LISA COLEMAN
STAFF WRITER

Orlando FL
    In a shocking turn of events today, Backstreet fans were devastated to hear that Nick Carter, 21, had disappeared from his Orlando home last night.

    His disappearance follows that of 'N SYNC member Justin Timberlake yesterday.

    Although unavailable for comment, 'N SYNC has denied that they have anything to do with Carter's disappearance.

    98-degree member Drew Lachey was on the phone with Carter last night at the time of the alleged kidnapping.

    "He was talking and then there was silence," a distraught Lachey said. "There was a loud thump and I thought he was playing a joke on me but he never came back on the phone.

    "Please bring my baby boy home," Jane Carter said in a tear filled plea this morning.
 

    All he felt was pounding. His head pounded like nothing he'd felt before. It was worse than his worst hangover. He opened his eyes groggily and saw the world swim in front of them.

    "You're finally awake," a voice said dryly.

    "Wha?" Nick lifted his head up despite the throbbing. "Where am I?"

    "I was hoping you could tell me that," the voice said.

    "Justin?" Nick looked at the bleary figure in front of him.

    "Yes doofus, it's me. Your co-conspirator? So are people worried? Do they suspect anything? I've got to give props to Drew and the boys. They were all dressed in black and they had their faces covered. They actually had me scared. They knocked me out and everything. I thought we were going to wait until next week though. I wanted to tell Lisa not to worry. So where are we?"

    "I don't know Justin because Drew and the boys didn't do this."

    "Of course they did. It all followed the plan. Sneaking in during the middle of the night, taking us."

    "That part fit the plan but what about knocking us out? Tying us to chairs in dark rooms? Not warning us? A    week earlier than planned? It's not them Justin. We were going to stay in the fucking Ritz Carlton.

    "Shit." Justin's head drooped to his chest. "What do we do now?"

    "We sit here and hope that they find us damn soon."

    Nick and Justin looked at each other, trying to keep the fear from building inside them.

    "JC, you know I stopped doing that stuff a long time ago." Kendra Wilson leaned against the counter of the jewelry store.

    Her supervisor walked by.

    "And if you're looking for something a little simpler," Kendra continued. "These lovely engagement rings    should be of the sort you're looking for. I'm sure you'll see something you like. I know money won't be a problem."

    The supervisor smiled at Kendra and JC.

    "But Ken, you're the only one we can turn to," JC pleaded after the supervisor was out of earshot.

    "Even if I were still doing PI work, there are several reasons I wouldn't want to take this case," Kendra said quietly while pointing to some of the rings in the rack as her supervisors eye's traveled over the couple.

    "Why Kendra?"

    "A) It's high profile. I don't do, didn't do high profile." Kendra paused. "B) It involves the Backstreet Boys now. I'm personally involved."

    JC looked confused. "You're personally involved?"

    "Nick and I were seeing each other JC, until about three weeks ago."

    JC raised his voice. "You were seeing Nick Carter! You're my ex-girlfriend and you were seeing Nick Carter?"

    "And that would be the reason I didn't tell you." Kendra turned her back to JC and pretended to be doing something at the counter.

    JC took a deep breath and counted to five.

    "I'm sorry Ken. It's your life. You have the right to see whomever you want to." Kendra looked at JC and he continued. "Please help us Kendra. You're the only one we, I, trust to find Justin. You used to think of him as a little brother. Do you want any harm to come to him?" The bell in the store dinged as JC looked pleadingly at Kendra.

    "Let me think about it JC okay? I'll call you tonight."

    JC nodded in defeat and turned around almost bumping into a smaller man.

    "Brian!" Kendra exclaimed.

    Instinctively JC balled his fists. "Hello Brian," he growled.

    "JC." Brian civilly nodded his head.

    "Brian? Can you do one thing for me? Can you swear you had nothing to do with Justin's disappearance?" JC clenched and unclenched his fists.

    "We didn't. Did you have anything to do with Nick?" Brian's voice was harder than Kendra had ever heard it. She held her breath waiting for JC's answer.

    "We didn't."

    "Brian, I assume you're here about Nick?" Kendra broke into the conversation on the risk that things might turn ugly.

    "Yeah," Brian said solemnly.

    "JC," Kendra turned to the taller man. "Why don't you wait over here. I'll talk to Brian and give you my decision okay?"

    JC nodded with a tight smile and sat by the window of the small store.

    Kendra turned to Brian.

    "I already told JC I don't do this anymore." Kendra gave up any attempt to even look like she was working.

    "But you're going to, just this one last time," Brian said leaning against the counter.

    "How do you know that?" Kendra looked Brian in the eye.

    "Because you still love him." Brian sounded confident.

    "But we broke up." Kendra turned from Brian.

    "That has nothing to do with you not loving him anymore. You do. I don't know why you two broke up. I know Nick's been moping for three weeks and Shell says you have been too. What matters now is that Nick," Brian turned towards JC "and Justin are missing. You've got to help us Kendra."

    JC got up from his spot by the window. "Yeah Ken. You've got to help us." He looked at Brian. "All of us."

    Kendra was silent.
 
    The radio broke through the silence. "Investigators announced today that they have new information that firmly connects the already supposedly connected disappearances of Justin Timberlake and Nick Carter…"

    JC and Brian looked at the radio and back at Kendra.

    "I'll do it," she said quietly.

    "What do you mean she's working for both us and 'N SYNC?" Howie sounded outraged. "'N SYNC is behind this. They thought we took Justin so they took Nick."

    "JC said they didn't," Brian protested.

    "JC is a member of 'N SYNC!" Howie threw his arms up in the air and walked over to the picture window in the living room of Kevin's apartment.

    "Besides the point that some," Brian looked at his friends, "okay all of you think 'N SYNC did this, I believe JC.   He had no reason to lie. What's important is that we find Nick. Kendra's the best. She found Nick once, she'll find him again."

    The telephone rang.

    AJ picked it up before the end of the first ring.

    "Nick? Oh hi Drew… Yeah… No… We hired some PI… Kendra? … Yeah… Kendra… She's Nick's ex… Well, thank you… We hope so too… Thanks… Definitely… Bye." AJ hung up the phone. "That was just Drew wondering if we had any new information."

    The three other guys nodded and continued their onslaught of eyes on the floor.

    "Please Kendra," Brian mumbled. "Please find my Frack."

    Drew hung up the phone.

    "Well?" Nick asked his brother.

    "They've hired a private investigator." Drew turned to look out the window.

    "Are we going to tell her?" Nick walked to where his brother was.

    "I think we have to." Drew turned to face the other two guys who were lounging on the couch.

    "It's going to look really bad that we were going to kidnap Nick and Justin though." Jeff said.

    "She'll end up figuring it out though and then it's going to look really bad that we didn't tell her. I've heard Nick talk about Kendra. She used to be really good. She doesn't miss anything." Drew leaned against the wall by the window. "If you want I'll go talk to her alone, but I think it would look better if we all went."

    The other three guys nodded in agreement.

    "You're sure they weren't kidding?" Justin raised his head from where it had fallen on his chest. "Maybe they just got a little too into this."

    "Drew sounded scared J." Nick looked at the younger man. "I don't know why I thought that it would be fun to be kidnapped."

    "In our version it would have been fun. We would have been in the Ritz with HBO, room service, Jacuzzi style bathtubs…" Justin turned toward the boarded up window that let in a small amount of light.

    "There's the worry though. We wanted to worry the guys. That's why we thought up this whole freaking scheme to pull them together and make them work together. To make them end this stupid rivalry. We didn't really think of our families though. We knew we'd see them again, but how were they to know? Now we don't know and it's scaring the fucking hell out of me." Nick looked at the boarded up window also.

    "That's why I wanted to tell Lisa. I just asked her to marry me a week ago."

    "I didn't even know you had a girlfriend." Nick looked back at Justin.

    "No one did. Not even the guys." Justin felt the tears well up in his eyes. "I love her so much Nick. I managed to keep her out of the spotlight and keep everyone from knowing how much she meant to me. The guys met her once, but we were so careful around them. I was going to tell them this week, before everything. Do you have a girl waiting for you?"

    "I did. Not anymore though." Nick looked down at his chest. "We broke up like three weeks ago."

    "We've been planning this thing for months and you don't even tell me you have a girlfriend?" Justin sounded incredulous.

    "It's not like you told me you had a fiancée!" Nick looked at Justin again.

    "What happened between you two?"

    Nick was opening his mouth to answer when the door to the room they were in opened. Both singers turned to look at the bright light suddenly flooding their room and then turned away from the light as it hurt their eyes.

    "Well, I see you're awake Carter," an unknown voice growled. Four men in black entered the room. Nick and Justin were both grabbed by two of their unknown assailants. Both were blindfolded and each was lifted on his chair between two of the men. Nick could sense that they were entering a hallway and then another room but he still had no clue as to where they were. When the blindfolds were removed, Nick and Justin were sitting side by side in front of a video camera.

    "Tell them you're all right," the same voice growled. "Tell them you're fine. Say good bye to any loved ones."
Nick and Justin looked at each other and swallowed, willing the tears and fear to stay away. Neither did.

    Kendra locked the door of the jewelry store. She thought of what had happened during the day. She thought of Nick. She remembered his smile and the way his eyes sparkled. She remembered standing off to the side of the set when they were filming 'The One' and how he'd lip-synched the entire song staring at her. She began walking to her car.

    "Kendra?" a voice said from behind her.

    Kendra turned around startled. "Yes?"

    Four men stepped out from the shadows. Kendra's heart began to beat faster.

    "Kendra? I'm Drew, this is Jeff, Nick and Justin." Drew indicated the other three guys. "We're 98*"

    "Yeah, I know." Kendra smiled at the guys. "What can I do for you?"

    "We understand that you are investigating the disappearance of Nick and Justin?" Nick spoke for the first time.

    "How'd you know?" Kendra narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

    "AJ told us," Jeff said. "We have something to tell you about this whole thing."

    "So tell me." Kendra kept her arms crossed in front of her body protectively.

    "Can we talk about it in our limo?" Drew asked looking around the empty streets.

    "But my car is here." Kendra stayed where she was.

    "Please Kendra. We won't drive anywhere, we'll just stay here." Justin looked like he was pleading. The rest of the guys looked around nervously.

    "Okay, fine."

    The guys smiled and began walking towards the limo. Kendra followed and got in last.

    "So what did you need to tell me?" Kendra's voice was softer than it had been before.

    "This is going to sound really bad," Justin said.

    "Well as long as it doesn't involve murdering or raping me at this moment I don't care how bad it sounds as long as isn't." Kendra smiled slightly and was relieved to see that the guys smiled as well. "So what's going to sound so bad."

    Drew took a deep breath. "We were going to kidnap Justin and Nick next week."

    Kendra drew in a sharp breath and stiffened.

    "It was their idea though," Drew continued. "They've been good friends for awhile and were getting really sick of all the competition that went on between the two groups and thought that if they disappeared the groups would be forced to pull together to find them. It was just supposed to scare them. No harm was supposed to be done."

    "And I should believe you because?" Kendra had her hand on the door handle, ready to open it and run if she had to.

    "Because we told you the truth." Jeff looked at Kendra. "We realize that with this little admission we become the prime suspects but we thought that you needed to know the truth. Nick used to talk about you all the time so we knew you were the best. We knew you'd find out and then it would look even worse for us."

    Kendra released the breath she'd been holding. "I'll have to believe you then until I have evidence that contradicts what you've told me."

    "We want to wish you all the luck in the world. If the BSB and 'N SYNC have been hit, we could be next." Drew bit his lower lip and fiddled with his heavy silver watch. All the rest of the guys were fiddling with their fingers.

    "I'll do my best guys." Kendra opened the door to the limo. "Thank you for your information."

    "Good luck Kendra," Jeff called through the open door.

    Kendra smiled and waved before heading to her own car.

    Inside the limo, the four guys looked nervously at one another. "Well I feel better knowing she's on the case, don't you?" Drew said.

    The other's nodded in agreement and the limo drove off in silence.

    "Have you heard from Kendra yet?" AJ asked Brian for the 20th time.

    "Bone, you've been with me since I got back. Have I received any phone calls?" Brian was sitting on the couch with a hand to his head.

    AJ slumped back in defeat, worry written across his face. He picked up the TV remote and turned on the news hoping for some good news about Nick. He stared at the screen listlessly watching the moving figures.    Suddenly he sat up.

    "Kevin! D.! Get in here!" he yelled.

    Startled by AJ's sudden exclamation Brian turned towards the TV screen. He saw a masked face.
 

    "For the moment Justin Timberlake and Nick Carter are safe. For the moment. Don't try looking for them because that could easily change," the black masked figure said. He stepped aside to show Nick and Justin tied to their chairs, both with looks of utter fear on their faces and tears in their eyes.

    "We're fine," Nick said fearfully looking at one of the unseen captors.

    "Yeah," Justin echoed. "We're fine."

    The black figure returned. He rubbed his mask causing his sleeve to ride up his arm a little bit. There was a glint of silver. He quickly lowered his arm. "They're going to say goodbye now."

    "Mom, Dad, Jon and Paul. I love you all so much. To my guys, Chris, Joey, Lance and lastly JC, you'll never know how much you all meant to me and my life. It's through you that I accomplished my dreams. I love you all. Remember it's the music that's important, not who's better." Justin paused and the tears began to flow from his eyes. "Lisa, you are my light, my life, my music. I love you so much that I would gladly die right now if I could have one more look at your face. I promise that when, if I get back to you we'll be married as soon as possible. I love you Lisa."

    Nick finally let the threatening tears flow. "Rok, Kevin, D. and Bone. I love you guys. Mom, dad, BJ, Leslie, Aaron and Angel you're the best. I love you all so much it hurts. Don't try to find me. It'll all be okay. Kendra, if you can hear me, know that I'm sorry and I love you. Don't" Nick paused briefly. "Try to find me again, Kendra." The pause was small but noticeable. One of the black masked men kicked Nick's chair and the screen went blank.

    "Police still have no leads as to the whereabouts of Nick Carter or Justin Timberlake. The kidnappers obviously didn't ask for any ransom. Again that tape was just delivered to NBC during the broadcast. If any more information is revealed we'll let you know as soon as possible…"

    Lisa stared at the screen, tears streaming down her face. "I love you Justin," she mouthed. He'd revealed their love to the world and she now knew what she had to do. She grabbed her coat and walked out the door.

    The four remaining members of 'N SYNC looked at each other.

    "Who the hell is Lisa?" Joey asked.

    The other guys shrugged. They were silent for a few minutes.

    "Well at least he looked okay," JC said.

    "Lisa!" Chris exclaimed. "That girl who he brought to dinner one night. That childhood friend of his. The reporter."

    "Oh yeah," Lance slapped his head. "It was so obvious he liked her and we teased him for weeks after that. It was like a year ago though. I'd completely forgotten about it. I didn't even know he still saw her."

    "None of us did." JC sounded bitter. "And now he's marrying her."

    "Who would have thought that Curly would be the first to get married," Joey said.

    "He's not married yet. We've still got to find him." JC stood up and walked over to the window.

    There was a furious pounding on the door. Lance got up and answered it.

    Kendra came storming in.

    "Why the hell didn't you tell me he had a girlfriend?"

    JC backed up from his storming ex-girlfriend. "I didn't know Ken, honestly."

    "You're his fucking best friend and you fucking don't know he's fucking asking a girl to marry him?" Kendra had tears coming down her face.

    "He never mentioned her to us Kendra," Chris said calmly watching the scene in front of him.

    "Ken, sit down please?" JC took Kendra's arm lightly and led her to the couch. She sat down. "What's the matter Kendra?" JC knelt in front of her.

    "He said he still loved me JC. He said that he was sorry and he still loved me. He asked me to find him again. He still loves me."

    Lance stood up from the chair he'd sat down in quickly. "You're that Kendra?"

    "Lance."

    "Slow down a minute JC, you never told us she was Nick's girlfriend. I suppose she's working for them too." Lance shot a look of pure hatred at Kendra.

    "Lance." JC had a warning tone in his voice.

    "She is isn't she." Lance was yelling now. "She's working for the Backstreet bastards too! How could you do this JC? You know they're behind this."

    "Lance, shut the fuck up. They said they didn't do it. We know they're together and Kendra's going to find them."

    None of them heard the soft knocking on the door or heard it open.

    "She's working for them JC. You knew this and didn't tell us. You're working with them aren't you."

    Kendra stood up. She'd had enough of their petty bickering.

    "All of you, shut up!" she yelled. When they were quiet she continued. "I was doing this as a favor to you because I loved Justin like a little brother. I can see you don't want me working on this though so I quit."

    JC glared at Lance. "Kendra honey, you can't quit. We need you. "

    "We don't need her," Lance spit out. Lance turned towards the door. There was a young woman standing there. "Who are you and how did you get in here?"

    The girl opened her mouth but Chris said first "Lisa."

    "Hi." She said shyly. She turned to Kendra and said, "Hi, I'm Lisa, Justin's fiancée."

    "Kendra." Kendra stuck out her hand and Lisa shook it.

    "Did I hear you say," Lisa continued quietly "that you were going to find Justin?"

    "I was going to, but they," Kendra gestured to the rest of the guys, "don't want me to obviously."

    Lisa turned on the guys, her previously soft voice gone. "Justin was right. He kept me from you because you all were too stubborn to realize that you were given a gift. The gift of being able to sing. The gift of being able to entertain thousands of people. Instead all you care about is whether you're the best. Didn't you hear him tonight? He could be on his deathbed and he reminded you that it was the music that mattered. He said that if he brought me into your world I wouldn't be able to get out. I didn't understand, but I do now." Lisa was close to tears. "He's your best friend and my fiancée and your going to let him be held hostage because you're too stubborn to let your best chance at finding him work for you." Lisa turned back to Kendra. "I know that these guys don't want you working for them, but I want you working for me. Will you please find Justin for me?"

    Kendra was in awe of Lisa's sudden change of personality and demeanor. She thought a moment. "I would be happy to find your fiancée for you Lisa. After all he is with my boyfriend, or the guy who will be my boyfriend as soon as I find him."

    JC and Chris smiled while Lance and Joey scowled at the two women. Lance turned and stormed off to his room, followed by Joey who hoped to comfort him.

    JC looked at his ex-girlfriend and smiled. "Thank you Kendra."

    Kendra frowned at him. "I'm not doing it for you JC." Her frown turned into a small smile. "Well, maybe a little bit for you. I never could say no when your eyes get that puppy dog look."

    The four of them laughed lightly at the not funny joke trying to release some of the tension that had been building in them for 48 hours.

    Nick and Justin were back in the room they'd been in before. Nick's right eye was rapidly swelling shut because of the stunt he'd pulled on camera. The tears continued to fall down his face. Justin had managed to work his way over to where Nick was placed.

    "Nick," he said softly, "It's going to be okay. We're going to get out of here."

    "I know." Nick was silent again.

    "What's the matter bud?" Justin tried to sound sympathetic.

    "I miss her so much Justin. I was so stupid."

    "Kendra?"

    "Yeah."

    "Why were you stupid?"

    "Because she's the only person I've really cared for and I let her go. I didn't want her to get involved in our world, the same reason you kept Lisa out of the spotlight. I knew this kidnapping thing was going to be coming up so I told her that I wanted to break up because I didn't want her to get hurt. I couldn't tell her about the whole thing because she knew the guys really well. She knew 'N SYNC too. She was JC's ex."

    "You really did want to diminish the barriers between the groups didn't you?" Justin laughed. "JC's ex. Oh my god. I know whom you're talking about. Hot girl. JC loved her so much but he never told us why they broke up."

    "Because he fucked some chick on tour." Nick's voice had a harsh edge.

    Justin looked incredulous. "JC? Sleeping with a girl not his girlfriend on tour? I think I'm going to die of heart failure."

    "Sort of wrecks the father image doesn't it?" Nick laughed.

    "Yeah. Joey I can picture, Chris I could possibly see doing that. Lance maybe if he weren't sworn to abstinence until marriage, but JC?" Justin paused and made a face. "That's just ugh!"

    Nick was laughing harder than he had in days. "You know," he said more seriously. "I would have thought that JC would have been the first of the ten of us to get married. Not you."

    "Either him or Kevin," Justin said seriously, his thoughts drawn back to Lisa.

    "You know it was almost me."

    Justin looked at Nick curiously. "What do you mean it was almost you?"

    "I was almost the first to get married."

    Justin just stared at Nick. "What do you mean you were almost the first to get married."

    "There was this girl. Shana. She was a girl who I met at a meet and greet. We really hit it off. She was one of those girls who wraps you around their little finger. I was enraptured." Nick paused and frowned slightly. "In three weeks she managed to turn me against all of my friends and family. We took a trip to Las Vegas."

    "You didn't." Justin looked shocked.

    "We did. We were at the chapel and I saw this girl. She caught my eye. It was love at first sight. She was the daughter of the priest at the little chapel."

    "Kendra?"

    "Yep. Kendra." Nick smiled at the name. "She saved me that night."

CONTINUE TO DAY 2
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