Chapter 79:
Aggie and Lizzie
Howie gave AJ an irritable look as they
both stood before the front door, poking his friend in the ribs when AJ leaned
forward to ring the doorbell. "Take those stupid sunglasses off," he
ordered. "No one likes talking to someone they can't see!"
AJ heaved a sigh, reluctantly pushing his
shades up to rest on his head. Howie was right, of course, but it still annoyed
him that his friend never stopped ragging him about it. The glasses were now
such a habit that he felt naked, insecure without them. He pushed the bell
again and turned to see Howie giving him an approving nod. AJ tossed him a
peevish look, quietly mouthing, screw you. Intent on returning the
compliment, Howie opened his mouth but stopped when the door suddenly opened.
A young, obviously exhausted young woman
stared at them harshly, her eyes shifting questioningly at the two men before
her. She swayed back and forth, the natural motion of a new mother who held her
baby in her arms. A curious head popped around the mother's waist, two brown
eyes filling with excitement.
"I know who you are!" she
announced importantly, jumping out from behind her mother.
"You're AJ and you're Howie!"
She turned to her mother, her voice filling with pride. "I told you
Uncle X said I could meet them. I told you, but you didn't believe me!"
Her bright smile was contagious and AJ and Howie grinned back, charmed by her
childish confidence.
"Where's Brian?" she asked
suddenly, her eyebrows knitting together in concern. "He's my favorite.
Didn't he come?"
Howie could hear the disappointment, the
hurt in her voice and bent down to come eye level with her. "Uh, no
sweetheart, Brian couldn't. He's sorry. He's with your uncle right now."
Howie looked up from his squatting position to catch the mother's uneasy expression.
AJ caught it too and gave Howie a knowing look, one eyebrow raised high.
Howie stood up, offering the apprehensive
woman an easygoing smile. "Aggie, right?" She nodded, switching the
sleeping baby to a more comfortable position. "Would it be possible to
talk for a moment? We won't take much of your time, I promise. I can see you
have your hands full." Howie smiled again, looking politely at her and the
baby.
Aggie stared at Howie, her excited
daughter, and then at her sleeping baby. The instant she had opened the door
her heart had sunk, understanding why they were here. She had hoped to be long
gone by this time, out of state, away from the whole mess, but the couple whom
she decided to sell the baby to had refused to pay her exorbitant fee. Not
liking the way she had smoked, the way she had taken care of herself during her
pregnancy, they went searching elsewhere, looking for a more "suitable"
mother, as they had so scornfully informed her before leaving. Now she was
stuck with another mouth to feed, no money, and no prospect of leaving
Aggie eyed the two Backstreet men before
her, a tiny smile creasing at the corner of her mouth as an idea began to take
shape. She ushered them both in with a wave of her hand and led them to the
family room, shoving the toys off the couch. "Lizzy!" Aggie shouted
to her daughter, "go get them something to drink!" She glanced at AJ,
then Howie, who both shook their heads as they sat down. "No? Okay. Liz,
go get me a Sprite."
Declining to take a seat, Aggie stood,
cautiously checking to see that her daughter was out of earshot.
"Okay," she whispered hurriedly, " I'm not going to beat around
the bush. I know exactly why you're here. You want information - I've got it.
But it's gonna cost you. A lot." She stared directly into AJ and Howie's
eyes, her no-nonsense attitude almost as intimidating as her brother's.
AJ was more than glad to stop the petty
small talk before it even began. "Done. How much do you want?" he
asked bluntly, pulling out his checkbook. Aggie thought for a moment then named
a number, mentally scolding herself for not asking more when AJ calmly wrote
the check out and handed it to her.
Lizzy came back with the drink, careful
not to spill. Aggie frowned, wondering how to get rid of her daughter so that
they could talk. Howie sensed her hesitation and smiled at Lizzy, grabbing her
small hand and pulling her over to him.
"Hey, Lizzy. Your mom, AJ and I need
to talk privately for a moment, okay? Nothing about you, just some grownup
talk. Would you mind drawing, coloring something for Brian? He's not feeling
too good right now and I think a picture from his number one fan would really
cheer him up!"
Lizzy's eyes lighted up, nodding her okay. She ran towards
her room, stopping to pause at the doorway. "What should I say?"
All three smiled at her eagerness.
"Anything sweetie," replied AJ. "Anything you want." Lizzy
nodded, skipping away. AJ turned his face away from the departing child, his
smile turning into a frown. "Xavier has a niece that sweet? He's doesn't
deserve her."
Aggie shrugged indifferently, staring down
at her child who gave a sickly cough. "Whatever. So what do you want to
know?"
AJ stared at her. Lizzy doesn't deserve
you either, he thought contemptuously.
Howie took over, curious to ask a question
that had been bugging him. "Aggie, Xavier is your brother. Why are you
willing to make a deal with us, to betray him?"
Aggie looked up from examining her baby,
her dark brown eyes glittering. "Because he's a monster," she
answered, her voice filled with loathing. She looked at the distressed
expression on the two singer's faces and nodding perceptively.
"But I'm guessing you already know
that."
AJ sat on the edge of the couch, his hands
rubbing together agitatedly. "Yeah. So, what's going on? I mean, what's
this all about? Why is Xavier doing this?"
Aggie sighed and put her sleeping baby
into a portable playpen then straightened up, her face drained. "Because
he likes it. Because it amuses him! Because it's all just a game
to him." She noticed the confused looks exchanged between the two
Backstreet Boys and continued. "Lemme explain. You see, Xavier will pick
out a victim, always someone rich. He'll study them, find their weakness, then use it to his advantage to carry out his sick little
mind games, if you want to call it that, until the person breaks. Then he moves
on to his next target and starts all over again."
Howie gulped. "Until they
break?"
Aggie nodded, now sitting across from the
two singers. "Yeah. Xavier says half the fun is seeing how long it takes
before they crack." She gazed solemnly at them. "It's a contest. He
likes the challenge, the game of power and control between him and his
victim."
It took a moment before AJ found his
voice. "What kind of things does Xavier usually do to his victim?"
Aggie pressed her lips together, wondering
how far she should go. Well, he did pay me for it. She decided to be
honest.
"First, he usually gets their
confidence, their trust." She saw them both nodding their heads and
carried on. "Then Xavier will do something, something to terrorize the
person. Like beat 'em or intimidate 'em with promises to hurt their loved ones
if they don't play along." Aggie noticed Howie's head bow and she sighed.
"That's what happened to Brian, right?"
'Yes," said AJ roughly. "Go
on."
"Well, it usually ends after a few
weeks or until …." Aggie was roughly cut off by AJ.
"A few weeks?"
A sick look crossed over their faces and
Aggie tilted her head curiously at them. "Yeah, why?"
AJ got up and turned away, the pain almost
too hard for him to bear. Howie stood up too, his eyes closing for a moment in
distress before opening them to see Aggie's inquiring
stare.
"Because this has been going on for months."
Aggie sucked in her breath, shocked at
Howie's announcement. "He, he never does that," she stammered, at a
loss. "Xavier gets bored pretty quick, he's always careful not to stay too
long, in case he slips up and gets caught. I can't believe my brother has been
with your friend for that long. It doesn't make sense."
AJ tried to remain calm as he turned
towards Aggie, the nagging suspicion he carried for so long finally becoming a
reality. "It would make sense if Xavier is attracted to Brian." He
watched the young mother carefully, seeing her face fall. Aggie lowered her
eyes, unwilling to look at him. AJ walked over to her, bending down to grab her
hand and forcing her to look up.
"That's it, isn't it?"
"No, no," stumbled Aggie,
confused. "Xavier's not like that, he's not gay…" she trailed
off, recalling the fascination, the look of excitement Xavier had displayed
when he saw the young Backstreet Boy for the first time on TV. That predatory
look had made her queasy and she knew now that it had nothing to do with her
being pregnant.
"I know Xavier was pretty obsessed
about the whole thing, more than I've ever seen him, but I thought it was just
because it was a new victim; not someone he was attracted to…," she
whispered, almost apologetically.
AJ stood up resignedly, rubbed his eyes
then put his sunglasses on. "Just how dangerous is Xavier?" he asked
quietly, trying to keep any emotion out of his voice.
Aggie glanced at Howie, seeing the
pleading in his eyes for the truth. "He scares me," she whispered.
"More than you'll ever know. He'll stop at nothing to get what he
wants." She stood up, alarming both men with her last words. "And
Xavier never loses."
* * * * * * * *
The shock of being shot at scared Kevin
more than the crash itself. Not being able to see the collision due to yanking
Nick and steering wheel towards him, Kevin instead felt the impact of the
crash, his neck and back slammed hard by the side air bag of the Mercedes,
which had instantaneously exploded on contact. Nick fared a little worse, not
having the advantage of sitting upright when the front bags burst. His left
shoulder and face were hit by the front passenger airbag, smashing him into
Kevin's upper body.
Hearing Nick moan, Kevin struggled
frantically to sit upright, finding it impossible as he was pinned firmly by
the air bags and Nick.
"Nick!" he yelled hoarsely, his
throat raw from inhaling the gas and chemicals of the exploding bags. "Are
you okay?" He winced in pain as he tried to move a little, not sure
whether it was because he was wedged in so tightly or that he actually might be
hurt. He felt Nick move a little, his moan louder. Trying desperately to shift
around, Kevin began to thrash wildly about, determined to see if Nick was all
right. He suddenly felt himself fall backwards, a pair of strong arms yanking
him out as his door was wrenched open.
"Hold on, hold on, we gotcha,"
came a deep masculine voice, filled with concern. Lightheaded, Kevin shook his
head to clear it as he was carried away from the crash, straining anxiously to
locate Nick. Gentle arms laid him down on the ground, excited voices telling
him to relax, that help was on the way. Kevin ignored the advice and sat up,
frantically calling out Nick's name.
"I'm here, Kev."
Kevin heard Nick's reply and followed his
voice to where Nick stood a few yards away, holding the side of his head with
his hand as if trying to keep it upright. Concerned, helping construction
workers led Nick over to where Kevin sat, gently
lowering Nick to the ground. The faint wail of a siren vibrated in the
background as Kevin reached out to grab Nick in a weak embrace.
"You okay, Kev?"
"Yeah, I think so," Kevin
nodded, releasing Nick to inspect the blonde singer closely. Except for the
bright red mark on the side of Nick's face, he looked pretty good. "How
about you?" Kevin brushed some of the shattered glass gently off Nick's
clothing.
"I think I'd better start looking for
a new Benz for AJ," Nick stated soberly and Kevin laughed a little, giving
Nick another thankful hug that he was feeling well enough to joke.
A creaking, groaning noise pulled their
attention away from each other and they turned in astonishment as they watched
several workers scramble away from the Benz. Like a whale's tail that rises up
then sinks back under water, the Mercedes' rear bumper tilted upwards then slid
quickly into a deep hole, a vibrating boom and dust filling the air. Nick
helped Kevin up, both staggering slightly as they walked over and peered down
into the black cavity. Blue eyes met green ones, both in obvious shock. The
only thing that had kept them from crashing into the deep construction pit had
been the quick rescue of their helpers and a small but very important mound of
dirt that had acted as a barrier between them and certain death.
* * * * * *
Noticing that his Mercedes was not already
parked, AJ was pissed but not surprised when Howie and he drove into the
garage. Oh man, I knew it! Kevin let him drive! Hopping out, he slammed
his SUV door hard in frustration, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he looked
at Howie.
"He's not here," he announced in
a warning tone.
Howie sympathetically threw his arm across
AJ's shoulder and sighed dramatically. "What can you do? He's young, he's
in love," he mocked jokingly, trying to account for Nick's absence.
"With my car," retorted
AJ gruffly, smiling a little at his friend's humor. He eyed Howie curiously as
they entered the house. "Hungry? I can make you a special AJ gourmet
delight while we wait for the guys."
Howie frowned, his voice tinged with
concern. "Is this anything like the last one you made?"
AJ nodded enthusiastically, pulling open
his refrigerator. "Yeah. Even better!"
Howie groaned and slumped dejectedly into
his seat, bravely preparing himself.
* * * * * * * *
AJ leaned over the counter, his hands
clasped as if in prayer, as he watched Howie intently.
"Well?" he questioned
impatiently, annoyed that Howie had curled his lip before taking a bite. Howie
chewed slowly, his eyes closed, waiting for the gag reflex to kick in. His eyes
popped open in surprise as he swallowed.
"Not bad!" he lied, hoping he
could keep it down.
AJ grinned in delight, giving a whoop of
satisfaction. "Told you!" he nodded, grabbing a plate for himself.
Howie sighed inwardly. The sacrifices I
make! He picked a huge chunk off of his plate and secretly dropped it into
the waiting mouths of Jack and Vegas, smiling politely and nodding his approval
every time AJ looked his way.
"When do you suppose Nick and Kevin
will get back?"
Hoping it landed somewhere near the dogs'
eager mouths, Howie hurriedly dropped another piece to the floor just as AJ
swung his attention towards the kitchen's clock.
"Better be soon. This food isn't
going to last forever, ya know!"
Howie glanced at a piece skewered on his
fork. It will be, the way you made it! He managed to toss several offending
pieces to the floor when AJ stood up and went to search for something in the
refrigerator.
"Good God, what is that smell?"
AJ poked his head out of the frig, seeing
Nick and Kevin walking awkwardly into the kitchen, their movements stiff.
He opened his mouth to reply when he
realized that he hadn't heard the sound of the garage door opening. Suddenly
suspicious, he walked over to where the two were gingerly lowering themselves
into chairs. He eyed them warily.
"Niicckkk,"
he sing-songed in a warning tone. "Where's the Benz?"
Nick rubbed the back of his head and
winced at the touch, finally getting the nerve to look AJ straight in the face.
"Um,…what color would you like?"
AJ opened his mouth to scream but stopped,
carefully giving Nick and Kevin a closer look. Their faces were creased with
fatigue and distress, their clothing rumpled and dirty, the side of Nick's face
reddened as if he had been sunburned.
"What happened?" asked Howie, a
step ahead of AJ. He abandoned his food, giving AJ a worried look as he went
over to inspect them both.
"A little surprise from Xavier,"
snapped Kevin grimly, informing them of what had happened.
Nick watched AJ as Kevin explained,
grimacing slightly as Kevin demonstrated with his hands how the Mercedes took a
nose-dive. AJ looked at Nick in shock and Nick feebly smiled up at him, waiting
for the ranting and raving to begin. Instead, he got pulled into a fierce hug,
AJ clinging to him tightly.
"Oh, God," he choked, his voice
blurred.
"I'm sorry about your car," Nick
began but stopped when AJ pulled away from him in amazement.
"Nick! I don't give a shit about the
Benz! It's just a car. I can replace a stupid car. I can't replace you and
Kevin." His voice shook with emotion and Nick placed a reassuring hand on
his shoulder, giving AJ a warm smile as he turned to look at Howie and Kevin.
For a moment they were silent, each realizing how close Xavier had come to
destroying their lives. Nick coughed, breaking the silence.
"Does this mean you'll let me drive
your new one?" he asked, giving AJ a smirk.
The emotional tension shattered and
everyone laughed, AJ shoving Nick playfully away from him. "No way. I love
you man, but not that much!"
Nick nodded, a fake look of hurt crossing
his face. "AJ really doesn't love me," he pouted to Kevin as
he sat down again, noticing that AJ had placed a plate of food before him.
"What is this?" he pointed, his tone changing to shocked
disgust.
Howie smiled maliciously. "AJ's
gourmet delight," he informed him. "Go on, try it."
* * * * * * * *
AJ glared at Nick's dramatic groans of
pain as he clutched his stomach. "Oh shut up, you big baby, it wasn't that
bad!" he said crossly, tossing Nick a couple of antacids. They were still
in the kitchen, finishing up the rest of a Chinese take out after Kevin
emphatically refused to touch AJ's cooking.
Howie popped four beers, handing one to
each guy before sitting down. "Okay, as much as I'd like to spend the day
debating AJ's cooking skills, we need to seriously decide on what to do
next."
Nick nodded, chewing the tablets quickly
and washing them down with his beer. "D's right. Now that we know Xavier
has tried once, do you think he'll try again?"
Kevin frowned as he studied his beer
bottle. "Possibly. I'm sure he knows by now that we're not dead. What he
doesn't know is that we know he was behind it."
Vegas jumped into AJ's lap and he rubbed
the little dog's head absentmindedly, troubled by what he was thinking.
"Guys, listen to this. X was trying to hurt us, kill one of us. So, if he
had been successful, what would have happened? The tour would have stopped,
been canceled, right?"
"Yeah…" said Howie, curious.
"Which means that Xavier never
intended on coming back for the second half of the tour to be a
bodyguard!" reasoned AJ.
"So why did X take Brian with him, if
he planned on there not being a tour? Why not just leave and go on to the next
victim, like Aggie said?"
"Because he's not through with
Bri," explained Nick, closing his eyes tightly, sickened by the
realization. "He needs him, …for whatever reason."
Kevin could hear the panic in Nick's
voice, the alarm. "Nick, hang in there," he said quietly, praying
that Nick wasn't going to lose it again.
Nick opened his eyes and bit his lip hard,
trying to gain control of his emotions. " Guys, we need to find Brian.
Quick."
AJ placed his dog on the floor, rising to
his feet. "I think I know how. We need Sam."
Nick looked at him quizzically. "Sam,
our manager? I thought we were gonna keep this to ourselves."
"Yeah, well plans change."
"So what's your idea?" asked
Kevin.
"Well, I'm thinking Sam might know
how to get a hold of Xavier. If Sam can reach Xavier he could tell him that
there's been an emergency, oh, have him say that a few of the dancers and
musicians quit suddenly and that we need to meet immediately in
Nick nodded, trying not to get too worked
up. "That's if Sam even knows how to reach Xavier."
AJ looked at Nick. "You've got any
better ideas?"
Shaking his head, Nick grabbed the
portable phone. "No. Call him."
* * * * * *
Brian barely felt Xavier shove him back
into their grimy hotel room, still too shocked to notice much of anything. He
stood numbly where he was, sickened by the fact that he had not been able to
stop Xavier; that no matter what he had tried, it had all been a pathetic,
worthless effort. It would have been laughable if not for the fact that his
failure would now cause untold suffering; that his lack of courage and insight
would forever haunt him at his inability to save his friends.
Brian glanced bitterly at Xavier,
remembering the look of pure revenge Xavier had thrown him when he ordered the
"surprise." A raw wave of anger coursed through him, a burning of
such intensity that it snapped him out of his trauma. Brian heard the small
beep of a cell phone and watched as Xavier calmly opened it, as if he was
expecting the call.
"Is it done?"
Brian saw the transformation in the
bodyguard's face as it went from relaxed to furious, Xavier's hand gripping the
cell phone tightly.
"Are you sure?"
Brian heard the stunned disbelief and
watched with interest as Xavier swore mightily at the unknown caller.
"I paid you three grand and they
didn't even get a scratch? I shoulda known better than to hire you, " he
hissed savagely.
Brian felt a heated rush of relief,
realizing Xavier's surprise had somehow gone sour. They're okay! They're not
hurt! Xavier wasn't able to carry out his plan! A wild thrill of
satisfaction ran through him as he observed Xavier closely, the bodyguard's
face twisted in fury. The idea that Xavier's carefully laid plans had so
spectacularly backfired on him made Brian laugh outright, a exhilarating
feeling of satisfaction flooding his senses. He laughed again, the time more
forcefully and Xavier stared at him hard, his eyes narrowing as he snapped his
phone shut.
Right then Brian realized Xavier was not
invincible, that he could be thwarted at his own game; that no matter how
careful and exacting plans were, fate could come in and screw everything up.
Feeling a fierce desire to ridicule the livid bodyguard standing before him,
Brian threw Xavier a wicked smile of contempt, suddenly unafraid, not caring
anymore what happened to him or anything else for that matter.
"Ah, poor Xavier. Too bad. Life
sucks, doesn't it? No money, no Backstreet Boy, no nothing."
Xavier eyed him darkly. "Says
who?"
"Says me. Game's over. You
lost."
Xavier cocked an eyebrow. "And why is
that?"
Brian ignored the agitated clenching and
unclenching of Xavier's fists. "Because I'm not playing anymore. Because
you can't make me."
"Oh really?" Xavier purred, a
tone of sexual intimation heavy in his voice. "I'm pretty sure I could
convince you," he challenged, grabbing Brian's arm into a tight grip, his
warm breath barely grazing the young singer's ear.
"Could you?" Brian sneered,
seeing the intense desire in Xavier's brown eyes. "I don't think so, faggot."
Giving a sharp tug, he yanked himself out of Xavier's grasp. "Face it,
Xavier, you're a fucking loser."
Brian knew the first punch was coming and
prepared himself for it, the blow coming down low, across the small of his
back. I can take this, Brian thought, it's not too bad…Oh my God!
Brian's mouth hung open in a silent cry, as the force of the second punch
paralyzed him, sending him quickly to the floor. Without a pause, Xavier
slammed into him again and Brian refused to scream, to let Xavier know the
extent of the agony he was inflicting. He could hear his own erratic wheezing
of his lungs, the pounding of his heart as he struggled to stand upright, to
ward off another blow, but he was too late as another punch landed on his right
shoulder, a sharp stab of pain piercing right through him. He screamed or maybe
he didn't, he couldn't be sure. It didn't matter anymore as he looked up into Xavier's
expressionless face. The bastard knew exactly what he was doing and he was
taking careful, well-timed blows, trying to extract the most amount of pain
with the least amount of effort.
Brian didn't think it was possible to
endure any more, but he did, feeling each hit become surprisingly less painful,
replaced by a kind of numbness that he welcomed gladly. He swayed a moment, but
managed to regain his balance, staring coolly into Xavier's eyes, daring him
with a silent hit me, go ahead, I've come this far.
A small twist of Xavier's lips let Brian
know that Xavier understood his unspoken boast. He took the next hit and cried
out, but the cries were of triumph, not pain, as he grinned savagely to let
Xavier know that he could stand it, would stand it, not matter what damage he
inflicted.
Xavier nodded when it was finally over,
rubbing his knuckles tenderly as he stared impassively at the unconscious form
sprawled out on the floor. He regretted his actions only for the sole purpose
that he now didn't know what to do. With a conscious, awake Backstreet Boy he
could still continue, still have an opportunity to play the game, to get more
money. But now that was gone, due to his lack of control. He sat down on the
edge of the bed contemplating his rash action, irritated that Brian could make
him lose his self- control, something he prided himself on maintaining. He
stared at the unconscious singer, slowly regaining his composure as he brooded
over what to do next. Obviously the young Backstreet Boy needed medical
attention but there was no way he was going to seek medical help. Something
told him he should quit, take his losses and run, but his perplexing attraction
to this clever and determined young man ruled out any idea of leaving.
The small vibrating hum of his pager
jerked his attention away from the fallen singer and Xavier tugged the pager
out of his pocket, eyeing in quiet surprise. It was displaying AJ's home
number. Only AJ should have no way of knowing his pager number. The pager was
used for one thing and one thing only: that Sam, the stage manager needed to
get in touch with him right away. Curious, Xavier picked up the phone and
dialed the number.
***
