Ash drove out of town quickly, watching Jansin in the rear view mirror.
"Don't look so glum, sweetie, you're going to a better place." Just then her cell phone beeped. She picked it up off the dashboard. "Yello?"
"Get back to highway 140 and pick up everyone in both the buses. I've changed my mind. I want every last one of them. Who knows what kind of contact they made with Jansin." Robyn slammed the receiver back in its place. Ash could tell that she was in a good mood because she didn't yell at her. But she didn't mind, she really liked her job. Especially since she was safe being Robyn's most trusted adviser. Ash rarely had to do any footwork, anything dangerous would be taken by someone else.
As the advisor, Ash had complete access to everyone's files, she knew about every project and she knew who did what at what time. They had placed cameras in strategic spots, like in street lights, light bulbs, and everyday objects. Ash's personal favorite was the watch camera. Each employee had one, they were gifts from Robyn to bribe people into joining the force. Might as well kill two birds with one stone.
Ash drove the cruiser back onto highway 140. She could feel Jansin's eyes on her back, watching her every move. The urge to stop the car and hit him crossed her mind, but she let it go. She wouldn't let him win.
Jansin's ragged breathing increased as he struggled to breathe. He tried lying down, but it didn't do much for him. Ash watched him struggle silently.
The people at the lab would fix him up good, she convinced herself. But that was a lie.
Ash stopped the cruiser behind a row of about six other cars and got out, locking Jansin safely inside. He watched her with sad eyes. She walked past the hordes of police officers and into the second bus.
Ash tapped the guy in the navy blue shirt and khakis on the shoulder. He turned around and Ash was mezmorized by his beauty. She had never seen anybody with such perfect features, and she was almost at a loss of words. But, being a professional, she cuffed his hands behind his back.
"You are being charged with housing a fugitive, and possession of a deadly weapon. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in the court of law..." When she finished, she looked at his soulful blue eyes one last time and gave him over to another officer.
Everyone was arrested, from Conan, to the dancers, and they were taken away in the many police cars. Howie put up the most noticable fight.
"But we're the Backstreet Boys! We had no idea who this guy was, he stowed away in our bus!"
"A likely story. I've heard that one before, except last time it was two girls who stowed away. We don't listen to the same story twice."
"But it's true! Hear us out! We have witnesses, lawyers and more! We'll sue! We have a show to do! And where are your warrants?" The policeman flashed his. "Hey! We get to make a phone call!"
"Not where you're going." The officer's words ran chills down Howie's spine and he gave in. This wasn't a police raid he realized, it was a kidnapping. But a different kind. No one would listen to them if they screamed. Howie tried anyway.
"HELP, HELP HHHHEEEELLLLPPP!!!! These aren't the police! I'm Howie D of the Backstreet Boys and I'm being arrested for no reason!!!!!!! HELP US PLEASE!!!!! HHEELPP mmmpf!" The police officer clamped a hand over his mouth. Howie bit it and started screaming again. The rest of the guys soon joined him. After a couple minutes, they gave up, there was no one around, probably not for miles. They had to face this alone.
At the back of Ash's car, Jansin smiled at their efforts. Even though he knew that it would never work. He had lost the trust of the only people who had ever cared about him in his life, and now they were being taken away because of him. He moaned desperately, as if it was the only option left and that they would be saved. No such luck.
Two policemen drove the buses away while the other cars followed. Ash had gotten tired of Jansin's moaning and had tied a loose gag around his mouth before she left. She didn't want to give up her reputation as someone who didn't care just yet. And that gorgeous dirty blonde with the killer blue eyes was the closest she'd ever gotten to doing that. She would have to get his name.
Brian, Nick, and Howie were crammed into the back seat of the same cruiser. Howie knew that they would regret this, as soon as they were an hour late without notice, people would look for them. Plus, Howie still had all the power of a digital phone in his back left pocket. As he dug it out, he signaled for Brian and Nick to annoy the officer. Once they got the hint, they began.
"Are we there yet?" Brian wondered.
"I'm thirsty!" Nick moaned.
"We deserve first class treatment!"
"Yeah, we were taken against our will!"
"I miss my girlfriend! And my dog!"
"I miss my Nintendo! Do you have spare?"The policeman was obviously getting annoyed, his car swerved a bit every so often.
While Brian and Nick worked their magic, Howie wriggled the phone out of his pocket. He had 911 on speed dial. After Brian saw Howie push the button, he asked, " Why are you taking all of the Backstreet Boys and their buses down highway 140? Why are we heading up the mountains to left? What's up with the dirt trail? Why are you taking us to the out house? Why..."
"SHUT UP! I'm so sick of you! I hope you get killed you lousy excuse for a son of a bitch. If you were sitting here I'd shoot your brains out! I don't care if you're Marilyn fucking Monroe! Just shut up and I won't kill you!"
"But you're a police officer. You're supposed to serve and pro..."
"What did I just say little man!" Brian shut his mouth abruptly, grinding his straight teeth together. Nick tried to give him a high five and Brian smiled at him. Howie dropped the cell phone onto the ground and kicked it under the seat so that no one could find it. This man's police car was a mess, there were newspapers on the ground with who knows what rotting underneath it, empty beer cans, empty pizza boxes, candy wrappers and all sorts of junk.
Howie sniffed the air and gagged silently. Nick and Brian tried not to laugh. "What's that funky smell," Howie mumbled under his breath, but the man didn't hear. He was listening to the radio too intently.
Just then Nick got an idea. He looked in the rear view mirror at the man's name tag. It read "Rodney Stauffer." Nick whispered the name to Brian, who whispered it to Howie.
"Hey Rodney Stauffer, who are you exactly, you're not a real policeman are you?" Howie said loudly, hoping that the people on the other end of the phone were still on.
"No, genius. It's about time you figured that about. Say buh bye to all of you're fans, you'll never see them again." He gave a large throaty laugh.
"A little too late to do that," Howie mused.
****************************************************
In the car with AJ and Kevin
"Oh good, an outhouse, I really gotta go. How thoughtful," AJ said sarcastically. "And maybe if we're lucky, we'll get toilet paper!"
"That is it! " The man pulled out a gun, stopped the car, and shoved it in AJ's face. "This time I'm really gonna blow your brains out with this thing!"
AJ gasped and prepared for the worst. Out of the speaker came, "Don't you dare Mallone, or you'll be eating of your asshole and crapping through you're fat, worthless mouth!" Mallone put his gun back.
"Yes ma'am," he muttered, turning back to his driving. He knew that she meant buisness. What she wanted with the big mouths was up to her. He picked up his walkie talkie.
"Stauffer, how's it goin' over there? You're men still alive?"
"Yeah, and I got them to shut up too! Not bad considering that there's three..."
"Gimme a break alright? I have an anger control problem. Boys! Say hi to your friends, it may be the last time that you hear from them." Mallone laughed evilly.
"Are you guys okay?" Kevin asked, worried.
"Yeah we're alright, cuz. Well, sort of."
"This guy's a lunatic, he tried to kill AJ!"
"Yeah, Mallone tried to kill me, twice!"
"That's enough!" Mallone took the walkie talkie away.
"Robyn's gonna kill you!" Stauffer warned.
"She called my car! I nearly shit my pants."
"I know, I can smell it!" AJ yelled from the back seat.
"See?! See?!"
"Ya, I know, just hang in there and ignore him, it's only a little while longer. Then again I don't think that Robyn would really miss him if you...did away with him."
"Well, buh bye."
"Bye."
"Can't even do the walkie talkie lingo. Tsk, tsk, what a terrible actor!" Mallone beat his fist menacingly on the dashboard.
Meanwhile, Kevin had been doing his own type of mischief. By the time they stopped at the outhouse, Kevin had pulled the window all the way down. When the car stopped, he crawled out of the window, rolled onto the ground and took off for the bushes. He swore to come back for the rest of the guys.
Now Kevin was being chased, and it was so difficult to run away with his hands cuffed behind his back. He turned back once and saw the men struggling to catch up. When he looked ahead again, he saw that he was completely surrounded. He gave up and fell to the ground.
Chapter 8
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