Free Cover-up by John Feinstein

Vincent. And part of him was waiting for Susan Carol to say something in his defense.
    It wasn’t Susan Carol who spoke up, though; it was Eddie Brennan.
    â€œHey, pal, tell you what—if the kid goes, I’ll go too,” he said, setting the USTV microphone down on his stool. “The league asked us to cooperate with all of the media and I’m willing to do it. But I know what you guys did to him last weekend, and I’m not going to stand here and watch you bully a fourteen-year-old kid.”
    â€œLook, Eddie, we’re all just trying to do our jobs here and—”
    Brennan cut him off. “Your choice. You want me to do this interview, then the kid stays. I’m fine either way.”
    There was complete silence for several seconds that felt to Stevie like several minutes. Finally Tal Vincent nodded in the direction of the set and said, “Jamie, Susan Carol—whenever you’re ready, let’s roll this.”
    There was no further discussion of Stevie’s presence. As the interview proceeded, he could still feel himself shaking with tension and anger. He wasn’t really listening to Susan Carol as she introduced Brennan, but he almost laughed out loud when it was Whitsitt’s turn. His opening question was “Dude—Harvard? What’s that about?” He looked closely to see if Susan Carol had an off-camera reaction, but her expression didn’t change. Though she did laugh when Eddie answered, “Dude! A mind is a terrible thing to waste!” As soon as Susan Carol had thanked him and closed the segment, Brennan was on his feet. He shook hands with Susan Carol and Whitsitt and bounded off the set past Vincent without saying a word.
    He walked directly back to where Stevie was standing and put out his hand. “Eddie Brennan,” he said. “Walk with me down the hall and I’ll talk to you about Darin.”
    â€œThanks,” Stevie said, falling into step as Dewey Blanton and the security people took up their positions around Brennan. “But thanks even more for what you just did for me.”
    Brennan looked down at Stevie, his face quite serious. “I don’t like bullies,” he said. “I’m surprised your friend is still doing the show without you….”
    â€œI told her to keep doing it,” Stevie said, breaking in. “There’s no reason for her not to.”
    Brennan put a hand on his back. “Well, you’re a good guy for saying that, but that show’s going down in flames with Mr. Boy Band. Dude doesn’t know a thing about sports.”
    Stevie remembered throwing something at his television set earlier in the fall when Brennan had dominated the Philadelphia Eagles. Now Brennan was rapidly becoming Stevie’s favorite football player. Seeing that they were approaching the locker room, Brennan braked to a halt, nearly causing a ten-person pileup in the hallway. “So, tell me what Darin told you,” he said, changing the subject.
    â€œHe told me about E-D Special,” Stevie said, figuring that would be a good starting point.
    Brennan laughed. “Giving away old secrets, huh? And I’ll bet he told you the key to the play in the state championship game was his block.”
    â€œHe did say he knocked the guy down.”
    Brennan nodded. “It’s true, he did. We’ve always argued about whether I’d have been able to get around him if Darin hadn’t blocked him. Mobility has never been my strength. The best part about it is that I don’t think our coach has ever completely forgiven us for running the play without telling him.”
    For the next ten minutes, he talked about his high school friend, a warm smile on his face throughout.
    â€œSo, here’s your big scoop for the day,” he said, seeing Dewey Blanton not-so-subtly pointing to his watch. “Darin and I have violated league rules this week.”
    Blanton appeared to turn a