "Sure, I'd love to be in it."

  "Eek!" Ms. Lesley stared in horror at Blair's swelling eye. "We can't have you up on stage looking like THAT!" She glared at Jim. "You'll have to do it."

  "WHAT?" Jim exclaimed.

  "Now that that's settled," Mathews threw a 'You-are-doing-it-or-else' stare at Jim before ushering Ms Lesley back to the crowd, "why don't we take a look at the security..."

  "Welcome to the party, big brother," Steven announced, trying to keep a straight face.

  "Why me?" Jim moaned.

  "Yeah, why you?" Blair moaned with him. "I'd LOVE to have women fighting over me, man."

  Next evening, back stage at Trinity Theater

  "I feel like a GI Joe doll in a Ken suit," Jim complained.

  "It's not that bad," Steven replied, straightening his brother's tie. Both were dressed in sharp black tuxes.

  "I still think Blair could do it even WITH the black eye," Jim grumbled.

  "Hey man, I got MY date the old fashion way," Blair joked. He was wearing a dark blue suit, which only emphasized the bruise around his eye.

  "What date?" Steven asked.

  "Joanne and I are going out next weekend." Blair gave the brothers a wide grin and waggled his good eyebrow. "Apparently, she's impressed that I jumped in like that to save Steven."

  Jim stared at him in amazement. "The body builder? She could bend you into a pretzel, Chief."

  Blair's grin only grew wider. "Yeah, I know."

  Jim shook his head as he rolled his eyes. "You are sick, Sandburg."

  Steven glanced around the backstage area nervously. "You guys are sure that Hudson chick is locked up?"

  "Definitely," Jim replied reassuringly.

  "Yeah," Blair added. "We not only got her on stalking, but on poisoning you, threatening a police officer, assaulting a police officer," he waved at his eye, "sending a dangerous package through the mail, and a boatload of other charges. You don't have to worry about her for a while."

  Steven released a heavy sigh. "Good." He looked first at Jim, then at Blair. "Thank you, both of you. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't helped me."

  Jim squeezed his shoulder. "That's what brothers are for."

  "Steven Ellison, you're up next."

  Taking a deep breath, he gave the partners a nervous grin. "Guess I'm up."

  "Knock 'em dead!" Blair encouraged him as he walked out on stage.

  Jim shook his head. "I still can't believe this."

  "You'll do fine," Blair told him.

  "Yeah, but that damn artist is out there. I swear she was looking at me earlier like I had already dropped my boxers."

  Blair snickered. "Let's just hope she doesn't have any money." Then he narrowed his eyes. "By the way, I heard that the airbag security chief at the Burbank complex was fired. You wouldn't by chance know anything about that?"

  Jim shrugged his shoulders as a self-satisfied smirk crossed his face. "I believe Mr. Gafkin had a few words with the building manager."

  Blair shook his head. "You're evil, man."

  "James Ellison, you're up next!"

  "Break a leg, Jim." Blair patted his partner on the back as Jim straightened up and walked towards the open stage.

  Passing his brother, Steven whispered, "Be careful of the lights to the left of the stage. They nearly blinded me."

  "Thanks," Jim replied, grateful for the warning.

  "Next we have the older brother to our last bachelor. James Ellison, an Army hero who is also a decorated detective of Cascade's finest, is just as yummy as his brother Steven." Remembering the procedure, Jim dutifully turned around next to Ms. Lesley at the podium. "He'll definitely keep his date safe at night, eh girls?" Jim fought to keep from blushing as a cheer came up from the crowd. Steven had been right about the lights. Only imagining the dials kept Jim from being blinded. As it was, he couldn't see any of the crowd to the left of the stage.

  "May I have an opening bid?"

  "I'll bid one hundred!"

  Years of military training was all that kept the sentinel from visibly flinching. That was the artist's voice. So much for the 'hoping she doesn't have any money' idea. Jim could see her at one of the tables on the right, leaning forward expectantly while grasping her card with '55' marked on it tightly.

  "One fifty!"

  A scattering of voices drove the bid higher, until only the artist and another voice in the brightly lighted area was left. Jim could make out a British accent in the second voice, though he didn't have a prayer of seeing the lady herself.

  "Seven hundred, twenty-five!" the artist finally called out.

  "Seven seventy-five!" shouted the English woman.

  Ms Lesley waited a moment until she saw the artist shake her head in disappointment. "The bachelor goes to number 347!"

  Jim walked off stage, blinking his eyes. "Hey Jim, you did pretty good!" Blair greeted him cheerfully.

  "At least a hundred more than me," Steven added with a smile.

  "Yeah, well, that artist was going after me for all she was worth," Jim explained with a shudder.

  "Oh man, she didn't win you, did she?" Blair asked, eyes round with horror.

  "Thank God, no. Though I couldn't see who did."

  "Sirs?" All three turned around to find a young woman with a camera. "I'm with the Cascade Times. May I take a picture of the two Ellison brother bachelors for tomorrow's paper?"

  Nodding their heads in agreement, Jim leaned an arm on Steven's shoulder as they both smiled for the camera. A flash later, Blair returned to their sides. "So, what do you do now?"

  Steven shrugged. "We'll be given the names and numbers of the ladies who won us, and then we make arrangements."

  "Pardon me."

  All three turned to find a beautiful woman in a blue evening gown standing behind them. Dark waves of rich brown hair tumbled down her back as blue gray eyes sparkled in the lights. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I'll be leaving in the morning to return to England. I'd like to exchange information, Mr. Ellison, before I go so I may contact you when I'm back in Cascade."

  Jim's eyes grew warm as he admired the tall, trim woman. "I'd be glad to, Ms...?"

  The smile was warm and full of promise. "Ms. Amanda Chambers."

  A matching smile filled Jim's face. "Ms. Chambers." Being won in a bachelor
's auction might not be so bad after all.

  A week later

  Long fingered hands flipped through a newspaper, boredom evident in the lazy turning of the pages. Suddenly, both hands grasped the pages tightly, fingernails nearly tearing the paper. There was the picture of Jim and Steven in their tuxes, a couple of sentences barely visible underneath. In a fit of rage, the newspaper was thrown to the floor. "IT CAN'T BE!" a woman screamed. A vase was throw on top, sending glass shards skittering across the smiling faces. More crashes could be heard as the woman screeched, "YOU'RE SUPPOSE TO BE DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

  The End

  Like this episode? Email the writer: spacecloud@juno.com

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