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29

AJ tried to scream but the person who had pulled him to safety placed his hand over his mouth, “You make a sound and they’ll find you and trust me AJ, you don’t want that to happen” So he nodded while still grabbing his captor’s hands that were covering his face. The guards were right outside of the door now, AJ could clearly hear them scrambling to open it up. The knob turned but the door didn’t move which made AJ sigh a breath of relief. “That will keep them for awhile but we need to go. If I take my hand away from your mouth will you not scream?” AJ nodded, so the guy in turn removed his hand and helped the Backstreet Boy up.

“Come on…we need to go” He said shaking AJ back to the reality of his situation; he was in the middle of an escape.

“How did you get out of there? The last time I saw you…well it wasn’t good”

The man AJ only knew as Nick the double nodded and made it clear by putting his finger to his lips that now was not the time to have this conversation. He grabbed AJ’s arm and together they rushed down the hallway.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Howie stood facing the Lion’s Den feeling a sense of dread in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t want to go in there at all, yet he had no choice. He walked towards the door and opened it with game face on.

Music was blaring in the background, some Euro pop song that just looped the same dance beat over and over again. One girl was swinging around a pole and a few waitresses were gathered around but otherwise the place was deserted.

In contrast to The Inquisitor, when Howie walked into this place he felt like he was invisible. No one even looked his way. Taking a tissue out of his pocket he wiped away a small bit of sweat threatening to spill from his forehead into his eyes, all the while squinting to make out anyone who looked as out of place as he must have.

Sure enough there was a man sitting in a booth in the way back corner of the club. It was almost impossible to make him out except for the curls of smoke rising above his head. Howie placed the tissue back into his pocket and started to walk towards the smoke signals. If this was Bolten he was closer than ever to finding out what the hell was going on. Just the thought made his heartbeat quicken as he was now so close he could smell the stench of nicotine in the air.

He wasn’t sure what he should do once he was finally all but on top of this guy he had so desperately wanted to find. Does he just sit down and make himself comfortable? What if it wasn’t him though?

Howie walked past the table where he saw a man who was only a little taller than he was. His face looked haggard and unshaven; like a man who had forgotten what the meaning of sleep was. “I’ve been waiting for you” He said leaning on his elbow, not even looking towards Howie.

He found himself looking back towards the front of the club making sure no one was watching them, once confident that they were in their own bubble of a world, he scooted into the booth. Bolten still wasn’t making eye contact with Howie at all but smiled once he heard the swish of leather underneath Howie’s butt as he moved.

“Are you Kyle Bolten?” It sounded more like an accusation than a question to which Bolten just nodded. Howie surprised himself then and forcefully grabbed the man’s arm, “You wanna tell me what the hell is going on?”

Bolten finally made eye contact, “I thought you were supposed to be the nice calm one. Let go of me please” He said and then forced his arm out of Howie’s grasp.

The Backstreet Boy was about to apologize but stopped himself, he needed answers and he needed them now. “You need to tell me what is going on”

Bolten put his hand in the air to summon a waitress over to their table; a barely dressed woman walked over and smiled, “What can I get for ya Mr. B?”

“Vodka and cranberry juice…you?” He looked over to Howie who was growing impatient. When he failed to say anything Bolten continued, “Bring one for my friend too, I’m sure he’ll feel like drinking after I tell him what he needs to know” The waitress wrote the order on her pad and then left.

“So what do you have to tell me?” Bolten sat more relaxed now as he lit another cigarette, “Howie do you trust the people around you? You seem like a very trusting person”

“How can you make that assumption? You don’t know me at all”

“Oh, but there you’re wrong. I know you…I know about all five of you”

“I don’t understand…” Bolten cut him off, “So answer my question then…do you trust the people around you?”

“Not entirely I mean I trust my close inner circle, my friends and my family”

“Well there‘s your first mistake my friend”

“First of all I am NOT your friend second of all are you trying to say someone I know has something to do with this?”

“No…I’m not saying someone you know…there is more than one person involved in this little crisis you have found yourselves in”

“The only person I am blaming right now is YOU!” He raised his voice and tried his best to remain sitting and not lunge at this guy who seemed to enjoy this little game he was playing.

“Me? I haven’t done anything wrong”

“You’re the one who has been calling me!”

“I have never called you Howie. Not even once. Besides if there’s someone to blame for any of this it’s you! Not me. In fact you are the reason I lost my job! Do you have any idea how long I have worked at that place Howie? Almost twenty years and nothing like this has ever happened before. It’s never gotten this out of hand”

“Then what is it you have to tell me? I mean if you supposedly have nothing to do with any of this, why bother listening to you? I have to find my friends. I don’t have time for this!”

The waitress came back holding her tray of two drinks which gave Howie enough time to calm himself down. He didn’t like how his voice was raising with the level of anxiety he was feeling. If he kept it up he would start sounding like a girl.

Once she was gone, Bolten continued, “I am just as much of a victim in this as you are”

“Well, I find that hard to believe” Howie said under his breath. He was running out of time and felt like the only thing this guy was doing was stalling. Maybe buying someone else time.

“I know it all…I can tell you everything you need to know. I have nothing to lose anymore by doing it either” He pulled out a big manila envelop from next to him and handed it over to Howie. “You’re the only one that stands to lose anything here”

Howie hesitantly took the envelope and opened it gingerly.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It felt like they ran forever and in slipper socks that wasn’t a very easy thing to do; so by the time they finally stopped about five blocks away from the hospital, AJ sat down and rubbed at his aching and cold feet. “I think we’re safe for a little while at least” The blonde man said slinking down next to him on the hard dirty ground. They hadn’t spoken at all since their escape, every time AJ tried to get a word out he was quickly quieted by the man who helped him.

“Did that woman help you escape? You know the same one that gave me the key?” The blonde looked away from the street and smiled at AJ, “Yeah she’s something else isn’t she?”

“Nick…what the heck is going on?”

“Call me Matt”

“What?”

“My name’s Matt. I’m done being Nick now”

“Okay” AJ wanted to ask further but decided there were more important questions that needed to be answered. “What is happening?”

“Not now AJ, I mean I know you want answers but not now. She’ll tell you everything you need to know once she gets here with Nick”

“With who?”

“Nick…your Nick. The real one”

“I’m confused” Matt laughed, “I bet you are buddy, but don’t worry. Everything’s going to be fine now”

“Who is she?”

“My girlfriend” He looked down at his watch, “She should be here any minute now…unless there was a problem”

“What kind of problem? And why would she have Nick with her?”

“Because he was going to be next. They had a plan to take Nick. It was the last item on their weird macabre to do list”

“Is everyone else alright?” AJ asked now finally just taking the socks off his feet. Matt looked down, “We’ll stop off and get you some shoes when she gets here” Then realizing he didn’t answer the question he shrugged, “I wish I could say for sure AJ, but truthfully I don’t know”

“Do you think they’re still looking for us?” Matt nodded, “But they won’t find us” He turned to AJ and placed a hand on his shoulder, “Don’t worry you’re safe now” He knew it should have calmed him down but it didn’t. Sure he was safe but what about everyone else? And was he really safe? He found himself trusting this guy that pretty much had started this whole thing to begin with.

“Thank you for helping me back there by the way” AJ said smiling despite his feelings.

“Not a problem, I’m sorry I didn’t act sooner. We both are” Matt looked down at his watch again and AJ picked up a little bit of worry outlining his face.

“She’ll be here soon right?” He asked more to squelch his nerves, but the hesitation in Matt’s reply didn’t help.

“Actually she’s late. She’s never late. I hope everything is alright” He tried to hide his fear from AJ, but it wasn’t working. Matt was scared for this woman who supposedly was helping Nick. That thought alone made AJ shiver.


~*~*~*~*~~*~*
She waited and watched; head covered so only a small amount of blonde was showing through her hood. Standing right outside of the Inquisitor could have easily been suicide. It would only take one person to recognize her, one person to realize it was her and that in spite of everything she was not only alive but now going against them. True most of the people involved knew she was alive, heck they had planned it that way from the beginning. But to pull this off, she was told; everyone had to be convinced of her death. Even her boyfriend. They were playing him too. All of them.

She looked at her watch when she saw them both enter, careful not to be noticed as Howie threw his cell phone into the garbage. “Poor guy” She said under her breath knowing how much this whole thing was killing him. She had wanted to call him when she had decided to change sides. She wanted to tell him that she was alive and none of this was really his fault, but it was too risky.

They had let her in on most of the plans from the way beginning when it all just seemed like nothing more than a good idea. If she had known how badly things were going to turn out she would have never even began flirting with him; ever.

Once Howie and Nick had entered the building she knew it was only a matter of time that they would force the blonde to leave the room, then they would grab him. It wasn’t the first plan they had but because Howie was unpredictable they had to go with plan B.

She was going to be waiting for him when the time came. She would give him the sign and grab him. Explaining to him everything on the way back to pick up her boyfriend Matt who was helping AJ. She smiled knowing that by now they most likely were already in the process of escaping that horrible hospital.

She was a hero; Jessica Sullivan…a poor stripper turned receptionist turned hero.

Just as she had anticipated about ten minutes from the time the two boys entered the building only Nick emerged alone. Standing in the lobby looking terrified of being there.

She was just about to enter when another woman brushed past her almost making her fall. She walked right up to the door and waved to him, summoning him to her.

“Oh my God what the hell is she doing here?” Jessica asked to herself seeing the instant look of acknowledgment on Nick’s face. She banged on the glass very lightly to get his attention but it was too late, the other woman managed to lure him out.

“No! Nick don’t follow her!!!” She said in a little whisper, hoping she would gain some psychic abilities which would keep Nick from following this woman he trusted so much.

But once he left the building that other woman grabbed his arm and hustled him along. Jessica knew than that it was too late. Now the only thing she could think of to do was follow Howie which she did right to the Lion’s Den, where she watched and waited for him to exit the building.