Dark as Daylight Ch. 08

"James, since my troop is out here, I'd like to introduce you to them."

"It's a great looking group of kids you have Nancy."

"Yes, I think I'll keep them. My little girl is Dina. My blonde is Jeffrey. And my math whiz is Michael. Children, this is James Comey, he is my date for the evening. We are going to his sister's wedding. That's why I'm all dressed up."

"You look hot mom. Have a good time."

"Michael when I get home your baseball bat had better be hidden."

James said, "I don't know why you're terrorizing your son, I think you look hot also."

"That's it, I'm staying home."

"Madame get in my car. We are running late."

"Men, they are always bossy."

"You know Janine, go ahead tell me I'm bossy."

"There is always that one exception to the rule. Good night children, I should be home by 2 a.m. Do not wait up."

"Why is my curfew midnight?"

Nancy got into the limousine without commenting on Michael's statement; however, James did.

"Michael, I'll give you my mother's answer to me, when I was your age. 'Because I said so."

"Yes sir, that's about the same answer I get. Have a nice night, and take care of her. She hasn't gone out in over 5 years."

"I know Michael; she is in good hands."

James got into the limousine and immediately reached across Nancy. She panicked, and stiffened.

"Nancy relax. Nothing is going to happen to you tonight, you don't want to happen. I am reaching for your seatbelt, which appears to be stuck. Lean towards me for one second, and I will free it."

She did as he asked, and he freed the seatbelt.

"Please sit up so I can put this on you properly. I don't want you flying around if we happen to have an accident."

"I'm sorry Jim, it was an instinctive reaction."

"I can understand it, and don't worry about it."

As soon as she was properly restrained, he put his seatbelt on and asked for permission to hold her hand.

Nancy reached out and grabbed his. "Thank you for understanding my fear."

"Please tell me that since your last incident you have taken self-defense classes."

"Yes I have, and I still do."

"Do you have to pay for them?"

"Yes I do."

"Why don't you take advantage of the self-defense classes we give to everybody who works for us?"

"In all the years I've worked there, I never knew we did that. It's not posted on any of our bulletin boards, and there are no handouts telling us the times and places."

"You're right, it's only on our internal Internet site. If you're not looking for it, you'll never find it."

************************

"I hope you're ready to meet my family, because we're here."

"From what you told me this afternoon, I think I'm more ready to meet them then you are."

"That's very sassy of you."

"You take care of your sister, I'll beat up on your brothers. Is that a fair deal?"

"You do that for me, and I will have more fun at this wedding than you can possibly imagine."

"James Comey, prepared to have fun. I am a bought and paid for high-end hooker. Your brothers are going to have a field day with that information, until I take out my FBI credentials, and ask them why they were spreading such disgusting rumors about me, and you."

"Lady, you are sneaky devil. I love it."

"When do you think Congress will remove that freeze on our salaries?"

"Right after they give themselves a big raise."

"May I have your arm sir; after all, you did pay for the entire evening. We must put on a show for your brothers."

"Where have you been all my life Nancy?"

"Let's not go into that James, it will ruin both our evenings."

"I'm sorry darling, I will make not that mistake again. Just so you know, I am 39- years old and I know you are 27. Let's go I have some fun."

James tapped the code on the window, and Billy opened the door. He exited first to the boos of his brothers and 'friends', who were waiting to accost him.

Then they saw a long, smooth leg exiting the limousine. She took James' hand, as she elegantly raised herself to her full height. She allowed the dress to fall naturally around her curves, and the raised her head so they could see her beautiful face. The catcalls ended, and the whistles and applause started.

Nancy put on a very shy look, and put her head on James shoulder. Cameras started taking pictures from every vantage point, as James whispered into her ear, and kissed it. She smiled at him, and gave him a delicate kiss on his lips.

As they looked at each other James said, "We better go inside. I have a growing problem that may not be easily hidden."

"I apologize for doing that to you. I didn't like the way your brothers greeted you. I wanted to put them in their place. It seemed to be the best way to do it."

"Please don't chastise yourself. I don't remember when I had such an enjoyable moment."

**************

As they moved through the crowd, to the front of the cathedral, he found there was only one seat reserved for him in the front row. He was about to erupt, because every other seat in the massive building was occupied. He turned towards his brothers, who had never shown fear in his presence before. They melted under his glare.

His mouth opened, but Nancy whispered something that made him smile. He took her hand, pushed his two brothers aside, and ran down the aisle with her. They feared he was leaving Beth's wedding, and she would blame them for it.

As they moved through the large doors in the rear of the church, Beth, his father, her bridesmaids, and groomsmen were lining up to begin the processional.

Bethany screamed, "You're not leaving me are you James?"

"Not on your day honey; I would never do that to you. Those two idiot brothers of ours only saved one seat for me, never believing I would be able to bring a date. Beth, I would like you to meet Nancy Wells. I don't want you to say anything to our brothers tonight, or make any remarks about what you hear about her tonight. Play the innocent bride, who is unaware of anything but her new life. I'm going to teach our brothers a lesson they will not forget."

"Can I help? They deserve a royal screwing."

"No baby, just play the wonderful bride that you are going to be."

"Thank you for today James, wait until you see it."

"Let me think. I'm the director of the FBI. I have assets all over the world. I wonder if I could possibly find out where my sister is having her wedding gala?"

"James, please tell me you didn't?"

"Okay, I didn't."

"Tell me you didn't and mean it."

"I didn't and I mean it."

"Nancy, can I ask you a favor?"

"James said today was your day, and anything you wanted was yours. If you ask me anything, I am obliged to do it."

"You and I are going to have to talk about parameters Nancy."

"You never mentioned parameters before. You stated when you told me something, it was the law, and I had to follow it."

"That is correct. However, when I'm not talking about the law, and we are just talking about civil behavior, there is wiggle room. You can tell little white lies to make people realize the error of their ways. That's what you and I are going to do today to my brothers this evening."

"What about your sister?"

The bridal march started, the great doors opened, and the flower girls proceeded down the aisle.

Grabbing her, he said, "Beth, Nancy and I are going upstairs for the best seats in the house. Enjoy your moment. I love you, and I will always be at your side."

"Don't you dare make me cry. If you ruin my makeup, I will beat the shit out of you."

"Just like you used to wake me every Saturday morning, by jumping up and down on my bed?"

She giggled. "Yes, just like that."

He lowered her veil, kissed the top of her head, and told her to get married to that bum.

"He's not a bum, he's an architect."

"I know, he plays with crayons all day long. How adult of him."

"They're not crayons, their pencils."

"Oh my goodness, a step backwards in human evolution."

Beth smacked him, then moved to their father's side, and began walking down the aisle. She stopped, turned around and said, "Are you going to stand there, or are you going to go upstairs and watch me get married?"

James responded, "I wanted to watch the best part of you walk down the aisle. You've got the tiniest ass I've ever seen."

Nancy smacked him. "You said the same thing about mine."

"No, I said she has the tiniest ass I've ever seen. I told you that you had the cutest ass I've ever seen. Actually, I haven't seen your ass yet. Let's go upstairs. I will lift up your gown, and take a peek at it on the way."

"You will have two broken arms if you try."

"It was just a thought."

As they ran up the stairwell, James asked, "What floor?"

"The one above or below the organist."

He stopped at the second floor, and tried the door. It was locked. He peered through the window, and saw people sitting in the pews. He knocked hard, but they could not hear him.

"Are you sure you are the director of the FBI?"

"It says so on my credentials."

"Did you try to pull the door open?"

"No, I tried to the latch, and it was locked."

"I repeat; did you try to pull the door open?"

"No."

"Did you plug-in the coffee maker?"

"No."

"Do you know how to put staples into your stapler?"

"No."

"Pull the door open and we will talk about this after your sister gets married."

He pulled on the door, and was not at all surprised when it opened. They took their seats in the first row of the second balcony, where they could see and hear everything perfectly.

The bride and groom each said the vows they created for each other. As Beth's came to a close she said, "I have one more request of you, which was given to me by a man I love as much as I do you, but in a very different way. I would like you to climb up to the 21st century, and upgrade your talents as an architect to the top of the scale. I want you to stop playing with Number 1 Pencils, and become more creative in your architectural pursuits. Please start using CRAYOLA CRAYONS!"

Well that was it for me, I burst out into uncontrollable laughing.

The entire assembly turned to see what idiot had broken the solemnity of this solemn event. They didn't notice what happened to Peter, Bethany's new husband. He was laughing so hard; he was holding his sides, and the lecturn for balance.

Beth looked up into the balcony, took the microphone and asked, "Did you like that one James?"

I couldn't speak I was laughing so hard. Nancy got up to speak for me.

"Bethany, if James learns how to breathe again, before he passes away, he will tell you he absolutely loved the way you honored him tonight, and raised Peter above all other architects."

"In that case, I think I did very well."

"No Bethany, I think you brought the house down."

*********************

Nearly an hour later, guests were still leaving the Cathedral, and heading towards the largest dining venue in Alexandria Virginia. There was nothing large enough in Washington, D.C. to hold an affair this size.

Bethany, Peter, and their bridal party was still taking pictures in the church, when out of the clear blue him sky Nancy asked Janes, "Why not?"

"Why not what?"

"Why don't you know how to do all those simple things?"

"All I ever did in my life was study. I never took a course in common sense. That's why Janine is always on me. I was always first in my class in everything, but I couldn't tie my shoes.

You asked why my mother insisted I take dancing lessons for 5 years. Now you know why. It took me one year to learn how to hold a woman close to my body. My brothers screwed anything with a heartbeat. I knew I would kill a woman, if I held them close to me.

Studying is singular. It made me feel comfortable within myself. I didn't need anyone else to feel competent. I couldn't wait until test day. The teachers swore I was cheating, and would move my desk next to theirs to watch me. I would finish a one-hour exam in 10 to 15 minutes. As time passed, they realized how smart I really was. If they found a discrepancy between my work, and the work that was on the teacher's worksheet, they would use my answer, because they knew it was more up-to-date.

I was told after they checked my test, and released me to go to the gym, or the library, the class would look at my teachers and they would reply, "Yes, another perfect score."

Then, they would bypass my grade, and use the next highest grade in the class to set the curve. If the professors didn't, my classmates would have killed me.

On one exam I got a 97%, and my professor announced it to the class. My classmates were so excited, the stood up and cheered.

I wanted to know what did I get wrong? He wouldn't tell me. When I got the exam back, I realized I did not fill in one bubble."

The affair was idyllic. No other words could explain it. No party planner, with an open checkbook to design and deliver an affair could have done it with any closer detail then Bethany did. There was no rubber chicken tonight. Only the finest meals prepared by the finest chefs in the Washington area. If it was the finest, it was at this affair. It was all bought and paid for with James Comey's money.

Nancy began to think about where that money came from, and was not happy with the thought that this introverted, kind man, would soon be in jail, because of his involvement in blowing up a $1 Trillion-dollar rocket. She did not change her demeanor, she continued to smile, and talk freely with him, the guests, and even his brothers.

Beth ran over to us. "You two look so wonderful together. What crime are you hatching now?"

"I asked your brother why he couldn't plug a coffee maker into the wall?"

"Oh Nancy, the answer is so simple. Everyone in our house did it for him. With the polarized plugs, he never knew which side went where. If we let him, he would have stood there for an hour wondering why the plug wouldn't fit into the receptacle. He would have had to find the instruction sheet and read the small print. Then, and only then would he have known how to do it."

"Has he always been this way?"

"I was 4 years old, and I was tying his shoes."

"I gave you $10 dollars never to tell that story."

"I believe after tonight; I'll be able to pay you back."

"I want to take the interest out of your backside."

"Why, all of a sudden, do you have this intense interest in my behind."

"Probably, because you're swishing it so nicely tonight. You're not your usual tomboy."

"I caught the man I wanted by being a tomboy."

"What did he do; jump on you before you slid into home plate?"

"A lady never kisses and tells."

"I know that's why I'm asking you."

"James talk to your fiancé, because I'm not talking to you for the rest of your life."

"Nancy is not my fiancé, we just met today."

"I'll bet you my $10 dollars you are wrong."

"No, I will not take that bet. I want my money tonight. Money shrinks as it gets older. I want today's money, it's taller."

"My economics professor said the same thing. I didn't understand him, and I certainly don't understand you. $10 dollars before the night is through."

"That is acceptable, if I don't get it, tomorrow it's $100."

"How did that happen?"

"Interest my dear, I'm always interested in what you do and don't do."

"James, you're a pain in the ass."

"If you're ready for it, I can spank you now."

"Pervert."

"That's very funny Beth, I called him the same thing. We must be getting close to the truth."

"At least I don't have to kiss him good night."

"But you want to, don't you?"

"Are you a mind reader Nancy?"

"No, but I can tell by the look on another woman's face what she wants to do. I know when she wants to kiss my man. You do, so get it over with now, and go to your man for the rest of the night."

Beth jumped onto James' lap, and kissed him as if it would be the last time she would ever see him.

"You better never leave me. You are like the air I breathe, and the sunshine that warms my face. Promise me James, please promise me you will never leave me alone."

"I promise you sweetheart. As long as you promise me not to wake me up on Saturday mornings by him jumping up and down on my bed, I will always be there for you."

"Why, is someone going to be in bed with you?"

"I am always open to that possibility."

She looked at Nancy and said, "You have one hell of a head start."

"Go away little girl, you're married and I don't want to do to you, what an unmarried man would do to a married lady."

"You always promised, and I always waited, but you were too much of a gentleman to do anything about it. There is no other brother on this, or any other planet like you James."

"Go away little girl, I'm trying to seduce the young lady with me, and I can't do that with you sitting on my lap."

"The only time you are going to seduce that woman is after you put a ring on her finger. You don't know any other way."

With that, Bethany jumped up, wiggled her bottom, and raced away.

"She has you wrapped around her little finger James."

"She has since the day of her birth. I helped deliver her, because my mother couldn't wait to get to the hospital. I still have a piece of her umbilical cord safely tucked in a safety deposit box."

"I have to use the restroom; I'll be right back."

"How interesting, so do I."

"I hope you don't intend to use the same one I do; people will talk."

"No, I could be arrested, and that would not look good for me."

As they exited the ballroom, James was accosted by several well-wishers and friends. Nancy waited as long as she could, and then tapped him on his arm saying she was leaving. He nodded his head, and she walked away.

Bill, James aide, kept a watchful eye on the Director, ensuring he was safe. Within a moment, James broke free of those surrounding him, and the 2 men walked towards the restroom.

Bill asked, "Shall I hold your jacket sir?"

"Yes, that would be very helpful, thank you Bill."

"My pleasure Director, I'll be right here."

As soon as James was safely inside, Bill removed his Apple I-Pad, opened the back took out an electronic device, which was hidden behind all the other electronics, and inserted another one. He closed it up, and reinserted it James jacket. He then removed James cell phone, did the same thing to it. He looked around the hallway, and didn't see anyone who looked interested in what he was doing.

However, there was one pair of eyes that was very interested in what he was doing. Nancy walked out of the bathroom while Bill was concentrating on inserting the listening device into the I-Pad. She stepped back in to the bathroom to make sure she wasn't seen. She took a half step into the hallway and adjusted her dress. She looked to her right and watched as Bill inserted another device into his cell phone. She stepped back into the restroom, waited 30 seconds, and repeated her exit strategy. This time Bill was standing there looking up and down the hallway as if he was on guard. She smiled, and walked towards him.

"He was finally able to get away from the crowd?"

"Sometimes it's not easy for him to get away from his well-wishers. They all have legitimate questions for him. He can't answer them, because they are not for public dissemination. They don't understand it, and they get angry, because they are friends. He has a very difficult job, and he has to walk that line very carefully."

"It's very easy for me, since I work in that building. I know the rules, so I never ask him any questions about work. Our discussions are very general, and they are about family and friends. They are not anything about business. He is able to relax. I think he enjoys it."