"Mr. Winchester, I have no words for the crime you have committed" the judge said, his words fading out as Mr. Winchester looked across the room to the boys who were smiling and silently cheering to themselves, he clenched his fist against his lap. Daphne once again loudly weeping as they pulled Damien from the courtroom.
"Mom, I'm so sorry" Damien sobbed as the guards tugged on his arm, she then got up from her seat and ran.
“Mom” he heard Darren utter as he took off behind her, out of the corner of his eye he saw Kyle look on sadly as Darren sprinted after Daphne.
He caught Kyle’s eye, bowing his head in silence and giving him a look of sympathy before walking out.
"Ian thank you so much" Kellie said hugging him.
"No problem, glad I could help, I'll see you guys" he said picking up his briefcase and leaving the courtroom.
He watched the prosecutor leave the room before approaching Kellie & Kevin, trying to keep his anger in check.
“Well…I guess congratulations are in order” Derek said approaching Kellie and Kevin “You’ve won after all” he said bitterly.
“I don’t think anybody came out a winner in this situation, and I don’t know how you can think otherwise” Kevin said to him, only angering him more.
"Well...don't get too excited there...this isn't over yet, I will make this up to my son, no matter what it takes” he said storming out.
The car ride home was kept in silence, reporters and photographers sat parked outside of the Winchester house waiting for Daphne and Derek to arrive home. Camera flashes began going off as soon as their car pulled up in front of their house. They all shouted questions out after them as they scurried inside.
"Mr. and Mrs. Winchester have no comment at this time" their lawyer said before went inside as well.
Derek and his lawyer sat in his office while polishing off a bottle of liquor. He looked out of the window and saw a newsman pull up in front of the house, he drew the curtains closed.
"Reginald!" he bellowed.
"Yes sir?" Reginald asked coming into the room immediately.
"If more reporters show up I need you to get rid of them for me" he said taking a drink.
"Certainly sir, will you be needing anything else?" Reginald asked.
"Not right now, thank you" Reginald nodded before leaving and closing the door behind him "We can fight this can't we?" Derek asked his lawyer "We can appeal?" he asked hopefully.
"Filing an appeal would just be a waste of the court's time" Garrett said to him.
"There has to be something...my son does not belong in jail, you need to find a way to fix this" Derek said to him.
"There's nothing" Garrett said in defeat.
"No, there has to be something, we need to get him out, what about a reduced sentence?"
"Not going to happen" Drew said "The kid shot two teachers and two other kids...two kids who just so happen to have celebrity parents."
"Celebrity...what celebrities? They're a washed up relic of the last decade" Derek said angrily.
"Who are still selling out arenas, making good album sales and still have hordes of fans across the world".
"Who's side are you on here?" Derek asked "We need to prove that he wasn't in the right frame of mind somehow."
"I tried that remember? I failed miserably, Damien passed the trial hearing, not to mention the psychiatrist's report that concluded that Damien had no mental anomalies". "I'm sorry Derek...it’s over, I better get going, need to start putting together some sort of statement for the press" Garrett said standing up he said pulling his jacket back on and leaving the office.
Derek stood over some cardboard boxes, the remains of Damien's rage fueled rampage on the house inside.
"Dad?" Darren asked standing in the doorway "I'm heading out" he said.
"How's your mother?" Derek asked taking a drink.
"As well as can be expected" Darren said to him “Man, Damien really did a number on this place” Darren said looking around “Looks like a tornado came through here” he said.
“I keep thinking about what your brother said in court” Derek said clinking the ice cubes in his drink against the glass. “About how I favored you over him” he said "What do you think?" Derek asked.
Darren shrugged "What can I say...Damien's...sick, I don't know.
“And your mother… she believes this whole ordeal is my fault" Derek said sitting on the edge of his desk.
"She's just upset" Darren said to him.
“If I put pressure on Damien, it’s only because I wanted him to be the best…like you were" Derek said.
"That's just it, Damien's not me, he's him...I don't understand why you have me on this pedestal, like I'm the greatest thing in sports history or something" Darren said to him.
"So because I'm proud of you, that makes me the bad guy?" Derek asked angrily.
“You’re not a bad guy dad, I got to go...look um if you need anything, just call me, alright?” Darren said leaving the room.
He emerged from his office, shutting the doors behind him and retreating to his bedroom. He could hear Daphne sobbing and followed the sounds of her distressed cries. The moon illuminated the large lump in their bed, Daphne lye with her back facing him, he looked at her helplessly.
"Daphne" he said softly.
“I don't want you in here tonight" she said.
"Daphne..." he said "Everything is going to be fine, I'm going to fix it don't worry, we'll have him home in no time" he said.
“Derek!” she said “Leave! I just want to be alone right now” she said to him.
“Daphne” he said.
“Now!” she yelled at him.
He got up from the bed, her sobbing become cries of distress as he walked towards the door and shut it behind him. The night grew on and the house became silent.
"Excuse me sir, do you require anything more of me?" Reginald asked.
"Uh...no Reginald thank you" Derek said to him.
"I shall retire then, goodnight sir" Reginald said leaving the room.
"Goodnight" he said as Reginald closed the door behind him.
He stared at the newspaper lying on his desk, he picked it up and unfolded it. Damien's face was plastered on the front page, he unfolded it once more to find the boys on the bottom of the page. Thinking back to the sympathetic look Kyle gave him before leaving the courtroom earlier that day. He then tossed the paper into the fire, pouring the liquor over it and watched it turn black and disintegrate.
3 ½ weeks later:
Derek sat upon his private plane, his phone pressed to his ear.
“Winchester residence” Reginald answered.
“Reginald” Derek said.
“Oh hello sir, I take it you’re back in town” Reginald said.
“Almost, we’re actually about to land, is Mrs. Winchester available please?” he asked.
“Oh I’m afraid not sir, Mrs. Winchester has gone to visit Master Damien” Reginald said.
“Ah, I see” Derek said “alright.”
“Shall I tell her you called?” Reginald asked.
“Yes please, I’ll be at the office.”
“Yes sir, do you request anything upon your arrival?” Reginald asked.
“I’ll let you know, goodbye Reginald” Derek said.
“Good day sir” Reginald said hanging up.
The plane then hit the runway and came to a halt.
“Mr. Winchester” a man said tipping his hat to Derek as he descended the stairs to the plane.
“Hello again Ross” Derek said.
“How was your time away sir?” he asked.
“Just what I needed” Derek said.
“Glad to hear it, welcome back to Los Angeles” Ross said as he opened the back door of the car for him “Where are we headed sir?”
“Uh the office, please” Derek said as he slid into the backseat.
“Yes sir” Ross said climbing into the front.
“Try to avoid any traffic if you can” Derek said to him.
“Yes sir” Ross replied once more.
The car made a few twists and turns, finally coming down a street, Derek looked up at the high school.
“Shouldn’t school be over for the year?” Derek asked irritated.
“Not for a few more weeks yet sir” Ross replied to him.
He looked out of the window and saw Kyle and Harry approach Kyle’s jeep, they were deep in conversation, smiling and laughing with each other. Derek glared at them through the tinted glass windows, he saw red, anger beginning to bubble within him. He then watched Kyle and Harry throw their bags into the back and take off in the opposite direction.
He entered his building and passed the reception desk.
“Welcome back Mr. Winchester” his receptionist said to him.
“Gretchen” he said to her.
“Your mail and your messages” she said handing him a thick stack of papers.
“Thank you Gretchen” he said going towards the elevator.
He entered his office, throwing the stack of mail on his desk, he threw his jacket over his desk chair and stared out over the city when a knock came upon his door “Come in” he said.
“Mr. Winchester, I’m sorry, I forgot to give these to you” Gretchen said entering with a stack of papers.
“My goodness, what is all this?” he asked her.
“Applications for janitorial and maintenance staff for your new building” she said.
“Already? Building hasn’t even been built yet” he said.
“New building presents new job opportunities” she said before leaving his office.
Later that evening he returned home.
“Mr. Winchester, welcome home sir” Reginald said
“Thank you Reginald” Derek said to him.
“I’ll fetch your bags” Reginald said.
“Derek? Sweetheart” Daphne said entering the foyer.
“Hello my dear” he said hugging her tightly.
“How was your trip?” she asked.
“Oh it was hardly a trip without you there” he said to her “How about you?” he asked.
“Well…I’ve been to see Damien” she said delicately.
“So I hear” he said “How’s our boy doing?” he asked.
“He’s…trying to keep his spirits up despite the circumstances” she said “I told him you were out of town but now that you’re home, you can go see him” she said “mm” he said nodding “You must be starving, I had Reginald prepare your favorite” she said.
“Oh that wasn’t necessary” he said to her.
“Well of course it was” she said.
“Why don’t you go on in, I’m going to fix myself a drink” he said to her.
“Okay” she said quietly before walking towards the dining room.
He walked into the den, approaching the beverage cart, he picked up a small tumbler and a decanter and began to pour himself a drink. He took a sip, before spotting a magazine left open sitting face down on a chair. He picked it up and flipped it over seeing the boys in a spread posed around the pool of their house. He skimmed through the article in which they recounted the details of the shooting, he clenched it in his fists before pitching it across the room.
Several blue prints were tacked up to large bulletin boards inside the conference room of Derek’s building. The words of his associate seemed to fade as Damien lingered in his mind, they all sat with baited breath as they waited for him to respond, he looked around confused.
“I’m sorry, my mind is somewhere else” he said.
“No need to apologize sir, it’s understandable” one of his colleagues said.
“Where were we?” he asked.
“We were discussing the location of the new WinCo, uh…” his associate said digging into a leather binder and pulling out a few paper packets “These are just some of ones we researched” he said as Derek paged through them.
“This is what they’re asking for the land?” he asked.
“Yes sir, but I think if you see it for yourself you’ll notice the quality…”
“Yes of course” Derek said.
“This is the map of the city, the ideal locations have been tagged” he said.
Derek looked down at the map “What’s this here?” he asked.
“That’s Cypress Hill sir, it’s on the outskirts of town near the old power plant” Gregory said “The building is condemned, I’m sure we could convince the city to tear it down” he said.
“Look into it” Derek said.
“Yes sir” he said.
“I think that’ll be all for today, we’ll pick this up again tomorrow, I promise to be more alert” he said Everyone got up from the table and left the room.
Derek sat in his office, his chair facing the large glass windows as he read through the magazine article, he could feel his blood begin to boil.
“Mr. Winchester? Your wife is on line one” his secretary said coming inside.
“Is it important?” he asked.
“She wants to know if you’ll be joining her to visit Damien today” she said.
“Not today Gretchen, thank you” he said.
“I’ll tell her” she said leaving his office, he tossed the magazine onto his desk and stood to stare out of the windows.
Later that night he sat in his home office, a drink in hand, the magazine article staring back at him from his desk.
“Derek!” Daphne bellowed, she marched into the room, throwing the doors opened “How dare you” she said angrily.
“Daphne please…” he sighed.
“Give me one good reason why you couldn’t go see our son today” she said.
“Why do you have this?” he asked holding the magazine up.
She looked at him nervously “I don’t know what you’re so surprised about, you know I have a subscription” she said.
“For god’s sakes Daphne! These boys are responsible for putting our son in prison!” he said throwing them magazine down.
She sighed “I am going to see Damien again in a few days and I would really like it if you joined me” she said.
“I can’t do it Daphne” he said to her.
“Derek…”
“Daphne I’m sorry but I need to catch up with the new building project” he said to her.
“You know Derek I didn’t want to have to do this but you’ve left me no choice…this attitude is precisely what lead Damien to do what he did” she said before stalking out of the room.
He pitched his glass across the room in fury, he then picked up the magazine and began tearing the pages out, throwing them around the room, he held a page in his hand, began to crumble it into a ball when suddenly…he stopped. He panted in anger, looking down at the page in his hand A wicked grin grew on his face as he stared down at the boys on the magazine page. He picked up his desk phone and dialed “Gregory, schedule a meeting with the owner of the power plant, please, thank you” he said hanging up.
The door opened letting the sunlight fill in "Here we are" a man said letting Derek and two other men into the building "You sure you want this place?" a man asked.
"Course, plenty of room, nice view of the city" Derek said looking around.
"What was this place? originally?" his assistant asked.
"Well that last time it was occupied it was used as a warehouse for the power plant, originally it was used as a mental ward."
"A nut house? Boss come on" Gregory said urging Derek to leave.
"Gregory if I want your opinion I'll ask for it" Derek said irritated "This would be a fine place for a WinCo terrace" he said looking around. "So let's talk numbers, how much would you be willing to sell it for?"
"Well it's hard to say...it's not exactly in great shape..."
"Obviously" Gregory said as Derek turned to glare at him.
"Well we were planning to tear the building down and build on top...how much for the property?"
"Well I don't really know, it belongs to the city, you'd have to take it up with them, but if it's all the same to you, I'd really love to see someone bring down this old eyesore" the man said looking around "It's served its purpose"
"As you have as well" Derek muttered to himself "Well thank you, sir"
"Thank you, good luck with your project the man said leaving.
"Well gentlemen looks like we need to take a trip to city hall, I want a construction team together as soon as possible"
"You really think this place could be the new WinCo"
"Oh I have no doubt...just what I've been looking for" he said smiling to himself.
Several blue prints sat on Derek’s desk “This is the final draft?” he asked.
“Yes sir, all the changes you requested have been added” another man said to him.
“Well done” he said.
“This is ludicrous sir, there is no way that…monstrosity can be the new WinCo” Gregory complained.
“The deal’s been made Gregory, I want you on the phone with the city tomorrow, is that clear?” Derek asked sternly.
Gregory sighed “I’ll see what I can do” he said.
“Gregory” Derek said.
“Yes sir” Gregory said reluctantly.
Derek passed by the reception desk on his way out, he could hear Gretchen on the phone, he saw a stack of papers sitting in a sorting bin.
“Thank you and have a good day” Gretchen said sweetly as she hung up.
“Heading out sir?” she asked.
“I’m afraid so, Gretchen, what are those papers you have there?” he asked.
“Oh those are applicants for the new building staff with criminal backgrounds I was told not to bother you with them” she said nervously.
“Oh nonsense, please, may I have them?” he asked, she looked at him confused before handing them to him “Thank you, see you tomorrow” he said.
“Goodnight Mr. Winchester” Gretchen said confused.
That night Derek sat in his den, paging through the applications, reading carefully through each one smiling to himself as he read of each one’s offenses.
He threw some aside before settling on four applications, he then went to his office and picked up his desk phone.
“Yes hi, this is Derek Winchester, I see you recently applied for a job at my company…well I’d love to set up a meeting” Derek said “Yes, the new building site, are you familiar with the area? Yes the old power plant up on Cypress Hill, meet me there, let’s say Saturday morning, wonderful I look forward to meeting with you” he said hanging up.
He picked the photo of Damien from his desk “Don’t worry son, I’m going to make this up to you…no matter what” he said to himself before leaving his office. His cell phone began to ring, he reached into his pocket and pulled it out “Gregory, any word from the city?” he asked “We got it? Well that’s wonderful” Derek said smiling “See you tomorrow” he said hanging up.
Derek set up a small office for himself in the old power plant, Dmitri, Ronnie, Vinnie, and Paulie sat outside the office in metal chairs in a shared silence.
“Gentlemen, thank you so much for coming” Derek said greeting them “Please, why don’t you all come on in” he said, they looked at each other before standing and entering the office, Derek looked around before closing the door behind him.
"I want to thank you all for coming on such short notice" Derek said “I was rather impressed with your applications” he said sitting on the edge of the desk. “and just so you know I am very aware of your situations, I’ve spoken with your respective parole officers and I am very happy to help…and I’m hoping you can return the favor, I need your assistance on a special...separate project I'm working on” Derek said.
“my son has recently gotten himself into quite a bit of legal trouble…” Derek said, one of the men snapped his finger.
“That’s where I know you from, your kid’s the one that shot up the school” Vinnie said.
Derek glared at him “Yes, that’s correct” he said.
“Oh man, your kid’s the one who did that?” Ronnie asked.
“My son was wrongfully imprisoned…”
“Didn’t he shoot like four people?” Paulie asked.
“Yeah two of the kids he shot are like related to the Backstreet Boys or something” Dmitri said.
“Anyways…” Derek said “I'm willing to reimburse you for your trouble" Derek said taking a wad of cash from his pocket "What do you say?" Derek asked as they all looked at each other.
“You want something done it’s going to take a lot more than that” Vinnie said.
“Word” Ronnie said.
“Of course, I anticipated that” Derek said pulling a giant metal briefcase out from under the desk, he set it on top and unlatched it.
Stacks of cash filled it to the brim “Whoa” Paulie said upon seeing the money.
“You name it, it’s done” Dmitri said, they all practically salivated over the amount of money in front of them.
“These kids” Derek said throwing the magazine at them “You will find them, you will follow them, you will watch them and when the time is right, you will bring them to me” Derek said to them.
“Whoa…this is some serious stuff you’re talking about here” Dmitri said looking at the magazine.
“Yeah you’re talking…I mean do you know who these kids’ parents are?” Vinnie asked.
“I don’t care if their fathers are the goddamn Beatles” Derek said harshly “Let alone some measly little…boy group” Derek said, they looked at each other warily “I’d be more than willing to find someone else if you don’t think you’re up to it” Derek said. “This offer is only good for five more minutes, take it or leave it” Derek said.
“Deal” Dmitri said standing up and shaking his hand.
“I’m in too, can’t beat that much cash” Vinnie said.
“Deal” Ronnie said.
“Count me in” Paulie said.
“Wonderful” Derek said grinning wickedly.
Everyone ran out of school excitedly as the year came to a close, Ronnie and Vinnie sat parked in a van across the parking lot.
“Anything yet?” Ronnie asked.
“Too many kids to tell” Vinnie said.
“It can’t be too hard to find five teenage boys who look like the Backstreet Boys” Vinnie said.
“Oh wait I got something” he said “Give me the magazine” he said looking at it and then back through his binoculars “Alright I got the two blonde ones” he said spying Bradley and Neilson “Whoa” he said.
“What?”
“Who is she?” he asked “Check her out” he said handing Ronnie the binoculars.
“Ooh, very nice” he said checking out Natalie.
“Damn nice car” he said.
“All these rich kids and their fancy new cars…whatever happened to driving your parents’ old beater?” Vinnie asked.
“What makes you think these aren’t their parents’ old cars? You know rich people get a new car like every few months” Ronnie said.
“Oh, shh…” Vinnie said quickly putting the binoculars down and putting his hands on the wheel.
Bradley’s car sped past them, music blaring from his speakers.
“Hey Di…we got the two blonde ones” Ronnie said on his phone.
“Yeah we got two dark haired kids” Dmitri said as he and Paulie sat on the opposite side of the lot.
“There should be three” Ronnie said.
“I’m aware of that” Dmitri said irritated “Third one just showed up” Paulie said to him “You follow the blondes, we’ll get these guys” Dmitri said on his phone.
“Got it” Ronnie said hanging up the phone, they took off in Bradley’s direction and pulled out of the parking lot.
Kyle’s jeep whizzed past Dmitri and Paulie’s van, they then whirled around and took off after them.
Ronnie and Vinnie pulled up outside of the record store where he saw Bradley propping the doors open.
“I don’t get this, your dad’s loaded, has more money than he knows what to do with…why do you need an after school job?” Ronnie asked.
“Please, when was the last time the Backstreet Boys were selling out world tours?” Vinnie asked.
“Alright how do you want to play this?” Ronnie asked.
“I think I got it” he said pulling around the corner.
Bradley spilled the contents of his backpack into the garbage, Alice Cooper’s ‘School’s Out’ playing on the store’s stereo.
“What is wrong with the air conditioning in this place?” Natalie asked as she stood in front of a large fan, the wind blowing her hair back.
“Mooney’s too cheap to get it fixed” he said “That’s why we leave the door open” he said, gesturing towards the shop door which was propped open.
“Alright lunch is here, come and get it” Neilson said holding a few paper bags and a cup holder “And for you my dear, your ten thousand gossip rags” he said handing Natalie a stack of magazines.
“Thank you” she said taking them from him.
Ronnie and Vinnie walked down the street and then non-chalantly walked into the store.
“Hey what’s up” Bradley said them, they nodded in response.
“Oh my god, you guys, check this out” Natalie said approaching the counter.
“If it’s another story about us, we don’t want to see it” Bradley said to her.
“Hey, you guys are the ones who did the People interview” she said to them.
“Yeah to get people off our backs” Neilson said “Our dads said if we gave just one interview everyone would leave us alone” he said.
“And what a surprise they didn’t!” Bradley said.
“It’s not you” she said to them.
“Oh” they replied.
“It’s Damien’s mom” she said looking down at the magazine.
Ronnie nodded to Vinnie who pulled out his phone and hit the button on the voice record.
“Yeah? what’s it’s say? ‘my son is a narcissistic sociopathic prick?'” Bradley said taking it from her.
“Come on you should feel bad for her, no mother wants to believe their own child is capable of such violence and carnage” she said.
“Well that’s what happens when you end up with a demon for a son” Bradley said to her.
“You guys really need to start thinking of other names to insult me with” Adam said approaching the sales desk.
“We weren’t talking about you…for once” Bradley said.
“We were talking about Damien” Neilson said to him.
“Why? Oh my god it happened, he’s someone’s prison bitch isn’t he?” Adam asked excitedly.
Vinnie and Ronnie still recording their conversation.
“Afraid not” Bradley said to Adam.
“At least not that we’re aware of” Neilson said to him.
“Besides I thought he was in juvie or something?” Natalie asked.
“Juvie is junior prison Nat, people there aren’t much nicer” Adam said to her “Which reminds me, we need to start working on finding some inside connection” Adam said to them as picked up a stack of CD’s and began to put them out in the display cases.
“Inside connections?” Natalie asked.
“Don’t ask” Bradley said to her.
“Help you find anything?” Adam asked Ronnie and Vinnie, they ended the recording and slipped the phone in Ronnie’s pocket.
“Got a lot of great stuff here” Vinnie said him.
“Well we strive for excellency or something, I don’t know” Adam grumbled, never once looking up at them.
“Right” Vinnie said.
“Well if you need help with something…ask one of them” Adam said nodding towards Bradley and Neilson.
“Well thanks anyways but we’re gonna head out” Ronnie said to him.
“Have a good day” Adam sighed.
“Mr. W’s gonna love this” Vinnie said as they left the store.
“Hey Di, we’re heading on back, we got some good stuff, how about you?” Ronnie asked.
“You’re never gonna believe this, that Richardson kid? He’s here at Mr. W’s house” Dmitri said as he and Paulie sat outside the Winchester house in a large van.
“You got to be kidding” Ronnie said to him.
“Nope, we’ll catch up with you guys later” Dmitri said hanging up.
“Mrs. Winchester?” Kyle asked as the door opened.
“Kyle, hi, thank you for coming” she said.
“Please, come in” she said letting him inside.
“Wow” Kyle said looking around “This place is even nicer than mine” he said.
“Really” she said “I always thought that musicians lived in houses much more palatial than this” she said.
“Yeah musicians not boybands” Kyle said to her “Um, so what was it that you needed to see me about?” he asked.
“Oh, please” she said as they went into the living room
“Have a seat” she said gesturing to the couch. “I saw the article of you and your friends in People magazine” she said.
“Oh yeah, look we only did that to get the other reporters and stuff off our backs, our dads said that…”
“Oh no, I understand” she said “You know I read what each of you had to say about what happened that day and…everything you said in court I just…I’m sorry” she said.
“I am so sorry about what you and your friends had to endure at the hands of my son and I am just appalled.”
Kyle shrugged “It’s not your fault” he said.
“No but it is, as his mother I should’ve been more aware of his behavior” she said “How are your friends doing anyways?” she asked.
“Uh good, Bradley’s out of his sling, Harry can move without feeling pain…everyone’s doing fine it seems” he said “How’s Damien?” he asked.
She sighed “He’s doing well” she said, he nodded “He’s trying to make the most out of his situation and keeping his spirits up despite what’s happened” she said
He nodded “Have you been to see him?” she asked.
“Uh no, my parents and the police…they don’t think it’s such a good idea” he said “Which reminds me what was said in court…what I said to him when I went to see him in lock up…I didn’t mean what I said, it was said in anger and I really don’t wish any harm to come to Damien…” he said.
“Please, don’t apologize, I understand, I mean after what he had just put you through, I’d be angry too” she said.
He nodded “I should get going” he said standing up.
“Oh of course” she said walking him to the door “Thank you for coming, I really appreciate it.”
“Yeah no problem” he said “Have a good day Mrs. Winchester” he said.
“You too” she said smiling warmly at him as he left.
“What do you think that was about?” Paulie asked Dmitri as they watched Kyle get into his jeep and leave.
“No idea, the boss is going to love this” Dmitri said driving away from the property.
Derek sat listening to the recording on Ronnie’s phone intently, his anger flaring up inside him “I’ve heard enough” he said handing the phone back over to Ronnie “Good work” he said trying to keep his rage in check.
“Hey boss, we got news” Dmitri said as he and Paulie entered Derek’s office “We caught that Richardson kid having a private meeting with your wife” he said.
“Excuse me?” Derek asked.
“Check it out he said handing Derek an envelope of photographs.
“I see” he said “Good work today” he said to them.
“Yeah no problem” Dmitri said to him.
“Like I said, I want you keeping tabs on them at all times I’ll decide when I want to deal with them personally” he said.
“Yes sir” they replied.
“Good, now get back out there, we’ll report back same time tomorrow” Derek said. He glared at the photos of Kyle at the front door of his house and Daphne warmly greeting him and welcoming him inside.
He returned home that evening as Daphne was preparing to leave.
“Oh there you are” she said smiling at him “You’re just in time, I’m about to go see Damien” she said smiling at him.“I figured we’d go together” she said.
Derek then forcefully grabbed her “What was he doing here?!” he asked sinisterly.
She looked at him terrified “What are you…”
“You know damn well what I’m talking about!” he screamed shaking her “He put our son in prison for god’s sake!” he said looking at her horrified expression.
“Derek?” Daphne asked breaking him out of his spell.
“Hmm?” he asked.
“I said I want you to come see Damien with me” she said.
“Oh right, not today kitten, it’s been a long day” he said.
“Derek you can’t spend all your time on that new building project” she said.
“It’s not about the new building, I’m working on a separate side project” he said fixing himself a drink.
“And it’s that important you can’t go see your son? He needs us right now Derek” she said to him.
“I’m afraid so, Daphne I promise, I will go see him next time” he said.
“I’m holding you to that” she said.
“Don’t worry, I’m doing everything I can to make this up to Damien” he said.
“How so? Is this what your side project is about?” she asked.
“You could say that” he said to her.
“Alright fine” she said “I’ll tell him you send your love.”
“Please do, I’ll see you in a little while” he said kissing her cheek.
“I shouldn’t be long” she said grabbing her purse “I’ll see you later” she said before leaving.
“Don’t you worry my dear, this project will solve all of our problems” he said to himself before smirking.
Days passed with Derek’s henchmen following the boys around, keeping tabs on their every move and reporting back to Derek just waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
“God these kids are boring” Vinnie moaned as he and Dmitri sat in a van just outside the guys’ house, spying through the trees “Why haven’t they done anything cool yet? Go clubbing, do drugs, steal something, go on a bender, anything!” he whined.
“Shh!” Dmitri said irritated.
“I’m just saying isn’t that what celebrity kids do?” he asked “What’s happening now?” he asked.
“Kid’s cleaning the pool” Dmitri sighed.
“You mean they don’t have people for that?” Vinnie asked.
Water lapped against the side of the pool as Bradley skimmed the top with a large net, Neilson lied back on a lounge chair, a pair of sunglasses on his face.
“Alright, we’re all set” Bradley said pulling the net out of the water.
“Hey can I ask you something?” Neilson asked.
“Yeah what’s up?” Bradley asked sitting on a lounge chair next to him.
“You ever feel like we’re being watched or something?” Neilson asked.
“What?” Bradley asked.
“I don’t know maybe I’m being paranoid or something but I have this weird feeling like we’re being followed” Neilson said to him “You haven’t had that feeling lately? he asked.
“No, not really” Bradley said to him “Who would want to watch us anyways?” he asked.
“Who wants to watch these kids anyways?” Vinnie asked.
“This might make you feel better, Carter’s girlfriend just showed up” Dmitri said.
“The blonde?” Vinnie asked.
“Oh yeah” Dmitri said.
“Hey boys” Natalie said coming out to the patio.
“Hey” they said.
“Hey, I didn’t hear you come in” Neilson said standing up to greet her.
“Hi” she said as they kissed “Are you okay? You’ve been off lately, everything alright?” she asked.
“Yeah, don’t worry I was having these weird feelings but I think I’ll be okay now” he said smiling at her.
“Aw good” she said before Bradley grabbed Neilson’s ankle and pulled him into the water, Natalie began laughing at him “That was good” she said, Neilson resurfaced and swam over to the edge of the pool, grabbing Natalie’s legs and pulling her into the pool. She squealed as she hit the water.
Derek sat in his office, carefully scouring the internet for information.
“Mr. Winchester? Your wife is on line one” his secretary said coming inside.
“Is it important?” he asked.
“She wants to know if you’ll be joining her to visit Damien today” she said.
“Not today Gretchen, thank you” he said.
“I’ll tell her” she said leaving his office, he clicked on the arrow keys scrolling through pages when something caught his eye.
“Backstreet Boys to finish recording new album This Is Us in Tampa this week” he clicked on the story and began to skim through it "Member AJ McLean promises the new album will not disappoint long-time fans and hope to please new ones, This Is Us is due out in October, the boys are set to hit the recording studio in Tampa later this week” it read.
A smile grew across Derek’s face as he picked up his desk phone.
Dmitri reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone “Yes boss?” he asked answering.
“Dmitri, the time has come…bring them in” Derek said smiling and hanging up.
“Boss wants ‘em” Dmitri said.
“How do we do it?” Vinnie asked.
“Guess we have to wait and see” Dmitri said, still watching them “These kids have no idea what they’re in for” he said as he drove away.
“What do you guys feel like doing this weekend?” Natalie asked as the sat wrapped in towels on the lounge chairs by the pool.
“We can do whatever we want, Backstreet’s going out of town again” Bradley said to her.
“Why must you refer to your fathers in third person?” she asked.
“Saves time” Neilson said to her.
“I feel like seeing a movie” she said to them.
“I’m down” Bradley said shrugging around.
“Ooh, the new Transformers movie is coming out” Neilson said.
Natalie groaned “I really don’t want to see that, you guys got to pick the movie last time” she said.
“Hey The Hangover was a great movie, you liked it” Neilson said to her.
“It was okay” she said “Ooh! I really want to see The Proposal” she said.
“No you don’t you just want to see Ryan Reynolds” Bradley said to her.
“Well yeah” she said.
Neilson looked at Bradley before sighing “Alright fine” he said relenting.
“Dude, really?” Bradley asked.
“We’ll compromise, she can go see Ryan Reynolds, we’ll go see Transformers” he said to Bradley.
“No, no, I did not agree to that” she said.
“Hey you said you wanted to see a movie, you didn’t say we had to see the same one” Bradley said to her. “ha! See? She’s speechless because she knows we’re right!” Bradley said.
“I’m getting a drink” she said getting up from the lounge.
“We win this one!” Neilson yelled after her.
Kyle groaned, Adam supported him as he slumped over him “Alright, here we are, there you go” Adam said setting Kyle down on a lounger chair, he sprawled out in exhaustion.
“What happened to you?” Neilson asked.
“They kicked his ass at football camp” Adam said to them.
“Huh, too bad all those years on the football team haven’t prepared you for this” Bradley said to him.
“I haven’t played since November, shut up!” Kyle growled at him “I’m so tired” he whined “I just want to strip naked and jump in the pool” he said.
“Ooh, I’d like to see that” Natalie said coming back outside handing Bradley and Neilson each a soda.
“There will be no nakedness around my girlfriend thank you” Neilson said to them.
“Adam…up” Kyle said putting his arms up, Adam sighed, rolling his eyes and pulled Kyle up from the chair and helped him inside.
“Boss” Dmitri said entering Derek’s office “This is the guy I was telling you about” he said as a shady looking guy followed behind him.
“Ah yes, hello” Derek said warily.
“I was told you were in need of my services” the man said to him.
“Just need some of your best stuff” Dmitri said.
“What exactly are you looking for?” he asked.
“Like I said no hard drugs just something to knock them out for a few hours” Derek said to Dmitri.
“I think I got something for you” he said pulling a small baggie from his pocket.
“What’s this?” Derek asked.
“GHB” the guy said to him, Derek looked to Dmitri for clarification.
“Your standard roofie” Dmitri said.
“Works like a charm, very popular among the college crowd it seems” the guy said to him.
“Trust me I spent four years in a fraternity I’m quite familiar” Derek said to him “Got yourself a deal” Derek said.
“You sure boss?” Dmitri asked.
“Oh definitely, these will work quite well” Derek said smiling sinisterly.
Jerry waved at a car’s passenger as it drove through the gate when a call came through “Gatehouse” he said answering.
“Yeah hi, I’ve been seeing a suspicious vehicle driving around for about an hour” Vinnie said on the other end.
“Can I get your address?” Jerry asked writing something down “Be right there” he said hanging up the phone and leaving the gate house. He jumped into his golf cart and drove away.
Ronnie then slid into the booth, a car then approached a few minutes later, the gate coming down in front of it. “Can I help you?” Ronnie asked.
“Uh yeah I got a delivery for a Bradley Littrell” Jimmy, the delivery boy, said looking at the pizza box on the passenger seat.
“I’ll take it” Ronnie said.
“Who are you?” Jimmy asked.
“I’m part of the Backstreet Boys’ new security team, they hired us to watch over their boys while they’re away” Ronnie said “How much?” he asked.
“Uh fifteen” Jimmy said warily.
“Here you go” Ronnie said handing him the money.
“You’ll make sure that gets there right?” Jimmy asked.
“Oh absolutely” Ronnie said “Have a good day” he said ushering him off.
“Thanks” Jimmy said shrugging and turning the car around before driving away.
“Vin, yeah I got it” Ronnie said “You sure this is going to work?” he asked “Alright” he sighed, he produced a small baggie of white powder and began to sprinkle it on top of the pizza.
The doorbell rang, Bradley opened the door "Hey" he said to Dmitri who was disguised as a pizza delivery guy "How much?" he asked.
"Fifteen" Dmitri said.
"Keep the change" Bradley said handing him a twenty-dollar bill.
"Thanks a lot kid" he said handing Bradley the pizza box, he then shut the door behind him.
"Yo! pizza's here!" Bradley yelled.
"Shouldn't be long now" Dmitri said getting back into the disguised delivery car and hiding themselves in the brush.
“Pizza again?” Harry groaned as he saw Bradley carry the box into the kitchen and set it on the table “Hey! Come on! I’m trying to work on something here” Harry said.
“You do realize it's summer right?” Bradley asked as Harry moved books out of the way.
“My guidance counselor told me about these summer college courses for high school kids so I signed up” Harry said to him.
“…why?” Bradley asked.
“Hey I just talked to Nat and she is willing to see Transformers with us” Neilson said as he came down the kitchen stairs.
“How’d you manage that?” Bradley asked.
“Just turned on the old Carter charm” he said smiling and picking up a slice of pizza.
“I’m going to go work upstairs” Harry said
“You don’t want any?” Bradley asked.
Harry rolled his eyes and took a slice “Tomorrow we learn how to cook” he said taking a bite and going upstairs.
“Alright, we’re home” Adam said, once again keeping Kyle on his feet “There you go” he said setting Kyle in a chair.
“So how much longer before you remember you actually know how to play football?” Bradley asked, Kyle glared at him.
“Nat wants us to meet her at about eight” Neilson said to Bradley.
“Alright let me finish this and I’ll hop in the shower quick” Bradley said to him.
“A shower sounds so amazing right now” Kyle said.
“Forget it I’m not helping you with that” Adam said grabbing a slice of pizza and heading into the living room.
“Here, eat” Neilson said shoving pizza into Kyle’s mouth, he glared up at him, the pizza still lodged in his mouth.
Harry’s vision began to blur as he worked feverishly on his work, he shook his head and rubbed his eyes and continued on.
Adam’s eyes began to droop as he lied on the couch in the living room, the TV began to echo around him.
Bradley wobbled as he stood under the shower, his knees feeling like rubber, he steadied himself, putting a hand on the shower wall “the hell” he said to himself as he turned the water off.
Neilson looked down at his phone, his vision doubling as he tapped out a message to Natalie, it came out as garbled nonsense and he retyped it several times before sending it.
Kyle dressed himself at a snail’s pace, his hands shaking as he pulled his shirt over his head.
Harry felt heaviness in his head as he struggled to keep his eyes open as he did his homework. His head slumped forward he kept jolting himself awake, opening his eyes wide and trying to write once more when the drowsiness overcame him. He laid his head on the desk; his pencil falling from his hand to the floor.
Adam lied on the couch, he felt a wave of nausea wash over him, he could feel the beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He sat up from the couch, the room beginning to spin around him, he tried to stand up but fell to the floor on his knees. He crawled towards the kitchen, the tile floor cooling his burning skin. His breath became heavier and quicker, finally shutting his eyes and surrendering to darkness.
Neilson lied lifeless on his bedroom floor, his phone laying next to him "meet you guys in ten minutes" the message on the screen from Natalie read.
Bradley leaned up against the refrigerator door, He pulled out a bottle of water and took a large gulp, he shook his head and blinked a few times, pinching the bridge of his nose. He set the bottle on the counter top, his hands shaking, he fell to the floor, knocking the bottle of water over, letting it spill out on the floor.
Kyle staggered through the hallway, seemingly getting longer as he tried to get to the stairs, he held on to the stair railing tightly, stumbling down the stairs struggling to stay on his feet. "phone, got to get to the phone” he mumbled to himself, he reached the bottom step. His dazed state gave in and he fell to the floor, he slid himself over to the end table and reached up, fumbling around for the phone. It finally fell over, he quickly grabbed it, the number panel began to multiply in front of him as he tried to dial. He turned over on his back, looking up at the ceiling when a blurry face manifested over him before finally closing his eyes.
“Nighty night” Dmitri cooed as Kyle fell unconscious.
“Would you get a load of this place” Vinnie said looking around in awe.
“Some spread huh?” Dmitri asked pulling on a pair of black leather gloves.
“For a boyband’s standard it’s not bad” Vinnie said.
“Well, looks like we got Richardson” Dmitri said pulling Kyle up and throwing him over his shoulder, Vinnie pulled on his gloves and pulled Adam off the floor, he threw him over his shoulder as well and carried them outside. They lied them both in the back of the van
“Got three more, come on” Dmitri said as they went back inside and began to look around “Got another one, thought you could hide on us huh kid?” Dmitri asked as he picked Bradley up.
“Other two must be upstairs” Vinnie said as he climbed the steps, he began to duck into rooms, looking around before finally seeing Harry slumped over at his desk. Vinnie picked him up, throwing his limp body over his shoulder.
“Where’s the other blonde kid?” Dmitri asked Vinnie.
“Got to be in one of these rooms here” he said as he carried Harry out of the house.
“Ah here you are” Dmitri said seeing Neilson lying on the floor of his bedroom, he bent down and put Neilson’s phone in his pocket, picking Neilson up as well.
“That all of ‘em?” Vinnie asked.
“Check this out” Dmitri said holding up the picture from the mantle “One big happy family” he said before dropping it to the floor and stepping on it.
“Not anymore” Vinnie quipped as they left the house.
“We got ‘em, we’re taking ‘em to the place now” Dmitri said on the phone before abruptly hanging up.
“They’re cute when they’re asleep like that huh?” Vinnie asked.
“Won’t be cute for long” Dmitri said sinisterly as they drove away.
Natalie approached the ticket booth outside the movie theater, she looked at her phone to check the time, she then tapped on the screen and held it to her ear “Hey, I’m here, where are you guys?” she asked before hanging up and stood to wait.
The fire crackled, clouds of smoke appeared from the green leather arm chair, the doors to the room then opened.
“Excuse me sir, your wife is off to see Master Damien, will you be joining her?” Reginald asked.
“Not this time Reginald, I'm expecting a very important phone call, please tell her to go on without me.”
“Yes sir, will you be needing anything else?” Reginald asked.
“No Reginald, thank you” Reginald left the room and slid the doors closed.
He pulled up his sleeve to glance at his watch and then looked up at the clock on the wall, its golden pendulum swinging back at forth as the hands ticked, he smiled wickedly and took another drag from his cigar. a phone began to ring “Yes?” he asked answering.
“It’s done” a harsh voice said.
“Wonderful” he said smiling and taking another puff from a cigar before hanging up.
