Chapter 75:

Across the Miles

AJ tossed Nick a couple of blankets then went over to gently cover Howie and Kevin, who both had fallen asleep in the large reclining chairs. It had been a long day, filled with anxiety, tension, and fear; the toll of it showing on the exhausted faces of all four.

Not wanting to admit his alarm at sleeping alone, Nick suggested they all stick together, that AJ's leather chairs were more than comfortable enough to sleep in for the night. The others readily agreed, their own reasons for not being apart pretty much the same as Nick's.

AJ dimmed the lights in the room, sufficient to sleep undisturbed, but bright enough that if someone had to use the bathroom they wouldn't have to feel their way out. Nick had placed a blanket on AJ's chair, himself already curled up in his. AJ settled in, giving a long and tired sigh. He glanced over at Nick, seeing two bright blue eyes staring intently back at him.

"Want me to hold your hand so you can go to sleep?" he teased.

"Screw you. You know you're just as scared as I am."

AJ gave him a tiny smile. "Nah. I've got my guard dogs to save me."

Nick snorted. "Where are they anyway?"

"Outside. They're not too happy about it, but I figured with their yappy little voices, we'd hear if anything was happening."

Nick nodded. As annoying as AJ's dogs were sometimes, they sure could bark, their incessant yaps enough to make fingernails scraping on chalkboard sound soothing.

AJ turned on his side, his hand propping his head. "Wanna talk about it?"

Nick's blue eyes clouded a little. He knew what AJ meant. "Do we have to?"

"No," drawled AJ, "but it might help. Everyone here can see how it's eating away at you."

Nick sighed and straightened up. "And it doesn't you?" he questioned harshly.

"You know it does!" replied AJ heatedly, getting angry.

"Sorry, I'm sorry, Bone. I'm not looking to argue."

AJ calmed down, hearing the fatigue in Nick's voice. "Me neither."

Nick leaned back in his lounger and closed his eyes, not speaking. AJ had almost fallen asleep when he heard Nick cough hesitantly, then began speaking in a hushed tone.

"I'm scared Bone, scared for us, for Brian. I just can't get it out of my head that if I really had been Brian's friend, I would of known how unhappy he was."

"Nick…" sighed AJ heavily, but Nick shut him up.

"AJ! Stop! Don't tell me that crap about how it isn't my fault, how you and the guys understand how I feel. You don't and never will, all right?"

Nick paused and AJ heard his friend heave a dejected sigh. Knowing Nick was struggling to say something else, AJ wisely kept silent, waiting.

"I mean, I pray Brian's okay, but I get this gut feeling he's not. I'm afraid I'll never see him again, never get to say how sorry I am."

"And it's killing you."

"Yeah," came Nick's sad whisper.

AJ's heart ached as he saw the grief in Nick's face. He felt the same way, only he had been too afraid to admit it. AJ swung his legs over the side of the recliner, his hands covering his face as he bowed his head. "Nick. It's okay to think about it, to talk about it. To worry about it. I'm not as brave as you. I want to ignore it. I don't want to feel. I don't want to know." Nick heard the catch in AJ voice. "Cause if I do, I feel like I might go crazy. Totally."

Staring hard at him, Nick reached out to pull AJ's hands away from his face. In the dim light he saw the shine of unshed tears before AJ twisted away, closing his eyes tight.

"AJ," he choked, his voice breaking at the thought of the pain his friend was going through.

"I'm okay," he said roughly, refusing to look at Nick. The quiet ring of the phone broke the agonizing moment. AJ sighed, reaching over to snag it before it woke Kevin and Howie.

"Forget it," Nick advised.

"No, I'll get it. But whoever it is, they had better have a good reason for calling me so late."

AJ leaned back in his recliner as brought the phone up to his ear. "Dude, whoever this is, you're so dead for calling me at this time of night."

"Bone?" AJ heard a pause. "AJ?"

AJ nearly jumped out of his skin. "Brian, is that you?" Eyes wide, he frantically punched Nick, signaling wildly for him to wake up Howie and Kevin. He pressed his ear closer to the phone, cupping his hand over his other ear. He thought he heard a lot of yelling and screaming and he began to panic a little.

"Brian!" AJ yelled loudly, scared that Brain couldn't hear him.

"Uh, yeah, sorry to call you…"

Sorry! AJ turned towards Kevin and Howie who were now fully awake, their faces reflecting the anxiety they heard in AJ's frantic voice. "Where are you?" AJ screamed into the phone and Nick winced, alarmed. He grabbed the phone away from AJ's hand, hitting the speakerphone and set the phone into its cradle.

"…outside, on a cell phone," came Brian's reply. Nick found himself almost lightheaded with relief as he listened to Brian speak. He strained to make out what was in the background, but all he heard were faint cheers.

"No, I mean where are you calling from?"

Now all four could heard the clear sounds of people yelling…fight…come on…yes!…kill 'em…and they looked at each other in confusion. A loud roar of approval filled the speakerphone; apparently something significant had happened.

"Oh my God."

The agony in Brian's voice caused everyone in the room to freeze with fear.

Kevin shouted into the phone, "Brian!" while Nick said at almost the same time, "B-Rok!" There was no answer, the din of the crowd fading away. AJ could make out the panicked breathing of Brian, as if he were trying to do something.

Frustrated at not knowing what was going on, AJ screamed, "Answer me! Brian!"

Brian returned, the stress in his voice apparent. "AJ, listen! Don't talk! Something's gonna happen…"

AJ broke in, desperate to let Brian know that he and the guys knew about Xavier. "Brian! We all …"

"Please God, just listen!" cried Brian. Nick could feel the terror in his words. "Be careful man, I need you to be careful, all of you! Xavier has something planned, something bad, I don't know what…" Kevin heard his cousin's voice trail off and leaned forward toward the phone, giving Howie an anxious look. Before he could say anything, Brian spoke again. "I know you don't believe me, but please AJ, God, please watch out…oh no…"

AJ, Nick, Howie, and Kevin heard the heart-stopping moan of Brian's last words and tensed with fright as they heard a vicious snarl coming from the speaker.

"Brian!" screamed Nick, "Brian!"

AJ grabbed Nick and shook his head, struggling to hear what was happening. Each guy held their breath, striving to catch any sound, but they heard nothing, the cell phone clearly dead.

"Oh shit! Shit!" Nick shouted in frustration, his hands running frantically through his hair. "Do something!" he yelled at all three, his eyes wild with despair.

"Nick," Howie spoke, his voice shaking, "what? Do what?"

"I don't know!" shrieked Nick. "The police! That's it! I'm calling the police!" He pointed a warning finger at Kevin. "No! Don't stop me! I'm not gonna…"

"Hello? Anybody there?"

All four turned to look at the forgotten speakerphone, shocked at the quiet but clear voice coming from it.

"Hello?"

Howie broke out of his astonishment first, leaning over the speaker. "Yes, yes! We're here! Hello! Who are you?"

A moment passed and all four panicked at the thought of the unknown caller not answering.

"Sarah. My name is Sarah."

AJ took over. "Sarah, hi, it's me AJ. Hey sweetheart, don't hang up, okay? I need to ask you a few questions."

"Um, well…."

AJ and Kevin looked at each other in concern, hearing the reluctance in her voice. AJ spoke up, trying to keep his tone light, sensing Sarah's hesitation. "Sarah, I'm a friend of the guy who's cell phone you have. Can you tell me if he's okay? Is he there?"

"I got his autograph." Sarah was quiet for a moment. "He promised me some tickets."

"I'll make sure you get them, Sarah. Listen, please, can I ask you some questions?"

"Okay, I guess." All four Backstreet Boys could hear her rustling around for something

. "Uh, could you hold on for a moment? I'm gonna need a cigarette first."

AJ didn't like the discouraging note in her voice and glanced at the others. They had caught the tone too; Nick's face as somber as AJ had ever seen. "Sure, I could use one myself right about now. Light one up for me, okay?"

Sarah gave a small laugh and Kevin nodded, signaling a thumb's up sign of approval to AJ. The oldest Backststreet Boy glanced quickly at Nick, who was gripping the back of his chair tightly, then at Howie, who trying his best to remain composed.

"I'm back," Sarah announced. "Say, are you a Backstreet Boy?"

"Sure am, sweetie. My name's AJ. Nick, Kevin and Howie are here with me too."

They all heard the brightness in her voice, the interest. "Really?"

"Hi, Sarah," said Kevin and Howie simultaneously.

"Ask her about Brian!" hissed Nick, impatient with all the small talk.

"Hi, hi," she stuttered.

Kevin became alarmed. "What's the matter, Sarah? Are you okay?"

"Sure. My teeth are just chattering. It's cold out here."

"Where are you?"

"Outside a bar called Dos Pesos. It's where I work. I should be getting back, but I think that might be a problem."

Nick butted in. "Sarah, this is Nick, Brian's friend. Where is Dos Pesos? What city?"

"Oh! Just outside of Nogie."

"Huh?"

"Nogales."

"Okay, I'm lost. Nogales, what?"

"Arizona. Nogales is on the border, just south of Tucson."

AJ and Kevin looked at each other, puzzled. A border town?

"Well at least we know where Bri is," whispered Howie to everyone. "Tucson is our next concert after the break, remember?"

"Hello?" Sarah's voice came back, confused at the sudden silence.

"Sorry, sweetheart," replied AJ. "Just thinking. Sarah, do you know where Brian is? Can we talk to him?"

"He's not here. He's been hurt." Sarah could hear their sharp intakes of surprise and hurried on. "Some big guy threw him against a truck. I think Brian was trying to get away and got caught."

"Sarah," Nick struggled, "Sarah, can you tell me how bad Brian's been hurt?"

"No, I'm sorry. He was unconscious and another big guy picked him up and took him away."

"Another big guy?" Nick looked at AJ, seeing the same confusion.

"Yeah, the one he came into the bar with. Dark hair, dark eyes."

Xavier, mouthed AJ.

A weak beep beep came through the speakerphone. "What was that?" asked Nick, startled. "Do you have another call?"

"No, the cell battery is low," warned Sarah.

Shit! The news troubled AJ. "Sarah, babe, I gotta ask you some more questions! Do you know why Brian was there?"

"Well, it looked like the big guy wanted Brian to meet some of his friends."

"Xavier," said AJ. "The big guy's name is Xavier."

"Oh yeah, right, I remember now."

Beep.

AJ panicked. "Tell me everything that happened."

"Well, Xavier wanted Brian to sing. So he got up. Told the audience that he wanted to dedicate a song to Xavier because…"

All four could hear the uncertainty in her voice, as if she was holding something back. "Sarah, go on," prodded AJ.

"Uh…"

Beep, beep.

AJ began to sweat. "Sarah! The phone! Come on."

"Brian, um, said because Xavier was his lover."

"What?!"

"Yeah, as soon as he said that the whole bar went crazy. Xavier got into this huge fight with another guy and Brian ran outside. I followed cause I didn't want to get hurt."

Another beep. "Go on!"

"I ran outside but the fight spilled out into the yard. Xavier was really hurting that guy bad. Anyway, I was hiding behind a car when I saw Xavier's friend grab Brian out of a truck. Brian managed to kick him in the balls, but the guy hung on and threw Brian against the side of the truck. Xavier was pretty mad at his friend for doing that. He picked Brian up off the ground, put him in a car and drove away."

AJ shuddered, unable to say anything as Howie stared desolately at the phone. Kevin, weak at the news, hung his head.

"Sarah," Nick spoke up, his voice trembling, "do you know where they went? Did you get…"

The phone went dead, its battery spent.

"Fuck!" screamed Nick, livid. "Fuck!" He stared at the speakerphone for a moment then reached for it, ripping it away from its base. He threw it furiously against the wall, trying to smash it. "Son-of-a-fucking-bitch!" Nick clutched his hands tightly, shaking. "Why didn't we get her number? Why?" he shouted accusingly to all three. "God dammit!"

Kevin reached out to calm him. "Nick," he began but Nick slapped his hand away, enraged.

"Stop! Get away," he shrieked, his eyes wild with anger.

Kevin glanced worriedly at AJ and Howie, but AJ didn't catch it, his attention directly solely on Nick. Nick paced agitatedly back and forth across the room, ranting. "I'm gonna kill that asshole! As soon as I see X, I'm gonna put a bullet in his brain!" Nick mimicked pointing a gun. "Bang!" He started swearing again with a vengeance.

AJ let him continue, shaking his head warningly at Kevin and Howie not to interfere, knowing Nick needed to release his pent-up anger. His friends watched solemnly as Nick carried on and on, not letting up, his promises becoming more extreme, his threats filled with hatred. Concerned for his friend's mental well-being AJ finally grabbed Nick by his shoulders and shook him hard.

" Nick! Enough! That's enough!"

Startled out of his fit, Nick looked at him with a blank expression for a moment then pushed AJ away. He slumped into the nearest chair and covered his eyes. No one spoke for a few minutes, each immersed in their own thoughts over what had just happened. With a deep sigh Nick stood up, his face haggard.

"I'm sorry," he apologized dully. "I guess I lost it." He walked quietly out of the room and Kevin sat down, rubbing his eyes tiredly as he looked at AJ and Howie. AJ glanced at Kevin, then at the door.

"I'm going to see about Nick," he announced and left.

Kevin sighed resignedly and felt Howie's concerned hand on his shoulder.

"Kev, Nick's tough. He'll be okay."

Kevin nodded and turned away, not willing to let Howie see his fear. I hope so. I don't think I can stand losing another.

* * * * * *

My head. Why is my head killing me? Brian groaned, reaching up to touch the pain but felt a firm hand pushing his away, too strong to argue with. All right, all right, but it still hurts. Make it stop hurting, okay?

The rim of a glass was forced between his lips and Brian shook his head, too tired to drink, too tired to even open his eyes. The pressure increased and he resisted until he felt fingers prying his mouth open, none-too-gently. Unable to fight Brian opened up, realizing a pill was being pushed down his throat along with stale water. He gagged, trying to vomit it up, but strong hands clamped down upon his nose, then mouth, forcing him to swallow.

Breathing heavily, he smelled the sour odor of bed sheets, the rankness of his own sweat mixed in with dried blood. He tried once more to put a hand up to his head, only to find larger ones already there, poking, prodding at the pain. Brian winced as a stinging solution was applied to his temple, squeezing his eyes even tighter as the fluid ran into the corner of one eye.

Moaning, Brian struggled to make sense of it all, but the pain, the blinding pain refused to cooperate with his mind. With herculean effort Brian forced his eyes open, gasping at the vertigo that hit him with a vengeance. He immediately closed his eyes, praying that his stomach wouldn't heave, not from the dizziness in his head, but from the sight that greeted him for just an instant. Xavier's face floated up behind his eyes, a vision of massive cuts and bruises, all blended in so that he couldn't tell where the injuries started or ended. Brian bravely peeked once more, this time the vertigo not as severe.

Xavier studied him quietly, putting the finishing touches of a butterfly bandage to the young singer's brow. Brian flinched at his administrations and Xavier snorted, shaking his head. "You'll live," he said curtly.

Rising with difficulty from the edge of Brian's bed, Xavier went over to his own, rummaging through his suitcase. Brian watched him intently, noticing Xavier wince in pain as he slipped a shirt over his head, the thick bandages swathed tightly around his chest and waist. Apparently the bruises were not just exclusive to Xavier's face, but to his back and sides as well, and Brian took grim satisfaction in Benny's handiwork as he remembered clearly the vicious fight between the two. What he couldn't remember was how he got the cut on his head. Tentatively touching his wound, he grimaced, pulling his hand away quickly.

Xavier grunted, seeing the pained expression on the young singer's face. "Nasty little cut there. I suggest you don't touch it."

"What happened?" As much as Brian hating asking, he needed to know.

"You don't remember?"

"I remember hoping Abe and Benny would beat the crap outta you."

Xavier propped himself against the back of the bed's headboard and gave Brian an inscrutable look then shook his head, giving a quick hoot of derisive laughter. "Damn near did. Would have too, if Abe hadn't of decided that money was more appealing than fighting."

Brian threw Xavier a confused look.

"Abe was the one who threw you into the side of a truck when he caught you trying to escape."

Brian shifted uncomfortably. He now remembered the grinning face of Abe popping up before him, of the massive arms that reached out to drag him from the truck. He also remembered Rosie's cell phone. Brian wondered what happened to it, if Xavier had discovered his call to warn the guys. Before he could figure a way to find out Xavier spoke up, his words forming a statement, not a question.

"You knew there was no second game." Xavier eyed Brian closely and the young Backstreet Boy stared back, his gaze unwavering.

"Yeah. I figured you wouldn't do anymore once you got your money."

Xavier stared at his bruised knuckles for moment, then gave a sharp laugh, the corner of his lip turning up mockingly.

"Smart boy. I always knew you were sharp. So you took a chance, hoping if you were able to start a fight between me and my buddies you would be able to escape, huh?"

Brian's heart skipped a beat, hopeful. Xavier had not mentioned anything about discovering a cell phone, or about trying to warn his friends. Not sure if Xavier was leading him on, trying to lure him into saying something about it, Brian decided to steer clear and try a different approach.

"I was really hoping they'd kill you," answered Brian bluntly. "No Xavier, no Mexico, no money." He stared at Xavier frankly.

Xavier gave Brian a tight smile. "I thought so. You millionaires sure are tight with your money, never willing to share," he scorned jokingly.

Brian tried hard not to show the excitement he felt. Xavier didn't know about the cell phone! He prayed that AJ had listened, had taken his warning seriously. He knew that even if there were no more games, Xavier still intended to give his surprise. That means I might have another chance to warn the guys! His elation turned to surprise as he suddenly swayed, clutching at his bed sheets for support. What the…?

He heard Xavier cluck in fake sympathy. "Oh sorry, forgot to tell you. That pill you took? Just a little something to help you sleep."

Brian blinked slowly, his head swimming. Unable to stay upright he slumped into his pillow, watching Xavier's face waver before him.

"Nope. Can't have you trying to escape again. Not when I'm so close to becoming a rich ex-bodyguard."

Opening his mouth, Brian struggled to say something, anything, but the ability to speak was beyond his control. Resisting the temptation to close his eyes, he fought, striving to stay awake. Xavier gave an amused laugh and stiffly swung his legs over the side of the bed, ignoring the sharp stab from his right side. He leaned over to study the drugged singer, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. Bit by bit Brian's eyes drooped lower until they finally closed and Xavier smiled, satisfied. He watched as Brian's breathing became regular; the slow rise and fall of his chest indicating that the young singer was completely under.

Carefully Xavier reached out, his fingers running lightly through Brian's hair. "Yes, tomorrow you and I will be in Mexico." He bent over, gently planting a kiss on Brian's injured forehead. Brian's eyes fluttered for a moment at the touch, then went still.

"And who knows? If I'm feeling nice enough, maybe I'll let you live."

***

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