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Chapter 2:

Howie was on the very brink between sleep and consciousness when he felt a weightless object bounce effortlessly off the middle of his forehead. He forced his eyes open only to see Brian and Nick quickly turn their attention elsewhere. The usual culprits of course, and Howie had learned over the years to disregard their looks of innocence as anything but innocent. Brian had mastered the art of keeping a straight face, while Nick, on the other hand, never had and probably never would, even if his life depended on it. Abandoning the idea of trying to get any sleep, in fear of possibly being subjected to whatever practical jokes the recently returned duo, Frick and Frack, could concoct, Howie sat up in his seat and raised his arms above his head, stretching. He looked down, seeing his long forgotten cup of coffee already cooled. He reached for the styrofoam cup, nose scrunching.

To his left, Brian had just spoken something to Nick that resounded incoherently in Howie's ear. But Nick had obviously understood as he responded by nodding his head and snickered quietly. The two of them sat close, hunched over the wooden table where Nick was busying himself with a pencil and sketch pad. Howie couldn't see what exactly was being drawn; some sort of cartoon sketches of all of them, he guessed. Being it was Nick's expertise. But the close friends were finding an unusual amount of humor in Nick's drawings, leaving Howie's mind to wander. He sat there staring off in space. Thinking, thinking...

It was sad that he couldn't even remember the last time he had witnessed something as such unfolding before him. Frick and Frack...two partners in crime that seemed to have faded over the years, only to become mere friends. And in the past months, it seemed their friendship had dwindled down to nothing more then acquaintances. But now, they huddled together as they had done many times in the past, mischief brewing between them. It drew Howie back to reality, causing him to realize just how much they had really changed and how much they had actually grown apart over their quote-unquote period of "separation" from one another. Things weren't like what they used to be, Howie had gotten used to that, and it had taken him quite awhile to accept the fact that things between them would never be the same again. But sitting back and observing old memories peeking through into the present let Howie know that there was still hope. Sometimes hope was all you could cling to and Howie was happy to have just that.

"No, no...his eyebrows need to be more like a...bush," Brian explained, glancing out of the corner of his eye to see Kevin perched on a nearby couch and carefully making sure the older man hadn't heard a word. Kevin seemed unfazed by his cousin's comment, in-depth in whatever conversation he was having over his phone while making a rather sad attempt to battle it out on some complex game on the playstation Nick hadn't failed to drag in and hook up to the TV in the spacious lounge-room of the arena the group was scheduled to perform in the following evening. "Give me the pencil and I'll show ya."

"Dude, you call those brows?!" Nick retorted seconds later at Brian's futile attempt of adding to the sketch. He snatched the pencil back just as quickly as Brian had taken it away, erasing the Kentuckian's sloppy work. Nick cracked his knuckles out in front of him, shaking the stiffness out of his hands. "Back up and watch the master," he claimed, returning lead to paper. "How's about we add Howie in the background, wearing a tutu and waving pompoms?"

Howie spit dry air from his mouth, gaping at the blonde in disbelief. Nick looked up at him, grinning. Brian peaked from the other side, his expression mirroring Nick's. Howie shook his head, propping his feet onto the edge of the table. "If I wasn't so tired, I would reach over this dead tree and smack some sense into that empty head of yours. But since I'm feeling generous, I'll take pity over you. If I have to wear a tutu and wave pompoms, then you damn well better draw Brian in, wearing a chicken costume with a shirt that reads 'I'm a Kentucky fried chicken and I'm proud of it'.”

It was Brian’s turn to sit back, eyes masking his own disbelief. “Howard, you should be ashamed!” he scolded. He held a dramatic hand to his heart. “I…I am just…offended! I am offended! What do you take me for? Do I look like a chicken to you?!”

“Ooh, let me answer!” Nick laughed.

“Drop dead, you diseased alien.”

“That was so uncalled for…” Nick muttered, chewing on the end of the pencil and dismissing the comment. He looked up at Howie, reveling in the good fun of the moment. It relaxed him, passing the time like they used to. Brought back a whole dish of memories that Nick at one point feared were lost forever. His grin widened, knowing exactly how to press Brian’s buttons to the limit. “You’ve got yourself a deal, D. Should I draw him as original or extra crispy?”

“Originally extra crispy,” Kevin’s bodyguard cut into the joking conversation as he pushed the door to the room open and struggled in with a box of freshly baked donuts purchased at a small bakery located down the road from the arena. Fred, as everyone knew him, was a rather burly man in size, often coming off as intimidating to anyone beneath him in height. But his personality in no way matched his appearance. With a voice half an octave higher then one would guess, and a heart of pure gold, Fred was just one of those guys who was a soft, lovable teddy bear on the inside. Unless his buttons were pressed the wrong way and someone stepped into the wrong track, then his demeanor matched exactly what people saw on the outside. “Donuts for all. And must I say, good thing security was tightened for you guys. I had the roughest time pushing my way through the crowd that’s somehow miraculously gathered outside this place just to get back inside. They get more brutal every time you guys come to town. One even had the nerve to attempt to steal this box of donuts from my grasp. Took care of that quickly. Speaking of security, though. AJ hasn’t arrived yet?”

Nick jumped up from his seat, dropping the pencil in a hasty attempt to stand up quickly. He paid no attention to it as it rolled aimlessly off the edge of the table and stepped over to Fred, snatching the box of pastries from the older man’s grasp before a reaction could be produced. Fred looked on blankly as Nick half-walked/half jogged back around to his and Brian’s side of the table. “Some things never change, huh?” he mumbled to himself, sauntering over to an empty chair.

Howie rolled his eyes, wandering off to dispose of the styrofoam cup. “When it comes to that one, no, because all hope was lost for him the moment he entered this world,” he replied, slamming back into his seat as Nick stared up at him shocked, mouth full of powdered donut. “Whoops, did I say that out loud?” Howie grinned.

“You have become terribly brutal in your old years, Howard,” Nick sputtered, his voice coming out slightly muffled from the mixture of saliva and pastry swirling around within his pink flapping lips.

“Attractive,” Howie retorted, rolling his eyes.

“Alright, guys, let’s keep the ‘fight to your death’ postponed until after the other one-fifth of your party arrives,” Fred chided lightly, reaching his hand out and beckoning the blonde to give him a chocolate éclair to satisfy his morning hunger, knowing full well that he and the other guards that made up the group’s security shield would have their hands full the rest of day with all of the procedures sure to go down. He took a savored bite out of the pastry and ventured over to where Kevin was gaping dismally at the flashing television screen. Kevin's lips were curled into frustration…confusion. Hell, Fred couldn’t exactly make out what the look was all about. Maybe the words 'GAME OVER' flashing on the screen had something to do with it...

Kevin glanced wearily towards his bodyguard, as if just now realizing the large man was looming behind him. He offered an impish smile, a tinge of crimson creeping into his cheeks as he dropped the controller to the floor. It came in contact with the hard floor with a rough ‘clank’. “Video games…always been more of Brian and Nick’s area,” Kevin shrugged. He surveyed the room before standing up to stretch the aches out of his muscles. His neck ached with a kink bringing the on-coming of a pestering headache.

The door was shoved open allowing entry to a stocky gentleman who neared Fred’s height, but gained weight over Kevin’s body guard by about twenty pounds. Andre, who had been absent quite a period of time since their arrival at the arena that morning, said very little as he walked back into the room. Howie shot a word of greeting towards his bodyguard. “I just finished speaking with the security team of this place and they’ve been informed of the recent threats against you guys. They’re going to be taking the necessary measures to insure your concert tomorrow goes off without a hitch and without the chance of anything happening that isn’t supposed to happen,” he explained in a low voice as he reached deep into his pants pocket and withdrew a thin handkerchief that he used to dab at his dark chocolate complexion with. “Please tell me Leo and AJ are on their way and will be arriving shortly. Security at this place is anxious to get through with this briefing with us about tomorrow.”

Nick’s bodyguard tossed his hand of cards upon the table, grinning stupidly across at Eric. His emerald eyes glistened in delight at the prospect of actually winning the hand that had been dealt. And of course that meant he was twenty dollars richer. “Just rang Leo’s cell ‘bout ten minutes ago. No answer,” Joel answered moments later, ignoring the look of daggers Brian’s bodyguard was giving him. He grinned at Eric’s disappointment before turning to glance at Andre and reaching for a pastry himself. Andre seemed non-too pleased with the answer as he sank into a seat next to Howie, faced creased in exhaustion and annoyance. “I say we give them another five to ten minutes to show up. If they don’t, we give them one more call, before one of us heads back over to the hotel to see what the Hell the hold up is all about.”

“I’m sure Aje probably just overslept his wake up call,” Howie tried to reason, wincing at the tension that had seemed to blanket itself over the atmosphere of everyone lately. He, himself, was confused, though. An unnerving feeling had settled itself into the very pit of his stomach as time continued to tick on. They had all had experiences in the past of over sleeping their wakeup calls when schedules had been so tedious the night before and arrivals back at the hotels had been so late, that sometimes a wakeup call was almost ineffective and pointless. They all knew of AJ’s schedule the night before, the invitation to help host some radio gig on the outskirts of town that would have left him not due to arrive back until late into the evening, possibly early morning, hours. However, the fact that they had all been at the arena for going on two hours with no word from their absent band mate or his bodyguard seemed rather out of the ordinary.

“Any word of update from Leo would be great though.” Fred’s words were tinged with the same feeling of annoyance and frustration that had coated Andre’s only seconds ago. Fred did have a point. Not being able to reach any point of contact with them was unusual. And with the recent threats, it did nothing to settle the churning of nerves thrust upon everyone.

“Like Howie said, AJ probably just overslept his wake up call and Leo took pity. Leo’s phone might not be picking up signal at the moment and AJ probably forgot to charge his last night. I’m sure they are on their way though,” Kevin cut in quickly before a session of berating AJ for his tardiness began. He glanced at his watch and had to admit that there better be a good reason for why the duo was so late.

“Some people never learn the importance of being somewhere on time,” Eric objected, his arms crossing threateningly over his chest. Seven pairs of eyes looked in his direction. Seeing he had been thrown into a questioning spotlight, Eric shrugged his shoulders in defense at his choice of words. But his brows never ceased from creasing, and his dark hazel eyes just seemed to turn shades darker, his expression set in stone. “All I’m saying is AJ needs to learn the whole world doesn’t revolve around him and he holds up not only himself, but everyone else, by being late.”

“I’m sure AJ has a perfectly good reason for not being here right now,” Kevin answered through near-gritted teeth, fully aware of the smug tone that slid with the other man’s words. Kevin didn’t like it at all, but bit his tongue to keep from speaking any well deserved words that he knew he could full-well come to regret. He stuck to answering on AJ’s behalf, not understanding what had turned his cousin’s bodyguard into such a sour mood.

“Look on the bright side, more donuts for us. You snooze, you lose!” Brian threw his two cents in, coating it with a light joking tone as he looked in Kevin’s direction in confusion. He had recognized the unusual tone of his bodyguard’s voice also, but all Brian received from his cousin in return was an unknowing shrug. He also fought to ignore the sniggering coming from his left, trying with his entire might to resist the urge of plowing a fist into Nick’s unexpecting shoulder. Just the thought of delivering such a blow caused a small smile to toy with his lips and he munched hungrily upon his ‘breakfast’, rather focusing back upon Nick’s artwork. “Heh, dude…what the heck are those supposed to be?” he teased skeptically, lamely attempting to change the subject and pointing a messy finger towards the squiggly lines the blonde had turned to carelessly drawing around the page. Nick failed to answer and Brian clamped a hand down on his shoulder sharply to guarantee the grabbing of his attention.

Nick sputtered, in the middle of shoving the rest of his donut entirely into his mouth. Brian wanted to gag at Nick’s lack of table manners, or really his lack of any manners at all, but Nick was too busy choking on the slobbered pastry and dry-heaving into his hand to allow Brian to give it much second thought. Joel’s hand found its way immediately against Nick’s back, aiding in the increasing sound of his coughing. Nick waved him off a moment later, roughly clearing his throat. He shot an icy glare towards the younger Kentuckian. “Shit Brian, you want me to choke to death?!”

Brian had the perfect come back for that, he honestly did, and it was one he was sure would leave Nick speechless and steaming. But before Brian could release the words from his mouth, a persistent series of sharp, urgent knocks rapped against the hall-side of the closed doorway, bringing every bit of noise to a sudden halt. In a split second, Andre and Fred were on their feet, Joel’s hands froze in mid-shuffling of the deck of the cards, and Eric’s eyebrows raised an inch higher then normal. All eyes seemed to shift to the door, minus Nick who seemed to be too engrossed in continuing his artful masterpiece to pay heed to the sudden disruption. Andre muttered a small set of words to Kevin’s bodyguard before trudging over to the door, voicing his own opinion out loud that it damn well better be AJ and Leo on the other side or all Hell was going to break loose and whoever was standing on the other side would be dealt the brunt of it.

However, Andre hadn’t the slightest clue of recognition towards the two suit-clad individuals and instinctively blocked the doorway, inhaling a swift breath as he observed the man and woman standing before him. Each was dressed in their own suits. The man, considerably taller then the woman to his right, stood clad in a crisp black business suit, a white cotton button-up shirt tucked neatly beneath. A plain navy blue tie hung presentably around his neck to finish the apparel and presenting a sense that this man never ceased to present his appearance as anything but professional. His dark chocolate eyes were cast over with a stony glare that unsettled every nerve in Andre’s body and sent a case of shivers traveling the whole length of his spine.

The woman in tow set off vibes of much warmer multitude, but it still did nothing to counteract the feelings Andre received that the two strangers came bearing bad news. She wore a slender deep azure business suit that could possibly do wonders at drawing attention to all the curves of her body had she not been in a mode of business oriented work. Ebony curls were pulled into a perfect ponytail, the light from the ceiling accenting natural red highlights evenly distributed. Almond-shaped orbs of forest green complimented nicely golden tanned skin, but a most surprising feature was the accumulated muscles evident even so through her business suit, despite the lean sculpture of her body. It was obvious the woman took great care in working out and staying healthy through out the years.

Andre shook his mind clean of the off-track thoughts and cleared his throat. “Can I help the two of you?” he questioned with uncertainty, arms folding across his chest out of habit.

“I am sure that you can.” It was the man that answered and he reached into his inner suit pocket as he did so. Removing his hand, he gave view to a golden badge upon black, the shiny surface reflecting the light into Andre’s eyes. “I’m Detective Raymond Hutchins from the local police department and this is my partner Detective Abigail O’Ryan,” he continued seconds later after establishing the fact that he meant no harm but still meant very serious business. “We need to speak with Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough, Kevin Richardson, and Nick Carter.”

“In regards to what?” Fred had suddenly appeared at Andre’s side, abandoning his perch next to the table. He frowned in confusion towards the two detectives.

Detective Hutchins paused before answering. “In regards to Alexander McLean.”

"What about AJ? Is he alright?" Kevin blurted, feeling his pulse drop to near zero at the icy words that dripped from Detective Hutchins’ lips. He felt a sudden loathing towards the man, whether it be out of complete shock from the revelation just revealed or for a completely different reason. Andre stumbled aside as Fred beckoned the two detectives into the lounge room. Kevin’s heart lept back into rhythm at the grim look that seemed to mask Detective Hutchins’ face. He held in a shallow breath, his heart pounding against his rib cage. “What hap-“

"That, sir, we don’t know clearly all the details at the moment,” Detective O’Ryan answered, stepping forward a foot. She glanced around at the gathering of men, feeling the heat of their stares and recognizing the adrenaline of fear coursing through each of their eyes. “But from the scene of the accident-“

Howie nearly fell to the floor from where he sat on the edge of his seat. His usually warm coffee eyes turned cold and murky. “What do you mean ‘from the scene of the accident’?” he demanded hoarsely. His entire mouth turned sickeningly dry as if he was housing a mouth full of cotton. He could barely swallow.

“Mr. McLean’s Mercedes was discovered by a truck driver in a shallow ravine around 5:17 this morning. Due to the location of the accident, it is apparent he had been traveling on the backwoods interstate for quite a while. But at some point in time, the Mercedes collided with a rock wall, cascading over the railing on the other side of the road and landing in the ravine below,” Hutchins explained, not pausing for one moment to let any of the information revealed have time to sink in. “The vehicle was found to be near completely totaled when the truck driver arrived on the scene.”

“But what about AJ?” Kevin found difficulty in getting his voice to project and the loathing towards the detective continued to grow.

“Mr. McLean has been airlifted to the local hospital and the last we heard was that he was in critical condition."

“Critical…condition…” Nick mumbled half-audibly to no one in particular. It wasn’t even a question, much less a statement. It was just his own way of confirming that what he had heard was true. Brian glanced nervously in his direction to notice Nick’s complexion had turned shades paler and he was visibly shaking from where he sat.

“Law enforcement, upon arriving at the scene, was ready to rule the accident as reckless driving caused by speeding. However, the CSI team was called in just for backup and discovered evidence of two sets of deep impression skid marks upon the asphalt. One set leading from the rock wall to the edge of the ravine, the other located several feet behind the first set.”

“I don’t un-“ Kevin started.

“What are you getting at?” Fred pressed.

“Seems that someone was trying to run Mr. McLean off the road…and succeeded.”

"Wait a minute," Kevin spoke out, finding his voice. The feeling of hate towards Detective Hutchins was apparent through his sharp emerald eyes. "Are you trying to tell us that someone attempted to kill AJ?"

"We haven't ruled out that possibility-"

"It sure as Hell wasn't meant to be a prank!"

"Kevin, arguing with the detectives won't help anyone…especially AJ," Fred replied in a logical tone, placing a hand on Kevin's tense shoulder. Kevin shrugged the touch away, his eyes narrowed in deep thought, face creased from anxiety. Fred heard the scraping of a chair, only to look back over his shoulder and find that Brian had stumbled into the standing position. He appeared just as pale as his cousin and the rest of them did, but was stumbling over his words terribly. Even Fred was having trouble gathering his thoughts as he glanced back at Hutchins and O’Ryan.

"What we need to know right now is if any of you can think of anyone who could be considered an enemy to Mr. McLean. It doesn’t matter how long ago he might have known this person or persons, we want to know about it. Is there any reason you can think of that would cause someone to want to do harm to Mr. McLean?" O’Ryan continued. Joe opened his mouth to answer, fully intent on explaining to the detectives about the recent threats made against the group by an anonymous quote-unquote “stalker” of sorts, but Kevin once again interrupted, his face red with furry.

"First you flat out tell us that our brother is near death after a freak car accident. Now you're asking us to sit here wasting our time to think of enemies when we should be heading to the hospital?" Kevin scoffed. "This is ridiculous, we don't have time!"

“Please bear with us, sir-“

“Kevin Richardson.”

“Mr. Richardson, I know you are worried about your friend, but any ideas you can think of right now, no matter how small or how unimportant they may seem, could just be the link to understanding why this accident happened,” Detective O’Ryan explained. “It’s imperative that you cooperate, if not for yourselves but for the sake of your friend.”

“We all have some talking we need to do,” Fred thought out loud, running a tense hand through his short wispy locks. Andre and Joel had already stepped away to the opposite side of the room at this point, one reaching for his cell phone and the other aiming straight for the red phone mounted on the wall that would connect him with the people who ran the place. Fred gazed at the two detectives anxiously, trying to ignore the muttering coming from behind him. His thoughts rushed through his head on overload. “Detectives…” he started carefully, hearing several pairs of feet smacking against the hard floor and the creaks of chairs as they were relieved of the weight. “I know I speak on behalf of all of us when I say we are more then willing to cooperate with whatever it is you need. But what we need to know right now is what needs to be done to get police protection for these guys? Because if you are saying someone deliberately tried to run AJ off the road, then you just as well are saying they are vulnerable also.”

“And for what reason do you believe that, sir?” Detective Hutchins questioned.

"For the past few months the guys have been receiving threats from an anonymous stalker. We have taken extra precautionary measures to ensure their safety. But the threats have continued. If this accident has any connection whatsoever to these recent threats, then it’s very well possible that something could happen again. So in order for them to cooperate, I need to know they're going to be protected. You cooperate with us and we cooperate with you."

“Whatever you request sir and we’ll see to it that you get it,” Hutchins nodded.

“T-that’s great. But let’s cut the bullshit and get the Hell over to the hospital!” Nick snapped. His azure eyes had turned stormy as he hastily tried to throw his jacket back onto his shoulders.

“Right now it would be better to get you guys back to the Hotel first-“ Fred said.

“That’s bullshit, man! Fuck it, we need-“

“What we need is to figure things out first!” Fred barked. “I’m just as worried about AJ as you guys are, but we’re not going to be taking any damn chances! We obviously didn’t pay enough heed to these threats and look what happened-“

“But we don’t know if this has anything to do with the threats,” Brian tried to reason.

“Exactly, and that’s why we aren’t going to take any chances,” Andre agreed, jogging back over to the group. “Because if it does have anything to do with it, we aren’t going to take the chance of letting anything else happen to any of you.”

"Damnit, none of you understand!" Howie interrupted everyone. The Latino was shaking terribly and his eyes were murky as he tried to speak with an even voice. "No one would understand except for the four of us. AJ's our brother and he's in the hospital. We need to stop this stupid argument and leave for the hospital now!"

"Amen to that!" Brian replied, grabbing his coat. "I am not going back to the damn hotel, it's pointless and wastes time that we could be spending making sure he is ok!"

“Fine. Kevin, grab your coat. You, Andre, and I will head over to the hospital to check on things,” Fred growled in frustration. Kevin didn’t blink at the instruction, much less respond any other way. He had grown deathly quiet and Fred wasn’t sure Kevin had even heard him, but the angry protests kept him from giving it any second thoughts. “The rest of you,” he gritted, “will go back to the hotel with Eric and Joel.”

“That’s fucking bullshit!” Nick screeched. But Fred and Andre were already ushering Kevin towards the door, Detective Hutchins close in tow. “Motherfucker…”

“Get a grip, Nick,” Joel coached him, approaching him cautiously. “We’ll go back to the hotel and figure things out from there.”

“But this is fucking bullshit, man!”

‘God be with you, AJ…’ Joel prayed, not giving Nick the chance to protest further as they were all shoved out the door.

*****

Kevin's leg bounched nervously from where he sat in the backseat of Detective Hutchins' patrol car that was enroute to the local hospital where one of his closest friends lay in critical condition. As far as Kevin knew, AJ was in critical condition. There was always the lingering possibility that the situation could be far worse, the possibly that AJ hadn't survived. No, Kevin wouldn't think like that. The thought alone chilled his body to the very core and caused a cold sweat to form along his hairline. Kevin closed the lids over his emerald orbs as he limply pressed his forehead against the cool glass window, attempting to calm his overworked mind before it wandered into a round of 'What Ifs'. It wasn't working, though. He hadn't been prepared to be slammed with such news, none of them had. AJ...in critical condition, maybe even lingering on the thin line between life and death? It was almost incomprehensible. It just seemed so surreal when less then twenty four hours before AJ had been in good health, fooling around and joking like he usually did. And now...

Kevin pursed his lips tightly together. He really wished he were heading towards some other destination. Preferably the hotel. God, he really did. Nick's bitter protests still rang painfully in his ears and Kevin would have been more then glad to hand over the job of making the trip to the hospital to any one of the others if he had been given the chance to do so. He hated hospitals, utterly despised them. But Detective Hutchins and Fred had been so quick to push him out the door that his numb body didn't even have the chance to react. And Nick had shot Kevin such a look of icy daggers that it should have landed him dead on the floor, if only looks could kill. The others were forced back to the hotel for safety measures and Kevin was left to make the trip alone. It didn't make the situation any easier.

He vaguely remembered them pulling up in front of the Emergency Room entrance. His stomach had tied itself into such tight knots during the ride that he wanted to throw up all over the backseat upon laying eyes on the automatic sliding glass doors. Kevin could barely hear faint words as he listlessly fumbled with unlatching his seat belt, slight movement beside him indicating Fred was already leaving the vehicle. Kevin’s door flew open and Fred appeared in his line of vision, blocking the entrance doors to the ER. Andre and Detective Hutchins quickly joined him at the sides, beckoning Kevin to step out into the crisp morning air.

"He'll be alright," Fred whispered with a frown, helping Kevin to step out and onto the pavement. Kevin just nodded, knowing that really the situation was up in the air. All they had to go on about AJ's condition was the little knowledge Detective Hutchins had been able to give them back at the arena. Fred held in a sharp breath as he gently pushed Kevin foward, keeping a comforting hand clasped upon Kevin's shoulder. Together they stepped through the automatic doors, Detective Hutchins leading the way and Andre keeping a close step behind.

Kevin couldn't find the words to muster as he watched the detective step up to the 'check-in' counter for the ER. The man seemed to know exactly what he was doing, but Kevin on the other hand felt so clueless, and helpless to say the least. He busied himself in glancing cautiously around the waiting-room while Detective Hutchins exchanged a few quiet words with the woman on the other side of the glass plate window, unable to find relief that there were only five other people occupying the room: an elderly man and his wife sitting in hard plastic chairs near the vending machines and a young couple with their infant son on the opposite side of the room. The infant's screeching wails did nothing at penetrating his ear drums.

The next thing Kevin knew, Detective Hutchins had turned back to them, expression grim, and led the three of them through a closed door and down a hallway until they reached a set of double elevators. They boarded without words on where they were going. Either that or Kevin just didn't hear it. But somehow he knew he didn't need to be told where they were heading; deep inside it nawed at the pit of his stomach. Kevin was smart enough to put two and two together. AJ was obviously not in the ER, otherwise they would have stayed on the main floor. And if he really was in critical condition, and still clinging to life, then that could only mean one other place...The elevator slowly climbed three floors and opened up to confirm Kevin's suspicions. Directly on the wall in front of him was a mounted sign with letters spelling out the glaring words "Intensive Care Unit" and a little arrow pointing to the right. Kevin willed his feet to move as he stepped off the elevator and moved down the hallway. A few corners were rounded before they once again ended up with two options.

"We'll have to wait in here, gentlemen," Detective Hutchins motioned with a hand towards a single oak door with a small window.

The door clicked open quietly and Andre entered first; Kevin didn't have to wait to be led in, he was already moving against his will. He suddenly felt claustrophobic as the door shut behind him and it honestly didn't help that the room was merely seven feet by fifteen. Only a few of those uncomfortable padded wood hospital chairs and a bench lined the walls, but none of them seemed inviting. Instead Kevin opted to stand against one of the walls, wondering just how long his legs would be able to support his weight. He bit down pathetically on his bottom lip, nonchalantly scanning his surroundings. That is until he realized the four of them weren't alone in the room. Kevin's blood turned icy cold upon noticing Leo's hunched over form on the opposite side, a uniformed officer keeping a watchful eye on the bodyguard. But before Kevin could even take a step towards the man, Fred was already at his side.

"Start speaking, Leo. What the Hell is going on? What happened?" Fred demanded carefully, his tone undistinguishable between anger and confusion. It melted somewhere in the middle. Leo glanced up with fear stricken eyes, yet at the same time he struggled to hide his feelings. Guilt overrid him at the prospect of having been unable to properly live up to his job of protecting AJ. And knowing the man was in critical condition when Leo could have done something to... He averted his eyes, looking to where Kevin stood away from everyone. The Kentuckian's steel glare spoke it all. "At least tell us what you know about AJ's condition," Fred sighed defeatedly, drawing Leo's attention back to him.

Leo rubbed at the back of his neck, knowing the interrogation was bound to start sooner or later. "I'm not exactly sure," he less then started to explain and pursed his lips tightly together for a moment. "They had already rushed him into surgery by the time I got down here, had already been in the OR working on him for nearly two hours. So they had one of the Emergency surgeons come out of the surgery for a quick briefing and all he was really able to tell me was that AJ was in critical condition and suffering from a substantial amount of internal hemmoraging, which was what they were in there trying to stop. That's how I ended up here; the surgeon said they would be bringing AJ up to the Intensive Car Unit when the surgery was finished."

"How long ago was that?" Andre asked.

Leo studied the clock on the wall quickly. "Two hours?"

Kevin wanted to punch at the wall, or better yet stride right over to Leo and send a painful hit right between the eyes. He clenched and unclenched a fist behind his back, willing someone to walk into the room and give any helpful update about AJ's condition that would set Kevin's soul at peace. But the seconds continued to tick by and the silence in the room continued to thicken, dragging his hope for anything positive right down the drain. He felt a hand grip his shoulder and looked up to find Andre's distressed expression staring back at him.

"Might as well take a seat, Kev. Dunno how long the wait is gonna be," he said.

Kevin nodded and sunk dejectedly into the nearest chair, silently beginning to pray.