Chapter 77:

Tracking it All Down

Howie and AJ found Daniel's office a few doors down from Backstreet HR and they walked in, impressed by the elegant furnishings and quiet ambiance of the place.

"I think we're paying these guys too much," whispered Howie, listening to the strains of Bach float soothingly throughout the room.

"We pay everyone too much," grumbled AJ. He curiously peeked down the long hallway, wondering where the secretary was. Shrugging, he motioned for Howie to join him and the two wandered down the hall, glancing into every opened door. They found Daniel in the third room, his office every bit as stylish as the reception room. AJ rapped on the open door, startling Daniel, who had been reclining in his high back leather chair, phone in hand.

"Gotta go, call you later," he announced, hanging up the phone. Daniel stood up, his hand ushering for AJ and Howie to take a seat.

"Mr. McLean, Mr. Dorough, won't you sit down?"

Howie eased into his with a smile. "Danny, come on, call me Howie, okay? But you can call AJ anything you want."

AJ threw Howie a sarcastic smile as Daniel laughed, sitting back down. "It's good to meet you, AJ. Paul is the one who handles your account, right?"

AJ nodded, feeling out of place in this office that reeked of establishment.

"So, what can I do for you gentlemen?" Daniel leaned back in his chair, his hands folded, bright blue eyes flickering from one to another.

AJ cleared his throat, deciding to be blunt. "We heard you talking about Brian's bank account and wanted to know what's up. We're thinking maybe we could help you with some of your questions."

Daniel smiled, shaking his head. "Sorry guys. Confidentiality clause."

AJ shifted in his seat, leaning forward. "Maybe you don't understand, Daniel. We need to know, and we need to know right now."

Daniel pursed his lips together, frowning. "AJ, I'm sorry, I just can't. Legally, my hands are tied. I'm sure you understand."

"Then you're fired."

AJ turned, slightly shocked at Howie's announcement. Daniel blinked in surprise, not believing what he just heard. "Excuse me?"

Howie look straight at him, calm and composed. "You're fired. You and who ever else are our accountants. As of this moment." He glanced at AJ for confirmation and AJ nodded, the slightest smile touching the corner of his lips. Go Howie!

"Now just a moment…" began Daniel, alarm rising in his voice.

"Dan," said Howie soothingly, "we have to know. It's an emergency. Either you help us or you can walk out right now. I promise, in writing if you want, that we won't hold you responsible. We think Brian is in some sort of trouble and we need your help."

Daniel stood up and nervously paced for a moment. Backstreet was huge, their largest account. He could kiss his lifestyle, along with his partner’s goodbye if they lost it. He glanced sourly at Howie, then AJ. "Are Kevin and Nick in agreement?"

"Yes," replied AJ firmly, happy to see Daniel beginning to waver.

"And you all will sign, not holding me accountable?"

Two eager nods.

Daniel sat down and heaved a sigh. "Okay, what do you need to know?"

* * * * *

Damn Nick! I'm gonna kill him just as soon as I get out of here! Kevin smiled weakly at Terri, who was trying her best to make him feel more comfortable. She had insisted on taking his coat and was now offering a drink, a hard one at that.

'Uh, it’s a little early in the morning don't you think?"

Terri frowned prettily and indicated for Kevin to take a seat. She hopped onto to the front of her desk, crossing her legs, her dress not-so-innocently hiked higher than necessary.

Kevin groaned inwardly. He was surprised at how nervous he was, not accustom to the femme fatal wiles of an older woman. Screaming, fainting, I-love-you teenagers, no sweat. Blatant come-ons from a Backstreet employee, not so easy.

"Now, Kevin, you don't mind me calling you Kevin do you, how can I be of service?"

Kevin tried to keep his face blank as possible, hearing Terri lower her voice seductively on the last word. "Um, first of all I'd like to say that the guys and I want to thank you for all the tremendous work you have been doing for us." Kevin knew he didn't need to praise her, she was already glowing, but he figured it wouldn't hurt. "I'm also wondering if I can talk to you about one of our bodyguards, Xavier Delgado."

Terri brightened. That wonderful man! He said he would try to get them over to see me and he did! She made a mental note to thank him the next time she saw him. "Oh, Mr. Delgado! Such a gentleman!"

Kevin coughed. "Uh, yeah. Well, you see he has helped us a lot." More than you could ever know. "The guys want to thank him, surprise him if you will, with a …" Kevin thought furiously, "with a birthday party. Only he's so stubborn. Xavier never tells us anything about himself. We want to see his personal records so we can find out a little more about him, when his birthday is." Kevin tensed, wondering if Terri would believe him.

She did. "Oh, how nice! However, I can't release that sort of information."

Kevin frowned inwardly. "Even to me?" He gave her a pleading look, staring directly into her eyes. "Please?"

Terri's heart skipped a beat. Oh my God! He's so gorgeous! He sounds like he really needs that information. A slow smile crept across her face, wondering how far she could push it. Here goes nothing! She shook her head reluctantly. "Even to you. I'm sorry."

Kevin sighed. Great. Now what? Force her to? Fire her?

"Unless…" she drawled, hopping down off her desk and coming up close to Kevin.

Kevin caught the tone in her voice and looked at her hopefully. "Unless? Unless, what?"

Terri smiled, a smile that made Kevin suddenly edgy and he stood up, staring down at her.

She placed a light hand on his chest, then looked up at him. "Unless you and I might be able to work out an agreement, say something that might be beneficial to both of us?" She barely finished the last word when she snaked her hands up to his face, bringing his head down to firmly plant a passionate kiss on his lips.

* * * * * *

Nick could hardly contain his delight. Elaine was a veritable goldmine, showing him anything he wanted on her computer. Every few minutes Nick pointed to the screen, nodding his head for her to make a hard copy as he searched for what he was looking for.

"Damn! I never knew you guys had this much information on us!"

Elaine clicked away on her mouse. "This isn't the half of it. My boss's office has a ton too."

Nick threw her a teasing smile. "Say, doesn't the Enquirer pay big bucks for this info?"

Elaine laughed easily, leaning back in her chair. "I happen to enjoy my freedom, Nick. Besides, my boyfriend wouldn't be too happy visiting me in prison."

"What?" cried Nick, shocked. "So I'm not your boyfriend?" He was enjoying their flirting, knowing neither of them was taking each other seriously. He couldn't remember the last time he talked to a girl the same age as him without her swooning all over him.

"Well, maybe you can be," she drawled jokingly. "Do you like bikes?"

Nick nodded. "You bet. Harleys, low riders…"

'No, no, no. I mean mountain bikes, racing bikes. You know, ironman? My boyfriend is a triathelete."

"Oh." Nick gave her a defeated pout. "One of those. Lean, mean, a real stud."

Elaine pouted along with him. "Poor baby, I'm sorry. You're cuter than him, does that help?"

Nick sighed dramatically. "I guess." He noticed another screen. "Hey, give me that too." He tried not to show the excitement he felt as he studied Xavier's personal bio for a moment. Ecstatic over obtaining the information, Nick looked up and smiled sincerely at Elaine. "Ya know, you're really helpful. I say we give you a raise."

Elaine's eyes opened wide. "I say we give me a raise too!"

* * * * * *

Howie raced to catch up with AJ as he hurried to Backstreet HR. "Do you think that was such a good idea freezing Brian's bank account? What if he needs money?"

AJ stopped just before the HR door, turning to Howie. "D, didn't you just see the amounts Xavier pulled from Bri's account? Shit yeah, it was a good idea! Besides, it's not completely frozen, he can still get $500 a day. We didn't leave Brian completely broke."

"Do you think Xavier will know it was us?"

"How the hell could he? He still doesn't think we know anything, remember?"

Howie fidgeted nervously. "Yeah. Well let's see how Nick and Kevin are doing. I want to get out of here."

"Me too." AJ opened the door and both walked inside, noticing Nick leaning over Elaine, staring intently at her computer. "Wassup?"

Nick turned to them, a wide grin spreading across his face. "A lot." He waved several pieces of paper excitedly at them. "Jackpot."

'Great! Where's Kevin?"

"In with the spider."

"Huh?" Confused, AJ looked at Nick as Elaine tried to smother a giggle.

"Never mind."

"Well, go get him, Nick. We gotta talk."

Nick nodded, shoving his papers at AJ. "Okay. Read these. Really interesting." He walked over to Terri's door and opened it, not bothering to knock. There, pushed almost all the way into a corner of the room was Kevin, Terri's body pressing against him.

Startled, Kevin looked up, relief washing over him at the interruption. Nick just stood there, mouth agape. Kevin pried Terri's arms away from his neck, coughing apologetically. "Uh, well I see Nick is here. Time to go?" He questioned Nick, not waiting for an answer. "Oh, okay, sure," he babbled nervously, grabbing his coat and walking quickly over to Nick, who was still frozen to the spot. He pushed Nick out the door, glancing back at Terri. 'Um, sorry. I have to go. See ya." He closed her door, heaving a huge sigh.

"What the hell was all that?" cried Nick, finally finding his voice. Kevin ignored his question and marched out into the hallway, AJ and Howie following closely behind. Nick shot Elaine a quick look and waved goodbye to her before running out. He caught up to them at the elevator, Kevin punching the down button furiously. He turned to Nick before the blonde singer could open his mouth.

"Don't say a word. Not a goddamn word, okay?" he warned, his index finger pointed directly at Nick.

Nick grinned wickedly and turned to AJ and Howie, who were watching them both curiously. "Hey, when I said let's pour on the Backstreet charm, I didn't think Kevin would take it that seriously." Nick cracked up, shaking his head.

Howie looked at Nick, then Kevin. "Huh?"

"Shut up, Nick."

"What's going on?" asked AJ, irritated, looking up from the papers Nick had handed him.

Kevin hit the down button again, swearing under his breath. "I didn't get the information we wanted. Ms. Hamilton uh, sorta wanted to make a deal."

"Seal a deal is more like it," smirked Nick.

"Nothing happened, Nick, nothing," growled Kevin. "But if you so much as breathe a word of this to Kristin, I'll break your scrawny neck."

"She came on to you? Our HR person?"

Kevin frowned at AJ's disbelief, his pride hurt. "Yeah, AJ. Newsflash. Even I, an old married man can still turn on women."

AJ snickered, then started to laugh along with Nick and Howie. 'I'm sorry, Kev. Really. I didn't mean that way, it's just …damn! I would have loved to seen that! Quick Nick, tell me all about it."

The elevator door opened and all four piled in, Kevin unsuccessfully trying to shut Nick up as Nick gladly spilled his guts.

* * * * * * *

For the first time since crossing the border Brian felt on more familiar ground. He looked around at the surroundings before him, noticing with some curiosity the similarity between American and foreign banks. Tellers, customers, bank vault, all the same except that here everyone spoke Spanish.

Xavier had been in high spirits when they arrived, the most enthusiastic Brian had ever seen him. Various papers had been shoved Brian's way and he signed each one, not giving so much as a glance at them. Brian could feel the curious look from the bank officer but he didn't care, his own eagerness growing as he realized that any moment he would be rid of Xavier. He knew with out a doubt that Xavier would never cross back into Arizona, that he would take the money and run.

Now as they both waited anxiously for the bank officer to come back from processing the transfer Brian felt a wild triumph coursing through him. Free. Free from the agony, the pain, the nightmare that this human monster sitting next to him had created. Brian craned his neck around, searching for the dark-haired officer and located him standing next to a teller, both of who were staring intently at a computer, the teller shaking his head and pointing to the screen. Brian smiled. Probably can't believe how much I have in there.

Brian sneaked a quick glance at Xavier, noticing the large bodyguard watching the two bank employees with interest. He wondered exactly how much he had signed away to Xavier but then realized he didn't care, any amount was worth it if it meant getting rid of this madman. Both watched with anticipation as the heavy-set bank officer sat back down, folding his hands carefully in front of him. The officer spoke slowly and Brian grasped that the officer wanted him to understand what was being said by talking in English.

"Gentlemen, lo siento, I am sorry. We cannot complete the transaction. Senor Littrell's account has denied the transfer."

"Denied?"

Brian hadn't realized that he had been holding his breath until he exhaled in shocked surprise. He turned to face Xavier, noticing the quiet fury seething in the bodyguard's eyes. "Why was it denied?" he asked frantically, a wave of utter desperation overtaking him as he saw his freedom evaporating before his very eyes.

The bank officer shrugged kindly, hearing the anxiety in the young man's voice. Xavier began to speak to the banker rapidly in Spanish, the sharp, barking language telling Brian in no uncertain terms that Xavier was incensed, even if he didn't understand the words.

The banker tried to calm Xavier, his voice soothing as he spoke quietly in Spanish to the bodyguard. The officer glanced around his bank, his eyes darting back and forth to see what effect Xavier's angry words had on his customers. No curious heads swung in their direction and the bank officer sighed in relief, turning his attention back to his two customers. The seats were empty.

***

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