CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR – ENQUIRING MINDS

AJ reached out and encircled his hand around Claire’s arm, effectively stopping her from moving down the hall. "Hey," he said, "how did it go?"

Claire smiled inwardly at AJ, her arms folded across her as if annoyed. "AJ, haven’t you ever heard the phrase "don’t kiss and tell?"

"Not when a thousand dollars is involved, sweetheart!" snorted AJ. "Spill."

Claire sighed and leaned back against the wall, AJ leaning forward eagerly, excited as a small boy on Christmas Day. Her mouth twisted in a wry smile. He really is adorable.

"Well?" he questioned, impatient.

Her thoughts turned back to Brian and suddenly she found herself uncomfortable. "Uh, mission accomplished."

AJ spun around in delight. "I knew it!" he crowed, grabbing Claire by the shoulders and giving her a quick kiss. "Thanks, babe." AJ looked at her thougthfully. "So, how was he?"

Claire gave him an exasperated look. "AJ!"

AJ shook his head, making a face. "No, no, not that! How did he seem? He’s been acting kinda weird lately, like I told you. Notice anything?"

Claire thought for a moment. "No, she said slowly, "he seemed alright." She remembered the bruises. "Oh, the bruises!"

AJ looked at her with a frown.

"Bruises," she explained. "Brian had a lot of bruises, especially around his chest and stomach."

AJ waved a hand, dismissing Claire’s observation. "I already know about that. He was injured a while ago." Claire eyed AJ skeptically. The bruises seemed more recent. She shrugged, dropping the subject. If AJ didn’t seemed concern, she wouldn’t be.

"Anything else?"

Claire paused for a moment. She shook her head. "Not really. He seemed nervous, but he got over that. Real quick." She gave AJ a grin, deciding to tease him. "Wish I could tell you more, but you’ll just have to ask him for tips."

AJ looked astounded, but quickly regained his composure. "Tips? What tips could Brian possibly give me?"

Claire patted his face, giving him a contented smile. "Oh, you’d be surprised," she said lightly. AJ reached with his finger to slide his glasses down the bridge of his nose, giving her clear view of the skepticism revealed in his brown eyes. Highly amused at AJ’s expression, she laughed, not noticing a large man glare at them as he passed by. She did noticed AJ flipping the finger and surprised, turned to see why.

"Good God," she breathed, amazed by just the size of his retreating back. "Who is that?"

"A true asshole," muttered AJ. "Brian’s bodyguard, Xavier."

"Xavier?" Claire looked at the young singer standing before her, frowning in thought.

"What? Don’t tell me you know him!"

Claire shook her head. "No." She chewed on a fingernail, trying to sort something out. "You know, Brian was rather nervous after I told him there was no charge. He just about jumped out of his skin. Wanted to know if Xavier was behind it. I said no and he relaxed a little bit." She glanced down the empty hallway. "Do you think Xavier has anything to do with the way Brian’s been acting?"

AJ rubbed the back of his neck tiredly and closed his eyes for a few seconds. "Possibly. I’m not sure. Hell, I can’t even talk to Brian about it without him jumping all over my ass. One thing’s for sure, I’m gonna find out."

Claire listened uneasily to the raw strength in his voice. Worried, she gripped his hand, giving him a quick kiss on his cheek. "Be careful," she whispered. AJ nodded, his eyes burning with determination.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE –A CHANGE OF PLANS

Irritated at the unexpected security meeting, which had resulted in a complete waste of his precious time, Xavier hurried down the corridor, giving scant attention to the strange girl and AJ who were huddled in a corner. Hooker. He could spot them a mile away, no matter how classy they looked. He sensed AJ had made some rude comment as he strode by but he was too busy to respond; any other time he would have enjoyed taking the little shit down a notch or two. He barged into the dressing room, giving formality little thought. Brian jumped up from the chair he was sitting in, a startled and scared look crossing his face. Good. He liked catching the young Backstreet Boy off guard, it heightened the pleasure he got from their "little game". He dragged another chair over to where Brian sat, setting himself next to the uncomfortable singer. Xavier leaned forward in his chair, eager to discuss next day’s schedule, when he caught a faint wiff of perfume

and froze in surprise. His mind instantly recalled the girl standing outside with AJ and he dwelled on this for a moment, suddenly understanding the "emergency" meeting he was so desperately required to attend. A small flicker of grudging respect at AJ’s cleverness grew and Xavier leaned back in his chair, a leer forming on his face.

"Well, was she any good?" His pointed question brought back the results he hoped for. Brian stood up, his face flushed and angry.

"I doubt you’re interested in knowing, considering…," Brian insulted, incensed that Xavier found out. Xavier sprang from his chair, reaching over to grab a handful of blond hair. He yanked hard, bringing Brian up off his chair.

"That’s gonna cost you, pal. Say about …$5000?"

Brian ignored the pain. "Queer," he spat.

Xavier yanked again, his eyes dark with rage. $10,000."

It was the worth every dollar. Brian pried Xavier’s hand away, stumbling backwards. "Faggot." He was unsure about Xavier’s true sexual preference but he didn’t care - he had found Xavier’s Achilles’ heel. Smiling with true malice he taunted, "Hey, I’m sure with 10 grand you could manage to find some guy who’d be willing to give you a blow job."

Agitated, Xavier’s hands clenched and unclenched, and Brian steadied himself, waiting for the inevitable. It came in the form of one well-placed hit. Brian gasped, the kidney-punch causing him to sag, his full weight being supported by Xavier’s massive arms. Xavier released his grip and Brian slumped to his knees, amazed, even in his pain, how one punch could hurt so much. He felt the bodyguard lift him up and place him back into the chair.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Brian heard the respect in Xavier’s voice, the quiet admiration. "You play the game well. I let you get to me, to lose control, and no one has done that for a long time."

"I’m glad I made your day," Brian replied bitterly.

"Oh, you’ll do more than that."

Alarmed, Brian straightened in his chair holding his side with an arm. "Such as?" he challenged.

Xavier began to walk around the room, animated. "I feel that our game has lost some of it’s spice, you know? It’s time to crank it up a bit."

A wave of mental exhaustion swept Brian and he fought hard to control it. "Crank it up," he repeated.

"Yes." Xavier came over to Brian, full of anticipation. "I think it’s time to start concentrating fully on you leaving the Backstreet Boys. The sooner, the better."

Brian stared at the bodyguard in open-mouth disbelief. "Now? Before the concert tour is over?" Xavier smiled as Brian jumped up from his seat, watching the singer absorb the impact of that information.

The mental torture far out surpassed any physical pain he had endured and Brian cursed Xavier, understanding fully the power Xavier controlled over him in these mind games from hell. Brian turned to the bodyguard, desperation threatening to overwhelm him. He wondered what he could say to change his mind. "Xavier, just wait until the tour ends, then I’ll leave. If the group breaks up now, we’ll lose millions." Brian noticed his pleading was falling on deaf ears. "Millions, Xavier. Think about it. Money that could be yours, if you just wait."

Xavier grinned at Brian and gave him a thumb’s up. "Nice try, Brian. However, as I said before, this is about you and me. And the game." Xavier gave the Backstreet Boy a look of fake sympathy as he patted the singer’s shoulder. Brian angrily wrenched his shoulder away, his blue eyes turning a darker hue.

Xavier clapped his hands together and rubbed them in delight. "Okay, that’s settled. Now, I’ll let you choose. Do you want the easy way or the hard way?"

Brian eyed him suspiciously. He hated Xavier’s little puzzles; hated the way he made him struggle for every bit of information. "And the easy way is…?" Fearful of Xavier’s explanation Brian turned away from him to search for a bottled water, dread filling him as he heard the enthusiasm radiate from Xavier’s voice.

"Well, the easy way is for me to end this group quickly. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind taking that fucker AJ down at all. Same goes for Nick."

Trying not to shake, Brian turned slowly to face Xavier, stunned at the bodyguard’s confession. He remembered Xavier’s secret trip back to Florida and wondered what connection there might be. Brian took a long sip of water to steady himself, fearing the next question.

"What’s the hard way?" Brian could see that Xavier was relishing every minute of this and damned him.

"The hard way or as I call it, the fun way, is to watch you do it." Xavier leaned comfortably against the wall, enjoying the expression that formed on the Backstreet Boy.

"Of course, I’ll help in any way I can."

"Of course," shot back Brian sarcastically. He began to pace, biting his fingernails in consternation, ignoring the pleased look that spread across the bodyguard’s face. Brian thought furiously for a while, finding ideas then rejecting them, planning ways to thwart Xavier, only to realize the futility in it. Then one idea came to mind, so pure, so simple. Brian raised his face to meet Xavier’s, beaten but not down for the count. He still had a few cards to play.

"Okay, I choose the hard way. I’ll break up the group. My way, understand? If you so much as harm any of the guys, I’ll…" Brian left the sentence hanging and Xavier perked up, interested.

"You’ll what?"

"I’ll kill myself." Brian looked calmly at the bodyguard, pleased that Xavier realized he meant it. "So much for you’re little game then, huh Xavier? No Brian, no game."

Xavier pushed himself against the wall, coming up to stare hard at Brian. He didn’t speak for a moment, but when he did, it was low, almost a whisper. "You think I haven’t thought of that already, you little asshole? What do you suppose I was doing in Florida for three days? Making sure you wouldn’t pull that little stunt. Believe me, you try something stupid like that, and everyone of your precious friends and family are gonna pay. Dearly." Xavier grabbed Brian tightly by his shirt, yanking him closer. Understand?" he hissed at the young singer, waiting until Brian nodded a reply. "Good." Xavier grunted with satisfaction when saw the look of defeat on the singer’s face then shoved him back a few feet. Xavier gave Brian an appraising look as he pulled the dressing room door open. "Get ready," he said. "It’s almost showtime."