It was a simple Saturday morning, nothing out of the ordinary. The city was quiet, oddly quiet for this time of day. Streets that were usually brimming with people were now at a standstill. It's almost like the world stopped. At least that is how it felt for AJ Mc Lean as he sat impatiently twiddling his thumbs on the cold table of the bus. He wanted to sleep in today, just for a few extra minutes. He so seldom got the chance to set his alarm clock for any later than nine in the morning. Most kids his age, entering their freshman year of college, would look at the clock reading 8 am and throw it clear across the room. Not AJ though, sleeping in was not to be one of his perks, not for awhile anyway. This was a rare opportunity indeed. Rare and missed.

He sighed as he looked at the reason he was up early, staring back at him with the most pathetic expression on his face. Nick, the biggest pain in the ass Carter! Nick was the reason he couldn't sleep in like a real guy. Nick was the reason he had to sit here and twiddle his thumbs, Nick was the reason...

"Well?" AJ looked up from his hands to look down at the kid. Who had placed his head on the table in a moment of total desperation. "Well what?" He said trying to not lose his cool with the moody teenager. He had a rough go of it for the last few days, being sick and on the road. That's what he had to keep in the back of his mind to avoid reaching over and slamming the blonde's head against the table a couple of hundred times.

"Are you gonna go for me like you promised?" AJ found himself banging HIS own head against the table much to the delight of the young Carter. "Nick, why didn't you just ask Brian to get them for you? You know he and Howie were going out!"

"I know but I didn't think of it" He paused to sneeze, "Besides You said you needed cigarettes right?" AJ stood up and stretched as he grabbed for his jacket, the last thing he wanted was to catch a cold at the start of Fall and the on coming tour. Too bad Nick didn't think that way. Too bad only because this way, AJ wouldn't find himself roaming around the streets of Manhattan trying to find some stupid cough medicine for a stupid ungrateful, pathetic looking, bratty teenager!

AJ picked up his wallet and made sure he had enough money inside, "Nick, how much do you think cough medicine is gonna cost?" The blank stare was Nick's only reply. "I better go to the bank then, you know you are a HUGE pain in the butt!" Nick made a pouty face, as AJ walked out the door. "Get the cherry kind!" He heard echo out the door amongst a shower of coughs. "Get the cherry kind! Unbelievable, he didn't even offer to pay! What a dink!" AJ mocked as he met the brisk morning head on.

It was a cold morning, and he found himself cursing Nick even more as he walked down the street only wearing his light black jacket. He stuck his hands in his pockets to try and warm them. It was only October, too early to be able to see your own breath. He looked up to try to get his bearings, figure out where the nearest ATM machine was so he could avoid a trip to the bank. The big parking lot the bus was parked in was for a church of some kind but when you looked around at what surrounded the place you had to wonder why God just didn't up and move. Stretches of xxx movie theaters lined the streets with an occasional Mc Donald's thrown in for good measure. xxx movie theater now there was a thought. He paused in front of a theater that was showing an interesting movie when he saw a young blonde walking towards him. He shook his head in disbelief!

"Nick, what the hell are you doing out here?" Nick walked up to AJ, jacket unbuttoned, no hat on his head, eyes watery and overall complexion pale. "I was bored and didn't want to be alone!"

"You didn't want to be alone? Then why didn't you go to the stupid ass drug store by yourself if you're well enough to be out here!" Nick just shrugged while he angled his head to look at the poster in the marquee of the theater. Covering Nick's eyes he pulled him up the road. "God Nick button up your jacket!" They walked a little further finally coming to an ATM machine. AJ went for his card only to come up empty handed. He panicked looking all over the place for it. "Oh are you looking for your Mac card?"

"Yes"

"It's on the bus"

"What do you mean it's on the bus?"

"You left it on the table"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because you said you were going to the bank, I figured you wouldn't need your card" AJ just stood there staring at the kid in disbelief. "I'm sorry J I really am, I'll go back and get it if you want!" He sounded so sincere AJ had to smile. "Nah, let's just go to the bank. Those machines charge huge fees anyway. They turned around and started to head up the street, at least that was the direction they saw the other guys going.

Kevin, Howie and Brian had to go to the bank this morning, the funny thing was so did He. He needed money but it was so warm and cozy in his bunk that when Kevin stuck his head in and tried to wake him, AJ only stirred. He kind of remembered Kevin telling him to keep an eye on Nick, vaguely, until Nick himself had popped his head in not two minutes later begging him for cough and cold medicine.

That brought him to his current situation, roaming around the streets of New York in a not so nice section of town with a 16 year old kid who didn't even have the sense to zip up his jacket in freezing temperatures. Wonderful AJ wonderful!

"I think I see a bank over there" Nick said while motioning with his hand for AJ to follow him across the street. Sure enough there was the bank and the very one that the other guys were at too. Through the window they were able to see the older guys waiting patiently on a line that didn't seem to be moving at all. "I hate banks!" AJ said as he stepped inside.

The Muzak was enough to want to make him gag. He wondered to himself why places that insisted you wait for everything played the worst music on the planet. It made no sense. None at all. He smiled at the guys and walked over to join them. They seemed surprised that AJ and Nick were there. There were at least ten people on line for only two tellers. Kind of small amount for such a big bank. It was cold in there too. Not toasty warm as the brown and green interior would have you guess.

"What are the two of you doing here?" Kevin asked, directing his gaze at AJ. Feeling like he was going to get the blame for just doing a good deed, AJ pointed at Nick, "He needed cough medicine, so I need money!" Seeing that answer was acceptable to Kevin, AJ breathed a sigh of relief. There was NO way he was gonna get in trouble this early in the morning. Kevin now fixated on Nick, "And why are you out? Didn't I tell you to stay in the bus?" Hands firmly placed in his pockets and bouncing to keep warm, Nick only shrugged. This brought a laugh from Brian who had been watching the scene with amusement. As they were leaving early this morning he already knew two things, one: Nick would wake up AJ almost instantly and two: He would find a way to drive J crazy. Looks like mission accomplished.

AJ took his place on line two people behind the rest of the guys. He heard frustrated sighs coming from directly in front of him, from a guy who was obviously already late. The man kept glaring at his watch and saying come on come on under his breath. Looking down at his own feet, AJ thought well served you right for getting up late buddy!

"J" He didn't want to look up, just wanted to forget the kid even existed, but Nick's constant muttering of his name finally made him glare back at the pain. "What is it?" Nick took a step back, "Man! You don't have to rip my head off, I just wanted to tell you I have to use the bathroom" Sometimes Nick's childlike ways, really irritated him. He couldn't understand why he acted almost five years younger than he was. He wasn't immature, when he wanted to be, Nick could act like he was actually a lot older than his years, but he enjoyed being a child. Nothing wrong with that I guess. Unless, you happened to he stuck here with him at this moment. "Okay, thanks for the bulletin" AJ knew what was coming next, he was only waiting, then finally, "Well, are you gonna come with me?" AJ laughed.

"Do I have to?" He looked at Nick and sure enough, there it was the sad blue puppy dog eyes staring back at him. "No, I guess you don't" He let out a huge sigh, "I guess I can go all by myself, alone in a big strange bank. Who knows what can be lurking around the corner, so scary and so..."

"Alright! I'll go!! YOU are the biggest.."

Nick laughed and finished for AJ, "I know pain in the butt!"

"No, actually ASS! you have graduated from a butt to an ass"

"Oh I feel so special! Thanks" He grabbed AJ in an embrace, much to the disgust of the man in front of them. He was not liking any of this. "I love you man!" Nick said kissing AJ on the cheek.

"Get off of me you freak!" AJ said pushing Nick away, "Do you boys mind?" The man said, sending death glares Nick and AJ's way. "Sorry" They both said in unison. Kevin looked annoyed at them. AJ let out a nervous laugh, "See, I knew you were gonna get us in trouble" He whispered to Nick as they walked towards the front entrance and down the long narrow hallway to the bathroom.

"Relax AJ, the guy just had an attitude" There were at least five cherry wood doors all with business type names attached to them, the bathrooms were all the way at the end of the long hallway. They entered totally oblivious to what would happen next.

While AJ laid his head against the cold green tiled wall, He closed his eyes picturing himself asleep in his warm and cozy bunk. The sound of a tinkling Nick in the background. He would go get the kid his cough medicine, preferably one that would knock him the hell out for a few hours, and then he would get some more rest. Peace and quiet. Ah that would be nice.

Then a huge sound knocked him out of his comfort zone. It sounded like glass breaking, and were people screaming? He thought he heard people screaming. He opened the bathroom door slightly and although he was too far away to see what was going on, he heard it. A man..actually several men, telling everybody to drop to the floor. His heart started to beat double time in his chest as he slowly closed the door, and made his way over to the humming Nick's stall. He knocked on the door quietly and cautiously, "Nick" He whispered. Nick was too wrapped up in his humming to hear anything, so AJ tried again, this time a little louder, "Nick!" He stopped humming and flushed the toilet. As soon as he walked out of the stall he grabbed Nick by the arm, "Shhhh" Nick laughed, what kind of a silly game was this? He continued to walk over to wash his hands, putting on the water and rubbing foamy soap all over them, "Nick, you have to be quiet" AJ said turning off the water leaving Nick with foamy hands. "What...why?" He said spoken at full voice. AJ placed a hand over the teens mouth, "I think the bank is being robbed"

At first Nick thought J was only teasing, until he took a minute to hear the cries and the commotion. They just stood there face to face, AJ's hand cupped onto Nick's mouth as the screaming continued in the background...

Patience, from the time Kevin was a child until now, that seemed to be one virtue he never had a knack for. He was the type of guy who would look at a drive through window and go right past it if there was more than four cars waiting for food. Never one to wait on lines for rides, he would look at those parents, in his early days at Disney, and wonder how it was they could stand there for an hour on line with whiny, bratty kids. He found himself thanking God for not knowing the answer to that question. Even more perplexing to him, were the fans he had in Europe. How willing they were to wait for hours on lines just to get a glimpse at him and the boys. Some standing in line for a full day just for his name on a piece of paper. Baffling. He didn't get it. He admired many artists growing up but he would never stand on line waiting for them to sign anything. It was only paper.

Yup, Kevin hated to wait for anything, yet he always found himself doing just that. Waiting. Sometimes for the stage tech's to get the microphones right, sometimes for a bus driver who seemed to get lost at the worst possible moment, most times it was for his fellow bandmates, who were never on time for anything EVER!

Now he found himself waiting yet again, this time it was at a huge bank were only two tellers seemed to be working. He briefly wondered to himself, maybe it was some kind of holiday that he wasn't aware of? Maybe that is why there was only two people working. All he knew was he was getting steadily impatient with every second he had to wait. He wasn't alone in that feeling though, the man who came in only seconds behind him, started to sigh the second he took his place on line. He wasn't very happy either.

That man had moaned and groaned like he was the only one who ever had to wait for anything. Then when AJ and Nick walked in and right up to where the boys were standing, Kevin was sure the guy was gonna flat out cry. He rolled his eyes and gave Nick and AJ both, dirty looks for every laugh chuckled. Then he glared over my way like it was my fault that I knew them or something.

Yes, when it came to patience, Kevin had a big deficency. It was becoming more apparent to Howie D as every minute, they stood in line had his older friend glancing at his watch. "When are they gonna open up another station?" Kevin asked anyone who would listen. Howie just shrugged. When he saw Kevin getting stressed out over things, that's all Howie could think of to do. "I feel like we have been waiting here online for hours"

"Relax cousin, it has only been about ten minutes" Brian chimed in from right behind the taller man. Kevin glanced back at Brian and got a glimpse of the unhappy guy who was now adjusting his tie and cussing under his breath. Brian met Kevin's eyes with a smile, friendly and calm, the only way Brian knew how to be. Just as Kevin was to make another snide comment, it happened.

They came out of nowhere, seemingly dropped from the sky right in front of the bank. Four people walked in all wearing black from head to toe. Carrying very big bags, rope and wearing ski masks. Before Kevin had a chance to fully grasp what was about to happen, one of the men in a very loud voice ordered everyone down on the ground.

"Face down with hands above your heads! Do it now!" Before he did as he was told, he looked at Howie and Brian, giving them an it's gonna be alright look. That was his job. Too make them feel better, even when he wasn't nesecarily sure if it would be better, like now. As they got closer to him, Kevin felt his heart gradually rising in his throat. Two of them moved towards the tellers, one moved towards them and the other? Where was the other? He was sure he saw four of them enter. He craned his neck a little to see if he could spot robber number four, sure enough there he was, heading towards the bathroom. The bathroom, where Nick and AJ were.

"Do you think they heard?" Brian whispered to Kevin, making sure not to alert the gunmen that something was wrong. "Not sure" He said cutting himself off as the man was now there sizing up the people on the line up. Kevin thought about trying to grab at the guys foot knocking him down and grabbing for the gun, but decided against it. What if something went wrong? He had more common sense then that. He was only hoping Brian did too. He saw in Brian's eyes, the look of someone wanting to be everyone's hero. "Don't even think about it Bri" He whispered, "It would be a bad idea"

"Hey the two of you! Stop the talking" The gunman said kicking Kevin in his side. Instead of howling out in pain like he wanted, he gave Brian a wayward glance. Once sure his cousin recieved the message, he relaxed placing his head to the hard cold ground. People were screaming now from the back hallway, the hallway that housed the men's bathroom. At least five people came from that area, all holding their hands above their heads as they ran until they were told to drop to the ground. No AJ or Nick though, Kevin glanced over at Howie who noticed the two younger guys missing from the fold as well. It made him part relieved but mostly terrified, because unlike him, Nick or AJ both would very willingly play hero and there was nothing Kevin could do about it. He was hoping they had more sense then that. Hoping and praying they would stay out of site.

"Did you check all the rooms back there?" The man who hovered right over the people on line asked the one coming from the back. "Yeah I did" He answered, without any hesitation. "All clear!"

By now, the two men with the tellers had ushered them out onto the floor and sat them down right beside us. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, If you haven't figured out what is happening by now, I will make it easier for you. We are robbing this place and unlucky you, happened to be here at the wrong time" The other one joined his partner "You all might as well sit up and make yourselves comfortable, you'll be here for a minute or two" It was a woman. The person who spoke was a woman and now upon further investigation, it became more clear to Kevin. She was much shorter than the others, and had a bust line.

While two of the robbers where watching their hostages with guns ready to shoot, one was pulling the blindes down and the other was sitting at a desk trying to access something, "He must be the boss" A women sitting to my left said, "It seems like that guy is running the show"

"No talking" The female yelled to the middle aged woman making her hush immediately. The man over at the computer walked over to the group of prisoners and motioned for one of the men who was pulled from that back hallway. He was well dressed and about fifity years old. "You come here now!" He said almost lifting the guy completely off of his feet.

"Excuse me?" The annoying man who had been standing right behind the boys on line said, "Is it possible for you to tell us how long this is gonna take?" She seemed amused and walked over crouching down beside him, "Um..not sure, why? You have a hot date or something?" He seemed really nervous now, sweat pouring from his forehead and dripping onto his now loosened tie. "Once we have what we need we will be going sir. Okay?" She stood up much to the delight of the older man. Kevin liked him even less than before if that was possible.

"Terry! Over here please" The robber called to the woman. She ran over and they seemed to be having a heated argument. The whole time, Kevin kept gazing over at the hallway that hid AJ and Nick, hoping that maybe they found a way out, confident that if they were still around, they would have been out here by now. Terry made her way back over to the hostages, stopping to talk to the other gunmen along the way, "Well people, seems like we will be staying around a little longer than planned so better make yourselves comfortable"

A loud and very obvious grunt was heard from the grumpy older man. Terry walked back over towards him, "Aw, what's the problem now?" She asked as she put on a fake pouty face. "I just don't want to be here!" She laughed. "Does anyone of us want to be here?" Kevin said. He had been quiet for too long and now he had to speak his mind or else that grumpy jerk, would end up making the gunmen mad enought to kill them all.

The man, obviously fuming from Kevin's snide remark, had a mean grin on his face, "Well, your friends must have felt the same way because they took off didn't they?" Kevin felt his eyes bulge at the man's words. Terry who up until that moment had been laughing at the man, now looked interested. "What do you mean?" She asked him. The man never faltered, never had a moment of conscience, "There were two boys who had left to go to the bathroom when you came in, they must still be hiding there" She did not look amused any longer. "Really?" She asked him as she went in even closer holding the gun to his head, "Because I abhor liars!"

"NO it's the truth I swear, they were with those guys" He said pointing to Howie, Brian and Kevin. She made her way over to the boys, slowly grinning. "Is that true?" She asked Howie. She smiled when he refused to answer, "Well, isn't this interesting, Chris! Jason! Come here" Two of the guys walked over to her, "Seems like we have two boys MIA" She turned to Kevin "How old are they?" She asked him. He didn't answer so the awful man did it for him. "About 18 or 19 tops" He said. She laughed again, "Could it be possible that the two of you were outsmarted by a pair of teens?" They looked angry and ran back towards the bathroom. She walked to the older guy who now had a huge grin on his face, "So, what's your name hero?" He loosened his tie some more, "Justin"

"Well, Justin" She bent over as if to kiss him but instead hit him with the handle of the gun. He fell to the floor as the hostages looked on in horror, "I also detest tattle tales" She then winked at Kevin, he only glared ahead at the hallway, now more frightened than ever.

AJ and Nick stayed in their pose for a few minutes. AJ holding his hand cupped over Nick's mouth While Nick looked at the door waiting for it to fly open any minute. "We have to hide" J whispered to Nick shaking him so he would break his gaze at the door. All Nick could do was nod. AJ took his hand away from the teens mouth slowly and began to look around the bathroom. There were no windows because of how it was situated. It was at the very end of the hall. There were four stalls on the inside plus two urinals that were never used. AJ pulled Nick into the handicapped stall as he heard a commotion approaching them. He motioned for Nick to stand on the toilet as he did the same. Both balancing themselves on opposite ends of the rim on the toilet.

AJ leaning against the wall and Nick standing with his arms out to his sides, like he was about to fly an airplane, they just stood there waiting. If only this were a game, but as those two men barged into the restroom kicking the door open and making all the stall doors shake, AJ realized it was No game. "Is anybody in here?" One of the men called. He sounded mean. They stood as motionless as possible, possibly the only time in Nick's life, he had stayed this still and quiet. Footsteps of two men were walking around the bathroom going from stall to stall. Both Nick and AJ praying to any God that would listen for them not to kick in the door to the stall they were occupying. "Hello? You need to come out now!" A man said from right behind the door. It began to creak open as AJ was ready to kick it closed again and hope for the best. "Chris come on there's nobody here let's move on!"

Both boys breathed a sigh of relief when the door creaked closed again and footsteps of the one called Chris turned and left the room. They stayed in that position for awhile just in case, Chris was about to pop back in, they listened as running and screaming was heard right outside the restroom door. Finally feeling safe, AJ jumped from his position, motioning for Nick to do the same, he looked at Nick and saw a pale and scared shitless kid staring back at him. He was shaking like a leaf, shaking and ready to cry. AJ pulled him close looking him in the eyes, "Hey buddy, you can't lose it right now okay?"

"What about the guys? Do you think their okay?" AJ had tried his hardest not to think about that. He was well aware that the rest of the group was out there, but he had to assume that all was well. "I'm sure they are okay Nick. We need to just worry about ourselves. We need to get out of here!"

"But we just can't leave them AJ we.."

"We aren't Nick, we are gonna try and get help for them! We aren't leaving them, You need to be strong Nick okay? I'm scared to death too but let's do this together alright?"

They embraced for a minute, AJ thrown by how much his younger friend was shaking. He hugged him tighter.

Nick was concentrating more on his environment then on the hug and when he saw a possible way out, he pulled away from AJ. "J.Look" He said pointing up to a vent. AJ immediately went over to the vent to get a closer look, "I bet we could get in there and try to find a way out of here. Nick went over to join him. "How do we get up there?" He asked J while looking for a way to climb up to the vent. "The sink, Nick do you think you would be able to reach it from the sink?"

"I don't know but I'll try" AJ nodded and in one quick jump, Nick was on top of the sink, using the wall to steady himself, He stretched for the vent getting his fingertips on it but failing to reach it well enough to pry it lose. He looked down at AJ "I bet I can reach it if you can find something for me to use like a pole or something." AJ fished around trying to be very quiet, looking for anything that might help. He found a toilet paper dispenser and took it off the wall, holding it up to Nick he asked, "Do you think this would work?"

Nick took it and tried once again, he was able to hit the vent with it but it didn't do much good. He needed to get his hands on it. Then he remembered in his jacket he had his keychain, he never carried any keys, didn't have a reason too anymore but he had always kept his keychain, a present from his Dad right in his pocket. When he was blue or homesick he would stick his hand in the pocket and rub on it, it made him feel better, like he was giving his Father a warm hug. He took it out of his pocket and uncurled it, making it act as a hook and again he leaned over holding one hand on the ceiling, tippy toes on the sink. AJ looked on hoping he wouldn"t fall and attract attention to himself.

He got a good grip on it, and in one swift tug, brought it sailing down towards the floor. AJ caught it seconds before hitting. "Nice work Kaos!" AJ said smiling up at his friend. "Now, how do we get in there?" Nick jumped down, and placed his hands in a cup, "You get up there and tell me if there's enough room for the two of us" AJ agreed and placed his foot in the step Nick created and jumped up into the hole grabbing the sides and pulling himself up.

"Well, what do you see?" NIck asked from the floor. J looked around and saw a vent filled with wires and tunnels, he had seen then dozens of times in movies and TV shows but never really thought they would look exactly how they did in those scenerios, but then again, he never thought he would ever find himself having to hide in one either.

"It's gonna be fine Nick, there's more than enough room in here for the both of us"

"How do I get up there?" Nick asked panicked when he realized he couldn't fly. "Relax, I'll come down and help you and then you can give me a hnad from up there okay?" Before he could answer AJ's legs were dangling down, Nick grabbed him and guided him to the floor. J then cupped his hands and helped Nick jump up there.

Once Nick was up he stuck his head all the way out of the hole leaning as far as he could without falling and held his hand out for AJ to grab. Commotion in the hallway made AJ turn towards the door. He heard two men coming towards the bathroom, he knew he wouldn't make it up there in time so he motionted for Nick to put his hand back in the vent. "No J what are you doing?"

"Nick shut up and listen to me.."

"No J" Nick had a panicked look on his face. AJ again looked at the door, they were very close now maybe two doors away, "Nick you have got to stay hidden okay? Don't say a word and try to get help. Promise me that you won't do anything dumb"

"AJ no, please I can help you come up here"

"No Nick it's too late, just hide now!" AJ grabbed the vent cover and threw it in the fourth stall out of the way just as the two gunmen came crashing through the door. As they entered AJ saw his life flash before his face. He held his arms up in the air hoping they wouldn't shoot him. No shooting him and no looking up, that's all he was asking for.

"Don't move!" One of the men screamed at him grabbing him forcefully by the arm and dragging him away, "Where's the other one?" He asked J. "He's gone" Was all he said. One of the guys threw AJ against the wall, making Nick gasp and quickly cover his mouth. "What do you mean he's gone?"

"I mean he left, it is only me in here" While one of the men held AJ in place the other kicked open every bathroom stall, Nick could only watch from his perch high above the men, not able to control his shaking, but trying his hardest to stay focused. "The kid's right, there is nobody in here, he forcefully grabbed AJ by the collar of his jacket, "Let's go!" He said. As they were leaving AJ non chalantly looked up to Nick winking at him, hoping that he would be safe.

When the men were gone Nick just sat with his head in his hands and rocked back and forth scared and unsure of what to do next...

Few things in life startled Howie Dorough, he was a laid back kind of guy and had seen so much in his short time in this business that everything, even the oddest by all accounts, seemed normal to him. He would watch his fellow bandmates get upset or freak about even the smallest little thing but, he would never ever lose his cool. It was something he took pride in. His entire family was exactly the same. They learned, long ago, it didn't pay to stress out about things. Only made matters worse for everyone involved. He started to rethink his philosphy when he saw those two men running down the hallway towards the place where he thought AJ and Nick were hiding.

He felt droplets of sweat gathering on his brow and went to wipe at it with his shirt sleeve. He took off his jacket a while ago. At least to him it felt like a while. He found himself wondering how long it was that they were caught in this action movie from hell. He thought he had a good handle on it all, until that woman hit the guy on the head. Even though by all rights, he deserved it, it scared Howie to death.

Then when the two armed men went in search specifically for his two youngest bandmates, all feeling of calm went out the window. He was screaming inside. Screaming and praying all at the same time. When he looked at his other two friends it was evident they had the same thoughts running through their heads. Kevin never taking his eyes away from the hallway and Brian turning a shade lighter than white with fear.

There was nothing they could do, except be optimistic that everything would work out. Until they saw AJ being pulled by the two armed men. Nick nowhere in sight. They shoved AJ along until he was standing in front of the un named robber, he grabbed AJ by both shoulders and shook him, Kevin sat up ready to tackle the guy if he tried anything else.

"Well, look what we have here, our little refugee" He shoved AJ with such force he fell back right beside Brian. Brian grabbed at him, giving the bad guy a dirty look. "Didn't that fink say there was two of them?" He asked Terry. She nodded and walked over to AJ gripping his chin in her hand "Where's your little friend kid?" She asked him as if she was speaking to a five year old, "Leave him alone" Kevin ordered from his spot on the floor. She turned his way and smiled at him, "You know if you had just told us what we wanted to know, all of this unhealthy violence could have been avoided" She said pointing to the unconscious Justin on the floor. "He was a jerk and deserved it" one of the tellers said from across the room. Terry ignored the woman and went back to AJ "So, where's your friend?" She asked in a more forceful tone. "He left"

"Oh did he? And how did he do that?" She knew he was lying, she wanted to see where this little story would go. "He heard the commotion and ran out the door before anyone saw him"

"And he left you and them here?" She said pointing to the rest of the boys "Sounds like he isn't a very nice person" She laughed then turned to the two she called Chris and Jason "Go find the boy and bring him to me now!" She said, then she winked at AJ. When they were out of hearing range, Brian whispered into AJ's ear, "Where is he?"

"He's hiding up in the air ducts"

"Is he okay"

"He's scared to death but for now, he is the safe one isn't he?"

"Yeah, as long as they don't find him"

"Let's hope they don't" AJ said as they watched Chris and Jason search the entire bank looking for their friend.
~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*
Nick sat in the vent numb. He had no clue what he should do, and felt more alone than ever. He had a multitude of nightmares like this that ended when he would happily wake up and realize it was all just a dream. To make matters worse, he was now beginning to feel the sickness that his body had let him temporarily forget. He coughed, lightly at first but then a full fledged fit ensued. He decided to crawl to the middle of the duct, away from the bathroom, just in case they were to come back. He moved slowly and cautiously through the ducts trying not to make any noise. It was very cold up in the vent and he found himself starting to shiver. His hands were also getting very cold against the metal so he pulled his sleeves up over his hands grabbing them in place with his fingers.

Thoughts were running through his mind that he desperately tried to shake. He was worried about his friends. Especially AJ. If those guys hurt AJ he would never forgive himself. He also realized that he would forever owe AJ for this one. He coughed once again, trying to hold it in, "Jesus see, I wish I had cough medicine" He laughed realizing that his cough was the only thing that had him crawling through ducts trying to rescue his friends. His stupid cough, but then again, being here was better than being on the bus and hearing about it on the news. At least he was kind of in the position to help. He continued to crawl through the pipes up over everyone's heads and stopped dead in his tracks when he heard voices. He tried to peer down and saw that he was directly overhead all the action. He couldn't see any one person but he could hear pretty good.

"He isn't anywhere, all the rooms are clear maybe that kid is right, maybe he escaped"

"That's nonsense! He could not get out without anyone noticing! No he is here we just have to look" Nick was careful not even to breath as he listened to them talk about him. Suddenly one of the guys came running towards the other bad guys. "I think I know where he is" He said, Nick gasped, which caused a tickle in his throat. "Where?" The woman asked. "He's up in the vents"

Nick started to panic completely, he also had to cough, he held his hand to his mouth to try his hardest to remain silent, "Go up after him" She said. Nick afriad to move, just laid there holding his hand to his mouth trying to prevent a coughing fit. He knew he would have to move soon, they were coming to get him. Sure enough he heard someone creeping towards him in the duct, he wasn't sure where he should go, forward, backward or stay put...

Nick had always been one to scare easily. True he was the oldest in his family. True he liked to inflict unnecessary torture on his younger siblings, especially Aaron. He would hide under Aaron's bed just waiting for the young boy to walk by, trying his hardest to stifle any oncoming giggles for what he was about to pull off. Aaron would walk by the bed and Nick would stick his hand out, grab Aaron's foot and watch as Aaron screamed bloody murder. For years the poor kid thought that there was a monster living under his bed, unaware that that same monster would comfort him when the clapping of the thunder brought him racing into his older brothers arms. Little did Aaron know though, that when that thunder clapped, Nick would shudder. He did not like unexpected things.

He held his hands to his ears every Fourth of July and would jump, always anticipating the loud BOOM! Most times screaming before it would happen setting the people around him off. He was even afraid of opening those Pillsbury Dough canisters because he was never sure when they would pop. Yup Nick Carter was a full fledged chicken. That's why the absurdity of him crawling around in a cold, dark vent was more than he could deal with. To make matters worse, now he was hearing scurrying. Was it all in his head? Or was there someone up in that duct crawling around only to grab at HIS ankles. Aaron Carter finally gets his payback.

Nick decided not to stick around to find out and began to crawl forward, away from the sounds he heard approaching. Away from this entire situation he hoped, and prayed. The ducts seemed to be never ending tunnels that crisscrossed on occasion. He was hoping to find the right one to lead him out of the bank and into an adjoining building. He stopped again, only briefly to try to adjust his eyes to the darkness. That was another thing that scared the overgrown child in him. He squinted, searching for any source of light he could find. He heard voices still but they sounded distant, good sign or bad, it was to soon to tell.

His neck was beginning to hurt from being forced into such a strange position and he felt like stopping dead and crying. He felt so ill and now he was achy. He couldn't stop though, too many lives depended on it. His brothers lives depended on it.

Just as Nick was the oldest in his big family, he was the baby in this one. His second family, the one he would spend most of his time with. They were strangers at first, not even seeming to like one another really, then on a bright Spring Day, it all changed just like that. They became a family. Bonding forever. Like any baby brother, he was the brunt of many jokes, and took his share of torture from his older band brothers. They never grabbed at him from under the bed, but Brian and AJ would sometimes sneak into his bunk on the bus and just stare at him until finally, Nick feeling uneasy, feeling like someone was watching him, would open his eyes and let out the biggest scream he could muster. His cheeks would redden as they would laugh at him. Kevin would sneak up behind him and grab him, making him scream, it became a goal of theirs. See who could make Nick scream first. Brian always won that little contest. Glad that one got old quick.

But it was also those four guys, who would do anything for him. They understood Nick. They understood his temper tantrums, his pranks, his immaturity, and they excepted him for it. They took care of him always. Nick sighed as he thought about the last example of that. AJ first going out to buy him medicine, then giving himself up to get Nick out of there. Yup he had to stay strong for them. With renewed vigor, Nick took a deep breath and continued on in the dark, cold vent. Stopping when he heard someone whispering his name...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~
AJ just sat and stared up at the ceiling, hoping for the best. If there was a way out of there, Nick would find it. He would find it and get us out of here. He had to think that way, because if he was wrong, he could have signed his little brother's death certificate. It all happened in a matter of seconds. How do you make a decision that quickly which could literally mean life or death?

Two things had run through his mind when he heard footsteps approaching, the first was to grab Nick's hand and get the hell out of there. There was a problem with that one. Nick was to thin to handle the shorter man's weight and it was then he realized, that scenario would end with both of them being caught. So he went with option number two, the one that scared him to death. Give himself up and let Nick try to flee from the bank. As the men came in with guns in hand, it amused him that he wasn't scared for his own life, not at first, he was scared they would see the vent open and shoot. Thank God they didn't. Maybe this plan would work. But when he saw the man, Chris, was his name, come back from the bathroom carrying the vent cover in his hand, AJ felt like he had made the biggest mistake of his life.

So he sat and stared up at the ceiling hoping that right now Nick was not up there at all. He noticed they all were staring up there, probably thinking the same thing. He was startled out of his gaze by a pair of female hands. She grabbed him by the chin and smirked. "We will find your friend" She then stood up and walked away.

He looked over to Kevin who looked like he was almost in a trance. Staring at the vent cover that Chris had forcefully dropped at Kevin's feet. "Tell me about this kid now!" Chris yelled at Kevin. "I don't know him" He said, his gaze never leaving that cover. The guy kicked Kevin in the side, "Stop it!" J yelled. The man walked over to AJ slowly to build up the suspense. "So, are you gonna tell me what I want to know?" He felt lost, unsure of what to say or do. "What do you wanna know?"

Terry walked over to AJ at that point, stepping over the now lying down, Kevin. "How about a name for starters"

"His name is Cecil" She wore a half smile, not sure if she should believe him or not. She stood up and grabbed the vent cover and walked back towards Brian, she held the cover over his head, "Now, what was his name again?" She asked AJ while all Brian could do is wince and prepare for the oncoming blow. "Nick" He said defeated. She brought the cover down towards Brian's head, stopping mere inches away from impact and only tapped him, "Sorry, I know it was a rotten trick, but we needed the guys name" She winked as she sat up and looked over at Jason, "His name is Nick, tell Chris to whisper it in the vent, maybe he will think it's one of these guys" She smiled over at the four boys when she said that. Howie had scooted over to Kevin to help him up and AJ was at Brian's side.

"Are you okay man?" He whispered into his brother's ear. Brian turned toward him and nodded. "They're gonna find him" He whispered. AJ took a deep breath and sighed. He wanted to go back in time and change his decision. Nick would have been caught but at least he would have been safe, with four pairs of protective eyes watching him. Now all AJ could do was stare up towards the ceiling and hope for the best as he heard Nick's name being whispered from above his head...

Nick was unsure if he should go towards the whispers. He was positive that he heard his name. The one thing, probably the most important thing by most standards, was he couldn't be absolutely certain he recognized the owner of the voice he heard. At first, he swore to God it was Kevin. He felt himself visibly let out a sigh of relief and his posture relaxed. The nightmare would be over because now Kevin was there ready to help. He just sat and waited for the voice, whispering his name, to catch up. During those few minutes, which felt more like hours to him, he started to have serious doubts that it was Kevin at all. He knew that Kevin was captured, among the many hostages being held at gunpoint by people who couldn't care less if he lived or died.

So that meant that the voice was a bad guy. Suddenly his loose, relaxed posture became once again stiff as a board as he continued to crawl around, on tired hands and knees, away from the friendly, inviting voice.

It was too late though, he saw the man, coming up towards him, ready to have a head on collision. Nick was thrown, he was certain that the voice was coming from behind him not from the front. He tried to turn around but was unsuccessful in maneuvering his tall frame. He had to crawl backwards and hope he was still faster than the man approaching. "Nick" The man crescendo'd from a whisper to a shout. He looked up then right at his prey. It appeared that he too, thought Nick was in the other direction and wore a smile to show how fortunate he was to be wrong. "Ah come here kid! You might as well except defeat"

Nick looked at the man, from what he could see, he appeared to be very large, probably one of the guys that got to AJ. It was impossible to make out any features in the dark but Nick almost liked it better that way. The flash of light shinning on him, threw that positive thought out the window. The man had a flashlight. He was glaring it into Nick's eyes. "Wow, you're even younger than we thought" He said.

Nick still backing up, now a little faster, closed his eyes. He had to get out of there. "Kid, Nick, come on there's nowhere to run let's go" the man reached over to grab Nick's arm, that's when his mind temporarily separated from his body and he bent his head over and bit the guy with all his might. The man yelped in pain and Nick continued his backward decent through the vents, unaware he was coming to an opening, unaware that he was just about to fall...

___________________________________________________

The sounds of thumping and bumping from up over their heads, made Brian think of a time, not long ago, when he and Nick had been caught up in a crowd frenzy. With nowhere to go, they managed to find a little room to hide in. It must have been an old janitor's closet because it smelled of bleach and cleaning supplies. The smell was deceiving to the look of the place though, it was old and moldy looking with an undefinable thumping and bumping noise coming from up over their heads. That's when they looked up and saw a huge tail, belonging to either the biggest mouse in the universe, or a rat. Not staying to find out which one it was, they had let out a scream and ran out of the closet back into the screaming fans. While cleaning the little scratches left by those adoring fans, Brian remembered he and Nick having a good laugh over the entire episode.

There was nothing funny about this. The sound echoed in his memory but this time, no rats tail, only a loud yelp. Someone just got hurt. Brian glanced at his friends and saw the same look of deep concern on all of their faces. The sound of thumping intensified followed by another scream and huge crash. That brought the four of us to our feet.

"Sit down!" The big man in charge said flashing his gun at us. We sat down, AJ hesitating but finally following directions. "Terry, go see what that commotion was all about okay?"

"Sure no problem" She said getting up, gun in hand, walking towards the room where the loud crash was heard. "I hope he is okay" Howie whispered as the four men could only watch. Brian noticed his hand was shaking, he didn't even feel it happen. He closed his hand into a fist and wrapped his other hand over it. He had to calm down and get a handle on his emotions if he was going to get through this. One of the tellers, who was sitting off to the left of Kevin, bent over and whispered to all of us, careful not to let the evil guy hear, "I pulled a silent alarm, the police will probably be on their way soon"

Thank God Brian thought as he tightened his grip on the shaky hand. Terry came back with Chris, he did not look happy. He was talking to her in a harsh tone but yet quiet, making it impossible to hear their conversation. They both walked over towards the man in charge. He seemed greatly amused by the story he was hearing. So did Terry, she was trying not to laugh. "Well, when I catch that punk ass kid, I swear to God I will kill him!" As much as they didn't want to, they all heard that remark, cutting through them like a sharpened knife through butter.

Chris looked over at four boys before turning and going back to his watch. Rubbing at his hand. Terry came over to us, crouched down and filled us in on what had just happened. "Seems like your little friend has caused Chris some grief. He's a spunky little guy huh?" She was directing her comments to Brian but he showed no emotion. He looked at her, masking the fear in his voice, "Is he okay?" She drew back her head and laughed, "Who? your friend, or Chris?"

"Nick"

"Yeah he is just fine, won't be for long though, especially if Chris gets his hands on him"

"What did he do to Chris" Kevin asked, while watching the ceiling, he hadn't heard movement in awhile. He was beginning to worry, even more than before. She walked over to Kevin, "Seems Nick bit him, even drew blood" AJ let out a huge laugh, that Howie quickly stifled by putting his hand to his young friends mouth. It was too late, because the laugh brought Chris to his feet and over to AJ, "Go ahead laugh it up jackass! You won't be laughing when I strangle the little blonde right in front of your eyes, although that's too nice. Maybe I'll just bite his head off!" Terry put a calming hand on the man and after glaring AJ's way once again he left for his watch by the window.

The boys sat in silence, wondering what Nick was doing. Maybe he found a way out of the ducts, maybe that is why they hadn't heard a sound in a while maybe...Then another crash was heard, this time sounding a little further away. Kevin jumped to his feet once again, only to be brought down by Jason. "Go check that out the two of you!" Terry said to Chris and Jason, then she had a second thought, "No, Chris you stay here and watch them, I will go with Jason" He seemed disappointed but obeyed his orders.

The boys looked on as they both walked towards the sound, guns drawn, ready to attack...

It all seemed to happen so fast, faster than a flash of light. Nick was being pursued in the vent by the evil guy, coming up on him fast and angry as ever. Then just before He was able to reach Nick, almost getting a hold of his hand, the man fell right through the vent, crashing to the ground. He watched as the man groaned lying on the floor, seeming out of it, then he saw a lady come running in to see if he was okay. Nick moved his head just in time to not be seen, the light from the big hole in the ground was a blessing to him but also worked to temporarily disorient him, he decided to just sit right where he was. Afraid that the smallest movement would bring the woman's gun up in his direction.

The lady helped the man up and together they walked out of the room, he limped and complained as the door was shut. Nick feeling a tremendous relief, laid down right where he was, placing his hot, feverish cheeks on the nice cool duct floor. He felt safe for now, why he wasn't sure, but he was hoping the guy would think that maybe he got farther away from him than he actually was.

Taking a moment to relax was a bad move for him because he suddenly felt like he could fall asleep for ten years with no problem, he felt really horrible now, his body ached, his throat hurt, and he knew he had a fever. He started to cough, feeling it was safe to do so. Coughing so hard that his stomach hurt. Maybe he would be able to stay right where he was until this little nightmare was over. He actually fell asleep, for how long he was unsure, but he definitely was out. Dreaming that he was at home, hearing the birds chirping right outside his window, he would yell at them to stop, JUST SHUT UP!! He would scream as if the birds would say Okie dokie and move on to bug somebody else.

He was jerked awake by another coughing fit, he opened his eyes and was totally disoriented. This didn't look like his home, and this wasn't as comfortable as his bed. Then reality came crashing back at full force as he realized when and where he was. He figured maybe he should move on because they would be looking for him soon, he thought about maybe trying to climb down from the spot that man fell through, but they would back in there soon enough, so he did the only thing he could, he kept moving backwards through he vent until he felt his legs fall, he tried to grip onto anything he could but there was nothing to help him, he went crashing to the floor. Hitting his head against the hard ground he drifted off to sleep once again.

This time the sleep was dreamless, and he had a bit of trouble opening his eyes. They felt like weights had been attached to each eyelash making it impossible to move them. The sound of approaching footsteps made his eyes shoot open and despite the pain he was in he rolled over and crawled under a desk, just in time. He heard two people enter the room, they where whispering. The light then was turned on, the girl standing right in front of him. "Hello? Nick sweetheart, you must be hurt, let us help you okay?" She sounded so sweet and concerned he almost fell for it. Almost..

Nick decided to ignore her, he heard them walking around the room, opening and closing doors, I picked such a stupid hiding place, they will definitely find me here, he thought to himself, trying to control his nerves. "Nick! Come on kiddo, we know you fell, you had to have"

"What if he didn't" The male voice said, thankfully it didn't belong to the man he had bitten earlier. "He might have just popped out the vent to through us off"

"Maybe, but what about the crash?" She asked him, she walked back towards the desk Nick was hiding under and grabbed the chair making him tuck his legs in even further. He wouldn't even allow myself to breath. She dragged the rolling chair over to the opening that the sixteen year old fell through and stood up in a chair to peer into the vent. "Hello in there? Nick come on out, I am with the police department. You are safe now" Nick's heart raced, was it true? Was she a good guy? "Good one Terr" The man said laughing. She jumped down "It was worth a try"

"I think he is still up there, maybe he threw something down to create that crash, he isn't in here"

"Okay, I'll go in the vents to look for him" The man said, she nodded and sat down on the chair. "I''ll wait here for a little while just incase he comes back" Nick closed his eyes, and held his legs close to his body, careful not to make a sound. When the door closed, she peered under the desk and smiled. "Hello there little guy, you really didn't think I wouldn't look under there did ya?" She winked at him. She got up from her chair and pulled him out by his legs. "Well, you are a handsome little fellow huh? You have caused my men a bit of trouble, care to explain?" Nick just laid there on his back, all he wanted to do was close his eyes and go to sleep. He wanted so badly to help but he had failed them all.

She made him sit up, he took that opportunity to do that flip he always did in their shows, before she saw it coming, he was up and pushed Terry down making her chair sail across the room, he opened the first door he came to and ran like hell...

He had this dream so many times before, him running away from some unforeseen force. Maybe it was a monster, maybe it was a bad guy trying to take his family, but it was always an invisible demon. Hearing the footsteps increase their speed as they came towards him, never able to move as fast as needed to get away. Why he found himself reliving all of his worst nightmares, first the dark cold tunnels of the air ducts, now being chased, Nick had no idea. All he knew is this was real, a bit too real for him and now he had been stupid and run away. Probably wasn't the right thing to do, since she was being so nice to him, but he felt like he had a window and went for it.

She was up and running faster than he anticipated however which had his heart almost up his throat and jumping out of his body. To make it worse, she was yelling his name. So he acted like it was just some rambunctious fan after him, not a lady with a gun possibly. If she had a gun, it was odd she didn't even try to use it on him, he thought as he continued running, going in and out of rooms like he was in a fun house.

He also felt horrible, his head really hurt him from the fall he took and he was sleepy and feverish, yet, he still gave it everything he had, and was happy when he saw a broom closet. He opened the door and crept inside. He knew she would look in here so he grabbed the a pail and used it as a step and as quickly as he could, climbed up on the shelf. Covering himself with some painter's canvas just as he heard her footsteps approaching.

---

Terry was growing tired of this little game, she had the boy the entire time, the minute she walked over to that desk, she had seen him, actually his foot, yet she kept it to herself. She had thought about maybe scaring him out of his hiding place but she was a little afraid that Jason would lose his temper, so she had sent Jason out of the room and waited for the opportunity to have Nick to herself. She was eager to meet him, if he looked anything like Chris had described. Blonde hair, blue eyes, young and innocent, that's how she liked her prey, and at first sight that is exactly what he was. Stunningly beautiful, and innocent. He looked so scared when she found him, she tried her hardest not to laugh at him. Then he took her by surprise.

She hated surprises.

He jumped up and got away, leaving her now roaming around a bank looking for him. Luckily no one knew she found him, otherwise there would be hell to pay, especially from Jordan. He was not a man to be messed with, why she ever fell in love with him, was a mystery. She had a normal life up until she met Jordan, and then he came in and made her BAD. Bad to the core. She kind of liked it that way. But it grew tiresome too.

This whole bank idea would not end well, that's what she told him from the start of planning. They would be caught, and then they would be screwed. He, ironically, is an optimist and was convinced that everything would work out. That was before some kid decided to play Batman. Now he was mad, so was Chris, and she had to make sure neither of them did anything stupid. It was getting harder for her though as she felt her own anger building. Not so much at the kid, but at herself for letting him get away. She should have taken him when she had the chance. She won't make a mistake like that again. She stopped to collect her thoughts, in front of a broom closet. She smiled, knowing that he would have to be inside.

Drawing her gun she opened the door.

It was empty, she turned on the light to make sure, and unfortunately she was right. "Damn kid where the hell did you go?" She asked, unaware that he was right there over her head under the canvas, holding his breath.

She stood there for a few minutes trying to figure out where the kid could have possibly wandered off to now, he needed to be found, otherwise he would ruin everything. "Ah well, I tried" She said in a huff and just like that, exited the closet. Walking back towards the main entrance she contemplated telling them about his escape, but decided against it. For now anyway, that wasn't part of her game just yet. She knew she did want to see the kid again, have some fun with him. He had to be found first. So she went to the lobby and regrouped with her partners. Jordan would not be happy.

---

When Nick heard that closet door open, he gasped before drawing in a deep breath which might have to last forever. He knew better than to breath with her standing right under him. It seemed an eternity that she stood in that closet trying to figure out what to do next. An eternity feeling that at any second a cough, or movement would give himself away. Luckily she moved on then, relief washing through the young man's body. He still laid motionless though, right where he was under the protection of the canvas. Maybe he would stay right there until the police found them all and brought them to safety. He couldn't run anymore, he didn't have the strength. His head was throbbing now, to the point where he felt as if he might throw up and the cough was awful. The burning in his lungs from trying to stifle it, made things even worse. So he thought it was best to just stay put for the time being, give them time to search everywhere else first. Seemed like a plan to him he thought as he drifted off to sleep under the warmth of the canvas.

---

Kevin watched as Jason came running back explaining to the man in charge the situation, whatever it was, then he took off once again towards the bathrooms. Minutes later, the woman came walking back head down as she spoke to the man in charge, his body posture tensing. He didn't seem to happy. They kept looking over at the four boys and this had Kevin a little concerned. Sure enough they walked right over to them and Jordan sat down, and stared at them. "How are we gonna get the kid out here?" He finally asked after a moment of silence.

The question seemed directed at Kevin so he answered, "If he thinks you are gonna hurt him, he won't come out at all."

"I won't hurt him if he comes out now, the longer I wait the madder I get!"

"Any ideas?" He asked the guys looking them up and down. It was AJ that spoke now, "I don't want you to find him" Kevin rolled his eyes. When was the kid ever going to learn to keep his mouth shut? Suddenly the evil guy painted a devilish grin on his face, "I have an idea" He said. He stood up and in one swift move brought AJ to his feet. "Hey!" Howie yelled but Terry was right there holding a gun on him. "You know the five of you are really pains in the asses!" She said to Howie while giving the rest of the silent crowd a dirty look.

"Where are you going with him?" Kevin demanded as Jordan walked away with AJ in hand. "We are going to make your friend an offer he can't refuse" He said pulling a reluctant AJ along with him. "What kind of an offer?" AJ asked him as he was being dragged along to the back hallway where Jordan was sure Nick could hear him.

"You'll see" He said then, holding AJ close to his side, he shouted, "Nick you have been a big pain in everyone's side young man so I am going to make you an offer that you will find hard to refuse" He paused to look around the room, seeing if he saw the slightest sign of movement. Annoyed that he didn't, he continued, "You come out now, and I will let your friend" He bent over AJ and whispered, "What was your name?"

"AJ" He said sounding hesitant and scared, "AJ, I will let AJ leave if you come out. No police have come and we want exposure. AJ can run and tell them all about us" AJ felt anxious, was the guy for real? Was he actually going to let him leave? He felt bad for being happy about the possibility. Watching the rest of this unfold from the safety of a hotel room somewhere. Safe from harm.

"So, what do you say Nick? Sacrifice yourself for your friend?"

---

Nick stirred at the sound of the man yelling his name and then making the offer that would set AJ free, He took his canvas blanket off and jumped down from the safety of the shelf he was perched on. Ready to open the door and surrender himself once and for all for his friend...

AJ stood there, his shoulder hurting from where the gunman was gripping him looking for Nick the good angel on his shoulder saying Nick stay hidden, don't come out. The devil on his other, shouting come on Nick I want to get the hell out of here! Time seemed to stand still. Nobody moved or made a sound. "What do you say kid? the offer is only good for a few more minutes and then you're on your own"

Nick stood with his hand on the doorknob terrified. What if it was a trick? But now he only had a few minutes to decide. AJ would never forgive him if he didn't come out there and give his friend a chance at freedom. J deserved it. Maybe then he would go buy me some friggin cough medicine, Nick said under his breath. He made up his mind then "For real?" He spoke in a loud whisper.

Jordan turned towards the voice and smiled, yup he knew the kid would fall for it. They always fall for it. "Yes, come on out"

AJ tensed as he saw a door open slowly in the distance, "Stupid kid" He heard the man holding him say. That is when he realized that it was a trap, Nick was walking into a trap. "Nick don't it's" Jordan placed a hand on AJ's mouth, "Quiet or I will kill you" he spat into AJ's ear.

The door stopped, and Nick said, "What? J did you say something?" The man gripped AJ's cheeks very tightly and once again whispered to him, "Tell him you said to hurry up, or I swear to God after I shoot you I will kill him" J took a deep breath and thought for a second of becoming a martyr and telling the kid, who he knew idolized and worshiped the ground he walked on, to run like hell, making sure he made one final plea for Nick to tell his Mom he loved her. She would have to understand the sacrifice he made to save his little brother.

His fear and common sense soon took over though, and he reluctantly did as he was told, "I said hurry up" He shouted to the boy, "I hate you for this" He whispered to the man. He couldn't believe he was letting Nick walk into a trap. But..he told himself, at least this way I will be able to watch over him, we all will. AJ started to relax at the sight of seeing his friend, he looked a little pale and was walking very slowly, but he was alive and now he would be with his brothers.

Nick smiled when he saw AJ, yes he was doing the right thing. AJ needed his freedom, at least it would be one less person he would worry about. AJ would do much better on the outside then he ever could. AJ was better at things like this. He didn't like seeing his friend being held at gunpoint, that made him stop in his tracks making the man holding the gun, visibly annoyed. The man took the gun away from AJ's head and pointed it at Nick.

"Well, come on kid we have waited long enough for your appearance, the quicker you get your ass over here, the quicker he gets to leave" As he drew ever closer to Jordan and AJ, he felt better about his decision. "That's right come on, a little closer a little closer" AJ heard Jordan mutter under his breath like he was a hunter willing a fawn to walk into the middle of a field, both sitting ducks.

Then it happened faster than either AJ or Nick could have expected

Jordan pushed AJ to the ground and grabbed for Nick, holding him tight and shaking him, "HA!! I can't believe you fell for that kid! God how stupid are you?" Nick struggled to break free of the man's grasp as AJ jumped to his feet to help. Jordan now had Nick by the shoulder holding the gun to his head, "Don't even think about AJ, haven't you learned from him yet?"

"What's going on?" Nick stuttered while the man held him almost too tight for him to breath. "What's going on? I'll tell you what's going on, me having to stop all of my work to look for you! I don't appreciate it Nick! You have caused us a lot of grief boy!"

Nick looked over at AJ, panic etched across his face. "So, on behalf of all of us" Jordan said picking up the gun and getting ready to hit Nick across the face with it. AJ watched in slow motion, when his brotherly instinct kicked in and he jumped up from the floor and knocked the man down right before he was able to strike Nick in the head. The gun went flying out of his hand and AJ not stopping to worry about it, grabbed for Nick who was still scared and confused and ran.

"J what is going on?"

"Nick shut up and run"

---

Jordan laid ion the floor trying to process what had just happened, he had been rooked once again by a pair of stupid kids. With that thought, he stood up and searched the room for his gun, unable to find it, he pursued them out of the room and down the hallway.

"You better run, because when I get my hands on you, I will rip you in two!" He screamed after them, he couldn't see them but he knew he had to be catching up to them.

"Nick AJ come back here now!!! Dammit!" He was losing his cool. He knew he would catch hell for this, especially from Terry. Yes, she would make some sarcastic remark and make a fool of him in front of his men and his hostages. There was no way he was going back empty handed, No way in hell.

---

"God come on Kid, keep up, hurry there's a lunatic after us now!"

"J, I'm going as fast as I can"

"It's not fast enough, hurry" He turned towards the blonde and grabbing him by his hand, pulled him along. They heard Jordan screaming after them and AJ knew if they were caught, it will all be over.

"Why did you do that AJ?"

"Shut up and run!"

"Come back here you lousy kids!"

"Oh my gosh he sounds like he is getting very close" Nick said his voice in a high panic. AJ was just about to tell him to shut up again when he saw a narrow staircase in front of them.

"Should we go up or down?" J asked as they came to the base of the stairs, when he didn't receive an answer he looked back at Nick who was bent over holding his hands on his knees. "Nick" He ran towards him again. Nick was completely out of breath. Knowing in that condition he wouldn't be able to handle climbing up, they descended the steps.

It was dark and cold down there but they didn't dare to put on a light, they walked carefully avoiding anything that might stand in the way. AJ walking ahead of Nick who had his hand on J's shoulder. Nick stopped and started to cough. Nervous J put his hand to the teens mouth trying to stifle the sound.

That's when AJ realized how sick his friend was. The heat coming off of Nick's body felt like a heating pad. When he was done coughing, AJ decided they needed to find a hiding place for now. They kept moving until he came to a very small door, he pushed through it to see it was an empty storage room, nothing in here except for some big garbage bins and huge canvas bags. Maybe this would be a good place to hide. He didn't hear Jordan's grumbling anymore, or his footsteps so for now at least he felt safe.

"Let's stop here kid okay?"

"Okay"

"It's cold in here"

"I know"

"But I think we will be safe..for now"

"Hey J?"

"What Nick?"

"Thanks for not letting that guy hit me"

"Yeah, the thought of him messing up the pretty little face was more than my heart could take" Despite their situation, they both laughed...

Jordan paced around the hallway looking in every room on his way over to the flight of steps, cussing the whole way. He was in charge, the others could mess up but not him. He had to set an example. He never messed up and if he did, he NEVER let them know about it. They had to fear him, not laugh at him behind his back. Now these stupid kids were ruining everything. All the hours of planning, meticulous planning, down to the second. All gone to waste because these stupid ass kids couldn't just follow directions.

He thought about going back up into the lobby and shooting the other three. That would teach them a lesson, but he made a promise to Terry. Even though she could be the stupidest and meanest bitch on Earth, he loved her. He promised her that no one would die. So as much as he wanted to, he would spare the stupid lot of them. For now anyway.

He ventured down the hallway and decided to go up the steps. They always ran up instead of down for some reason. That's what years of terrorizing people taught him. "Nick, AJ come on out, I won't hurt you I promise" He whispered as he walked the long hallway on the second floor. It opened up to a huge room, probably a break room, full of desks, couches and vending machines. He knew about it though, he had travelled the length of this bank with his eyes shut many times. Knew every hiding place inside and out anticipating that someone would try to run and hide.

He was certain that it would be one of the bank employees not two teenagers. He was getting angry again as he continued to call them by name looking under every desk, and in every closet. He had thought of everything, right down to those silent alarms, he had someone working with him from the inside, someone he paid a lot of money to. They made sure the wires to the alarms were disconnected. They made sure that the main branch understood the bank would only be opened until ten because of a water pipe problem, he had made sure that the security guards who freely roamed the bank during operating hours were conveniently given the day off. Hoping that all of the working guards wouldn't bother to ask why.

It all worked. So seamless that it was only a matter of time before something happened to ruin things. First the wrong password to log into the system now this. It didn't seem fair! He thought as he walked down the steps towards where he knew the kids would be. They would have to be down there. It was the only place left to hide...

---

Nick and AJ sat in the dark, quiet and scared. The sound of Nick's huge deep congested breaths the only sound heard. It was so dark, you could barely see your own hand in front of your face. It was comforting to AJ, he liked a dark room. This proved to be a cause of many midnight fights between these two very boys. Because Nick was the polar opposite. He needed light.

AJ hated rooming with Nick because of that very reason, he wouldn't be happy unless there was a glow in the room. A light shining so brightly that it would cast shadows in the entire area making it impossible for him to fall asleep, so he would wait. Wait until he heard the familiar talking that Nick did when he was asleep. Only then, would AJ creep over and shut the bathroom light off so he could fall asleep.

He felt bad for Nick now, as they sat together in the cold dark room. He knew Nick was probably scared to death. He was sure that the kid was searching for his arm to cling to. Anything to hold onto to make it alright. So being the older brother he was, he stuck out his own hand until it felt Nick. The younger boy let out a little squeal, "Shhh it's okay it's just me kiddo"

Then he felt Nick's grasp, hold onto his hand and run up his arm pulling him closer. "I'm so scared AJ" He whispered through shivering teeth. "I know, me too, but at least we are together"

"I know, I hated being alone"

"Well, you're not alone anymore. I am here and we will get out of this okay?"

"Okay" He stroked Nicks hair, feeling the warmth coming from his head. He knew if the guys saw him doing this he would catch hell considering he was the first one to call any of them pansy asses for doing similar things. There was something about Nick though, something young. It was hard to explain, but he felt he needed to protect him. He was also concerned because of the heat coming off the kids body, he had a fever and it was high. Thank goodness he hadn't coughed in awhile though.

"I'm so cold AJ, I wish I had listened to all of you and brought a heavier jacket along" AJ thought about taking his own off to give to Nick but he needed it. He was protective, but not stupid. Instead he grabbed three huge canvas bags and covered Nick and himself with them.

"Is that better?"

"Yes thanks AJ"

"No problem"

They sat huddled next to each other like two new born puppies in search of their mother's warmth, in the cold darkness of the room. Footsteps approaching...

---

Jordan made his way down the long corridor of the banks basement, a place he would be visiting later on, when it came time to collect his money. There were only a few rooms down here, the safe room, which they wouldn't be able to get into. The computer room which he was now searching, and the storage room. They had to be in one of those places.

He turned the light on to the computer room and went through rows knocking over chairs and papers along the way. Looking in closets and yelling their names. No sign of them anywhere. So he ventured down the hallway to the storage room, kicking open the door he walked inside. "Nick, AJ I know you are in here so come out now and no one will get hurt" He said in a commanding voice.

When he walked in, he felt a cool breeze meet him and a foul smell of garbage. There was no heat in this room. He walked over and turned on the light. There were canvas bags lying everywhere and two big garbage bins, he knew they stunk but he was a betting man and he was willing to gamble all of his money on the fact that those boys, who had caused him so much grief, were hiding in those garbage bins.

He walked over and jumped up to look inside. It was pretty much empty, if they were hiding in this one, he would be able to see them so he went over to the second one. There was more garbage in there, so he started to dig, once again anger making it's way back full force.

"Come on boys, come out now and I promise I will not hurt you, I was mad before not anymore" He said still digging in the disgusting garbage. A big lump in the canvas made him change his mind about the garbage can. It was a big lump just sitting there amongst the rest of the bags. He smiled wide as he made his way over to the boys, ready to uncover them. They would be sorry too!

He walked over to the lump, and pulled back the canvas, exposing what was underneath. "I've got you now boys HA!"

But it turned out to be nothing. Just more bags. He threw them aside and started kicking at the pile, kicking all the bags up in the air "I'm gonna fuckin kill you kids I swear to God I am!" He shouted as he kicked each bag until there were none left.

"Where the hell are you?" He said more to himself then to the room. He walked back over to the garbage and jumped in digging hard now, once again he came up empty. He jumped out of the bin and walked out of the storage room. Now he knew what he had to do, Terry would be mad but he had to, he had no choice...

Nick and AJ had just gotten comfortable in each other's embrace when the footsteps had come. At first Nick had hoped it was just his imagination playing tricks on him. But when he heard the guy only in the very next room, shouting to them and throwing things around, he knew it was all to real. Before he had a chance to say or do anything, AJ was up and frantically looking for a place they could hide. He motioned for Nick to jump behind the garbage dumpster. It was a narrow space between the wall and the dumpster but he was certain they could both cram themselves in there.

So Nick had jumped right into the empty dumpster and climbed over the back into the cramped space. AJ followed quickly. They just had time to duck down when they heard the man kick open the door. AJ grabbed Nick's mouth just in case the boy had to cough, there was no way they could get caught. He was sure the guy would kill them if that happened. So they just sat, still and quiet as the man whispered lies to them, trying to lure them out.

AJ was glad that he was with Nick because he was certain that the kid would have believed the guy when he said he wouldn't hurt them. He would have crawled out and then been sorry. The man was searching the dumpster that the boys were right behind. AJ's eyes bulging so far out of his head that they could have popped right out. He was inches away from the boys, all it would have taken was a breath, a movement, a sneeze. All the man had to do was get on his tip toes and peer behind the bin, but fortunately he didn't.

He jumped into the next one. There was a better chance of being seen from there, then he felt it, Nick's body convulsing. AJ held his hand tighter around the younger one's mouth to stifle any sound at all. He was really convulsing now. AJ wanted to take his hand away, afraid that his friend was choking, but he couldn't. The light finally being turned on, AJ was able to look at his friend, and tried to calm him down only to be met with panic in his eyes. Panic and tears. He just had to wait it out.

It felt like forever before Jordan, satisfied that the boys weren't in there, finally decided to leave the room. Even after he was gone AJ kept a firm hand over Nick's mouth just in case he was standing right outside the door. He heard a rattle of the door once again and was about to duck, until he heard the sound of footsteps walking away. Finally AJ removed his hand from Nick's mouth and watched his friend fall to the floor in a heap, gasping and coughing.

J bent down and rubbed Nick's back, "I'm sorry I had to do that buddy, we couldn't let him hear you"

"I know" He said looking up at his friend. AJ helped him up and together they climbed out from behind the garbage bin.

"I thought you were gonna kill me you know" Nick said once he was safe under his canvas bags again.

"Yeah I know, I'm sorry" AJ said before once again joining him, this time with the light on just like Jordan left it.

"I wouldn't have had to cough that hard if you had bought me my cough medicine"

"Shut up Nick"

"Okay" He said huddling under the mound of sacks.

---

Jordan was furious now, where could those two kids be? He was positive they would be in that room. They had to be. There was no other way out. So after he left, he locked the door behind him, just in case they were in there, he would have them trapped. He jiggled the handle to make sure it was locked, and once satisfied, he ventured up the stairs. Now he had to tell Terry his plan before he shared it with the rest of the guys. He walked back into the main area where his hostages were sitting, anxious and nervous. Especially the three other guys who were with AJ and Nick. This is gonna be fun, he thought to himself as Terry came running towards him.

"Where the hell did the other one go? Is it possible that he got away too?" She asked in a smart ass kind of way. He gave her a look. He was hoping she wouldn't cause a scene, not until he was able to tell her his plan, but she was making that impossible, and the proud smirks on the rest of the hostages faces made him angry. He wanted to wipe those smirks away and replace them with fear. Something he hadn't felt since they started this whole thing. These people didn't fear him. He was gonna change that right now.

"You wanna know where that kid is?" He asked her, purposely making eye contact with the kid's friends when he said it. They had to feel like they were in for some bad news. It worked because their gloating turned into concern. "I'll tell you where he is, down stairs, I killed him" An audible gasp was heard going throughout the crowd. "You what?" Terry spit out, venom in her voice as she approached Jordan.

"You heard me, I killed him, the bastard tried to get away, so I shot him and then I killed the little blonde too!"

"You son of a bitch!" Kevin said charging at the man with all of his might, he actually knocked Jordan down and it took both Jason and Chris to pry him off."

"After they settled Kevin and the others down, Terry turned towards him, "How could you do this? We had an agreement! I'm leaving!" and in a huff she started to walk out the door.

"Ter WAIT!!" He yelled after her and went for his gun, that would be a great added effect for them to see. Him pulling out a gun and holding it to her, for disobeying him. But then he remembered when he fought with AJ, he had lost his gun, so instead he caught up to her and pulled her aside. "Let go of me asshole!"

"Terry hold on a sec"

"No! We had an agreement. You promised no killing remember?"

"Yes, and I lived up to my end of the deal" She looked at him all confused.

"What are you talking about Jordan?"

"They aren't dead" He said in a whisper then he looked over to make sure no one could hear him. Chris and Jason were trying to shut up the hostages, who were now rallying around the other three guys who supposedly just lost their friends.

"The idiot pushed me down and escaped with the blonde"

"Escaped?" She asked mad and amused at the same time.

"Well, not really escaped, they have to be here somewhere. I needed Chris and Jay to believe that I had killed those boys.

"So what you are saying is you messed up again then?" She asked him disgust poured over every word said.

"Yeah Terry I guess I'm a big ass screw up!" He wanted to slap her but refrained. He walked away making sure to go nice and slowly when he passed the three now grieving friends. They were all crying, beside themselves with sadness. Good his plan worked just fine.

"Now you see what happens when you cross me" He shouted making eye contact with the hostages and then his own team. He had won this round. He looked up and was met with terror filled eyes. The only kind acceptable to him...

Never in his life had he known sadness even remotely close to this. He had lost people in his life, people he cared about more than anything, even his own uncle to cancer, shortly before the group formed, but never in his life had he felt like this. Empty, sad and totally unwilling to move on. That's how much grief Brian felt, as tears rolled down his cheeks freely. He hadn't even tried to stop them from coming. His friends were dead. Two boys that he would have done anything for. Two boys that he would have risked his own life to save. Without a doubt. They were gone. Just like that.

He moved closer to Kevin then, he took his arm and placed his head against it, tears still running down his face. Kevin placed his free hand over his cousin's head, caressing his hair. He was beyond words. They all were. Howie was in the arms of an older woman, the same one who claimed she pulled a silent alarm. The robbers had come by to break them up but they let her stay to comfort the boy. Everyone was eerily quiet. Taking in what had just happened.

Jordan towered over them all with a smug smile on his face, gloating about his kill. At first he tried to ignore it, tried to act like he wasn't there at all, but eventually, Kevin could no longer sit still and quiet.

"They were just children you know, two kids just trying their best to hide from you. They wouldn't have gotten away" He looked the killer in the eyes, never flinching when he got up and moved closer to him.

"Be quiet" He said when he was standing almost on top of Kevin. Brian flinching slightly at the site of the big man in front of him.

"AJ was only 18 years old. Nick 16. How could you do that?" Jordan didn't look amused any longer, now he looked angry. In part because of a huge laugh coming from behind him, his girlfriend.

"16?" She asked, now standing right next to her boyfriend. Kevin looked at her, tears rolling down his face, "Yes Nick was only 16" She turned to Jordan with an amused smile on her face. And then shook her head and walked away.

"You people are evil and I hope the police blow your fucking brains out" Howie sneered, pulling away from the woman's shoulder. This brought Jordan back to his feet once again. Jordan walked over to the older woman, squatted beside her and asked, "Did you pull a silent alarm?" She looked terrified, afraid to make eye contact with him. Now Howie was sitting up straight, anger flashing across his face, "Leave her the hell alone!" He yelled.

Jordan briefly thought about going over and shutting the Latino up, maybe hitting him in the face, knock him around a little bit, but he knew Terry was mad at him now, and didn't want to make things worse between them, so he ignored D all together. He instead walked away and perched himself up on the counter where the deposit and withdrawal slips were kept. "You know, lady" He said as he picked up some slips and ripped them like confetti, "I made sure the silent alarms were disconnected" He then threw the confetti in the air, "Wee!" He said as he jumped back down to his feet.

"The police are not coming, sorry to burst your bubble" More gasping and whispering was heard going through the crowd. Including the man who Terry had knocked out earlier, he was coming to and was even more miserable than before. "Aw look who has decided to wake up, Mr. Complaining man" Jordan said walking towards Justin, who was now cowering like a scared child. "See, that man is smart. He has learned his lesson. Right?" He asked Justin. "Yes whatever you say, please don't hurt me"

"See, this man has learned his lesson. Good work sir" He said winking at the man. Jordan then went back to his place by the desk once again working on the computer.

"What happened?" Justin whispered to the people around him, Brian looked over his way and with a coldness in his voice, he whispered, "Our friends are dead! Because of you!"

"Dead?" He said slowly

"Yes, dead" Brian said as he started to cry once again. Almost to the point of hysterics this time.

"Oh my God" Justin said as he laid back down trying to erase the nightmare that he felt he caused.

Terry walked over to the boys, and gently kneeled down next to them, trying to wrap her arm around Brian. Kevin pushed her away "Stay the hell away from us" Kevin said as he held on to his cousin. She wanted to tell him, but she didn't. When she felt the time was right, then maybe, but not now. She enjoyed watching their grief. All the more relief they would feel when they saw the two boys alive. So she just pulled away from them and walked back over to Jordan.

"We have to get out of here" Kevin said under his breath as he looked at his two surviving members. Thoughts of revenge brewing in his mind.

---

Terry walked over and sat beside her boyfriend. Pulling him close so only he could hear what she had to say "You were outsmarted by an 18 and 16 year old. Brilliant" He pushed her away. "Shut up, now is not the time, I am having more trouble with this lame ass computer. She looked at the screen which kept saying invalid password please try again. "I don't understand, Sean gave you the right code, what's going on?" She asked she kept trying the same password over and over again. "I don't know Ter, but I'll be damned if I leave here without accessing the main frame"

She stood up to get a better look, standing over his shoulder, she noticed a camera trained on a room downstairs. "Is that the vault?" She asked him. It didn't look like a vault, more like a closet. "Nope"

"A closet?"

"Kind of"

"Why is a camera trained on a closet?"

"Because I think that's where the shitheads are hiding. I locked the door. If they try to get out, we'll see them. The camera will scan the entire hallway, I programmed it to"

She was impressed that he did something semi bright. She still had to needle him though, "So you managed to program a camera, but can't figure out a password?" He gave her that look. The look that said she was crossing the line, and even though she liked to play rough, she didn't intend for him to smack her around here. So she backed away. Not noticing on the camera, that the door handle was jiggling...

AJ held on to the shivering Nick until he finally fell asleep. He was beginning to really worry about his friend. Even though he couldn't let Nick know that. It was too far out of his character. Truth is, he seldom much worried about anything. Especially his blonde friend. He was jealous of Nick. He was jealous of all the attention the fans gave him, jealous of the constant coddling he was given by the other three. He felt as if sometimes, they forgot that AJ was only two years older than Nick, by all accounts a baby himself. But then again. AJ had made them forget that. More than once.

Kevin was just as fussy with J as he was with Nick when the group first started. Telling him what to do, where to go, when to go to bed. It all became too much for him. Having to answer to his mother and grandparents, were enough, he didn't feel the need to have to listen to this guy who felt like he was in control of everything. He had mistaken Kevin's concern and protective nature, as a power play and it had resulted in fight after fight, until finally Kevin gave up. "Have it your way" He had said after an argument about staying out too late. Since than, AJ was treated just like all the others.

Most time's it was just fine with him too. But on nights when he felt like he needed an extra hug from Howie, or a calm pat on the shoulder from Kevin, he would instead watch his younger brother receive them.

He took out a lot of aggression on Nick. Made him the target of many arguments. Always calling him an immature little brat when he would whine about being homesick, when he was only expressing feelings that AJ, himself, had bottled up inside. He felt bad for doing it, but Nick was easy to agitate. He loved the guy though, he really did. The kid looked up to him. Why? He wasn't sure but he did.

AJ tried to shift his position so as not to wake up his friend and having done so successfully, he kept swallowing the fear that was building inside of him. He was petrified. All he wanted to do was cry, so sitting right there, in the warmth of some canvas bags and a good friend asleep on his shoulder, AJ finally cried about the situation he found himself in.

---

Terry felt bad for the boys who thought they had lost their young friends. Seeing Jordan to preoccupied with the computer to notice, she walked over to Kevin once again and sat beside him. He was still hugging his cousin who now had his eyes closed. Howie was on the other side of Kevin leaning on his other shoulder. He too, had his eyes closed. Not Kevin though, he was wide awake and staring ahead. It didn't take a genius to see that he was in deep thought.

"Hi" Terry whispered to him as she sat down, "How are they doing?" She asked pointing to Brian. He moved his dead stare from the front of the bank, to Terry.

"How do you think they are doing?" He asked her. She was impressed by the calmness in his voice. It aroused her.

"I know, I'm sorry about the boys. I didn't want anything bad to happen to them" He moved his gaze back to the front again.

"Well, neither did I. But that's the difference between you and me I guess" He grabbed Howie and Brian tighter in his grasp before continuing, "I would have never let him do that. Never! I would have made sure I had control of the situation. You Terry, do not have control of this situation. As much as you would like to think you do" The words Kevin had said were short and to the point, but they were brimming with honesty and bravery. She wanted to slap him, but instead she nodded. "You are right. I'm sorry"

Kevin once again looked at her, she was taken by his green eyes. They had a glow about them. The kind of glow you would find in someone who is no longer afraid to die. This worried her, but also exhilarated her. "Take control of the situation Terry before he kills again" He said and then, he ignored her.

She sat there just a little while longer, still in amazement how brave this guy was. Talking to someone who had the potential to kill him, like he couldn't care less. She found herself being attracted to him, just like she was attracted to the little blonde. Him she could have fun with but this guy?

One thing was sure, when the time came, she would have a good time with him, using the blonde to make Mr. green eyes mad. She smiled as she walked away.

"What are you doing?" Howie whispered to Kevin when Terry was back looking over her boyfriends shoulder.

"I am trying to stir up trouble" Kevin said once again never taking his eyes from the front of the bank.

---

AJ wiped his tears away. It felt good to cry. He just wished that someone was there to console him. He thought about waking Nick up, he didn't want to be alone. Not now. But he also knew that the kid needed to sleep. Besides, seeing him that vulnerable, might have sent the kid over the edge.

So, instead he hugged Nick tight to him, feeling the warmth of his body heat. He felt the blonde's head and noticed how hot it was. Yup he needed to sleep, for now. He would need his energy for whatever lied in store for them next.

He shifted once again, this time taking Nick's head from his shoulder and gently lead his body to the floor, he covered Nick and stood up and stretched. Walking over to the door, he tried the handle only to realize that it was locked. He jiggled it harder hoping that maybe it was just stuck, but unfortunately, it was not budging. He placed his head on the door and once again felt tears falling onto his cheeks.

"J, what's wrong?" A small and hoarse voice asked from among the pile of canvas.

"Nothing kiddo, just go back to sleep" He said wiping his frustrated tears away"

"It's okay to be scared AJ. I am too" He said now standing up to join his friend at the door. AJ turned his way, "We're locked in" He said as a new pool of tears started to form in his eyes. Nick grabbed AJ into a hug and the two of them stood trapped and cold crying in each other's arms.

AJ paced the length of the room that he and Nick were trapped in, trying to come up with any possible way out of this situation. He was glad he had let out his emotions, and equally relieved that it didn't upset Nick even more. But now, there was no more time for tears. Now they had to figure out how to get out of there and help their friends.

"Maybe they left already" J turned to his friend who was now placing a canvas bag over his shoulders to keep warm.

"I mean, if they were here to just hold up the bank, don't you think they would have left already?" It was a great question. Maybe he was right. The thought made so much sense in fact that AJ actually smiled.

"Good point Nick" He said as he knocked on the door. Nick ran over to him and stopped him, "But J, what if I'm wrong?"

"But it makes sense though, they have to be gone by now" AJ said just about to bang on the door once again.

"AJ, listen to me for a second though, there hasn't been any commotion at all. Don't you think that if they were gone and the police were here, that they would have come to check the vault by now?" Nick was making too much sense, unfortunately, so AJ took his hands away from the door.

"Maybe the police have the place surrounded. I bet it will all be over really soon" Nick said with a glint of hope in his voice.

"I hope you are right about that kiddo, I really hope you are"

Nick realized he was filling himself with false hope, but he didn't want to admit what he was sure had happened. The bad guys knew they were in that room. Why else would they have locked the door? That would be the only reason. AJ had to realize it to, but he was in denial.

AJ roamed around the room once again looking for another way out, it was cold in there, very cold, and he knew they couldn't stay for much longer. There had to be air coming in from some place? But where?

"I see a vent AJ" Nick said waving his friend over. J turned and walked to where Nick was standing, there at the base of the floor under all the canvas bags, was a small vent. Too tiny for either boy to fit through.

"Well, at least we know that there is air in here" AJ said trying to make light of the situation.

"What do we do now?" Nick asked still shivering.

"I guess we wait buddy" We wait and we pray.

---

Jordan was beginning to lose his cool. No matter how many times he tried the stupid password, it was useless. He had been swindled. And now he had hostages and the best he could do, was get away with the money in the vault. That was unacceptable to him. No, he had worked too hard for this. He was supposed to come away with millions of dollars. Millions without anyone even being able to detect it. Not for at least a few weeks. It was a perfect plan really.

Break into a bank, access the main branches terminal and make a bunch of huge transfers to an account in his name. Flawless. All he had to do was put in the password, and do it, then he could pretend to change his mind about robbing the bank and run out. The police still would have gotten involved but there would be nothing stolen. The last laugh would have been his. It was so brilliant he didn't have a clue why no one had tried it yet.

He had made friends with a guy who worked at the main branch his name was Sean and he had agreed to help him, for a small fee. $10,000 felt like pocket change compared to what this guy was doing for them so he agreed and the plan was set in motion. Only glitch is now Sean had his money and HE had NO password.

"Son of a bitch!" Jordan said, getting so frustrated that he flung the computer off the table and it went crashing to the floor. Terry walked up to him and grabbed his arm pretty forcefully, "Stop it you moron! Relax, there has to be another solution to this problem" He pulled away from her and raised his arm to back hand her. She didn't even flinch. So he put it down, "Alright smart ass, what's your suggestion?"

"Let's get the money in the vault" He turned to her sneering.

"NO! I want more than that"

"Well, let's start there and work our way up, now you are making a total ass out of yourself in front of these people. Go down to the vault and get the money"

"Fine!" He said grabbing Jason.

"Jason! Let's go to the vault!" He said, Jason nodded and grabbed his gun and walked past the guys and the rest of the hostages back down to the vault.

"Wait! I want to go" She said pushing past Jordan, "You have caused enough problems today" She said to her boyfriend so everyone could hear.

"You are not telling me what to do bitch!" He said now grabbing her and shaking her, this brought Kevin, who had been watching quietly almost to his feet. He stopped when she started to laugh.

"You are such an idiot Jordan, go figure out the code, unless you want ME to do that. I would probably do a better job anyway"

"No, go get the fucking money, I'll do the password" He said now glaring at the hostages. Then he walked back to another desk and started to play around with the computer.

As Terry passed by she winked at Kevin. He smiled

When they were gone, Kevin whispered to Brian and Howie, "It's working"

"What is?" Brian asked

"She just showed me that she can take charge"

---

"Maybe we can pull the vent cover away and yell for help" Nick said bending down to try to get a look at what was inside.

"And yell for help to what? A couple of sewer rats?"

"It's worth a shot" Nick said as he tried to pull the grate off. Then they heard footsteps.

The both boys looked at each other wondering if they should hide or pound for help.

AJ smiled, "It's over" he said as he went to the door and started to pound. Nick running behind him to try to stop him, just in case...

Terry walked ahead of Jason, eager to see all of that money in front of her. She had always dreamed of being in the same room with a ton of money but never in her life had she thought that it would really happen. Let alone at the hands of a moron like Jordan. And he was a moron too, she absolutely had no doubt about that one. But that moron had just made her rich.

She couldn't wait to get in that vault and smell the money, touching the greasy paper against her skin. Her Dad had told her once, when she was very young that money was the dirtiest thing you could ever touch, so greasy in fact, that it was used as a natural way to grease up pads of instruments. She couldn't care less. If Jordan had told her to lick it she would have, just like a lollipop. Anything to be wealthy and escape being her.

As she approached the vault, she stopped, tilting her head to the side she thought she heart the faint sound of banging. She turned her head to see exactly how far back Jason was, happy to see he was still coming down the steps, she walked closer to the noise source. Positive she knew it was them. The kids. She couldn't help but smile.

She passed the huge vault door and proceeded towards the door at the end of the hall. The door that the camera was fixed on. There was no mistaking it now, she thought happily. Jordan was right. They were in there. She turned though, when she heard Jason reach the bottom of the steps.

"Hey" She said before he had a chance to catch up with her, "You start in the vault, I am gonna check this room real quick okay?" He nodded. She was a little disappointed that she wouldn't get to see that money first but she had more important things to tend to. Bigger games to play. Once she saw that Jason was inside the vault, she proceeded to the door. Listening to the two boys arguing inside. Apparently one was telling the other to stop the banging. She smiled once again and placed her hand on the door knob.

---

When Nick saw his friend running toward the door, he had two different reactions, the irrational vs. rational. First he wanted to go right along with AJ and bang his little heart out. It was finally over. They were finally rescued, but the rational side of his brain made him realize that there was too many unanswered questions with that scenario. The most obvious being that by now, if it was the police, the guys would have told them that he and AJ were roaming around. They would have announced who they were. They wouldn't have been so quiet. No, he finally came to understand, whoever was walking towards them was the enemy. Unfortunately, his brain didn't process all that information in time to prevent AJ from banging but it did manage to get his common sense into action. He ran to his friend and quickly grabbed his hand away from the door.

"Nick what the hell are you doing?" AJ asked trying to free himself from the younger boys grasp. Nick took his free hand and placed it on AJ's mouth. "AJ shut up and listen, if it was the police" He whispered, "They would have said something by now" AJ just stood there motionless, now looking at the door.

Once Nick saw the rational AJ in his friends eyes, he took his hand away from his mouth. It was too late though, he heard footsteps now growing closer. Slowly approaching, but stopping. Then he heard her voice. He recognized it instantly, so did AJ. The voice of the enemy. She was yelling to someone. They both took a few steps away from the door and in a panic turned off the light. They knew it was too late to hide, maybe they could just take her by surprise, then the sound of a key being turned and the click of a door opening, made their hearts stop.

---

She had grabbed the key as she hugged her boyfriend. Good idea she gloated as she now realized without a doubt that behind this door was the cause of so many of her poor Jordan's problems. She placed the key in the hole and unlocked it. Pushing the door slightly open for them to be able to get out.

She thought about just standing behind the door while they made their escape, quickly grabbing them as they tried to flee. But that wouldn't make it seem like she was in charge, no she had a bigger and brighter idea. So she opened the door and walked away, fairly confident that no one was watching from the camera above, not now. Not since Jordan threw that computer to the floor. She smiled as she pictured the fear in their eyes. Then she walked away. Back towards the vault, she would close the door, so Jason would be none the wiser.

Now beside being rich, she was also going to be having some fun. Life certainly was good...

---

The boys watched in horror as the door slowly creaked opened, the light of the hallway now slowly creeping it's way into the room. Casting eerie shadows. One of which was the unmistakable shadow of a woman. A woman who was just standing there. AJ and Nick still stood frozen, waiting for her to enter, for hands to come at them once again. First the hands then the guns, that seemed to be the order of things around here. But nothing happened. Her shadow grew longer as she walked away, until it was gone completely, only the light in the hallway remaining. She has left. But why? That was the question plaguing both boys in their moments of silence. Why had she not come into the room?

"Maybe she is on our side?" Nick whispered. He sounded much the same way a child of five would, talking about the good points of the boogie man.

"I think you may be right Nick" AJ agreed, they had to stay where they were though, because she wasn't alone. That much they knew. A feeling of relief did wash over them at the thought that one of the enemy, was really on their side. Irrationality once again getting the better of the situation.

The roar of a crowd of thousands of teenage girls screaming their names brought about such an adrenaline rush. It was better than the scariest roller coaster ride. Nick always thought that he and Brian should go to the people at Disney World and trademark a BSB ride. No roller coasters, no loop the loops or big drops. But yet, the rush that would be felt standing on a dark stage hearing your name called out, was more exhilarating than any of those other rides. He was sure that it would be a top seller making the two boys rich as rich can be.

Well, now he had another thing that could possibly beat that idea. Standing there in a room only about 50 feet away from at least one person holding a gun, he definitely decided the adrenaline shooting through his veins at that moment could not be surpassed by anything. The biggest difference between the two was this is one ride he would never care to go on ever again.

"Hey" AJ whispered bringing the young blonde back into reality, "I need you to focus, don't start zoning out on me now" He shook Nick as he was saying it. It was important that he realize this was no game. Kind of like AJ knew what he was thinking the whole time.

"How are we gonna get out of here?" Nick asked AJ, putting his mouth right up against his ear.

"I don't know, but we may have to make a run for it"

"Shouldn't we maybe wait for them to go back upstairs?" AJ stopped and thought about that idea. It seemed like it made the most sense so he nodded.

They stood behind the door looking through the crack, waiting to see the woman emerge from the vault with whoever she was with.

Finally after what seemed like hours, the two people came out hands loaded with sacks of money. The same kind of sacks that the two boys were using to keep themselves warm. The woman looked down the long hallway almost like she was telling the boys to stay put for just a little while longer.

"Alrightie Ter, let's get this crap upstairs. How does it feel to be a rich woman?" Jason asked her kissing her on the cheek. She hugged him in a friendly embrace. "Splendid, simply splendid" She said in her best British accent.

"Maybe we should take this money and make a run for it, just you and I. Screw Jordan and Chris, they are both idiots anyway" She drew close to him and kissed him on the lips. Nick found himself covering his eyes at the site, like he was just about to be witness to an execution or something. AJ however watched with an intense interest.

"Baby, I told you once we are out of here, you and I can go on with our lives. We need Jordan at least until we are safely across the border you know that?" She asked him now caressing his chest.

"I know, but I hate this sneaking around"

"Me too babe, but you know he'll kill you and everyone else if he found out about us, he has a short temper" He took a step back after the reminder about how dangerous Jordan really was. "Yeah I know, like those two kids" Nick gasped which found AJ's hand once again over the kids mouth.

"I know, they were only kids, he shouldn't have killed them. They were just scared that's all" She then looked over at the open door once again.

"Ter?"

"Yeah baby?"

"Why do you keep looking down there? Did you see something?" Jason said as he started to walk towards the opened door at the end of the hall. AJ and Nick found themselves backing up wanting to be sucked into the wall. Terry grabbed his arm and once again planted a soft kiss on his lips, "NO, just thinking about those two boys I guess" She moved to the front of him and turned him back towards the stairs.

"You don't think those other three are gonna try anything now that...well..you know..now that their friends are dead?"

"No, they would be stupid to, although I don't trust that big guy. He seems like he has a hot temper" Nick mouthed Kevin's name to AJ and AJ in turn nodded.

Terry then continued with her thoughts, "I have him under control don't worry" She winked and then looked down in the boys direction once again before grabbing all that money and going upstairs.

Once the two bad people were safely up the stairs, Nick and AJ emerged from behind the door, "Oh my God, they think we're dead! Why would they think that AJ?" J didn't answer him, he instead headed back towards the vault. He got to the huge steel door and peered inside. "J, they think we're dead" Nick repeated once again.

"I know kiddo. But she knows we're not"

"Why do you think she is trying to help us?"

"Not sure, maybe she is a good guy" AJ said now still looking around the vault. Mounds of those canvas sacks were everywhere, and piles of money still on the floor. He turned to his younger friend once again, "We have to get out of here"

"But now that they have their money, don't you think they will leave?" AJ wanted to say yes but he had a feeling there was more to this little robbery than money. He didn't want to admit to Nick that he was sure they were in for a long night.

"I don't know but I will tell you that she is playing that dude, because she is with the head guy" Nick looked confused which brought a smile to his face. "How are you feeling anyway?" AJ asked his friend.

"Crappy, you know most NORMAL people when they are sick could just go lay down and relax, but NO not me, I have to be involved in a bank robbery!" AJ laughed again and pat Nick on the back.

"Come on, let's try to figure out how to get out of here" He said pulling Nick out of the vault and together they stood at the base of the steps checking for any sounds at all. When they heard none they started to climb.

Terry couldn't wait to put her plan in action. It would all just fall into place as long as the two boys tried to make it up the steps. She was gonna have loads of fun with this. Goosebumps formed on the surface of her skin just thinking about it. All the fun she was about to have. Before walking back into the main room where all the hostages were, Jason gave her butt one more squeeze, as if to remind her that it was his property. How wrong he was.

Kevin did his best to preoccupy his thoughts. Distract himself from the situation he was in. He couldn't deal with AJ and Nick's deaths. He knew that. It was all too much for him. What was he going to tell their parents? How could this happen while in his care? Sure, deep down he knew he wasn't the one responsible for this, but even still. He was supposed to protect them from harm. Yet, he let them take AJ away. Without even much of a fight. He closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind of the guilt. He still had two other people to look after and they were not doing well at all. He was afraid that his cousin had gone into shock. He had barely said a word since they found about the kids. Kids, that's all they were...kids. Once again, Kevin shook the thought out of his mind and gently nudged Brian, "Hey buddy how are you feeling?"

Brian moved slightly but made no sound. Kevin just held him in a tighter embrace. "It will all be alright kiddo, I promise. I will make everything be alright" He wished he could believe his own propaganda. "How?" Howie asked. He had taken the news bad too. He cried to the point of hyperventilating. Now he seemed calm enough. Kevin turned his attention to his friend. Once Howie saw Kevin's eyes, he asked again, "How are you going to make this better?"

"I don't know D, but I will" The look on the Latino's face made Kevin sigh. He looked so much older than he was. Just the act of walking into this bank had aged them by about twenty years. "Please don't do anything stupid Kevin, I can't bare to lose you too" Howie said, a slight quiver in his voice.

"I won't" Kevin lied. He had already made up his mind that if he had to sacrifice his own life for his two remaining friends he would. They would have to understand.

Their little conversation was interrupted by the sounds of dragging. Kevin thought with horror what if those were his two friends? Maybe they had brought their bodies up here for display. It seemed like they were just sick enough to do that. He closed his eyes. He wouldn't look. Absolutely not.

"Money" Howie said as if reading Kevin's mind. He felt himself let out a little sigh of relief, if their was any relief to be had, and turned back to face the sound. There he saw Terry and Jason lugging tons of bags full of money. They had huge grins on their faces. How can they smile knowing two children had died for their little cause? Kevin wondered as he watched with disgust as Jordan, looking up from his computer, let out a laugh. He stood up and hugged his girlfriend. They were celebrating. We all wanted to throw up. The looks on everyone's faces read that very same thought. All of them. Even the awful guy that caused his friends deaths. Kevin hoped that for years to come, that man Justin, would never be able to sleep peacefully again. Kevin knew he wouldn't either. Misery deserves company.

"Now that you got what you came for, are you going to leave us all alone?" Kevin asked. The anger and disgust more than obvious in his voice. Jordan looked over his way, "Excuse me?"

"Kevin stop" Howie pleaded in a whisper. Ignoring his friend's pleas he continued, "I said are you idiots getting the hell out of here yet?" Now he was up on his feet, Chris charging at him aiming the gun at his chest. Kevin never backed down. He just stood there while the hostages gasped words like STOP YOUR GONNA GET US ALL KILLED And SIT DOWN PLEASE! Kevin held a deaf ear to it all. That's what revenge can do to someone he guessed. Chris was now right next to Kevin and gun actually held right against his chest. "Sit the hell down now!" He ordered. Kevin never even looked at Chris. His eyes were firmly planted on Jordan's face. A tug at his pant legs made him look down to see his cousin with pleading eyes, trying to pull him down. Kevin tried his best to ignore him.

Jordan started making his way over towards Kevin now. That is exactly what he was hoping the man would do, then he would grab for the gun. hopefully shoot him. Maybe take the other guy out too. He was certain that once he went for the gun, some of the others on instinct would help. He could take down Jordan at least before he was killed, that much he was certain about.

Howie and Brian would just have to understand..

---

AJ and Nick had successfully made it up the stairs and were now tip toeing towards the main hallway. The same hallway that they found themselves running for their lives what felt like years earlier. It was eerily quiet. Quiet and dark. They had shut the lights in the hallway, why? AJ was not sure. Maybe they had watched too many horror movies themselves. Always make it dark and eventually the monsters will come out from hiding. Were we the monsters though? AJ stopped in his tracks when he heard his friend cough. He quickly pulled Nick into his shirt trying to mute him. Nick was doing his best to stifle the sound but when you gotta cough you gotta cough. So all AJ could do was smother him in his embrace.

When the fit subsided, Nick pulled away and whispered "Thank you and I'm sorry"

They took a few more steps forward, cautious, making sure they could not be heard. AJ's sneakers squeaked with every step taken making him wish that he had pout more thought into his choice of shoe selection. He would make a mental note of it, if they ever got out of this mess, really try to pick the quietest show when entering a bank. With his luck, this would happen again.

AJ chuckled at the thought, "AJ have you lost your mind?" Nick asked barely speaking in a whisper. "What is so damned funny?"

"Nothing, sorry. I'll tell you later"

"Glad you think this is all so funny" Nick returned, now smiling himself. He figured they had both lost it now. The stress was too much and sent them both over the edge. Unfortunately the tickle in his throat, brought him back to reality. Again he started to cough. AJ pulled him close again and covered Nick's mouth with his hand. "Dammit Nick, enough already" He said out of frustration.

When the younger boy was done this time, he choked back a small sob. "I'm gonna get us killed, I'm sorry AJ" J hugged the kid now. The last thing he felt like doing was consoling somebody. He needed to though. Just in case.

"Shhh, it's okay. Just try to pull yourself together" Nick wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt and then gave AJ a nod to say, okay I'm ready when you are. They were now half way through the never ending hallway. Still too far away to detect life but close enough to feel the enemies presence. "What's the plan?" Nick asked AJ. J just shrugged in return, "The plan is to get out of here and get help"

"Kind of broad and vague don't you think?" Nick asked a tad sarcastically.

"Well, do you have any better ideas?"

"Nope"

"Okay then we get out of here"

"How?" AJ paused a second. He really had no idea. But just as he was about to come up with a plan a loud crack shot through the air, instantly making the hair on the backs of their necks rise. The sound reverberated through the hallway and was so fierce and loud, it hung in their chests.

The two boys looked at each other slowly realizing what it was. A gunshot, followed by screams...

Terry watched with a new found fascination as Kevin stood up to Chris, gun and all. She was a bit surprised when he didn't back down. Then when Jordan got into the act, she got nervous. She didn't trust her boyfriend. Not one bit. Especially when he was angry.

The way Jordan walked towards Mr. Green eyes, made her quickly realize that whatever was about to happen would not end well. She would have to do something to distract both men. She had wanted to wait until a little later on to put her plan into effect, but worrying that Jordan would end up killing someone, she decided to put her plan in motion a little early.

Then she saw Kevin go for Jordan's gun in one swift motion. He grabbed it and managed to knock it to the floor. Chris then hit Kevin, knocking him to the ground. Hostages began to move around. In a heated fury, Jordan went to Chris and grabbed his gun as Brian and Howie screamed. She saw a blankness in her boyfriend's eyes that told her to act now! So just as Jordan held the gun to Kevin's head ready to shoot, amongst begging and pleading cries, she said "Jordan! They're gone!" She made sure she was standing right next to the TV monitor when she said it. So this way it didn't look staged.

Kevin had his eyes closed, heart in his chest, afraid that his last thought before death would be what a stupid idea! He couldn't open his eyes, his brain wouldn't let him. He wondered if that is what happened to people who were facing a firing squad. If they kept their eyes closed or open. Then he also wondered if Nick and AJ had felt this very same way. Did they close their eyes too? He'd have to ask them when he saw them on the other side. But just then, as he was about to except death, he heard the strangest thing, "Jordan! They're gone!"

Jordan turned around while still holding the gun against Kevin's right temple. "What did you just say?" He asked, his voice sounding harsh. Terry walked towards her boyfriend now, her eyes never leaving his trigger finger. "I said they are gone. The door is open" She said pointing to the camera.

"What the hell is she talking about? Terry what are you talking about?" Chris asked. Now Jordan put the gun down and Kevin who had been praying, opened his eyes. Terry took in a deep breath. It was too late to back out now, she had already started the ball rolling. "The two kids were never killed" She confessed, to a symphony of gasps.

"Terr, what the hell are you doing?" Jordan asked, now forgetting about Kevin all together. "Sorry" She whispered pretending that the last thing she wanted to do was expose Jordan as a fraud. Yup she was a good actress. She looked over to Chris who had now moved next to her, "The boys were locked in a room downstairs but they apparently got out because the door is open" Jason shot Terry a devilish smile. He had immediately figured out what she was doing. Making Jordan look bad was always high on Jason's list.

"Oh my God" Brian uttered. Kevin looked over in his direction, still shaky but now crying. From relief more than anything else. "They're alive!" He said to his cousin. "I'll be damned"

"That's impossible, how could they have possibly gotten out? I had that door locked!" He said walking back towards the TV. Terry had time to steal a quick glance in Kevin's direction and felt tingly when she saw him looking at her. She gave him a quick wink.

"Who the hell are these kids?" He yelled. It was becoming almost comical. Being outsmarted by a pair of children seemed like something you would find on a sitcom. "Are they related to fucking Houdini or something?" He screamed. Everyone started to laugh.

Big mistake

Jordan totally lost his cool. He took Chris' gun and fired into the air making the once laughing hostages, scream. Then he walked over to Jason, holding the gun at his chest. "You did this didn't you?" He accused. Jason rolled his eyes.

"Jordan now your just being stupid" He said, panic in his voice.

"You let those kids out of there!"

"That's bullshit! I thought they were dead!" Terry walked over and stood between Jason and Jordan. Now the gun was aimed at her. She felt exhilarated by it. "Jordan calm down. He didn't do anything. I was with him the whole time. Relax babe. Maybe they picked the lock" She walked over and placed her hands on the man's chest. Ignoring all the eyes watching them.

He put the gun down, but still managed to give Jason a firm look. "Don't worry I'll find them. Okay?" She said taking the gun out of Jordan's dangerous hands.

He pulled away from her then and walked over to Kevin. "Your friends have caused me a lot of trouble! You better hope Terry finds them before I do!"

"Yeah me too for that matter. Or that blonde is dead!" Chris added.

Jordan felt stupid again, he had lost his cool and fired a gunshot. Now it would only be a matter of time before the police showed up, that he was sure of. He could tell by Terry's sideways glances that she was thinking the same thing. Laughing at him. They were all laughing at him. Anger quickly flew through his veins causing him to shudder.

When he did get those kids, he would teach then a lesson. If he didn't get himself out of the bank first. Now he knew time was limited. And all the money he was sure he would walk away with, diminishing.

Someone was gonna pay for this. "Terry! What are you waiting for? Find those friggin kids NOW!" He yelled walking back towards the computer he had been working on. He had to try one more time to figure out how to gain access to all that money. Time was running out. Terry walked over to him, "I'm heading back downstairs" She said kissing him on the lips. "Terr, take Chris or Jason" He said

"No, I think I can handle them all by myself" She smiled and then walked off towards the hostages, "Bring a gun!" He made sure he yelled loud enough for Kevin and company to hear him.

She passed by Kevin without saying a word but made sure she flashed him a quick smile. "Please don't hurt them" Howie pleaded.

"She won't" Kevin answered for her. She turned his way "Now how do you know that?" She asked him.

"I just do" She looked his way and winked at him again. "Oh really?" She said, and then as she left to get her boys, especially that yummy blonde one, she laughed, yeah this was better than Disney Land...

Nick and AJ once again stood there not knowing what to do. It was the kind of dejavu that AJ felt he could do without. He knew what that sound was, he knew but he didn't want to verbalize it. So Nick did, "AJ that was gun. Why are they firing?" He asked with such a raised level of panic in his voice that all the bad thoughts that AJ had tried to bury far in the depths of his mind came vomiting forward. "I don't know kiddo but we can't think about that right now"

"We have to go see if they are okay" Nick said moving without thought towards the sound of the gun blast. Toward his friends, that he pictured lying dead on the floor. AJ ran to catch up with him and tackled him to the ground. "No Nick! We can't. We have to find help" Nick pounded his fist against the floor in a dejected manner. He didn't want to agree with AJ but the guy was right. They would be no good to their friends going in and getting caught. They would just have to hope that everything was okay.

Nick and AJ got up from the floor and tried to get as close as possible to the main room without being detected. They tiptoed almost all the way to the end of the hallway. There they were able to see Howie. He was sitting looking very quiet and pale but other than that alright. AJ felt for the first time since they entered the bank, a dull ray of hope, "Maybe we can get D's attention" He whispered to Nick. The boy nodded in return. Now the question was how?

The bad guys were nowhere to be seen but they could clearly be heard and AJ was able to make out the lady's voice. She was telling the guy in charge to calm down and that everything would be okay. "I think the main guy lost his cool" He said to Nick who was also listening intently while trying to flag down Howie. Then he heard her say something about getting the boys. That sent his dull ray of hope fading into the dank abyss of the bank.

"Well, at least they know we are alive" Nick said also more than a little disappointed that they were both about to be hunted again. AJ nodded but never took his eyes off Howie. Come on D look up! Come on! he pleaded but the Latino never did. "It's no use Nick, Howie is not looking this way and if we try anything to get his attention, we might get everyone else's as well"

"So, what do we do now?" He was getting a little tired of that question too. Why was it that he had to have all the answers? Couldn't Nick think up a plan just this once? He didn't have time to voice his concern because he heard her walking this way. Right towards them. "Shit" Nick said. They both ran back towards the hallway letting the darkness envelop them.

They stood stark still. That's all they could do, she had come up on them fast. A bit faster than they had expected.

She walked right into that hallway knowing the boys had to be in there, if not then they must surely be upstairs. She was so happy she had persuaded Jordan to let her go alone. Bringing someone else would have just thrown everything off. She had to be the one to find them. And she would, because they trusted her. Stupid kids.

She walked into the dark hallway with confidence. Trying to adjust her eyes to the blackness. She thought about turning on the light but that would spoil the fun of finding them. She walked up a bit and then stopped. She thought she smelled something, caught a whiff of an aftershave or something.

AJ who was standing right behind her didn't dare to breath. He saw her sniffing and thought when he got out of this he was gonna throw out that bottle of Calvin Klein. He hated that shit but Howie told him the girls go nuts for it so of course he had to put a ton on today! Now it was gonna give him away.

She stood there forever but didn't dare to turn around. She knew he was there, how easy it would have been just to turn and grab him but where was the fun in that? So she continued to walk once again, smiling so wide she almost began to laugh.

AJ let out his breath when she began to move past them. He thought they were clear, they weren't detected. How, he had no idea? But he was still grateful. Then just as she was about to safely turn away, Nick coughed.

He didn't know what to do. He had been holding it in since he drew a deep breath. She was standing right by AJ, he couldn't make a sound so he held his breath, tensing his entire body up. The cough was deep down his throat now trying to escape out of his mouth. Nick held it in, but it was no use, he had to let it out. Maybe she wouldn't hear, maybe she had gotten far enough away.

She turned towards the sound of the coughing. And began to walk back towards the boys. She thought about maybe just ignoring it and making her way up the steeps but she didn't want them thinking she was stupid so she made her way back towards the boys and standing in the middle of the hallway she whispered.

"I know you are here, So this is what we are gonna do" She could no longer hear the boys but imagined the terrified looks on their faces. "I like games kids and we are gonna play a game of tag! I am a nice person. Very nice in fact. I don't want to catch you, so I am going to count to ten and you are going to make a run for it"

AJ stood there listening intently looking for any sign from Nick. "So boys what do you say? Are you in for the game?" She asked. AJ knew Nick would never make it. He was ill and wouldn't get more than a foot away from her. He wanted to urge the kid not to run. But he had no way of doing so.

"Okay so I am now closing my eyes and counting to ten now, by the way, don't be loud the rest of the guys are right out there" She said pointing towards the main hall.

Nick stood there paralyzed in fear. She was playing tag? He hated that game ever since he was a child. It never went well and he was always the first one to be caught. The kids in his neighborhood used to make it a secret hidden rule. Get the scrawny little blonde first. So they used to hunt him down. He hated the feeling of running never knowing if someone was going to sneak up behind him.

"1"

He stood there not knowing if this was real or not. Was she just trying to get them to move so she could grab them gun in hand?

"2"

It seemed like a logical thing to do, isn't that what he might do in this same situation?

"3"

This was just a trap her eyes were probably wide open

"4"

Nick still stood silent and not moving at all

"5"

Just then he felt a tug at his shirt, he jumped but made no sound

"6"

AJ pulled him away from his hiding spot just a little ways down the hall

"7"

"AJ it's no use"

"8"

"Shut the hell up and stay here!" He said and then he was gone

"9"

Nick hated this game he wanted to call time? Could he do that? Was there any rules?

"10! Okay times up, and here I come"

Nick closed his eyes, this was always the worst part. He knew he was going to get caught. God why did he cough! Not fair. Maybe she won't find me? Oh yeah and how was that possible? He asked himself? While he was busy carrying on a conversation with himself, Terry made her way right past him and down the steps. Towards AJ.

AJ ran like a demon down those steps and towards the vault. Why he picked the vault he had no idea but he did. There wasn't even any place to hide in there. Then he heard her footsteps. "Damn!" He said as he grabbed some of those canvas sacks that had served so well as hiding spots before and buried himself underneath.

Terry knew they would either run into the vault or the storage room. You go where you think it's safe and they felt safe there. She had them. She ran into the vault and turned on the light. "Okay, I know you're in here guys! Come on out" She said kicking at the canvas bags only missing AJ by an inch.

"Come on kiddies! Game time is over and I win!" She said once again kicking the bags, she got him that time but he refused to make a sound. He just winced.

"Playing hard to get I see, okay suit yourself I will go check the other room" Then she turned to leave once again flipping off the lights. She made a sound as if walking towards the other room but she stayed just outside the doorway.

Nick had crept down the steps as slowly as he could trying not to make a sound. He saw her standing there, just waiting. He wanted to yell to AJ but it was too late. He walked out of the door and in one swift movement, Terry had AJ in her hands.

"God how stupid are you kids anyway?" She asked smiling. She pushed him towards the wall and then took her gun and pointed it at him.

"Okay blondie! Playtime is over, let's come out now! Or I will kill your friend" She said.

Nick just stood on the stairs not sure what to do, the last time he came out the guy was just about to hit him. Luckily AJ had come to the rescue. It only seemed fitting that now HE should come to the rescue for his friend. He was developing a plan in his head as she once again continued to count

"1" she said

"2, I don't think he's coming out here do you?"

"3"

"No I don't"

"4, you think you mean that little to him?"

"5"

"No, he's just a wus"

"6" She laughed but still continued to count

"7"

"Besides he isn't even down here"

"8, he isn't?"

"9"

"Nope and you'll never find him either"

"10"

"No, she won't because I have" AJ and Terry both turned to see Jason holding Nick by the collar of his shirt, gun planted on his head.

"Game over!" He laughed as he held the struggling Nick in his grasp. "Boy I know some people who can't wait to see you again little fella!"

AJ just looked on as his friend was dragged up the steps. "Sorry about that, I didn't know he was gonna come down" Terry whispered to AJ.

"Now what?" He said more to himself than to anybody else as he also was brought back up the steps and into the main hall...

Kevin sat with his hands clenched on his lap. He was a guy who tended to stress out about even the smallest things. It had plagued him ever since childhood. He did not like taking commands from anyone. He was a leader. He often thought about what these kids would do without him there to push them along from venue to venue. Picking up after them and making sure they made it from point A to point B. He acted like it was bothersome, but honestly, he enjoyed every minute of it. He loved taking the big brother role. He had never gotten to play it before now. It suited him just fine. He wondered if his big brothers had worried about him as frequently as he found himself worrying about these guys.

"Most likely" he thought out loud as he looked over at Howie who seemed to be calming down a bit. When that guy had a gun to his head, Kevin had noticed how visibly shaken Howie had become. He was actually afraid that his friend might have passed out. This was getting to be too much for him, for all of them. Kevin looked down at his watch surprised to see not all that much time had gone by since they had taken on the role of hostage. They had been in the bank for about four hours now. It seemed like days. The actual robbers were so unorganized there was more than once that Kevin had just wanted to step up and take over more out of habit than anything else.

"Do you think they're okay?" Brian asked his cousin. Kevin turned towards him and nodded. He didn't know for sure but he knew he had to do anything he could to make his friends feel better about this situation. He hated not knowing what was going on with his two younger friends. The two most erratic and unpredictable of the bunch. AJ he had at least seen the first time he was caught. He seemed fine then, just a little shaken. Nick he hadn't seen since he had left to go to the bathroom. He sighed.

"What's wrong?" Howie asked.

"Just thinking about the boys, that's all"

"I'm sure they are safe and hiding" Kevin once again clenched his fists. He hoped so. He didn't trust any of these people. Especially Jordan and that other awful one Chris. He remembered back to what he had said about Nick. He wanted to hurt him, that's all Kevin could remember. For biting him. He was grateful that Chris stayed behind and that other guy Jason went after them instead. Chris seemed like a nut job. Of course wouldn't you have to be a nut job to try to rob a bank? He found himself glaring at Chris now. Chris returned the favor. "What are you looking at bushybrows?" He said polishing his gun. Even through all the drama and absolute terror, someone still found time to make fun of his eyes brows. He was sure he would laugh about it later. Confident that Brian would bring it up someday a long time from now, when they would be able to look back on this whole experience and laugh.

"Chris come here I think I'm in!" Jordan shouted. That made Chris still glaring at Kevin smile as he walked over to his friend who was sitting at the computer. Jordan was busily typing in all kinds of access numbers. It looked like gobbeldy gook to Chris. He wasn't the numbers kind of guy.

"So you found the password?" Jordan turned around and moved the screen so his dimwitted friend could see what he was doing. He had thought about not showing Chris at all, but he knew that Chris wouldn't have a clue how to double cross him. He felt bad that he was going to kill this guy when they were on their way. He deserved it for being so dumb.

"Yes, I think I have, see I type in Dingo four and then this screen popped up" He demonstrated by doing it again. "I haven't seen this one before which means I am getting closer" He tried typing in a new set of codes but nothing happened. He was more hopeful now though, so he didn't throw a fit.

"So, basically we're in the money bro?"

"Yup"

"Excellent! Well, ladies and gentlemen isn't that good news?" Chris yelled to his unaffected hostages. Kevin still glaring at him. "I don't like that guy" He said to Jordan. He only shrugged half listening to what Chris was saying. He tried a different set of numbers now, this time a new screen popped up. He was gaining access to select bank accounts. "YES!!" He screamed rubbing his hands together.

"You know what's weird?" One of the guys who was sitting right next to Brian said. He had been quiet for most of this ordeal. They all turned towards him, "What?" Brian asked speaking on behalf of the group.

"It's a little strange that they haven't even asked for OUR wallets and valuables. Don't you think?" Kevin hadn't thought about that. "Yeah, it is a little odd" One of the woman answered. "but let's face it, these guys are not the sharpest tools in the shed" Kevin smiled at that one. He had said almost that very same phrase to Nick just the other day. After trying his hardest to explain one of his algebra problems to him, Kevin out of frustration turned to his little brother and said those very words. He had meant them innocently enough but hearing them spoken in this context, he made a mental note to apologize to Nick as soon as he saw him again. If he saw him again.

They were alive at least. For the hour or so that they were told the kids had been killed, Kevin couldn't even bare to think about living. It's not even like he had known these guys his whole life. With the exception of his cousin, they had all only been together for 7 or so years, but the bond they had developed far out weighed the number of years they knew each other. They were family and he loved them all.

The words the man spoke brought about a whole new fear to his mind. Up until just now, he hadn't even thought about it. But, if these guys did decide to go through their stuff, then they would also find out they had five celebrities in their midst. That would not be good. He tried to remember if he had anything remotely related to BSB in his wallet. He was sure he didn't but he knew that Brian did. He always carried a clip of them from their first magazine shoot in his wallet. To remind him of how far they had all come. All five of their faces right there with Backstreet Boys plastered on top. No, they couldn't go through their stuff. Hopefully they wouldn't.

Jordan was now humming. He was so close to getting the access he wanted that he could smell the greasy money and visualized himself running through it naked. More than the money even, was the satisfaction of being able to show Terry that he did it. He hated the fact that she didn't think he could do anything right. He typed some more and once again even more accounts came up on the main frame. "Where is Terry? She needs to see this?" He shouted with glee. Chris started to walk towards the darkened hallway, "You want me to call to her bossman?" He asked. Jordan looked up, "Nah, she'll be here in a minute most likely"

"Yeah you're right I see her and Jason and guess what? They got company!" He smiled at Kevin as he said that. Kevin for the first time looked away. He refused to look, give that idiot the satisfaction, but then he heard Nick's voice. He could tell the teen was scared and struggling by the heavy breathing.

When they came into view, Jason came first dragging along Nick. He had Nick in a head lock. Terry followed with a gun trained on AJ's back.

"Look what we got!" Jason announced to the group. Firmly throwing Nick down to the ground. Kevin was up in a second and over to the boy. Terry led AJ to his friends and made him sit down.

Kevin grabbed Nick's shoulders, causing Nick to look up. He had tears in his eyes. He grabbed Nick's face in his hands "Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" He asked checking the boy over. Nick shook his head. "No, I'm okay" He said and then he grabbed Kevin into a big hug. "I'm so sorry we were caught we wanted to help you guys get out of here" He said muffled in Kevin's broad shoulders. Kevin rubbed Nick's back then turned his attention to AJ, "You okay?" He asked. AJ nodded.

"Well, isn't this just a touching family reunion?" Terry said winking at Kevin. "You need to take little blondie here and go back to sit with your friends now please" He helped Nick up and they walked over to join everybody else. Brian and Howie were embracing their two friends happily. Bummed that they were caught but happy they were alive.

"Terry come here and check this out!" Jordan said, too caught up in the computer to even care about the stupid kids. Chris cared though. When he saw Terry walk away with Jason following he made his way over to the two teens. He walked over to AJ and smiled at him, a creepy smile that made AJ pull back a little. Then he walked over to Nick who was still in Kevin's firm and protective grasp. "You are mine kid!" He growled, then stared down Kevin once again. Kevin wrapped his arms tighter around Nick.

His job of big brother kicking into high gear...

Terry was pissed. Pissed that Jordan did not let her go get those boys herself. Pissed that stupid Jason came and ruined her plans. Now she couldn't walk in there, head held high with the two teens in tow, claiming it was her and only her that was responsible for their capture. Now she had to share the glory. Plus did this mean that Jordan didn't trust her? Why else would he send Jason after her. "Did he send you after me?" She had asked her lover while walking the kids back to the main room. "Yeah he did. He thought you might need some back up. He was afraid one of them would come from behind and bite you on the ass" Then he smiled and with his free hand he slapped her butt.

When they arrived with the two teens in hand, Jordan didn't even seem to care. She was hoping that he would be ashamed of himself. That he couldn't do what SHE had managed. He really didn't care one way or the other. She should have let them just escape. They would have caused no harm. They were just children for God's sake. But the little blonde one was hot. She found herself blushing at the thought of wanting to do dirty things to him but she couldn't help herself. He was very attractive. And innocent. He even cried when he was caught. How precious was that?

She was pulled out of her thoughts by her boyfriend's bragging. "See honey it's very simple. You just press on this, than write in this and whammo bammo! Access!" More names popped up on the screen. Accounts totaling almost $700,000. Jason and Chris high fived but she wasn't that impressed. The money excited her, but not her company.

She walked back towards the hostages, to Mr. Green eyes himself. Now HE excited her. She had tons of nasty dirty feelings about him too but they would be perfectly legal. He had the blonde in his grasp like if he let go, the kid would sink into some hole or something. Maybe he was gay? Maybe that is why he was so loving towards the other men? Nah. She leaned down and gently caressed Nick's cheek. He winced which made her smile. "How's our little runaway doing?" She asked in a very soft and gentle voice. A voice she herself didn't even know she had inside her.

Kevin looked up at her and returned a friendly smile. "He is shaken up but I think he will be okay"

"Good, what about you?" She asked AJ, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'd be a whole lot better if I was seeing you taken away in handcuffs though"

"Handcuffs, oooo kinky" She said winking at the boy.

"What is taking so long?" Kevin asked her. She turned to look at him, glancing away from AJ. "They are in the process of getting rich" She said disgusted. Kevin hearing the slight inflection of disgust, continued, "What are you doing with that creep anyway?"

"Why? Are you propositioning me?"

Howie was watching the scene and trying to hold down the bile he felt slowly crawling up his throat. This entire thing was making him sick. He wanted to run. Willing to take his chances. He was claustrophobic. A secret that only his family and the boys knew about him. They had found out one day on an elevator ride which ended between floors five and six. Howie had freaked out on them. Having a full fledged panic attack. That was his little secret. Ever since then he had always dreaded being confined to one space for too long. He seldom complained about it though. It just wasn't his nature.

"No, I think I would be a fool to proposition you. You seem to have a full plate" Kevin said to Terry. She smiled at him. Howie didn't like the way her eyes darted from Kevin to Nick. Like she was trying to pick out her favorite toy on the shelf. No, this wasn't safe. They had to get out of here. Then he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder. He looked over to see AJ trying to calm him.

Thank goodness AJ was okay. That they both were. It troubled Howie to think that being there right in the middle of the crisis was the safer place to be, but at least here, he knew where his little brothers were. He watched as Terry continued to talk to both Kevin and Nick, hunched right down next to them.

"So, are you guys related in some way?" She asked Kevin motioning to all five guys. "You seem very tight"

"We are brothers. I would do anything to keep them safe. Anything" When he said that she smiled once again.

Howie didn't like the way she eyed Nick on that last statement but he was glad that Kevin said they were brothers. He was so used to hearing that question that he was afraid his brain would just take over and say what he always did. Being in a band you form bonds...etc. The last thing this woman needed to know was that they were in a band. Yes, it was very important that they keep that information away from them. He was a little surprised that not even one person recognized them in the bank. At first he was even annoyed. That all changed when the guns came into the picture. Now if someone did finally realize the five guys sitting here looked familiar, Howie was hoping they would keep it to themselves.

Terry leveled her gaze from Nick to Howie as if she were reading his thoughts. Kevin made sure his head followed her every movement. "You must be the quiet one in this little family huh?"

Suddenly he felt his throat become very dry. An effect that would occur when he became extremely nervous. He had been pretty much invisible to them up until now. This was one spotlight he didn't want to be in. "Yeah he doesn't say much" AJ chimed in for his friend. The woman laughed, "Yes I see that" Then she got up, tousled Brian's hair and walked away. Once more turning towards Nick and Kevin. As she moved down the line, Brian moved close to Howie's ear, "I wish she would leave us all alone" He said. Howie only nodded in agreement.

Terry crouched down next to Nick once again, "So little guy, want to come and sit over by me?" She asked once again going for his cheek. He scooted back a bit. She laughed. "Aw, come on I know your not a little child. How old are you again?"

"None of your business" He said in a nervous breath.

"I am hurt" She pouted.

"You know your boyfriend over there is gonna start to think you are coming over to the good guys side" Kevin said motioning towards the other three guys who's eyes were fixed on the computer screen. "Maybe I AM on the good guy side" She said. "But you are right. We wouldn't want him thinking nasty thoughts right?" She said grabbing Nick's chin forcing him to nod like a puppet. Kevin grabbed her arm and shoved it away. "Oh, someone likes it rough" She said.

Howie winced. This girl was sick. They all were as mentally unstable as can be. She saw Howie's reaction "I think someone doesn't like all the foreplay" She said winking. He looked away.

Finally she stood up and slowly walked back to her friends. "Kevin we have to get out of here" Howie said when she was a safe distance away. "I know D" He answered. Then another hostage said, "She seems to have taken quite a liking to you younger boys" Howie knew that and that's what had him scared to death. "She also has something going on with that Jason guy"

"Really?" Brian asked AJ, who nodded, while he continued to stare at the woman by the computer. "Interesting" Kevin said.

Howie gulped wishing he had some water. His throat was so dry that he actually felt his lips spliting. He was afraid they were going to get caught up in a lover's quarrel. Afriad that she was going to set her sites on one of his friends, afriad that the leader was just going to lose it and start shooting. There was such a long list of concerns, that D decided it was best to just close his eyes. Maybe this was all a bad dream. Maybe...

Nick sat next to Kevin, thankful that he was finally reunited with his band brothers but also disappointed in himself. How could he have let them down? He never thought, not once, to look behind him while he was caught up in watching AJ and that woman. Maybe if he had, he could have avoided capture. Maybe he could have found a way out, maybe he could have saved the day. He shifted a little and Kevin shifted right along with him. He could tell by the way Kevin sat that his whole body was tense. One of a man who was scared but yet, would never let on. The look of relief was abundant on his face as well as Howie and Brian's when they saw Nick and AJ coming into the main room. They had thought until a few moments before, that Nick and AJ were dead. Maybe they wouldn't be upset then. Nick was sure they wouldn't. Forever and a day though, he would always feel like he let them down in some way. By not bothering to look behind him.

Nick turned his body around to meet AJ's glance. He could tell that his friend was thinking the same way. J gave him a small smile, but he read disappointment in his friend's eyes. He turned back towards Kevin, "Are you guys doing okay?" He whispered.

"Now that we know you and AJ are safe, yes" Kevin glanced over to see Terry still standing next to her boyfriend looking at the computer screen. In his mind, Kevin was plotting an escape. Now that he knew the boys were safe, there was nothing keeping him from trying. He knew the robbers were too caught up in accessing the accounts to notice any small movements the hostages might have. Kevin figured that if he could scoot towards the front window and flag for help, they had a chance.

Brian as if reading his cousin's mind, said "It's too dangerous Kevin. They almost killed you once" Kevin shocked, looked over at Brian."How did you know?"

"I know you"

"I could do it Brian, it's not impossible"

"It's stupid" Nick had decided to join the conversation at this point, "He's right Kevin. They are already pissed about me and AJ and I'm afraid if you tried anything, it would be suicide"

"Okay relax, I won't" He said. Smiling about how well the others knew him already. They were right. He would just wait it out. There was no reason to panic. Soon these jerks would find what they were looking for and get out of here. This nightmare would be behind them.

Chris then made his way over to the hostages. The group agreed that he was the one that they trusted least and disliked the most. Kevin felt the same way. He walked towards the boys. First going up to AJ, he bent down towards him, "Hey kiddo. I bet your bummed that we caught you huh?"

"Actually you didn't catch me. If YOU were after us, we'd be half way to Mexico by now"

"AJ hush" Howie directed. Chris put up his fist as if he was about to strike the boy but laughed instead. Then he walked over to Nick. Without any warning at all, he kicked him in the side, making Nick wince and fall into a ball. Kevin, Brian and Howie were all up in seconds. "oopsie. My foot must have slipped" He said putting his hand to his mouth.

"Leave him alone he is just a child" One of the hostages yelled at the unstable man. "Would you rather me do that to you?" He asked him. The man although trying to be helpful became silent. No one could blame him for that. Brian however would not hold his tongue. "I think if Terry knew what you just did, you would be in trouble" Chris walked up to Brian and towered over him. "Is that right?" Brian looked up at the tall man, then to Kevin who had now moved directly behind him. "I know you are right behind me so if I were you, I would back off!" Chris said casting a quick glance over his shoulder. He let his gun do the talking, he held it at Brian's head. That made Kevin back off. "Okay now, as I was saying" He took the gun away from Brian and once again made Nick his main focus. "You and I are very soon going to have a talk about that love bite you gave me boy" He crouched down next to Nick who was still laying balled up on the floor holding his middle. He was just about to grab him when Kevin moved in between the two "Leave him the hell alone" He hissed. Chris only laughed but quickly withdrew when he saw Terry give him a look. He walked back towards the computers.

Once gone Kevin asked "Are you okay little man?" as he helped Nick back up to a sitting position. Nick who already felt more sick than he cared to admit, could barely get his words out before a coughing fit ensued. Kevin patted his back while he coughed. "Is he okay?" Howie asked concerned. "He has been coughing since we have been on the run. He is as sick as a dog!" AJ answered.

"I'm fine" Nick managed to get out finally, after about three minutes of coughing. He took a deep breath. The last thing he needed was the guys worrying about him now. Kevin did stupid things when he was concerned about the others.

"Glad I didn't bite him" AJ had to add. Nick looked over and smirked. Leave it to AJ to always try to lighten up the situation.

"Don't worry, I won't let him touch you" Kevin said looking at Terry. If he didn't know better, he would think that Kevin had a thing for the woman.

Terry, looking over her boyfriend's shoulder stole a glance at the tall dark brunette. He was staring at her. That made her smile. Jordan kept blabbering on about how to get into all the bank accounts. Blabbering like she cared to know. Just do it and shut the hell up she had wanted to scream at him. She felt like her stay in the bank had gone on for far too long now. This was getting old. She placed her hands on his shoulders and began massaging him. To keep herself amused, she pictured herself slowly moving them to his neck and strangling the life out of him so he would shut the hell up.

There was another reason she did it. To irritate Jason. It was working wonderfully well. She looked over to see the jealousy on his face. He wanted it to be his massage. Disgusted he moved towards the front of the bank. "Don't stand by the window" She called to him. "We don't want anyone to see people in here remember?" He grunted. She smiled as she kept massaging Jordan's shoulders now moving to his neck.

"FUCK!!" He yelled at the top of his lungs bringing every eye in the bank to him. "Something's happening" He yanked his neck and shoulders away from the caress of Terry and moved his face right next to the screen. "What is it?" Terry asked as Jason moved back to where the rest of the bad guys stood. "It's wiping away the...NO..NO..NO..NO!" Terry looked at the computer screen to see that screen upon screen was coming up and then deleting itself. Her eyes widened as she moved closer to the screen almost lying on top of Jordan's shoulder to do it.

"Can't you stop it?"

"If I knew how to do that Terry, I would"

"Do something! We're losing everything" Chris yelled. Jordan looked over at the hostages and pointed to one of the workers. "YOU!" He looked up "Get your ass over here now" He said. The man stood up and ran over to Jordan.

"Do something to fix this" He screamed. He moved out of the way and forced the man down on the chair. "I have no idea how" He said in a panic.

"Of course you do, you work here"

"But I don't ever use the terminals. I don't have the access to this system. None of us here do"

"That is bull shit!" He screamed yanking the man by his hair, out of the chair. He sat down once again. "Come on come on"

"Can't you just stop it?"

"Shut up Terr I mean it!"

Then just like that the computer froze. Everything was lost. "NOOOO!!" Jordan yelled throwing this computer on the floor to match the other one he had vandalized earlier.

"You can't do anything right" Terry said under her breath. He turned towards her and punched her square in the jaw, making her fall backwards. Kevin was just about to get up and help, but Howie's firm hand on his shoulder stopped him. "No Kevin, she can handle herself"

She sat there on the floor holding her hand over her mouth. "You are an asshole" She said as she stood up and spit out the tinny taste of blood. Jordan walked over to her, "I told you to shut up" He said his gaze never leaving hers. Then he walked past her to the hostages, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am in a most foul mood right now so I suggest you do as I say"

The two lines of people who were sitting on the floor for most of this crisis, tensed as he made his way over to them. "Since I am now out of millions of dollars, I would like what ever you have in YOUR wallets please. So I know it's cliche, but who gives a damn, give me all of your money and jewelry"

What Kevin and Howie feared most was about to happen. They would give up their wallets and once they got a hold of their identities, they would be found out. Kevin wiped away beads of sweat that were forming on his brow. All he could do was watch and wait, as Jordan and Chris collected the wallets from the hostages one by one...

Brian watched as if it was unfolding in slow motion. He saw them walking up the line of hostages removing their wallets and jewelry, watching closely to see if anybody actually took the time to look inside. So far no one had. He slowly made a move for his wallet. It was in his right back pocket and he thought that maybe if he moved fast enough, he could get that picture of them out of there. They would still have his driver's license and other things that he wouldn't want to give up, but at least their fame would be kept a secret.

They were now right by Howie as he reluctantly gave them his wallet. He didn't have any jewelry on at the moment, but they did take his nice leather jacket. Jason didn't even bother looking inside he just placed it in the bag with the others. Brian by now had successfully taken his wallet out of his back pocket and was frantically opening it when Terry came up behind him, "You aren't trying to be greedy are you young man?" She asked. He was so startled by her unexpected appearance that he dropped the wallet to the ground. He watched it as it fell and in his head he heard it make a huge thump.

"Oh somebody's a little uptight " She said as Jason came over and placed it in the bag. Picture and all. "Were you just being polite and getting it out ahead if time?"

"Yes, that is what I was doing" He said. She smiled but behind the smile now lied a veil of curiosity. She walked over to AJ and put out her hand so he would give her his wallet, which he did without a word.

"I don't have mine" AJ and Terry turned towards the sound of a panicked voice. The owner was Nick. She Shook her head, "What do you mean you don't have one?" Jason asked, disgusted that some punk kid could try to lie like this.

"I didn't bring it with me. I left it on the bus"

"The bus?" Terry said now getting into the conversation.

Brian looked over at AJ who also had a look of terror on his face. Relax and don't blow it kid. Think before you say anything else please please please! AJ thought. He could read the same thoughts on Kevin's face. If it wouldn't be so obvious, he would have put his hand over the kids mouth.

Terry was now standing right next to Nick with her hand on his shoulder. Leaning into him. "What did you mean about being on a bus?"

"My bus...you know my school bus. I left it on there" He looked away from her and over at Kevin for help.

"Aw, my sweetie" She said pinching his cheek and giving him a kiss. Then she turned to Jason, "Isn't he adorable? I just want to keep him. Can I keep you?"

"No" He said in a small voice that only made her squeeze tighter. "Honey, it's Saturday. What school were YOU going to?"

"It was a field trip" Kevin jumped in. He had to. Now she was even more amused. "Oh yeah? And let me guess, were you all chaperones?" She then glanced at Kevin, "Do you have your wallet or did you leave it on an airplane somewhere?" He was a little relieved to hear her say that. Maybe she wouldn't press about the bus thing. Maybe she thought he was just lying.

He handed her his wallet and she opened it and looked at his picture. He was as stunning in his driver's license as he was in person. She saw it was a Florida license. Maybe the kid wasn't kidding afterall. "So, you are from Florida huh? What are you doing here?"

"Visiting. We liked New York up until today, this morning" She winked at him. "We took a bus here" Nick said insistent on not giving up.

"We never intended to even come into the bank. We were getting me some cough medicine.. See I have this hacking cough and AJ was taking me to the drug store, well I could have very well gone to the store myself but it's New York and you know better safe to travel in packs" All four of his band mates were now looking on helpless to do anything but listen to Nick nervously babble on. "So, I didn't plan on ever buying anything"

"You just said you were going to buy cough medicine"

"Yeah well, actually AJ was going to buy it for me" She laughed and shook her head, "Are you always this confusing kid?"

"Yeah he is" All four said in unison. Then Terry and Jason both continued up the line. Kevin playfully hit Nick on the head. "Ow"

"Nick learn to just stay quiet"

"I got us out of it didn't I?" Kevin had to laugh and give his young friend credit because he was right. He had managed to confuse them to the point that the subject was dropped entirely. Unaware that Terry was becoming more and more fixated on the young one.

When they had all of the hostages possessions, Jordan made them stand up and walk down the stairs in a single file line. "This is it" Brian heard someone whisper form behind, "Either they are going to leave or they are going to kill us"

Jordan led them,into the messy vault and made them sit down in the order they walked into the room. They sat and then he whispered instructions to Chris before he and Terry made their way back up the steps.

The smile on Chris' face made Brian's blood run cold. Maybe they weren't going to get out of this alive after all. Maybe they were going to die right here right now.

---

He usually didn't make things like this any of his business. He was only the driver nothing more. He liked the kids. Had developed a bond with them over the years. Kind of an unspoken bond. When Kevin needed advice on how to get his girlfriend back he would go to Sam. The trusty bus driver. They would talk late into the night about things. Howie would come for a nice chat about Puerto Rico, Brian about God and AJ and Nick would often try to play pranks on him. He knew it was all in fun and he enjoyed it.

It was also his job though and he was told more than once, that he shouldn't speak to the clients. Let them have their private time. He was supposed to be invisible. They never let him stay invisible for long, always inviting him in the back for dinner or to play a game of Nintendo. He liked these boys, but now he was worried about them.

At first, he chalked it up to sight seeing, they probably came across something interesting. But as the hours ticked away, his apprehension grew. He called Their management about two hours after they failed to show up at the bus. Three hours after, Management had called the police and now there was a full on search through the mean neighborhood that they were resting in. Sam felt responsible in some way. He hoped they were alright.

---

Terry and Jordan were now all alone in the bank's main lobby. Now would be the perfect time to do it She thought. Kill him, grab the bags that were lying unattended and take off. Now was the perfect opportunity. She could use that money to start her life. By the time Chris and Jason realized she was gone, it would be too late. She would have called the police by then. Informed them that there was strange activity going on at the closed bank on the corner. It was a perfect plan, but if she did it, she would have to act fast.

She looked around one more time to make sure no one was lurking behind her. If she was caught now he would kill her. She looked over at her boyfriend, the man she had spent so many intimate nights with. The man she thought she would one day marry, now the man she would very soon kill and almost changed her mind.

He had dumped the bag out on the floor. The bag full of the hostages wallets. Should she take those too? No, she would leave them for these poor people who's only mistake today was to go to the bank.

She took a deep breath and slowly picked up her gun aiming it at the back of her boyfriends head. All it would take is one bullet placed in the back of his skull and it would all be over...

Jordan was relieved. Happy that very soon this whole ordeal would be over. He didn't enjoy this part of the job. The getaway. He had never been caught before. Once when he was escaping from a robbery in New Mexico, he was almost shot making a run for the car. He was with another girl back then. Equally as beautiful as Terry, but not quite as smart. It was very easy for him to double cross Her. He couldn't even remember her name. Wasn't important. He would never see her again. He made sure of that.

This job, this woman were both different. They would be tricky to escape from. He didn't want to leave the bank yet. He was so close to making his plan a complete success. Then it failed. Just like that. So he had to resort to petty theft. He felt like he was above that. Asking people for their wallets were what dumb robbers who never spent a day in college did. He considered himself a high caliber criminal. Only huge jobs where tons of money were earned with very little casualties. As a matter of fact the only people that ever really managed to become causalities on HIS jobs were his own people.

And as for the woman. Terry was interesting. Stunningly beautiful and smart. Much smarter than him although he would never tell her that. The others had been so disposable. She was different. He hated the idea of killing her, maybe he could work it out that they could continue on together. Maybe.

He continued to fish through the bag picking out wallet after wallet thoroughly going through the contents and discarding the rest in the garbage. They could have all the silly sentimental stuff, he couldn't care less about that. All he wanted was the cash and the plastic.

"Hey Terry, why don't you help me? If you help we can do this faster" He said not bothering to look up at her. He did flinch though when he heard the click. That familiar noise that usually he was the maker of. The one that told his partners they were about to be betrayed. He slowly turned to see Terry holding a gun cocked and ready to blow his head off.

---

AJ shifted slightly, his eyes never leaving Chris. He didn't like that guy and he especially didn't like the way he kept glancing at Nick. Not one bit. He was sitting right next to Brian who was shaking, he placed a calm hand on his friend. "Relax bro, it's almost over" Brian turned and forced a smile on his lips "You really think so?" AJ just nodded.
"I don't trust that guy" Brian whispered. AJ and Chris quickly made eye contact, He looked away before the armed man came over to him, "Yeah me too" He said.

Chris as if reading the boys minds headed over to them. "So Jay" He said looking at Jason, "Who should we kill first?" Just as he hoped he heard a gasp from the crowd followed by some of the women blubbering. He walked up and down the line, stopping in front of each person. Jason looked away. He wasn't into playing games with people's lives. Then he stopped in front of Howie. "What about you?" Howie didn't look up. "Eh, too boring" He said before moving to AJ "This one would be fun to kill first. You think so Jason?" AJ tensed and broke out in a sweat.

He stood there for a few minutes more than moved onto Kevin "Yes, the hero. Mr. Bushy brows. What about you?" Kevin looked up at him. Glared. Seeming at this point to care less. He turned his attention to his real target. Now was the time to have some fun, he walked over to Nick, "No. This is the one I want"

They all knew it was coming. Including Nick. He knew when that idiot stopped in front of him, it would be him that would be tormented. And unfortunately he was right. "So, little Mr. Trouble maker. What's say we make a little bargain?" Nick looked up trying his best not to shake. "What?" He said in a surprisingly calm tone. "You have caused all of these people here a lot of problems, I mean see that man?" He pointed over at Justin. Nick nodded. "That man has a concussion because of you" He had no idea how that could have been his fault but he didn't press. What was the point?

"I will spare all of these peoples lives if you agree to come with me" Instantly He felt Kevin's hand on his arm. Holding him back from willingly standing up. "What would I have to do?" He asked. Chris held the gun against his chin while he thought about it.

"How about you let me shoot you!" Another gasp from the crowd was heard. Now the boy was shaken up. "Leave him alone. Why don't you pick on someone your own size!" Kevin yelled. Now it was Nick's turn to put a calming arm on his older friend.

"Okay relax I was only joking! I won't shoot the boy" He said now positively glowing with pride. "I just want to have a little talk with him" He said winking at Nick.

"Absolutely not" Kevin said, "You take me, leave him out of it!"

"Boy someone likes to be the center of attention around here huh?" He said to Kevin. This was turning out to be more fun than him actually beating the crap out of the kid. Mind games. "I tell you what, why don't we leave it up to blondie" He crouched down next to Nick and started speaking in a slow and evil whisper, "Okay Nick. Would you rather me take your body guard over here out there and do whatever I please to him? Or are you man enough to go out there and get your own ass kicked?"

"He's not a man he is a child! Leave him alone" Brian demanded.

"Looks like you have your pick now little guy, any of these four to get an ass whooping from me, or I can just beat the crap out of you"

Nick had no choice, he bit the guy, now he would pay for it. He felt so miserable he figured a good old fashioned kick to the head would help him get some rest.

"Nick?" He turned towards AJ, "I love you man but don't you dare pick me!" Nick smiled.

That infuriated Chris. They weren't taking him seriously. So he decided to do something about that, he went over to AJ and stepped on his hand. "Ow FUCK!!" He yelped, bringing Kevin up to his feet yet again. Nick stood even quicker than Kevin, "No! It's me you want It's me you'll have" That made Chris smile. He grabbed Nick by the collar of his shirt, Kevin grabbing for him unsuccessfully. Jason turned to Kevin "Sit down!" He ordered. He stood and watched helplessly as Chris pulled Nick out of the room.

---

Jordan couldn't believe it. He was being double crossed. Maybe he had finally met his match. She was shaky though as she held the gun in her hands. "Terry what are you doing?" He asked cautiously.

"What does it look like I am doing, I am ridding the world of you jackass!" He took a step towards her, "Don't come any closer or I swear to God I will shoot" He laughed, but inside he knew she wasn't kidding.

"Terr, come on..what are you doing? All we have to do is take the money and walk out of here. Wasn't that the plan?" He asked taking another slow step towards her and the gun.

"Plans change Jordan" She said now just trying to get control of her emotions enough to go through with it. "Terry, you are making a huge mistake. HUGE!" He took another step forward. He was an arms length away from the gun now. He could grab it out of her hands and then kill the stupid bitch!

"Hand over the wallet Jordan" She said noticing the leather wallet he still held in his hands. He stopped and opened it up, "Oh it belongs to one of those boys" He said.

"I don't care who it belongs to, I said hand it over" Now he had a set up. He would go for it. Hoped it worked as well as it seemed to in the movies.

"Okay here catch!" He said throwing it at her, she didn't move just let the thing fall to the floor. "Jordan you are so predictably stupid it's almost a sin" She said rolling her eyes.

"Did you actually think I would drop the gun to catch the wallet?"

"Yes"

"You're an idiot"

"No I'm not"

"Yes you are"

"Can an idiot do this?" He asked in one in swift move he whammed the gun out of her hands. She looked at him surprised and he smiled, "Not stupid now huh?"

She ran for the gun then, only to be tackled by Jordan. They landed on the floor and wrestled. Rolling over the wallet it opened up. Now he was on top of her, her eyes staring right at the ID on the inside, her eyes widened and a big smile loomed on her face. It's like she forgot for a minute that she had a maniac on top of her. He rolled Terry over and while on top of her, in the heat of the moment, he gave her a kiss. She excepted.

They made out on the floor for awhile. Forgetting about the power struggle they were having only a few moments earlier. After they moved away from each other, Terry looked into the eyes of her lover and asked, "Honey, how do you feel about kidnapping?"

He looked baffled until she handed him the wallet. His eyes once again glowed with happiness. This would be even better he thought. Then they both started to laugh hysterically...

Kevin kept glancing at the door. The same door that Chris pulled Nick out of moments earlier. He felt so helpless. There was nothing he could do, nothing. They all felt that way, but it hit Kevin the hardest. He had tried though. Once Chris was out of the room, he ran towards Jason almost knocking him over. That is when Jason put the gun to AJ's head. "I will have NO trouble killing this one"

Kevin had to back off then. He had no choice. Now he had to just sit and wait, like his three other band mates, sit and wonder what was going on? He closed his eyes trying to hear the slightest cry for help, or yelp of pain. He didn't hear anything. That was almost as scary as hearing a Nick scream. Silence. Why would Nick be so quiet?

Howie leaned into Kevin, "Kev, he will be fine. The guy won't hurt him. Can't hurt him"

"And why not Howie?" Kevin asked. You could tell by looking into Howie's eyes he was having a hard time believing his own words. "Because he's only a kid" was finally his reply. "I don't think that creep cares about that" Brian said staring at the door.

Jason was apprehensive now. Playing through all the things that could potentially go wrong. Starting with Jordan and Terry upstairs. Odds were they decided to split with all the cash. Leaving Chris and himself to take the fall. Then there was Chris who, in a moment of stupidity decides to play mind games with a child. Leaving Jason by himself in charge of a bunch of hostages, four of which would do anything to protect the younger guy. Great just great. He certainly didn't like the way the biggest one out of the bunch was eyeing him. He knew the guy could take him down. He was only hoping that Chris would get this over with and come back inside.

He fidgeted, well aware that all eyes were on him. He felt hated. He didn't like it, he almost wanted to apologize to the whole bunch of them. He gave a small smile to a lady who was sitting off to the side. She was shaking violently. They thought they were going to be killed. He wanted to let them know that would not happen and would have, if he wasn't so afraid of Chris coming back in the room. No question in his mind that if Chris had heard him say that to the hostages, he would kill one just for spite. That was a chance he was unwilling to take.

"If they are going to kill us I wish they would do it already" Justin complained from the corner. AJ turned around and gave the man a dirty look. A Look saying if they don't kill you I will. Then he turned his gaze on his captor. It all seemed so unreal to him. This whole stinking situation. In many ways he shared the grumpy man's opinion. Just waiting to die was not fun. Just shoot us and get it over with. Stop playing games. Then he heard a crash. A very loud crash right outside the door. Nick is getting the shit beat out of him, he thought. He looked over at Kevin who had his fists clenched. Howie had closed his eyes and Brian had his shoulders almost level with his ears.

"Self defense" He heard his friend utter under his breath, "What Bri?" J had to ask

"I said I wish I had taught him self defense"

"You tried"

"I didn't try hard enough" Then another crash followed by a gun shot.

---

Things were really looking up, Terry thought to herself. Backstreet Boys. Once she saw the picture in the wallet, she instantly realized who they were. How could she not have noticed before? their well manicured appearance, the mention of the bus. The attitude... Celebrities. And now they were hers. Jordan howled with delight about the kidnapping idea. They would make a killing. And gain exposure. Perfect plan. The only problem is they didn't really have much time to really think it through. She was not big on spur of the moment decisions. especially one that might cost her a lifetime in jail.

"Baby, are you ready to roll?" Jordan asked her as he placed the final bag of money by the door. "Roll where? God Jordan do we even have a plan?" He rubbed his hands together, "Yeah we take the brats with us, then call and ask for money"

"Call who?"

"I don't know, they'll tell us who to call"

"Oh they will huh? You are an idiot" She began to nervously pace around the room.

"Relax Terr. It will all work. Trust me"

"What if it doesn't?" She said, now looking at her watch again. They had spent far too long in the bank. The fact that nobody had called the police suspecting something was going on was just dumb luck. He walked over to her then and kissed her on the cheek. "It will work. Don't worry..okay?"

"Fine, so should we go get the..." Her thoughts were interrupted by a gunshot.

---

Nick fell and hit his head on the wall after he was pushed out of the room by Chris. The impact temporarily knocking the air out of his lungs. He was scared. No one was around to help him this time. He was on his own. "Get up kid!" Chris ordered standing over him like a giant. His shoulder hurt as did his head that was now pounding horribly. He rolled over into a crawling position before hoisting himself up. He never noticed how tall this guy was. Nick came up to his neck, if even.

Once Nick had his footing the guy pushed him again, this time backing him up against the wall. Nick winced but didn't make a sound. He didn't want the other hostages to hear him. He was tired of coming off as helpless. Chris grabbed Nick's chin and pulled his face up to meet his eyes.

He desperately tried to break free of the bigger man, but it was no use. It only succeeded in making Nick tired. He then started to cough yet again. Right in the man's face. Annoyed, Chris pushed Nick away once again and wiped his face with his sleeve. "Damn kid! That was gross" He grumbled under his breath.

When Nick finally realized that he was out of Chris' grasp, he ran. "Shit!" Chris yelled realizing that once again this blond trouble maker was on the run. He took off after him. He headed down the hall towards the big room that housed all the computers. Once in, he shut the door and placed a desk right behind it. Taking ten steps away he jumped when he heard Chris body slamming into the door.

What do I do now? Nick asked himself aloud. He had literally managed to trap himself in there. There weren't even any windows. Completely trapped. Chris was fiercely slamming into the door now, the whole time threatening to do awful things to the inhabitant. Nick did the only thing he could do, he quickly climbed under one of the big desks. Crouching there and blocking himself in with a chair. He knew he would be caught, but he wasn't about to make it easy for the guy.

"Let me in you little son of a bitch!" Chris yelled once again throwing himself at the door, this time it gave way a bit and he was able to see into the room. The stupid ass kid was hiding. "When I get you I am going to kill you!" He growled into the room.

Upon hearing those words, Nick slowly moved the chair out of it's place and searched the middle drawer of the desk for anything he could use as a weapon. His hand fell upon something that felt like a mini sword. Excellent! He whispered to himself. A letter opener. He then went back into his hiding place, pulling the chair to it's resting position just as Chris came crashing through the door.

He rammed through the door forgetting the desk was there to prevent his entry and went flying over it and crashed onto the floor. He laid there a few minutes, trying to calm himself down. At this point, if he were to find the kid, he really would kill him. He knew he couldn't really do that though. But boy he wanted to. He pulled himself up and surveyed the room. He couldn't believe the kid was actually hiding but He figured he might have done the same thing.

"Alright Nick, come on out kid! I won't hurt you" He said randomly looking under one desk at a time. I am going to realy really hurt you! He had to smile at his thoughts. He had tried three of the six desks in the room. He knew the kid was hiding under on of the two he was standing in between. He couldn't have been under the one used to barricade the door.

Or could he? He made his way over to the desk by the door. And then jumped down to peer underneath. Unfortunately he was not there. "Damn" He muttered. He was up again this time going back towards the two desks from before. Standing between the two he smiled as a thought came to his head, "Okay you are a kid, let's play a game. Eenie, meenie minee moe" He said pointing his finger from one desk to the other, "Catch a blondie by the toe" He started to creep towards the desk he was certain Nick was hiding under. "If he hollers let him go" He said now standing right by the chair. He began to inch it away slowly from the desk. "Eenie, meanie minee.." He moved the chair completely away exposing Nick underneath.

Nick was ready for him he had the letter opener in his hand ready to stab at the guy, he saw his feet just resting right by his hideout. Then he saw the chair being pulled away very slowly. Before the guy had a chance to finish his little 'Game" Nick did it for him. He yelled "MOE!!" And stabbed the guy in the foot.

"AHHHHHHH! SHIT FUCK DAMN IT TO HELL SUCKY ASS LITTLE SHIT OUCH CRAP!!!" Chris said as he hopped around nursing his injured foot. Without thinking he dropped his gun to the floor. It went off leaving a bullet in the ceiling.

Nick quickly crawled out of his hiding spot and turned to see Chris staring at him, "I swear to God I am going to kill the hell out of you!" He said. Nick looked at him and said, "Um and one more thing, I am not a kid!" He felt like one of those good guys you found in a movie, you know the ones that say something witty before going off to rescue their friends. He was the good guy. He was the hero! He was...

"What the hell is going on here?" Terry asked coming into the scene. Caught He tried to push past Terry now but then he landed in Jordan's arms. He struggled with all his might, but once again he was overpowered. "What happened?" She asked Chris when she saw him hopping mad. And he really was hopping too. Chris hobbled over to her "He friggin stabbed me in the foot!" He said almost in a whiny cry.

"What is he even doing out here?" She asked him

"He was going to beat me up" Nick answered for her. Chris then brushed past Terry and went for Nick who was still in Jordan's grasp. "You are right but now I'm going to kill you!!" He said reaching for him. Jordan pulled Nick away "You will do no such thing" He said. "This kid is an asset!"

"No, Jordan that kids an ass" He went for Nick again this time getting hold of his shirt and pulling. Jordan pushed Chris away making him fall to the floor. "I said leave the boy alone!" Terry went over and squatted next to Chris, "The boy is worth a lot of money to us, all those guys are" Chris smiled at the mention of money.

"Seems we have a real star in our presence" Jordan said really holding Nick tightly.

"Come on, let's get Jason and the rest of these guys and get the hell out of here!" He said practically dragging Nick as he walked.

Jason was getting tense especially when he heard the gunshots. The tall man, the one he was sure could really give him a fight. Had ran at him once already. The gun made him step back. But this time when he heard those shots, he bolted right towards the gunmen. And Jason knew no matter what he were to threaten, nothing would work.

Kevin ran at the man with all of his might knocking him to the ground. They were struggling over the gun. AJ, Howie and Brian instantly got up to help but the other's fearing for their own lives kind of stepped back and watched. Kevin was on top of Jason and managed to make the man drop the gun. Howie went to pick it up when the door flung open.

"What's going on here?" Terry asked amused. Howie aimed the gun at her. She smiled.

"Well, this gets better and better doesn't it?"

"Where's Nick?" He asked shakier than he would have liked.

"Jordan!" She called never taking her eyes off the gun that Howie was holding, "I think you should really get in here"

Kevin watched the door while still on top of Jason. He heard the unmistakable whine of Nick and he couldn't help but calm down a bit. Until he saw Jordan pull the kid in and hold the gun to his head. "Now sweetheart" Terry said to Howie in a calm soothing voice, "I think you need to drop your gun unless you want to see what the inside of your friends head looks like" Howie slowly lowered the gun. "Very nice now kick it over to me" He did as he was told, then she picked it up and held it on Kevin.

"Now Mr. Green eyes, you need to get off of Jason, slowly" At first he wasn't so quick to obey but once Jordan's grip on Nick tightened, he had no choice so he rolled off of the guy.

Jason stood up sneering. He felt like a fool. Terry would never let him live that down. He was about to punch Kevin when Terry stopped him. "No! We need him in perfect condition" Then she turned to the rest of the hostages, "Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like we are about to depart. I know... I know you are so disappointed. Don't worry, but we are going to keep you locked in here until we are gone. I'm sure by the morning you will be let out"

"The morning?" Justin complained.

"Unless you would like to come with us?" She said to him aiming her gun at his lower body. Then Chris came in, gun in hand and stood behind Howie and AJ. Terry grabbed a hold of Brian and looked at Kevin "Stand up, bright eyes, we are taking a little field trip"

"What do you mean?" AJ asked as he was being ushered out of the room along with Howie. "We'll explain to you later" Chris said pushing on Howie. Terry blew a kiss to the rest of the hostages and then left with one hand around Brian and one around Kevin. Jordan stood still holding the gun at Nick's head until the rest of the Backstreet Boys were out of the room and then he backed up and closed the door, locking it tight.

---

The policeman had circled the perimeter of where he thought the singing group may have wandered off to, particularly annoyed that he was looking for a bunch of grown men instead of doing his job but ah well. He had gotten a call from the chief saying these guys were a top priority. So here he was on a Saturday looking for five men who probably just ventured out to have some fun. That was his original thought until he came across the closed sign on an otherwise very busy banking day. This bank in particular usually saw a lot of business on the weekends. He thought it was odd but thought nothing of it. Just go in for a closer check that is all.

He walked over and put his hands against the glass. Laying his head on top of his hands, he peered into the bank. It was hard to see since the curtains were drawn. But one thing he was certain of, was the computer he saw lying on the floor. He thought he also saw some money sacks. He decided to call for some back up.

---

Trudging up the steps AJ had thought this was almost over, when they said they were locking the hostages inside, he could have handled that. It would have been hellish and claustrophobic, but at least, he knew there would be an end in sight. When the boys were pulled out of the room, the end seemed to move further from his grasp. Now he was being pulled up the steps all the while hearing the chick explain to the other dudes, how much money these guys were going to bring their way. Fantastic.

When they reached the top of the stairs, Jordan forcefully sat the guys down on the floor as he and the others gathered the money bags and walked to the van. They had parked out back, so as Chris and Jordan loaded the van. Terry and Jason stayed with the boys.

"So what are you going to do with us?" Brian asked. Feeling guilty. If he hadn't carried that stupid picture with him, they would have never known.

"We are going to ransom you off" Jason answered. Still glaring at Kevin.

"Maybe we'll sell you to the highest bidder. Like the black market or something" Terry winked at Nick when she said that. She could tell the kid believed her. "You know they would pay a lot of money for a nice looking young boy like yourself" She said grabbing his chin and kissing him on the cheek. She stared at his eyes. They were a radiant blue and he smelled sweet. Young. She kissed him on the lips. He pulled back.

"Terry what the hell are you doing?" Jason asked annoyed and jealous.

"Aw, what's wrong sweetie? Jealous of a kid?" To make a point she kissed Nick again on the lips. Kevin was growing uneasy and placed a hand on her shoulder. She pulled away to face him. Mission accomplished. "Please leave him alone" She turned and ruffled Nick's hair. "Sure thing Mr. Green eyes, because you want me to I will" Then she turned back to Nick, "For now anyway" Nick looked down at the floor uncomfortably.

"What is going on?" Howie whispered once Terry walked back over to Jason.

"We have risen to a whole new level of hostage. I think we are screwed" AJ announced.

"I'm sorry guys this is my fault" Brian said sounding so upset with himself.

"Aw, no it's not B. I have a picture in my wallet to" Kevin confessed.

"What's done is done. As long as we stick together we will be fine. They won't hurt us"

Kevin looked at Nick who was still looking down at the floor. He placed a protective hand on his shoulder. "It's not getting hurt that I am worried about" The other's knew what he meant. "Are you okay Nicky?" He asked in as soothing a voice as he could muster.

Nick finally looked up at the man. You could tell that he was far away in deep thought. "I just don't feel very good. That's all" Kevin then moved his hand to Nick's forehead. He rolled his eyes which the boys would have found funny in any other situation. "You are burning up little man" He felt very warm to the touch. Nick shrugged. What more could he do? What more could any of them do?

Jordan and Chris came back in and went over to talk to Terry and Jason. They left the back door to the bank open. Kevin had been eyeing it. "Don't even think about it hero" Terry said just then. Kevin's eyes moved back to the front of the bank. He noticed something odd happening outside. He was able to see people walking by the front window from the angle he was sitting on the floor. The same few people walking back and forth.

He tried to get Brian's attention, to make sure he wasn't seeing things but before he could they were brought to their feet. "Now men, this is the plan, we are going to walk out and get into the van" Jordan was talking like a troop leader. Moving his arms dramatically to stress his words. "And you will walk out as if nothing is wrong. You will go and sit in the van without fighting or trying to escape" He said that as he walked past Kevin. Then he made a grab for Nick again, "And to make sure you play nice, this one is staying right by me the entire time" He grabbed Nick by the shoulders and led him out to the van.

The others followed closely behind. It had gotten colder as the day went on and now a cool breeze was coming in from the north. Nick was placed in the van first, Jordan sitting on one side of him and Terry on the other. AJ entered next. As he was sitting down someone yelled "Freeze!"

Kevin's heart started booming in his chest at the harmonious sound of the policeman's voice. They were saved. Hallelujah!!

"I said freeze and place your hands behind your heads!" The remaining boys, Chris and Jason all did as they were told. The police officer spoke into his radio as he approached the van, "Out of the van!" He yelled. AJ was about to leave when Jordan put a hand on him "Don't you go anywhere kid!" That is when Kevin realized he had to make a choice. He knew what was coming next. "I said out of the van!" The officer said as he got closer.

Ignoring the commands, Jordan started the car. Quickly Chris and Jason fearing they would be left behind made a run for the sliding doors and jumped in as the van started to move, "Freeze or I'll shoot!" The cop threatened. Kevin took a look at Brian and Howie and gave them a nod. The looks on their faces told him they knew what he was going to do. Before he had time to second guess himself he jumped into the van as it sped away.

The police officer shooting at it as it left. Then summoning Howie and Brian to the floor, he called for more backup....

Kevin knew he made the right choice the minute he jumped in the van just by seeing the relieved face of AJ greet him. There was no way he was going to let the kids go without him. No way. Howie and Brian would be fine now, they were with the police and although it scared him a little to see the policeman holding a gun at them and telling them to drop to the floor, he knew they were by far in a better situation than AJ and Nick.

"My my my, that was heroic wasn't it Jordan?" Terry asked her boyfriend after she saw Kevin jump into the van when freedom was calling to him. "You would have never done that for me" Then she turned to Kevin and winked at him. He had now sat himself up next to AJ while Jason moved to the last row of chairs in the back.

"NO, I probably wouldn't have but you know how celebrities are, he probably wanted his face on the news" Kevin ignored Jordan and focused on AJ who looked scared as hell. He was rubbing his hands together in his lap. Something he did when he was very nervous. The guys would joke with him before a performance that it looked like he was putting on invisible hand cream or something. Kevin tapped his leg so he would look up at him. Once AJ did, Kevin smiled at him. It seemed to work.

"So, are you really that attached to these two that you would jump into a van with four maniac gunmen?" Terry continued to play with Kevin. Truth is she had been thoroughly disappointed when she thought he was going to be left behind. In the back of her mind, she thought he might do something like that though. Risk his life to save the little ones. What a guy.

"Yes, I guess I am" He said sounding perfectly calm.

"Maybe the creep is some pervert or something" Chris had to add hitting Kevin in the back of his head with the heel of his hand. "Hey!" AJ shouted, but Kevin shook his head and then reached behind to massage his neck.

"So what now?" He asked Terry while still nursing his sore neck. He couldn't help but notice how quiet Nick was in the front seat. He had hoped the kid would be sitting right here next to him.

"Not sure, we will get to where we need to go and then we'll call your parents and ask for some ransom" AJ chuckled.

"What are you laughing about?"

"Did you get that plan right from an old Josie and the Pussycats cartoon or something?"

"I suppose you have a better idea then kid?"

"Yeah I do, I say you let the three of us go and call it a night!" She laughed.

Terry put her arm around the quiet blonde and fixed her gaze on him. "Why are you being so quiet handsome?"

"He doesn't feel well" Kevin answered for him.

"You don't? Oh my goodness" She placed her lips on his forehead, and then in a baby talk voice she said, "Ooo somebody's got a fever"

"Great" Jordan huffed from the driver's seat. They were speeding along the highway in shock that no one was chasing them yet. Now he had to deal with a sick pop star! When would his luck change?

"I have some aspirin would you like some aspirin?" she asked Nick. He nodded but still chose not to make eyes contact with her. She rummaged through her bag once again bringing a laugh from AJ.

"What is so funny now?"

"I just think it's funny that you have a purse. I mean don't you just steal everything? You probably took the aspirin from an old woman or something" She laughed again.

"Well, I didn't know we had a comedian on board" She then looked back at her young infatuation, "I'm sorry Nick, I must have used them all up" He coughed in reply.

"Wow that is some wicked cough you got there"

"All the more reason to let us go. You don't want him to make you sick do you?" AJ asked.

"Why don't we just dump the kid in a river or something. Give him a pair of cement shoes" Now Chris was in on the fun. He had realized how easy it was to pick on the kid, he seemed really gullible. "Hey Jordan, I say the next time the kid coughs we dump him!"

"Don't listen to him, he's just an idiot!" Terry said now hugging Nick against her bosom.

"Are parents don't have any money, you are better off asking the record label" Kevin said matter of factly. "Has this happened before?" She asked him. He seemed to act like this was a normal procedure after being abducted, call the record company. Like they gave them a handbook or something.

"Nope, just being honest. I don't want you calling my parents when they know there is no way they scrounge for that money. Nope the record company will give you what you want"

"Hell knows they are thieves themselves" AJ added.

"Okay well looks like we have our next step then" She said to Jordan. "We just need to get to the air field"

"Airfield?" Nick finally said after almost an entire car ride in silence. To answer him Terry held him even closer, "Yes baby, we are going on a helicopter ride"

---

Brian and Howie had told the same story over and over again. They were getting tired of repeating themselves. The officer that detained them when the others made their getaway thought he had gotten the bad guys at first, even going so far as to hand cuff Howie. Once backup came and the other hostages were found in the basement, their accusations turned into incessant silly questions.

Both boys understood the need to be asked those questions but as the minutes dragged by, Kevin, AJ and Nick were getting further and further away. Brian got a very good look at the van making sure he memorized the licensee plate. He was able to spew the numbers out without any difficulty. Howie and Brian both described the four robbers in such detail that the artists sketch looked more like a portrait of the bad guys. Yet still, no one seemed to be able to find the van.

"This is ridiculous" Brian huffed at Howie when they were finally left alone in the back of a police van. "Why aren't they looking for them?" He made sure he was speaking loud enough so that the officer standing off to the side could hear. "Relax Brian, I'm sure they have people out there looking for them"

Howie was trying to sound calm. He was feeling a bit better now that he knew he was safe. He only wished he knew the fate of his three other bandmates. He felt bad, like a coward for not doing what Kevin had done. He could have very easily jumped onto that van. But he choose not too. He was too scared for his own safety. That thought would plague him forever.

"What do we do D?" Brian asked looking at his watch. "I mean, it hasn't been long, should we go looking for them?" Once again Howie was given an opportunity to be a hero, but once again his brain won out over his heart. He could do anything for these guys. He would jump in front of a train of take a bullet in the heart if it meant that one of them could live. He would do that for just about anybody. That was his nature. But he also realized that this was out of his league. If he and Brian went looking for these people, unarmed, they would only make matters worse.

"No, Brian, we stay here. I have faith that they will catch them. Don't worry it's almost over" Just then the detective in charge of the case approached both men. "Great here we go again" Brian whispered.

"Mr. Dorough and Mr. Littrell, mind if I ask you some more questions?" They both looked at each other and sighed.

"I will spare you the monotony of explaining your story to me again, I know you must have done that at least a thousand times, what I want to know is why did they leave you behind?"

"Just a mistake I guess" Howie said, the sound of regret dripping off of his words.

"Excuse me, Detective Donaldson" A young officer walked up to the man in a rush.

"Yes, what is it?"

"The van has been spotted sir" Both Brian and Howie sat more erect. "Where and when?"

"About thirty-eight miles west of here. Going along I-95 towards Pennsylvania" The detective jumped into action calling orders, closing off roads or trying to and also trying to shy away from the press. He didn't want to give them any more coverage then just a thirty-second blurb on the news. In the midst of all the action he turned towards Howie and Brian, "Don't worry we will find your friends" Then he walked away.

---

Nick as much as he hated to admit it, was very warm and comfortable in Terry's embrace. She had him in a death grip, but he was so cold that it felt really warm and welcoming. In fact if he closed his eyes it was very easy to imagine Terry as his own mother. He actually felt as if he could dose off to sleep. Then he would remind himself that oh yeah, this was a bad situation Carter! Wake the hell up and stop enjoying yourself!

"Nick are you okay buddy?" Kevin asked almost reading Nick's mind. He never understood how it was that no matter what he was thinking, Kevin seemed to be able to read it loud and clear. It was creepy sometimes, annoying most times but also welcome at times like this. Times that he desperately needed someone to cling on to. An older person who would protect him. Look out for him. AJ hated it, but Nick loved it. Sure he would never openly admit it. But being the oldest in his family, he had always longed for an older brother or sister. Someone to give HIM advice. Stick up for him when things got rough around the edges.

He was thanking God for Kevin pretty much from the time he had been recaptured until now. Knowing that if anything was going to happen, Kevin would do his best to make sure he was safe. He liked being the youngest member of the band. He liked the way they all, when doing all the things they had to do, managed to keep at least one watchful eye on him. Even AJ. Sometimes he was most protective of all. So that is why even with all the tension ion the van. The fear of the unknown looming around every corner, Nick was relaxed to the point of falling asleep.

"Hey Nick? Answer me buddy" Kevin said once again this time raising his voice over the drone of the engine.

"What?" Nick asked raising his head out of the warmth of Terry's embrace.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just tired that's all"

"Leave the boy alone he has had a hard hard day haven't you bright eyes?" She asked pulling him close to her again.

He began a coughing fit, not meaning to he turned his face away from Terry and coughed all over Jordan. "Damn!" He shouted slapping Nick in the face. He didn't even mean to, it just kind of happened on instinct. But he was not going to apologize. Kevin glared at him. "I'm okay" Nick was quick to answer before Kevin's anger got him into any trouble.

"How much longer?" Jason asked form the back of the van. He had kept quiet for most of the ride, carefully watching his lover flirt with that kid. It made him nauseous. It had to bother Jordan too.

"Shouldn't be too much longer, maybe about an hour or so"

"Excellent" He muttered.

Kevin was trying his best to take in his surroundings. Try to figure out where they were going. He knew they were on their way out of New York, but it was unclear to him if they were heading towards New Jersey of Pennsylvania. He thought maybe he would try the direct approach. "So where are we going?"

"Ah, someone's impatient" Terry answered playfully.

"Shit cops!" Chris yelled breaking the moment and sending chills down the spine of all the cars occupants. Jordan looked out his rear view mirror to see two police cruisers lights and sirens blaring, heading right towards them.

"What do we do now?" Jason asked trying to not look behind him. Jordan looked at Terry and she stared back at him. The smile on her face was the only answer he needed. "Now we play!" Jordan said as he put his foot on the gas pedal and zoomed down the highway...

AJ was feeling a little nauseous to begin with but once Jordan started to speed down the highway he really was afraid he might spew his guts all over the place. Since he was sitting right in back of the driver, it would be fitting to get it all over him. But then again he also might become erratic. Even more erratic than he already was, and end up crashing and killing them all. All because he had to vomit. What a nice headline in tomorrow's papers.

He closed his eyes trying to talk the sensation back down his throat. He was never a fan of car rides. True he never complained about it. Matter of fact, not many people knew. Only the rest of the boys and his Mom. That was all. He hated cars. They were moving death traps in his mind. Especially when you had a guy like Jordan going as fast as he was.

"Hey AJ put on your seat belt" Kevin whispered to him as he wrapped one around his waist securely.

AJ took his cue from the older man and did the same. Chris found it amusing. "What's the matter? You boys afraid of death?"

AJ ignored Chris and looked at the back of Nick's head. The kid was being too quiet. Plus being in the front just wasn't safe. As almost an example of his thoughts, The car made a sudden turn and began moving on the highway in the wrong direction. All the traffic was coming at them head on. They were going to die. And Terry and Jordan were laughing.

The car swerved in and out of traffic, everyone around them scrambling to get out of the way. The police cars, now numbering three were doing their best to follow behind but because of the level of danger, one of them was forced to give up chase and remain behind to help with all the wrecks.

"Good thinking honey!" Terry said reaching over Nick and giving her man a kiss.

"Yup I had a feeling that would work"

AJ looked over at Kevin who had his hands almost embedded in the front head rest where Terry sat. He was also biting his top lip. Never a good sign when he did that. He was nervous. REAL nervous.

The police cars were now catching up to the van, announcing something on a bull horn. It was impossible to hear though over the roar of the engine and the squeals of the tires.

"Terry you better put your seatbelt on, I'm doing it again" She did as she was told and then grabbed Nick in an embrace realizing he didn't have any protection at all.

"Okay, here we go" The car totally turned around again but this time he veered off towards the median, hitting it head on and ending up on the other side of the highway. All of their bodies pulled forward on the impact, Nick almost shooting completely out of his seat and hitting the dashboard, but luckily Terry had a grip on him. He came away with a bloody head.

"Dammit! Nick are you okay?" Kevin asked again leaning in towards Terry. Nick seemed shaken up a bit as he rubbed his head. "Yeah I think so" Then Kevin turned his attention to AJ, who looked like he was about to barf.

"You okay buddy?" AJ nodded but didn't say a word.

"Can Nick sit back here with us?" Kevin asked as calmly as he could. He realized the more anxious he looked or sounded, the happier his captors became and the last thing he wanted to do was make them happy.

"No way, there is no room and we want him up here with us, you know as insurance. Sorry Mr. Beautiful" Terry answered. When she said the Mr. Beautiful part, Jordan winced. He was jealous.

"But he needs a seatbelt, he is already injured"

"Quit your whining! It's only a bump. God I'm not wearing a seatbelt but then again, I'm not in some faggy boyband either" Chris had to add. God Kevin really hated Chris. He would love to take him out in an alley and demonstrate what a 'boyband' member could actually do. He would give that guy a major ass kicking.

Now the line of cars were beginning to diminish as police got word to close the road down. That made Kevin breath a sigh of relief. He hated to think that someone could die because of them. Too many bad things have already happened. He leaned over once again, "Nicky talk to me you okay?"

"He is perfectly fine" Terry answered for him "Aren't you bright eyes?"

"Christ Terry stop with all the cutsey ass nicknames. They are our hostages nothing else" Jordan said anger evident in his voice.

"Aww is somebody jealous?" She said now caressing Nick's hair. Jordan took his arm and pushed Terry's hand away from Nick. "Maybe we should move him back with his friends"

"No, I want him right here next to me" She said forcefully again playing with the kid's hair.

AJ and Kevin both didn't like the little childish scene playing out in the front seat. They were acting like a junior high couple. Only difference was this pair was lethal. Jordan was concentrating too much on Terry and not enough on the road. That was another thing that had them concerned. He had to have been going at least 90 miles an hour. Without even watching the road. His entire frame was now facing Terry. Even Chris had tensed at that.

"Stop playing childish mind games Terr and let the kid sit in the back"

"Just shut up and watch the road before you get us all killed"

"Go to hell! You are a real bitch you know that?" The car started to swerve towards the shoulder, when Jordan realized that he made a hard turn and the car was once again on the road. This knocked Chris onto Kevin's lap and made him hit his head on the side window.

"Shit!" Chris screamed now massaging his sore neck. Kevin just shook his head hoping that eventually the ringing would go away. AJ could no longer hold in his breakfast and it came out with full force all over the back seat.

"Disgusting!" Jason protested from the back.

"Great just great now see what you did? Now we have to drive the rest of the way with that smell in this car!"

"Shut up Terry it's your fault not mine"

"Kevin, AJ are you guys okay?" Nick asked from the front. He sounded shaky and hoarse. Like it was getting hard for him to talk.

"Yes buddy I'm fine" Kevin said, then he looked over at AJ. "J?" AJ turned toward his older bandmate and shook his head. "AJ is fine too"

"Good" Nick said before becoming very quiet again.

The police sirens were tripling in volume which meant that more people were now on their tails. By now Howie and Brian probably had given the police a detailed description of these guys with the rest of the hostages to back their story up. They hoped and prayed that they were right as they continued to drive down the highway towards their final destination

---

Brian and Howie sat hopelessly watching the car chase unfold. Knowing it was their friends on the inside. Jordan was driving totally recklessly and the thought that maybe he was trying to kill them all had briefly crossed Howie's mind. He tried to dismiss it as nerves. But when that car ran through the median, he had to walk away from the television.

"What do you think they are trying to accomplish?" Brian asked as Howie walked away and grabbed a drink from the vending machine. He couldn't believe how thirsty he was. Thirsty and hungry.

"I'm not sure, but they aren't being very safe"

"I know."

Brian was growing tense. He wanted this day to end. They had been at the police station for a while now. The police and management agreed that for the time being, that was the best place for them to be. To wait out the drama. It was hard for them just sitting back and not doing anything. They listened helplessly as police cars were reported casualties from the accidents the van was causing and the endless need for more backup. It appears that Jordan had quite the reputation for robbing banks. He has managed to escape capture several times. Hopefully his luck was running out.

He was also growing uneasy because they hadn't gotten that ransom call yet. They were sure that the bad guys would waste no time in calling Lou and demanding money. Still nothing though. Brian hoped it wasn't all just an excuse to lure the boys away. Lure them away and kill them. No, he couldn't think like that. He had to remain positive. Afterall it wasn't even like he was unaware of where they were. He was watching them right now. He could see every little thing they were doing. Still, he thought, it would be so much better if he could even look at them. See at least one of them. Sure the police had reported seeing about 6 people in the van. But not identifying anyone from sight. There would be no relaxing until that happened.

"Brian would you like anything to drink?"

"No thanks Howie"

"Looks like they are veering off the exit ramp now" One of the police officers said as they watched the car careen off of the highway at such a high speed that it almost landed on it's side. "What exit is that?" Another shouted.

"17b"

Then quickly the police called into all the cars in that area to be on the lookout for the van. The view of the van on television was being obscured by trees now. They could only catch a glimpse when the van would hit a clearing.

But they did hear the sound. The sound of a car going out of control. The screeching of tires followed by breaking glass.

Howie and Brian looking at each other, jaws dropping to the floor as the police scurried around them. "They crashed" Brian new it but wanted to pretend he didn't hear it. The policeman running by him was his reality check. "It's on fire and upside down"

Howie and Brian moved to the television and turned the sound way up there they heard the newscaster, "It appears that the minivan has crashed. We can not get a good view because of the trees but I hear it's on fire"

Howie and Brian watched in horror as they waited for news about their friends...

It all happened very fast. Much too fast to even register exactly what was happening. They were screaming down the road at a devil's pace. AJ had thrown up because of all the jerks and twists and turns. Then they veered off the highway onto a ramp. They veered too fast and the car just about did a wheelie and almost landed on it's side. Almost. The car it was coming up behind wasn't quite as lucky though. That van, the same color and make as the one the bad guys were in, was innocently waiting at the stop light coming off of the ramp, waiting to make a right turn onto the main street. Jordan saw it stopped ahead but it was too late. He hit it full force, sending it careening out of control before it fell on it's side in a ditch.

Jordan didn't even give it a second thought. "We have to move and we have to move now!" He yelled as the van sped away from the horrendous car crash. Looking out the back window, Jason noticed the van they had hit was on fire. He kind of hoped that the people in the car would make it out alive or they would have murder as another offense besides robbery and kidnapping. How did he get involved in all this? He almost wanted to take his chance and jump out of the car. Roll off to the side and give himself up. He was getting cold feet now. Cold feet and a conscience.

He wasn't the only one though, he could tell Terry was starting to have her doubts about all of this too. He could tell by the way she clung on to the blonde boy. Occasionally giving Jordan a glance. She knew they were in over their heads, and if Terry felt that way, then they must really be doomed.

"Jordan, maybe we should pull over and let the kids go. I mean we have plenty of money"

Jordan looked at Jason through his rear view mirror and shook his head, "Jason, don't turn into a coward now"

"I'm not being a coward, I just think this is a stupid idea and we will get caught"

"No way!" He screamed and the subject was promptly dropped.

"How much longer?" Nick said after a few moments of silence. Jordan glanced over the boys way to notice how visibly shaken up he was.

"Why? Have somewhere you need to be?" He asked raising an eyebrow at him.

"Leave him alone. I was wondering the same thing" Terry snapped.

"Soon!"

"Good!"

Kevin had been quietly sitting in the back seat rubbing AJ's back. "You okay now AJ?" He whispered softly to him. AJ just nodded. The smell of vomit was clinging to the van which wasn't helping any of their stomachs or moods.

"I can't take this smell much longer man, I'm totally gonna hurl all over the God damned place" Chris said holding his shirt over his nose.

"I guess we lost the cops" Terry said to Jordan, while she opened a window.

"Yeah I bet they thought that was us back there" Jordan turned down another side street leading towards a big wooded area. "Well lady and gentlemen, we are here" He said driving to the edge of the woods and stopping the car.

Kevin tensed. The sight of woods had him instantly thinking the worst. He had seen too many of these scenarios play out on America's Most Wanted, and they usually ended with the innocent victims being killed and dragged through the forrest only to be found as rotting corpses years later. "Where are we going?" He asked clinging to AJ.

"We are going for a little hike in the woods" Jordan said grabbing Nick and pulling him along like a dog. "Let's go" He said as they all entered the woods.

---

Howie and Brian were glued to the TV as they heard about the horrible crash of the minivan, then the reports that it was on fire. The police had gotten to the car and were helping the occupants out and all Brian and Howie could do was wait. Wait and pray.

During that time, maybe it was the span of ten minutes, but it felt like hours, they entertained the most horrible thoughts in their heads. Then finally the report from the scene. They stood and listened as the policemen relayed information about the casualties in the car. Horror and relief filled their bodies when they realized that the van wasn't the one their friends were in. Relief that the guys were still in one piece but horror that no one knew where they were.

"How is it that you can possibly lose them?" Brian asked now losing his cool. To him it seemed like no one knew what they were doing

"Relax Mr. Littrell, we will find them. We had someone already tell us that they think they spotted the van turning off onto a dirt road"

"They think? You have to do something!" Brian was screaming now. Howie put a calming hand on his friends shoulder.

"Brian, relax. This won't do them any good. It will just make everyone more intense"

"This is ridiculous Howie, I mean, it's one van for heaven sakes. They have a whole shit load of police cars out there trying to track it down. What is wrong with these people?"

"We did track it down" One of the officers said standing behind Brian. "It's been abandoned"

"Abandoned?" Howie echoed.

"Yes. We aren't sure if they took another car or are now traveling on foot, but we will find them. I promise"

"No offense, but your promises mean nothing to me" Brian said still staring at the television.

"Well, I am going down to the van myself to check it out. I usually don't do this, but you guys can come if you'd like as long as you promise to stay out of my way if the need arises"

Howie and Brian looked at each other, "What do you think D?"

"It's better than just sitting here and waiting"

"I agree" Brian said then turned to the policeman, "Sure we will come. Thanks"

"Okay I'm just going to tell my chief, than we will be on our way" When the officer was gone Brian turned back towards Howie, "We've got to find them, I don't trust that Jordan guy or his no good girlfriend"

"Yeah me either Rok"

The policeman came back with a briefcase and a coat, "Okay gentlemen let's roll" And all three of them walked out the door.

---

"Where do you think they are taking us?" AJ whispered to Kevin. They had been walking through the woods for about a half an hour already, not much being said by anybody. Jordan, pulling Nick behind him led the pack followed by Terry, then he and AJ then Chris and Jason bringing up the rear. They all seemed to know where they were going.

"Not sure" Kevin said never taking his eyes off Nick.

"I don't like this Kevin"

"I don't either AJ, but we'll be okay"

Nick was getting tired. His legs hurt and it was hard keeping up with the bigger man that was pulling him along. He felt like total crap. His only safe moments were when he was able to turn around and make sure his two protectors were behind him. And that's how he had to think of them. His protectors. He knew that if anything went wrong, both Kevin and AJ would help him out. He needed to think that way. He was too scared to picture them any other way besides superheros. That was one of his little secrets, when he was scared, which was more than he would care to admit, he would look to his band brothers as comic book heroes. Guys who would come in and save him if things got too out of hand, and boy had they gotten WAY out of hand now.

He turned his body again to get a glimpse of Kevin. Kevin seeing Nick's gaze smiled back and winked at him. Unfortunately because he wasn't paying attention to where he was walking, he tripped and fell over a tree stump. Jordan had such a tight grip on the boy that he fell too.

"Son of a bitch!" He screamed as he landed on top of Nick.

"Sorry" Nick said before a coughing fit hit him hard. Kevin and AJ ran up to help Nicky to his feet only to be stopped at gunpoint by Chris, "Now where do you boys think you're going?"

"He needs help" Kevin said glancing over at Nick who was still on the ground coughing. Jordan stood up and grabbing the kid's collar hoisted the boy off of the floor.

"Hey! Easy...you're going to strangle him" AJ yelled.

Yup, the superheros who would never let anything happen to him. He would always be safe when they were around. "Kid pay attention!" Jordan said yanking him with such force he almost fell again.

"I swear to God I am going to kill that man" Kevin said staring at Jordan while talking to AJ.

"Here we are!" Terry announced with a big smile on her face. Jordan picked up his pace, temporarily letting go of Nick who promptly ran over to Kevin and AJ. Kevin grabbed the boy in an embrace, "You're going to be okay kiddo. Just a little while longer" He said. Chris broke up the moment by pushing them forward towards the edge of the woods and into the clearing.

"Now I know why we did that" AJ said looking at the clearing and holding his ears to shield him from the roar of a helicopter.

Chris and Jason high fived, "We did it; we actually did it!" Jason said.

Then once again the boys were separated as Jordan ran ahead leaving Jason grabbing AJ, Chris grabbing Kevin and Terry gently grabbing Nick. They all ran towards the helicopter with their heads down. When they got closer to the copter, Terry noticed Jordan pacing back and forth. She knew something was wrong. She let go of Nick and pushed him towards Jason. Then she ran to catch up with her boyfriend.

"What's the problem?" She asked a she heard Jordan cussing under the roar of the blades of the helicopter.

"We have too many people" He screamed, "They can only take four!"

"Okay well let's let the kids go then" She said motioning towards the three hostages.

"No way Terr. You know how much money they are worth?"

"God Jordan, we have to do something, the police will find us"

"Okay fine I'll do something" He walked towards Chris. "Hey Chris can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Yeah sure" He said letting go of Kevin, who now moved off to the side. Jordan pulled out his gun and shot Chris in the chest two times making him fall with a thud. Everyone screamed, including Jason, who knew what was coming next. Jason thought about running, he thought about taking his gun and finishing off Jordan, but he chose instead to look over at Terry for one last time. Terry looked like she had tears in her eyes, as Jordan raised the gun and shot Jason right in the chest.

"NOOOOO!!!" She yelled. AJ moved away from the corpse shaking like a leaf. The sound of the gunshots barely audible over the helicopter. Jordan's eyes were glazed over like a madman's. "Okay let's see, my math tells me we still have one person too many what to do what to do"

He smiled as he raised his gun at Kevin, "You have been a thorn in my side with your smug looks and your condescending attitude" Then he moved to Nick "you have just been a good old fashioned pain in my ass" Then he moved towards AJ, "But YOU! You threw up all over my van so I guess you'll be the lucky one tonight" AJ tensed up as he saw the barrel of the gun on him. He looked at his bandmates with fear filled eyes. Now only waiting for the impact of the shot...

AJ's eyes were closed. He didn't want to see what was going to happen to him. He didn't want to see Kevin and Nick as they stood helpless, he instead thought of his mother. He wished it was her face that he got to see last. He tensed up his body and heard both his friends pleading with Jordan. He had given up hope, until..

"Jordan! Don't you dare!" Terry yelled putting herself between the barrel of the gun and the teen. She wasn't quite sure why she did it, but she knew no one else should die today. If it was anyone, it would be the asshole that killed the man she loved. Not some obnoxious teenager.

Jordan didn't lower his gun at first. Thoughts were going through his mind to kill Terry and then there would be plenty of room for AJ on the helicopter. Besides AJ was worth more to him than this chick anyway. He was planning on killing her before they even got out of the bank. So what was stopping him now. Those gorgeous eyes of hers. That's what.

As much as he hated to admit it, he was really smitten with her. And now he had taken care of her lover. Oh he knew that her and Jason had a thing. He planned on confronting them together. But this had worked out even better. To kill her or not? That was the only question that remained unanswered. He looked at her once again and gave her a second chance, "Terry get out of the way or I'm going to kill you"

Terry had tears glistening in her eyes. She refused to leave, firmly planted standing in front of AJ. "No! I won't let you kill this boy"

"What do you think we should do then? Just leave him?"

"Well, yes. That's a good idea. Let's just leave him" He still had the gun planted on AJ, thinking over what Terry had just said. Then finally he dropped the gun down at his side. Just down at his side so this way if he changed his mind at the last minute, he could always shoot him or her, or hell maybe even both.

There was a visible sigh of relief as Jordan lowered his gun. AJ finally allowing himself to look at what was going on, managed to catch his breath when he saw the gun back at Jordan's side. He looked over at his two band mates, Kevin was pale and Nick was shivering, clutching onto Kevin for dear life.

"Fine" Jordan finally said, "You are being left behind"

"No way!" Kevin said stepping towards where the action was. Nick let go of him but was now staring at the dead bodies on the floor.

"Excuse me?"

"I said you are NOT leaving him here alone"

He didn't like Kevin from the start, now he could very easily turn the tables and shoot him instead. But then he had an even better idea.

"Okay fine, then you stay with him" He said and walked over to Nick, who was still staring at the dead bodies on the floor. Jordan grabbed Nick's arm and began dragging him along towards the helicopter.

"Wait, What are you doing?" Terry asked with both AJ and Kevin walking behind, trying to catch up.

Jordan stopped, and laughed as Nick struggled, trying to break free from his strong hand around his wrist. "Well, it's clear that you have made a choice. You choose to stay here with him" He said pointing at AJ, "Instead of little blondie here" He said grabbing Nick's cheeks with his free hand and squeezing.

"Let him go!" Kevin demanded once again, finally catching up with Jordan. Terry and AJ just behind.

"Oh so you want it both ways hero? Well tough! You can't have it both ways. Either AJ stays alone or Terry and I take Nicky here. Which one is it?"

"Can't you just leave us all?" AJ asked, sounding drained of any emotion or energy. Once this was over he was going to sleep for a week.

"No way Jose, you guys are worth too much money" He then looked back at Kevin, "So what's it gonna be? The vomiting one? Or the baby?"

Nick was still struggling to break free of Jordan's grasp, he had tears running down his face. Kevin looked back at AJ. "Go with him" AJ said.

"NO Kevin, stay here, you will be safer" Nick pleaded with the man. Just for a second, he was taken back by the maturity that both of the younger boys displayed. He would have to remember this the next time he told either one of them how immature they were.

Kevin turned back towards AJ, "I gotta go with him" He whispered. AJ nodded, "Yes I agree. Don't worry I will be okay"

"Just stay here, help will come soon"

"I know. I'll be okay. Just watch him" He said looking over at Nick. The kid looked awful. He had stopped struggling now and was just standing there limp and shivering.

Kevin grabbed AJ in a hug "Be careful" He whispered.

"I hate to break up the moment but I take it that means you are coming with us?" Jordan asked. Kevin nodded. "Aw see Terry, he likes us he really likes us"

"NO Kevin!" Nick screamed, "Stay with AJ"

"It's okay Nick" AJ yelled back, "I will be fine" The sirens in the distance were like the reassurance Nick and Kevin both needed. Jordan suddenly found himself picking up his pace and ran holding Nick's wrist. Terry ushered Kevin along. He took a moment and smiled at AJ. He will be fine. He said to himself.

As they got closer to the helicopter the roar of the blades was overpowering. Nick wanted to cover his ears to the sound but Jordan wouldn't let go of his arm. He thought at one point that his head would totally explode. He turned to try to find Kevin but, the way Jordan was standing, Kevin was blocked from his view. He was able to see AJ though. He tried to smile. Then he was shoved into the huge helicopter.

"I wish your boyfriend wouldn't be so rough with Nick" Kevin said right into Terry's ear so she could hear every word he said.

"I know. But he will not hurt the boy"

"I have a hard time believing that one" He said eyes still planted on Nick, who now lay on the floor of the helicopter while Jordan tried to yank him up. Kevin, by instinct moved towards Nick but was pulled back by Terry.

"Don't, you will only make things worse"

Off in the distance it was easy to pick out the red and blue flashes of several oncoming police cars. "We need to roll Jordan" She said beckoning her boyfriend to hurry.

Jordan was now running low on patience and yanked Nick into a sitting position and strapped him into his seat then he helped Terry and Kevin into the helicopter and gave the signal for it to take off. Kevin placed his seat belt on than looked over at Nick to make sure he was strapped in. Nick made eye contact with the older man and tried to smile.

"Everything will be fine!" Kevin screamed at the top of his lungs, but Nick couldn't hear what was said. Just knowing that Kevin was with him was good enough.

AJ stood helplessly watching from a safe distance. His friends being taken away. He held his arms around himself when the wind from the helicopter made the chilly day even more so. He could hear the sirens wailing as they moved closer. This nightmare was just about over for him. Now he could only pray for Kevin and Nick. At least they had each other. He wanted to do anything to stop the helicopter from taking off, but he knew it was useless. So he just stood by and watched as the police cars came speeding by past him and went racing towards the helicopter....

Howie never in his life had been in a car that was going that fast ever. He had always dreamed what it would feel like being in a high speed chase, most boys did. He figured he would never get the opportunity to find out, now as he was racing towards their destination, the place where his friends would soon be found, he finally got his wish. He felt bad for being excited but he knew it was only a matter of time before Kevin, Nick and AJ were back and things could finally go back to normal.

He looked over at Brian. His poor friend was not enjoying the chase at all. He looked pale, if that was possible with his already pale features. Pale and worried. That look brought Howie out of his dreamlike little boy state into the present. He was worried too. What if they weren't really at this small closed airfield? What if it was just a hunch went wrong, Afterall, they hadn't come across the van yet. Unless they had time to make a car switch, which he highly doubted. Or the worst thought yet, especially once he heard the faint roar of a helicopter, what if they were too late?

Brian tapped Howie on the shoulder. "D? You don't think that's them do you?" He asked in a small, scared voice.

"I don't know Brian, I hope not" Then Brian, not accepting the answer Howie had given him, tried to lean into the front seat where the police officer sat as he sped along the highway.

"Do you think that helicopter is them?" He asked. The police officer seemed to ignore Brian and just kept concentrating on his driving.

"Yes, I think it's them" He said after a brief silence. Then he picked up his radio and called to another car, "The helicopter" He said speaking in fragments, "Is there anyway any of you can get there sooner?"

"Car 154?"

"Yes?"

"We are about two minutes away, we have the helicopter in sight"

"Excellent, we are right behind you"

"Thanks out"

"Out" When he was done talking he spoke to the shaken boys in the back of his car.

"There is a car right on top of them, he said he saw the helicopter, we are right behind him. You guys are strapped in correct?"

"Yes" Howie answered, holding his seatbelt for confirmation.

"Then let's go get your friends"

---

AJ watched as the first cop car sped right by him. Totally ignoring him and heading for the helicopter that had yet to take off. He wished he could will it to go faster but he hoped it would catch up with his friends before it left the ground. He saw another set of flashes come into view, this car speeding even faster than the last one, he moved out of the way as it too passed him right by.

Not paying any attention to where he was going he tripped over Jason's body and landed right next to him. He screamed when he saw the dead blank eyes staring at his own. The person that did this, now had his friends. He felt a chill run down his spine. He stood up and once again, focused his attention on the helicopter that had now slowly begun to take off.

He had only been in one maybe twice in his lifetime but he didn't think it took that long to get off the ground which meant that something was happening. Maybe Terry and Jordan were fighting, or maybe Kevin had managed to wrestle Jordan. Take him down. But nevertheless, the helicopter was now being lifted off the ground.

He started running towards all the commotion as yet another police car raced by. This time though, it stopped about two feet away from him. A police man got out of the car, and instinct made AJ raise his hands in the air.

"Are you Alex McClean?" The officer asked training his gun on the singer.

"Yes" He answered

AT the positive reply, the policeman lowered his gun, "Okay good you are safe now" He said walking towards AJ. He wanted to believe him but he didn't. Once the cop was right next to him, he realized that it wasn't a trick and he was in fact saved. He was just about to smile, grab the guy into a hug and give him a huge peck on the cheek when what came out of the officer's mouth had him retreat and stare back at the helicopter, "SHIT!" The policeman said.

AJ turned slowly just in time to see someone falling out of the helicopter. His fall was only from about ten feet but still it was a fall. It was a male, so he ruled Terry out, but it looked like it could have been Jordan.

"Stay here!" The cop ordered AJ, who found himself running right along side the guy. Luckily the cop was too concerned to care, since now he had one person on the ground and the rest slowly getting away.

---

Brian and Howie sat on the edge of their seats as they passed AJ in the car, "That's J!" Howie said to Brian, "Wait! That's our friend, stop the car" Brian answered in agreement. The cop ignored them both, "Not if you want the rest to escape. We know your friend is fine. Someone will be taking care of him shortly"

Brian and Howie nodded, he was right and at least AJ was safe, but why? Why was he left behind? Were they all maybe? Howie was broken out of his thoughts by Brian, "Oh my God, it's taking off!" Howie turned towards the helicopter to see it finally make it's ascent into the sky. It was going slowly and seeming to have trouble with it's take off but there it went. Was they got closer they saw the legs dangling out of the side.

The police car that had beat them to the scene was now parked right underneath it and the cop had hid gun raised and watched the struggle. The policeman the boys were with stopped his car then and got out, knowing there really wasn't much else to do.

"Someone's gonna fall" The one cop aid to the other as they watched. It was hard to make out who's leg it was but it was a long one. Then shortly after, a man came from falling from the helicopter and landed face first on the pavement.

Howie and Brian looked horrified as the policemen ran towards the fallen man. By this time, AJ and the other police officer had made their way to the main scene of the crime. Once Howie saw AJ he grabbed Brian and together they ran towards their friend. Howie embraced J in a huge hug that soon Brian joined, "Oh my God AJ, are you okay? What the hell happened?"

AJ couldn't believe he was reunited with his friends. "They didn't have enough room, I thought they were going to kill me" He said shaken up and near tears. That had both friends hold on to him even tighter, "Jordan killed both Chris and Jason, then he was gonna kill me. Terry convinced him to leave me behind"

"Wow! AJ, thank God you are okay"

"Yeah, I'm fine but what about Kevin and Nick?" That made all three boys look over to where the police were standing, over the semi conscious man who had fallen from the helicopter. "I don't even want to go over there" Brian said in a hesitant voice.

"Me either" Howie agreed.

"Boys" The police officer called to them, "Come here for a minute please" They slowly made their way over to the man lying on the floor, They realized who it was once they were right on top of him. A huge feeling of relief and terror went through their bodies as they looked over at the helicopter that was now going out of their view.

Brian put his hand up to his mouth, still not quite sure if any of this was real or not. Howie and AJ approached the victim slowly, he was hurt but overall, considering the fall, he was unharmed. They walked over slowly while Brian kept watching the helicopter fade into the distance. This was not good, he kept saying to himself over and over again...

Nick looked down in horror at the ground. He didn't know what to do or say to make himself feel better. He closed his eyes and remembered how the scene unfolded to this. The last minute attempt that Kevin had made to take control of Jordan and his gun. Nick knew it was coming, he knew from the look of determination on his friend's face. Terry was watching her boyfriend with a look of pure disgust on her face as he yelled commands to the pilot of the helicopter.

"GO! GO!" He screamed, "The police are coming! Move it" It seemed as if the pilot was hesitant to take off. Nick had found himself wondering if the guy was in on the whole scheme or if he happened to be an innocent guy just trying to do his job.

Kevin however wasn't concerned with the pilot at all, he had his eyes on only one thing. Jordan's gun. He knew that if he could get the gun away from the man, he could in turn take control of this situation, so as Jordan was arguing with the pilot, Kevin leapt across to Jordan and tried to grab his gun.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Jordan asked now struggling with the weight of the tall man on top of him. Kevin had Jordan's wrist in his hand and was hitting it against the wall of the helicopter trying to loosen his grip on the gun.

"Dammit! Terry do something!" He screamed, but Terry only remained seated and watched the whole thing unfold. Finally Kevin successfully got the gun out of Jordan's hand and it went falling to the floor. That is when Terry went into action, She saw Nick going for the dropped gun, so she made a move and swiftly grabbed it and aimed it towards the blonde.

"Freeze or I'm going to kill him, Mr. Green eyes" Kevin stopped, and seeing the gun on Nick, he slowly backed off of Jordan. Jordan huffed and grabbed the gun out of Terry's hands "took you long enough bitch!" He yelled, then Jordan grabbed Kevin and pushed him out of the helicopter, or tried to at least. The tall man fell semi out and grabbed hold of one Jordan's legs.

"No!" Nick screamed going to Kevin's aid only to be pushed back by Jordan with such force it almost knocked him out of the other side of the helicopter.

Jordan kicked at Kevin hopping he would loosen his grip on his leg, but then a strong push had him flying totally out of the helicopter.

That led to where they were now. No one saying much, just all in total shock. Nick still staring down at the floor. He could see the police standing there over the man and he thought he saw his friends too. At least he knew how they were. His fate, however? No clue.

"Why did you do that?" Nick was brought out of his thoughts at the sound of his big brother's voice. Kevin was talking to Terry who seemed like she was herself, in shock. She was still holding her gun on Nick, but she wasn't really concentrating on anything.

"He killed the man I loved" She said simply. More like a woman distraught then an evil gun wielding maniac.

"I didn't want him to kill anyone else. Not today. Not ever"

"Thank you or saving my life" Kevin said smiling. She didn't smile back though.

"Do you think he is dead?" Nick asked in a whisper, still looking out the window and watching his friends gradually get smaller and smaller as they got further and further away.

"I don't know" Kevin answered leaning in towards his young friend.

"Don't thank me" Terry said seeming to come out of her little trance. She sat herself up straight and tall and choked back her tears to once again go into business mode. "We still have some unfinished business"

"Terry, it's over. Put the gun down and let us go. The police will be lenient with you. We will make sure they are"

"No!" She said emphatically shaking her head. "I am not going to prison"

"Maybe you won't" Kevin said in his calm and slow tone of voice.

"I know I won't" She said still fixing the gun on Nick.

"Can't you just drop us off somewhere? You know, then you can make your escape?"

She smiled at Nick's innocent plan. "You are really adorable do you know that?" She finally dropped her gun at her side and reached over and pet Nick's cheek. He responded by letting out a hacking cough.

"Please Terry? We are drained. You must be to. The kid is sick as a dog, it's over"

"I decide when it's over not you!" She raised her gun at Kevin this time. Kevin just ignored her and grabbed Nick in a hug. He could feel the heat coming from the kid and he knew he must have had a high fever.

"Jesus, you're just kids" She said once again putting down her gun this time on the seat next to her. She rubbed her eyes and left her hands over her face for a moment. That was long enough for Kevin to grab the gun of the seat and aim it at Terry.

"No, Terry, It's my decision and I am saying it's over" Kevin said. She slowly took her hands away from her face and shook her head while smiling at Kevin. "You should know never to mess with a control freak lady! Kevin always wins" Nick added.

"We could have made a great team you and I. Mr. Green eyes" She smiled, seeming not to really care that the gun was on her.

The pilot gradually found a place to take the helicopter down, Kevin never taking his eyes or the gun off of Terry. She only smiled at him and blew him a kiss from time to time. "Mr. Green eyes" She said right before they landed.

"Yes?"

"Would you actually shoot me?"

"If I had to"

"Okay, well I guess we'll find out then tata" Then she jumped out of the helicopter rolling to the ground. She laid there face down for a few minutes but then, giving the boys a salute, she went running. Kevin looked over at Nick and smiled. His first genuine one since waking up that morning.

"Well, buddy. It's over"

"Do you think they'll catch her?"

"No idea"

They embraced once again as the helicopter finally landed on the ground...

"Where are they going?" Brain screamed at the injured man lying on the ground. "Answer me! Where is she going with our friends?"

Jordan only smirked, ignoring the aching pain in his back and head. If he found that bitch he was going to kill her. He wouldn't make the mistake of trusting her again.

"I don't know" He finally managed to get out. Brian went to approach the man once again but this time he was pushed away by one of the officers. He was led about ten feet away. There he was met with his other two friends.

"God! Stupid police won't let me bug the jerk"

"Relax Brian, I'm sure they will be asking him the same questions, they have to get him medical attention first"

"How did he fall out of the helicopter?" AJ, who had been quiet since his reunion with the other boys, finally asked.

"I don't know. My guess is Kevin or Terry pushed him out" Howie answered, looking at AJ with a great sense of relief. At least he knew that AJ was okay. Now he just had to see the other two himself. They should never separate again for any reason. Ever!

The three boys watched as the ambulance came and two paramedics stood on other side of the robber checking him out. "They have to find them. Nick is so sick and Kevin with his temper, it's not a good combination"

"I know Howie" Brian said in a whisper. He was extremely worried about his friends and their well being. Especially once that helicopter disappeared from their view. Now a few policemen were talking to Jordan as the paramedics continued to look over the man.

"I wish they would tell us something, anything" AJ said while pacing back and forth.

They all knew something had to be going on because they saw one policeman furiously writing while another was on his radio. The one on the radio called for two more men to come over and then they quickly sped off. That was enough to set Brian off, so once again, he darted over to where Jordan was, yelling threats at him, "My friends better be okay or I'll kill you myself!" Jordan looked back at Brian and rolled his eyes, he was just about to speak when one of the policeman cuffed him and read him his rights. As he walked by Brian and the others the only comment he made was "I fucking hate kids!"

Then he was led into the police car and taken away. Shortly after his departure, another officer, the one they had come to the scene with, approached them. "Fellas" He said wearing a small smile, "We found them" The three boys high fived and hugged. Then turning towards the policeman, the bearer of the good news, AJ asked, "Are they okay?"

"They seem to be fine, they are on their way to the police station right now. You want to go see them?"

Howie smiled, "Yup. Let's go"

---

If Nick had to explain the situation to one more person, he was going to scream. He had it all figured out in his head. First he would cry out of pure frustration, but then he would scream. It wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't asked the same thing over and over again, but for the last hour or so, he had to retell his whole story to about five different people. All he wanted to do, was see his friends and go to bed. Talk about having one hell of a day. It felt like a week not just a few measly hours.

He hadn't seen Kevin since they got to the police station. It was the first time he hadn't been clutching onto the guy since they were in the helicopter. He didn't feel safe unless Kevin was at least an arm's length away. He had to remind himself how much his older band mate did for him, the next time he found himself complaining about Kevin's protective nature.

He looked over at the policeman once again, while he busily continued to take notes. "Are we almost done?" Nick found himself asking. The man looked up at him and smiled, "Almost"

"Cool! Are my friends okay?"

"Yes they sure are, as a matter of fact, they are waiting to see you"

"Excellent. Thanks"

"No problem" He finished what he was writing and then led Nick out of the room and down the long corridor towards his friends.

---

Kevin smiled when he saw Brian, Howie and AJ standing there in the police station waiting for him. They hadn't even noticed he had entered the room. Brian looked like he was arguing with Howie and AJ was pacing.

He searched the room for Nick, who was nowhere to be found. "Kevin!" Brian screamed as he ran and tackled his cousin almost knocking him down to the ground. Howie and AJ followed surrounding the tall man in a huddle.

"Are you okay?" Howie asked him.

"I'm fine"

"Thank God! What happened up in that helicopter?"

"Terry saved my life"

"Oh, well maybe if you tell the police that, they will be lenient with her"

"I did but they haven't caught her yet"

"They haven't?"

"Nope AJ, she jumped out of the helicopter and made a run for the woods" Kevin smiled. He hoped that maybe she would turn her life around. As long as he never saw her again, it was fine with him that she wasn't in jail. He kind of liked her. She was right, in an odd way, they were good together.

"Here comes the little man" Howie said pointing towards the corridor that Nick was now walking down. He looked absolutely beat. His hair all messed up, his face flushed with fever. He looked scared. Until he caught sight of his band brothers, then the look of fear was placed by a look of pure happiness.

Nick ran towards his brothers. He went to Brian first but then quickly drew Kevin into the hug. They all followed. Brian stepped back and looked at his friend, "Are you okay?"

"Now I am" He said through a cough.

"Come on kiddo, let's get you back to the bus and get you into bed" Kevin said tousling the baby of the band's hair.

They all started to walk out the door, when Nick stopped short, "Hey you know what?"

"What?" AJ asked.

"I still need some cough medicine!" AJ rolled his eyes.

"Come on let's go Nick"

"But I seriously do, listen to this hacking cough" He said faking a cough that turned into the real thing. The others laughed

"No! Nick!"

"Come on why not?"

"Because we would have to go to a bank"

"Nah! Just go to an ATM AJ!"

"Shut up Nick"

"But I think I'll wait on the bus this time" They all laughed once again as their voices faded in the distance and the sound of police sirens wailed.

THE END