Chapter 35:
A Change of Plans
Irritated at the
unexpected security meeting, which had resulted in a complete waste of his
precious time, Xavier hurried down the corridor, giving scant attention to the
strange girl and AJ who were huddled in a corner. Hooker. He could spot them a
mile away, no matter how classy they looked. He sensed AJ had made some rude
comment as he strode by but he was too busy to respond; any other time he would
have enjoyed taking the little shit down a notch or two. He barged into the
dressing room, giving formality little thought. Brian jumped up from the chair
he was sitting in, a startled and scared look crossing his face. Good. He liked
catching the young Backstreet Boy off guard, it heightened the pleasure he got
from their "little game". He dragged another chair over to where
Brian sat, setting himself next to the uncomfortable singer. Xavier leaned
forward in his chair, eager to discuss next day’s schedule, when he caught a
faint wiff of perfume and froze in surprise. His mind
instantly recalled the girl standing outside with AJ and he dwelled on this for
a moment, suddenly understanding the "emergency" meeting he was so
desperately required to attend. A small flicker of grudging respect at AJ’s
cleverness grew and Xavier leaned back in his chair, a leer forming on his
face.
"Well, was she any
good?" His pointed question brought back the results he hoped for. Brian
stood up, his face flushed and angry.
"I doubt you’re
interested in knowing, considering...," Brian insulted, incensed that
Xavier found out. Xavier sprang from his chair, reaching over to grab a handful
of blond hair. He yanked hard, bringing Brian up off his chair.
"That’s gonna cost
you, pal. Say about.....$5000?"
Brian ignored the pain.
"Queer," he spat.
Xavier yanked again, his
eyes dark with rage. "$10,000."
It was worth every dollar.
Brian pried Xavier’s hand away, stumbling backwards. "Faggot." He was
unsure about Xavier’s true sexual preference but he didn’t care - he had found
Xavier’s Achilles’ heel. Smiling with true malice he taunted, "Hey, I’m
sure with 10 grand you could manage to find some guy who’d be willing to give
you a blow job."
Agitated, Xavier’s hands
clenched and unclenched, and Brian steadied himself, waiting for the
inevitable. It came in the form of one well-placed hit. Brian gasped, the
kidney-punch causing him to sag, his full weight being supported by Xavier’s
massive arms. Xavier released his grip and Brian slumped to his knees, amazed,
even in his pain, how one punch could hurt so much. He felt the bodyguard lift
him up and place him back into the chair.
"Not bad, not bad at
all," Brian heard the respect in Xavier’s voice, the quiet admiration.
"You play the game well. I let you get to me, to lose control, and no one
has done that for a long time."
"I’m glad I made your
day," Brian replied bitterly.
"Oh, you’ll do more
than that."
Alarmed, Brian
straightened in his chair holding his side with an arm. "Such as?" he
challenged.
Xavier began to walk
around the room, animated. "I feel that our game has lost some of it’s
spice, you know? It’s time to crank it up a bit."
A wave of mental
exhaustion swept Brian and he fought hard to control it. "Crank it
up," he repeated.
"Yes." Xavier
came over to Brian, full of anticipation. "I think it’s time to start
concentrating fully on you leaving the Backstreet Boys. The sooner, the
better."
Brian stared at the
bodyguard in open-mouth disbelief. "Now? Before the concert tour is
over?" Xavier smiled as Brian jumped up from his seat, watching the singer
absorb the impact of that information.
The mental torture far out
surpassed any physical pain he had endured and Brian cursed Xavier,
understanding fully the power Xavier controlled over him in these mind games
from hell. Brian turned to the bodyguard, desperation threatening to overwhelm
him. He wondered what he could say to change his mind. "Xavier, just wait
until the tour ends, then I’ll leave. If the group breaks up now, we’ll lose
millions." Brian noticed his pleading was falling on deaf ears.
"Millions, Xavier. Think about it. Money that could be yours, if you just
wait."
Xavier grinned at Brian
and gave him a thumb’s up. "Nice try, Brian. However, as I said before,
this is about you and me. And the game." Xavier gave the Backstreet Boy a
look of fake sympathy as he patted the singer’s shoulder. Brian angrily
wrenched his shoulder away, his blue eyes turning a darker hue.
Xavier clapped his hands
together and rubbed them in delight. "Okay, that’s settled. Now, I’ll let
you choose. Do you want the easy way or the hard way?"
Brian eyed him
suspiciously. He hated Xavier’s little puzzles; hated the way he made him
struggle for every bit of information. "And the easy way is…?"
Fearful of Xavier’s explanation Brian turned away from him to search for a
bottled water, dread filling him as he heard the enthusiasm radiate from
Xavier’s voice.
"Well, the easy way
is for me to end this group quickly. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind taking that
fucker AJ down at all. Same goes for Nick."
Trying not to shake, Brian
turned slowly to face Xavier, stunned at the bodyguard’s confession. He
remembered Xavier’s secret trip back to
"What’s the hard
way?" Brian could see that Xavier was relishing every minute of this and
damned him.
"The hard way or as I
call it, the fun way, is to watch you do it." Xavier leaned comfortably
against the wall, enjoying the expression that formed on the Backstreet Boy.
"Of course, I’ll help
in any way I can."
"Of course,"
shot back Brian sarcastically. He began to pace, biting his fingernails in
consternation, ignoring the pleased look that spread across the bodyguard’s
face. Brian thought furiously for a while, finding ideas then rejecting them,
planning ways to thwart Xavier, only to realize the futility in it. Then one
idea came to mind, so pure, so simple. Brian raised his face to meet Xavier’s,
beaten but not down for the count. He still had a few cards to play.
"Okay, I choose the
hard way. I’ll break up the group. My way, understand? If you so much as harm
any of the guys, I’ll..." Brian left the sentence hanging and Xavier
perked up, interested.
"You’ll what?"
"I’ll kill myself."
Brian looked calmly at the bodyguard, pleased that Xavier realized he meant it.
"So much for you’re little game then, huh Xavier? No Brian, no game."
Xavier pushed himself
against the wall, coming up to stare hard at Brian. He didn’t speak for a
moment, but when he did, it was low, almost a whisper. "You think I
haven’t thought of that already, you little asshole? What do you suppose I was
doing in
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