When Captain Carruthers stepped into the room, everyone stood. He motioned for them to sit back down and pulled a map down from the overhead where they were stored.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, I know you’re wondering about the upcoming war games. We were planning on staging that here, but the upper echelons have decided on a different tack.”
Oh shit. Meredith sank a little lower in her chair.
“We’re going to Costa Rica to play the games. When you get there, you’ll find out your team color and who’s on your team. Any questions?”
Nobody said a word. Captain Carruthers put the map away and stared at the people in front of him. “Dismissed.”
Officers slowly filed out of the room, talking amongst themselves and wondering what would happen. Meredith lingered, waiting until everyone had left before approaching Carruthers.
“Tried to get us out of this, but they wouldn’t listen?”
He smiled at the young woman who’d been in his command for several years. “I did. You can always look at this as a mini vacation.”
She snorted. “Yeah, right, wearing combat boots and cammies. I’ll be lucky to see the beach.”
Carruthers smiled as they walked out. “I’ll see what I can arrange.”
She headed back down the hall to her office, knowing her team was waiting to find out the details for their final test. Meredith nodded at Becky before entering into her office.
“Well?” Brian sat up straight when she walked into the room.
“Pack your sunscreen. We’re going to Costa Rica.”
“Costa Rica?” Nick was surprised at the choice, figuring they’d end up somewhere around the base.
“Yep, three whole days in the jungles of South America. I’m so looking forward to it.”
“Is this a bad thing?” Kevin leaned back in his chair, keeping an eye on Meredith’s face to watch her expressions.
“Not really. I just didn’t want to have to do any major packing.” She started sorting through the stack of folders in her inbox.
“When do we leave?”
“Sunday morning, bright and early. We have to be here at 0430 to catch the transport plane.”
“This is gonna be fun.” Nick closed his eyes at the thought of riding in the big, drafty plane.
“Too bad we won’t have any beach time.” AJ twirled a pen in his fingers as he looked around the room at his friends.
“That’s what I told Captain Carruthers. He said he’d see what he could do.” She twisted her neck, hoping to pop it, and was rewarded with a popping sound.
“Sweet.”
“Don’t hold your breath, though. We’re on the government’s dime, so there probably won’t be much play time.” She finished her notes, signed everything she needed to sign, and stood up.
“Let’s go ahead and get out of here. We need to relax a bit, and I need to make sure you’ve got everything you’re going to need before we leave Sunday morning.”
They followed her out into the parking lot to the SUV, AJ taking over the driving duties. The rest of the guys made her sit up front since they all claimed they were scared of the way their friend drove. He flipped them off before he started the engine, looking at Meredith over the top of his shades. She winked at him, and he grinned as he drove sedately off the base and toward the house.
Irene was lying by the pool when they got home. The group changed clothes and headed outdoors, finding the young woman stretched out on a chaise and tapping her toes with the music. Kevin sat down next to her, dropping a kiss on her lips. She smiled, but didn’t open her eyes.
“Good day?”
“I guess. We’re heading to Costa Rica on Sunday morning.” He laid back on the cushions, tucking his arms under his head.
Irene sat up abruptly and turned to look at him before looking at her sister. “You’re going to Costa Rica? Why?”
“War games. The powers that be wanted some place exotic. We should be gone for three days. Can you stay and take care of Stasi?” Meredith leaned back on a chair and tilted her face towards the sun.
“Sure.” Irene laid back down, resting her head on Kevin’s shoulder.
“What’s for dinner?” Nick looked around at his friends.
“What are you making?” Irene reached for her beer and took a swallow.
“What do you want?”
“What do you got?”
“What do you need?”
“Okay, you guys watched way too much 90210.” AJ shook his head as he stood up. “I’m going to go fix something. Y’all will just have to deal with it.”
The other six looked at each other, then followed AJ with their eyes as he headed towards the house.
In an hour, he leaned out of the back door and yelled “Dinner!” They walked into the house to find fried chicken, real mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls waiting on the table. Irene sniffed the air appreciatively as she sat down.
“This looks wonderful.”
Howie gave thanks, and they dug into the meal, complimenting AJ as they ate their fill. After dinner, they once again spread out through the house to get involved in games or read or listen to music or just talk. They drifted from one activity to another, the group dynamics constantly shifting as people left and people joined. It made for a lot of fun and laughter.
**BsB**BsB**BsB**
Saturday
The day was spent washing clothes and making sure everyone was ready to participate in the games. Meredith took them into her room and showed them all of her stuff laid out across the floor.
They stared at it, strewn in a seemingly disorganized pattern, then watched as Meredith walked down the line packing everything into the duffel she was carrying. When she was finished, she had layered all of the items in the bag in the order in which she thought she would need them.
Kevin was extremely impressed, seeing the use for this method of packing when they went on tour. She let them get back to their rooms to lay out everything they planned on taking, telling them she’d stop by each room later to ensure they were ready.
Meredith sat down in the den with the cordless phone, dialing her mother. She had started the practice when she began to make trips for her job. The phone call had been especially good before she’d gone to Saudi, and for that reason alone, she’d continued the ritual.
“Hey, Mom.”
She chuckled. “No, nothing’s wrong, other than the fact your youngest daughter is trying to corrupt a Backstreet Boy.”
“Kevin.”
“He’s the oldest.”
“No, not the one with the tattoos. The one you always call a tall, cool drink of water.”
The laughter bubbled out of her mouth, and Howie stopped at the door as he heard her.
“Yes, he’s nice.”
“No, I haven’t, but I’ll make sure to tell her that you said she was supposed to practice safe sex.”
Howie snorted, and Meredith looked up to find him watching her. She grinned and waved him away.
“Sorry, Howie was standing at the door.”
She sobered for a moment. “I’m going out of town tomorrow for the war games. They’re sending us to Costa Rica.”
Meredith closed her eyes and leaned back in the chair. “Yes, ma’am. Yes, I’ll do my very best to watch out for them and myself. I just wanted to tell you I love you.”
She listened for another minute, the smile growing on her face. “Love you, Mom.”
Nick stood outside the door, out of sight, as he listened to his friend. Why can’t I have that?
When Meredith walked out of the room, she saw Nick leaning against the wall. Walking up to him, she patted him gently on the cheek and smiled.
Maybe I do. He turned and walked towards the pool.
At various points during the day, each man took a moment to call loved ones. They’d heard about Meredith’s conversation and realized that although they were only playing, anything could happen while they were gone. They weren’t expecting any trouble, but decided to call anyway…just to be on the safe side.
Brian made dinner that night, fixing macaroni and cheese and grilling hot dogs in the broiler. Irene stared at her plate, then up at Brian. He just stared back, and she grinned at him before cutting up her hot dog and sandwiching pieces of it between cheesy noodles. Dessert consisted of make-your-own sundaes, and they watched as Meredith built an elaborate sundae with chocolate chip cookies, three flavors of ice cream, hot fudge, hot caramel, colored sprinkles, whipped cream, and two cherries. Nick, not to be outdone, built his own tribute to ice cream, and the two of them enjoyed eating their creations.
Kevin and Irene shared a banana split. Howie stuck with cookies; Brian made a plain sundae with just fudge, whipped cream, and a cherry; and AJ just had vanilla ice cream.
Again, they split up after the dishes were done. Meredith disappeared into her office, downloading e-mail. Irene had signed her up for a BsB list, and she just shook her head at the posts. Some of the information was interesting, and she saved the e-mails to discuss them with Irene.
She started the CD player in her computer, curious to see what her sister had left in there. When the voice began to sing, she leaned back in her chair and laughed. Brian knocked on the door. When she told him to come in, he grimaced when he heard the song.
“Where did you get that?” He dropped into a chair.
“Irene. Who is this?”
“Nick.”
Meredith sat up. “This is Nick? How old was he?”
“I think he was 15.”
She just started laughing again. Irene had set the player to shuffle, and the next song came on. When she heard it, she looked at Brian as she listened to the words.
“What were you thinking when you sang this?”
“How much prayin’ I was gonna have to do to make up for it.”
“Boys Will Be Boys” continued in the background. They both sat in the office and chatted while she finished cleaning out her inbox. Brian asked if he could log in, and she logged out of her account.
Getting up, she walked to the door and told him to just leave the computer up when he finished. She hadn’t even fully shut the door when she heard the music stop. Grinning, she headed for the den, humming “Let’s Have a Party” under her breath.
**BsB**BsB**BsB**
Sunday morning
Meredith didn’t even bother going to bed Saturday night, and she wasn’t surprised when she found herself surrounded by Backstreet Boys in the pool at one in the morning. Irene sat on the side of the pool watching the six of them play Marco Polo in the dark.
After an hour and a half of playing in the pool, Meredith ordered the guys inside to get ready. She’d held inspection earlier that evening to make sure they had all of their equipment packed and ready to go because she didn’t want any last-minute surprises to slow them down.
At three, they gathered in the kitchen to enjoy an early morning snack Irene had made for them. She also packed cookies, fruit, nuts, and some raw vegetables into a bag for them to carry onto the plane. She didn’t have Meredith’s experience in this sort of travel, but she had flown on a few transport planes and knew that luxury was at a minimum.
At 3:45, they loaded up the SUV. Irene was going to drive them to the base, then come home and stay with Stasi until they returned from the games. When they arrived at the airfield, Howie, AJ, Brian, and Nick hugged the young woman before they headed over to talk to some of their friends.
Meredith pulled her sister into a tight embrace. They sniffled a bit before laughing.
“What does this remind you of?” Meredith stepped back.
“Sending you off to Saudi.” Irene smiled, then sobered. “And look how that turned out.”
She patted the young woman’s cheek. “It’ll be okay.”
“You’d better, or I’m gonna kick your ass.” Irene pulled Meredith into another hug.
She whispered into Irene’s ear. “And I’ll make sure Kevin stays well.”
“Thank you.” The softly uttered thanks told Meredith all she needed to know regarding her sister’s feelings about the man standing next to her.
They separated again, and Meredith looked over at Kevin. “She’s all yours.”
She turned away and headed for her team.
He grinned, then turned to face Irene, who buried her face in his chest. “Hey, what’s this all about?”
“Last time I did this, I sent Meredith to Saudi and look how that ended.” Her tears dampened his t-shirt.
He wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head. “We’ll be back, and it’ll be okay.”
Irene looked up at him, the tear tracks glistening on her cheeks. “Promise?”
“I will do everything in my power to make sure we’re all okay.” The vow was whispered just before his mouth settled on hers, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
They clung together for several moments before he heard Meredith shout at him that they had to go. With a lopsided grin, he brushed her tears away with his thumbs and dropped another kiss on her lips.
“I’ve got to go, darlin’.”
Irene sighed, loving the way his voice caressed the words. “Be safe, and be well.”
“I will.” He started walking toward friends when he heard her yell out to all of them.
They turned to look at her, and she grinned. “And kick some ass while you’re at it!”
They waved at Irene, then turned towards the plane to board.
**BsB**BsB**BsB**
Meredith settled into her seat and looked around the plane at the celebrities. Most of them still looked half asleep. She turned to face Nick when she saw his white-knuckled grip on the armrest. She suddenly realized why the others had arranged it so that she ended up next to the young man, since they’d all had to suffer through his intense dislike of flying.
She gently laid her hand over his, and his eyes flew open. He looked at her and grimaced.
“So, if you were home, what would you be doing today?” She flipped her hand over, and he laid his palm against hers, twining their fingers.
He stared at her for a moment. “Probably getting ready to go out on my boat.”
“What kind of boat?”
He launched into a detailed explanation about one of his passions, giving her a thorough overview of his pride and joy.
“Sail or motor?”
“Both, but I prefer to sail.” He looked down at her, a smile gracing his mouth.
“Have you ever sailed the Caribbean?”
“A little.” He closed his eyes as he thought about the perfect blue water surrounding some of the islands he’d visited.
“Remind me when we get home to give you the name of a cruise I took. Very limited passenger list, large sail, you crew if you want.”
“You sail a lot?”
“I did while I was growing up. I still get out on occasion, but work keeps me pretty busy.”
“You’ll have to come down and visit me, and I’ll take you out.”
“I’d like that.” She couldn’t help grinning at the excitement on his face.
He suddenly blew out a frustrated sigh. “When are we taking off?”
“We’re already airborne.”
He jerked his head around and stared out one on the few windows, then turned back to look at Meredith.
“Thanks, Mom.”
After half an hour, Meredith looked up from her book when she felt a soft thump on her shoulder. Nick’s head rested there as he continued sleeping. Fifteen minutes later, she felt pressure on her thigh and looked down to find Brian’s head resting there. Switching the book to her other hand, she let her fingers fall to the soft brown curls and gently caress them, occasionally rubbing her cheek against Nick’s head. Both men sighed contentedly as they slept.
She eventually looked up to find Justin and Lance watching her. She smiled at them before returning to her book.
**BsB**BsB**BsB**
When they arrived at the base in Costa Rica, they were assigned barracks and told to get some rest before things got started the next day. The weary group found bunks and claimed them. It was no accident that the guys put Meredith in the middle, protecting her on all sides. She smiled when she noticed what they did, but hid the gesture before they saw it.
Morning came much too quickly for everyone involved. As they met out in the commons, Captain Carruthers told them where team leaders could meet. The two teams separated, toting their gear to their assigned holding area and settling down to wait for orders.
Meredith grabbed Kevin, and they went to a team leaders meeting to review their game plan and determine what role they would be playing. The group was told they were the blue team and that the objective was to grab the red team’s flag, using their skills to avoid capture and to remove as many red team soldiers from play as they could.
Everyone had already been assigned paint guns with blue paint pellets. Once struck, people were either injured or killed depending upon the body part struck. When every team had its assignment, the team leaders dispersed to get ready for the war games.
When the pair returned to their group, the six of them huddled together as Meredith went over their assignment. Nick was excited that they would actually be in the field as opposed to guarding the base camp. Meredith could feel the energy rolling off him as he dug through his pack for his paint. Digging through her own, she found what she was looking for and tossed bandannas to Brian and Nick.
Brian looked at his, then looked up at her. She just smiled as she pinned her braid out of the way. Nick set up a mirror and began to apply the paint to his face, impressing Meredith with his application of the camouflage covering. He caught her glance and grinned, the whiteness of his teeth a stark contrast to the black, green, and brown color on the lower right side of his face.
“Curran showed me.” He finished applying the paint as AJ and Howie applied theirs, and Kevin and Brian did theirs. Meredith pulled out her own set and looked up to find Nick watching her.
“Yes?”
“Can I?” He gestured to the makeup in her hands.
She handed it to him and closed her eyes. She felt his fingers smoothing the cream onto her skin, the gentle touches relaxing as she let her mind run through various plans while they waited for the word to proceed. Ten minutes later, she opened her eyes when he stopped. She looked in the mirror, turning her head both ways to check out the paint.
“Very nice, Carter.”
“Thanks.”
Nick, Brian, and Meredith wrapped the bandannas around their hair, then pulled on their caps. Since AJ, Howie, and Kevin all had dark hair, they could get by with just the caps. All six of them made sure their weapons were loaded and had plenty of extra ammunition before they followed the other teams out into the woods when the orders to move out were passed down the line.
**BsB**BsB**BsB**
As they crept through the brush, Meredith shook her head at the stupidity of some of the teams. Granted, these people weren’t official military, but she couldn’t help wondering what they’d been taught during the previous five weeks. Meredith had explained to her team that shots on the arms or legs qualified as wound shots, and the victims could be taken as POWs. Shots to the chest, stomach, and back were considered kill shots, and victims were immediately out of the game.
They took out the team of basketball players, who were only too happy to return to their camp and enjoy the beautiful weather. Grinning, the six disappeared back into the undergrowth of the jungle to hunt for the next group of red team members.
Two hours passed before the group got lucky. As they hunkered down and munched on their trail mix, they heard voices growing louder. Meredith slid her eyes to Kevin and grinned. Using hand signals, she motioned for them to spread out on either side of the trail and prepare for an ambush.
“Where the hell are we?” Justin batted away some of the plants that leaned into the path to catch the available sunlight that filtered down through the jungle.
“How should I know?’ Lance wiped a hand across his cheek to swipe at some of the bugs that hovered around them.
“You’ve got the map. I thought you knew how to read it.” JC stopped and bent over, resting his hands on his knees.
“I do know how to read it. I just don’t know where we are on it.” The young man shook his head and closed his eyes. “Have I mentioned how much I hate this?”
“Join the club.” Joey pulled up the bottom of his t-shirt and wiped his forehead.
Nick stared out of the undergrowth, drawing a bead on Justin’s chest. When Meredith nodded, all six of them fired, spattering ‘N Sync’s clothes with blue paint pellets.
“What?” Chris looked down to find his chest covered in blue. Looking up and around, he caught a glimpse of a head disappearing down into the brush.
Justin wiped off some the paint that splashed up on his chin and stared into the jungle. He could see some movement, but couldn’t make out anything until a figure slowly rose from the brush, almost invisible as the black, green, and brown coloring helped him blend into his surroundings. A pair of blue eyes stared at him intently, but he recognized the grin.
“Carter.” He muttered the name.
Meredith slid out from behind her cover, but never fully revealed herself. “I believe you’re out of the game, gentlemen.”
JC and Lance looked towards her voice, barely able to make her out in the shadowy tree line. “Guess we are, Commander.”
“Can you guys make it back to your camp okay?”
Lance looked down at the map. “Umm.”
Her laugh was soft, but not unkind. “Head south, about 300 yards. You’ll find a trail that leads you straight to base camp.”
“You know where we are?” Chris was surprised.
“Of course. We found it an hour ago.”
“And you didn’t try to take the flag?”
“Wasn’t our job.” Kevin’s voice drifted over them from behind, and they spun around to try and find him.
“Where are you, Richardson?” Joey was frustrated with the whole exercise, and anger was easily heard in the petulant tone.
Kevin’s chuckle seemed to echo around them. “Everywhere.”
When JC turned back, Meredith was gone, and only jungle sounds could be heard.
Another couple of hours was spent tracking the red team groups until they got the news that the red flag had been captured. Both teams converged on the red team headquarters to celebrate the end of the games. Meredith and the guys appeared out of the jungle, congratulating fellow blue team members on their victory.
She slid up behind JC and tapped him on the shoulder, scaring him.
“Jeez, don’t do that.”
“Sorry.” Her grin was startling against the green, black, and brown paint. “You guys okay? Those pellets can hurt a lot.”
He rubbed his chest at her words, but smiled. “Physically, we’re fine. It’s our pride that’s really stinging.”
“Because the Backstreet Boys took you out or because you lost?
“Both, I guess.” His smile was chagrined.
Lance approached them, nodding at Meredith. “Commander.”
“Bass.” Meredith smiled at him
“So who shot who?” The young man ran a hand through blond hair that was spattered with blue paint.
Both groups had ended up together at that point. She looked around at the ten men in front of her. “I got Chasez and Bass.”
Kevin spoke up. “I got Kirkpatrick and Bass.”
Brian shrugged. “I think I just hit Timberlake.”
“Kirkpatrick and Chasez.” Howie nodded at the other group.
“I got Fatone and Chasez.” AJ took a long drink of water from his canteen.
“I got Timberlake and Fatone.” Nick pulled the bandanna off his head.
“I knew that was you, Carter.” Timberlake stared at the other man.
Nick grinned. “I would imagine so, Justin, since I showed myself.”
“Self-righteous prick.” Justin muttered under his breath, but only Chris heard him.
Large tubs of beer, soda, and water appeared in the middle of camp, and everyone grabbed something to drink. After finding some soap and water to wash off most of the paint, Meredith and guys settled down against their packs to relax a bit before they headed back to the barracks. The various teams had formed little cliques, with athletes, actors, and musicians hanging together.
As a result, ‘N Sync, 98 Degrees, Limp Bizkit, and Creed were surrounding them, conversing quietly amongst themselves.
Kevin raised his bottle of water and looked around at his group. “I propose a toast.”
His bandmates looked at him and waited. He looked at Meredith and smiled. “To Commander Meredith Davenport, who took a bunch of whiny pop stars and made them into lean, mean, fighting machines.”
She laughed, raising her bottle to the other five. “To my heart breakers and life takers.”
The soft thunk of plastic bottles was accompanied by laughter.
“Wonder where the team is.” Nick mused as he passed out a second round of water.
Brian looked at Meredith. “Any ideas, Commander?”
She shrugged. “Training mission probably. They wouldn’t have been able to participate, even if we’d stayed on base.”
“True. Too much of an advantage, I suppose.”
“Who are you guys talking about?” JC couldn’t resist asking the question.
“The rest of the guys who trained us. We were wondering what they were up to right now.” Howie downed the rest of his water.
“Who were those guys? I wouldn’t want to meet them in a dark alley.” Drew leaned against his pack, pressing his sunglasses higher on his nose.
“Seal Team 2.” Kevin poured the last little bit of water over his head and ran his fingers over his hair.
“Why did you have a Seal team training you if you were in Supply?” Jeff stared at the group.
Brian looked over at Meredith before grinning. “We weren’t in supply.”
Chris and Joey looked at Justin. “I thought you said they were in supply, Justin.”
The young man shrugged. “That’s what she said the first day. Said she’d be supplying somebody.”
Meredith shrugged and leaned over to shake Justin’s hand. “I don’t think we’ve ever been formally introduced. Commander Meredith Davenport, Naval Intelligence.”
Their eyes got big, and their mouths formed perfect “O”s as they realized they’d underestimated the group.
“Well, that explains a lot.” Nick Lachey laughed at the expressions of the faces of the ‘N Sync members.
Captain Carruthers made an appearance, telling everyone that they had that night and the next day off until they flew out at eight the next night. Loud cheers were heard as the groups loaded up and headed back to the barracks to get ready for a night on the town.
When they finally gathered together after showering, Meredith shook her head at the clothing choices. The group ranged from casual preppy to downright funky, and she could only imagine what some of the others looked like.
“Well, I don’t think I’ll have a problem finding you guys tonight.” She smiled as she tucked money and identification into the back pockets of her jeans.
They ended up in a van with the members of Limp Bizkit. Fred Durst sat down next to Meredith and stuck out his hand.
“Fred Durst.”
“Meredith Davenport.” She offered a firm handshake, and he held onto her hand for an extra moment.
“How long have you been in?”
“Dime and a penny.” The curls tumbled around her shoulders as she turned her head to look at him. “How long has your group been together?”
“Late ‘94. Listen to us?” He watched her expression as she shook her head.
“No, not really. Sorry. My tastes run to more classic rock and metal.”
“Not a Backstreet fan?”
“I didn’t say that.” She grinned and laughed, drawing the attention of Brian and AJ.
The van stopped at the town square, and the driver let everyone know he’d be back around midnight. The two groups broke up, heading out in opposite directions.
“What did Fred want?” Nick moved closer to Meredith.
“Just wanted to know if I was a fan.” She nudged him with her elbow as she stopped in front of a small shop. “I’m going in here.”
Entering the dimly lit building, Meredith’s eyes widened as she saw the beautiful cotton clothing and delicate jewelry. Sorting through the dresses, she looked up when she heard AJ and Howie behind her.
“Where’d the others go?”
“Kevin’s in the jewelry store next door, and Brian and Nick found an arcade a couple of doors down.”
“Isn’t it amazing how far technology travels?” She lost herself in the colorful prints as she examined the clothing.
“Find something you like?” AJ whispered against her ear, and Meredith shivered despite the heat.
“Definitely. You?”
“Mmm, hmm.”
She turned to face him, their bodies inches apart in the narrow aisle that separated the clothing racks.
“Hey! Where’s everybody?” Nick’s voice bounced around the shop, and AJ closed his eyes and lowered his head.
“I’ve got to work on his timing.”
Meredith chuckled and moved past him into the center of the shop, her hand sliding against his chest as she left.
They found a little restaurant and had a good dinner, enjoying the local cuisine. They did a little more shopping, finding trinkets to take home as souvenirs. For the most part, they just enjoyed the anonymity of being tourists. Not many of the locals knew that celebrities were in their midst, so the guys were allowed to just be themselves.
Later that evening, they found a local club and danced to Latin rhythms, each man pulling Meredith on the floor to dance. She laughed as she was passed from person to person, and they all ended up on the floor together by the time they were finished.
At a quarter to midnight, the group wandered back to the square to meet up with a van for a ride back to their barracks. Both ‘N Sync and 98 Degrees were also waiting. When the van pulled up, they decided that squeezing together for the short ride back would be okay, and they piled into the large vehicle.
Very few people were still completely sober, so there was a lot of laughter echoing around the van. Meredith was sandwiched between Kevin and Nick in the middle seat and just shook her head at the antics of the people around her. When Nick leaned back, she looked out the window, and an uncomfortable feeling grew in the pit of her stomach.
“Are we heading the right way?” She leaned towards the driver, who responded with a chatter of Spanish.
The van came to a sudden stop, throwing people forward in their seats. When everyone was sitting upright again, they found themselves staring at several AK-47s pressed against the windows.
“This isn’t good.” Justin Timberlake looked around the vehicle.
“No shit.” AJ looked around as well, not seeing any means of escape.
One of the black-clothed men yanked open the door and motioned for them to get out. Howie was about to ask them what they wanted when Meredith stumbled into him and whispered “no Spanish.” He nodded and kept silent, placing his hands on his head as directed and getting in line.
One of the men strolled down the line, looking at each of the men before stopping in front of Meredith. He stroked a finger down her cheek, and she trembled, a sob escaping her mouth.
“Oh, please, don’t hurt me. I just came with my boyfriend ‘cause he said it was pretty down here. Please, please don’t hurt me.” She buried her face in Kevin’s arm, holding on for dear life and wailing loudly.
Disgusted with the display of histrionics, he left her alone and moved to stand in front of the group. “I am Colonel Sandoval, of the Sierra Ramon Liberation Army. We heard there were American celebrities here, and we intend to use you to make our cause known. If you cooperate, we will release you. If you don’t, you’ll never leave these mountains.”
Kevin was about to speak when Meredith dug her fingers into his arm. Instead, he put his arm around her and gently patted her shoulder. The group was herded onto a truck and driven up into the mountains that separated Costa Rica from the small nation of Sierra Ramon. They drove for hours along bumpy roads that took them deeper and deeper into mountainous jungle. Meredith kept her eyes and ears open, but couldn’t hear or see anything useful while they were traveling.
Once they stopped, everyone was unloaded and ordered to sit in two groups on opposite sides of the camp. Nick and Jeff were left with Meredith and her team, Drew and Justin were sent to ‘N Sync’s group. Clustered together, she told them they should try and get some rest to be ready for whatever the day held. When the other group saw them trying to get comfortable, they did the same, but nobody managed to get much sleep.
At dawn, Colonel Sandoval left the camp with most of his men. His belief that they were just rich Americans who would remain docile under the threat of automatic weapons meant that he only left four guards to ensure no one escaped.
Table of Contents
Chapter Twenty-One