PROLOGUE

He noticed that her long tapered fingers shook just ever so slightly as she handed over the check. The amount was correct, possibly even a little extra, so he didn’t give it a second glance as he stuffed it into his pocket. He calmly eyed his former client, his expression so neutral as to make one believe he was waiting for instruction as what to do next. A cough, followed by another one, forced his attention to the gentleman standing beside her. A hand reached out for a shake; a word of goodbye was spoken to him. Was that fear he saw in the gentleman’s eyes? A catch of desperation in his voice? He hoped so. His large, massive hand with untold strength enclosed the smaller one and gave it a quick shake. A desire to crush it, contort it into an unrecognizable shape overwhelmed him. Almost. He quickly let go of the hand, giving a short nod with his head and turned to walk out of the plush office. A small smile of satisfaction briefly materialized on his lips as he heard the woman behind him break into uncontrollable sobs.

CHAPTER ONE – FAMILY VALUES

Xavier Delgado, bodyguard to the elite, now unemployed, drove cautiously down the street, looking carefully at each cookie-cutter house he passed. Finally finding the number he wanted, he swung sharply into the driveway and turned off the radio blearing away with some music he could recognize as only one of those "boy-toy" bands his niece was always swooning over. He locked the SUV’s door, mindful of the neighborhood. He hated this area, full of drifters, gangs, and any other low-life scum looking for an easy target. Xavier’s mouth twisted into a tight smile as he visualized the possibility of meeting up with one of them.

He walked slowly up the sidewalk, noticing the crumbling concrete and weeds that proliferated around the small house. Damn! Where the hell was all the money he was giving his sister going to, anyway? An excited yell and slam of an door opening dragged Xavier’s attention away from the weeds and he looked up to see his niece barreling toward him at top speed. He caught her easily and swung her up high over his head to screeches of delight. Ugh. She was dirty, sticky with God–knows-what and Xavier put her down quickly.

"Lizzy!"

Xavier heard his sister’s hoarse voice yelling at her 10-year-old daughter and he straightened up to see Aggie leaning against the side of the doorframe, cigarette in one hand, the other hand resting on her seven-month pregnant belly.

"Are those for you, or the baby?" he sneered as he brushed by her yanking the burning cigarette from her and crushing it underfoot before he went inside.

"Ha. Ha." mocked his sister, trailing after Xavier and following him into her dilapidated kitchen, all the while searching in vain to locate a stray cigarette. She watched as he threw a piece of paper onto the kitchen table on his way over to the refrigerator to search for a beer.

"Hey!" she said, impressed by the size of the check. "What did you do? Knock over a bank?"

"I’m a bodyguard, remember? I get paid well." Xavier yanked open the handle, crouched down, and reached far into the back of the refrigerator. Finding what he wanted he pulled out a cold one and twisted off the cap. He sighed with relief after taking a long gulp, then swore, "Damn Florida heat!"

Aggie glanced at the check again then gave her brother a knowing look. "No bodyguard gets paid this well. You must have scared the shit outta someone real good."

"I get paid to protect."

"I’ll bet," she said dryly.

Xavier sighed impatiently. "Just save me 25 out of it," he said, nodding to the check. "You can have the rest. And for Christ’s sake, take some of it and clean up your yard!"

Aggie smiled as she walked over to her purse on the counter and shoved the check into it. "Thanks," she acknowledged bluntly. She turned and watched him take a swig from the bottle then dragged a chair out from the kitchen table and settled into it. Propping her feet up on another seat she relaxed and scanned the table, hoping a cigarette was lying around. Finding none, she sighed and eyed her brother with a contemplative stare.

"So, when will you be leaving?"

Xavier gave her a sour smile, recognizing her candid wish to be rid of him as soon as possible. He wiped his mouth, then held the amber bottle up to eye level, swirling the contents of the remaining beer. "Don’t know. Maybe a week, two at most. Soon as I find another job, I’ll be leaving."

Aggie nodded, then winced as she felt the baby kick down low. "Ouch." Xavier walked over to the trashcan, opened the lid and threw the empty bottle away.

"So, do you know who the father is?" His tone of voice left no question as to his distaste.

"Yeah, and I’m not telling you. I’m not letting you beat the crap outta him like you did to the other one."

"Aggie, believe it or not, this time I really don’t care."

She eyed him suspiciously, but knew better than to argue. The blare of the TV from the next room came to life, filling the house with music. "What the hell is all that racket?" Xavier snarled. It sounded just like the music he had heard when driving up to the house and he went to go investigate. Aggie followed her brother into the other room.

"Ever hear of MTV?" she asked sarcastically.

Xavier shot her a dark look in reply then watched his niece dance rythmically to the song on the TV. He turned to look at his sister with disbelief. "You let her watch this shit?"

Aggie shrugged for an answer and went over slowly to lower herself into a chair. Lizzy danced over to her uncle, a smiling beaming from her face as she grabbed his massive hand with both of her own. She tugged hard, trying to drag him over to the couch. "Uncle X! Uncle X! I like them! Sit down with me and watch them, please?" Xavier cringed at the nickname and swore under his breath.

"Let me get another beer first, ok?"

He returned with the drink and flopped down onto the couch. "Okay. So exactly what am I looking at?"

"My favorite group, the Backstreet Boys!" She twirled a little pirouette in front of the TV set. Aren’t they great?"

Xavier gave her a noncommittal grunt and slowly took a sip of his beer. The music had died down and the announcer began to talk about them. Apparently, a new tour was starting, songs from their new album would be covered, most shows were sold out, blah, blah, blah…Xavier didn’t listen to the rest. He gazed upward at the ceiling, lost in thought and his sister looked at him carefully, a frown forming on her face.

"Xavier…" she began slowly.

"Shut up."

"Xavier, please don’t…"

She was cut off with a vicious glare, a look that left no room for doubt in his meaning.

Aggie felt queasy, a horrible nausea flooding her body and senses. Not sure whether it was from the baby or her growing suspicions, she rose suddenly and hurried down to the bathroom hoping to hell she made it in time.

Xavier never noticed her swift exit. He began to watch the show intently, trying to absorb everything before him. One by one each of the band members were shown, a short biographical story describing his life and association with the group. Xavier leaned forward on the couch, hands clasped, as if in prayer, under his chin. His dark eyes became intense, his body tightly coiled as if ready to pounce on an unsuspecting prey. One by one, Xavier began to engrave into his memory each singer’s history and association with the band. As the last one of the group was being documented Xavier suddenly found himself being taken aback; his mind quickly shifted and he instantly dismissed the others, knowing with full certainty that this was the one. A curious jolt of excitement motivated him to painstakingly study the Backstreet Boy. Intrigued, Xavier watched the young man being interviewed; by far, he was the most charismatic. A connection had been made and Xavier held his breath as he attempted to absorb every nuance of his face, manner, and style.

A cold and clammy hand touching his shoulder brought Xavier out of his reverie and he looked up to find a distressed and pleading look on his sister’s pale face. He waved her off with an impatient flick of his hand and turned back to the screen. The show had ended and Lizzy was switching channels with the remote control at a 10-year-old frenzied pace

Xavier leaned back into the soft support of the couch and, as a quiet calmness spread across his broad face, ignored his sister’s growing anxiety. Lizzy had found a channel she liked, something called VH-1, and was humming along to another tune. Xavier looked at her, a quirk of a smile touching his lips. He knew now what he was going to do, what direction his next assignment would take him, and most importantly of all, the thrill he would get out of it. His fists clenched and unclenched with anticipation as he looked at his niece lying on the floor, her little legs wiggling in time to the music.

"Hey, Elizabeth." She stopped squirming and turned a questioning look towards him. Small brown eyes met larger excited ones.

"How would you like to meet the Backstreet Boys?"

CHAPTER TWO - DISCOVERY

For the last couple of weeks the baby had been particularly active, so it wasn’t unusual for Aggie to be pacing up and down the hallway late at night, desperately wanting a cigarette. Xavier had taken all her smokes away and had threatened (in no uncertain terms) that if he smelled even the slightest wiff she could kiss goodbye any more support. She smiled sourly at the thought of his promise to withhold financial support and wondered what he would do if he found out that she was going to sell this baby for a nice little profit. Not that he would find out, of course. Aggie’s thoughts were interrupted as she noticed a small sliver of yellow light shine from under Xavier's door. He had been locked up his room for over a week now with that damn computer, coming out only for occasional trips downtown. She was glad she had not hocked the computer he had given her sometime ago; even happier when she found out last night that he was leaving soon. She knew it had to do with his fascination over that Backstreet Boy. Aggie tried to put that unpleasant thought out of her head. She recognized without a doubt that her brother was dangerous, but to what extent she never cared to explore. Hopefully, the couple who wanted this kid would pay handsomely and then she’d be gone, taking Lizzy and getting the hell out of Florida; leaving behind the disaster she knew would soon start.

Xavier shut down the computer and leaned back into his chair, a smile of content finally crossing his face. It was done. He had done it, but then he knew he could. Xavier had called in a few markers, made a few veiled threats, and knowing his ability to get what he wanted, was not at all surprised when the managing firm of the Backstreet Boys had telephoned him with a job offer. Xavier smirked as he listened to the HR representative describe the surprising absence of one of their most trusted bodyguards and how thrilled they were to find such a "respected and qualified" bodyguard at such short notice.

As usual, the head of employment had tried to get him to take a ridiculously low salary and they had haggled for sometime before coming to a decent offer. Xavier would have taken any amount the young supervisor offered, but knew that the other bodyguards for this group would sooner or later find out his wage and decided to negotiate for similar pay.

It was a little harder to accomplish the rest of what he needed. He loved the Internet, and was quite adept at it, but surprise and then disbelief overtook him as he began his search into the Backstreet Boys. He was dumbstruck at the amount of shit that was posted. It took him many long and frustrating hours weeding through all the sites, discarding this and printing that, but he finally got the information he needed, then checked and double-checked for accuracy. Every now and then he relaxed and smiled as he stared at the pictures of the young singer taped against the computer. Lizzy, in her innocence, had been delighted that her uncle had thought so highly of her favorite Backstreet Boy and had furnished several pictures. She chatted away about things he didn’t care about, but listened politely, then carefully guided her into "what if" scenarios to get her reaction that only a fan could answer. He mentally stored the pertinent information away and thanked her, promising solemnly that he would indeed get autographs for her and that he would do everything possible for her to meet them. She skipped happily out of his room and he snorted with disgust. Yeah, right.

CHAPTER THREE – TOGETHER

A collective sigh of relief escaped from the Backstreet Boys as they collapsed onto the hardwood floor of the exercise room. They had been practicing their movements non-stop, until they had complained that the air-conditioner didn’t seem to be working right and that under no uncertain terms would anyone start again until the air was cranked up. As Fatima left to go find someone in maintenance she warned them not to get too comfortable. AJ snorted and muttered "right" then sprawled spread-eagle onto the ground. Kevin and Howie got up and walked over to the water cooler while Nick sat up, reached over to his duffel bag and fished a Nerf football out.

"Heads up, Bri," he warned and tossed the ball, hitting his friend smack in the face.

"Thanks, Nick." Brian gave him the finger and torpedoed the ball back at him as fast as he could. With a quick reflex, Nick rolled, caught the ball one-handed and off-balanced, then let go with a wicked laugh.

"Yesssss! Two points."

"Lucky catch." groused Brian, clapping his hands impatiently for Nick to toss him another throw. The blond singer made a heroic leap as Nick threw a high one, then flashed him a brilliant smile. "Three points!" Brian crowed, rating his catch.

"In your dreams, Rok!"

AJ groaned and rolled over onto his side, hand propping his head, as he watched the two players try to outdo each other’s catch. He groaned again, this time more audibly, trying to gain some sympathy. "Doesn’t anybody have indigestion?" AJ watched as Nick came sprinting by, then playfully stuck out his leg, hoping he could trip Nick running for a catch. He missed. "And just whose brilliant idea was it anyway to have Chinese food before practice?"

"Howie," answered Kevin, Nick and Brian simultaneously.

"Hey," protested the offended party. "Can I help it if your stomach isn’t used to quality food?"

"Hey," mimicked AJ. "Mind if I fart in your direction next time we practice?"

"Better than slapping me in the face again when we’re rehearsing. You’re timing today is horrible." Howie retorted.

AJ gave Howie a "who me?" expression and Kevin smiled as he sat down next to his reclining friend. The oldest of the Backstreet Boys glanced about the bare room, shaking his head.

"Jeez, you’d think they could afford a chair for us to rest on." Kevin grumbled as he took a sip of his water.

"Naw," replied Howie, "Backstreet management would have a heart attack over the expenditure!" AJ and Kevin laughed at their friend’s remark. Sometimes the simplest needs were too hard for their management team to comprehend.

AJ nudged Kevin with his leg and motioned for him to share his drink. Kevin passed the water to him and then watched as his cousin made a between-the-legs catch. "I heard that they got rid of John" commented Kevin. Nick and Brian stopped tossing the ball when they heard that.

"I thought John quit," offered Brian.

"Huh? What do you mean? Quit? Fired? Which one?’" questioned Nick.

AJ sighed. "Whatever. Doesn’t matter now. We go through bodyguards like water!"

Howie glanced over to the group, all sitting down now, except for him. He splashed some of his water onto his neck and face to cool himself off. "Well, do they have a replacement?"

Kevin shrugged. "They better. Tour is starting soon."

Brian lay down on his back, juggling the Nerf ball from hand to hand until Nick grabbed it. " I wonder who’ll get him?"

Howie shrugged. "Does it matter?" he asked.

CHAPTER FOUR – THE MEETING

Terri Hamilton sighed with impatience as she waited for the elevator to reach her floor. She could hear the men standing behind her snicker obscenely and she felt like turning around and whacking them hard with her briefcase. The chime of the opening door announced her level and she strode off the elevator, but not before she turned around and called them both assholes. Satisfied, she walked down the hall and opened the door that read BSB Human Resources. Piped music of the Backstreet Boys flooded the reception area and she glared accusingly at her secretary. Startled, her secretary quickly reached over to switch off the music and Terri shook her head in amazed resignation. It was bad enough that she had to work for the organization, but to be constantly bombarded with their music!

As she strode over to her office, Terri glanced offhandedly at a guy sitting next to her secretary. He was huge, a brute of a man, and she assumed it was the new bodyguard they had hired. She was pissed to learn of the new employee’s status just hours before; why they hadn’t told her sooner irked her to no end. After all, she was the personnel manager. True, she didn’t do the hiring and firing, but she controlled just about everything else. She wondered for the hundreth time if it was because she was a woman in this man-dominated company she worked for. As she punched her security code to gain access to her office, she felt a twinge of cramps beginning. Great. Just great. A click of acceptance signaled her to enter and she rushed in, giving the bodyguard one last look before she slammed her door. Let him wait, she thought and hurried over to her desk for the Midol.

Elaine Patrick, Terri’s secretary, gave the large man before her an embarrassed smile and shrug. "I guess its not such a good day for her," she apologized weakly.

Xavier gave her his best fake smile. "It’s okay." He leaned toward her conspiratorily and whispered, "Us peons have to stick together, don’t we?"

She smiled, grateful to have an ally. "You know, if I wasn’t working for the Backstreet organization, I would have quit a long time ago."

"Have you ever met anyone of them?" Xavier asked politely.

"No, and neither has my boss. I think that makes her madder than anything."

"Really."

Elaine leaned closer to him, fearful of being overheard. "Well, she was hired originally for the Marketing department, but she got transferred over here." Her voice became even lower and Xavier strained to hear her. "I think she has a crush on Kevin."

"No." Xavier gave her an appealing look for more gossip.

Elaine sat back in her seat and nodded. "It’s killing her that she hasn’t met him. She constantly talks about quitting, but I think she sticks around because she never knows if she might suddenly run into him."

"So, you’ve never seen anyone of the guys come here?"

Elaine gave a snort of laughter. "Nope. We have all their private information, know every aspect of their personal and financial status, but we’ve never met them in person. Funny, huh?"

"Funny, yeah."

Xavier gave her a satisfied grin, happy at the information she so innocently provided.

He stared thoughtfully at the closed door before him for a long time.

CHAPTER FIVE - THE INTERVIEW

With a quick flick of her hand, Terri threw open the door and signaled impatiently for Xavier to follow. He stood in the doorway and waited respectfully until she gestured for him to sit. He closed the door behind him with exaggerated care and took a seat, careful not to look her in the face.

"So, you’re the new hire," she stated sourly.

Xavier looked up and gave her his most humble smile. "Yes. I am so sorry to bother you. I know this is sudden; I’m sure I must be inconveniencing you. Shall I come back at a later time, ma’am?"

Terri was taken aback at his politeness. The Midol began kicking in and she relaxed. "No, no. Now is fine, Mr.?" she left the question hanging.

Xavier jumped up, pretending to act like a nervous recruit. "Xavier, ma’am. Xavier Delgado." He shook her hand ever so gently and Terri was amused at the way his hand trembled.

"Relax, Mr. Delgado. I won’t bite."

"Yes, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am."

"Please sit down."

Xavier sat quietly as she diligently examined the file folder before her, lost in thought. He scanned the room carefully, secretly, then stopped when he saw what he was looking for. The file cabinets were off to one side and he tried not to smile. Bingo. He reached slowly into his pants pocket and closed his hand around the small transmitter, pressing the button firmly with his thumb.

"Okay." She laid down the file on her desk and looked up, clasping her hands together under her chin. "Very impressive. Your resume, I mean."

"Thank you." He gave her a shy smile.

"What makes you think you can bodyguard the Backstreet Boys?" she asked abruptly, her brow furrowed in concern. Her direct question caught Xavier slightly off balance and he took a moment to reply.

"Well, as you can see by my credentials, I have guarded all types of people. I think music stars shouldn’t be that much different. Guarding people is a difficult job, but no more difficult than yours." Xavier tried to keep a straight face on the last sentence.

Terri looked at him questioningly. "You think my job is difficult?"

Xavier smirked inwardly. "Why yes, Ma’am." He waved about her office. "All this responsibility, the decisions you have to make on a daily basis regarding the Backstreet Boys and such. Not everybody can do such a demanding job."

Terri looked at him a little skeptically but was nevertheless flattered. "It can be challenging," she agreed.

"I’ll bet. Those guys should personally thank you. I would if I were them." Xavier fumed inside. Dammit. He had pushed that button, what the hell was taking so long?

"The Backstreet Boys thank me?" She laughed at the idea.

"Yes, ma’am. I’d make them come here and see you, to see just what it takes to make things run smoothly."

Terri gave Xavier a guarded smile. "And just who do you think you’ll be guarding?" She tried to say it nonchalantly but Xavier understood and went in for the kill.

"Not sure, probably that tall, dark guy?"

"Kevin," she sighed.

"Yes."

Xavier could see the fantasies swirling around in her mind. Come on, come on…he willed, angry at himself for hiring such stupid help. He couldn’t take much more of complimenting this bitch.

Terri leaned back into her seat, relaxing. "Well, you do come highly regarded, Mr. Delgado. Has my secretary given you all the necessary information you need regarding your job, signed all the paperwork?" Xavier nodded and waved the large envelope before her. "Fine." She stood up to end the conversation, holding her hand out. "Well, it’s been nice meeting…."

The wail of a siren cut off her last words and she swirled to find the source of the noise.

"What the…" she trailed.

Finally! seethed Xavier as he moved into action. He stood up swiftly, walked around her desk and grabbed her elbow, none too gently.

"Come on. That’s a fire alarm. We need to leave, quick."

Terri stammered, confused. "Ff, fire? Are you sure?"

Xavier went into his bodyguard mode. "Yes. Go! Get out, now! Don’t take the elevator, use the stairs."

Terri stood there frozen, scared a little at Xavier’s change of behavior. She looked frantically around her office, trying to decide what to do, what to lock up. Xavier sensed this and forced her to the door.

"Go, Ms. Hamilton. Your life is more important than documents."

"But..."

Xavier grabbed her hand and pulled her to the hallway. Elaine, he noted, was already gone. Terri turned, panicked. "My purse! I forgot my purse!" she yelled over the wail of the siren.

Xavier swore under his breath, ran back into her office, grabbed it, then returned, shoving it into her arms. "Go!"

"What about you?" she quavered.

"I’ll be down soon. I’m going to check the other offices, see if I can help anyone."

Terri looked at Xavier in awe; he was so calm, in control. He’ll make a good bodyguard she thought, as he led her to the stairwell. She turned to look at him, unable to hear anything with the vibrating scream of the alarm, but she saw him smile, mouth the word "Go" and she obeyed.

Xavier didn’t wait to see the stairway door close, he ran back into the room and slammed the door behind him, placing a heavy chair behind it when he realized the door would only lock with a key. He hurried into Terri’s office, yanking file after file drawer open until he located what he wanted. He grabbed the manila files and spread them over her desk, carefully scanning the info before him. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small camera and began clicking away with a fierce determination.

Terri Hamilton paced nervously outside the building, annoyed that her secretary could look so relaxed. Elaine was leaning up against the wall, smoking and chatting with the others who were waiting to get the okay from the firemen to leave or go back to their offices. Terri wished she could find out what the hell was going on. Everyone she had asked merely shrugged and shook their heads. The glare of the sun was intense and she was disappointed that she had forgotten her sunglasses again. A tap on her shoulder caused her to turn around and squint. There stood the bodyguard and she sighed with relief.

"What’s going on?" she asked curiously.

Xavier wiped the sweat off his forehead with the inside of his sleeve. "False alarm. Probably some kids." He looked at her anxiously. "You’re okay, right?"

Terri smiled, touched at his concern. "Yeah, fine. Just a hassle, though."

"When it comes to your safety, it’s never a hassle, Ms. Hamilton."

Terri shook her head at the corny phrase. "Thank you, Mr. Delgado. I hope this," she waved her hands at the scene before him, "wasn’t too much of a problem."

Xavier gave her his first true smile. "Believe me, it was no trouble."

  CHAPTER SIX – PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

The Backstreet Boys watched with some trepidation as the crew harnessed the group up, each being checked individually for security. Kevin studied one of the crew members hefting the straps even tighter on Nick, then glanced over to Brian, knowing that his cousin was trying to act calm. He caught Brian’s eye and gave him a thumb’s up signal to which Brian replied with a half-hearted smile.

Nick, as usual, was excited. "This is so cool, huh Bri?"

"Yeah, cool," replied Brian in a monotone and Howie, who was standing next to him laughed at his friend’s discomfort. He slapped a comforting hand onto Brian’s shoulder and said, "Well, it wasn’t me who thought up this idea."

Nick caught Brian’s accusing glare and made a face back at him. "Hey, when I told you about it, you said it sounded great."

Brian sighed. Nick, visiting friends in Phoenix, had gone to see a Phoenix Suns basketball game. During half-time the Suns’ mascot, a gorilla, had repelled down from the ceiling and slammed dunked a basketball into the net below. The crowd went wild and so had Nick. The thought of doing the same thing for the opening act appealed to Kevin, Howie, and AJ, so Brian agreed, happy to be rid of the flying boards. The guys had discussed what costumes to wear; Kevin wanted spy clothing, AJ voted for gangster. Howie suggested Nick’s comic book characters and everyone approved.

Now, in dress rehearsal, Brian wasn’t so sure. He glanced at his own costume, then the others. "I look ridiculous," he stated flatly.

AJ, the last one being adjusted, nodded. "Yeah, you do. I, on the other hand, look awesome. By the way Nick, thanks."

"What for?"

"For making me so true-to-life." AJ glanced down at his over-stuffed hero costume, especially the crotch area.

They all laughed, complimenting each other in lewd terms. A bull-horn interrupted, the stage manager instructing them to get set for the first jump. Up on the catwalk, they waited as the crew adjusted their rigging one more time. It was a tight fit with all them up there.

"I say we let Brian go first," teased Howie.

"Naw," drawled Kevin, "he’s too busy praying right now."

Brian’s eyes had been closed, but he opened them quickly.

"Screw you, guys."

"Oooohhh…" they said, mockingly.

"I’ll go first," volunteered Nick.

"Good," said AJ. "If you fall, I’ll have something large to land on."

"No way, super-freak!" retorted Nick. "Watch this! Three point landing." He jumped and all four leaned over to watch as he made the perfect touchdown. Nick looked up, pumping his fist into the air as the guys cheered.

"Damn," said Howie, admiringly. "My turn."

One after another completed the jump, with Brian landing last. AJ came up to Brian, grabbed his shoulders and gave him a small push of congratulations and high-fived him.

Brian, his face flushed, looked up toward the ceiling, then closed his eyes in resignation.

"It’s gonna be a long tour," he sighed and the rest laughed.

CHAPTER SEVEN – THIS IS PRACTICE?

The Backstreet Boys completed a few more jumps to the satisfaction of the stage manager, then went back to the dressing rooms to change into their regular clothing. They met at the stage of the arena with the band and settled down to do some serious rehearsal. Unfortunately, the practice didn’t go as smoothly as the jumps. The sound system kept cutting off, lights came on and went off at the wrong time, the dancers and the boys kept colliding with each other. A break was called, and everyone sighed with relief. The crew left the stage, but the guys sat down on the stage floor, too tired to move.

They looked at each other in dismay, disgusted with the way things were going.

Kevin sat cross-legged on the floor, trying to massage a stiff neck. "Still no chairs," he commented dryly.

"Man, this sucks!" Nick lay back on the floor, covering his eyes with the palms of his hands. "We suck!"

"Speak for yourself, Frack," said Brian, irritated.

"Hey, I wasn’t the one who kept running into everyone!"

"Well, maybe if a certain idiot would move his butt when he’s suppose to, I wouldn’t have!"

"Guys…," warned Kevin, seeing where this was going, but was cut off by Nick.

"Me?" argued Nick, now propped up on his elbows. "Me? Hey, I seem to remember some other "idiots" not moving in sync!"

AJ and Howie turned to look at Nick, then at each other, and began to snicker at Nick’s unintentional reference. The rest caught on and the tension evaporated as they began to laugh, howling at the absurdity of it.

"Nick," gasped Kevin, "I don’t think I ever want to be in-SYNC. I’m not gay."

They all cracked up, laughing even harder at Kevin’s joke.

"Hey, NSYNC isn’t so bad. I’ve got one in my bathroom," Howie added, looking sideways at Nick, who had collapsed on the floor, the others also in assorted stages of deterioration. Various times they tried to stop the laughter, only to be taken up again in a sudden spasm of hilarity.

Finally the laughter died down, and AJ flopped onto back, wiping the tears away from his eyes. "Damn. I needed that."

Brian nodded, unable to speak. He watched as AJ, exhausted, struggled unsuccessfully to sit up, then fall. This set Brian off and he double over again in laughter, causing the rest to join in.

"Oh God," moaned Nick, trying desperately to stop his laughter. "Please, please, I can’t take…"

After what seemed like an eternity to them, they were able to quiet down, a few sighs and groans escaping occasionally. Nick seemed the worst for wear and began hiccuping. Howie took pity and managed to get up and walked over to the cooler, fishing out bottled waters for the guys. Passing them out, he sat down next to Kevin, then rolled the ice-cold bottle on his neck. Howie twisted the cap off and just as he was taking a sip, the electricity went out, leaving the arena in complete darkness. Each guy froze in surprise, hearing cursing and yelling from the crew as they shouted for everyone to be calm and that they would have the lights on in a minute.

They sat in the dark, unable to see, not sure what to do. The guys heard Kevin cleared his throat then speak in a mock-serious tone. "God, just imagine what Brian would have done if the lights had gone out when he was coming down the rope."

"He woulda shit in his pants," replied Nick with certainty.

"Ha, ha," came back Brian’s sour reply. Suddenly inspired, he took a huge sip of his water, then aimed at what he hoped was Nick’s head. A yell of shocked surprise announced his success but it was short lived as Nick returned the favor. Brian took another cold swig and sprayed again, but missed, and he heard Howie swear.

"Whoever that was, your are so dead," informed Howie and he shot a stream, hoping it hit its target. A roar came from AJ.

"D," growled AJ, and Howie felt AJ jump up, searching, hunting for his arm, trying to grab him so he could dump the rest of his bottle onto Howie’s head. In the darkness, AJ tripped and fell into Kevin. Kevin immediately doused AJ with his bottle water and AJ tried unsuccessfully to return the favor, attempting to dump his down Kevin’s waistband. An uproar followed, and whatever water was left began flying everywhere, yells of payback promised, as each Backstreet Boy did their best to soak each other.

The lights suddenly glared back to life, blinding them, and they stopped, blinking owlishly at each other. Gaining his eyesight first, Nick made a mad dash for the cooler, frantically grabbing any water bottles he could and ripping off the caps. AJ and Brian followed quickly behind, shoving each other in order to get to the cold bottles first. Laughing gleefully, Nick drenched them, and they endured it, each struggling to open their own caps. Coming up from behind, Kevin and Howie tackled Nick. Kevin held Nick in a tight armlock, screaming for Brian to nail him. Brian smiled wickedly as he came up to Nick, then lunged instead at Kevin, grabbing the back of Kevin’s shirt and dumping the cold water down his back. Kevin swore, "You little shit," and released Nick, chasing after his cousin.

Howie and AJ turned to watch Kevin pursue Brian around the stage, forgetting about Nick. Now released, Nick rushed over to the cooler searching for more bottles. Noticing none left, he picked up the cooler itself and came up behind the two unsuspecting backs, pouring the freezing slush of ice and water over their heads.

Howie was sure he had a heart attack. The coldness stunned him and he barely heard AJ screaming profanities of an extreme nature. He turned around to see Nick tossing the cooler away and he tried to lunge for Nick’s shirt, an arm, anything so he could beat the little asshole senseless. Instead, he slipped, and feeling himself fall, seized the nearest thing for support – which was AJ. As if in slow motion, they both wobbled, trying valiantly to stay upright, but failed miserably. They landed onto the ground in a spectacular crash of tangled arms and legs. Kevin and Brian stopped and rushed over to them, forgetting their chase. Both guys had their eyes closed and Brian bent down anxiously to examine them.

"D? Bone? You guys okay?"

"Brian?’’ asked AJ weakly, moaning.

"Yes?" Brian leaned in closer.

"Is Nick near you?"

"I’m right here AJ," Nick said nervously. "Are you all right?"

AJ’s eyes popped open. "I will be, after I kill you." AJ jumped up easily, surprising them. "Run," he warned Nick, and by the look on AJ’s face, Nick needed no further prodding. He vaulted easily off the stage, running up the aisles with AJ hot in pursuit.

"Paybacks a bitch!" hollered Howie as Kevin and Brian helped him up from the ground.

The yells of Nick and AJ echoed into the hallways of the arena as the stage manager looked up to where the other three Backstreet Boys stood. They were soaked from head to foot, completely disheveled, and grinning like mad. The manager walked over and hopped onto the stage to inspect the damage. Except for a lot of water, there didn’t seem to be any real harm and that was good, because he would have had to strangle them if there had been.

"Hey, Sam," the three acknowledged uncomfortably.

"Hey, yourself," he replied sourly. "All done?"

The three Backstreet Boys looked at each other.

"Yeah."

"Well, good. Cause I’m gonna make you guys clean up this mess, comprende?"

They nodded, indicating yes.

Sam turned to a stage crew who had appeared. "Go get as many towels as you can find. And, oh yeah. Find Nick and AJ too. I want them here right now."

CHAPTER EIGHT - CONTEMPLATION

Having just been given a thorough tour of the arena where the Backstreet Boys were scheduled to play in a few days, Xavier sat in the middle seats of the coliseum with the other bodyguards. Watching the antics of the boys on stage, Xavier grimaced, then turned to question another bodyguard sitting next to him.

"Are they like this all the time?"

Eric Anderson, one of the original bodyguards of the group, smiled. "Nah. You’ll find that they are pretty professional on the whole. But they’re young, under a lot of pressure. It’s tough on them and sometimes they need to let off a little steam."

Xavier nodding, looked down at the paperwork at hand, then sneaked a peak at Eric’s. He frowned inwardly. "Exactly whom do I guard?" he questioned Eric, trying to act unconcerned.

Eric leaned over to study Xavier’s paper, then pointed out the Backstreet Boy on the far left. "Him. Technically, we guard them all during the concerts and such, but if we’re needed to guard individually, we are assigned one on one."

Xavier gave an exaggerated sigh and Eric looked at him inquiringly.

"What?"

"Well, I know this sounds stupid, but would you mind switching guys with me?"

"Switch?"

"Yeah." Xavier gave an embarrassed laugh and leaned over to whisper. "Ah…it’s my 10-year-old niece. She has this major crush and I kinda promised…"

Eric grinned. "Sure, no problem. Got a few nieces myself. Besides, I wouldn’t mind guarding the other anyway. He can sure attract the type of broads I like." Eric nudged Xavier knowingly and gave him a leering grin.

Xavier nodded and thanked Eric, relieved that it was so easy to manipulate him. He turned his attention back to the stage, watching intently. Nick and AJ had returned to the stage and the stage manager, Sam, had decided to kill two birds with one stone. He made the guys practice their singing as the mopped up. Headsets on and hands full of towels, they got down on their knees, singing and wiping the floor. AJ tried to cheat by standing up and moving his towel half-heartedly with his foot, until the rest threatened to stop and make him do it all.

"Slave labor," he grumbled, getting back down on his knees.

Fascinated, Xavier listened closely for the first time to the harmonizing of the group, noticing the special bond they had with one another. Xavier watched, making sure to give each one special attention. As they began to sing individually Xavier tensed, looking closely at the Backstreet Boy who was singing just now. He didn’t look much different than his publicity shots. His mind went blank, taking in the wonderful voice. Xavier felt disorientated, confused by the strange feeling he had when he looked at him. He clenched his hands tightly, angered over the surprising reaction this man evoked from him. Xavier pushed these thoughts and feelings away, not wanting to dwell upon them. He knew what he was suppose to do, he had planned for it, and nothing was going to stop him from getting what he wanted. Xavier gazed at the singer before him. Yes, this was the one.