The first half of Parker's second official day of work consisted of tailing Nick wherever he went. She literally became his shadow. Claudia was holed up in their hotel room, working on the radio equipment all day long...Parker envied her. Upon arriving at the hotel in the early morning hours, she had followed Nick closely through the throngs of teenaged girls waiting outside...mentally cursing herself for assigning herself to the group's sweet faced, teen idol icon. Still, under her close watch, Nick had come away with his clothing still intact, and not a hair on his blonde head out of place.
From there, Nick had gotten settled into his hotel room, and within minutes...the place looked as though a hoard of military troops had trampled through. She patiently waited outside the room while he showered, not wanting to let him out of her sight for even a mere second. Then he had gone exploring the hotel...first subjecting her to a perfectly awful breakfast in the main dining room. An entire pack of fresh faced girls had converged on the table right away, requesting pictures and autographs. It had only gotten worse after that...Parker had finally lost count after 20. Through it all, Nick had given her smug smiles, knowing full well that Parker was suffering through every minute of it. Knowing full well that a private dining room had been arranged on their behalf, Parker suspected that Nick had purposely chosen the public dining room simply to spite her.
Finally, after nearly an hour and a half of hearing herds of girls profess their undying love for him, Nick stood up...ready to leave.
"Has your ego been stroked enough to please you this morning Carter?," Parker asked with deceptive sweetness as they exited the dining room.
"Hmmm...I don't think so," he said, seeming to be in serious consideration about something. "Maybe I should go for a swim in the main pool now."
"I don't think so," she replied, "you've already had your public venture for today. If you want to swim...use the indoor pool. It's been reserved for your use."
Parker quickly learned that Nick was actually pretty boring. He played video games for the remainder of the morning, then ordered room service. Parker sat stoically while he ate, her stomach turning a little. She'd had the nightmare again last night.
Damn Kevin for recognizing her. She was more than a little angry with herself for letting her emotional guard down in front of everyone the night before. It wasn't like her to do so, she figured it was because of the exhaustion she'd felt. Then she'd resolved to never let it happen again. She refused to let the past cloud her judgment. Five separate lives depended on her...this time she wouldn't fail.
Nick finished eating, then disappeared into the bathroom. He emerged a few minutes later, wearing a pair of swimming trunks and a t-shirt.
"Going somewhere Carter?," she inquired as he walked towards the door.
"Just thought I'd go for a swim Detective."
"Private pool only," she chided, remembering his earlier comment.
"I know that," he snapped.
Parker sighed and followed him down to the pool. Brian was there, swimming around happily, while Jack sat sulking on a deck chair. Parker walked over to him, figuring now was as good a time any to get a report from him.
"Report," she demanded, noticing Jack's cool glare meet hers.
"He had breakfast in the private dining room," Jack stated defiantly. "Then he talked to his girlfriend on the phone for three hours. Then he had lunch in the private dining room and came down here."
"Anything suspicious?"
"No."
Parker gave him a curt nod, then turned her eyes to where Nick and Brian were frolicking in the pool. She watched them splash around, trying to remember the last time she'd let herself feel so carefree. It had been so long now that she simply couldn't remember. God she was bored. Watching two grown men goof around in a pool like children was not her idea of a perfect afternoon. The next hour ticked by excruciatingly slow. Jack looked even less amused than she felt.
Finally, the two of them climbed out of the pool...Parker and Jack trailed behind their charges, following them into their respective rooms. Nick took a quick shower, then he and Parker made their way over to the room she and Claudia shared. The other Boys were already there, as were their appointed security guards...as planned. Claudia was bustling around the room, gathering various pieces of equipment in a hurried rush.
"I trust everyone had a pleasant day," Parker called as she strode into the room behind Nick. When no one answered her, she continued.
"Okay guys," she stated in her usual brisk manner. "Here's the deal...from here, we head over to the arena. We'll go like this every evening, in a group."
"Wouldn't it be safer if we went separately?," AJ blurted out. "I saw that in a movie once." He grinned at her...she scowled back.
"Do I tell you how to do your job?," she snapped angrily. AJ's grin faded...he shook his head.
"Then don't assume that you'd even begin to know how to do mine." He nodded and averted his eyes away from hers.
"Ready to go Claudia?," she called, softening her harsh tone some.
"Just a minute," Claudia called back, her voice coming from the vicinity of one of the bedrooms. Minutes later she scurried into the room, lugging her laptop case.
The group made its way down to the back entrance to the hotel, where two vans sat waiting. Parker went out first by herself, then inspected both vehicles thoroughly before letting anyone else step outside. Finding nothing suspicious, she motioned for everyone else to come outside, and minutes later, with both vans loaded...they left for the arena.
*****
Kevin stepped into the wardrobe room with Jackson looming behind him, an enormous, over-grown mountain of a man. It was an hour before show time, and Kevin was pleased with the results of their sound check earlier. Now it was time to prepare for the show. Parker was leaning unceremoniously against the long counter top spanning one of the walls, looking alert...yet bored. Nick stood anxiously on a stool in the center of the room, clad only in a wife beater and his pants.
"Where's Lydia?," Kevin questioned, speaking of their wardrobe person.
"She went to find more pins," Nick replied. "My pants need to be let down a bit before the show."
Kevin nodded, then laughed a little when he noticed that Nick's pants were a little too high around the cuffs.
"Expecting a flood?," Kevin snickered, unable to help himself. Nick stuck his tongue out at him in reply.
Kevin was still grinning as he walked over to a long rack of clothing and began rummaging through some shirts. He jumped when the phone on the counter rang. With Lydia out of the room, and the others paying no attention, he answered it himself, an uncommon practice.
"Hello?," he said, continuing his search through the rack.
"Hello Kev," a low, menacing voice replied. Kevin didn't recognize it.
"Who's this?" Kevin asked, his brow knitting in curiosity. His hand stopped on a deep green silk shirt, then skipped over to a matching one of a dark purple color.
"I'd go with the green," the voice on the other end said, "it will bring out your eyes."
Parker watched as Kevin's face paled considerably. She shoved away from the table and came to stand beside him.
"Who is this?," Kevin demanded again.
"Watch your back Kev," the voice replied, "and tell the pretty Amazon to watch where she sticks her nose...it might get sliced off."
The phone went dead against his ear with a deafening click. Kevin dropped the receiver onto the table. His hands were shaking as he looked at Parker, his green eyes wide with fear. He glanced around the room nervously.
"What? What is it?," Parker demanded.
Kevin began speaking in a shaky voice, unaware that he had gained an audience. The rest of the Boys and their guards had joined them, and every eye was on Kevin as he explained the phone call. Parker glanced around, taking note of the identical expressions of fear on each Boy's face.
"Shit," Parker mumbled. "All of you..stay here...lock the door behind me after I leave and do not open it until I return."
Her mind was racing a mile a minute as she barged out of the room. She stalked to the room where Claudia had set herself up.
"Can you tap the phones from now on?," she barked, startling Claudia. Claudia's vivid green eyes met Parker's dark ones. "I don't see why not," she replied carefully.
"Good," Parker snapped, pacing the room furiously, like a caged tiger. "From now on, I want their hotel room phones tapped, every phone in every arena..."
"What for?," Claudia interrupted. Parker filled her in quickly, then looked at her with a worried gaze.
"Whoever is doing this is sitting right under our damned noses," Parker said, her voice so low that only Claudia's ears could hear it.
"It certainly appears that way," Claudia replied in a whisper.
"How else would the caller have known what shirt Kevin was holding? Someone is watching us Claud."
*****
Things like this only happened in the movies. They didn’t happen to real people. Howie wore furrows in the carpet as he paced the confines of their dressing room. What did these people want? What could they possibly benefit? More importantly, who the hell were ‘they’, anyway? The minutes until show time were ticking away at a snail’s pace, and Howie had long ago reached his wit’s end. Apparently, so had the other guys, as they all readied for the evening’s performance tensely. Hardly a word was spoken, leaving each to his own thoughts. What....or who, was next?
Halting in his tracks, Howie checked his watch anxiously, only to find that time had seemingly come to a standstill. Glancing over at a grouping of folding metal chairs, he found Kevin starring listlessly into space. He was obviously deeply shaken by the mysterious phone call. It had certainly hit home. Brian and Nick were embroiled in a half hearted game of indoor basketball which consisted of tossing the ball lightly into a garbage can in one corner. The usual boisterous atmosphere was no where to be seen. AJ sat quietly in the corner, occasionally casting a wary glance toward the phone. Jack and Michael had been stationed outside the dressing room door as Parker, Jackson, and Nathaniel inspected the venue for any further threats. And Claudia.....well, who knew where she was?
Exhaling a pent up sigh of frustration, Howie snatched his vest for their opening number off of a rack, then headed for the door. He yanked to portal open; it was on the tip of Kevin’s tongue to ask where he was going, but Jack beat him to the punch.
“Where’s the fire?”
“I’m going for a walk.”
“You can’t. Nathaniel isn’t back yet, and Michael and I need to remain in position.” Jack glowered menacingly. Howie passed a hand over his eyes wearily.
“I’m just going down this corridor and back. Look, you can see the entire length of the hall. I’ll never be out of your sight. I just need to be active, all right? I need to think,” Howie pled. Jack wavered and finally, Michael elbowed him in the side.
“Come on, man. It can’t hurt anything. Besides, this hall is practically empty.”
“Not exactly but.....okay, man. Just stay close.....shit, Parker’s gonna have our heads...”
“Not if she doesn’t find out. Thanks boys,” Howie raised his hand in parting and strode briskly down the corridor. Anything was better than staying cooped up in a dressing room with his fears. The people bustling past were headed in the direction of the stage, each carrying out last minute preparations for the show. Howie envied them. Not only did they have their freedom but their peace of mind as well.
A soft humming captured his attention as he caught a glimpse of red from the corner of his eye. Howie paused then pivoted, leaning his head past the door frame to peer inside the green room. He couldn’t stop a smile from emerging on his lips as he took in the sight of Claudia perched atop an end table which was shoved against the wall. A screw driver was caught between her teeth and her hands worked diligently, prying at the tiny wires of a small video camera. As always, she was lost in her own world and completely unaware of his presence.
Claudia’s eyes narrowed as she tightened a micro screw into the wall. The high fi surveillance cameras had finally come, arriving with the caterer late that afternoon. One of the food preparation personnel had discreetly slipped her a slim cardboard box which ended up containing three of the compact devices for use around the venues and in the hotels. Tonight was simply a trial run of operations; she had decided to make good use of her time during the Boys’ performance. She could easily work any bugs out of the systems in that amount of time. Besides, it kept her mind off of that mysterious phone call.... The end table she stood upon wobbled a bit as she shifted her weight. Damn her height. Stretching on tip toes, Claudia struggled to reach the ‘on’ switch. Just a little further.....almost.....nearly there.....
“Have you ever thought about asking for help?,” a male voice interrupted her thoughts and balance. The sudden company invaded her concentration, her body jarring nervously. Even as Claudia shot a startled glance at the doorway, the table began to topple beneath her surprised actions. There was no where for the unsteady table nor it’s occupant to go, other than what was sure to be quite a fall to the ground. Claudia squinted her eyes shut and braced for the coming impact. She felt herself fall for what seemed an eternity, then crash against a warm weight rather than a thin layer of carpet covering the cold concrete. Her heart beating wildly against her ribcage, Claudia lay very still, assessing her injuries. Ironically, she didn’t seem to be hurt...in fact....it didn’t feel as though she had even hit the floor. Opening her eyes, she found herself cradled against a man’s solid chest, his arms wrapped protectively around her. Her gaze traveled up his shirt, over the well muscled tendons of his neck and the exposed portion of his chest, past the masculine chin and facial hair, to the tender, concerned chocolate orbs of-
“Howie,” she exclaimed, her cheeks coloring. His stare focused on her features intently.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes....yes, I’m fine,” she assured him softly from beneath the locks of red hair which fell across her face. His arms tightened around her back.
“We’ve got to stop meeting this way. It seems that whenever I’m around, you have a penchant for bodily harm,” he teased gently, “First your head and now this....”
“I’ll be okay....” she whispered. Finally, they both realized simultaneously that they hadn’t made a move to separate, a fact which brought a flush even to Howie’s cheeks. He was thankful at once for his dark olive complexion. Carefully setting Claudia on her feet, he watched as she immediately retreated a step, placing more distance between them. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as she attempted to put herself back together. She hurriedly smoothed the unrepentant curls from her forehead, straightening the sky blue sweater which engulfed her, reaching her mid thigh.
“So, what are you up to all by yourself?” he questioned in an effort to alleviate the embarrassment which seemed to overtake the petite woman whenever he was around.
“I...um....installing surveillance cameras. I wanted to give them a test run tonight during the concert,” she explained.
“Oh....how do they work?,” Howie asked, fingering one of the devices he picked up from the pile of equipment stacked nearby.
“Do you want me to show you?” came the excited yet disbelieving invitation. Howie looked up to find Claudia’s features alight with enthusiasm. He was astonished at the change which came over her...she was almost a different person.....so willing to share and so....eagar. He gazed down into her scintillating emerald spheres and couldn’t resist.
“I’d love it.” Claudia’s thoughts whirled crazily. Howie was interested....he actually wanted to know what she had to say. He wanted to be with her, she realized. The force of her revelation nearly knocked Claudia to the ground. This had certainly never happened before. She hadn’t the faintest idea where to begin, what to say, how to-
“ It’s pretty simple, actually. These cameras are affixed to the walls in strategic locations. They give off signals, or images, which are fed directly into my computer terminal. I can monitor who comes and goes with ease,” she finished with a shrug. Howie smiled at her.
“That sounds like a pretty good system you’ve got there.”
“Oh, it is! Top of the line. These cameras aren’t even on the market yet! They’re so small and compact -even wireless! No need to worry about batteries or anything because everything is sent via antennae and closed circuit wire. No connections, no trouble, no hassles, no......” Claudia glanced up to find Howie gazing down at her curiously. “....I’m rambling. I’m sorry. I guess I just don’t realize....” she dropped her head, her eyes skipping away from his.
Tenderly, Howie extended his index finger, gently tipping her chin in his direction, forcing her stare to match his warm one. With a touch so delicate she barely felt it, Howie’s thumb rubbed across her cheek, near her nose.
“You’ve got a tiny...smudge,” he told her quietly. Her skin flushed anew as she unconsciously licked her lips. Howie took a deep, sharp breath. “You’re pretty when you blush, you know that?”
Claudia laughed uneasily. “What are you doing out and about? I thought you guys were placed on lock down.” Howie chuckled in relief at her humor. Maybe it was his imagination, but she seemed to be warming up to him.
“Oh, make no mistake, I am definitely standing here with you illegally.”
“I thought AJ was the rebel,” she challenged with a slight smile.
“You never know,” Howie shot back with a wink. “So, what do you say? Wanna be Bonnie to my Clyde?”
“I’ll have to think about it. Buffalo Bill is a pretty good looking guy....”
The Latin man grinned and stepped closer. “You don’t think I’m game? I’ve been told I’m not too shabby....what do you think?”
Claudia struggled to keep her breathing even as she endeavored to find a fitting reply. She opted for the easy way out. “I’ve got to finish hanging this camera.”
Howie exhaled loudly at her change of pace, but nodded his head in agreement. “I’ll help.”
“I’m not sure that that’s a very good-”
“Why not? There’s still fifteen minutes until the opening act goes on, and I’ve got time to kill. Besides...if I’m lucky, maybe I can make your cheeks match you hair again.”
There was no doubt about it. A full fledged smile erupted on Claudia’s features, startling both of them....even more amazing, her skin remained peaches and cream, not a trace of red to be found. Howie returned her expression, making a mental note. The best way to help this little woman past her painfully shy exterior was to tease and be teased. Beneath her oversized sweaters, unruly tresses, and diffident nature lay a charming person just waiting to be set free. And her eyes like shards of jade had the tendency to hypnotize him, capturing his attention completely.....
*****
Claudia heaved a sigh of disappointment. Howie had left ten minutes before to take the stage for thousands of screaming adolescent fans, leaving her to her own devices. What she wouldn’t give to be in his company once again.... Shaking her head to snap her concentration back in place, Claudia gathered her laptop and mesh bag full of supplies, then made her way out of the green room. Parker and the rest of the body guards were positioned in the wings of the stage, waiting for terror and chaos to flare. Dropping her things, Claudia dragged two crates together, in a quiet corner of the backstage area. The grips were all in the pit of the circular dais, as were the wardrobe personnel. There was hardly anyone she knew in sight, save the managers, their lackeys, truck drivers and the like. The place was unbelievably crowded.
Straddling one of the plastic storage bins, Claudia opened her laptop, placing it on the other crate before her. The clean desktop of her computer was comforting, though her eyes blurred slightly as they tried to focus on the glare. Calling up the surveillance program, Claudia was just about to launch it when the automatic sign on feature of her internet application kicked in. Growling in frustration, Claudia was about to cancel the operation when she decided she may as well check her online correspondence. Leaning her elbows on her knees, Claudia eyed a group of laughing venue personnel. Her computer emitted a chime, indicating she had an incoming instant web message. A small dialogue box appeared on the screen, the sender listed as “Unknown:”, a normal occurrence considering most of her online connections took comfort in anonymity. Claudia shrugged, clicked reply, then began to type.
“BlckCt: Salutations.”
“Unknown: And to you.”
Claudia smiled. As she leaned forward to let her fingers dance across the keyboard once again, a sharp pain attacked her neck. Cursing softly, Claudia’s hands sought the ache, a tell tale sign that the day was taking it’s toll.
“Unknown: Long day?”
“BlckCt: Of course. Isn’t it always?”
“Unknown: You should rest more.”
“Blckct: When is there time?” Claudia continued to rub her neck as she tilted her head back into her hand.
“Unknown: Ask for a massage. I’m sure there’s someone who’d be willing to help you out.”
“Blckct: I’ll be fine. So, what do you need?” The redhead inquired. Online communication simply wasn’t done unless one was seeking the expertise or advice of a co-worker.... one of the unspoken rules of conduct in her profession. Giving a sigh, Claudia tugged at the front of her sweater. The warmth from all of the thousands of sweaty bodies in the arena was seeping into the backstage area, plaguing all within it’s reach.
“Unknown: Hot?”
Claudia froze, brow furrowing, eyes glued to the screen. Hesitantly, she responded.
“Blckct: You have no idea.”
“Unknown: Why don’t you take that blue sweater off? I’m sure you’d be much more comfortable.”
Claudia stood hastily from her perch, backing up as she searched the behind the scenes crowd.
“Unknown: Don’t you carry something light weight in that bag of yours? A tee shirt, perhaps?”
Claudia’s feet backpedaled faster. She jolted in fright, a scream almost escaping her lips as she came into contact with something cold and hard. Reaching a hand behind her, she realized she was backed up against a concrete pillar. Claudia’s breathing grew erratic as her frantic gaze darted in and out of the mass of people...there were too many.....someone was there....where?
“Unknown: I’ve scared you, haven’t I? Oh, poor cat....poor poor Black Cat. Be careful....so many people, so few you can trust. Have your nine lives run out yet?”
Casting her fear aside, Claudia lunged for her computer.
“Blckct: Who are you? Where are you? What do you want?”
Crimson began to bleed across the screen, slowly eating away at the images, until the entire computer was frozen with the blood red color monopolizing the monitor. Claudia’s lungs were loud even to her own ears as adrenaline raced through her veins. Terror’s cold grip clenched around her heart as her throat constricted. The voices of the other bodyguards filtered across the radio headset she wore, penetrating the haze. Sweat beaded on her forehead, Claudia couldn’t keep her eyes from skipping across the crowd....wondering.
Slowly, she reached for the ‘B’ button on her radio pack. “Um....Parker? Guys? I....uh....have a problem.....had a problem....oh God.”
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