Chapter 29:
The Meeting
One by one the Backstreet
Boys straggled into the small conference room, dressed in various states of
disarray. Howie, the first to arrive, tossed his ever present duffel bag down
and flopped into the nearest high-backed chair, bringing his feet to rest on
the table. The voice mail had indicated an early meeting for today, located at
the arena in which they were to perform tonight. He rubbed his face wearily,
mentally noting to himself to remember to shave. In a hurry to be on time he
had forgotten to do it. He glanced at the empty room and sighed.
Figures. No one takes these meetings seriously
anymore, he thought. He wondered
if he had the time right when Kevin showed up. The oldest member gave Howie a
nod of greeting and sat on the other side of the table, mimicking Howie’s
manner.
"So, where’s
everyone?"
Howie rolled his eyes.
"Go figure. What’s this meeting about, anyway?"
Kevin shrugged, lacing his
hands behind his head. "Most likely about safety measures. Stage crew
still trying to figure what happened to AJ’s rope."
"Yeah. Makes me a
little nervous." They both sat quietly, lost in their own thoughts, until
Howie broke the silence.
"You think Brian is
up for tonight?"
"Yeah, I think so. I
hope so. Hell, I don’t know. Let’s ask Brian when he gets here."
"Ask me what?"
Kevin and Howie turned to see Brian walking in, Nick and AJ following behind,
their hands full of McDonalds’ take out bags. AJ tossed each one a bag, keeping
one for himself.
"Ask me what?"
Brian repeated, placing the cardboard carrying case of juice down and handing
one to Kevin.
Howie reached into his bag
and opened up an Egg McMuffin. Taking a bite, he
asked, "We were wondering how you’re feeling. You okay for tonight?"
"He’s fine,"
answered Nick for him. "Doctor gave Bri some kick-ass painkillers, just in
case." Kevin looked at his cousin questioningly and Brian nodded.
"Nick’s right. I’ll
be fine." He sat down next to AJ, opened his bag and took a bite, hoping
the sudden interest in his food would cancel anymore prying questions.
AJ leaned over Brian,
reaching for an O.J. "Okay, I’m here, not willingly, but I’m here. What’s
this meeting...," AJ stopped in mid-sentence as he noticed Xavier and
their stage manager, Sam, entering the room. AJ took an exaggerated bite of his
McDonalds’s breakfast then looked at the bodyguard, a smirk covering his face.
Xavier ignored AJ’s antic, seeking the location of Brian. Catching the blond
singer’s eye, he nodded once, then sat down across from him, folding his arms
across his chest. Brian broke eye contact, resuming a false interest in his
food. He could feel Xavier scrutinizing him and his stomach churned a little.
It had been four days since he had seen him, four days of relief, even if most
of it was spent in the hospital. He felt for the bottle of pills that he
carried in his pocket, too scared to let them out of his sight, even for a
moment. He took another bite of his food, the taste now like sawdust in his
mouth.
"Guys, if I could
have your attention, please?" Sam stood up, not wanting to sit. After
years of standing on the job, he felt more comfortable that way. "I called
this meeting to discuss a few things with you regarding the last concert."
Kevin looked knowingly at Howie, then turned his attention back to their
manager.
"Xavier and I have
gone extensively over AJ’s accident, examining it from every angle. We feel
that..." Sam was interrupted by a small cough and he turned to see a
nervous stage crewmember standing at the door, holding a clipboard in one hand,
a cell phone in the other.
"What?"
questioned Sam, annoyed.
The young man handed him
the board and Sam scanned it quickly. "Shit. I knew it. Okay, tell them
I’ll be there." He surveyed the five Backstreet Boys before him. " I
gotta go. Xavier will explain everything to you, okay?" He glanced at the
bodyguard for confirmation. Xavier nodded, waving him to go.
Howie, the first to
finish, crunched his bag into a small ball, then brushed the crumbs off of him.
"Okay, Xavier, what’s up?" Xavier straightened up, his hands folded
on the table.
"First of all, I just
want to say how glad I am nothing serious happened to Mr. McLean and that I’m
personally looking into what could possibly have caused this."
Liar!
Brian seethed, keeping his head down, his jaw clenched in anger. You caused it!
His fingers slipped around the plastic container of pills and he relaxed,
feeling more in control. Soon, he told himself.
Kevin spoke up.
"Xavier, have you any idea what caused AJ to fall? Was the rope faulty?
Did one of the stage crew mess up?"
Xavier shook his head,
spreading his arms wide. "It’s still a mystery. The rope was fine. And the
crew always double-checks their rigging. As far as Sam and I can tell, it was a
fluke. We’ve replaced all the ropes and wiring harnesses with new ones. We are
now triple–checking everything. If anyone of you feels uncomfortable about
tonight’s jump, speak up."
Nick glanced at his
friends around the table, then answered. "I’m okay with it." Howie
and Kevin nodded their approval. AJ’s fingers were laced together,
contemplating the question. He glanced at Brian, with a questioning look.
"B-Rok, you alright
with this, man?"
Brian was surprised at
AJ’s concern over him. Of the five here, AJ had the most to worry about, having
experienced the almost-fatal accident. "Yeah, I’m okay if you are."
AJ shrugged his approval
to Xavier. "We’re cool."
"Good. Next, I want
to talk about Brian’s intruder." Xavier stood up and walked around the
table, placing his hands on the singer’s shoulders. "As you all know,
Brian and I had a rather nasty encounter with him. I’m hoping it was an
isolated incident, that we won’t run into him again." Xavier stopped for a
moment to look at Brian. "But you never know, right?" Brian felt the
subtle but firm pressure being applied to his shoulder and nodded in reply.
Xavier relaxed his grip. "All the incidents that have happened recently
seem to be random acts, but I’m not going to take any chances. That is why I am
still insisting that I have control of the hotel arrangements."
Brian felt despair well up
in him, realizing how brilliant Xavier’s strategy was. By making himself look
like their protector, it pulled any suspicion away from him, enabling him free
access. Xavier walked back to his seat and sat down, looking for the five’s
support. Brian glanced down at his hands, unable to look at the bodyguard.
AJ spoke up, but with
another question. "What about the threats Brian was receiving? Is he still
getting those?"
The bodyguard leaned back
in his chair, giving him a genuine smile. "No. I’ve was able to track
those notes to
Of course Brian knew it
was all a lie. He fidgeted slightly in his chair, eager to leave. Taking a deep
breath he looked up at Xavier. "Well, I think everything is better now,
thanks. I don’t know about the rest of you but I’ve got a million things to do
before tonight. Thanks for the update." He stood up suddenly and as if on
cue, the other four guys agreed, rising to collect their things. Xavier
remained seated, his mouth compressed into a tight line as he watched Nick,
then Howie leave the room. Kevin was talking to AJ and Brian edged around them,
trying to reach the door.
"Mr. Littrell, if you
have a moment, I need to speak to you. Alone."
This froze Brian in his
tracks and caught the attention of Kevin and AJ. "Really busy now, Xavier.
Maybe later, okay?"
"It will only take a
second," replied Xavier smoothly. He coughed, looking embarrassed. "It’s, uh, about my salary."
Disinterested, Kevin
turned to leave, signaling for AJ to come. More curious than Kevin, AJ
grudgingly followed him out, struggling with a sudden temptation to eavesdrop
outside the closed door. Not willing to explain his odd behavior, AJ reluctantly
abandoned the idea, slowly trailing behind Kevin.
***
