Written by: Julie Lewis
Feedback to: RokofAges75@dreamers-sanctuary.com.com
PROLOGUE
“And Nick can belch on command?” Jay Leno asked on TV.
“Oh yeah, yeah,” said the tall, dark haired man, amid the wild screams of the audience.
Brendan Graves rolled his eyes at the old, fuzzy TV in his tiny living room. Of course, the one night was he wasn’t working and was able to watch “The Tonight Show”, they had to be on. The Backstreet Boys.
“He’s gotta have a carbonated drink though,” the dark-haired man added.
“Oh, here’s a carbonated drink right here,” Jay said, handing him a Coke.
The dark-haired guy handed the Coke to the tall, blonde man sitting next to him, who began to protest. They egged him on though, and finally, the blonde took a sip of Coke and let out a loud belch.
Brendan stared at the screen in disgust as the audience once again broke into screams and applause.
“The guy burps, and the girls go wild? How fucked up is that?” he asked aloud.
His vision zeroed in on the other blonde member of the group, who was now trying to impersonate Donald Duck. Brendan knew this one’s name. Brian. Brian Littrell.
“Gee, must be nice to have all those girls trying to get in your pants,” Brendan said, speaking to the TV. “Just wait, boys. Soon, they’ll be wanting to get in my pants too. And you won’t have a clue.”
He snickered evilly, as the show ended, and picked up his phone. He had work to do.
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CHAPTER ONE
“Flight 809, Los Angeles to Atlanta, now boarding.”
“That’s my flight,” Brian Littrell said, standing up and slinging his backpack over on shoulder.
The first leg of the Backstreet Boys’ Black and Blue Tour had finally come to an end, and the quintet was splitting up, heading for different flights to take them each to their homes. Brian’s flight home to Atlanta, Georgia was the first to take off.
Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, Howie Dorough, and AJ McLean stood up with Brian. The five men exchanged quick hugs.
“You take care, cuz,” Kevin said to Brian.
“Say hi to Leigh for us,” Howie added, referring to Brian’s wife, Leighanne.
“Bye, bro,” AJ said, patting Brian on the shoulder.
“See ya, Frick,” said Nick, Brian’s best friend, giving him one last hug.
“Okay. Bye, y’all,” Brian said, smiling at his five bandmates and best friends. Then he headed to a terminal, where a woman was taking people’s boarding passes. He looked back just once, waved, and headed on his way.
***
Brendan glanced around quickly, to make sure no on was around. He was in luck; the phone bank where he stood in a small corner of the big Atlanta airport was completely deserted.
Brendan adjusted the do-rag on his head so that it covered all of his hair, and slipped a pair of dark sunglasses on so that no one could see his eyes.
Picking up the receiver of one of the pay phones nearby, Brendan deposited a quarter, pulled a rumpled piece of paper out of his coat pocket, and dialed the phone number written on it.
The phone rang a couple times, and then a woman answered it. “Hello?”
“Hey, Leigh,” Brendan said warmly. “It’s me, Brian.”
“Hi, honey,” Leighanne Littrell greeted. “Where are you calling from?”
“I’m in LA. Look, honey, my flight got delayed, so I won’t be in Atlanta for another…” Brendan looked at his watch quickly, “… two hours.”
“Oh.” Leighanne sounded disappointed. “Well, okay, honey. I’ll be at the airport to pick you up at six then, okay?”
“Okay, babe. Gotta go now. I can’t wait to see you,” Brendan said.
“Oh, me neither, hon. Love you.”
“I love you too,” Brendan said through gritted teeth, and hung up the phone.
“Flight 809, Los Angeles to Lexington, now arriving,” projected a voice through the intercom.
Brendan grinned evilly. “Show time.”
***
“Thank you for flying Delta airlines,” said a perky stewardess. Brian nodded in acknowledgement and continued on his way out the plane and into the airport. He was finally home in Atlanta, and he was glad. He couldn’t wait to see his wife, Leighanne. After months of being on tour, he missed her like crazy.
But when he made it inside the airport, he saw no sign of his wife. He looked all around the waiting area at the gate where his flight had come in, but she was nowhere to be found.
Puzzled, Brian checked a large clock hanging on the wall nearby. It was exactly four o’clock in the afternoon; his flight had been right on time. So where was Leighanne?
Brian figured maybe she was just running late and decided to sit down and wait for her. The gate where he was standing was filled with people meeting friends and relatives that had been on his flight, so, not wanting to be mobbed by any fans that might recognize him, Brian headed down the hall in search of somewhere isolated where he could wait.
He walked through the airport until he came to a an empty waiting area. He took a seat in a corner, letting his backpack fall to the ground.
Maybe I should call Leigh, he thought suddenly. Maybe she had forgotten what time to pick him up or just lost track of the time. Deciding that calling home was a good idea, Brian pulled his cell phone out of his backpack and turned it on. As he was pressing the speed-dial for his home number, he did not see the figure rapidly approaching him.
Brian watched as the seven digits of his phone number appeared in the little window on the phone, and started to place the phone to his ear. But when he looked up, he gasped, the phone slipping out of his hand.
There was a man standing right next to his chair, looking down at him, a sneer on his lips. It was hard to tell what he looked like, for the man’s head was covered with a bandana, and he was wearing a pair of large, dark sunglasses. The man was dressed in black, complete with a black trench coat.
“Can I help you, sir?” Brian asked meekly, reaching down to retrieve his fallen phone. But as he did so, the man took a swung, his fist colliding with Brian’s jaw.
Falling back in his chair with a gasp of pain, Brian cowered, rubbing his jaw. “Wh… what’s going on?” he demanded, but his voice wavered.
“I’ll fill you in on that later,” the man replied gruffly. “But for now, I want you to come with me. And don’t give me no trouble either, or you’ll get it later. Got that?” At a loss for words, Brian just nodded.
“What’s that?” the man asked, noticing Brian’s fallen cell phone. Before Brian could reply, he picked it up, glanced at the screen for a moment, and put it to his ear. A twisted smile crossed his face, and he let go of the phone, sending it clattering onto the ground once again. Then, he raised his foot and stomped down hard on the phone, smashing it with his heavy black boot.
“Come on,” the man growled, grabbing Brian’s shirt collar and yanking him up. Brian was surprised at the man’s strength, for he was quite small in stature, no bigger than Brian. Yet, he seemed to be stronger.
“Wh-where are we going?” Brian asked, as the man pushed him roughly forward.
The man chuckled, his cold laugh sending chills throughout Brian’s trembling body. “You’ll see.”
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