By the end of the night, Parker was very close to reaching the end other rope. For one thing, AJ was doing everything in his power to make sure she saw as much of his exposed skin as possible. She tried to ignore the beads of water glistening on his chest as he soaked in the hotel jacuzzi. She passed one appreciative glance at the artwork on his arms, then turned back to the itinerary in her hands.
"You sure you don't want to join me?," AJ asked, opening his eyes to find her in the exact position she'd been ten minutes before...sitting in an uncomfortable folding chair, legs crossed at the ankle in front of her, eyes glued to the sheath of papers in her hands. Parker glanced at him, noticing for the first time how relaxing the steaming water looked, and how inviting the man inside it looked...oh what she wouldn't give...
"No thanks," she muttered crisply.
Although she certainly felt the need to relax. Dealing with Nina Pearson had been anything but relaxing, she thought bitterly. Parker sighed softly...despite Nina's threats to have her and the entire operation disbanded, Parker wasn't worried. After all, she and Claudia were assigned to this case by the FBI. Nina could bitch and moan all she wanted...but no matter what it came down to, one thing was certain...Parker and Claudia were there to stay. Still, Parker made a mental note to keep an eye on the hostile blond...for fear that she might try to disrupt the carefully planned routine she'd established.
Immediately after the Boys came off stage, she'd told them in no uncertain terms, that they were to continue answering to her and no one else...no matter what Nina told them, or what they had been used to in the past. All in all, the day had left her with a splitting headache and the desire to sleep for a very long time. Her shoulder throbbed violently with each beat of her heart, but despite Claudia's protests, she'd abandoned the sling hours before...tired of feeling incapacitated.
AJ watched her out of the corner of his eye...feeling a small pang of guilt. He knew she was tired...the dark circles under her eyes were a testament of that. Yet he wasn't quite ready to retire to his room for the evening...wasn't quite ready to depart from her company. Throughout the day he'd watched her...admiring the proficiency with which she performed her duties. More often than not, he'd found himself wondering if she left any room in her life for fun...wondered if she ever really laughed. He'd heard her mocking laughter plenty of times...but never had it been the laughter that only accompanied pure joy.
His mind kept replaying the scene in the alley, her sobs echoed in the vast recesses of his mind, reliving her salty tears on his face. Yes he wanted her...wanted to touch her face and kiss her lips, wanted to know the secrets of her body. But more than that, he wanted to know the secrets her mind held. He almost winced when she shifted in her chair, obviously in discomfort due to her injury. An injury he still felt responsible for. Without knowing what he would say, and only knowing that he had to speak to her...he pulled himself from the warm water and wrapped a towel around his waist.
Parker visibly tensed when he sat down in the chair next to hers, then immediately relaxed again seconds later. She refused to let herself react to him...half naked or not. His cryptic words spoken earlier in the elevator were never far from her mind...which was precisely why she'd resolved to be on guard with him. When he spoke, his voice was huskier than usual...and despite her solemn oath to remain unaffected...Parker felt her insides melt at the sound.
"So listen...there's this award show thing we have to do next week," he was saying, his voice barely above a whisper.
"I'm aware of that," she replied, trying to look interested in the papers on her lap and not the drop of water trailing its way down to the hollow in his throat. "And if you're worried about security..."
"I'm not," he said, stopping her in mid-sentence. "That's not why I mentioned it."
"Oh?"
"Yeah...see, Howie and I were talking about it...and you and Claud will be there anyway right?"
"Naturally," she replied, wondering just what he was getting at.
AJ cleared his throat, "We figured...since we don't have dates, and the two of you have to be there anyway...well..."
"I don't think so," she responded automatically.
Anticipating her refusal, AJ grinned and said, "Come on...why not? Claudia's already said yes."
Parker gazed at him, her dark eyes skeptical, "She has?"
AJ nearly blushed, forgetting that her knowing eyes missed nothing...including his bluff, "Well..she will...just as soon as Howie gets around to asking her about it."
"Thanks for the invitation McLean...but no. It's not my thing."
The stubborn set of her jaw dared him to argue with her, to press the issue further, but he wisely held his tongue on the matter. Instead he shifted in his chair and watched her pretend to be interested in the itinerary she must have memorized five times over by now. He found himself wondering if she new just how stunning she was...if she knew that she held a certain kind of power that she could easily wield over any man she wanted. The fathomless dark eyes with their slight exotic tilt that made her appear more cat-like, the lethal grace and barely contained power beneath smooth muscles and almond skin, the curtain of dark hair cascading around her shoulders, the lyrical rhythm of her husky voice...his mouth went dry.
Shaking off his less than pure thoughts, he turned his attention to her right thigh. The knife strapped there reminded him of who and what she was, and ultimately...of the night she'd been shot and the words that had come out of her mouth. Without meaning to, he blurted out, "What happened to the Senator?"
Her head snapped up and her black eyes met his. He felt frozen to the spot beneath her glare...and he felt sorry for asking...hell, he hadn't meant to in the first place. So he was more than surprised when she actually answered.
"I figured Kevin would've filled you all in by now," she said icily. "But since he didn't, I'll give you the short version. He got shot, he died...the end."
"You were there."
"Yes."
"He died while you were...while you..."
"He was assassinated while under my protection," she finished for him, her tone bitter.
"I'm sorry," AJ told her...and he honestly was. Sorry that she obviously blamed herself, sorry that she chose to continuously hurt herself with the knowledge, sorry that she was carrying around feelings of failure.
"Don't be. It was a long time ago."
"What happened after? What did you do?," he asked, curious to know as much about her and her past as she would reveal.
She shrugged, "Nothing. They buried him."
He shook his head, knowing full well that she was avoiding talking about herself. "What about you Parker?," he whispered, "What happened to you?"
She looked away from him, seeming to stare out into nothing, and for endless seconds the only sound between them was the constant hum of the jacuzzi. Finally, she inhaled deeply, then said, "I spent a few months recuperating in the hospital...then I went home."
"Hospital?," AJ frowned in confusion.
She glanced at him, admitting that he was certainly easy to talk to. She'd forgotten to keep her past a painful secret, forgotten to guard herself...damn his warm brown eyes anyway. They were regarding her with such...care. It wasn't sympathy she saw in those miraculous eyes...nor was it pity...it was simply...care. Sighing softly, she tugged the first two buttons of her shirt free.
AJ's eyes widened at the creamy expanse of flesh being bared before him. He stared at the curve of her breast swelling above its lacy confinement of her black bra...then he noticed what she was trying to show him. It wasn't a large scar...just a round little dot of puckered, pale tissue. Its placement on her chest was what made him wince. Clearly she'd had a bullet lodged in her chest...and just as clear was the fact that she'd barely escaped death. Reacting purely on instinct and the desire to sooth, he slowly moved toward her.
Parker watched in disbelief as he bent his dark head, then her eyes widened a split second later when she felt his lips against the sensitive scar tissue. She couldn't stop the surprised gasp that escaped her lips, nor could she stop the tiny shiver her body gave at the contact. Her hand came up as if it had a mind of its own...her reaction was a natural one, born from years of fending off the more overeager members of the male species. She hadn't slapped anyone in years...usually her icy demeanor kept the men away...but not this one. She wasn't even aware of what she was going to do until it happened. Almost.
AJ caught her wrist just before her open palm would have cracked against his face. He reacted with such quick reflexes that they nearly rivaled her own, and Parker found herself wondering if he was slapped often. They stared at each other...his eyes defiant, hers apologetic for once. He still held her wrist, though he'd lessened his grip, leaving her free to tug it free. She rubbed the skin were their skin had made contact, frowning at the angry red mark staining the delicate skin on the inside of her wrist.
She finally shattered the connection of their gazes by looking away. With shaking fingers, she buttoned her shirt again and lit a cigarette, inhaling the acrid smoke deeply. "I'm sorry," they both said, at exactly the same time. AJ was the first to smile, with Parker's reluctant smirk following. A comfortable silence descended, and just as AJ opened his mouth to question her again, she spoke.
"You remind me of my brother in some ways," she said softly, a wistful look settling on her normally passive features. "When he was younger he had this flare for life you know? Always laughing, always chasing girls...he was so much fun."
"What happened?," he asked, breathless, shocked that she was offering this insight into her life.
"Daddy happened," she replied, bitterness creeping back into her voice. "Patton was his guinea pig I guess...the heir to a political dynasty...my father was the governor of Texas...Dad just kept feeding him all this bullshit about responsibility and duty and honoring the family name. Patton got lost in all of it. He became like...this shell of a person...a puppet really."
"So I guess he's running for governor somewhere then huh?," AJ asked jokingly, grinning at her.
Her stark look of pain and sadness nearly broke his heart. "No...he's not," she said, sounding strangely nonchalant. "He's dead. He and my sister both."
AJ didn't quite know what to say. Her words had sounded so detached, as if she simply didn't care about the death of her siblings. Then, on closer inspection...noticing the fine trembling of her lower lip...he realized that her aloof coolness was the way she coped. He was trying to think of something to say when she suddenly sat up and muttered a few words into her radio.
"Come on," she told him, her mask of stoic indifference plastered back on her face. "There was another call."
The grim scene that greeted Parker upon her arrival to the hotel suite she and Claudia shared was not to be unexpected. She'd left AJ in his own room for the time being, and despite her warnings...she knew it was only a matter of time before he showed up too. It seemed that every member of their little entourage was crammed into the room...but it was Nick's face that immediately drew Parker's attention. His normally pale skin had gone ashen white, and his luminous blue eyes were wide with terror. Parker didn't have to ask who the call was placed to.
She shared a grave look of frustration with Claudia, then knelt in front of the chair Nick was sitting in. Her eyes softened in sympathy when she realized that the younger man's hands were shaking. "What did they say Nick?," she questioned, needing all the information he could provide. He paused to dust a lock of his blonde hair away from his forehead, then lifted his fearful gaze to hers.
"I was playing my N64," he said quietly, almost too quietly...Parker had to strain to hear him. "Then I stopped to write down some lyrics that I had floating around in my head. The phone rang...and he asked me what I was writing...and what game I was playing."
Parker's eyes narrowed into glittering slits of black rage. "Son of a bitch," she hissed. "Were your windows open Nick?" He nodded, biting his lip and giving her a chagrined look. She stood up and paced restlessly, thinking deeply. Every eye in the room was on her...waiting for some kind of divine instruction that she wasn't sure she could provide. Frowning, she rounded on Nick again and demanded, "What else did he say?"
Before Nick could answer, Claudia's sharp gasp of surprise sounded loudly. Parker turned her eyes on the smaller woman, watching her reaction closely. "Claud? What is it?" But Claudia's eyes was seemingly glued to her computer screen. Finally, after clearing her eyes with a swipe of her hand and clearing her throat, Claudia lifted her emerald gaze to meet Parker's.
"Forget about what he said Parker," she chided softly, "I think we should worry more about where the call came from."
Parker raised a questioning eyebrow, but Claudia merely removed a sheet of paper from the printer and presented to her with a troubled glance. Parker took the paper, her dark eyes skimming over it. "This is a list of phone calls that everyone received tonight," she commented dryly.
"Look at the last one," Claudia replied. "That was Nick's last incoming call."
Parker frowned as her eyes took in the disbelieving, damning evidence at the bottom of the list. There in black and white was a call originating from a cellular phone registered to one Alexander J. McLean.
"Damnit all to hell," Parker muttered under her breath, her mind a riot of chaotic thoughts. All of her worst fears, her highest suspicions had just been confirmed. She'd blindly been trying to hold onto to the hope that their mysterious assailant was not in fact, working from the inside. That hope had just been shattered to pieces. With that realization weighing heavy on her shoulders, she turned a malicious glare on AJ the very second he stepped foot into the room, wearing a lopsided grin that faded as he met Parker's gaze.
"When was the last time you remember seeing your cell phone?," she demanded, her tone harder than steel.
"I told you...the night you guys came," he answered, gesturing to her and Claudia.
Parker frowned in concentration. "Who was in the room with you that night? Who had access to the damn thing besides you? Can you remember anything at all?"
"There were lots of people there," he replied, shrugging, "you've seen how crazy it can get backstage."
"Can somebody please tell me what's going on?," Brian suddenly wailed, confusion stamped all over his face.
Parker spared him a brief glance, then noticed for the first time that everyone was staring at her with anxious looks on their faces. Sighing, she opened her mouth to speak. They deserved to know after all. "This last call was made from AJ's phone," she said wearily. The implication of that fact hung clearly in the air.
"So it's someone who works for us," Kevin quietly said, echoing the worst fear of every person there.
A soft, hesitant suggestion suddenly drifted out from the corner of the room. "Unless AJ is involved himself."
Before anyone could mutter a word of protest, Parker had drawn her blade and had it pressed against Michael's throat, pricking the sensitive skin beneath his chin. No one moved, or even dared to draw breath, for what seemed like an eternity...too stunned by Parker's uncanny quickness.
Parker held Michael's gaze with a murderous glare of her own. The emotional stress of the last week was wearing her down. That coupled with this new threat had her dangling by a thread at the end of her control. She saw red, her anger so intense that it was frightening. Not caring how much of her inner feelings she revealed anymore, she hissed, "Take that back you son of a bitch or I swear I'll make swallowing a lot more difficult for you."
To give Michael credit, he tried to dislodge the grasp Parker had around his throat...but not even his brawny strength could disarm the violent strength of anger coursing through Parker's veins. No one approached her, they were all more than a little frightened of the lethal grace she'd exhibited. Apparently the coiled tension she'd kept hidden beneath the thin veil of her cool facade had just exploded in one fiery rage, triggered by Michael's ridiculous accusal of AJ.
"I'm simply approaching all of the possibilities Detective," Michael sputtered, his eyes round, "I'm not saying I believe it!"
Gathering all of her willpower, Parker released him, finally seeing through the haze in her mind. "I'm sorry Michael," she whispered gruffly, shaking off her fury...or at least trying to. God what was wrong with her? Her hands were shaking, her chest heaving as she drew air into her lungs one shuddering breath at a time.
Then louder she said, "I'm only going to say this once, and I don't want to have to repeat it. We cannot go around suspecting each other. Our ultimate goal here is to protect lives...and save them if we have to. I don't know who's behind this...but I can assure you of the five people who aren't. It isn't Howie, it isn't Brian, it isn't Kevin, it isn't AJ, and it sure as hell isn't Nick. I know that as sure as I know the sky is blue. These five men have placed their lives in our hands and in order for us to ensure them of that, we have to work together. Is that clear? We will not suspect each other."
Everyone nodded their heads in unison...even the five Boys.
*****
“Just make sure they get to their rooms in one piece....Parker and I will be along to collect them shortly, alright?” Claudia requested softly. Jack nodded solemnly, his gaze flickering back and forth between Howie and AJ who were waiting with Kevin outside the door. As the bodyguard left, Claudia shut the portal quietly in his wake before breathing a sigh of relief. Having never been comfortable in the midst of a crowd, let alone within the cramped space of the hotel room, she wasn’t sorry to see the assembly make an unobtrusive exit leaving herself and Parker in peace. It went without saying that this would turn into yet another long night....there was so much which had to be discussed.
Claudia starred at her partner a moment, seeing not for the first time the lines of worry that edged her mouth which was set in a grim line. Though many weren’t able to look past the woman’s astringent veneer to the emotions which lay beneath, Claudia had learned to observe the tiniest nuance of expression which passed across her spartan features. Parker’s eyes were narrowed in thought and Claudia knew from experience that the tenebrous femme was analyzing their newest predicament from every conceivable angle.
Not wanting to interrupt her train of thought, the redhead sank onto the floor in a single fluid motion borne of practice, and waited for Parker to break the meditative silence which enveloped the room. The only sound to be heard was the gentle whir and click of the computer and though Claudia usually found this a comforting noise....tonight it only seemed ominous.
“Where was the call placed from?”
Claudia exhaled the breath she hadn’t even realized she had been holding as Parker finally spoke. “I don’t know,” she admitted, “I wish like hell that I did -for all our sakes- but the connection terminated before a trace could be completed.”
Parker sighed softly, “I guess that doesn’t really matter anyway. It would just confirm what we already know.”
Claudia agreed, but said nothing, preferring instead to pluck at the plush carpet beneath her, eyes remaining focused on Parker’s form. Her colleague was slumped in an armchair, forehead cradled in the palm of her hand; even the woman’s posture belied her frustration. “Let’s go back to the beginning.....where did the perpetrator get Nick’s cell number in the first place? It’s damn close to being classified information.”
After a moment of thought, Claudia began hesitantly, “That doesn’t really matter. Something can be classified, buried behind federal firewalls, and kept under lock and key but that can’t....and won’t....stop people from finding out about it.”
Parker’s features morphed into a scowl as she contemplated that fact. “You’re saying that the information is accessible to the masses through some unforeseen avenue?”
“In part...” Claudia’s fingers toyed with the cuffs of her sweater as she grew increasingly uncomfortable with the direction of her own thoughts, “I’m saying that you’ve overlooked people like me. There’s someone out there right now, sitting in front of a monitor, idling away their time on the information superhighway. They try a little something here and a little something there until they inadvertently stumble upon something that perhaps they shouldn’t know-”
Parker’s head raised and she rose from her perch to pace the room like a caged animal. “Amateur internet surfers are the bane of our existence? Claudia, I don’t mean to sound skeptical, but-”
“No! I mean, that’s how it starts.....this fascination with codes and encryptions and technology. One day you’re accessing someone’s personal files and the next....you’re hacking into a corporate database. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like that for everybody. But for people like me....well, it can become an addiction you’ve just got to feed. You start to seek out those who’re capable of helping you become something other than what you used to be.”
“You keep saying ‘people like me’,” Parker observed keenly. Claudia shrugged.
“I’m speaking from experience. When you’re socially incongruent, there are a lot of free hours to fill.....and there are more of us out there than you think. Make no mistake, the internet is infiltration friendly. Probably more so for the Boys and other celebrities than the average Joe.”
“A couple of social rejects are responsible for wrecking this havoc?” Parker exclaimed in aggravation, quickly growing tired of trying to decipher Claudia’s entire meaning. She immediately regretted losing her patience as she saw the other woman wince at her choice of words.
“It’s a possibility. Novelty lasts only so long before the almighty dollar makes an appearance. While some live for the challenge, there are plenty of others who adopt the trade, making it their business. Hire an underground hacker, pay him a little something to break into the phone company or wireless service provider’s database and within seconds you’ve got access to about a million customers. Billing addresses, registered lines, the numbers themselves, personal statistics....it’s all there, ripe for the taking.”
Parker halted momentarily in her ambling trek about the room, as she picked up Claudia’s speculation, “And once the information is bought and paid for, there’s no way of stopping it.”
Claudia nodded in relief as Parker’s understanding dawned and she adjusted her legs more comfortably below herself. “Before you ask, it’s virtually impossible for me to locate the infiltrator. While the community of professionals is close knit, the sheer amount of amateurs are startling and nearly impossible to wade through. And trust me.....phone companies don’t exactly invest millions to keep their firewalls up to date.”
“I was going to suggest that we change the Boy’s cell numbers, but after your charming explanation, I’m not sure it would do much good.”
“So what are we going to do?” Claudia wondered, cocking her head to the side as she let her mind wander over the particulars of their situation yet again. “Take away their phones?”
“No....no, that wouldn’t be our best course of action.”
“But they’ll call again,” Claudia objected.
Parker tossed a semblance of a smile in her partner’s direction, as her stride resumed with an even greater speed. ““I’m counting on it......How long do you need to trace the location of a call?”
“Two...three minutes, tops. Maybe less, but that would be pushing it; why?”
“Because...the next time this bad ass decides to fuck with us, we’ll keep him on the line long enough to pin point his origin. When that info comes across, we’ll be able to narrow our options. His locale should tell us what aspect of this tour he’s in on, buying us time to figure out his identity.”
Claudia’s eyes lit up as Parker unveiled her spontaneous plan in theory. The fact of the matter was, the Boys’ phone numbers were the only form of solid contact the guilty party had with their targets. It had become obvious that the intent of these calls was to set tempers, emotions, and reactions on edge. Whoever was responsible had figured out that such chaos and unpredictability was bound to cause dissension in the ranks, much as it had that very night, as seen in Michael and Parker. While keeping the assailant on the line long enough to trace a call would be difficult, it was one of the best options they had seen thus far.
*****
He had never been much of a drinker and yet, there he sat, tiny bottle of vodka in hand as he gazed out the window down at the city streets. First Kevin....then AJ and Parker......and now Nick. The events of the last several months were wearing thin the thread which still held all of them together, instilling a type of fear he had never felt before.....an all consuming, ever present terror which had intensified considerably over the past week and a half. It was almost too much to bear.
Howie tipped his head back and took another swallow of the potent liquid. The trail of fire it left down his throat was oddly comforting. In a world where absolutes had become few and far between, it was reassuring to know that he still detested strong liquor as much as he always had....though that fact didn’t stop him from finishing off the bottle he had pilfered from the mini bar and tossing it across the room into the trash.
“Two points,” came a soft voice to his ear. With a start, Howie’s head whipped in the direction it had come from, his heart pounding in his chest. What he saw made him slump deeper into his chair, relieved.
“Oh God, Claudia. You scared the shit out of me,” he chided, slightly breathless at the quiet way in which she had entered.....he hadn’t even been aware of her presence.
“I’m sorry,” she apologized meekly, immediately regretting the fright she’d given him. He was obviously on edge and she had just succeeded in pushing him that much closer to the end of his tether. “I knocked....but I guess you didn’t hear me.”
“No,” he waved his hand dismissively, giving Claudia a tense smile that was intended to be reassuring, “it’s alright. You just startled me a little.”
She crept silently across the room, kneeling beside his chair, and placing her hands on it’s arm to steady herself as she gazed up into his face. Her fingers grazed his bare arm and his eyes slid closed to hide the anxious fear lurking in his expressive orbs and the desire he felt to feel her in his arms, a similar source of comfort as he had been for her.
“This is a nightmare.” The nearly inaudible admission fell from his lips with a certain amount of difficulty. Claudia appraised his features intently....the lines which were seemingly permanently etched into his brow; the tension residing in his upper body; his foot which shook with an internal rhythm all it’s own, and the way his fists clenched and unclenched in his lap.
Without warning, Claudia felt the strongest urge to touch him, comfort him. Her focus arrested by the sight of his fidgeting hands, she tentatively extended her left palm, and after a moment, let it rest lightly atop his. Howie’s eyes flew open at her touch, the feel of her soft skin alongside his own more intoxicating than the drink he’d finished only minutes before.
Howie held his breath until his lungs hurt, watching...waiting to see what she’d do next. To his surprise, she seemed captivated by his texture, and falteringly let her fingers slide over the knobby skin of his knuckles, tracing the lines down to his fingertips.
“Even the most horrific night terrors have to come to an end some time,” she told him softly. Gently, as though she were afraid to, Claudia urged his hand to turn over, exposing the tender flesh of his palm as she delicately ran her nails across the calloused pads. Howie let his own fingers brush and curl about her wrist which lay tantalizingly close to his open palm.
“I was relieved it wasn’t me,” he whispered, the confession falling laboriously from his lips, exposing his guilt for that emotion as well as his self directed acrimony. “I’d give my life for any of them.....but I don’t want to have to. When the call came to Nick, I couldn’t help but think, ‘better him than me’. I disappoint myself.”
Claudia entwined her fingers tightly with his, “You know what?” she asked softly, prompting his gaze to meet hers, “I was too.....glad that it wasn’t you. You shouldn’t have to live like this....none of you should. But you are, and what makes this situation livable is the way you handle it. I’ve seen you and all of the others go out there, greet your fans, sign autographs, and give dynamic performances one right after the other, never letting on that anything is amiss. It takes a strong kind of person to do that, Howie. You’re permitted to have a weak moment.” Her words and the light shining in her emerald spheres expressed her deep understanding and Howie swallowed with difficulty before murmuring his thanks. Claudia nodded with a small smile and sat back farther on her heels.
“Wanna sit down?” he proposed quietly, there’s enough room in this chair for two.” He didn’t know where that bold offer had come from but he correctly anticipated Claudia’s response, calling himself every type of fool as she stood, awkwardly releasing his hands and letting them fall back into his lap.
“I....I should go. We’re supposed to be moving out soon.....I have a lot to pack up and Parker’s expecting me.” The last was a lie, but Claudia didn’t care. His gentle supplication was much too tempting and she wasn’t quite ready to give into the stirrings in the pit of her stomach. One more look into his brown eyes, and her will power would no longer be an issue. Like it or not, the man was slowly breaking down the stone walls and aching introverted nature which kept her apart.
Howie nodded wordlessly, and rose to see Claudia to the door. The chivalrous gesture was not lost on the redhead, though she hadn’t often been in the company of men. Before venturing back to her suite, Claudia felt the need to leave him with some sort of explanation, or at least, some sort of final comfort.
“You know.....sometimes, things happen for a reason. A....a purpose. I guess it’s up to all of us to figure out what that objective is. Sometimes......sometimes asking ‘why’ isn’t so bad.”
*****
The parking lot outside the rear entrance of the hotel was awash in a sea of organized chaos as the assembly prepared to vacate the lodge, leaving everything intact. It still amazed Claudia how swiftly and effectively this feat was accomplished, considering the vast amount of people involved. While there would have been plenty of opportunity for error by a lesser operation, somehow, the Backstreet entourage continually managed to carry it off. The enigmatic procedure did not always happen flawlessly, but it happened none the less and that seemed good enough for everyone concerned.
Claudia had just watched the last duffel bag being loaded into the storage compartment of the Boys’ bus when Parker’s authoritative voice rose above the murmur of the tiny crowd gathered at the vehicle’s entrance.
“Jack, Nathaniel, and Michael, I want each of you to stay with your charges for the journey to the venue. Likewise, AJ and Howie, you’ll travel with Claudia and myself on the security bus. At this point in the game, we can’t be taking any chances - even ones that seem inconsequential. In light of the....events of this afternoon, I’d like us all to stay as close to one another as possible. Any questions?” she paused a moment before giving a decisive nod and calling, “Alright then. Let’s move out!”
As instructed, each individual boarded their respective buses without a word of protest and settled down to make the trek across town to the concert hall. Claudia sank into the chair at her terminal, quickly opening applications and setting to work. She didn’t attempt to perform any major operations, as she was acutely aware of Howie’s presence in the armchair across from hers. His chair was bolted to the floor on the other side of the table which served as a computer desk, providing a perfect view of his increasingly distracting features. Claudia combated the urge to stare by sinking lower into her seat in an attempt to place the monitor as a barrier between them. Even so, she couldn’t help but shift slightly to the side to gain a covert glimpse of his brown eyes focusing intently on the scenery passing outside the window. Had she known him better, she would have noted the small smile which played about his lips, a tell tale sign that he knew exactly what she was up to.
AJ, meanwhile, had chosen to locate himself on the couch in close vicinity of Parker, who had begun to evaluate map prints of the next performance arena. The vehicle was bathed in less than companionable silence as everyone attempted to seem nonchalant. Even Claudia made a valiant attempt to type more softly than she ever had before, not wanting to be the one to disrupt the fragile atmosphere. In the end, it was she who ended up doing that very thing.
“Um....Parker?” she inquired hesitantly, gaze darting back and forth between a print out she held in her hand and a fax which had come through that very morning.
“What Claud?” Parker responded absently, wielding her trademark highlighter across the sheets of paper in front of her.
“Are you aware that the Boys have been asked to present an award at the show this Friday?” Parker’s eyes narrowed to slits as she silently urged Claudia to continue. The smaller woman cleared her throat, “A fax came in this morning...saying it was already cleared with management.”
If Parker’s gaze had been menacing before, it was deadly now. “I suppose it’s already been confirmed with the organization sponsoring the awards?” Claudia nodded. “Great. And who do we have to thank for this screw up?”
Before Claudia could answer, AJ reminded the women of his presence by choosing that moment to offer his opinion. “God, Parker. It’s not like we’re not going to be there already,” he sighed, rolling his eyes heavenward and slumping a bit in his seat. “Besides, you’ll be there to protect us, right?”
“That’s not the point, McLean.”
“The hell it’s not-”
“Hey!” Howie interrupted, staving off any further argument by stepping into moderator mode. “Sometimes management’s inconsiderate, Parker. Over time, we’ve just learned to deal with it. It’s an honor they’ve even asked us to present.”
“How are they going to deal with five dead bodies if we’re not given ample time to prepare for such an appearance?” she asked, arching one finely sculpted eyebrow. Turning to Claudia, “See if you can get ahold of someone with the awards show staff. Request a copy of the backstage floor plan, the auditorium, and the arena floor itself. We’ll go from there.”
Claudia gave a curt nod and began plunking away at the computer keys before Parker had even completed her orders. Howie, seeking to ease the tension still wafting in the air, decided to change the subject.
“So, have you guys heard? Leighanne is going to be able to make it in for the awards. Nathaniel’s been practically singing praises from the rooftops.” This elicited several chuckles as each had, at one point or other, become acquainted with Nathaniel’s theory regarding Brian’s hyperactive nature.
“Thank God for small miracles,” AJ sighed. “You know, Kev’s lady is flying in as well.”
“Really?” Howie smiled happily, “That’s great. He’s going to be in a euphoric mood for the next three weeks!”
“Tell me about it. How about young Nicky?”
“The last I heard, he was planning to go stag so he’d be ready, willing, and able to mix it up at the after parties,” AJ grinned shamelessly, slapping his leg at the thought of the humorous attempts Nick was sure to make with the ladies. “What about you, man? Is Polly coming over or.....?” the suggestive inquiry hung in the air as both AJ and Howie snuck furtive glances at the redhead currently preoccupied with the computer. Parker, however, didn’t miss the direction of the men’s thoughts.
“No,” she told them softly, not bothering to turn her attention from the security outline she was penning in preparation for the awards. “Business and pleasure don’t generally mix.”
Claudia chose that moment to cast a glance at the other occupants of the room, having just sent off her email query to the award show’s backstage producer. She was startled nearly off her seat to find herself the subject of so many pairs of eyes. “What?” she asked self consciously, shifting uncomfortably in her chair.
“What are you going to be doing during the awards?” AJ questioned compulsively, opting to ignore the Parker’s glare which was burning into the side of his head.
”Um...” the little female hesitated, “Probably inside the auditorium. Most of our technical devices won’t be allowed at the production, so I’ll be on hand to help where ever I can.....why?”
Before Howie could put an end to the discussion, AJ blurted unceremoniously, “Because, Howie needs a date.”
Both the man of the hour and Parker looked quickly to the redhead, only to find her in a state of near shock, the words slowly sinking in. Her face flamed a lovely shade of scarlet as embarrassment once again consumed her. “I...uh....I....uh....”
“What she means is, thank you no,” Parker intervened, sending an firm, yet apologetic silent telegram to Claudia, who was still rendered speechless. Howie hadn’t bothered to take his eyes off of her, finally prompting her to meet his gaze for a moment before she once again diverted her focus.
“Come on, Parker. Don’t be such a hardass,” AJ admonished quietly. “Just look at her....she wants to go no matter what sort of work ethic you two have established. Besides, it’s giving Howie a bad rep to be seen with his sister all the time. People are starting to think he can’t get a date.”
“Hey!” Howie protested, torn between laughing and strangling his friend.
“It’s the truth man,” AJ told him with a wink. Howie mumbled something about paybacks being a bitch, but remained silent.
Parker let her attention focus back upon her partner. Surprised to find Claudia’s eyes already on her countenance, Parker cocked her head to one side as she evaluated her security cohort. The woman’s blush hadn’t died down a bit, but there was a hopeful spark in her eyes, a mute plea for compliance. Not wanting to give false anticipation, yet not wanting to dash the redhead’s dreams, Parker gave a resigned sigh. “I’ll think about it, okay?”
Claudia had to fight to keep her emotions in check at that moment. Just thinking about accompanying the Latin man to the awards, sitting beside him all evening, and knowing that she would be the one he’d embrace if the Boys won a category made her heart jump in her chest, alternating skipping a beat and thudding loud enough to wake the dead. Meeting Howie’s gaze across the table told her he felt it too and that was enough to incite yet another rosy flush.
AJ was quite pleased with himself. A person would have to be blind not to see what was happening between his best friend and his bodyguard. Granted, the vermilion haired woman wasn’t much more than a mousy little girl, but she seemed to have captured Howie’s affection, and that was good enough for AJ. Arranging a mock serious visage to face the femme beside him, AJ nodded solemnly, “That’s all I ask, Parker. Just give it some consideration.”
His patronizing tone irritated Parker to no end, but she couldn’t bring herself to issue an angry retort. One look at Claudia silenced any further reproachful remark boiling within, and she grudgingly admitted to herself that she might very well spare the preposterous idea a second thought.
*****
“I hate this crap. Feels like I’ve got mud caked on my face or something,” Nick moaned, wrinkling his nose in distaste and scrutinizing his reflection in the mirror which covered a large expanse of the dressing room wall.
Kevin rolled his eyes at Nick’s whining tone, not bothering to tear his focus from the pages of his book as he muttered, “Or something....”
“I’m serious!” Nick persisted, “I can feel my pores screaming for relief! This is definitely an aspect of our career I do NOT enjoy.”
Brian tossed a nerf football at the towering, perfectly coiffed blonde, hitting his mark and effectively mussing the golden locks. “Clogged pores are the least or your problems,” he admonished with a good natured grin.
Despite the frightening phone call which had unsettled their existence, things had more of less returned to normal.....at least, on the exterior. Each man had his own way of dealing with the stressful encounters which were rapidly becoming more frequent. In an effort to keep up appearances, the professional persona in the Boys had prompted an unspoken rule between them, barring the any mention of the hazardous dealings surrounding their tour.....though, that didn’t stop the events from lurking in the darkened corners of their minds. At present, each of the well oiled performers was conducting their own personal pre show routine, an activity which reinforced a certain element of normalcy.
“Hey, I’m gonna dribble a couple lines up and down the hall, okay?” Brian announced, plucking a worn basketball from his belongings and tossing it from palm to palm.
“Looking for an opponent?” Nick grinned, abandoning his vanity for a little one on one.
“As long as you don’t cheat.”
“Cheat?!” Nick demanded haughtily, “I never cheat!”
“Looks like you’re in for a trip to the confessional, now.”
“Yeah, to tell the priest how I murdered you on the court.”
“Hall.”
“Whatever.”
The door slammed shut with a bang behind the riotous pair as they deserted the dressing room, leaving Kevin in peace and quiet.
Kevin stretched and settled back on the couch for some peaceful reading. He hadn’t read more than a few pages when he felt the need to relieve himself. Giving a resigned sigh and tossing a regretful glance at his book, he lay the volume upside down on the compact coffee table before ambling toward the private facility adjoining the dressing room.
Shutting the door partially behind himself, Kevin took his time performing the ‘task’ at hand. Humming a snippet of a latest top ten tune he’d heard in passing, Kevin turned on the hot water faucet to wash his hands. He smiled in remembrance of the way he used to play with the soap suds in the sink when he was a child. It used to take him forever to wash his hands....it still did.
Just as Kevin was reaching for the terry cloth towel hanging on the rack beside the sink, a terror filled masculine cry emanated from the dressing room. Gasping sharply and promptly dropping the cloth, Kevin bolted into the outer chamber. The sight of Brian, eyes wide with fear, jaw slack in disbelief stopped Kevin in his tracks.
“Fuck, Brian! You scared me! What’s wrong?! Bri?”
Nathaniel burst into the room at that moment, entering behind Brian via the exterior door which emptied into the main backstage corridor. “Sweet Jesus,” he breathed. The bodyguard’s eyes were trained on something past Kevin, and the darker man slowly turned to see what had captured his attention so entirely.
“Holy fuckin-”
*****
“Yeah, mom.......uh huh.......okay, I promise.......Yeah, I will......Take care of yourself. Bye,” Howie heaved a sigh of relief as he pressed ‘end’ on his cellular, terminating the connection. A soft giggle from beside him prompted him to shift his gaze to Claudia. “What?” he asked, curious as the the source of her mirth.
“Nothing,” she shrugged, smile still playing about her lips.
“Tell me,” he groaned, leaning against her hard enough to displace her posture. Claudia brushed a stray curl behind her ear with a shrug.
“You’re a paradox.”
“Come again?” Howie’s mouth quirked as he considered her statement while they walked through the backstage corridors. “How so?”
“One minute, your performing on stage to thousands of women, ripping your......dancing up a storm and the next,” she grasped his wrist playfully, lifting his hand which still held the cellular phone, “you’re checking up on your mother. It’s just sort of contradictory, that’s all.”
“You were going to say ripping my shirt off, weren’t you?” Howie teased, enjoying the fact that he’d caught her out. A furious blush, the kind he had grown so fond of, spread across her cheeks like wildfire.
“Forget it.”
“No, no. You started this, now finish it.”
“Maybe it comes from being so.....sheltered, but I find your uninhibited presence on stage converse to the man you are the rest of the time I’m with you.”
“Just because I show a little skin in my routine doesn’t make me an immediate candidate for the red light district,” Howie objected with a grin. He rarely got to see this bantering side of Claudia, and in truth, he found her downright irresistible when her eyes twinkled with humor. “Besides, you’re really one to talk about inconsistency.”
It was Claudia’s turn to raise her eyebrows skeptically. “I’m sorry?”
“The majority of the time you’re like a timid, flighty rabbit. Two steps forward, one step back. Then, at erratic intervals which never fail to catch me off guard, you transform into a woman who’s not the least bit afraid to tease and be teased.....like now. And as for you being ‘sheltered’......how can you make that claim when you’re dragging me into a toy store to pick up a delivery....the sort of delivery that couldn’t be made via mail courier? I may not know everything about you, Claudia, but I do know that you’re most definitely not sheltered from the world. From people, yes....the world? No.”
Claudia was silent as she contemplated Howie’s deconstruction of her personality. It was uncanny how entirely he had her pegged.....nearly too close for comfort. Finally she said softly, “Everyone has their secrets, Howie. You have yours and I have mine.”
The man beside her contemplated that a moment. “You’re right. But I’m willing to share mine.....are you?”
Claudia was saved from having to supply an answer as they rounded the next corner. A small crowd had gathered up ahead. “I wonder what’s happened?”
Howie shifted his gaze to the mass of people congregating in the hall. “I don’t know....It looks like it’s in front of our dressing room.”
“That’s because it is,” Claudia exclaimed as the pair ground to a halt. He grasped her hand tightly in his as they began push their way through the human barricade. “I hope nothing’s happened,” she whispered, though even as the blind plea left her mouth, both knew it wasn’t likely. To draw a crowd that size, something had most definitely occurred....and from the direction of their current luck, it wasn’t something pleasant.
Claudia groped for her radio as Howie attempted to ease through the assemblage, still holding firmly to her palm. “Parker? Nathaniel? Michael? Can you hear me? What’s going on? Howie and I can barely get through out here.”
No answer was forthcoming, but then, it wasn’t really needed as Howie and Claudia slipped past the doorframe, stumbling into the dressing room. The backs of the entire security team and the other four Boys greeted them.
“This place is a mad house, what’s going on?” Howie inquired.
Without turning away from whatever the other eight occupants of the room were looking at, Nathaniel invited softly, “Come see for yourself.” Claudia and Howie exchanged hesitant looks before edging between Nathaniel and Parker.
There, in bright bold letters for all the world to see, a message had been scrawled on the slick surface of the mirror....
The sixth commandment is about to be broken....who will scream the loudest?
Claudia gripped Howie’s hand with a desperate strength that welled up inside her chest, tightening her throat and vocal chords unmercifully. She couldn’t tell if the trembling of their joined hands was from the Latin man or herself....or a combination of the two.
“What’s it written in?” Claudia whispered, then hazarded an answer to her own question, “Blood?”
“Thank God, no. It’s lipstick,” Parker supplied, eyes still transfixed by the sinister message.
“What’s the sixth commandment?” Michael’s voice cracked.
No one spoke for a moment until Brian’s soft reply fell thunderously on their waiting ears, “Thou shalt not murder.”
Howie, Parker, and a few others turned away from the prophetic scene, but Claudia could not tear her eyes away from the crimson penmanship gracing the reflective glass. It was sickly beautiful, ruby curves and lines on a diamond-like veneer.....beautiful in the twisted way of a Venus flytrap. A shudder wracked through her slight frame, though Claudia barely noticed. How ironic that the guilty party should cite the sixth commandment. The sixth was only a gruesome end result to the motives evoked by the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth.....adultery, stealing, lies, and envy. How ironic, indeed, that each should provide plenty of motivation for assassination, the most underhanded form of murder. Claudia averted her eyes from the mirror as a wave of nausea swept over her. The room seemed to dance in her head, swirling angrily. She came to stand close to Parker, hoping a bit of the woman’s composed exterior might rub off on her.
“Claud....you’re pale, are you okay?” Parker asked quietly.
“I’m fine. Who found it?” she inquired sympathetically.
“Brian,” came the response which was really more of a sigh and Claudia hesitated to ask what was at the forefront of her inquisitive thoughts.
“When was it written?”
“While Kevin was in the bathroom....says he didn’t hear a thing. Brian forgot something in the dressing room, came back and.....”
“Oh. Parker?”
“Yeah?”
“This is a pretty bold move.”
The darker woman gave a contemptuous feminine snort of agreement. “This is a pretty bold son of a bitch we’re dealing with.”
They were silent then, and Claudia was thankful. She wasn’t sure just how much more she wanted to know. In fact, she wasn’t sure about anything right then. In the background, she vaguely made out Parker’s grim voice, saying with the sort of gruff succinct tone they had all become used to, “Well, McLean.....I guess you’ve got yourself a date afterall.”
~~~~~~~
Author's Note: Was it worth the wait? :) Let us know by dropping us a line! Jessi and/or Ivy
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