Chapter 81:
Planning
Sam hung up the phone, his eyebrows raised
in question as he glanced at the four guys before him.
"So, how was I?"
"Awesome," replied Howie, coming
over to give a congratulatory slap of approval. "Your idea was perfect. I
don't think Xavier doubted you for a minute."
Sam nodded his agreement and sat down on
the couch, taking a sip of the cold drink offered to him by Kevin. "Yeah,
well I figured our story would be more believable if it was based in fact.
Since Xavier knows already what I've told him, he won't check deeper into
it." He took another taste from his drink, scrutinizing AJ and Nick who
were in the corner talking quietly to one another.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Sam asked
to Kevin, concerned about Nick’s dark and brooding behavior.
"Nick should be all right,"
sighed Kevin, watching closely. AJ had one arm wrapped around Nick's shoulder,
Nick nodding every now and then in reply to what AJ was saying to him. After a
minute they broke up, coming over to the group. Kevin raised his dark eyebrows
at AJ with an inquiring look.
"I'm fine, Kevin," answered
Nick exasperatedly, not giving AJ a chance to respond. "I can handle it.
But once I see Xavier, all bets are off. I'm still gonna put a bullet in his
brain." Nick smiled bitterly at his boast.
"Bullet is too good for him,
Nick," AJ snorted. "I bet we can come up with something better than
that!"
"You guys can plot revenge later,
okay? Cause right now, we've got more urgent things to do," stated Sam.
"Like what?" AJ tilted his head
to the side, interested in what Sam had to say.
"I wasn't kidding when I told Xavier
we need better security measures. That X has so much personal information on
you is scary and if what you told me is only half true, you're in deep
trouble. We need to change things as much as possible before we leave. Phone
numbers, bank accounts, anything you think Xavier has access to, change it. Get
your door locks re-keyed. Alter security codes. Understand?" Sam waited
until he saw four heads nod in response before carrying on. "I know it's
the holiday weekend, so it's gonna be a headache. Anyone that you trust, family
who could help out…oh shit!"
Sam shot up out of his seat and began
pacing intensely as all four guys looked at each other, then at Sam in
distress.
"What?" said Kevin and Nick
simultaneously, on edge.
Sam rubbed his head wearily and heaved a
big sigh, stopping his pacing to look directly at the worried singers.
"Your families. I forgot about them. If Xavier has info on you, he sure as
hell has it on them. Sam watched as their faces fell, confirming his fears. He
nodded grimly. "There's no way we have the time to change their records.
And, from what you've told me, you don't want them to know what's going on,
right?"
"So what do we do?" asked Howie,
a small note of panic creeping into his voice.
Sam hung his head for a moment, deep in
thought. He brought his head up, a small, mysterious smile playing upon his
lips. "It's gonna cost ya, big time, but I don't think you'll mind."
"Sam, don't beat around the bush.
What?" cried Nick.
"I'm going to hire private security.
The crème-de-la-crème. Twenty-four hour protection for everyone that you think
might need it. It's probably not as good as carting everyone off to a deserted
island, but damn close."
Kevin nodded in agreement. "What kind
of security people are we talking about?"
"Ex-Secret Service, ex-FBI. Maybe
ex-military who've gone private. I want to hire people that are experts in
low-profile, so that your family doesn't know they’re being guarded. Sound okay
to you?"
AJ heaved a sighed, impressed.
"Yeah." He glanced at Nick, Howie, and Kevin, each expressing their
approval. "Get the best. Money is no object."
Sam nodded. "I thought so." He
reached into his pocket, bringing out a small personal recorder and pressed the
button. "Call Mark. Inform him on change of plans. Have him call other
crew, set up meeting times. Get in touch with Eric, inform other bodyguards.
Call Chris to discuss hiring security." He clicked off the recorder for a
moment, a frown on his face. "Well?" he barked irritably. "Do I
have to do this all by myself? Get off your ass and help me!"
Nick, AJ, Howie, and Kevin sat there for a
second, frozen, then shot up out of their seats, each scrambling to obey as
they hurried off in different directions. Sam smiled a little at their madcap
rush, shaking his head. "Amateurs," he scoffed good-naturedly, then
turned his attention back to his recorder and flicked it on.
* * * * * * * *
A drenching shower of cold water stunned
Brian's system, his body stiffening as the iciness shocked him into
consciousness. He felt himself being supported upright, too much in a stupor to
do anything but blink the dripping water out of his eyes. The shock of his
abrupt awakening faded as the coldness of the water took effect. It was sheer
heaven, the coolness bathing his body, the cold rawness soothing the burning
ache. It felt better than anything he had ever felt, …Brian arched and screamed
a silent cry as his body slammed full force into reality, the pain savagely
ripping his breath away as it coursed throughout him. He wildly flailed his
arms about, struggling against the strong hands that held him down.
Xavier's face loomed suddenly before him,
trying to get his attention, but Brian was in too much pain to notice. He felt
Xavier grab hold of his face, forcing him to look straight at the bodyguard. A
pill was being shoved powerfully into his mouth and Brian shook his head no,
fighting, clamping his mouth tight.
"Brian!" rasped Xavier angrily.
"Take it. Otherwise you won't be able to stand the pain."
A fierce wave flowed up and down Brian's
body, confirming the fact with a vengeance. He gasped in agony and Xavier took
the opportunity to pop the white pill in his mouth, forcing him to swallow.
With every ounce of energy left, Brian
shoved Xavier away, coiling his body into a ball and panted, his blue eyes dark
with pain. "How long?" he pleaded hoarsely.
"For the pain to go away? About five
minutes."
Brian moaned and squeezed his eyes shut,
trying to bear the pain. Five minutes! It might as well be five years.
He curled his arms around his stomach, as if holding himself would help to
alleviate the agony. He tried to count off the minutes. God, this is worse
than anything I've ever felt! He wanted nothing more than for the pain to
go away, for someone, anyone to put him out of his misery. He knew he
would have no suck luck. Bravely, he cracked one eye open to find Xavier
staring calmly at him, waiting. Brian curled up tighter as another spasm of
pain hit. "I thought you said five minutes," he gasped harshly.
"It's not getting any better."
Xavier frowned a little then walked over
to Brian's bed, sitting his large frame down on the edge. He fished a plastic
bottle out of his pocket and shook out one more. This time Brian needed no
prodding. He snatched the pill out of Xavier's hand and quickly swallowed it.
"You're gonna be okay, if you follow
my instructions," began Xavier in a soothing, almost hypnotizing voice.
"I hit you, hit you hard, but only enough to do external damage, not
internal." He stopped for a moment to observe Brian's breathing.
"It's working, isn't it?"
Brian nodded, brushing a trickle of sweat
from cheek with a shaky hand. His body relaxed a bit, enabling him to
straighten out on the bed.
"Good," grunted Xavier, rising
from the edge of the bed. Xavier followed Brian's gaze and noticed the young
singer staring longingly at the bottle of pain pills he had inadvertently
placed on the side table. Xavier reached over to seize the bottle just seconds
before Brian did, clucking his disapproval.
"No, no, no," he chided.
"Anymore and you'll be a walking zombie. I need you awake and alert."
Brian pushed himself into a sitting
position on the bed, slightly amazed and slightly worried at how good he felt.
He knew without a doubt that he would not be able to function without those
wonderful pills. Brian shifted uneasily, realizing that Xavier had complete
control over his pain. He tried to block the thought of seeing himself begging,
pleading to do anything Xavier asked if only he would give him another pill.
"So why do you need me awake and
alert?" he asked suspiciously. "Game's over, remember?"
Xavier let loose with a hearty laugh,
shaking his head at Brian's bewilderment. "Sorry to disappoint you, but it
isn't. Change of plans. You can thank Sam for that."
"Sam? My manager?" Brian watched
as Xavier went into the bathroom, hearing him yank the handle to turn the
shower on full-force.
Xavier came back. "Yep. Seems like
he's unhappy with security measures. Wants us all in
Brian was trying to digest all the
information, so he almost missed Xavier's last words. He jerked his head
upright, his blue eyes filled with confusion. "Huh?"
"You heard me, strip. You need to
take a shower, and I need to see what damage I did to you, see what needs to be
fixed."
Brian's eyes of confusion turned to ones
of fear. "No."
Xavier shook his head exasperatedly and
gave a short scoff. "I'm not going to molest you! As tempting as that
sounds, being rich is more of a turn on."
"No."
Xavier's eyes narrowed dangerously,
impatient. "You think you can refuse?" He strode over to the
Backstreet Boy, towering over him. "I'm asking you nicely. I won't ask
nicely again."
Brian swung his legs over the edge of the
bed, avoiding eye contact with Xavier. He now knew better than to argue and
slowly grabbed the edge of his shirt, wincing slightly as he pulled it over his
head. He wondered if the pain medication could be wearing off so soon, scared
that if he angered Xavier anymore he wouldn't get the relief he needed.
Xavier studied Brian's chest for a moment.
"Stand up," he barked. "Take your pants off."
Hoping to keep his shaking hands to a
minimum, Brian stepped out of his pants. "Turn around," instructed
Xavier. Brian complied, feeling the intent gaze as the bodyguard scrutinizing
his back closely. He felt Xavier's hand press into the small of his back,
examining a bruise. "Okay, now face me."
Once more Brian obeyed, meeting Xavier
with defiant eyes. "I'm not taking anything else off."
Xavier rolled his eyes dramatically.
"Did I ask you to?" he jeered. He jerked his head in the direction of
the bathroom. "Go on, take a shower."
Brian wobbled unsteadily towards the
bathroom, stopping to regain his balance and glared at Xavier's silent look of
"need any help?" He'd rather fall flat on his face than let Xavier
"help" him.
Xavier nodded in respect as the young
singer made his way into the bathroom, encouraged by Brian's determination to
do it alone. Determination that Brian was going to desperately need if he was
going to pull himself through the next few days. Because Xavier had seen the
damage he had inflicted on the young Backstreet Boy and was disturbed by what
he saw. Apparently he had overestimated his boasts about not damaging him internally.
***
