Yahoo Email

 

February 13th, 06:02 am

 

AJ,

 

Where on earth are you? Things are insane here! There are FBI agents here asking us questions about you guys, hinting things about you. We haven’t seen you and Brian in almost two months now! Your Ma keeps calling, wanting to know if we’ve heard anything. She’s worried sick about you. Brian’s parents are on the phone with Kevin daily, begging for any updates he might have, terrified about their son. We don’t know what to tell her. The FBI have been out there to talk to them. They’ve talked to everyone. But they don’t tell us anything.

 

I don’t know what to do but I know one thing; we need to know you two are ok.

 

I have no idea if you can check your email, wherever you are. I have no idea if it’s safe for you. Hell, I have no idea why they’re even trying to find you. They won’t tell us. But, on the off chance you read this, I had to send it. If I’m lucky you might read this and someday be able to reply. You might be able to let me know you’re alive and ok. That both of you are.

 

Just know, Age, that no matter what, you have friends here that love you. Brian, you too. We love the both of you. No matter what’s happened, no matter what either of you has done, please know we love you. And if it’s not safe for you to come home, then don’t. Hide, if it’s what you need to do. I may get in trouble if the Agents ever find out I said this, but I’m only thinking of you two. I’d rather know you were alive and safe and happy than locked in a cell somewhere or worse.

 

Brian, your cousin says he loves you and Nick says he misses you and loves you. I love you. Age, they say they love you too and they hope you’re ok.

 

Right now we’re holding on to the hope that you two are out there somewhere, safe, happy. So long as you two are together I know you can find happiness. Whatever is happening has to be serious if the FBI are hunting the two of you, though they do seem to want you more, AJ. Brian seems to just be wanted because he’s with you. I don’t know what they think you did, and honestly, anymore, I don’t care. What matters if knowing that you’re ok.

 

 Just, if you can sometime, please, drop us a line. Let us know.

 

We love you.

 

Howie

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Howie hit send on the computer and sat back in his chair with a sigh. Even though he knew that what he’d just written could potentially get in him serious trouble, he’d had to do it. He had to. If there was a chance that somewhere out there, AJ and Brian managed to check this email, he wanted them to see this letter and maybe be able to respond to it. He wanted to know they were ok.

 

Things were so terrifying at the moment. AJ and Brian gone missing, the FBI looking for them, no one telling them a damn thing on what was going on but asking tons of questions. Anytime they asked what they wanted the guys for, they were simply told that AJ and Brian were wanted for questioning. To what, no one would say. But it had to be serious. The FBI didn’t go out after someone unless it was serious. They weren’t called in for stupid little things.

 

What the hell could AJ have done to have the FBI after him? That question plagued Howie daily. He had a hard time picturing AJ doing anything that warranted that kind of attention!

 

He sighed and pushed back from his computer desk. He’d barely been awake an hour so his house was quiet and empty. With AJ and Brian’s disappearance, naturally the tour had been stopped. All of them were at their homes now, waiting and wondering and panicking.

 

Panic was a good word for it. Howie thought that to himself as he moved downstairs. It felt like all he was doing was worrying and panicking anymore. Anytime his phone rang or a knock came at the door or he saw he had a new email, his heart would leap into his throat, wondering if it would be Brian or AJ or someone stopping by to say they’d been found. Someone who might tell them if either one was dead or alive.

 

The biggest part of Howie prayed every day that his friends were alive and safe. But a small part of him couldn’t stop the fear that something had happened to them. That they were hurt…or worse. That part of him grew louder every day, screaming for attention. It told him that, if he was ok, AJ would have contacted him by now. AJ knew how he was. He knew that Howie would worry about them. That everyone would worry. If possible, AJ would do anything to set his friends’ minds at ease.

 

Maybe it just isn’t safe for him yet, wherever he is Howie argued to himself as he went into the kitchen and started the coffee. Maybe he just hasn’t been able to get to a computer to send you a message. Hell, he might not even be in the United States anymore! Maybe they had to flee the country. You don’t know.

 

But as the days dragged by it was getting harder and harder to convince himself that they were ok.

 

A buzzing at his front door startled him, making his head jerk up. As was common anymore he felt his heart start to pound and his palms start to sweat. Who was at the door? What kind of news were they going to bring him? It was seven o’clock in the morning; who stopped by that early unless they were bringing news of some kind?

 

On shaking legs he moved to answer his door. It took him a moment to grab the doorknob and another to force himself to open it.

 

To his surprise, a UPS man stood there, a large box in his hand. “Package for Mr. Dorough.” The man said.

 

Curious, Howie took the box and signed the little pad. “Thanks.” He told the guy before shutting the door. Then he turned to the package. He hadn’t ordered anything lately.

 

One look at the box showed his mom’s return address on the outside. A smile curved his lips. His mom had sent him something again without warning him it was coming. That woman never changes he thought.

 

He carried the box into the kitchen and set it on the table. Before opening it, he grabbed himself a cup of black coffee and brought it over to the table with him. Just as he was ready to open his box, another knock sounded on his door.

 

This time, when he opened the door, there were two federal agents standing on the other side. “Yes?” Howie asked irritably. It was something that bothered him to no end, knowing that agents were watching his house. He understood their reasoning behind it—they told him that his close connection to AJ made it possible that AJ would come here to talk to him and they wanted to keep an eye out for him--but that didn’t mean that he liked it.

 

“We saw that you received a package, Mr. Dorough.” One of the agents said calmly.

 

Raising his eyebrows, Howie crossed his arms over his chest, only then realizing that he still was dressed in only his pajama pants. “Is that a crime, now?” he asked them. What the hell business was it of theirs if he got mail from his mom?

 

“We’re under orders to keep an eye on all incoming and outgoing packages and such like that, Sir. We have the warrant to back us on this.”

 

Inspect his packages? Were they fucking serious? Beyond furious, Howie held his hand out, waiting for their warrant. There was no damn way he was going to open his mail for them or allow them to open it without the paperwork in his hand.

 

The other agent handed him the slip, which Howie quickly scanned through. Damn! “What do you guys think, that AJ’s going to mail me a bomb or some incriminating evidence or something?” He swore as he turned and strode into his house. “Whatever he’s done, the man isn’t stupid. He wouldn’t mail anything to me that would get him in trouble.”

 

“We’re just following orders, Sir.”

 

Howie just snored as he moved to his box. Before they could say anything, he grabbed the tape and tore it off. One man swore while the other took a step back. Howie snorted again and opened the box up. “It’s from my mom, not from AJ.” He told them as he pulled out the packing paper. When he found what was inside he gave them an even harder glare. Reaching in, he lifted out two tins. “She sends me food all the time because she knows I love when she makes her homemade candy and shit.”

 

When they still stood there, Howie opened one of the tins, revealing some homemade divinity, one of his mom’s specialties and one of his favorites. “Care for a piece? If you’re stuck inspecting my personal shit you might as well eat it too.” He said nastily. Neither man moved to take it.

 

Howie set it on the table, putting the lid back on, and then opened up the next one. Inside were chocolate truffles. Those gave his heart a little pang. She had always sent those because she knew that AJ loved them. That pang only made his voice even nastier. “Oh no, truffles! You think AJ mailed these from my mom’s and planted little bombs inside? Or little disks with national security secrets? Maybe he carved his information into the chocolate itself?” he said sarcastically.

 

The two men stepped back toward the door. “Like I said, Sir. We’re just following orders. You have a good day, now.”

 

Once the two were gone, Howie followed out and locked his door again. Then he headed back into the dining room, shaking his head. God, they were such idiots.

 

He sat down by his coffee again, popping open the tin with the divinity inside and stealing a piece. He’d have to call his mom later and thank her for sending it. He loved her homemade candies and treats.

 

When he reached to get a second one, he saw a paper underneath some of the chocolate. Hm. She must have sent another kind. Sometimes she put those papers in so she could put layers inside. He sipped on his coffee as he pushed some of the divinity to the side and moved the paper. Sure enough, there was more candy, little chocolate covered pretzels, but there was something else. Howie’s hand froze. Was that what he thought it was?

 

For a split second he stared at the tins. Then he stood, gathering them in his hands as casually as possible and putting the lid back on the one. He tried to look casual as he walked toward his pantry. If they were searching his mail and guarding the outside of his house, he wouldn’t put it past them to spy on him as well.

 

Only when he was inside the pantry did he set the tins down and pull the lid back off. He wasted no time in shoving the divinity out of the way and looking at what was underneath. Jesus! He’d been right. There was a small cell phone buried in there.

 

Amazement arrowed through him as he pulled the thin little flip phone out. Before opening it, he set it down on the shelf and checked the rest of the tin. Nothing else was in there. He set that to the side and opened the other, dumping it straight onto the shelf. In there he found a small piece of paper, folded tight.

 

His heart was hammering as he unfolded the paper. Finally he reached a small note. The scrawl there set his heart to hammering even faster. He knew that handwriting.

 

Hide the phone and gather up some laundry. Stick it in the washer and turn it on, then sit in your laundry room. I guarantee it’s the only room in your house NOT bugged. You ARE being watched. Call the number listed in the phone. Remember, act casual.

 

That was all it said. There wasn’t even a moment’s hesitation on Howie’s part. He shoved the candy back into the tin, tossing in the note and the cell phone before putting on the lid. The other tin he left there, but this one he carried out with him. The only stop he made was by the table to grab his coffee cup. The note said to act casual, so he had to make this believable. Had to act normal.

 

Still, as he went to his room and set the tin on the counter, he felt his palms sweating. But he made himself take a drink off the coffee and set that down as well before starting to gather up his laundry. Normal. Calm.

 

When the laundry was together in his basket, he stopped by his dresser again, trying to make it look like he was grabbing another candy but in reality dumping the phone into his basket. He brought a candy to his mouth and ate it, though, trying to cover his tracks. All of this he did with his back to the window so that if anyone was watching, maybe they wouldn’t see. Then he moved to the bathroom and grabbed more dirty clothes, setting it on top the phone.

 

Finally he moved out of the room, taking his coffee with him and heading downstairs, then down to the basement where his laundry room was connected to. It was on the other side of his game room.

 

He stepped into the windowless room and shut the door behind him. Then he pulled the phone out, setting it on the dryer as he dumped the clothes into the washer. He didn’t even bother with soap, just turned the machine on.

 

His hands shook as he grabbed the flip phone and opened it. It took two tries before he finally was steady enough to get it to turn on.  When it powered on, he opened the contacts and saw one number listed in there. Charlie Calder. Who on earth was that name?

 

After one deep breath, Howie looked around him, made sure that there was no one in his game room before pressing the call button. Everything inside of him seemed to freeze as the phone rang in his ear. Time seemed to slow for an instant. Suddenly there was a click, then a warm familiar voice in his ear. “Charlie speaking. How you doing, Howard?”

 

Oh sweet God. Dear, sweet God above. Howie didn’t realize that he’d spoke those words until AJ chuckled in his ear. “No, not God. Just me.” AJ paused, then said “Peanut is here with me, too.”

 

Peanut was a private joke among the group, one that no one outside of them would know. It was their teasing nickname for Brian. There was a puppet in a comedy skit with that name who talked ninety miles an hour and was constantly full of energy. They joked that it was a puppet version of a hyper Brian.

 

Howie wasn’t slow. He caught on to the way AJ was talking. The ‘Charlie’ and ‘Peanut’ bit told him that it wasn’t safe to say AJ or Brian’s name. But just hearing AJ’s voice was enough to have his heart lifting. “God, it’s good to hear your voice. How…how are you? Both of you?”

 

“Better than you think, all things considered.” Came the cheeky response. “But we’ll get into that later. In two hours, you think you can be at Santee Alley? You still live near there, right, D?”

 

Santee Alley? Holy shit, were they in LA? Jesus Christ, they were in LA! “Yeah, I do. I can be there. Are you sure…Charlie? It’s ok?”

 

“Totally. Trust me on this, D. K? Keep the phone on you, I’ll get ahold of you when I’m there.”

 

“Ok. I’ll do that.”

 

“Thanks. An, D? Love you, man. A ton.”

 

Howie couldn’t stop himself from smiling. “Love you too. A shit load.” He repeated, same as he had a half a thousand times before.

 

When the phone clicked off in his ear, the smile was still on his face. AJ and Brian were alive. They were alive!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Two hours later, Howie strolled down the busy alley known as Santee Alley in downtown LA. It was one of the most popular shopping areas in the Fashion District, and it had a festival style feeling to it, so it was already packed full of people even though it was only nine in the morning.

 

He knew that this was part of the reason AJ had picked this place. It would be easy to lose a person in the crowd. Or to hide from someone. Hiding was going to be necessary. Years in showbiz, years of dealing with security, had taught all the guys to be able to tell when they were being followed. The black car had stayed but, but it had been there. Stupid FBI. He’d had to fight the urge to lose them just for the principal of it. But that would make them suspicious of what he was doing.

 

Pulling out his little headset, Howie hooked the earpiece into his ear and plugged the other end into his phone. Then he headed down The Alley, trying to act as if he was there to do nothing more than shop, all the while waiting for the sound in his ear to alert him to an incoming call.

 

Only ten minutes had passed when the jingle played in his ear. He pressed the hands free button to answer the call. “Hey. Was wondering a little about you.”

 

“Yeah, I was a little busier than I thought.” AJ’s voice echoed in his ear. “Trying to figure out some things around the two accessories you’ve got with you.”

 

Amusement filled Howie as he stopped at a stand and ordered himself a coffee to go. “Noticed those, did you?” He said. He paid the guy and thanked him, taking his coffee and heading back to walk as if he was window shopping. “Almost tried to drop ‘em, just on principal, you know? Used to be fun to do.”

 

“Yeah, no shit. Well, we’ll have to do things my way. See that little stand on the right, the one with the crystals hanging in there? I want you to step in there for me.”

 

Howie saw it just ahead of him. Set up against the wall with the same pavilion set up that most of the places here had, it had a multitude of crystals and clothes inside of it. “Ok, no prob.” He tried to resist the urge to look around for AJ. Obviously he was close enough that he could see Howie, but not somewhere that Howie could easily see him.

 

“Good, D. Awesome. Now, walk along the stand and come out on the opposite end. Immediately duck into that food place beside it. Once you’re in there, there’s another entrance on the other side. Go out there and turn left. That’ll take you into a building that’s right at the corner of the alley.”

 

The directions seemed odd, but Howie trusted in AJ on this. There was such a serious yet confident tone to AJ’s voice that he could do nothing but trust him.

 

When he was in the final building, AJ’s voice came over the line again. “Ok, up the stairs. Don’t run but don’t dawdle. Your shadows are behind but they’re still exiting the restaurant. If you get up the stairs and take a left you’ll be out of their sight. Head to the elevator that’ll be in front of you.”

 

He tried to hurry up the stairs without actually running up them. After he rounded the corner, AJ laughed softly over the phone. “Ha, idiots. They lost you. Ok, love, take that elevator down to first. They’re moving toward the stairs.”

 

Once Howie was down on the first floor again, AJ guided him back out of the store and had him head in the crowd down toward the opposite entrance from where he’d come in. Then he had Howie enter a coffee shop, taking the stairs up to the second floor. This was the more private part, used by richer folk. The windows were tinted from the sun, though it allowed the people inside to look down it didn’t allow the people outside to look in.

 

“Table at the far back, D.” AJ told him. There was a click and then the phone went dead in Howie’s ear.

 

He walked in the shop, discreetly throwing away the coffee he’d bought earlier so he wouldn’t get busted bringing it in. The shop curved, so Howie couldn’t see the table at the far back until he’d almost completely come around. When he did, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

 

Even though he’d heard his voice on the phone, even though he’d come here and followed all of AJ’s directions, a part of him still hadn’t believed he would find AJ or Brian at the end. But both of them were sitting in the booth at the far end, shoulder to shoulder, drinking their coffees and watching out the window.

 

They looked up, smiling together as they saw him. Howie swallowed the lump in his throat as he walked over to the booth. He simply stood there for a minute, incapable of doing anything but staring.

 

AJ was the one sitting on the outside. They’d taken the side of the booth that put their backs to the wall, giving them a perfect vantage point. With a grin, AJ rose from the booth and wrapped Howie in an oh-so-familiar hug. “Hey there, D.”

 

When he moved away, Brian took his place. “Man, it’s good to see you, Howie.”

 

With a gesture of his hand, AJ told them “Sit, sit! We ordered you a coffee. You still drink it black and strong, right?” he asked, taking his own seat once Brian had.

 

Howie sat down, still staring. “Yeah. I…yeah.”

 

“I think we’ve flustered him, love.” AJ said teasingly, looking to Brian. When he turned back, though, his face turned serious. He brought a hand up, moving it across the table to reach down and take hold of one of Howie’s hands. He rested their joined hands on the table. “God, D, I am sorry. About all of this. I’m so sorry I couldn’t let you know sooner that we were ok.”

 

“We hated having to worry you guys.” Brian chimed in.

 

Their words broke the dam holding Howie’s back. He glanced around him, making sure no one was sitting too close. Then he let his questions fly forth. “What the hell is going on? You two head out for personal time without guards and then the next thing we know we’ve got FBI at the hotel asking us questions about you, Age, and then they found out Bri was with you and wanted to know about him. They searched your house. Questions both your parents. Questions us. It’s been two months since we’ve heard from you guys. We were scared every day that you were dead somewhere…”

 

AJ held up a hand to cut Howie off. “Woah, woah. Slow down a little, D.” He put his hand down and took a small sip off his coffee. “I set this up today because I knew you guys had to be just terrified and we couldn’t do that to you. You were the only one I could think of who would be slick enough to pull off what was needed to keep this secret. We haven’t done this earlier because it wasn’t safe earlier.”

 

“Not safe? What is going on, Age?”

 

The couple exchanged a look before AJ turned back to look at Howie again. His chocolate eyes looked so sad for a moment that Howie felt his questions dry up. AJ’s voice was soft as he spoke, pitched low so it couldn’t he heard by anyone else. “There’s a lot I can’t tell you, D. If you knew, you have no idea the risk it’d put you in. I can tell you that, when I was younger, I got into some really heavy shit. Like, really heavy. I thought I’d gotten out of it, but apparently I was wrong.”

 

“Bad enough for the FBI?”

 

“The FBI is the least of my worries.” AJ admitted. He shifted his gaze to the window, staring down at the streets. For a moment all Howie could think was how different AJ looked. His face was clean shaven, his hair slightly long. Enough so that he had it pulled back in a stubby little ponytail on the back of his head. Brian was the one who looked the most drastically different. His hair was cut way shorter than ever and dyed brown. Even his eyebrows were brown, as well as the small goatee he had growing. The changes were crazy for Howie to see, let alone adjust to. He could barely get his brain past the fact that they were sitting there talking!

 

Shaking his head, AJ looked back over at him. “There are some people I knew, people I got mixed up with, that taught me how to do some really bad things, D. Really, really bad. I did them for a while. Now that I tried to back out, they’re trying to, well…they’re trying to kill me. Us.” He looked over at Brian. “Us.”

 

Kill them? Howie wanted to laugh it off. He wanted to believe that AJ was joking with him. There was no way that someone wanted to kill AJ and Brian. This was just some insane joke. Right? “You’re kidding me.” He finally said.

 

Another sigh slid past AJ’s lips. He shrugged his jacket off, rolling a sleeve up and sticking his arm out. There was a shiny scar there that looked like it wrapped the side of AJ’s arm. He found himself afraid to ask what it was. As AJ put on his coat again, he gave Howie the answer. “That happened the day we disappeared. Someone shot me as I was getting in a car. I just happened to turn enough that it hit my arm.”

 

“Someone shot you?” Howie squeaked. He checked around them again. “Are you kidding me?” He whispered.

 

This time Brian was the one to move, lifting up his shirt to show Howie a puckered scar on his left side. “Just recently they shot me as we were out in public. They also killed a friend that was with us.” Brian said softly. “AJ had to dig the bullet out of me or I could have bled to death.” He dropped his shirt back down and met Howie’s stare eye for eye. “I know this is insane to believe, D, but we felt you deserved to know some of what was going on. That you deserved to know we were alive.”

 

“What….I mean, Jesus.” Howie put his elbows on the table and buried his head in his hands for a moment. “What are you guys doing? Are you leaving the country? Going to hide out somewhere?”

 

“Already done that.” AJ said. He sounded a little raspier than normal. Usually that meant that his emotions were close to the surface. “They still found us. We can’t hide. No matter where we go, they’ll hunt us and they’ll find us.”

 

Brian nodded. “He’s right. We’ve got to end this on our terms, not theirs.”

 

“That’s why we’re back in the states. Just, before we did anything else, I had to at least try to let you know that we’re ok. That we’re alive.” AJ’s gaze drifted toward the window again, his voice trailing off. “Well, hell, good squad is outside. That’s our sign to run. Can’t afford to run into them, now can we?”

 

The three friends rose, moving to share a group hug. Howie squeezed them both, emotion tightening his throat. “You two be safe.” He whispered to them.

 

“Love you.” AJ murmured in one ear as Brian spoke in the other “I love you, D. Take care.” When they pulled back, Brian gave him his old, shy smile. “If you can, next time you see them, would you let Kev and Nick know we’re ok?”

 

“Discreetly.” AJ added in. “Your whole damn house is bugged. Everyone’s house is.”

 

“Alex…”

 

AJ waved a hand. “I know, I know. We gotta go.” He darted forward, embracing Howie again. “God, I love you, man. You take care.” And with that, the two were gone, taking off to the elevator. Howie grabbed his coffee cup and moved a few booths down, thankful that the place was pretty much empty. A waiter came over, offering to get him anything else. He ordered a cinnamon roll as he watched the elevator doors close on Brian and AJ right as the two FBI agents came up the staircase.

 

As the waiter disappeared, Howie picked his cup up, taking another drink. He pretended surprise when the two agents walked toward him. “What’re you two doing here?”

 

“Where are they?” One agent asked.

 

“Who?”

 

“You know who. Where are they?”

 

Howie furrowed his eyebrows. “What the hell are you talking about?”

 

“I know you were meeting them here. You deliberately lost us back there. Why else if not to meet up with your friends?”

 

Humor had Howie’s lips quirking as he sat back in his seat. “Gee, couldn’t be because I found it annoying to be followed as I shop? I do believe I protested this detail of your from the start. You told me at first that it was because of my safety, but I told you then, I don’t fear him. Your presence is an unnecessary annoyance to me. So, I sought some free time.”

 

Rising, he walked over to where the waiter was bringing his cinnamon roll. “Box that up for me, would you?” He asked. “I’ve suddenly found the company here to be a little unsavory.”

 

As he paid for his item and took his box, Howie turned to look at the agents. “You’ll come to find out, not a one of us guys likes being followed all over the place. You’ll also find that years of evading security guards have made us pretty sharp. This won’t be the last time you ‘lose’ me, and for no more sinister purpose than the fact that your presence annoys the ever loving hell out of me. Now, have a good day.” That said, he turned and headed down the stairs, a smile on his lips and his heart soaring. AJ and Brian were alive!