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Nick didn’t even recognize the sounds that were leaving his mouth. All he could do was gurgle incomprehensibly as he stared at the scene that was still unfolding before him. It hadn’t officially sunk in yet. His mind hadn’t fully processed the implications of what he was looking at. The sight of AJ lying motionless on the floor in a puddle of his own blood didn’t seem real. The angry red drops that were spattered all over Brian and Kevin looked staged. The blood stains on his own jeans seemed fake. This wasn’t real. AJ hadn’t just been shot.

“There we go!” Angelo wiped at a random droplet of blood that had landed on the back of his hand. “Things will be much easier now.”

“AJ?! What have you – What did you – Why – Oh, God, AJ, no!” Brian let out a string of words in a series of frantic puffs. He couldn’t bring himself to close his mouth; to stop gasping for breath. His legs suddenly felt too weak to support his weight, and he sank to the floor. “AJ, no! No, no, no!”

Brian could practically feel his heart breaking apart. He pulled his eyes away from AJ’s body. Ignoring the sticky feel of his friend’s blood as it congealed on his arms, Brian focused his eyes on the wall at the opposite end of the room. He didn’t want to look at anyone else’s face. He didn’t want to see his friends’ pain. He didn’t want to feel anything anymore.

“Briaaaaannn?” Angelo drew out the southerner’s name. The poor thing looked so sad. Perhaps, he had just taken out the one person in the world who he would save above anyone else. “I’m afraid that things aren’t going to work if you’re sitting down. You’re gonna have to stand back up for us.”

The remaining contents of Brian’s stomach churned as the big man called his name. He debated throwing up for the second time, but his mind convinced his body that it wasn’t worth the effort. He could still see AJ’s body out of the corner of his eye; his brand new sneakers pointing upwards towards the sky.

“Brian? Brian, sweetie, if you choose not to stand up than I’m gonna have to shoot you.” Angelo warned. He made a big show out of clicking his gun into position. “I’ll give you five seconds to decide.”

“Five ...”

Nick suddenly found his voice. “Bri, please ... you gotta – you gotta stand up.” He looked down at Brian’s tiny, shaking frame and his own legs started to tremble. There was no doubt in his mind that the massive, angry man with the gun would make good on his threat.

“Four ...”

“Brian, Nick’s right; you have to get off the floor.” Kevin joined in. He was careful not to look at AJ’s body as he stared down at his cousin. “He’ll shoot you. He’ll shoot you dead, and then you’ll be out of options.”

“Three ...”

“Brian, for the love of God, please!” Nick could hear himself entering full-blown panic mode. He shuffled as close to Brian as he felt their captors would allow; being careful to keep the gun in his hand pointed downward. He stretched his free hand out towards Brian and tried again. “Things can’t end like this.”

“Two ...”

Kevin could also hear the panic creeping into his own voice. “Brian, never in my life have I said this, but you need to listen to Nick. You need to do as he says and stand up.”

“One ...”

Brian drew his attention away from the wall just as the burly man raised his weapon. He looked up into Nick’s tear streaked face; absorbing all of the pain, fear, and desperation in one glance. The emotion on Nick’s face was so raw that it was startling. With Kevin’s heavy breathing thudding in his ears, Brian unwound his body and held out his hand to Nick. The blonde’s fingers gripped his with a strength that Brian didn’t know Nick possessed; hauling him to his feet in a matter of seconds.

“Good choice, Brian.”

Kevin breathed a sigh of relief. The blood was pounding in his ears. He desperately wanted to lunge forward and throw his arms around his cousin’s shaking frame, but AJ’s motionless body was sprawled in-between them. He couldn’t even bring himself to look down at AJ, let alone to step over him.

“Can someone – can we please get some help for AJ?” Howie spoke for the first time since the big man had discharged his weapon. “Why did you have to do that? Why did you have to shoot him?”

“I don’t think that anyone can help him now, Howie.” Angelo’s voice dripped with fake remorse. “He’s hurt pretty bad.”

Angelo took a step towards Nick and Brian. The two men were still clutching each other as if their lives depended on it. Which, in all fairness, was probably at least partially true.

“Howie, Howie, Howie ...” Angelo continued to address the blubbering Latino. “I know that you’re likely blaming yourself for what happened to poor Alex, but you can rest assured that I won’t be asking you to make any more decisions from here on out.”

Howie barely heard what the man was saying. He couldn’t look away from AJ’s lifeless body. His eyes were trained on the pool of blood that was slowly and methodically seeping out from underneath AJ’s back. Why had he said AJ’s name? Why hadn’t he been brave enough to say the name that he wanted to say? Why had he, once again, let his fear of upsetting Nick dictate his actions?

“I know that it’s not fair to you, Howie, but Nick is in charge of all of the decision making from now on.” Angelo was still talking; oblivious to the fact that Howie was slowly killing himself with guilt.

“I don’t want to be in charge.” Nick deadpanned. He continued to look at Brian instead of at the angry man who was now standing dangerously close to him. “I don’t want to make any decisions.”

“I’m afraid that you don’t have a choice, Nicky.” Angelo nodded his head quickly in Carl’s direction. “The outcome of our little show is all up to you.”

“Turn around.” Carl stepped up next to Kevin. He pulled a single key out of his pocket and dangled it in the southerner’s face. “It’s finally time for the cuffs to come off.”

Kevin turned slightly; giving the smaller man a sideways stare. He could tell by the inflection in the man’s voice that he was just as unsure about his partner’s actions as the rest of them were. The mask over the man’s face didn’t disguise his body language; didn’t cover up the fact that he was acting out of fear instead of camaraderie.

“Why are you taking them off now?” Kevin challenged. “What’s the point?”

The lesser man shrugged. “Do you want them off or not?”

Kevin sighed. He did as he was told and turned around. Within seconds, the handcuffs were removed, and his arms immediately fell parallel to his sides. The sense of relief in his wrists was instant, as well as welcoming enough to make up for the shooting pain in his shoulder as his muscles stretched to accommodate the hanging weight of his arms.

“Now step back against the wall.”

“What?” Kevin stopped inspecting his ravaged wrists long enough to stare into the smaller man’s eyes. “Why?”

“Stop asking questions!” Carl snapped. He didn’t like the way that Kevin was looking at him; as if he could sense his insecurity. “Just do as I say and put your back against the wall!” He slowly brought his gun up so that it was angled at Kevin’s chest. He dislodged the safety to show that he was serious; to make up for the slight tremor in his voice. “Get back or I’ll shoot you.”

“Fine.”

Kevin knew that, in the end, he had no choice. Even with his arms finally free, he was nowhere near close to being able to escape. His feet were still shackled to the floor. His shoulder was still throbbing. His arms were still weak. Kevin took a small step backwards towards the cinderblock wall. His eyes were trained on the barrel of the gun that was still pointed at his chest, and his mind jumped to a bitter, morbid thought; maybe he wanted to die simply to make all of this go away.

“I’m gonna need you to do what your cousin is doing.”

Kevin took another tentative step backwards as the bigger man addressed Brian. He was too far behind his cousin now to catch his attention; too far away to let Brian know that he needed to do what the man said. As much as Kevin wanted to die, he didn’t want to see anyone else lose their life. Watching AJ fall to the ground had already been too much for him to handle.

Nick tightened his grip on Brian’s hand. The big man was standing too close to him. He smelled like a putrid mixture of sweat and lunch meat. The stench was churning his stomach. He didn’t want to let go of Brian. As long as Brian was next to him, he would be okay; he would be safe.

“You have to let go of your friend, Nicky.”

It was as if the angry man had read his mind. Nick’s whole body clenched as the man’s meaty palm came to rest on his shoulder. He looked down at Brian’s fingers. They were turning white; he was holding on to them so tightly.

“It’s okay, Nick.” Brian squeezed Nick’s fingers for reassurance before allowing his hand to go slack in the blonde’s gip. “No matter what happens, it’s okay.”

Nick forced himself to let go of Brian; to allow his safety net to start backing up towards the far wall. The tears were hot under his eyelids as he watched Brian shuffle away. His fear was slowly being replaced by an overwhelming sense of sadness.

Nick allowed the big, angry man to reposition him so that he was in the middle of the room; facing the wall against which Kevin and Brian were standing. Although his back was now to Howie, Nick could hear the older man sucking in short, desperate breaths as he watched the situation unfold from his precarious position on the risers.

“Stretch your arms out to your sides.”

Nick could see Kevin trying to hide his pain as he pressed his back against the wall and slowly raised his arms. He could see the emotion distorting the older man’s features as his hand connected with Brian’s; their fingers lacing together as they both flattened themselves against the cement.

“Perfect.” Angelo grinned. He moved over to stand beside Carl so that he had a better view of all four remaining Backstreet Boys. His eyes settled on Howie. “Wait, I mean almost perfect.”

Howie could do nothing except widen his eyes as the monster of a man stepped forward. The thudding of his own heart was all consuming as he watched the man place his hands on the top riser. He braced himself for what was about to happen, but he still wasn’t prepared for the searing pain that coursed through his neck as the riser was yanked out from underneath his feat.

“Howie! No!”

Nick’s tearful cry did nothing to help the situation as Howie struggled to reach the top of the remaining riser. His body swayed and spots exploded in front of his eyes as the rope dug into his neck; cutting off his oxygen supply. For a few terrifying seconds, Howie feared that he wouldn’t be able to recover his footing, but then his right foot miraculously connected with the surface of the remaining riser and he was able to save himself; drawing himself up on the tips of his toes as much as his body would allow.

“There.” Angleo brushed his hands together as if he had just completed an immense amount of physical labour. “Now, things are perfect.” He turned to face Nick. “Are you ready to hear what you have to do, Nicky?”

Nick let out a series of unintelligible grunts in response. Although it was the last thing that he wanted to do, Nick tightened his grip on the gun. His hands were growing slick with sweat, and the last thing he wanted was for the gun to fall to the floor and discharge directly into one of his brothers’ faces. He didn’t know where to look; what do. He wanted to keep an eye on all three of his friends at the same time, but that was impossible given his position. If he faced Brian and Kevin then he would be turning his back on Howie.

“So, here’s what you’re going to do, Nicky.” Angelo powered forward without waiting for Nick to answer properly. “You’re going to make a simple choice. You’re going to shoot either Brian or Kevin.”