Transition: Chapter 14 (Copley Square)

“I was not aware of your relationship with the Kendal family,” Jago says sounding more wounded than surprised. “Jillian never told me.”

“She thinks of me as a banker,” Kennedy explains, and Jago’s expecting him to expand on that meager response, but Kennedy seems to be paying only passing attention to the conversation, and appears to be much more intent on keeping a wary eye on the flock of reporters who are lazily circling in front of the Admin Tent. One of whom, Jago notices, is the woman who tried to interview Jillian in the transition area. What a bitch, he thinks, as his face contorts into a snarl from the memory.

The tent flap flutters, someone emerges, the reporters pounce. The new arrival is surrounded so quickly that Jago can’t see who it is, but then he catches a glimpse of red hair, and it clicks. The new girl. Pushing his way through the crowd with an occasional pardon me and a judicious elbow or two, he reaches the new girl just in time to hear the story as it slowly unfolds in response to a barrage of questions. The race to the aid station. The unfortunate incident with the tripod. The Race Marshal’s accusation. The committee’s discussion of disqualification. And, finally, the dramatic testimony that defused the situation.

“As far as you know, then,” someone calls out from behind him, “it has been settled?” It takes a few seconds for Jago to recognize that the voice belongs to Kennedy, who must have followed in his wake as he plowed his way into the crowd. “Jillian is no longer in danger of disqualification?”

“Everything’s fine,” Sunshine says, reassuringly. “It was all a big mistake.”

“Misunderstandings like this happen all the time,” Jago explains to Kennedy, over his shoulder. “It is all part of the competition. I am certain that Jillian will be able to straighten it out. She is a fierce competitor, and will not allow a race to be stolen from her. Get that damned thing out of my face.”

The last comment is to Leida Andersen, who has appeared next to Jago, microphone in hand. She glances dismissively at Jago, then looks back at Sunshine. “Excuse me,” she says, much louder than necessary, “are you the woman who accused Jill Kendal of tripping her?”

It dawns on Jago that the microphone is pointed at Sunshine, and not at him. But it is annoyingly close to his face, and it is an awfully tempting target...

In one fluid motion, he snatches the microphone from Leida’s hand, unsnaps it from its cable, and throws it over the heads of the crowd, where it disappears into a row of neatly landscaped bushes.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Leida screams. She slaps him, hard. A bright red flush instantly covers his face, leaving only a white, well-defined hand-print. He starts to lift his arms, not entirely sure of whether he intends to retaliate or just to ward off further blows. Someone grabs his shoulders from behind, and he’s about to struggle when he realizes that it must be Kennedy. Just relax, he tells himself. Fighting with a reporter is not smart, but tussling with the head of the USOC would be very stupid.

Leida glares at him for a few seconds, then whirls and stalks off in the direction of her microphone. But there is a large, round man in her way, he’s backing away slowly, keeping his camera pointed directly at her. “This is the best stuff I’ve had all day, Andersen,” he says, laughing as he retreats before her simmering advance. “Keep it up. You’re beautiful when you’re...”

But just then he stumbles, as if his heel has caught on a rock, or perhaps he has tripped over someone’s leg. He throws his arms up instinctively as he loses his balance and begins to fall backwards. “The camera!” he screeches, as it flies over his head. His arms comically windmill the air. “Catch the camera!”

But it’s the camera that catches somebody, rather than the other way around: After describing a lazy arc, it settles softly into the arms of a surprised spectator, who grabs it more in self-defense than in any display of good reflexes.

“Barbarian.” Jago spits this epithet at Leida’s back as he shrugs free of Kennedy’s grasp. Turning away from the action, he looks back toward the Admin Tent, he has more questions for Sunshine...

And indeed, a young woman triathlete is standing in front of the Admin Tent.

But, as Jago can’t help but notice, it’s definitely not Sunshine.