HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!
Title: Hide In Plain Sight 16/?
Author: Red (redfirewitch@yahoo.com)
Disclaimer: When all that surrounds you, are secrets and lies and fanfiction.
Dedication: To 'My Bestest Internet Friend' (patent pending)!!! :D
Note: I know I've been telling some of you that I wanted to finish up HIPS by 2000. Once again, the Princess of Procrastination has prevailed and lived up to her title. ;p There's a new dateline. I'm going to try and finish this monster up by Jan 8. Wish me luck!
**
Justin sat down on the steps that led from the upstairs rooms to the kitchen. JC had came through this very place just an hour ago, sneaking past them and running away from him...them again. Always had to do things his way. His screwed up way! For six years he did things his way. Kept secrets. What had he said earlier? No more secrets! The fucked up liar!
From the moment they had found out that JC had ran away, Fields and the rest of the security team had been trying to find him. They had sat down and poured through the letters hoping to find out where Phillip was and where JC went in search of him. However, whatever clue was in the letters, was not obvious to them.
The letters had all been delivered among the personal mails that had been sent to the house the day before. No one had suspected that JC had received more threats. What they didn't understand was why he had kept them to himself. The threats in the other letters were more personal playing on JC's guilt. The description of Liam's death were vivid portraying it as a lonely and painful death. The words were meant to hurt JC as much as possible. Justin could only imagine what it must have done to JC to read those words.
There were some references that they couldn't understand however.
//Liam would still be alive if he was still snorting up coke at Marty's but too bad he had to meet you and get royally screwed, eh Joshy boy?//
Elli surmised that JC could perhaps have caught something in the letters that they couldn't. Elli was especially intrigued by the mention of names of places. Marty's was one of them but to pinpoint exactly where this was, was going to take some research and thinking. At the moment, Elli and his team were checking out many leads to see which one led them to JC.
"Justin?"
Lance came into the kitchen and stood in front of Justin. "Are you ok?"
Justin just snorted in reply.
"Ok, stupid question. Look, we have people looking for him. Mr. Fields has contacted some of his cop friends to look out for JC's jeep. They'll find him."
"And then what?"
"And then we..."
"Get him into therapy. Or better yet. Just commit him to a bloody asylum! The bastard belongs there!"
"Justin!"
"I am so sick and tired of him, Lance. I don't care anymore!"
"You don't mean that!"
"I do! If he shows his face here again, I'm kicking him out! I don't need him! He just screws up all our lives!"
"If you really don't care, why are you crying?"
"Tears of joy!" Justin spat and turned away.
Lance sighed and leaned against the counter. "I know this is hard for you. I understand that not being able to reciprocate the feeling that JC has for you is hard."
"No you don't understand, Lance. How the hell can you when I myself am so confused?"
"Then tell me. Make me understand because right now I'm also confused as shit trying to comprehend how all this happened. Joey was so pissed off that he left to cool down. Chris is too quiet. It's like I don't know you guys at all anymore!"
Justin remained silent.
"The group is falling apart, Justin. If you don't talk it out, you're going to fall apart too. Just like JC."
"And it would be my fault." Justin whispered.
"No it won't. You can't love to order. You told the truth and that is what matters."
"No, I didn't."
Lance frowned. "What?"
"I should have told him but I didn't know. I didn't know before. But now, knowing he's out there. That he has gone to look for Phillip. That I may never see him alive. God! I hate him for doing this to me! I could have told him if only he wasn't so fucking impatient. I hate him for not giving me the time. Why couldn't he just give me some time? I hate him but I just want him back safe." Justin stared at the wall as he spoke as if in a daze.
Lance was confused by Justin's words when suddenly it hit him. "Justin, do you love JC?"
Justin closed his eyes and shook his head. His answer came in a hiss. "Yes. I love that bastard!"
**
It's funny how the mind works when it's desperate. What you never see the first dozen of times you look at it, becomes startling clear when you are grasping at ends. It was right there in the letters. The answer. The letters were all postmarked in Orlando and just one day before they were delivered. Which meant that they were sent from nearby. Marty's.
JC thought back to when he had first heard that name. >From Liam. He had been teasing Liam about watching MMC and was even more surprised by another confession.
It was a warm Sunday afternoon. They sat cuddled up on the couch, too lazy to move and not even wanting to. The radio played some orphic alternative music adding to the lethargy of the lovers. JC was laughing softly against Liam's chest. "Stop it!" Liam said, trying to fight back his own laughter. "I can't! This is priceless!" JC laughed. "It's not that big a deal, ok?" "Of course it is! You're like one of those groupies! But you were a MMC groupie!" JC laughed louder. "Stop it!" Liam said again, covering up JC's mouth to stop his laughter. "I should never have told you." JC stopped laughing, smiling widely. "Aww. Come on. It's cute and romantic. That you came all the way to Orlando just to see a live taping of MMC. Scary but cute." "For your information, I didn't come there JUST to see a taping of MMC. I was at Marty's and...." Liam trailed off losing his smile. JC looked up in question. "Go on? Marty? That your friend?" "Er...no. Just this bar near the docks. I was there to...er...pass some things to someone." "How long were you there?" "Just a day." "Wow. You went all the way there just to pass something? What did..." "I wasn't there just to pass something. I saw a MMC taping!" Liam interrupted cheerily. JC started laughing again. "Right. An MMC taping! So which show was it? You remember?" "You were singing Now and Forever. You looked so cute. I was seriously considering asking you for an autograph." JC smiled. "Why didn't you?" "What. And make you think I'm some crazy loon?" Liam asked with a grin. "Well as long as it is me that you're crazy about, I wouldn't mind." JC said and kissed his boyfriend. ~~~~~ Present ~~~~~ 'Well look who's crazy now, Liam.' JC said to himself as he approached the docks. It was a long shot but something told him that this was where his nightmare would end. The place was rather quiet and deserted. The area had obviously seen better times. The sun was just beginning to set. JC touched the gun hidden beneath his jacket once more and walked on. Marty's was situated near the far end of the dock. It looked like any other run down establishment. A few shady looking men stood outside, talking among themselves. As JC approached the bar, they stopped and stared at him. His clean, groomed appearance was an obvious contrast to how everyone there looked. But the desperation in his eyes were familiar to them and they left him alone. JC entered the bar and looked around, searching for the familiar face of his nightmares. He then approached the bat-tender, a fat guy puffing away on a cigarette as he talked to another man. "Is Phillip here?" JC asked deciding to take the direct approach. The man looked at him with a frown. "Don't know no Phillip. Beat it." JC reached into his pocket, past the gun, and pulled out a twenty. "Is Phillip here?" The man saw the money. "How he look like?" "Dark hair, brown eyes, has a scar on his nose. Dresses well." "No one dresses well here, boy. Except for you," he said with a sneer. "And that other guy who came here a week ago. Dressed like a fucking GQ model and had that air about him. Remember him, Duke?" the other man added. Duke laughed. "Oh yeah. Charlie wanted to beat him up because he looked like a fag!" Both men laughed. JC stared at Duke with no trace of emotion. Duke stopped laughing and grabbed the money. "But yeah, might have seen a guy with a scar on his nose around here. Comes here once in a while to buy some coke." JC knew that he wasn't referring to the soda. He just nodded and walked out of the bar. Duke called out before he left. "Hey, be careful there, boy. Don't let Charlie catch you either!" JC heard the roaring laughter as he walked towards the pier. He knew what he had to do. He just had to wait around for a while. Phillip would come here again if this was where he got his drugs. Then he could do what he came there to do. With some luck, maybe everything could end tonight. JC leaned against one of the posts and watched the bar and waited, with his hand resting on the gun. ** Justin was withdrawn after confessing both to himself and Lance that he loved JC. Having finally faced the truth he became increasingly agitated and worried. And having Matt call him didn't help either. Lynn had answered all the calls that had come to house from concerned friends. She had spent hours on the phone with JC's parents, trying to explain to them why was it that their son had never told them anything. Karen couldn't stop crying. Both JC's parents and siblings were on the earliest possible flight to Orlando. One of the many other phone-calls had been from Matt. It had taken Lynn a while to realize who Matt was and she anxiously asked Justin if he wanted to talk. Justin knew that he had to end it with Matt but felt that this wasn't the right time. He took the call. "Hi Matt." "Justin? Baby, how are you? You never called me. Are you still angry with me?" "No. Things have just been very crazy around here." "With JC's mess." Justin reigned in his temper. "JC didn't ask for this, Matt." "Right. Fine. I don't want to fight again, Justin. I just...I want to see you." "I can't go anywhere now, Matt." "Then I'll come there." "That's not a good idea." There was a minute of silence. "Are we over, Justin?" Justin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I can't do this now, Matt. JC's missing and he's in trouble." "Of course. It's always JC." Pause. "Why is he missing?" "He went in search of Phillip." "What? You mean he knows where this Phillip guy is?" "We think he does." "And he going after him on his own?" "Yes. That's why we are trying hard to find him." Justin explained. "Look, Matt, I know this isn't fair to you but..." Matt sighed. "It's ok, Justin. I know he's your best friend and...look, just take care ok. I'll call you again. Or maybe you can call me?" Justin was surprised by Matt's concern. "Thanks Matt. I promise I'll call you once this is all over." "Ok, bye. I love you." "Bye." Justin said and hung up the phone. He exhaled and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Matt." ** It was him. JC felt his heart rate accelerate when he saw Phillip Rondall enter Marty's. The three hour wait had paid off. He looked the same as he did six years ago, with his tailored clothes and beady eyed gaze. He stood outside the bar for a few minutes, talking to some men. Then he handed over some cash and covertly pocketed a packet. Then with a salute, Phillip turned and headed back the way he came from. JC began to follow him. In his mind, he kept telling himself that he wasn't crazy. Phillip was real. That mantra ran through his mind right until he saw Phillip enter another decrepit building just a few blocks away from the docks. JC smiled and removed the gun from inside his pocket. ** They were all gathered in the living room again. It was late at night and still there was no news of JC. The police found his jeep abandoned near a bus-station so they figured that he had taken a bus somewhere. Elli was working on other leads. It amazed everyone to know the range and reach of Elli's contacts. Despite his brash demeanor, there was no question in anyone's minds that he was the best man for the job. Elli entered the room where the four remaining members of Nsync, Lynn, Paul who had came back home from his business trip, and a few of their bodyguards were waiting. He sat down and asked that everyone do so too. They did as he asked and waited in anticipation of information. "Alright. First the phone-call. We traced the phone-call to a public phone nearby. So that is a dead end." Elli said. Everyone slumped visibly. They had been hoping that the phone call could have provided some lead. "How about the letter?" Chris asked. "We managed to lift some fingerprints from the first letter. The others only had JC's prints and other negligible prints, like the postman's and other postal workers' prints, on them. Whoever sent the letter was very careful not to leave prints. Unfortunately the fingerprints of the second person on the first letter, could not be matched to anyone in the police files." "What does that mean?" Lance asked. "That means that the person doesn't have a police record." "Woah. Which means it isn't Phillip Rondall right?" Joey said. "Which means that it wasn't Phillip who delivered the letter. It isn't his print." "That means it's another dead end. It could have been any man on the street who had delivered the letter." Paul stated. "No. We had a bit of luck. On a hunch, I contacted the house detective, John Carlson, of the hotel you were staying at that night when JC received the letter. Let's just say that your management did good work with their choice of hotels because security in that particular hotel is very tight too." "What do you mean?" Lance asked. "All employees of the hotel have to permit to have their fingerprints taken for their files before the can be employed by the hotel. This is so that any thefts in the hotel can be traced easily if one of the employees stole anything. Actually it is more so that they can prove that none of their employees would steal. So I asked Carlson to run the prints found of the letter through his files. There was a match." Everyone sat up in hope. "Who?" Lynn asked. "A bellboy named Jacob Hottenburg." "That the guy who's been terrorizing JC?" Joey asked. "Not exactly. He said that he was paid to deliver the letter. We conducted a polygraph test and he checks out." "So can he describe who paid him?" Paul asked. "No. The money was wired to him. He never met the person who sent him the money. The letter was sent to him by post." "So can we trace the letter?" Chris asked. "No. But we can trace the money trail given we have the right contacts. I should be getting the call any time." "Good. So we can catch the bastard." Joey said, with a hopeful smile. "It looks good. I just hope that JC was wrong, wherever he thought he could find Phillip." "Who would go through so much trouble?" Lynn asked, shaking her head. "Someone who really hated JC." Lance said, patting her hand. "Then it must be Phillip. He must hate JC for shooting him." Joey said. "Maybe." Elli said. "Do you think it could be anyone else?" Chris asked. "I've read the files on Rondall. He's a crook and a lowlife but being as vindictive as this isn't like him. He isn't blackmailing JC. He hasn't made any demands for money. Maybe because it wouldn't hold. So far, all this has done, is to cause emotional distress. So his motive is still a little hazy." Elli said. "Maybe he just gets off on making JC suffer emotionally or something." Lance said. "Maybe. Those letters. I'm sorry but they seemed almost too well written and poetic even. Especially when they decribe Liam's death. It's not something a low-life like Phillip could write. We'll just have to see." Just then, Elli's cellphone rang. Justin who had been quiet the whole time, jumped up from where he was seated. He looked at Elli in expectation. "Hello?" Elli answered his phone. ** JC entered through the main door of the run down apartment building, carefully and quietly. He heard Phillip whistling happily as he climbed up the stairs to his apartment. He slowly followed. Phillip reached his apartment and opened the door. Eager to get to his drugs, he didn't even bother to lock the door behind him. JC stealthily pushed through the door. He aimed the gun at Phillip's back. It was time to wake up from the nightmare. "So you are alive." JC said aloud. Phillip Rondall whirled around in shock, dropping his drugs on the floor. His eyes registered the gun and shone with fear. "You...how did you..." "You're going to die, you bastard. This gets finished now!" JC hissed. Then before he could pull the trigger, there was a sound behind him. He turned around in time to see a wrench heading straight for his head. Before he lost conscious, he saw the man who had hit him. "You...Justin..." JC lost consciousness. ** Elli Fields hung up the phone and turned to look at everyone standing in the room. His eyes were glittering with anger. "We traced the account. We know who sent the money to the bellboy." "Who did it?" Lynn asked worriedly. Elli turned and looked at Justin. "Matt Vance." Everyone turned to look at Justin. Justin just stood there frozen. ** There...so all is revealed! Those who hated Matt right from the start, congratulations!