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** BRIAN **

My face was hot with shame. I kept my eyes firmly locked on my fidgeting hands; acutely aware of the fact that the other guys were exchanging knowing glances behind my back. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Leighanne was the one who had posted the potentially incriminating message on Twitter. The other women barely even used the social networking site.

“It’s not her fault, Brian.” Howie’s voice was soft and soothing. “She had no way of knowing that what she was posting could potentially be harmful.”

“We don’t even know what she posted.” AJ added. “I’m sure it was something pointless and the police are just reading too much into it.”

I reached for the remote that was sitting on the coffee table, making sure to keep my gaze low as I ignored Howie and AJ’s comments. I pointed the remote at the TV and began to hastily scroll through the guide. I suddenly had an immense desire to know what the media was saying about us.

“What are you doing?” Nick worried. “Why are you stopping on CNN?”

“Don’t you want to know what people are saying?” I forced myself to look into Nick’s apprehensive face. “Aren’t you curious?”

Nick stared directly back at me. “No.”

“Shhhh!” Howie waved his hand in our general direction. “Bri, turn it up.”

I followed Howie’s instructions and turned up the volume as the screen flashed to an all too familiar scene. A young, male reporter was standing in the middle of Nick and Lauren’s driveway. Uniformed police officers were standing guard in the background, protecting the property.

“Great!” Nick slammed himself into the back of the couch. “Now, I’m going to have to move … again!”

“Shhhh!” Howie waved his hand in our direction for a second time as the reporter began to speak.

~*~*~*~
“I’m Ryan Stokes, reporting live from outside Backstreet Boy Nick Carter’s home near Franklin, Tennessee. Coverage of our top story continues this hour with the news that the deceased man found in Pinkerton Park, who was originally believed to be 90s heartthrob Nick Carter, is actually a Nashville native by the name of Dan Scott. Police have determined that Scott, who bore a striking resemblance to Carter, was the victim of mistaken identity. He was heavily drugged and then murdered after being mistaken for Carter while he was out partying at a local bar. Investigators are remaining tight lipped about how and why Scott came to be in possession of Carter’s identification. Scott, an investment broker, leaves behind a wife and three young sons.

Investigators have released virtually no details about the motive behind Scott’s murder. While police have admitted that Carter was obviously the intended target, they are refusing to comment about why someone would want to kill the boy band member. At this time, it appears as though the police still have no leads, despite the fact that they have surveillance video of Scott leaving the bar in the company of at least one other man.

To add another layer of ambiguity to this case, Carter has yet to come forward. The location of his fiancé, Lauren Kitt, also remains a mystery, as do the whereabouts of Carter’s band mates; AJ McLean, Brian Littrell, Howie Dorough, and Kevin Richardson. Flight records indicate that Dorough and Richardson flew into Nashville on Sunday and that McLean landed in Atlanta, Georgia early Sunday morning. While there are no flight records available for Littrell, his vehicle is parked behind me; indicating that he, and possibly McLean, were at Carter’s home sometime between Sunday afternoon and yesterday night when the news of Scott’s murder was made public. According to a Twitter post composed by Littrell’s wife yesterday afternoon, she has received no contact from her husband since he left their home in Alpharetta, Georgia on Sunday morning. The Twitter account from which the post originated has since been disabled. The police are refusing to answer questions related to the whereabouts of the once top-selling boy band, but it is believed that all five members are still in the vicinity of Franklin, Tennessee.”
~*~*~*~


“I knew it.” I mumbled. The heat was once again coursing through my face as I stared at the television. The image of the reporter had been replaced by a group shot of the five of us; a voice over was busy outlining the fact that we had just finished a European tour. “What was Leighanne thinking?”

“This is bad.” Kevin announced, ignoring my whining. “Our travel records are now public knowledge. Whoever is after us now knows for sure that we haven’t left Tennessee.”

“They made us sound washed up.” I continued to whine; enjoying my own private pity party. “We’re still relevant. What was all of that 1990s bullshit?”

“Seriously?” Howie gave me a patronizing glance. “That’s what you’re concerned about?”

“Do you appreciate being referred to as a bunch of losers?” I shot back. “That’s not going to help us sell tickets.”

“We won’t be selling any tickets if we’re dead.” AJ interjected. He slammed his empty mug down on the coffee table and looked back and forth between me and Howie. “We are not going to fight about this right now! Who the fuck cares about what the media says about us?”

“Isn’t that what you told me the other day, Bri?” Nick’s voice was tentative; halting. “I thought you said that you don’t care about what people think.”

My face flushed, only this time I was the cause of my own embarrassment. “I don’t care what people say. I just don’t want to focus on the serious part of the story; the stuff that Kevin was pointing out.”

Nick gave me a sad, sympathetic smile. “That sounds like something that I’m supposed to say.”

“It’s true for all of us right now.” AJ muttered. “I just want all of this to be over.” He reached over and slid the remote out of my fingers, changing the channel to ESPN. “I’m done listening to people speculate about where we are and what we’re doing.”

I leaned back on the couch, my head resting neatly in the space between AJ’s and Nick’s. The three of us swivelled our eyes to the baseball scores that were running across the bottom of the screen, but I knew that none of us were really absorbing the numbers. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Howie and Kevin whispering back and forth; their faces wrinkled in seriousness and concentration. Although I knew that it wasn’t a possibility, I actually found myself hoping that the two of them would somehow come up with a solution to get us out of this mess, just like they always had when we were younger.

“Howie and I are going to go into town.” Kevin abruptly stood up from the couch and Howie followed dutifully behind.

“You’re going to town?” I repeated. “The police just told us not to leave the house.”

Kevin rolled his eyes. “The police told us to follow the rules. We’re allowed to leave as long as we tell Tony and Joey where we’re going.”

“What are you going to get?” AJ narrowed his eyes. “A break from the three of us?”

Kevin’s upper lip twitched. “We’re going to the hardware store and maybe a few other places.”

“For what?” I pestered. “What’s so important that it’s potentially worth risking your lives?”

Howie and Kevin exchanged a quick glance. It was easy to see that they were debating about whether or not we were worthy of hearing their plan.

“Just some everyday stuff … some rope, a few flashlights …” Howie shrugged. “… maybe a baseball bat or two.”

I could feel my eyes widening as I looked back and forth between the two oldest members of our group. “You’re going to get stuff that we can use as weapons?”

Howie shrugged again. “If that’s how you want to see it.”

“How else am I supposed to see it?” I demanded. “Do you really think that any of us are going to be capable of bludgeoning someone to death with a baseball bat?”

Kevin gave me a long, sideways glance. “You almost choked someone to death less than two hours ago.”

“I thought that he was going to KILL AJ.” I once again found myself becoming defensive. “What was I supposed to do?”

“You did exactly what you should have done.” Kevin’s tone conveyed the fact that he was being completely serious. “We have to face the facts. Our lives are in danger, and we have to realize that there may not always be someone else around to protect us.”

“Just let them go.” Nick interrupted morosely. His eyes were still glued to the television. “Just let them go.”