Chapter 93:

Showdown

Xavier walked slowly up the small aisle, stopping just a few feet from Nick, whose mouth and eyes were wide open in fear.

"By the time I get to Phoenix, you'll be all dead…" he sang sweetly, a soft menacing smile curling his lip. He began to roar with amusement, shaking his head. "Sorry, I couldn't help it, I just had to sing that!"

He glanced for a moment at Brian. "Not you, of course. You're mine," he cooed with a knowing leer.

Nick watched as Brian stared back at the bodyguard, a look of utter hopelessness on his face. That was all it took to snap Nick out of his shock, a rage so consuming; a hatred so primal that it instantly flooded every fiber of his being. With an outraged shout he launched himself at Xavier, tackling the large man with such brute force that it sent them both reeling, collapsing to the bus floor in a wild tangle of arms and legs. He managed to land a punch, feeling the painful crack of his knuckles coming in contact against Xavier's brow. Nick ignored the excruciating pain of busted fingers as he fought to keep Xavier off-balance, shoving, kicking to get out from underneath the bodyguard.

It was a losing battle. Xavier's massive weight bore down upon him with a vengeance, trapping him, no chance to break free. Xavier's hands finally found their target, his enormous fingers snaking around the young singer's throat. Nick struggled fiercely, twisting madly to keep those strong fingers from tightening around his neck. He barely heard the yells and shouts above him, barely saw the glowing rage in Xavier's eyes, he only felt the massive strength, the vice-like grip squeezing his throat harder and harder as he gasped desperately for breath.

Xavier's clutch relaxed for a split second, giving Nick a quick gulp of precious air as the enraged bodyguard hit Kevin with a vicious backhand, sending the tall Backstreet Boy, who had been trying to drag him away from Nick, crashing into Howie. Nick clawed frantically at Xavier's face, hoping to strike a vital blow to one of Xavier's eyes, but managing only to rake a bloody nail down his cheek before Xavier knocked his hand away, tightening his grip around Nick's throat even more cruelly. Nick's vision blurred from lack of oxygen, the faint, desperate cries of Brian's and Xavier's name being shouted… Brian, why was someone hysterically calling his name over and over? Nick tried to concentrate, to search for Brian, but his lungs screamed for air, for life that was fading too quickly away…

With one last sadistic choke, Xavier released his hold. Feeling the pressure lift from his throat, Nick struggled to his hands and knees, a burning fire coursing down his lungs as he gasped for air, greedily sucking in great gulps. He lifted his head in amazement, wondering what had happened to cause Xavier to let go. With Howie's help, he struggled upright, his vision clearing enough to see Xavier, Kevin and AJ bending over Brian.

With a shaky cry, Nick shook Howie's hand off, pushing and shoving to reach Brian.

"What happened? What's going on?" he yelled hoarsely, panic-stricken as he saw Brian slumped into a seat, cradling his left arm with his right hand.

"It's his heart," said AJ bluntly, hovering protectively over Brian. "He started having chest pain." Ripping his glasses off, AJ stared hard at Xavier. "We need to get him to a hospital, now."

Xavier pursed his lips for a second, his hands on hips, watching Brian closely. Brian's eyes were wide open, watching Xavier just as closely, his face twisted into a grimace.

Xavier narrowed his eyes slightly then relaxed, a small smile twitching at the corner of his mouth. "No. No hospital. I think Brian is going to make a miraculous recovery, don't you, Brian?"

Realizing Xavier had discovered his deception, Brian dropping his hand away from his arm, and shrugged, his eyes burning with an intensity that matched the amused bodyguard's. With a silent nod of credit to the young singer, Xavier glanced at the other four, his gaze landing on Nick who was still breathing erratically.

"Well, Brian sure saved your ass with that cute little trick. You're lucky to be alive. But luck doesn't last forever, does it?" With a warning finger, Xavier motioned for them all to stay put as he lumbered up to check on Les.

"Shit! Don't ever do that again!" rasped Nick angrily, as Kevin, AJ, and Howie all nodded their agreement, still in shock over Brian's little ruse.

"What, have a heart attack or save your life?" shot back Brian, not waiting for an answer. He eyed Nick critically. "How's your throat? Are you gonna be okay?"

Nick massaged his neck gingerly then winced as the pain from his broken fingers began to throb in earnest. "Yeah, I guess, but I think I broke my hand."

Fishing out his painkillers, Brian tossed them to Nick. "Here, take some, quick, before Xavier returns." Nick glanced nervously at the broad back of Xavier who was giving directions to Les up front and rapidly downed two.

Brian turned to his cousin, watching as Kevin tentatively wiped the blood away from his mouth with the back of his hand. He raised a questioning eyebrow at the injury and Kevin waved off Brian's concern, indicating that he was okay.

"Fuck," breathed AJ as he saw Xavier returning, "what are we going to do now?"

"Let me handle it!" hissed Brian, looking at all four. "Understand? He wants me, not you."

"No! Brian!" argued AJ but was cut off by Xavier's quick appearance as the bodyguard thumped two heavy hands down upon AJ's shoulders.

"Boo!" he yelled in his ear, laughing wickedly as he watched AJ jerk from the sudden scare.

"Fucking asshole," spat AJ.

"Bone!" warned Brian.

AJ ignored him, sneering as he faced Xavier. "Fucking moron. Too God damn stupid to realize it's over."

"AJ, stop!"

Xavier calmly crossed his arms as he studied AJ, his quiet interest alarming Brian.

"So… let me guess. It was you who discovered what was going on, right?"

Brian tensed, hearing the warning scorn in Xavier's voice. He edged closer to the two, uneasy.

AJ met Xavier's cool gaze with one of his own. "It's over, Xavier. Done. Give it up. We know all about you, Sam does too…." AJ stopped, hearing an uproarious laugh coming from the bodyguard.

"Sam? Sam? I don't think Sam in a position right now to care…." Xavier studied his nails nonchalantly, not hiding his smirk.

"Oh God," moaned AJ, seeing the stunned expressions on the other guys' faces. "If I find out that you so much as breathed on him…" growled AJ coming up face to face with Xavier, "I'll…"

'You'll what?" said Xavier, his eyes narrowing dangerously. He reached out with a firm finger to poke AJ in the chest. "You'll what?" he repeated, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Stop me?" Poke. "Hurt me?" Another vicious poke. "What, you filthy, tattooed little freak?"

Xavier smiled threateningly, goading AJ on. "Come on. Come on, you little punk. I know you'd like to take a swing at me. Go for it." He ended his invitation with a light stinging slap across AJ's face.

AJ rushed Xavier, enraged, but Howie managed to slip in, wedging himself between AJ and Xavier and grabbed his friend by his shoulders, stopping him.

"AJ! Don't! Don't be a fool!" He glanced back at Xavier guardedly, bracing himself against AJ's struggling form. "AJ! Stop! Do you wanna get yourself killed? Huh?" Howie stared hard into AJ's eyes, trying to shake some sense into him.

AJ slumped then shoved himself away from Howie, the bitterness evident in his face. Xavier clapped his hands dramatically, nodding his approval.

"Nice, very nice. I think I've underestimated you," he said appreciatively to Howie.

Howie turned to Xavier, his brown filled with loathing and whispered a scathing epithet to the bodyguard in Spanish. Xavier raised his eyebrows in surprise, then furrowed them together in a tight frown as he took a step forward.

This time Brian managed to interrupt, his arms outstretched to ward off the advancing bodyguard. "Xavier! No! No! You've got what you want…don't! Please." Brian lowered his voice. "You've got what you want," he repeated softly, trying to make his meaning unmistakably clear.

Xavier stopped, tilting his head sideways. "Do I?" he asked coolly as he slowly eyed Brian up and down for confirmation. Forcing down a wave of revulsion, Brian nodded solemnly, his eyes pleading for Xavier not to harm his friend.

Still suspicious, Xavier reached out with a quick hand and wove his fingers through Brian's hair, yanking hard as he tilted the young singer's head back. Wanting to gauge his reaction, Xavier bent down and kissed him firmly, taking his time to savor the taste, waiting for Brian to resist. He didn't, and Xavier pulled away, impressed.

"I guess I do have what I want," he said, a slight smirk forming as he released his fingers entwined in Brian's hair.

He glanced over to see the grim and quiet expressions on the guys' faces, taking delight in Nick's dagger-like if looks could kill glare.

"Ah, what's the matter? Wish it was you?" taunted Xavier, coming over to Nick. Nick turned his face away and Xavier grabbed his jaw with one hand, forcing Nick to look at him. With his thumb, Xavier leisurely grazed the bottom of Nick's lower lip, enjoying the murderous look in the blonde singer's eyes. "You know, it might have been you. Really. You were that close!" Xavier brought his fingers together, showing a little gap, then laughed as he shoved Nick's face away with his large hand, causing Nick to stumble and fall.

Brian hurried over to help Nick up, his face dark with warning as he looked at Xavier's amused expression. "Xavier, that's enough. Back off. If you want me you've got …"

The bus swayed unsteadily and everyone grabbed on for support, Xavier turning in surprise as the bus entered precariously onto the freeway. "Fucking idiot!" he shouted, racing up to the front to see what had happened.

Nick brushed himself off and sat wearily down in his seat, the others coming over closer. Brian sat across from Nick, wincing slightly as he eased into the high-backed seat.

"You hurting?" asked Howie, frowning in concern.

Brian shrugged indifferently. "It doesn't matter." He twisted in his seat to glimpse at Xavier who was apparently irritated at Les's driving skills and letting him know in no uncertain terms how he felt about it. Nick followed Brian's gaze, a tight anger forming in the pit of his stomach as he saw Xavier rebuking Les soundly with the back of his hand. His own fingers throbbed in sympathy and Nick hoped that the painkillers he took would kick in soon. Nick leaned back into his seat, watching as Brian winced once more in pain.

"He's not touching you," he promised heatedly, "no way is that son-of-a-bitch gonna lay a hand on you."

Startled by Nick's vehemence, Brian fidgeted worriedly. "You're not going to do a thing! Nothing, Nick! You hear me?" Brian's glanced anxiously at all four. "Any of you. This is between Xavier and me!"

"Like hell it is," hissed AJ. "Nick's right…" AJ stopped as he watched another flash of pain overtake Brian. He took a quick glance at Xavier, who was still talking to Les and then at Brian, seeing clearly now the glazed look of agony in his eyes, the fine sheen of sweat upon his brow.

"How bad are you?" he asked quietly.

Brian smiled weakly. "Not too bad. The pain…"

"No!" whispered AJ harshly. "No bullshitting around. How bad are you?" He enunciated each word sharply.

Brian felt four pairs of eyes trained on him and he lowered his head for a moment before raising it back up to face the guys. "Bad enough to know that Xavier isn't going to get what he wants," he murmured.

AJ gawked at the others, aghast. He now understood why Brian was so willing to sacrifice himself, to surrender to Xavier's wishes. He set his mouth into a firm line. There was no fucking way he was gonna let Brian do this. And, by judging Nick's, Kevin's and Howie's expressions, neither were they.

"Xavier!"

Brian jerked at the anger in AJ's voice.

"Xavier!"

Alarmed, Brian grabbed for AJ's arm, but AJ easily avoided it, shouting Xavier's name one more time, glancing at Kevin and seeing his nod of approval.

"You called?"

AJ watched as Xavier walked over to them, the sarcasm heavy in his voice.

AJ stared at him calmly, his hands akimbo. "Game's over. We're not playing anymore. You lose."

Xaiver's smirk faded into a frown as Nick stood up, joining Kevin, AJ, and Howie as they faced the bodyguard, effectively blocking Brian away.

"There's no way you're gonna get away with this. We know all about it; others do too. Brian's bank account is closed, you can't get any more money." AJ ignored Brian's plea to stop and continued on. "We've hired the best to guard our families, so your outta luck there too, pal."

"Oh, really," sneered Xavier and Nick shifted nervously, watching as Kevin and Howie prevented Brian from getting up. With a quick glimpse he spied his duffle bag, lying just a few feet away and he sucked his breath in with a quick hiss. He took a small backwards step, then another, trying to drag it over with the toe of his shoe.

"Really," mimicked AJ harshly.

"Hmm. I'm fascinated, truly. Tell me, I'm dying to know, just who is going to stop me?" AJ watched as Xavier rhythmically clenched and unclenched his hands.

With a trembling hand, Nick slowly reached down to pick up his bag, his fingers curling around the handle and hoisted it up to the seat. He felt a small trickle of sweat snake its way down the side of his temple as he blindly fumbled for the zipper, glad that AJ and Kevin's bodies were partially blocking Xavier's view.

"We are," stated AJ simply, with a wave of his hand. "And while you might be big, I seriously doubt that you can take us all at once." Kevin moved a step closer, his green eyes agreeing with AJ's every word.

Brian shoved Howie's restraining away, his panic evident. "No! No! God, please, I've seen what Xavier can do!" He struggled to come between them, trying to grab a hold of AJ's wrist.

Xavier stood there for a second, rooted to the spot, his face inscrutable. He exploded with lightening speed, shoving AJ back, causing AJ to fall sideways in the small confines of the bus. He reached in with a swift hand and grabbed Brian, hauling him backwards. Fear gave Brian power and he savagely ripped away from Xavier's grasp, his momentum hurling him to the ground.

"Hold it! Hold it right there!" shrieked Nick over the commotion and everyone turned to see him pointing a gun aimed directly at Xavier's head. "Don't move!" he screamed. "You so much as move an inch and I'll blow your fucking head off!"

Wincing in pain as his broken fingers tightened around the grip, Nick walked up the aisle, his arm shaking a little as he waved the tip of the gun at Xavier. He glanced quickly at Brian to see if he was all right. "Okay, now back off!" he barked. "Step back or you're dead!"

Having a gun pointed directly at him by a wild and distraught man didn't seem to faze Xavier in the least, and with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, Brian watched as he began to laugh. The intimidating bodyguard took a threatening step towards Nick and suddenly Brian knew exactly what was going to happen.

Nick pulled the trigger, then again, then once more. Each pull was met with a dead click, the chamber empty. Completely dumbfounded, Nick was too slow to react and Brian, too much in pain, to reach Nick before Xavier reached out and snatched the gun away, brutally pistol-whipping Nick across the face.

With an ugly-sounding crack, Nick fell backwards, clutching the side of his face. Brian and Howie reached him in the same instant, Howie grabbing the nearest cloth to staunch the flow of blood. With a dark, warning glance at Kevin and AJ, Xavier came over to where Nick lay dazed on the floor, his massive presence looming over all three.

"That will teach you to trust a sneaky little weasel like Les, especially when he works for me," he admonished. "Right, Les?" yelled Xavier to the front of the bus, not taking his eyes off Brian, Nick, and Howie. He ignored Les's faint reply and hitched a hip on the side of a chair, studying Nick unsympathetically as the young singer gagged into a towel, spitting out a few bloody teeth. "Not much of a gunman, are you? You should have known just by the weight that the gun was empty."

Twirling the trigger of the gun absentmindedly round and round his finger, Xavier watched the three before him indifferently, as if lost in thought. His occasional, sharp glances towards AJ and Kevin let them know that the bodyguard was indeed keeping a watchful eye on them. They sat, troubled, unsure if they should stay where they were or go over to help Nick, Howie, and Brian. Xavier trained his attention on Brian. The blonde Backstreet Boy had managed to find some ice for Nick and was helping him hold the make-shift ice pack to his face.

With a huge sigh that startled the five Backstreet Boys, Xavier stood up and smiled. "Well, this certainly has been interesting, to say the least. But I think it's time to crank it up a notch, don't you?"

With a booming cry of "Les!", which made the guys jump again, Xavier backed carefully up the aisle, never taking his eyes off the five. "Turn the bus around."

Irritated by Les's perplexed reply, Xavier barked his command again. "I said turn this bus around, dammit! Now! This very second!"

The heavy and cumbersome bus groaned under Les's amateurish maneuverings and the bus swayed and rocked as it plunged into the unfortified median, the scratching and crunching of desert scrub brush scraping the underside of the bus. The headlights danced erratically over the uneven ground, Les weaving wildly to steer the bus through. With a heavy whine of acceleration, the tires spun in the soft sand before grabbing hold, propelling the immense bus onto the other side of the highway, heading south.

With a derisive snort at Les's driving skills, Xavier turned to see that Brian had stopped administering to Nick and was staring straight at him. The beads of sweat were visible as Brian's voice filled with pain and anger. "Where are we going?" he asked, rising with difficulty up off his knees. "Where are you taking us, Xavier?" he snarled with such intensity that Xavier raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Shoving the gun in the waist of his pants, Xavier swung his attention to AJ, who was staring sullenly at him. "Why, you can thank Mr. McLean over there. He gave me the idea. Since he so kindly informed me that he's blocked my every avenue for being a rich ex-bodyguard, I feel it's only fair to return the favor."

"Cut the crap, Xavier!" screamed Brian, fed up with his infuriating little clues. "Where are we going?"

Xavier walked over to Brian, his eyes glittering with anticipated glee. "Why, Mexico, of course. But first, it's time for us all to play little game." With maddening calmness he pulled the gun out, inserted a lone bullet and rolled the chamber.

***

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