Instant Star- Rise Of The Next Generation
Chapter 14: Train In Vain
(Author's Note: I honestly thought I wouldn't have anything to say here for once... surprise! Seriously, I wanted to comment on the reviews I've been getting. Thanks! Love em all! It's so interesting to see how different people respond to the same words. Anyway, I feel a need to address some of the comments a few of you made about Jude/Tommy's relationship and the question of whether her response to Tommy's "affair" was realistic. Yes! Remember where Jude is coming from... her own father's affair, her parent's divorce, and her own irrational fears about losing Tommy (hey, we all are illogical at times!). Throw in the fact that they are part of the "entertainment" world where most relationships don't last and the fact that it was her anniversary and the "shock effect" and yes, I think Jude's reaction is realistic. Hopefully, this chapter clears some of that up too! But as people have said, they do have an incredibly strong connection... hmm? Maybe that will win out... Keep reading to see!
Also- thanks to my friend RD for the "technical support" in this chapter, not to mention his insight into the male mind! Heaven knows, I'll never understand that... And also to him and ML for their insights into marriage... of which I also know zippo!)
Chapter 14: Train In Vain
Arriving at Q records, Patrick, Ruby and Stacie emerged from the car. Brian was already waiting for them by the front doors.
"Hey. Thanks for coming." Patrick greeted his friend.
"No problem" the intern responded, focusing his clear hazel eyes on Ruby.
"How are you holding up?" Brian asked her.
"Ok... I just hope... we find something..." she replied.
"Me, too"
Working quickly, Patrick de-activated the alarm system.
"Ok. We're in. Let's go!" he said, leading the group inside.
"Where to?" he asked Brian.
"Studio B. It's got the newest equipment. It's the best place to try to figure this out..."
The foursome quickly moved downstairs. Patrick handed the CD to Brian, who looked it over carefully.
"It's unmarked, unlabeled..." he began. "A very cheap, generic brand. Anyone could buy this and burn any stuff on it. It's not anything we'd ever use here. Doesn't produce good quality recordings."
"Tell me about it!" Ruby snorted sarcastically.
"As you can see, it's an RW, which you all know means it's capable of being edited. Mixed, dubbed, re-written. Whatever!"
"Yes!" Ruby cheered, pumping her small fist in the air. "Go on."
"However, just because it could be edited, doesn't mean it was. That's not an easy thing to do, to make the kind of blended CD you guys are thinking of. A person doing that would really need to know his stuff. Plus, he'd need the right equipment. Expensive equipment. You all know this record company has that kind of equipment. Not to mention people who know how to use it. But that doesn't mean anyone here did that. But... " Brian paused, needing to finish thinking this through.
Three heads nodded, waiting patiently for him to continue.
"The good news is that, if it was made here, there's a way to know that, even though this isn't the usual Q-Records CD type. Our equipment automatically burns the company's identification code into each CD produced here.
"Cool" Stacie commented.
"And even better... If the CD is a mash-up, there are ways to find that out, too. When it was burned, the lasers would have left marks where it was "patched" together.
"Great! So, we should have no trouble figuring this out!" Ruby grinned happily.
"Except..." Brian went on, hating to disappoint her and hoping he wouldn't have to.
"You know how I said it would be really hard to create that kind of fake CD. Well, it's even more difficult to analyze them and prove it's phony, or even get the source code from it. Operating those machines is hard; the technology is complex. Quest showed it to me once. But I don't know if I could do that by myself.
Ruby stared at him dejectedly.
"You're saying... You can't do it?" she asked.
"No. I didn't say that." he quickly corrected her.
"What are you saying exactly?" Patrick asked him.
"I'm sensing that you don't want anyone else to know about this?" Brian replied perceptively.
"Yeah." Ruby responded quietly. "Dad and Quest... they aren't getting along so well for some reason..."
"I know. I saw that at the party. They seemed... really awkward." Q-Record's intern replied.
"Yeah. Dad... he's a private person. And he is the boss here. I don't think he'd want other people knowing about this... it's too personal. I don't think he'd trust anyone else."
"Maybe... he wouldn't trust me either then..." Brian replied sensitively.
"Yes... But... I do..." Ruby confessed. It was true.
"Well, then..." he replied, touched.
"Give me a day or so. I'll try. See what I can do. If I can't nail it, we can always come up with a new plan." Brian promised her.
"Sounds good" Patrick said.
"Of course, even if we do discover the CD is a mash-up and even if we also discover it was made here, we still won't know who did it..." Pat continued.
"Yeah. And it's possible we may not find out either of those things." Brian added gently, wanting to prepare Ruby for the worst.
"Yeah. I know. But we gotta try. At least we can find out part of the truth. And then maybe help mom and dad work stuff out."
"True" her brother replied. "Although, I'm kind of surprised they didn't think of this themselves..."
"Well, you heard what Jamie said. Mom's too upset right now. She clearly isn't thinking straight. And I bet dad's not functioning too well either."
Patrick nodded, remembering the sight of his father that morning, drunk and barely lucid.
"Definitely not." he agreed.
"Maybe they'd think of this eventually. Music is their business... But I don't want to wait for that. Not if we don't have to." Ruby burst out passionately.
"Well, maybe you don't. I'm really gonna try." Brian reassured her
Ruby went over to him. Standing on her toes, she kissed his cheek.
"Thanks"
"No problem"
"So? Now what? We just wait. There's nothing else we can do now" Ruby cried out restlessly.
"Well" Patrick said."We could try looking around. Maybe there's something else here that might help us. It's a long shot, but..."
"Let's try it!"
The group quickly ransacked the four recording studios, finding nothing unusual.
"Dammit!" Ruby screamed, frustrated.
"I'm sorry." Brian responded.
"Wait. Let's not give up! There are places we haven't tried yet..." Patrick said, his thoughts moving rapidly.
"Dad's office... Even mom's..."
"Let's go!"
Up on the top floor, they headed towards the executive suites.
"Dad's first." Patrick instructed logically, again removing the set of keys from his pocket and unlocking the door.
"I'll take the desk... Ruby, you try the shelves... Stacie, you look over the couch... Brian, you try everywhere else..."
The four kids set to work.
"Nothing"
"Nothing"
"Nothing here" Stacie echoed, returning the cushions to their proper place on the sofa, then getting on her knees to look under it. From her crouching position, a small silver item caught her eye.
"What's that?" she asked, reaching for it.
"You found something?" Ruby asked hopefully.
"Let me just get it... hey, it won't come off..."
"What is it?" Patrick asked her.
"I have no idea... I've never seen anything like it before..."
"Me either." Patrick agreed, leaning down to check it out.
"Let me see..." Brian offered. The others moved away, giving him room to look at the strange object firmly rooted to the bottom of the couch.
"Oh, man..." he stared in shock.
"What!" three other voices shrieked in unison.
"It's a Desom 147. The latest in hidden microphone technology. So small, it can be easily concealed. But powerful. Someone listening on the other end hears every little thing... And it can transmit for miles"
"You're saying... someone bugged dad's office?" Ruby asked, incredulous.
"Yep! And probably recorded lots of stuff that goes on here." her brother added. "That's how they got that tape... And who knows what else..."
"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Ruby said, as her body started shaking.
"Sit down" Stacie advised, helping her to a chair, not the wired couch. Ruby breathed deeply, trying to digest it all.
"So... someone's been making tapes of dad. Which means they easily could have made one of him with mom and mixed it with something else..." Ruby announced, hope filling her eyes.
"Except..." Patrick added, hating his conclusion, but needing to be logical.
"They could also just have recorded him with someone else... Unfortunately, we still haven't definitively answered that question."
"He didn't do it! You said you believed him!" Ruby exploded.
"I do." her brother replied instantly, to calm her.
"I do believe him. But will mom? We want to completely convince her. We need more evidence than just this. Proof would be even better... That's why we need to wait and see what Brian can find out from the CD "
" So we shouldn't tell her about this?" she asked him.
"No. I don't think so. Not yet. She's so depressed... Let's wait and see if we can't get something more first... Something better..."
"Let's not even tell her we were here today." Patrick added.
"You mean..."
"Yeah. Another "little white lie". You can think one up on the way home. You're much better at that." Patrick commented wryly to his sister.
"But dad... shouldn't he know about this? It's his office, after all..."
"Yeah. We'll need to tell him. We can decide how in the car..."
"Agreed?" Patrick asked, and it was settled. He then checked his watch.
"It's 3:00! Mom's probably up by now and noticed we're gone. Ruby, we'd better get home. We don't want to upset her any more right now. Especially since technically, we're not supposed to be out at all..." he reminded her.
"Grounded... I really did forget..."
"Me too. Understandably. This was more important... But I don't want to push it..."
"Come on Stacie. These two really need to get home. I'll give you a lift." Brian offered.
"Yeah, that's a good idea. Thanks!" she replied.
The foursome exchanged goodbyes and left the studio, heading in their separate directions.
Twenty minutes later, Patrick and Ruby slipped stealthily up the front stairs of their home.
"Jamie's still here..." she commented, seeing his car still parked in the front.
"Think anyone noticed we were gone?" she asked.
"Mom? Not notice that? I don't think so!" Patrick smirked confidently.
His prediction proved true in minutes, as Jamie greeted them the second they walked inside.
"Where were you? Your mother woke up and she's been worried sick! She doesn't need any more trouble right now."
"I'm sorry" Patrick responded, racking his brain for a plausible explanation. But Ruby came to his rescue.
"I'm sorry too." she said, using her sweetest voice. "I just got so upset... I couldn't stay here. I had to get out of the house. Pat came to find me. He brought me home." Ruby answered convincingly.
"Not a complete lie..." she assuaged her own conscience.
"Ok... just explain that to Jude." Jamie replied, accepting the story.
"Nice save!" Patrick whispered.
"Thanks"
The two kids entered the kitchen, where Jude sat at the round table, bundled in her favorite soft blue robe. The vibrant color contrasted with the waxy paleness of her face. Patrick recognized her expression; it was the same lifeless look he saw on Tommy's face this morning.
"Hi mom" Patrick and Ruby chorused.
"Hi kids." she replied softly.
"I'm sorry if we scared you. It was all my fault..." Ruby began.
"I know. I heard you in the hallway... I understand." Jude said.
"We won't do it again." Patrick promised his distraught mother.
"No. I know you won't..."
"How are you mom?" he asked her then.
"I've been better... Jamie told you what happened?"
"Yes"
"How are you two holding up?" Jude asked them, putting her own pain aside to support her children.
"Upset. Confused." Patrick informed her honestly.
"Me too." Ruby agreed.
"Yes. Unfortunately, that applies to all of us. Me too." her mother added.
"I just don't get it... I don't see dad doing that. Are you sure?" Ruby couldn't resist asking, even as her brother kicked her leg under the table.
"I was... But now, I don't know...I can't think at all... I'm numb... Nothing's making sense..." Jude told them truthfully.
"Well, maybe... dad could explain..." her daughter persisted.
"Maybe... I don't know about that just yet... I do know how hard this is for you..." Jude said, seized by painful memories of her own childhood, her father's affair and her parents divorce.
"What's gonna happen now?" Ruby asked, afraid.
"I don't know that either. He's staying at the Fairmont hotel right now; he left me a text message and wanted me to tell you both. I need to think things through... then your father and I will have to talk."
"Maybe you guys should talk... try to work things out..." Ruby suggested.
"Maybe." Jude replied.
"Like I said, I don't know what to think or believe. I need time... I need to get my head together... I don't want to screw things up even more. For all of us." she explained
"I understand" Patrick said.
"Me too."
Jamie had remained silent, just listening to Jude's discussion with her children. During this lull in the conversation, he broke in.
"Hey, you guys mind if I take off for a while? I gotta take care of something."
"Yes... I'll be okay."
"Anyway, Kat's coming by."
"You told her?"
"Yeah. She wanted to come by anyway and see you before she left, so..."
"It's fine." Jude assured him. She had no trouble seeing her friends now. It was the rest of the world she couldn't imagine facing. Especially if this got out; thinking of the publicity made her shudder. She could easily imagine the newspaper headlines.
"Q Records "Star" Couple Splits!"
"The fairy tale ends- Jude Quincy divorces her husband of 20 years."
"Tommy Quincy's Shocking Affair!"
She shook her head at the irony of that last one.
"Like it even matters! They'd say that about him, no matter what! Even if it isn't true..."
"Is it?" she allowed herself to wonder for the first time. "But how could it not be?"
"I'll call you later, ok." Jamie's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Yes. And thanks again." Jude said, hugging him.
"No problem." he assured her, walking quickly to his car. He had someplace to go...
A determined pounding on his hotel room door roused Tommy from his deep sleep. Groaning audibly, he stumbled in that direction.
"Yeah!" he shouted, more than a little ticked off at the disturbance.
"It's me. Let me in!" the familiar voice demanded.
"Great!" Tommy griped. "Just what I need now!"
Tommy opened the door and faced an irate Jamie Andrews; he had never seen the generally mild-mannered man so angry before. He motioned him inside.
"How could you do this..." Jamie began attacking him, then abruptly stopped.
"Go on. Beat me down. I'm not gonna stop you! I said you could..." Tommy scoffed, remembering his long-ago promise.
"If I ever do hurt her, you have my permission to do just that..."
"Somehow, I don't think that's gonna help things now. Jeez, you look awful!"
"Like how am I supposed to look!" Tommy finally exploded
"Jude thinks I cheated on her! The one person who really gets me- she believes this! I know the CD sounds bad! But she should know me better. I always thought she did! I thought that she loves me! That she trusts me!"
"She does, Tom. She's really torn up about this. "
"She send you?" Tommy demanded.
"No"
"She wouldn't. She'd come herself." Tommy replied, thinking of his spirited wife.
"Yeah. She would. Jude speaks her own mind." Jamie agreed.
"She doesn't even want to talk to me then..." Tom drifted off.
"Not now. She wants to think things through first. She's so confused. And scared..."
"And I'm not!"
"Tom, I know you're upset. But try to look at this from her side; it might help. It's your 20th anniversary. Then of all days, she gets a CD of you and someone else. She never expected it... That's why it hit her so hard! She's thrown... completely shocked. She feels that way because she does love you. She did trust you..."
"Did..." Tommy shook his head.
"You want to tell me what happened?"
"Nothing!" he spat out. "I never touched anyone else... I've never wanted to... Not since I've been with her."
"All I want is to love and be with you forever..."
"So, what's this CD?" Jamie's voice distracted him.
"I have no idea!" Tommy yelled, punching the table.
"Calm down."
"Don't tell me to calm down! You don't understand..."
"Tell me what I don't understand." Jamie offered kindly.
"Everything's getting messed up! First, there's a problem at Q-Records. Money's missing... it seems like someone took it, but I can't figure out who or even how! Next, Jude gets that fake CD! Again, I don't know who sent it, or where it came from. But... it's like... someone's trying to screw up everything good in my life. Crazy, I know... But I can't help wondering... what else? What's next? Patrick? Ruby?"
"Your kids are fine. I just saw them."
"You were at the house?"
"Jude called me late last night. I spent the night with her." Jamie responded.
Hearing those words, Tommy automatically stiffened, clenching his fists.
"No" his friend immediately corrected, seeing his reaction. "I don't mean it like that. Bad choice of words. She was upset..."
"I know." Tom assured him. "It was just- hearing that expression. Made me crazy. The idea of her with anyone else..."
"Yeah. Well, that's how she felt when she heard that CD of you. Totally freaked out!"
"I guess I can really understand that now..." Tommy said, having seen his potentially violent response to Jamie's innocuous comment.
"There's more, you know." Jamie continued. "It's harder for her. You know how she is. How messed up she was with her father's affair and then the divorce."
"Yeah, she told me. It still hurts her." he replied, remembering what she said to him last week at the studio.
"Sometimes I think... you're so successful and attractive. Women want you... I get scared... I know it's irrational. But I can't help it..."
"You never lied to me, not once. It's not your fault that I can't trust..." Tommy recalled her old song lyric with a new, bitter understanding.
"My 21..." he mumbled.
"What?" Jamie asked.
"Nothing" he quickly responded.
"I guess I really do understand how she feels. But what about me? I'm mad too. She hurt me. She wouldn't even give me a chance..."
"She will. She will want to. She just needs to calm herself down first." Jamie confidently predicted.
"And what the hell am I supposed to do until then? Just wait around?" he yelled, impatiently.
"Waiting for you... I always said you were worth it..."
Jamie watched Tommy's face, watching his emotions play themselves out. Finally, he responded.
"I guess..." he began cautiously.
"I guess, I have to give her that chance. If I don't, I'm doing the same thing to her that she did to me. But I'm still upset. And I don't know what the hell I'm going to say to her when she does want to talk about it."
"The truth" Jamie advised.
"Yeah. But I'd still like to know exactly what that is. All of it..."
"I'll help you. If I can."
Tommy stared at Jamie.
"Hey, you guys are my friends and have been for a long time..."
Tommy shook his head.
"What?"
"It's just... I was remembering how once you didn't want me with her at all..."
"That was a long time ago. Before I really respected you. As a musician and as a man." Jamie said, hoping to perk Tom up by getting a rise out of him.
"Stop it before I hurl..." Tommy snickered.
"So? We proceed to step 1 of the Andrews master plan. We get you outta here!"
"And I go where, genius?"
"You come and stay with me."
"Sure Jude's gonna be okay with that?"
"Actually, yes. If you stay here, the media will definitely get wind of it. I'm surprised they haven't already. Jude doesn't want the press involved with this. I'm sure you don't either..."
"You're right about that." Tommy agreed.
"So?"
"Let's go."
Up on the hill, a man played back a tape from that afternoon, cursing.
"Damm! Figures! Quincy's kids, after all! Figures they'd be as big a pain in the ass as they both are! Snooping around where they don't belong..."
"Well, there are ways of dealing with this... I know just how..."