Jeff Timmons slowly became aware of the world around him. Something was missing. His leg was too light and it seemed cold. He opened his eyes slowly and for a moment was disoriented. The window was not located there in his house. Then he remembered. He was at Kendra's. That was what was missing— Kendra's head. His ears began to register a sound. A whirring. His eyes rested on the TV set in front of him. Justin Timberlake was saying his speech, backwards, without sound. The man dressed in black appeared on the screen. Jeff smiled.

"Still trying to figure it out huh?"

"There's something there Jeff, I know it."

"They're having to be very guarded Ken. I'm sure they'll give another clue in the next tape."

"What if there's not a next tape?"

"There will be Ken. They said so."

"Doesn't it seem weird to you that they haven't asked for money or anything?" Kendra asked as she turned off the TV "They haven't given any motive and they haven't asked for a ransom. Why did they do this Jeff? Why? There's no reason except pure hate. And if that was it they would have killed them already."

"I can't tell you that Ken. I can't." Jeff patted the couch beside him and Kendra moved over there. "At least we can assume that they do have a reason. They wouldn't be keeping them alive if it were."

"That's the only good thing that can be said from all of this, they're still alive." Kendra said as she cuddled up to Jeff.
He ran a hand through her hair. "It'll come Ken, it'll come."

JC walked into Brian's living room, a hand over his eyes and stubble prominent on his face.

"Good morning Josh, or should I say good afternoon."

 JC stopped. That voice didn't belong here, at least not if he was at Brian's apartment, where he assumed he was since there were pictures of Brian and his girlfriend all over the place.

"Lance?" JC asked as he took his hand off his eyes and immediately cringed in the bright sunlight. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you to get up." Through the bright glare, JC could see Lance acting as if it were the most obvious thing in the world for him to be in his archenemies house.

 "But you're here."

"Where else would I be waiting for you to get up?" Lance had a note of exasperation in his voice.

"He called around ten and asked if you were up," Brian said as he walked into the room holding a glass of water and a bottle of Tylenol. "When I said no, he said that he wanted to come over so that he could make sure that I hadn't harmed you in any way."

JC took the bottle of painkillers and poured three into his hand. He threw them to the back of his mouth and swallowed the entire glass of water in one gulp. He slammed the glass back down on the table. He looked at Lance askance. "You didn't."

"I most certainly did." Lance smiled. "You're in our rivals apartment. Did you think I'd just leave you here at his mercy?"

"Brian's my friend Lance, a concept you're obviously having a very hard time understanding." JC looked around the living room and saw his jacket. He didn't remember taking it with him to the bar but it was lying on the couch.

"Oh, I brought your jacket and your sunglasses." Lance leaned back in his chair.

    "Thanks," JC said as he grabbed the sunglasses from their place on the table in front of Lance. He put them on effectively blocking out the almost heavenly glow of the room.

"You know JC," Brian said, a small smile playing on his lips, "It's a good thing Lance came when he did. I was just about to put your underwear in the freezer."

"You never can trust those Backstreet bastards," Lance said with a laugh.

JC was about to get defensive when he saw Brian laughing.

"You think he's funny?"

"Lance and I had a chance to talk while you were so drunkenly passed out," Brian paused, "I think we discovered that the other wasn't quite so bad as we'd imagined."

"You know Jace… I might just have to trust your pick of friends more often— well, I guess I should since I am your friend, or I hope that I'm your friend." Lance suddenly looked a little teary eyed. "I am your friend aren't I Josh?"

JC looked at Brian and then back at Lance. Brian had a concerned pout on his face, his eyes alternating between the two men he'd so recently come to think of as friends.

"Of course you're my friend Lance." JC reached forward and pulled Lance into a hug. "You'll always be my friend even if you are a stubborn ass most of the time."

Lance laughed and felt the tears brim over the edges of his eyes.

Brian was leaning back in his chair watching the scene in front of him. It was getting too mushy. Suddenly Brian leapt forward and threw himself on top of the two men.

"Group hug!"

Nick couldn't tell if the room was getting lighter or not. He'd been awake hours. He'd awoken while it was still unarguably dark to see the door to their prison close. He'd tensed unsure what to think of the man who had surely been watching them. What did they have planned? Once he'd tensed up he hadn't been able to fall back asleep on the uncomfortable chair.

He'd spent the hours awake watching Justin. He remembered meeting Justin and thinking what a child he was. The man sitting across from him now was not a child. He looked older as his head lolled over to his shoulder. His eyes were closed and his mouth slightly open. He drew in his breath in gentle puffs.

Suddenly, Justin sat up. He cringed feeling an extreme pain in his neck. He would have given almost anything to be able to massage the muscles in his neck.

"I guess this still isn't a dream is it?" Justin asked dryly. His voice was slurred with sleep. He blinked his eyes several times trying to clear the sleep out of them.

"If it is we're still sleeping." Nick yawned suddenly feeling tired now that his friend was awake.

"Damn." There was a hint of laughter in Justin's voice. "I can't even pinch myself to see if I am dreaming. That sucks."

"I could scoot over and step on your toe," Nick joked back. "Want me to do that?"

"No thanks," Justin said. "I think I could do without my big toe being broken in this whole deal."

"Okay. Just know the offer still stands if you want to take me up on it."

"Thanks Nick. You're the best friend a guy could ask for."

"Where are they Justin?" Nick wasn't looking at Justin. He was looking toward the boarded up window. His voice sounded like he was far away.

"They're looking as hard as they can Nick. They'll come. They'll figure it out. I'm sure the entire population of twelve year-olds is making OPD a living hell. They'll have to find us to get all the pre-pubescent girls off their backs."

"I knew that all those screaming girls had to be good for something except for keeping us in business for eight years."

"They'll make sure we're found Nick. Don't sweat it." Justin looked on as Nick closed his eyes, wishing that he could believe his own words.

Kendra suddenly stood up from her place on the couch next to Jeff.

"Enough of this shit," she said as she grabbed Jeff's hand, pulling him up with her.

"Enough of what shit?" he asked confused, stretching his muscles for the first time that day. His back popped twice, an indication that he'd been in the same position for too many straight hours.

"Of sitting here waiting for the answer to fall into my lap." Kendra marched determinedly over to the front door grabbing both her coat and Jeff's. "We're hitting the streets. This is the biggest celebrity disappearance in years. There's got to be someone who knows something about it."

"Hitting the streets? You mean we're just going to go up to random people and ask if they know where Nick Carter and Justin Timberlake are?"

"No silly." Kendra slapped Jeff playfully on the arm; her happy mood covering the despair she was feeling rather effectively. "I used to do PI work. I have connections."

"You must have connections, you dated members from two of the three big bands in Orlando and just slapped a member from another group on the arm."

Kendra rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Men. They think they're so clever."

Jeff laughed at Kendra and opened the door for her. They left the apartment

    Lisa stared at the TV. They'd just shown the video for the twentieth straight time. The commentator had said the same thing after each repetition. There is no new information.

It had become a mantra playing through Lisa's head. The journalist in her was screaming a lead through her head. In the fourth day since the disappearance of Justin Timberlake, investigators are no closer to finding the missing men. She had to write something.

They'd run an AP article yesterday but they couldn't do that two days in a row. Not when the disappearance was in their very own city.

Lisa moved her tired body from her favorite easy chair— the one she and Justin always curled up in— to her desk. Instinctively her hands moved to the keys.
 

LISA COLEMAN
STAFF WRITER
In day three of the search for Justin Timberlake and Nick Carter, police have not announced any new information.
"We are working as hard as we can with as many officers as we can spare to find Nick and Justin," Detective Robinson said in a press conference this morning. "We are doing everything we can.
 Timberlake disappeared four days ago from his Ruskin Florida home. Carter disappeared the next evening from his home in Orlando. Timberlake and Carter have been shown in two videos supposedly made by their captors. An unidentified man dressed in black has also been seen in the videos. He is supposed to be one of the abductors.
No mention of ransom or release has been made.
The police are still unclear on motive.
"Please return my Justin to me," Lisa, Justin's fiancée said.

Lisa's finger tapped on the delete key, debating whether to leave that last line in or not. It could open up a can of worms she wasn't willing to face. She decided to leave it in for the moment, until she got a quote from JC or one of the other guys.

Lisa picked up the phone and called Kevin's apartment to get a quote. She had to appear unbiased.

Kevin felt around the nightstand knocking the phone off its base.

"'ello?" Kevin thought he was speaking into the correct end of the phone.

"Kevin, it's Lisa."

"Lisa?" Kevin sat up quickly. "Have you heard anything? Have they found them? Does Kendra know any more?"

"No Kevin. I'm actually calling to get a quote from you."

"A quote?"

"You know I'm the writer for all the articles on the disappearances right?"

"Oh yeah." Kevin paused. "What do you want me to say?"

"Just comment. Maybe play up the decreased animosity between you and 'N SYNC."

Kevin thought a moment. "How about: We're working with the OPD in any way that we can to help them locate Nick and Justin. Our prayers are with both of them as well as the members of 'N SYNC. We offer them our friendship in our mutual time of need."

"That's great Kevin. Thank you."

"Anytime." Kevin hung up the phone. He could do press calls in his sleep it appeared. That might be a good thing to know in the future. He looked back towards his bed. It was so inviting. He hadn't spent enough time in it recently. With the competition to get their fourth album out before 'N SYNC and 98- degrees he'd been pulling 19-hour days.

Kevin shook his head and cleared it of all thoughts of going back to bed. He stood up, creaking slightly. He looked around the room, his eyes focusing on a picture of himself with Nick and Brian. They were all smiling. That hadn't happened in a long time.

Kevin stood up and looked around his bedroom. He went over to the dresser and pulled out a small black address book. It was time to bring back a part of his life he'd struggled to leave behind. It seemed that only the past might be able to secure his future.

"Remind me what we're doing here again?" Jeff moved from one foot to the other on the steps outside an apartment with a blue door.

"We're looking for Nick and Justin." Kendra whapped on the door again.

"Kendra, unless you're a super-genius type, and I'm not saying you aren't, I seriously doubt that Nick and Justin are behind that door."

"I'm not saying they are Jeff, I'm saying that someone who has a better chance of knowing where they are than either you or me does, is behind that door." Kendra paused and whapped on the door for a third time. "Daniel, open up!"

"Aren't PI's supposed to stealthy? You're drawing the attention of everyone within five miles." Jeff leaned against the wall in the dark entryway watching the people watch them as they walked past.

"You really don’t know very much about PI work do you Jeff. The whole thing is whom you know, not what you know. Who you know leads to what you know. The man behind this door has his finger on the pulse of the entire city. If something big goes down he knows about it. And this was something big."

There was a scuffling behind the door. Kendra stepped back a few steps, but was still close enough so that she could force the door open if needs be. The door opened a crack.

"I thought I'd heard you retired," a gruff voice said.

"I came back just for you, Daniel," Kendra said in a sticky sweet voice. "I just missed dealing with you on a daily basis."

"I don't know nothing." The door began to close but quicker than a cat Kendra had her foot between the door and the doorframe.

"Daniel, you've got to help me." Kendra's voice had lost its confident tone and was now pleading.

"I don't got to help anyone and I don't owe you nothing." Daniel continued to close the door on Kendra's foot. Jeff could see her begin to wince. Daniel was not a large man but he was larger than Kendra.

"Listen bastard," Jeff stared, throwing his weight against the door, throwing Daniel backwards and Kendra off balance, "if you know anything you will tell this lady here."

"I don't owe her nothing," Daniel repeated.

"But you owe me something if you don't tell her. You owe me the right to beat you up. Do you want me to do that? I would be more than happy to; I haven't been able to go to the gym to use my punching bag recently and I think you'd do just fine."

Daniel got up from the floor where he'd fallen. "I don't listen to threats. I got people who would get you."

Jeff's eyes glinted. Kendra swore they glinted with amusement. She gave Jeff a funny look.

"I'm not worrying about them now," Jeff said, the amusement showing in his voice. "I'm worried about you and how you'd look with a pug's nose."

Daniel had been backing up and Jeff had been following him into the house. Kendra slowly came in and shut the door behind them.

"You've got to help me Daniel. This is for me, not for anyone else. If you help me now I promise I'll never bother you again."

"You go away an I never hear from you again?" Daniel sat down on a decrepit chair.

"You never hear from me again." Kendra sat down across from him on a chair in slightly better condition. Jeff sat down next to her.
"Are you going to answer the ladies questions or do I need to go get my rope for tying you to that oh so convenient rafter."

Daniel leaned back, his chair creaking noticeably. Silence permeated the room for two minutes.

"I'll answer your questions."

Kevin was in his car. He hadn't driven anywhere in a long time. The limo had always been there. Kevin shifted the stick on the car and relished the noise of the engine changing gears. This was the life that he'd been missing. The normal life. The life that hadn't been his for eight years.

Kevin maneuvered the car through the rather dingy street. He realized that the Porsche would draw more attention to him than he'd thought. He had to do this though; he just couldn't be seen. What would the world say if they knew that Kevin Richardson was walking around south central Orlando and was visiting— well, was visiting a man who would remain unnamed. Kevin shivered thinking about the man that he was meeting. Kevin wasn't afraid of him even though he was probably the only man in Orlando who could say that.
Kevin pulled out his cell phone. He flipped it open with his right hand as he steered around a sharp corner with his left.

"It's me." Kevin paused hearing the rather surprised response. "You can't have forgotten me already. I'm almost there. I want to see him immediately."

If someone else had been sitting in the car they could have heard the rather frightened tinny voice coming out of the phone.

"Don't fuck with me Benny. I'll be there in two and I want to see him. If he's not there, you're the one who's going to have to pay."
Kevin listened to the hurried assent.

"He'd better be there Benny, for his sake and yours. You know what I can do."

Kevin flipped the phone closed without waiting for a reply. His face looked like stone. This was a life he'd left behind with no intentions of coming back, but suddenly, being back was like a breath of fresh air. He was enjoying himself, in a funny way. He hadn't been able to say that for years. It was time to let the man no one in Orlando would name know that Kevin Richardson was back. And he wasn't going to take any shit.

It was Justin's turn to watch Nick sleep and Justin was bored. He was tired of sitting on that chair— he swore he'd appreciate being able to stand on his own two feet the next time he was able to, provided he was able to. He also had an itch on the bottom of his foot— an impossible place to scratch. All in all Justin was not a happy camper.

He tapped his foot irritably and then stopped. His ears had become accustomed to the silence in the room so the jiggling of the doorknob was noticeable.

"Nick!" he hissed quietly. "Nick, wake up."

Nick shook himself and looked at Justin. The noise at the door immediately brought his eyes wide open. Both he and Justin stared at the door, waiting to see who was behind it.

The door opened and a black covered hand entered the room, followed by the black covered body.

"So you're awake," the man growled. "Thought we might catch you asleep this time, though you were both sleeping like babies last night."

Nick and Justin shivered. Unsure what to do, they stayed silent as three other men entered the room.

"It's time to star in your third movie boys. I'm sure you'll get nominated for an Oscar for this one. We'll see what we can do to spice up your performance. Maybe put guns to your back? We need to show that girlie friend of yours that we mean business. She needs to get off the case."

Nick groaned and smiled inwardly at the same time. Kendra was still on the case. Maybe she really would forgive him for what he'd done to her. The longer he was gone from her the more he convinced himself that she didn't care for him anymore. But she was still searching. She was still looking for him. Nick swore that when he saw her again, he'd never let her go.

The world went dark for both men as blindfolds were placed over their eyes. Their chairs were lifted up and they could tell that they had been taken into the hallway by the change of light coming through the cloth over their eyes.

When the blindfolds were removed ten steps and one doorway later, the room was the same one they'd been in before. There was only one difference. They could hear music playing softly. So softly it was barely audible. But the music was there.

Nick and Justin looked at each other and nodded. They'd spent enough time planning their escape to be able to read each other's thoughts.
The camera was set up in front of them. Justin jumped as he felt something small, round and cold against his spine. The man hadn't been joking. They really were going to be pointing guns at them. Justin felt his face lose all it's color. One look at Nick showed that he had experienced the same feeling and come to the same conclusion.

The man in black who always did the talking stepped in front of Nick and Justin. He faced them. "Don't fuck with us boys. We know you are. You fuck with us you'll regret it. You fuck with us you'll never see your girls again. And it won't be them never seeing you again, it'll be you going back to your world without them in it. You got it?"

If it was possible, Nick and Justin went even paler. They both nodded. The silence in the room was deafening. They could still hear the music. They had to pray that the mic on the camera would too.

"Hello?" Brian answered the phone eagerly. All the guys in his living room looked up hopefully. JC and Lance had been joined by Joey and Chris as well as AJ. Howie couldn't stomach being in the same room as the 'N SYNC guys even if he was publicly preaching decreased animosity. Kevin couldn't be found. Brian was worried about him, but Kevin was a grown man. He should know what he was doing.

"Brian, it's Lisa."

"Lisa! Hey!" Brian knew he was sounding too excited but he was getting desperate.

"No, I haven't heard anything," Lisa said. "I'm actually looking for JC. Do you know where he is?"

"Yeah, he's right here," Brian said feeling his hopeful adrenaline rush leave his body. "Let me go get him." Brian put a hand over the mouthpiece of the phone and looked at the assembled guys. "JC, its Lisa. She wants to talk to you."

JC got up, feeling his headache resurge. He took the phone with a confused look on his face.

"Hey Lisa. What's up?"

"I need a quote from you JC. I need to finish this article and I've only got a quote from Kevin."

"You talked to Kevin today?" JC asked surprised. "We haven't been able to contact him."

"He was in his apartment last time I talked to him," Lisa said. "So can I get a quote?"

"Yeah, what did Kevin say?"

"He just commented on how they were helping the police in any way they could and how their prayers were with you."

"Okay, um" JC paused, his eyes scanned toward the TV. "Oh my god. Lisa are you watching this?"

Lisa was silent, but JC didn't notice.

In two different apartments all eyes were pasted on the TV screen.

"We want you to know that we're serious. We haven't harmed your two pop-stars yet but if that girl isn't off the case in 24 hours that will change. Notice, I didn't say might, I said will. Take that as a promise from me. We're going to let them say a few words now."

Nick looked terrified. The metal of the gun was being pushed into his back harshly. His adam's apple was bobbing as he tried to swallow through the nervous shudders that were shaking her body.

"Kendra, I love you, but please baby, if you love me, stop looking for me. I will be back to see you soon. Just please, baby, find it in your heart to forgive me."

"Just because we're gone, don't let our music be silenced," Justin said out of the blue. He paused for several moments praying that the mic would pick of the oh so faint music playing the background. "Lisa, baby, it's tearin' up my heart that I can't be there with you, but as long as you love me, I will be okay."

Nick looked at Justin out of the corner of his eye and suddenly figured out what Justin was doing. Mention all their old songs and someone's bound to think Transcon.

"Kendra, darlin', I just want to be with you. When everybody is back together we're going to get down and have a party." Nick felt the gun push on the back of his neck. "Kendra, stop looking for me. I'll be back with you. Don't worry. Have I broken my word to you yet?"

"I love you Lisa. I love you mom," Justin said as the TV went blank.

"Oh my god," Lisa said quietly over the phone. "JC, they had guns pointed at them."

"I know Lisa, I know," JC said quietly.

"JC, can I come over there. I don't want to be alone right now."

"Yeah, come on over. We'll still be here. Don't worry Lisa. If they were going to harm them they would have done so already. They were just trying to make a point."

"I hope you're right JC. I'll be there soon."

"Bye Lisa." JC hung up the phone. "Yeah, they were just trying to make a point. That's all the guns were doing." JC stared at the TV in front of him, desperately trying to believe his own words.

Lisa picked up the phone and dialed Kendra's number— something she'd memorized in the last two days. The phone rang four times before the message came on.

"Hello, this is Kendra Wilson. I'm sorry. I can't come to the phone right now. Please leave a message after the beep and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. If this is Lisa or any of the guys, please call my cell phone. You have the number."

Lisa hung up the phone and held her head. She tried to swallow over the lump in her throat. It didn't succeed. It just made the tears want to come even harder.

"Just breathe," she said quietly to herself. Just breathe.

Kevin looked around the building. His eyes hadn't looked on these walls in at least ten years. He hadn't thought that he'd ever see them again. He hadn't wanted to ever see them again.

It had been ten years but he didn't think he'd ever forget his way around the building. He could do it with his eyes closed. He had done it with his eyes closed.

Kevin rang the little gold bell that sat on the empty desk in the entryway. A short chubby man came tumbling out of a room. Kevin could see him swallow hard as he saw who had rung the bell.

"Hello Benny. Is he ready to see me?"

"He doesn't want to see you Kevin and you know what he says goes."

"He will see me Benny. I told you I wanted to see him and it appears you have failed me if he is refusing to see me. Why don't you just let me in? I think it'll be easier on you in the long run if you do."

"He doesn't want to see you Kevin." The short man repeated.

"I don't give a fuck what he wants Benny. I want to. No I take that back. I need to see him. It's not a request Benny. It's an order. And if I remember correctly, you worked for me first, then him."

Kevin had been approaching Benny the entire time he spoke and as he said the last words he leaned forward so that Benny could feel the short, sharp bursts of breath on his face.

Slowly, timidly, Benny nodded and retreated to the room he'd come from, stumbling the entire way. Kevin considered following him but decided against it. He might as well let Benny and the man still think they had some control over him.

Kevin heard the door re-open and Benny stood there motioning Kevin to come in.

Kevin took one last look at the entryway before going into the back room. He'd only been there two times before and he didn't remember enjoying either time very much.

"I need to know about the kidnappings Daniel," Kendra said leaning forward.

"What about them? I don't got nothin' to do with them." Daniel was leaning far back in his chair, his face in shadow but both Kendra and Jeff could see him go a shade paler.

"Who's behind it Daniel?" Jeff asked as he scooted his chair slightly forward. 'You've got to know. Kendra told me that you know everything that goes on in Orlando."

"I don't know who did this."

"Daniel?" Kendra said sweetly. "Don't fuck with me. This is big Daniel and I know you pride yourself on knowing everything big that goes down."

"I can't tell you Kendra. I honestly can't."

Kendra nodded, understanding. There were always some things Daniel wouldn't tell her.

"Can you give me anything? Remember Daniel, this is the last time you're going to see me, provided that you give me all of the information that I need to know."

Daniel looked between the two faces in front of him. Neither looked happy. Jeff looked like he would gladly tear Daniel apart given the chance.

"I can't tell you who. They're big though. They got powerful people in their pocket."

"You mean, him?"

"Yeah." Daniel paused. "Him. But you didn't hear it from me." He paused again. "We figure they from out of town… or rich. They appear out of no where. No one knows them. No one see them. They pull the biggest kidnapping in a decade and no one know nothing."

"But, he knows?" Jeff said. He didn't need to ask whom Daniel was referring to. Neither did Kendra.

"He knows." Daniel said. Quickly he hurried on. "That's all I know. You got to believe me."

Kendra studied Daniel's face intently. Finally she looked in his eyes and realized she was satisfied.

"Thank you Daniel." Kendra and Jeff got up from their chairs and made their way to the blue door. "I hope to never see you again."
Kendra let the door shut behind her before the tears began rolling down her face.

"Ken?" Jeff asked concerned. "What is it baby?" He pulled her close to him and held her tight.

"You know, from the very beginning I was hoping, praying that this was done by amateurs who were just trying to make a name for themselves in the criminal underworld. It might have meant that they would hurt Nick and Justin, but they would screw up and we'd be able to find them before it was too late. But if he's involved it's not amateurs and if he's in their pocket? It's out of my league and the league of the OPD."

"They can't be that powerful Ken. I know they can't be. They're just men."

"He holds the city in the palm of his hand Jeff. If he doesn't want Nick and Justin to be found they won't be. If he wants me off the case I will be. I can't lose Nick Jeff. I can't."

"You won't Ken. I'll make sure of it." Jeff pulled Kendra's head to his chest and cradled it there.

Nick and Justin looked at each other with worried expressions on their faces. Their captors did not look happy. They didn't look happy even through the black masks that covered their faces. Their arms moved in tight movements. They handled the chairs that the men were tied to roughly. Then they left Nick and Justin in their original room alone with the ominous warning that they would be back.

Suddenly the door slammed open. There was no caution left with the men. They didn't care that Nick and Justin could see the hall.

"What the fuck do you think you were doing back there?" The man who did all the talking said. "We told you not to fuck with us, but obviously you don't listen or you don't care what happens to your girlfriends."

"We weren't fucking with you," Justin said knowing that he sounded fake even as the words left his mouth.

"Then what was it? Memory hour?" The man was extremely agitated. He was pacing around the room frantically. The other three men just stood there looking tense.

"Listen. We don't know why you did this," Nick said breaking the man's concentration. "You haven't given any motive. We don't know what you want from us. We just want to live. That's all. We just want to go back to our lives. That's it."

"Then why don't you listen to what we tell you. We tell you not to fuck with us. You've done nothing but fuck with us since we got you here. You're sending out messages. That doesn't indicate a very strong sense of self-preservation to me."

"What do you want with us?" Justin asked, his voice cracking.

"That's for us to know and no one else to find out. Just know pretty boys that we have our reasons. Even though they'll never be revealed, you'll be helping us more than you'll ever know." The man looked like he was going to say more, but a shrill ringing broke the silence.

"Kevin," a voice said from behind a high-backed chair. "I was wondering how long it would be before you came to see me."

"Cut the crap," Kevin said. "We both know I wouldn't be here willingly."

"If I'm not mistaken, Kevin, you were the one on the phone demanding to see me." The armchair spun around revealing a man who wasn't tall but wasn't short. He wasn't fair skinned or dark skinned. He wasn't good looking; he wasn't bad looking. He wasn't dark haired, he wasn't light haired. He wasn't memorable. And that made him extremely deadly.

"You know why I'm here Mel."

The man in the armchair flinched as he heard his name for the first time in years.

"What? You don't want me to say your name? You who were going to be my father-in-law?"

"You would have been my favorite son-in-law."

"Janice and I wouldn't have been happy though. It's good we broke it off."

"But you would have done so well in the family business." Mel patted the arm of his chair as he said it.

"I wasn't made for this business Mel."

"You had a very promising start Kevin. I would have gladly made you my right hand man. You could have actually been someone rather than a pop-star." The last word was said with disdain.

"I'm happy being a singer Mel."

"Are you Kevin?" Mel narrowed his eyes. "Are you really? I watched you in an interview not too long ago. You're eyes looked sort of dead. If you look at them now they have life to them again. I think it's being back here. Looking at the life you used to have. The life you had before you became angel extraordinare."

"I like the life I have now Mel," Kevin said forcefully. "I do. I'm not here to talk about me though."

"Then what are we talking about Kevin. You don't scare my man half to death for nothing."

"Where's Nick?"

Mel looked at him blankly. "Nick?"

"You know the guy in my band?"

"Is that what you call what you're in?" Mel looked amused.

Kevin was suddenly furious. "Where the hell is Nick Mel. I know you've got to have something to do with this."

Mel raised an eyebrow. "Why would I have anything to do with this Kevin? I'm not interested in missing pop-stars."

Kevin realized that he'd made a mistake. He'd let anger and worries overcome his emotions. He'd shown weakness in front of him.

"Do you know who did it Mel?"

"I have no clue." Mel had a glint in his eyes that showed he was lying.

"You're fucking with me Mel. Who the fuck did this?"

"I can't tell you that Kevin. It's too much fun watching everyone try to figure it out."

"So you do know."

"Kevin," Mel said shaking his head. "I own Orlando. Do you think I'd let something this big go down and not know about it?"

"Who did it Mel?" Kevin was leaning over Mel's desk now.

"I'm not going to tell you Kevin. You may be the only person in this city who's not afraid of me, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to bow down at your feet. Surely you haven't forgotten that I never break my word. I told someone that I wouldn't tell and I won't."

Kevin sat back down in his chair. "Can you tell me anything?"

"You all think you're so smart, getting that girl to look for those two guys. You aren't looking at what's right in front of you."

"What do you mean what's right in front of us? We've been over everything so many times, surely we aren't missing anything."

"How many people can you really trust Kevin? No one. That used to be your mantra. What happened to the cautious man that I knew?"

"He had to learn to trust," Kevin said. His brain was wheeling. He had no clue where Mel was going with this.

"Let me give you one last piece of advice. A piece of advice for the son-in-law I never had." Mel paused. "Beware of your friends Kevin. Especially the one's you don't know as well as you think. You know who did this. Now can you figure out who it was?"

Kevin sat back, a perplexed look on his face.

"Happy hunting Kevin. Oh, what the hell. I'm feeling all familial today. You want to find Nick and Justin? Look in your past Kevin. They're there. And they're waiting for you to find them."

Jeff looked at Kendra as she sat in the passenger side of his car. She was talking on the phone.

"Okay, thanks. Bye." She pushed the off button.

"The new tape is out. We need to find a TV."

"Well, we're headed back to your apartment right?" Jeff asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah."

Jeff turned his eyes back to the road but kept glancing at the woman sitting next to him. She was silent and staring out the window.

"It'll be okay Kendra," he said finally. "We will find them. We will, before it's too late."

She was silent for awhile but then she began to speak again. "I think it was too late when they disappeared Jeff. We will get them back Jeff, I know we will. The question is when. I don't really think there is anything that we can do except pray."

"So you're just going to give up?" Jeff said as he pulled into a parking spot outside Kendra's apartment. "That's it? One little obstacle and you're gone from this case? What happened to your undying love for Nick?"

"I won't be able to find him Jeff. I won't. If he has them, I won't be able to find Nick."

"What's the big deal about this guy. Everyone's afraid of him? He's just a man. Sure he might have quite an influence, but he is just a man. And he's not even responsible. No crime is foolproof. There will be screw-ups. We just have to find them and use them to our advantage."

Kendra looked at Jeff, her look of despair giving away to a look of determination. "You're right. I will find Nick. I love him. I want to spend my life with him and in order to do that I need to find him."

"That's the Kendra I know and love." Jeff looked at Kendra who had a shocked look on her face. "Figuratively speaking of course."

Kendra smiled. "Of course."

Four men sat in a room. They each stared at a different wall.

"We're fucked aren't we?" one asked. The rest nodded.

"Do we go to plan b?" he asked again.

"We may not have to give up yet," another guy said. "Daniel said they just knew that he was involved. Not that we were involved."

"Will he talk though?"

"I don't think so. If he admits involvement, he's screwed too. There's not a person in this city that wouldn't crucify him, or us, at this moment," the other guy said.

"So we just sit tight?" the first guy asked.

Again there was a round of nods.

The man who spoke first stared out the small dirty window. Six more days and this would all be over.

Brian looked up when there was a banging on his door. The rest of the guys were crashing on his furniture. He was happy to have everyone over. If nothing else, this whole experience had realized Nick and Justin's wishes.

He eased himself off the sofa and peered out the peephole in the door. He was expecting to see Lisa and was very surprised when Kevin's angry face filled his vision. He quickly opened the door.

"Whoa Kev. What's the matter?"

Kevin just stormed into the room glaring at everyone.

"Kevin?" AJ asked concerned. "What happened? What's the matter? Is there more news?"

Kevin walked over to the guys from 'N SYNC and stared at them.

"What the hell are you trying to pull?"

Surprised, the 'N SYNC guys leaned back away from Kevin.

"Kevin? What are you talking about?" Brian asked his cousin. "What do you mean?"

Kevin closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. If he said anything now it would reveal his past to those who didn't know and those who he still guessed would take any opportunity to ream him down.

"I was talking to Mel," he said quietly and guardedly.

"Mel?" Brian asked. His question was mirrored in everyone's looks.

"You know, him."

It was Brian's turn to back up, shocked. "Kevin, how do you know him?"

"You're connected to the biggest crime family in Orlando?" Lance asked, his jaw visibly dropping.

"I'm not anymore," Kevin said through clenched teeth.

"Kevin," Brian repeated. "How do you know him?"

Kevin sat down next to AJ and cringed as AJ scooted away from him.

"I was going to marry his daughter."

That statement echoed in the suddenly quiet room.

"Janice was his daughter?" Brian asked. He was more shocked than before.

"Yes. Janice is his daughter," Kevin said calmly.

"And you just casually dropped into say hi today?" Joey asked, a sneer on his face.

Kevin closed his eyes, apparently deep in thought. "Twelve years ago I asked Janice to marry me. She said yes. Then she introduced me to her parents. Mel thought that I should join the family business."

Kevin had a pained look on his face. "I tried. I really did. It's not important what I did. Nothing really illegal. I certainly never killed anyone," he added quickly.

"I couldn't do it though. Janice and I were engaged two years before I broke it off. I hadn't seen any of them since."

"Until now," Brian said rhetorically.

"Until now." Kevin paused again. "You all know the city of Orlando well enough to know that if a big crime is committed Mel has something to do with it."

The rest of the guys nodded, eyeing Kevin warily.

"I had to see. I had to know if he was involved."

"And was he?" AJ asked, relaxing slightly.

"Yes." Kevin said simply.

Kendra was looking in the mirror. She didn't know why, but she was. Her hair was unkempt. Her eyes were blurred. Her cheeks were streaked with tears. Her mascara had run. She'd seen the video and sent Jeff away. It was the only thing she could do. She had to have some time alone to sort out her thoughts and the new developments.

She could see the TV behind her. Nick and Justin were on, just like they had been for the last 48 hours. She turned around. She couldn't stand to be away from Nick any longer. She had to be with him. She grabbed the remote for the TV, tears brimming at her eyes. She pushed the volume up. It was so loud that it hurt her ears. She closed her eyes and imagined that Nick was in the room with her. Nick didn't speak long enough though and Justin was soon talking.

"Just because we're gone, don't let our music be silenced," Justin said with a crafty look on his face.
Kendra got very close to the TV. Justin's eyes were concentrating on the camera very hard. It was as if he was trying to speak without words.

Justin was quiet, but the hope in his eyes spoke volumes.

And then she heard it.

She heard what he was trying to tell the world.

She heard the words.

And then it was over, but she finally was a little closer to understanding what he and Nick had been saying.

"Lisa, baby, it's tearin' up my heart that I can't be there with you, but as long as you love me, I will be okay."

And Kendra smiled. Maybe she could do something after all.

"He's involved?" Lisa asked from the door of Brian's apartment.

All the men looked up.

"You have a habit of walking into apartments unannounced don't you Lisa?" Lance asked.

"I wouldn't if people would just close the doors." She paused. "Please Kevin, tell me, is he involved?"

"He is. But he's not behind it."

Joey stood up. "You believe him? You believe the biggest crime lord in Orlando but you still think that we would harm one of our own for our benefit? What is going on in your head Kevin? I thought we were finally developing some trust."

"You don't understand Joey," Kevin said. "They don't lie. They may kill. They may cheat. They may steal, but it is a cardinal sin to lie. He told me that he was involved. He told me that I knew who did this and that they were right in front of my nose. He told me not to trust my new friends. And you would be the newest friends I have. Can you swear to me that you had nothing to do with this."

Joey looked Kevin in the eye. "I swear that we did not have anything to do with this. We have no clue who would have done this either."

JC spoke for the first time since the telephone call with Lisa. "Did he have anything else to say?"

"He said that I should look in my past. He said that Nick and Justin were there waiting for us to find them."

"You know," JC had a thoughtful look on his face. "Weren't Nick and Justin dwelling on the past in all of the videos? They know where they are don't they?"

"Yeah," Lance said. "They have been talking about the past all the time. Today they mentioned all their songs."

There was a knock on the door startling all of the men, and Lisa, out of their reverie.

Brian cautiously went to the door and looked through the peephole. Kendra stood there wiping her eyes.

"Kendra? We weren't expecting you here."

"You need to listen to something. I need you to make sure that I'm not imagining anything." Kendra rushed into the room and barely acknowledged the rest of the people in the room. She went straight to the VCR and put a tape in that miraculously appeared out of her coat pocket. Her eyes frantically searched the room for the remote.
Lance held it out to her.

"Thanks." She turned back to the TV and pressed play. She pushed the volume way up on the TV.
Everyone in the room cringed as Nick's voice blasted into the room.

"It's okay!" Kendra shouted over the TV. "Just listen."

In the place where silence had permeated the tape, during Justin's pause, everyone's eyebrows raised when they heard the faint music.

Seeing their reaction, Kendra turned off the tape and cringed as the newscaster's voice was bellowing through the room. Quickly she turned the TV off.

"You heard it?" she asked the assembled group.

"Wasn't that Boyzone?" JC asked numbly.

"Yeah," Kendra said. "It was."

"And Kevin, didn't you say that they were in our past?" JC asked again.

"Yes I did," Kevin said.

JC looked at Kendra.

"They're at Transcon," she said simply.

"You know," Jeff said looking at his best friends in the world. "I think Kendra's really close."

"Close to what?" Drew asked, a smile playing on his face. "Close to accepting a real date with you?"

"No, I think that's just wishful thinking on my part." Jeff smiled. "I think she's close to finding Nick and Justin. She was so close to giving up once she figured out that he was involved, but I think I convinced her to stick with it."
Drew looked at Nick. Nick looked at Justin. Justin looked at Jeff and then Drew.

"What?" Jeff asked.

Drew, Nick and Justin nodded at each other. Slowly they got out their chairs and made their way toward Jeff.

"Guys?" Jeff asked. "What are you doing? You're scaring me."

"Jeff. We're really sorry we have to do this to you, but you've meddled too much."

A person standing out in the hallway would have heard a muffled "What the hell?" a small scuffle and a thump. A person standing out in the hall would have seen three men carrying the fourth out of the room and down the hall.

"Of course!" Brian and JC slapped their heads at the same time. "Transcon."

"That's why they were harping on the past," Lance said, his voice slightly awed. "They knew. They thought we'd think of it eventually."

"But we didn't," Kendra said. "It was too easy. It was too obvious."

"Which made it the perfect hiding place," Kevin said. "But who did it? I think we've concluded that it wasn't anyone in this room."

"Who else do we know?" Brian asked. "Who else is a 'new friend'?"

"It's not any of us," Joey said. "And it's not Drew and the boys," he trailed off.

"It couldn't be Drew and the boys could it?" Brian asked. "They said they didn't do it."

"Jeff didn't do it," Kendra said. "I know that. He was with me when the last two video's were released."

"But what about the others?" Kevin asked. "Mel said that we knew who did it and they're the only other possibilities."

"But why would they do it?" Lance asked.

"I don't know," Kendra said, her brow furrowed. "We can worry about that later though. We need to go get Nick and Justin."

In unison the nine stood up. They made their way to the door. Kendra pulled out her cell-phone and dialed 911.

It was after dark. Nick had fallen asleep as soon as the sun stopped glaring through the crack in the boards over the window. Justin was again awake. He was awake with no prospect of falling asleep. His eyes were acclimated to the dark making it appear dusky.

There was a flash of blue.

Justin blinked.

There was a flash of red.

Justin blinked again.

There was another flash of blue. Another flash of red.

"Nick!" Justin yelled, hopping up and down. The chair thumped as he moved.

Nick lifted his head and felt the strain in his neck. "This had better be good Justin. I was having a good dream."

Nick blinked. "Is it just me or is that blue and red flashing lights?" he asked.

"They're here," Justin said excitedly. "They figured it out Nick. They actually figured it out."

The door to their room banged open.

Nick and Justin turned toward the bright light. They saw Jeff being forced into the room, his hands bound behind his back. There was a gag over his mouth. Two men brought him in while a third brought in a chair.

"Sit here," one of the men said, roughly pushing Jeff into the chair and lifting his arms over the back of it.

Nick and Justin looked at each other confused.

At that moment the red light flashed across the man in black's covered face.

"What the fuck is that?" he asked standing up. He saw the blue light go through the room. "Fuck!" he said loudly. "Fuck! This is not fucking happening!"

One of the other men came into the room from the place where he'd stepped into the hall.

"What's the matter?"

"The fucking cops are here! Fuck! We've got to get the fuck out of here!" the first man yelled.

It was at that moment that they heard the pounding on the stairs.

All three men quickly leapt into the room, closing the door, but not turning the lock. The six men in the room all held their breath. The footsteps were coming down the hall. The footsteps were going past the door. The footsteps were getting fainter. Three men let out a sigh of relief. Nick chose that moment to make his move. He couldn't stand to see his one chance at freedom slip away.

He jumped. The chair thumped. The footsteps stopped.

Again, all six men were tense. Three were staring at Nick. Justin jumped. His chair thumped. Two men lunged at him. His chair flew backwards and made a scraping noise on the wood floor. The footsteps came back.

Six mouths were muttering silent prayers. Twelve eyes were on the doorknob. Twelve ears strained to hear the sound of the knob turning.

It turned.

And turned.

The door cracked and opened wider.

Lou Pearlman walked in.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing being so goddamned loud?" he asked, pulling out a gun from his jacket. "Don't you know the police are in the fucking building?"

Three men smiled and three groaned. Their last hope appeared to be slipping away, almost as quickly as their lives.

Kendra raced through the building. The police were searching the first and second floors but Kendra knew that the third was probably the key. The police had told all the guys and Kendra and Lisa to wait until the building was cleared, but the moment their backs were turned Kendra had taken off running for the elevator. She'd made it and the doors were closing as the police officers noticed where she was. She'd seen JC fighting to get through to her. She knew the police officers would come up the stairs.

The elevator doors had opened silently and Kendra had stepped out into the hall. She'd seen a door close. That was it. She knew it.

She heard footsteps behind her. Nervously she'd turned around. She'd smiled in relief when she saw three policemen and JC.

One of the policemen looked very mad. She knew she was going to get a lecture so she opened her mouth first.

"They're in there," she said pointing to the door.

Quietly the police officer radioed for backup and silently the three made their way to the indicated room.

The lead police officer nodded three times and then he kicked in the door allowing the other two access to the room. The all had their guns pointed.

Justin and Nick watched in amusement, like they were in the center of an action movie as one moment Lou was pointing a gun at them and the next he was lying face first on the ground, a foot on his back.

The three men in black backed up away from Nick, Justin and Jeff.

"Hands in the air!" one of the policemen barked. "Now!"

And in thirty seconds it was over. Three days of terror and fear ended in the time it took to blink. It was a blur, really. One moment they feared for their lives and the next, Nick and Justin were in the arms of their respective loved ones. There was not a dry face in the room.

Justin and Lisa were lost in a kiss.

Nick had immediately pressed his lips to Kendra's, but had pulled back almost as quickly.

"Kendra, do you forgive me? Please say you'll take me back? I only broke up with you so you wouldn't be hurt by what Justin and I were planning. Please say you still love me."

"Nick, shut up and kiss me," Kendra said tears streaming down her face. Nick smiled and happily obliged.
 

EPILOGUE
RETURN TO LEGENDS MAIN
RETURN TO STORY PAGE