Chapter 78:
Splitting Up
Realizing that they needed to talk, all
four Backstreet Boys huddled in the corner booth of the nearly deserted coffee
shop, located on the first floor of the building. Nick had made sure that
Elaine printed several copies so that they were all able to look at their own copy.
They scanned the information quietly, waiting for the waitress to hand them
their drinks before saying anything.
Kevin sighed and placed his copy down,
stirring his coffee. "Well?" he questioned.
"Backstreet sure has a lot of
personal information on us," observed Howie, not liking what he saw.
'No shit," agreed AJ. "Now it's
all starting to make some sense. Somehow Xavier was able to get a hold of this
information. I wondered how X was able to do some of the things he did. Now I
know."
Nick nodded, leaning back into the cushion
of the high-backed booth. "I think we need to tighten up a lot on our
security."
"Well, we already closed Brian's bank
account," announced Howie, nodding at Nick and Kevin's surprised look.
"How did you do that?"
AJ smiled, punching Howie lightly. "D
made Daniel an offer he couldn't refuse," he informed. "We got a look
at how much X was stealing from Brian. Unbelievable! So we had Daniel put a
hold on his account. I wish I could see the look on Xavier's face when he finds
out he can't get his hands on anything!" AJ grinned wickedly and sipped at
his coffee.
Kevin looked at AJ and grinned, taking a
sip of his own brew. "Not bad. Do you think Xavier will know it's
us?"
"That's what D said. No, I don't
think so. Hopefully he'll just think it's a computer glitch."
"Well the last thing we want to do is
make Xavier suspicious of us. That could ruin everything. We gotta be
careful." All three nodded solemnly at Kevin's statement, aware of the
terrifying consequences if Xavier ever found out.
"Okay, we've stopped Bri's account.
We know where X got the info on us. Now what?" Nick looked at Kevin, Howie
and AJ with eager eyes.
Howie was still studying his paper on
Xavier, his hand covering his mouth in contemplation. He tossed the paper onto
the table. "I say we go look up Xavier's sister."
AJ turned to Howie, confused. "His
sister?"
"Yeah. Look. Notice how X didn't give
an address for himself? But he put one down for his sister. Must have been
living with her. And, she lives here in
"Great."
He thought for a moment, trying to figure
things out. "Okay, here is what we'll do. D, you and I will go check out
his sister, see what we can dig up. Kev, you and Nick head back to my house,
wait for us. Read over the info again, okay? See if you can find anything else
worth looking into." AJ stood up with the rest of the guys, throwing a
twenty on the table.
"Hey, why can't we come with
you?" argued Nick, not liking the arrangement.
AJ put his glasses on and stared at Nick,
looking him up and down exaggeratedly. "Because, Nicky, your lily
white ass is gonna be toast if they see someone like you down in that area.
And, as much as I worry about you, I'm more worried about my Mercedes. I'm not
letting my baby in that neighborhood!"
Nick perked up. "So I can drive your
car home?"
AJ snorted, tossing Kevin the Mercedes
keys as they headed for the parking lot. "No way." He gave Nick a
warning look. "I mean it Nick. No driving." Howie and AJ hopped into
the SUV and started to drive away, AJ's threatening scowl still visible as they
exited the parking lot.
Nick turned to Kevin, an evil smile
forming. "All right Kevin, hand them over," he demanded, his hand
outstretched.
* * * * * *
Brian winced in pain as they hurried,
almost raced along the broken, crumbling sidewalks of Nogales, Xavier's hand
wrapped cruelly around Brian's upper arm. Half dragging, half-pulling the young
singer along, many tourists stopped to view the sight, stunned by the raw anger
in the strange man's face, sympathetic to the younger man's fear.
Xavier refused to take a cab, instead
walking the distance to the border, his anger fueled to the point of boiling
over. He refused to listen to Brian's excuses, wanting instead to sort the
matter out himself as he yanked the Backstreet Boy along the way. For a moment
Xavier stopped, his hand held upright as he motioned for Brian to remain still,
his eyes promising dire consequences if he didn't obey.
Flipping open his cell phone, Xavier
dialed a number, waiting impatiently for someone to answer. He swore mightily
as the phone searched for a satellite, roaming, trying to connect the call, the
tall, dilapidated buildings on the street blocking a clear shot. He flicked the
phone shut and shoved it into his pocket, ignoring Brian's curious stare as he
picked up the pace again. In short time they were at the border entrance and
Xavier immediately relaxed, shaking himself into a composed manner. As he
expected, they let Brian through, only stopping him briefly to ask if he was a
Satisfied that he could now get through,
Xavier stopped after a few hundred yards, pulling his cell phone out once more.
He quickly punched in the number, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited.
"You there?" he barked into the
phone, listening intently. "Good. Do it." He closed the cell phone
and gave Brian a satisfied sneer of revenge. Brian's knees buckled underneath
him, too overwhelmed with anguish and he realized Xavier had just ordered the
"surprise."
* * * * * *
"Jeez, D, will you relax? It's not
that bad!" AJ had to laugh a little, noticing his friend's nervousness as
they cruised slowly down the derelict residential street, trying to pinpoint
the exact address.
"Yeah, well how would you know? You
don't live here around here. For all we know, this address could be fake!"
He yelped as a group of rough-looking teenage boys suddenly jaywalked right in
front of them, causing AJ to hit the breaks a little too hard. "See that?
Did you see that? They didn't even look! Damn! Aren't they suppose to be in
school or something?"
AJ held his hand up to his mouth, trying
to cover his smile as he decided not to tease Howie about his
"mothering" attitude. They waited patiently for the swaggering youths
to cross, both careful not to make any aggressive eye contact with the group,
who were now staring menacingly at them.
Howie prodded AJ. "Man, we are so
lost. Let's get outta here."
AJ shook his head, tapping the piece of
paper that held the address. "Not until we find that house. Say, roll down
the window and ask those guys for directions, okay?"
"Are you nuts?" yelled
Howie, his face registering his shock. He relaxed when he saw the smirk on his
friend's face. "Real funny AJ, ha ha. That's
what I've been trying to tell you! This area is pretty scary."
"Exactly why I wasn't going to drive
my Benz down here!"
"Okay, so let me get this straight.
We're expendable, but your car is not?"
"Yep," answered AJ, not listening
to Howie's heavy sigh. He turned onto another street, sure they were close to
finding the address. AJ nudged Howie, pointing with his finger at a
non-descript house sitting on a corner lot. "Bingo!" He swung the Landrover into the driveway and parked, his eyes bright
with anticipation. "Come on, D. Let's go see what we can find."
* * * * * *
Kevin wondered what had possessed him to
let Nick take the wheel, knowing that AJ would freak once he found out. He
braced himself against the dashboard as Nick turned the corner, the tires
squealing in protest at the high speed.
Nick threw the oldest Backstreet member a
crazy grin, thrilled by the engine's raw power. "Isn't she awesome? I'm
gonna get me one!"
'Nick, slow down! Jesus! You won't live
long enough to get one!"
Another wicked grin was tossed Kevin's way
and he groaned, knowing Nick wasn't listening to his advice. Another corner,
taken faster than the first, put Kevin's heart up to his throat and he quickly
understood AJ's fascination with this car. Nick floored the pedal, the sleek
car effortlessly matching the demand for speed. Caught short by the timing of a
red light, Nick suddenly hit the brakes.
"What, no beating the red
light?" mocked Kevin dramatically.
"I'm a responsible, careful
driver," Nick joked in a high, prim voice, his eyes glancing into the rear
view mirror.
"My ass you are," scoffed Kevin,
shaking his head.
"Kevin."
Nick's voice had changed, the tone a
mixture of alarm and apprehension. Kevin glanced at him curiously, noticing
that Nick's entire body was tense.
"What?"
"Keep your head forward, don't turn
and look," spoke Nick quietly, his eyes trained on the red light.
"Remember when AJ and I almost got into a accident coming downtown? It was
with a blue truck."
"Yeah, so?"
"So, the same truck is right behind
us."
Involuntarily, Kevin began to turn his
head around and Nick barked at him. "Don't! Don't move. He's watching us! Shit!"
He tapped his long fingers anxiously on the steering wheel, biting his lip.
"Are you sure?"
Nick nodded slightly, his eyes flickering
nervously at the rear view mirror. They both heard the ominous sound of an
engine rev up from behind them, indicating the driver's intentions.
"Somebody Xavier sent?"
Kevin could feel the panicky sheen of
sweat spring to his brow. "I don't know. Why is he revving up like
that?"
"Because as soon as the light changes
he's gonna floor it, maybe shove us off the road."
Kevin couldn't believe it. It was the
middle of the day for Christ's sake, on the outskirts of downtown
With a squeal of power the Mercedes and
the truck's tires raced for position as the light turned green, the truck
illegally jumping the gun and shooting ahead just fractions before the light
turned. Kevin watched in shock as he saw the truck come up even with the
Mercedes, the truck's body dangerously close to scraping the driver's side of
their car. Nick concentrated on his driving, expertly maneuvering the Benz away
from the truck's attempt to sideswipe them. He floored the gas pedal savagely
and the Mercedes kicked into high gear, sending it screaming away from the
truck. But not for long.
"Fuck!" breathed Nick, shaken by
the truck's power as it quickly pulled up next to the Benz. Both machines
jockeyed for position as they raced along the nearly deserted street, the truck
edging closer.
Wild-eyed, Kevin clung on, scrambling to
get a closer look at the driver. He felt Nick slowing down and wondered why,
turning his attention to the front and noticed a construction site looming,
their lane forming into one. The truck slowed too, matching Nick's speed, and
now Kevin could see the driver clearly, the passenger side window rolled all
the way down.
Kevin blinked in surprise, his mind
registering in slow motion the glint of a gun being pointed at them. With a
surreal, dreamlike cry of desperation Kevin lunged for Nick, yanking him and
the car's steering wheel hard towards him, the sharp crack of their shattered
window exploding around them, just seconds before the Mercedes plowed head on
into the construction site.
***
