Chapter
20
The
press swarmed the area like flies to a carcass.
Extra backup and manpower was called in, and there was still difficulty
keeping the crowds from getting out of control.
Aside from the media, there were fans swarming around everywhere, trying
to get a glimpse of their idols. Howie,
Kevin, and Nick were herded immediately into the closest building, and were
locked inside. It was an absolute
madhouse, all in the space of a few minutes.
“You
don’t understand! I have to do this!”
“Are
you kidding? No way in hell. Look around you, Mr. Richardson. Everyone knows who you are here. Those men in there probably know who they are
holding now. This has just become a
media circus. This is not a secure area,
and anything you do could put yourself and your friends in considerable danger,
especially trying to pay them off.”
“Damn
it!” Howie shouted, in a rare burst of anger.
He looked for something to hit, and found nothing, which only made him
angrier.
“Did
anyone die this time around?” Nick spoke up.
Kevin stared at him in disbelief.
In all the chaos, Kaos himself was the only one keeping his head and
getting to the heart of the real issue.
In all the confusion there was no word on whether or not there had been
another casualty. Kevin and Howie fell
silent immediately and waited for an answer.
They didn’t have to wait long, because a moment later, Lt. Daniels
entered the room to speak to them.
“We’ve
gotten word from inside. Good and bad.”
“Who
died?” Nick demanded, his blue eyes wide with anxiety.
“That’s
the good news. No one.”
Nick
breathed a sigh of relief. “And the bad
news?”
“The
bad news is that they know, and they want a hell of a lot more than $60,000.”
“How
much do they want?”
“A
million, plus a plane trip to the destination of their choice.”
“You’re
kidding me.”
“No. And they plan to keep one hostage until they
get out of the country.”
“What!”
Howie exclaimed.
“They
aren’t as dumb as we were hoping. They
want a private flight to
“And
you think they will get away with this?”
“Absolutely
not, but as long as they think they will, what does it matter? They picked a private flight so whomever they
take, either Brian or A.J., won’t be recognized. Once they get to
“But
you aren’t going to let either one of them get on that plane, are you,” Kevin
said. It was not a question.
“We’re
going to do our best.”
“Not
good enough. Do not let either of my
friends in there go anywhere with them.
You have to stop them. Brian is
my own blood, and A.J. may as well be.
You will get them out of there, safely.”
Daniels
had to look away from the intense stare Kevin was pounding him with. This man was born to be in charge. God help me if either of them die, he
thought.
“We
will do everything humanly possible, I give you my word.”
He
still wasn’t satisfied, but decided it had to be enough for now.
When
Daniels had turned away, Howie touched Kevin’s arm. He swiveled around to face him.
“You
do realize that our biggest problem is probably them,” he said, his face full
of concern.
“What
do you mean?” Kevin demanded.
“Do
you really think A.J. is going to continue to take this sitting down? I’m surprised he hasn’t taken matters into
his own hands yet.”
Kevin
considered this. “You’re right. Brian can stay cool enough to not do anything
stupid, but A.J. is probably plotting something.”
“And
that could mean even more trouble.”
“Shit.”
It
was all A.J. could do to keep from trembling.
This was not good. He couldn’t
even divert his eyes away from his captor to see if Brian was all right. He’d heard the gun go off, and hadn’t seen
any movement from his friend since then.
“What
do you want?” he whispered. He tried not
to show his fear, but it was impossible.
“We
want a lot of money. We want money and a
way out. We get what we want, you walk
away from here alive. If not, we’re all
dead. So pray your buddies out there
think you’re important enough to fork over the cash.” A.J. resisted the urge to spit in his
face. Thief number one turned his head
to look at his cohort, who still had Brian pinned to the floor.
“Let
him up.”
“What
if he tries something again?” he said indignantly.
“He
won’t. Because as soon as he does, I
fire this gun. After all, we don’t
really need two Backstreet Boys. One is
enough to get what we want.”
A.J.
shuddered, and finally risked a look over to where he was sure Brian lay, and
sure enough, he was sprawled flat on his back, staring up at the gun that had
been placed between his eyes. He was
breathing heavily, and his fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles had
turned white.
“You
ok, Bri?” A.J. called, and almost gasped as his assailant’s finger tightened on
the trigger.
“I’m…
I’m fine,” he rasped. He was having
trouble catching his breath.
Brian
sat up slowly after the gun was removed.
A bolt of fire ran lengthwise across his back where the bullet had
grazed him, but he said not a word. He
slid back against the wall here Lila still lay.
He leaned heavily against the wall, panting with the exertion. He didn’t know a bullet could hurt this
bad. He put the back of his hand to the
girl’s cheek. She had passed out again,
and for once, Brian was grateful. The
last thing she needed was to witness all of this. He shook her, trying to wake her back up. He desperately wanted to keep her
conscious. She had made it this far, and
he’d be damned if she died now. Not only
that, but working to keep her alive helped keep him from seeing the nightmarish
image of A.J. with a gun planted in his face.
After
a few anxious moments, her eyes fluttered open again. She was ghastly pale, and for the first time
Brian truly feared for her life. He
didn’t know how much blood she had lost, but he knew she couldn’t hold on much
longer. He turned to face A.J., and the
fear in his eyes registered quickly with his friend. He did not move, but answered Brian with his
eyes. He was done waiting. It was time to act.
***
