Lady in Red Pt. 02 Ch. 24

"Looking back, I realize now that I really shouldn't have been that surprised when Mom told me he was about to board the ship. He's always taking care of me and keeping me safe. I've come to accept that he's amazing, and that he does things no one else can."

"Gwen, your father suffered a broken arm in the battle. We all know he's an accountant with no military training, yet he went on this extremely dangerous mission. He was also wounded the time you recovered Steve and Chip Martin in Iraq. Did you ever think your father would be capable of such heroism?"

"Growing up, he was always there for me and my sisters, but we pretty much took him for granted. The evening that he gave Steve 'The Talk' as it's now known, my perspective of him began to change. Then one evening Steve found me and brought me home after an encounter with a less than polite man, Dad actually punched Steve! That really caused me to revaluate everything I had believed about my father.

"He saved Lisa during the attack at our graduation and went to Iraq with us to find Steve and bring him home. He's stepped up every time there's been trouble. Dad is an accountant, and a very good one, but he's an even better father and husband. Kate, Lisa, Jordan, Mom, and I are extremely proud of him."

"Steve, you fought a brutal hand-to-hand battle with Chancellor, the man known as 'The Butcher'. You ended that struggle by deliberately snapping his neck and throwing his body overboard. Was that planned? Do you feel you were justified? If you had it to do over, would you still kill the man?" asked Amber.

"Yes," was Steve's simple reply.

"When did you decide to kill him, and why?" prodded Amber.

"When he held a knife to Gwen's throat. She was obviously dazed. She was topless with blood running down her cheek and her lip swollen and bloody. His fate was sealed at that moment."

"There are some critics that think you've proven yourself to be unreliable, that you're 'a loose cannon', unable to control your anger," pushed Amber. "How do you respond to that?"

"I would ask the wives, daughters, and sisters of these critics if they would prefer that the man in their life allowed someone to beat and rape them while he searched for legal remedies. Ask the families of the dead crew members if I was too harsh on the man that killed their loved ones in cold blood. Chancellor and I knew exactly what we were getting into. Men have fought to protect their women and families since the beginning of time. Protecting Gwen is my duty; my purpose in life."

"What would have happened to Gwen and the others if that man had killed you in that brutal battle?"

"Watch 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid' for the answer to that one," responded Steve with a slight grin. "Gwen is destined for greatness. Somehow, for some reason, she's fallen in love with me. I'll always do everything within my power to keep her, our family, and our friends safe and healthy. I'll never stand idly by when she's threatened. That's my promise to her, and to everyone watching this," stated Steve almost defiantly.

"You certainly don't waffle on that subject!" observed Amber. "Gwen, President Rosen went on television shortly after the attack to state his unequivocal support for Steve's actions. Did that surprise you at all?"

"Truthfully? This is the first I've heard of it. But, it doesn't surprise me, since Steve, Dad, and our friends acted exactly as men should. I'd have been surprised if he didn't support Steve completely," replied Gwen.

"Steve, it was almost exactly eight years ago that I interviewed you and Gwen as you prepared to enter the Academy and Stanford. I asked Gwen if your relationship would survive when you two were to be separated by so much time and distance," recalled Amber. "Gwen told me then that 'time would tell'. How did you two do it?"

"I never felt like we wouldn't be together, and we never lost sight of our goals. Gwen is the one woman in the world that I want as my wife, and I'd wait until Hell froze over if I had to," replied Steve as he smiled at Gwen.

"I think the past couple of days have demonstrated why I'd never be unfaithful to Steve," beamed Gwen. "He's proven his devotion and love as much as is humanly possible."

"Gwen, can you tell us some of the famous guests that you expect to attend your wedding Saturday. The rumor mill has been working overtime. The list is a Who's Who of the most powerful and famous people in the world."

"I can tell you that we invited everyone that cared to come," smiled Gwen around her swollen lip. "Our friends and neighbors will be here. I think there will be some well known people in attendance, but they can decide if they want to reveal their plans to the world. We just hope that we get enough people to fill up the LiR building."

"Steve, it's been reported that Lady in Red Productions is granting the rights to televise the wedding to any network or station that donates five million dollars to a charity you designate. How has that worked so far?"

"Pretty well, Amber. We've had nine networks and independent stations take us up on the offer. Stephanie explained it all to me a few minutes ago. We have a list of charities and are on the tenth one now. Our local hospital received the first donation. Larry Carson's 'Help a Veteran' received the second one. We feel really good about our wedding helping people in need."

"That brings me to my next question. You're actually performing a two hour musical production as a lead-in to the wedding! I've never heard of this being done before. Obviously, it's one reason so many stations want to broadcast the wedding of the century. Gwen, can you give us an idea of what to expect?"

"I've hardly had time to go over it with Charlie and Jordan. We have three days to learn our parts, and our songs, so I'm a bit nervous about that. Luckily, a lot of what we'll perform will be our hits and popular concert numbers. I guess it could be considered a musical production of our lives from when we met right up to the wedding."

"Let's take some questions from the audience," suggested Amber as she pointed to a young woman near the front.

"Gwen, are you going to wear a white gown for your wedding?"

"That's a very good question!" laughed Gwen. "I prefer that my choice for a gown is revealed to everyone at the wedding, and not before, but thanks for asking."

"We saw pictures from the ship during and after the big fight," chimed in another young woman. "How does your future husband stay in such good shape? He's even more ripped now than he's been in his movies!"

"Steve has a nutritionist handling his diet and he's been working out a lot with Jared so he'll be ready for football," responded Gwen as she smiled at Steve. "I do think he's in absolutely amazing shape and looks great. You saw the pictures. How did he look to you?"

"To me?" gushed the woman. "He's like a fantasy. His body is perfect!"

"Let's get to a few of the males in the audience," laughed Amber as she pointed to a young man that Steve guessed had to still be in high school.

"I just saw on my smart phone that the night before your wedding, Bill Hardy is going to broadcast what he says is the truth about the pirate attack. He's advancing the theory that Gwen Anderson insisted that the captain keep the ship close to the coast. He claims that he's going to show viewers how she's lied about everything that happened. He states that Chancellor was set up by your company to garner publicity for you both. Gwen pretty much lured the pirates in to their death, and the fifteen crew members that died were just collateral damage. How do you feel about Hardy's attack on you and Gwen?"

"We don't care to respond to anything that he....," began Gwen before Steve politely interrupted.

"Excuse me, Gwen. If Hardy plans to malign you so viciously, I feel compelled to put an end to his senseless, petty attacks.

"Stephanie? Could you quickly verify what this man has just told us and get back to me immediately?" asked Steve as he spoke to Stephanie, who was sitting in a front row seat. "If it's factual, we'll proceed to dismantle Hardy's career. Now, let's get back to the interview."

"Who will you maid of honor and best man be?" asked an older woman sitting farther back.

"We really had a long discussion about that since we have many dear friends. We finally decided that Kate and Chip would be asked first and they graciously accepted," beamed Gwen.

"Where will you go for your honeymoon?" asked a middle aged man from the audience.

"We're going to spend our honeymoon in the place we love the most. In other words, right here in Sparta!" revealed Gwen. "We had planned on traveling to some exotic place with sand and sun, but after all that's happened to us lately; we decided that we just want to relax with our family and friends. What more could we ask for than what we have right here?"

"Thanks for the very good questions," stated Amber to her audience. "Gwen, will you be having children?"

"I sure hope so," answered Gwen quickly. "If we're blessed with two or three kids, we'll be extremely grateful. Imagine little Hammers running around town!"

"Steve, how do you feel about Gwen being referred to as Sparta's Queen?" quizzed Amber.

"I think that Gwen has qualities that royalty should possess," replied Steve thoughtfully. "I can see why she would be considered our Queen. I know that it's not a real title, but it's an honor to be referred to in that way. Gwen has earned that sort of love and admiration from much of the public, so I'm good with it."

Just then, Stephanie waved to catch Steve's attention. She was grim faced as she nodded meaningfully to him. Steve nodded back and turned to face Amber.

"I know that you and Bill Hardy work for the same network, so I hope this doesn't adversely affect you, but I've decided to bring Hardy down. His planned attack on Gwen's integrity, as ridiculous as it is, cannot and will not go unanswered.

"Bill Hardy was a reporter for a local San Diego station until the tsunami that struck Indonesia in 2004. The story of his struggles as he was swept away by the ocean that day helped propel him to national prominence," recapped Steve calmly.

"The truth is that he was in a small hotel in Darwin, Australia the day that the tsunami struck Indonesia. He watched the news on a TV in the bar with a couple of Australian nationals. Only after the tsunami's damage was complete did he travel to Indonesia. He apparently cooked up the story about his struggle for survival. I'm instructing Stephanie to place the file we have on Hardy on our web site right now. He keeps accusing Gwen of lying. She does not lie, ever, but he does. He's brought this on himself."

Amber was stunned at Steve's revelation and had no idea how to proceed, or if her network would even broadcast Steve's comments about Hardy. Her producer gave her the sign for a commercial break and she quickly announced that they were breaking for words from their sponsors.

"Jesus, Steve! Couldn't you have warned me about that?" demanded Amber. "I know that jackass really pissed you off, but that was a live interview!"

Before Steve could respond, Amber's producer pulled her off to the side and had a short conversation with her. She nodded to the man and returned to the table where Gwen and Steve had remained seated.

"It got through," admitted Amber. "We were on a delay, but by the time the editors realized the ramifications of what you were saying, they were too slow to stop it. That was broadcast across the country. Hardy's own network just broke the story about how he lied to the world about his adventures in that tsunami! I know you must have all kinds of proof to make an accusation like that publically, but that was rough!

"We're coming back from break in thirty seconds. Please don't say anymore about Bill Hardy, okay?" insisted Amber.

The last half hour of the interview went by with no further mention of Bill Hardy. It was obvious that the audience was very much behind Steve and Gwen, their hometown heroes. Once the interview ended and Amber signed off, people hurried to speak to Gwen and Steve.

"You really stirred things up," chuckled Stephanie as she showed Steve her IPad. "Look at how the press is feeding on Hardy already. He was never well liked by his peers, but he had power. Thus, he was feared by a lot of people."

"That jackass just learned a hard lesson, and I bet a lot of others will take heed," predicted Jordan. "If you attack Gwen Anderson in any way, Steve Hammer will take you down! I thought everyone had already figured that out, but apparently both Chancellor and Hardy were slow learners."

"Yeah, Steve was pretty pissed at Hardy, wasn't he?" agreed Gwen before changing to a happier subject. "Stephanie showed me that video you and Charlie put together for 'The Boys are Back in Town' and it was great! You managed to make it sound country, but still keep its old flavor. I love how you show the guys getting off the choppers looking all strong and manly in their tight tee shirts after that struggle with the pirates. That 'Guess who got back in town today' line was perfect, and 'them wild eyed boys that had been away' was totally appropriate. Those guys were on a mission, and they were wired.

"I really liked how you showed the scene where I slapped Steve's face from our first movie with 'this chick got up and she slapped Johnny's face'. The whole thing was so well done and you and Charlie absolutely nailed the music part. It'll be huge!"

"Thanks! We just released it and it should start playing in the next day or two. I didn't want to step on your wedding, but I knew the video would really be popular, especially with the pirate thing fresh in everyone's mind," admitted Jordan.

"I have some more news," interrupted Stephanie. "The ABS network has agreed to pay our price for the first ever network showing of the Queen and Warrior trilogy. They agreed, as long as we'd guarantee to provide the movies so they could play them Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. We've deposited the money and transferred the films. I thought Steve was crazy for holding out for so much, but he got it, even though it's taken over six years. They're going to show 'Rise of the Queen' Friday, and then on Saturday they'll broadcast your wedding before showing 'The Rise of the Warrior'. Sunday night will be 'Rise of the Empire' and I think it's darn smart marketing strategy. People will love watching those movies the very weekend of your wedding, especially so soon after Sparta's 'Warrior' showed the world why he's a legend.

"Some of the other networks are showing your other movies and we just may sell the broadcast rights to 'Billie Jean'. NBS wants to play it Monday night. They don't want to compete with the Queen and Warrior movies, but they want to strike while the iron's hot, and that iron is red hot right now. Because it won best picture at the Oscars, it'll demand a high price, especially since it was in theaters just a few months ago."

"Gwen, I've received word that the Royal Couple will be coming to Sparta on Thursday evening!" exclaimed Ashley. "They've accepted your offer to stay in your home for the two evenings they will be here. They'll fly out after the wedding on Saturday.

"President and Cindy Rosen, former President and Mrs. Hanson, President and Mrs. Novokov, and Vlad and Anna Novokov will 'rough it' in Valhalla. Senator Chatham is staying with your mom, along with Steve's grandparents, aunt, and cousin Jen. The rest of us are putting up some VIP's for the weekend. Nadiya and Hans are staying with Kate. Lisa and Jason are putting up former President D'Anjou and his wife. Jordan and Charlie are hosting President Marchant and his wife and daughter. Asgard will have presidents, a prince and princess, as well as our queen and her king. This is going to be the biggest and best wedding ever!"

"Don't be calling me a queen in front of the Royals!" cautioned Gwen. "That would be embarrassing."

Later that evening, Gwen announced that she was going to join her sisters and friends for a girls' night at Valhalla. She gave a Steve a long kiss and headed out the door. Steve was relaxing while watching a baseball game when the doorbell rang. Curious, he moved to the front door and opened it.

"We're here for your bachelor party. You told everyone that you really didn't feel up to going out, so we've decided to bring the party to you," stated Julie Wilson as she walked into the living room followed closely by Paula, Diane, and Cindy Quick, all wearing robes.

"Uh, thanks for the thought, but I'm still pretty sore," responded a very surprised Steve. "I was just going to relax for a while before going to bed."

"That's exactly what we had planned for you," grinned Cindy. "We want you to be very relaxed."

"And to that end, you're going to sit for a while in your hot tub and enjoy all of the therapeutic advantages possible," grinned Diane. "We're going to go back and climb in and we expect you to join us."

The ladies all chuckled at the confusion on Steve's face. "Ladies, I'm not sure we should be doing this. Your husbands may be not be very pleased when they find out what you're doing here. I sure don't want to upset Gwen right before our wedding."

"It was Jeff's idea. Will and Ted couldn't agree fast enough," revealed Julie Wilson. "We discussed it with Gwen and she agreed to visit with the other girls for a couple of hours. She thought you should be rewarded for your heroics."

"Really? What a wife she'll make!" laughed Steve. "Who am I to refuse such a generous and beautiful offer? You ladies go on out to the tub and set the controls where you want them. I'll be right out."

A few minutes later Steve joined the women. He found them all sitting in the tub. They had a couple of bottles of wine close at hand and each had a partially filled wine glass in their hand. Steve placed a cooler packed with beer next to the wine.

"That's a lot of beer," observed Paula. "You never have more than one or two. I hope you don't plan on drinking too much."

"Listen to you," laughed Cindy Quick. "You're sitting there all naked and sexy, but you're talking like a mother-in-law. You must know Steve well enough by now to realize he's quite capable of taking care of himself. We all saw an example of that the other evening. It involved being flung from a helicopter into murderers, a gunfight, and finally a battle to the death with a giant. A couple of beers won't even faze the guy."

"Did you just say 'naked'? As in no clothes?" asked Steve with a huge grin as he peeled his clothes off to reveal a swim suit, as well as an ace bandage wrapped around his chest. "I thought you had swim suits on under your robes. I feel overdressed."

"Don't worry about that little problem. We'll help you get those shorts off," volunteered Julie Wilson. "Can we remove the wrap so it doesn't get wet? I've had experience wrapping up broken ribs before, so I can help you get it back on."

"I'll take it off and Gwen can wrap me up when she gets home," replied Steve. "I just have to move very slowly and not extend my arms away from my body too far."

"Oh, Steve! That brute really hurt you!" exclaimed Paula with concern as Steve carefully removed the bandage and his bruises came into view. "I doubt if there's another man in the world that could have defeated him, and you paid dearly."

"It doesn't look as bad as the time that crazy terrorist abducted him and drove up into the mountains," pointed out Diane. "Remember how he was covered in long welts and black and blue marks all over his body?"

Steve began to step into the tub when Cindy Quick stopped him. "Just a minute! Do you think I've waited this long to get into a situation like this just to see you in a swim suit? Take those trunks off!"