Chapter 76:
North of the Border
AJ expected any moment to hear the wail of
his activated alarm system, sure that Nick was going to leave the security of
the house and take off. Scared, AJ called out Nick's name several times,
hearing no reply. Noticing no alarm being triggered, AJ began to search
hurriedly for his whereabouts, checking the kitchen first, then the lower level
bathrooms. No sign. Crossing the hallway AJ paused, hearing clinks of glass
coming from his den. AJ entered, trying to adjust his eyes to the dimness of
the room and then sighed in relief. There, behind the bar was Nick, bent over
and searching irritability for something to drink.
AJ walked up and sat on a stool, leaning
over the bar counter to watch Nick. "Here, let me," he ordered,
getting up off his seat and coming around the corner. "I hide the good
stuff." He shooed Nick away and crouched down, reaching in to pull out a
dusty bottle. "Cuervo. Anejo."
AJ licked his lips approvingly and poured Nick a double shot. "Sip. Don't
gulp," he advised.
Nick ignored him and tossed it back in one
swallow. "Gimme another."
AJ began to argue, then thought the better
of it. He had seeing the grimace Nick had made when he had knocked it down. He
poured another shot and handed it to him, smiling inwardly as Nick took his
advice and slowly began to sip the tequila.
"Wanna talk about it?"
Nick stared at AJ in amazement.
"That's the second time tonight! What are you, my shrink?"
AJ smiled but said nothing, capping the
bottle tightly and quietly put it away. Nick looked at him sourly. "All
right. Jeez. So I came unglued a little. Big deal." He glanced down at his
drink, swirling it absentmindedly, then looked up, noticing AJ's lack of
comment.
"Well?"
"Well, what?" AJ replied.
"Aren't you gonna say something….uh,
Kevin-like?"
AJ gave Nick a look of mock hurt.
"Man, what a cut. Thanks a lot."
Nick sighed in exasperation. "You
know what I mean, Bone."
AJ smiled tiredly at his friend and nodded
at the drink. "Finish it up, Nick. It's your last for the night." He
glanced at his watch. "Or, should I say, morning."
Nick shook his head and handed his drink
back to AJ. "No thanks. I think that first one was more than enough."
Leaning over the bar top Nick crossed his arms then rested his head wearily on
top.
"What do you think about what Brian
said?" Nick posed the question so softly that AJ was barely able to catch
it.
"Um, which part are you talking
about?"
Nick raised his head to see AJ fiddling
nervously with an ice tong. "You know which part."
AJ threw the tongs back into the ice
bucket, distressed. He really didn't want to talk about it, much less think
about it. "Nick, I don't want to go there, okay? What Brian said about
Xavier and him and what actually is true could be two worlds apart."
Nick wasn't about to give up so easily.
"Yeah, I know, but haven't you ever wondered exactly what sort of hold
Xavier has over Brian?"
AJ rubbed his brow. "It could be a
lot of things, Nick. Physical abuse, obviously. Blackmailing? Absolutely."
Nick frowned at AJ. "Yeah, but Brian
is incredibly strong-willed. X would have to be doing something pretty awful to
keep Bri so afraid."
"Don't you think I know that?"
shot back AJ, exasperated. "I know Xavier. I know whatever he did
or is doing to Brian has to be terrible."
"So, what about sexual abuse?"
AJ looked away. Nick had finally said it,
damn him, the one thing he didn't want to talk about.
"Bone? Answer me." AJ could hear
the harshness in Nick's voice. "Do you think Xavier is sexually abusing
Brian?"
AJ slowly turned back to face Nick and
Nick caught the despair, the torment in his face.
"I don't know Nick. I really don't.
Yeah, I remember what Sarah said about Bri being X's lover. I'm just praying he
said that to get Xavier into a fight, to escape. I'll be honest with you Nick.
I’m not sure I can handle this right now. It's too much and I … we need to
focus on getting Brian back and not on what might have happened to him."
Nick nodded, hanging his head, letting the
information sink in. He sighed and glanced up, giving AJ an encouraging look.
"Okay. You're right, as usual." Nick smiled faintly at AJ. "I
guess we'll be able to find out a lot more tomorrow, huh?"
"More like today," AJ replied,
reminding him again how early in the morning it was. "Come on, let's see
if we can get a few hours of sleep. I have a feeling we're gonna need it."
* * * * * *
Hurriedly stumbling into the bathroom,
Brian was barely able to make it to the toilet before miserably vomiting the
side effects of the painkiller/sleeping pill Xavier had shoved down his throat.
Upon awaking, it had taken him several minutes to figure out where he was, the
pain in his head and stomach excruciating. He had heard Xavier rustling about,
getting dressed, and had turned painfully on his side to watch the bodyguard
getting ready for the day, humming quietly as he inspected his belongings.
Xavier had glanced at Brian. "Get up.
Time to get moving." Brian had struggled to comply, hearing the firmness
in Xavier's order.
Now, as the spasms from his stomach quieted,
he listened to the sarcasm in Xavier's voice as the bodyguard peered into the
bathroom, noticing Brian slumped exhaustedly on the tile floor.
"Guess the big breakfast at Denny's
doesn't sound too good right now, does it?"
"Sure it does," snapped Brian.
"Then I'll make sure to puke all over you after I'm done eating
it."
Xavier snorted, giving his head a shake.
"Testy, testy." He leaned over to yank hard on the showerhead. The
hot water sprayed out, a fine mist of steam curling upwards. "Come
on," he ordered," time to take a shower. You're a mess." Xavier
eyed Brian thoughtfully when the singer made no move to stand. "Hmm.
Perhaps you need some help undressing?"
Brian quickly struggled to stand upright,
a panicked look crossing the young singer's face. Xavier laughed as Brian
closed the bathroom door with a solid slam.
"I guess not."
* * * * * *
Kevin rubbed his face as he trudged
wearily into AJ's kitchen, hoping to God there was fresh coffee brewing. He
needed about a gallon of it. He glanced disappointedly at the unlit coffee
machine and sighed, wondering where AJ kept the coffee filters. Noticing a slip
of paper lying on the countertop, Kevin picked it up, recognizing AJ's
scribble.
Guys, took Howie, went to Mickey D's.
Back soon with breakfast.
Ugh. Kevin hated McDonalds. "Just remember to bring back some
coffee, please?" he pleaded.
"Remember to bring back what?"
questioned Nick as he straggled in, his hair defying the laws of gravity as it
poked up in various directions.
Kevin sat on a kitchen stool.
"Coffee. I hope AJ brings back coffee. He and Howie went to
McDonalds." Kevin eyed Nick curiously as the youngest singer hopped easily
onto the granite countertop. "How ya doing? You okay?"
"Yeah, fine." Nick yawned
expansively. "Not much sleep, though. How about you?"
"I'll manage." Kevin strummed
his fingers, impatient. "Come on, guys. I need my coffee."
Nick shook his head, amused. "You
really need that stuff to wake you up? I don't."
Kevin stared at Nick in disbelief.
"Whaddya talking about? How about all that sugar cereal shit you eat in
the morning? Don't talk to me about not needing a buzz."
"It's not as bad as coffee."
"Are you kidding? It's worse,"
scoffed Kevin.
"You're full of it, Kevin."
"Me? Who's grumpy if he doesn't have his
bowl of Twinkies in the morning?"
"Fruit Loops. Not Twinkies."
"Whatever. It's still crap. You need
to stop…" Kevin trailed off, his lecture forgotten as he heard, then saw
AJ's dogs dance excitedly around Howie and AJ as the two entered the kitchen,
their arms loaded with take-out bags.
"About time," grumbled Kevin,
searching the various McDonalds bags for his treasured caffeine.
"Aw, damn it AJ, you forgot
the…" Kevin's eyes widened in surprise as a Starbuck's insulated cup was
shoved in front of his face. AJ smirked as he also waved a tantalizing onion
bagel loaded with crčam cheese, eliciting a groan of
pleasure from Kevin.
"Thanks, AJ. I'd kiss you if you
weren't so butt-ugly in the morning."
"This is the appreciation I
get for driving five miles out of my way?" AJ moaned theatrically, turning
to Howie, who was diving, along with Nick, into the McDonalds bags.
Howie shrugged, licking his fingers.
"Well, you are butt-ugly in the morning," he admitted, dodging
a biscuit thrown his way. Jack and Vegas eagerly scooped it up, trotting out
the doggie door before their master had a chance to stop them.
AJ frowned at his departing dogs for a
moment before turning his attention to Howie. "Hey D, I hear the grease in
your sausage biscuit can do wonders for your hair."
Nick snickered, grinning at Howie's look
of pretend hurt and threw a piece of his own sausage patty at him. "Here,
try it."
Howie tore off a piece of his food,
ignoring AJ's cries of "no food fight!" as he sailed one at Nick.
Nick moved quickly and the piece of biscuit landed squarely into Kevin's open
cup of coffee.
Dark, emerald green eyes rose to match
Howie and Nick's scared ones, promising dire payback. "Uh, I'm gonna go
get ready," announced Howie and Nick agreed, snatching his food and
running out of the kitchen with Howie.
Long fingers picked the offending floating
particle out of his cup, and with a sigh Kevin flung it away, hearing the
muffled laughter of Nick and Howie heading down the hall. AJ smiled at Kevin's
long-suffering look and shook his head sympathetically.
* * * * * *
"Oh, come on," pleaded Nick in
an intentionally whiny voice, "let me drive your Mercedes, pretty
please?"
AJ held the keys away from Nick's wiggling
fingers, shocked. "What? And let you dent my baby? No way, sorry," he
said, not in the least. He motioned for Howie and Kevin to follow him into the
garage, tossing another set of keys to Howie. After the near breakfast food
fight, all four had quickly showered and shaved, eager to head downtown. They
decided to pair off, taking two of AJ's vehicles for safety. AJ began to regret
his pairing up with Nick, as the youngest Backstreet Boy continued begging,
unfazed by AJ's refusal to hand over the car keys.
"I swear I'm a good driver,
right?" he asked Kevin, waiting for a reply. Kevin rolled his eyes, not
wanting to answer and hopped into AJ's Landrover with
Howie.
Nick, sensing defeat, turned back to AJ.
"Okay, so I dinged my SUV a little."
"A little?" AJ's voice rose a
notch.
"Um, okay, maybe a lot. But it
happened in the parking lot, I swear. It wasn't my fault."
"Yeah, sure."
Nick ran in front of AJ, his hands clasped
in prayer. "Come on, AJ! Just this once. Pleeaase."
He threw a quick glance at the black gleaming Mercedes. "I promise, if a
bird so much as craps on it, I'll have it repainted."
"Wow," drawled AJ sarcastically.
"What a deal." He heaved a sigh as he looked into Nick's beseeching
eyes. "Oh all right, you big whiner," he conceded, tossing a
delighted Nick his keys. AJ signaled to Howie his intentions, ignoring Howie's
warning look of disapproval.
Nick hopped happily into the sleek car and
started it, admiring its many gadgets as he waited for AJ to enter the
passenger side. "Sweet!" he commented, giving AJ a look of
admiration.
"It should be," admitted AJ
grudgingly. "It cost me a fortune."
Nick leaned over and punched the CD
player, his face wide-open in shock as the beginning verse of the song began to
play. He started hooting with laughter as AJ hurriedly hit the eject button.
"Oh my God, you've got to be shitting
me!" howled Nick, pounding his hand on the dashboard in delight.
"Britney Spears? You're listening to a Britney Spears CD?"
"It's not mine," denied AJ
heatedly, knowing his face was turning red. "Uh, … it belonged to the last
chick I was dating."
"Oh sure," drawled Nick, not
believing a word. "I remember her! She was like, uh, 13 right? Yeah!
That's it! The 21-year olds were getting just a little too old."
"Fuck you," growled AJ,
irritated. "Do you want to drive this thing or not? Cause right now, I'm
having second thoughts."
"Okay, okay," said Nick, trying
hard not to laugh. He put the car in gear, glancing at AJ.
"Ready?" he questioned as AJ
struggled with his buckle. Nick took off without warning, the tires smoking in
protest as he floored the Mercedes, wanting to see if AJ's boasts about the
awesome power of his car were really true.
"Nickkkkkk…."
Kevin and Howie heard AJ scream, as the Mercedes screeched out of the driveway
and turned the corner. Howie hurriedly put the Landrover
in gear, sighing, hoping he could keep up with "Mario Andretti"
Nick.
* * * * * *
Whether it was atop a hamburger or a
breakfast sandwich, Brian noticed with disgust that Xavier still had a craving
for jalepeno relish. The drive-through McDonald's
cashier handed the bodyguard several packets of them and Xavier whooped,
delighted in the amount.
He pulled into the restaurant's parking
lot and turned off the ignition, nudging at Brian to eat something. Brian
slowly peeled back the paper to his bacon-egg and cheese biscuit, hoping he
could force it down without gagging as the greasy smell of it cramped his still
upset stomach.
Xavier watched Brian carefully, noting his
reluctance. "Believe me, this food is gourmet next to what you'll find in Nogie. That is, if you're brave enough to try it down
there. Eat." He prodded an elbow at Brian, his look commanding.
Brian took a small bite, trying to ignore
his roiling stomach as he gazed outside the car window. He was glad they were
at least eating in the car, not wanting the stares and looks of amazement
coming from the customers who would see their battered faces. Brian had gazed
once and once only after he had finished his shower, not willing to believe the
magnitude of the ugly gash and bruise crossing his brow. Xavier looked even
worse, his injuries even more intimidating that the sheer size of the massive
bodyguard himself.
Brian noticed Xavier getting out of the
car, having already finished his food. He hastily crammed the rest of his
sandwich in his mouth, praying that it stayed down. Exiting the car, Brian
stared suspiciously at Xavier, wondering what they were going to do next.
Xavier locked the car, motioning with a quick hand for Brian to hurry as he
took off at a brisk walk. Brian caught up to him, wincing slightly in pain as
he placed his sunglasses on to protect against the bright southwestern sun.
"Where are we going?" he asked
curiously, trying to keep pace with the longer strides of the bodyguard. Xavier
pointed a finger and Brian strained to look.
"The border is right over there.
We're gonna walk across."
"We're not going to drive?"
Xavier gave the singer a snort of sarcasm.
"Yeah, right. Cross the border with guns in our back trunk. You may be in
a hurry to rot in a Mexican jail, but I'm not." Xavier jaywalked across
the street and Brian raced across, ignoring the blare of horns as he tried to
catch up with him. "Besides," Xavier added, "it's not that far
to the border. Maybe a half-mile or so." Xavier placed dark sunglasses on
himself, throwing the Backstreet Boy a satisfied grin as he picked up the pace,
eager. "Yep, soon I'm gonna be a rich man."
* * * * * *
"You are so fucking lucky you didn't
damage my car," threatened AJ as all four piled out of the cars. He walked
around, inspecting it closely as Nick smirked at Kevin and Howie. AJ sighed in
relief, vowing never to let Nick even breathe on his Mercedes again.
"Lucky?" scoffed Nick, crossing
his arms in protest. "Who was the one who managed to swerve just in time
to avoid that idiot?" Nick nodded importantly, pleased at his quick
reflexes. A blue truck had narrowly missed them, coming from a blind spot on
the road. "If I remember correctly, and I do, you were screaming at the
top of your lungs as I saved our asses."
AJ placed his shades on, staring up at the
tall building towering over them. They had found the Backstreet Human Resource
address easily, thanks to the Mercedes' Northstar
navigation system. Ignoring Nick's gloating and not willing to acknowledge
Nick's skill at preventing an accident, he turned to Kevin instead.
"HR knows we're coming?"
"Yeah, I called them this morning,
talked to the secretary. She seemed kinda pissed; sounded like they were
planning to leave early for the holiday weekend."
"Well boo-fucking-hoo," scoffed
Nick, anxious to go in. "Like I care."
Howie grabbed Nick's arm, worried.
"Jeez, Nick, remember what we're trying to do here. If you go in with that
attitude, we'll never get the information we need on Xavier."
AJ nodded as the four entered the building.
"D's right. I don't know what information we can pull from them, but I'd
rather have them happy than pissed."
Crowding into the elevator, Nick punched
the 11th floor button, then glanced at the other three. "Okay. Time to
turn on the Backstreet charm." He threw a cheesy grin and Kevin groaned
exaggeratedly.
"Sheesh, now I know we're in
trouble."
* * * * * *
"Oh, shit, hurry, hurry!"
yelled Terri frantically at her secretary who was struggling to make the office
look presentable. Elaine threw Terri a resentful look, noticing that her boss
had no time to help her but had plenty of time to put the last finishing
touches of makeup on.
"There, best I can do," Elaine
said dryly, hiding the garbage can under her desk before sitting down.
Terri frowned, meaning to chastise her
when she noticed the office door open, Nick, Howie, AJ, and Kevin entering.
Terri froze to the spot. Oh my God. Kevin. Terri threw Elaine a nasty
look. The little bitch! She never said anything about Kevin coming! If I had
known, I would have changed into something sexier!
Elaine smiled inwardly, maliciously
enjoying the surprised look on her boss's face and coolly turned towards the
guys.
"Hi, how can I help you?" she
asked, using her usual standard greeting to everyday customers.
Terri snorted quietly in disgust,
extending her hand professionally to Kevin. "Hello, I'm Terri Hamilton, VP
of Human Resources." She about swooned as she felt Kevin's strong hand
grasps hers in a warm handshake. She kept a firm grip on Kevin's hand, not
letting go. "I'm honored to have you all here," she announced
not giving the others a second glance. She smiled, her gaze fixed only on
Kevin.
The look was not lost on the other three;
they had seen that lustful look too many times before. Nick sneaked a peak at
Elaine and grinned, and Elaine grinned back, rolling her eyes.
Kevin cleared his throat, embarrassed.
"Uh, if you don't mind, Ms. Hamilton,…"
"Terri, please."
"Terri. Okay. We'd like to ask you a
few questions…"
Once more Kevin was interrupted, only this
time it was a male voice and coming from the open office door.
"Kevin? Howie? Is that you?"
All six turned to see an older gentleman
standing by the door, a leather briefcase in hand. Kevin smiled gratefully at
the interruption, recognizing Daniel as one of their accountants.
"Dan! How are you? You're located in
this building now?"
Daniel walked in, grinning. "Yeah.
Moved in a month ago. Management thought it would be easier to keep track of
everything if we were all located in one place." He shook hands with all
four Backstreet Boys, nodding politely.
"What brings you guys down here? Need
a loan?" he joked.
Terri butted in. "They're here to see
me, Dan." Her eyes were shooting little daggers of "get
lost."
Daniel smiled good-naturedly at Terri,
taking the not-so-subtle hint. "Oh, well. Guess I'll be going, let you
guys get down to business." He turned towards the door, then stopped and
turned to face them again. "Say, Brian wouldn't happen to be with you,
would he?" Daniel didn't notice the tension that suddenly filled the room.
"Uh, no, Brian isn't here. Why?"
questioned Howie.
"Well, I've been trying to get a hold
of him lately. I wanted to talk to him about his bank account. I guess it can
wait. When you see him, let him know I want to talk to him, okay?" Daniel
waved a friendly goodbye and left.
AJ threw Kevin a concerned look and Kevin
caught the look, giving AJ one back. He glanced at Terri, who was trying to
mask her adoration, but failing miserably. He sighed inwardly. "AJ, Howie?
Why don't you guys go talk to Daniel, all right? I think I'll be able to handle
things here with Nick." He looked meaningfully at AJ who nodded,
understanding completely. Whatever information they pried out of Terri, Kevin
was obviously the man for the job.
AJ punched Howie lightly in the arm.
"Let's go. I need to ask Daniel a few questions."
The two left and Terri turned towards
Kevin, ecstatic. She stuck out a well-manicured hand, pointing the way.
"Won't you come into my office?"
"Said the spider to the fly,"
whispered Nick wickedly, giving Kevin a grin.
Terri looked at Nick confused. "Um,
did you say something?"
Nick shook his head innocently.
"Nope. Say Kev, why don't you go on in? I think I'm gonna stay out here
and get acquainted with my new number one fan." He gave Elaine a
flirtatious wink.
"Thanks, Nick."
Nick heard the payback in Kevin's voice
and gave the dark-haired singer a sickeningly sweet smile. "You're
welcome." He chose to ignore the look Kevin gave him before Terri's door
closed, turning his attention to Elaine. "Okay, number one fan, what do
you want to talk about?" The secretary's eyes lit up and Nick had a
feeling he was going to learn a lot.
* * * * *
Brian, along with several other tourists,
waited patiently for their turn to walk through the metal revolving door, their
entrance into
"But I'm sure border will check you,
what with your dark complexion and all," mocked Xavier.
Brian ignored Xavier's taunt as they
passed through the metal bars, trying his best to sightsee as he struggled to
keep up with the bodyguard's fast pace. Having been exposed to many foreign
lands he was sure he had seen it all, but what lay before him took him by
surprise. Various vendors dotted their pathway, colorful blankets spread on the
ground to display their wares. He stumbled for a moment, tripping over a large
crack in the crumbling sidewalk and made a mental note to be more careful. The
waft of an indescribable odor floated in the air as they saw a local street
peddler cooking on a makeshift grill.
Xavier nodded knowingly at the grimace on
the young singer's face. "Told you," he said as they paused to look
at the chunks of questionable meat searing over an open flame. Xavier picked up
the pace again, weaving skillfully through the tourists. They passed by several
open-air shops, their hard-core owners standing just outside, eagerly looking
for their next possible customer. A number of determined owners cut in front of
Brian, each with a large smile, an open arm, greeting him in broken English to
come inside and inspect their goods. Xavier cut them all off with a frown and a
few harsh words spoken rapidly in Spanish. From the look in their eyes, Brian
knew that whatever Xavier had said stop them dead in their tracks, wise enough
to know when to quit.
The local beggar children were made of
sterner stuff. Raised on the streets, quick to pick out what tourist looked
like an easy patsy, they zeroed in on Brian, their soulful brown eyes, grubby
clothing, and pleading cries as they held out dirty styrofoam cups enough to
melt the most callous of hearts.
Brian stopped, fishing out his wallet,
dropping a twenty dollar bill into the nearest cup. It was definitely the wrong
thing to do. From out of nowhere he was suddenly swarmed by a horde of hopeful
faces, each trying their best to joggle for best position as they tugged and
pulled at Brian, their outreached hands waving wildly.
Brian had to laugh a little at the sight
as he tried valiantly to accommodate them. A large hand reached in, clamping
onto Brian's wrist and yanked the blonde singer away from the excited group of
beggars, throwing a heated warning at them. They scattered, gone as quickly as
they had come.
"Why did you do that?" asked
Brian exasperatedly. "You know, I've got enough for you too."
Xavier frowned warningly at the sneer on
Brian's face. "You just gave them more money than they earn in a week.
Stuff like that doesn't go unnoticed by others. Others that wouldn't think
twice about helping themselves to what you've got, dead or alive."
Brian tried to hide his uneasiness.
"Well, I guess that's what I'm paying you for, isn't it? To protect me."
He spoke the last three words sarcastically, both understanding the lie in it.
Instantly Xavier was all over him,
grabbing Brian tightly around his upper arm. "You're pushing it," he
hissed. "You're lucky I need your hand to sign at the bank, otherwise I'd
snap it like a twig. Remember Benny?" he said lightly, waiting for Brian's
reaction.
Brian nodded, the throb of Xavier crushing
his arm enough to make him realize what horrible pain Benny must have
experienced.
"Good."
Xavier relaxed his grip, his face
smoothing out. He turned away from Brian to scan the street, catching the eye
of an observant taxi cab driver and waved him over. The battered station wagon
rattled up and the over-exuberant driver jumped out, waving for his customers
to enter. Reluctantly Brian stepped in, holding his breath as the cab driver
took off, barely missing another car. Having hopped into the front passenger
side, Xavier turned around to smile at Brian, his voice radiating enthusiasm.
"In about an hour I'm gonna be an
ex-bodyguard. Think you can handle it?" He laughed uproariously as Brian
looked back at him, expressionless.
***
