Keegan130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkA8w4R2lej
“This is a story about love. And about hate.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgyq7j9XRZ0
Rebecca Wolfe’s lush voice rises and falls as she looks into the camera; it almost sounds like she’s reciting a fairy tale. 130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjrANh9HPzy
But it’s not a fairy tale. She’s talking about real people, real problems. 130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAjHMr8Vtvh
“This is a story about ambition and power,” Rebecca goes on, “heroism and heartbreak. It’s about two young lovers—rich college kids—just getting started in life. And about other young people who will never get a chance to live their lives, go to college.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgxzqkR3Ltm
“Young, brave men barely out of boyhood, men from disadvantaged backgrounds, who will never get married or have a child. Who will never grow old, never look back at all they’ve accomplished.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNLRnBRZ951
She’s really piling it on thick. Blue, standing next to me and holding my hand, flinches at her words.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5USRQAShPD
We’re standing under a cloudy sky on the Oval, the center of campus. We’re just out of view of the camera trained on Rebecca, and we’ve been told to wait until she introduces us and then step into the shot together.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiGOVCF5qQH
“This is also a story about friendship,” Rebecca intones. “And betrayal. Courage and cowardice. It’s an almost Shakespearean saga. It’s about telling the truth. And about a terrible lie.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi80h7g4PjI
Holmlund, standing a few feet away, fidgets at her words.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoVan8zeKi2
“Un…fucking…believable,” he says loud enough to be heard by the producer, a woman named Allie, who is standing in front of Rebecca next to a burly, bearded cameraman.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKycksve5IQ
Allie turns to glare at Holmlund, and he swells up like one of the scrappy roosters at the ranch.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPAWowioOct
“This is not what we agreed to,” he says in a stage whisper, obviously wanting Rebecca to hear him. He slaps his palm against his forehead and walks a tight, angry circle before continuing. “This is absolutely not what we agreed to.” 130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdAwZmLx8hP
Allie moves toward Holmlund with her hands out, slowly lowering them as she tries to calm and quiet him. So, naturally, he raises his voice.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPJGgy5q7HI
“Allie,” he says, “what the hell is this about rich kids and disadvantaged backgrounds? What are you trying to do? Set up some kind of rich versus poor angle?”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOqa3mA3cEz
I look back and forth between Holmlund and Rebecca, who goes on speaking into the camera as her eyes shift ever so slightly toward her whispering producer, who is doing her best to contain our lawyer.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHffqXLEIgI
“Money has nothing to do with this story, and you know it,” Holmlund goes on. “I was promised an objective interview. And what’s stuff about a terrible lie? That’s editorializing.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLcm36llxr5
Blue’s eyes are fixed on Rebecca, but I’m not sure he’s really watching her. He has that look he sometimes gets when he is seeing something other than what’s in front of him.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSFkoM0ZHet
After another moment of Holmlund’s ranting, Rebecca drops her microphone. “Cut! Goddammit, cut.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwmOWe2ALvb
She stomps over to Holmlund, her heels sinking into the brown grass. “What is the problem?” she snaps.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZJaZUX06e
This close, I realize she’s older than I’d initially thought. Wrinkles brackets her eyes at the temples, and two heavy frown lines between her brows are in full force. 130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡged7XO99Sb
At least she hasn’t botoxed her face into an emotionless mask. As a public figure, the pressure to do that is probably intense. I like her a little better for resisting.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2TlTESH1A3
Until she opens her mouth again.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ46F11mOyBU
“I told you up front that I would go where the facts take me in this story,” she says evenly, her gaze flickering over me and Blue before coming back to Holmlund’s contorted face. “And it’s a fact that these two had every possible advantage growing up and that the boys in Mr. Daniels’ unit, the boys who went out looking for him, who went out to save him from his own—”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHTzUCqfujn
Holmlund and I start protesting at the same time, but Blue silences all of us with his quiet words. 130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRRbYFxedO0
“That’s right. You’re right. I grew up rich. And Monti, Hud, and Cunny all grew up without much money.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhSlNgFpzUw
All of us just stare at Blue for a moment.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYSFFbWFn8X
“But what I did,” he goes on, “and what they did, had nothing to do with money. I enlisted in the Army. I didn’t have to do that. I wanted to. I wanted to serve my country. And those guys didn’t have to go out looking for me. They wanted to find me and bring me back. They were my brothers. They were…”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg770pyJquK
His voice falters, and I loop an arm around him. Then I swing around to face Rebecca. 130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBPKGAmN0vC
“Are you even interested in hearing our story, hearing the truth?” I hiss. “Or are you just looking to sensationalize it, turn me and Blue into some kind of friggin’ media circus? That’s not journalism, that’s just…just… pathetic.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGZSQfFMlj
Brilliant. Insult one of the most powerful journalists in the country, Keegan. Very strategic.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtC8WVIcSj7
“I think we may have to cancel this interview,” Holmlund piles on, shaking his head and shooting me a look. 130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl46lBV4zh6
I guess I’m supposed to leave the verbal jousting to him. 130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡim3ZnLVdlf
“It’s obvious,” he adds in the portentous tone I already recognize as part of his act, “that my clients are not going to be treated fairly.” 130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaCw2SBhKSl
“From a journalist of your stature, Ms. Wolfe, I expected an objective, open-minded approach. But this, this is the exact opposite of that.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2VVzCwd72a
Again the grave, theatrical shake of his head. 130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOInKkkpY5B
There’s no way he’s really canceling the interview. He’s just angling for better treatment. 130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ371dpwzO0w
I can tell from the way Rebecca’s bright-red lips curve into a cynical smile that she’s not buying it either.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuCcf16b77M
“The stupidest thing you could do at this point,” she says calmly, looking only at me and Blue, “is to walk away. It’s too late to stop this story from getting out there.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBI4BHVOO0H
She pauses dramatically, studying her bright red fingernails. 130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPnrwaHAV3
“Whether you go through with the interview or not,” Rebecca goes on, “I’m doing a whole hour on it. Tonight. I’ve got other sources I can put on camera. I’m pretty good at getting people to talk to me.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7zd7TMmFZD
I can’t help taking a sharp, audible breath, instantly think about Megz. Would she really break the NDA she signed and risk getting thrown out of OU to appear on TV? Or could it also be people from Fort Sill? Lots of people there now know what Blue did. 130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡczIvZzJaK1
It could even be the family members of the men who died. It’s inevitable some of them will give media interviews.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZCyUEM0gX
But we were supposed to get our story out there first.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlKpVHi56jv
Rebecca turns back toward me and Blue. 130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEg37sDQ2oh
“As for Keegan and Blue, I need a decision now on whether they’re continuing with the interview. We’re on a tight schedule here.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9M9tFh6C7R
No one says anything for a long, awkward moment.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6SMHfNmAA6
“This story is going to be big,” Rebecca continues, ramming home her point. “The rich, powerful families involved, the life-and-death drama of it all. The love story. The media and public are going to eat it up.” Her voice has softens just a little.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCSV5OBylUS
“Your attorney knows this,” she adds, her eyes raking Holmlund. “That’s why he called me. That’s why he desperately wants you to do this interview with me.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcm0kD0zFmE
Holmlund makes some small, disagreeable sound, but we all know it’s just for show.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ0MCn5R82L
“So let’s stop playing games,” Rebecca wraps up, her tone crisp, dismissive. “This is your chance to tell the world your story. After today, it’s not going to be a media circus like Keegan said. It’s going to be a media storm. I don’t think you two really understand what’s about to rain down on you.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc8xhPgret1
I’m a friggin’ journalism major. I’ve followed the news as long as I can remember. Especially in the internet age, I do understand. And it scares the shit out of me. But I don’t want Blue to know that.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0oRKkr5Vhe
And Holmlund is probably right. That media storm may be the only thing that can save Blue.130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Ywqx4iOw8
“You need to have the whole story—your side of it—out there from the beginning,” Rebecca says. “And there’s no one who can give you a bigger audience than me.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn9zuP3ShsT
It’s like the three of us are frozen. We just stand there. Not even Holmlund says anything. 130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ11UCpOWt5T
“Still,” Rebecca sighs, turning on her heel, “if you’ve decided to cancel, that’s fine. That’s fine.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4LotzSp4Yz
“Wait.” Blue tucks my hand into his arm as he says it and pulls me with him toward the camera. “We’ll do it.” 130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjxCoQir7pW
He takes a deep breath, and then his whole body seems to deflate. “Of course we’re going to do it. I just. . .never mind. Let’s get it over with.”130Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXwZcdCnWDU
~~~
Thanks for reading Tangled Up in Blue! More coming up soon. What do you think so far? Please like, share and follow this story!
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