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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...