by Leah Spiegel
“I love the band,” a fan confessed. “It’s a shame that this makes the press when they are so musically talented.”
“Turn it off, please,” I moaned while looking out my side window so I could merge into the next lane. It was then that I saw what had been staring me in the face for weeks now. The window adjustment caught my eye because I vividly remembered snapping it off when I was a child. My eyes quickly took in the small glass center. For a few seconds all I could do was blink down at the small device in astonishment. OMG! He had wired the van! Could he just see us or hear us too? Snapping my eyes back to the road, I wondered how much my expression had given me away. Gripping the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned white and I realized this meant that we had to rethink everything. Quickly, I turned off at the next exit.
“If I’m going to be useful at all; I’m going to need some food,” I said in an unquestionable tone.
“Okay.” He pointed ahead. “There’s a McDonald’s.”
Trying not to panic, I drove the remaining quarter of a mile to the fast food joint. I pulled into a parking space and cut off the engine. Riley looked at me while seemingly confused that we weren’t going to the drive-thru.
“Are you coming?” I asked him like we didn’t have a friend to save. He must have thought that I had lost my mind.
“No, I’m okay,” Riley answered. “Just try to hurry, alright?”
Shutting the door, I began to walk away while pulling out my phone to text him. “Don’t ask any questions, just follow me into the restaurant.”
Riley came out of the van a second later with a confused expression across his face, but he followed behind me without saying anything. Pushing through the door, I turned around and confessed what I had just discovered.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive.” My eyes gazed along the counter where the employees were busy taking customers’ orders. “My father went nuts when I broke it.”
Rubbing my temples, I paced back and forth by the condiments. “He said ‘too many secrets’ in the forest.” I came to a halt. “He has been listening this entire time!” I thought about all the things we talked about in the van and it made my skin crawl.
“So that’s how he knows everything.” Riley’s shoulders caved. “And now he knows what we’re planning to do.”
“I would assume that yes, he does,” I ventured a guess.
“So he knows how to wire things,” Riley murmured. “And he’s in the back of the semi with the equipment that only the crew has access to. He was able to get backstage to reach Lizzie and you while going under the radar around everyone else.”
“You know this whole time I thought it was…what do you call him? Hampton, but now I think our guy is definitely a crew member, not part of security. You don’t get more inside than that,” he informed me.
“We need to call Hawkins and warn him,” I urged.
“No, you can’t.” Riley grabbed my arm and stopped me. “No one can see us coming.”
“Okay, here’s the deal,” he explained. “I could be wrong, but we’ve just killed ten minutes when we’re supposed to be racing to Lizzie’s rescue. I say we stick with the plan. It would only cause suspicion if we backed out of it now.”
“Okay.”
Riley laid out a plan. “If he’s crew then things will probably move smoothly to draw us into the venue. If things don’t move smoothly then you can call Hawkins.” He held up his phone. “I’ll text you if we need to talk again. Until then let’s keep talking about trying to find Lizzie while we’re in the van.”
“Okay.”
“Now buy a Big Mac.” He pointed up at the menu overhead. “And then I’ll go to the restroom so that Cyrus doesn’t start to become suspicious.”
“While you’re in the restroom, I’ll head back to the van and wait.” I squeezed his hand. “I’m so glad you’re here with me.” I smiled weakly. “I don’t think that I could have done any of this on my own.”
“You would have done what you needed to do,” Riley disagreed. “Don’t underestimate yourself.”
I wasn’t so sure, but appreciated the thought as I turned to get into line. Soon after, I pushed through the glass door with a small bag of food in my hand.
Crossing the busy parking lot, I looked warily at the back of the van. For the first time it didn’t feel safe or comforting. Knowing that Cyrus had somehow tampered with the van made me feel even more violated. Opening the driver’s side door, I got in and tried so hard not to focus on the small camera that I didn’t realize I wasn’t alone.
Startled, I jumped right out of my seat when Cyrus came up from behind me. Shoving my shoulder back down, he flung himself in the passenger side seat.
“Why don’t we go for a little ride, Joie?”
I went to reach for the door when he pulled out a gun and added, “Don’t be difficult.”
“How did you find us?”
“A tracking device.” He turned his head to look over at me, like, you really need to ask?
As if he was imitating Riley, he sprawled his legs out and I shuddered with the realization. “I don’t need Riley, so we either wait here for him,” he pointed his gun down at the van, “and he dies or we start our trip a little earlier today.” He pointed the gun at me.
Quickly, I put the van into reverse, but stole a glance in my rearview mirror.
“Oh, did I forget to mention that if he sees me with you, he’s a goner.”
With my foot on the gas, I floored it out of the McDonald’s parking lot.
“That’s much better, Joie. I knew you would want to protect Riley. He is your BFF after all.” He dramatically grabbed his chest with his free hand. “Now, let’s go to that farm Hawkins told you about. Why don’t I MapQuest it?” Cyrus offered. “Since Riley can’t be here to do it.”
The air caught in my throat as I felt the panic rise in my chest. God, he had been listening to us this whole time!
“Now, Joie, I’m sorry to butt in so to speak, but I couldn’t have you going back to the venue. No, no.” He shook his head. “Not with what I have planned. You would have ruined the surprise.” He waggled his finger at me. “And you know everyone likes surprises!” he said gleefully.
“You’re going to want to take exit 155.”
I took the exit like he instructed when my cell phone went off and I pulled it out of my pocket.
“Ah, ah, I don’t think so,” he warned with the gun aimed at me.
“Just putting it on silent,” I muttered before shoving it back in my pocket.
“Oh, poor Riley,” Cyrus pouted out his bottom lip. “He’s probably so worried.” Suddenly rubbing his hands together, he shouted brightly, “Oh well, moving on. Now let’s have a little fun,” he sang. “The hidden cameras see everything in the van, trust me.”
Oh, god. What was he planning on doing? He bent over to pick up Riley’s laptop and opened it so that it balanced on his knee. To my astonishment, he quickly typed in the password. I guess the cameras could see everything. “Now remember, you can’t see all the cameras, but they can see you.”
“Hello, America,” he said while staring ahead. “We are going to begin our exclusive interview with the real Lizzie McIntyre. So, will you please tell everyone your real name?”
“What are you doing?” I looked over at him in bewilderment.
“I’ll be asking the questions!” he yelled, startling me. “Your name!”
“Umm, Joie Hall.”
“What is your relationship with J.T. Hawkins? Romantic, friendship,” he listed.
I cleared my throat while looking out at the busy highway. I knew that Riley would call the police, but would they reach us in time?
He roughly grabbed the back of my neck and shoved me forward hard. “Answer me!” he roared.
“Romantic,” I stammered while regaining control of the van. Shit, this guy was crazy.
“That’s much better,” he announced. “So, how long have Hawkins and you been in
volved in this marketing ploy?”
The questions kept coming as I continued to steal glances in the rearview mirror, hoping for a miracle. Although I wanted him to keep talking, with all his focus on Hawkins and me, I was starting to fear for more than just my safety.
“You know, people just don’t seem to understand that this isn’t about the money for me unlike my accomplice in security.”
“What?!” My heart felt like it was suddenly lodged up in my throat.
“You didn’t know,” he said surprisingly. “That one of them was really working for me not Hawkins,” he said, placing his hand on his chest.
“That must feel really scary,” he said in a mocking voice. “Oh, and it’s not Hampton, like Riley suspects.”
It made my toes curl how effortlessly he used their nicknames. No one else ever seemed to understand my naming system for the bodyguards.
“He was right to suspect security; he came this close.” He made a smidge mark with his fingers. “Anyway, back to us. How about Lizzie and her criminal record?!” he said shockingly. “Hawkins would never understand, but we all know she is so oblivious. She must be the only person who can’t see that he’s in love with you.” He spoke in such a dismissive way.
Thinking this man was completely psycho, I stole a sideways glance at the grass divider near the highway below and contemplated how likely I was to survive such a jump?
“Oh, Joie, I wouldn’t think about running if I were you,” he said while aiming his gun at me. “Who would save Lizzie or don’t you care?” He sighed. “Her head is getting really big. I can hardly stand it myself.” He mockingly rolled his eyes. “Your mother might care though.” He made an effort to point his gun at me. “And we all know that you don’t want to upset your mother.”
A pang of guilt stabbed me with the mention of how awful we had been to Lizzie. God, where was he keeping her hostage? “All I have to do is click this little button,” he said animatedly. “And poof.” He smiled to himself. “She’s dead.”
“Don’t even think about hurting her,” I hissed.
“Oh,” he emphasized. “You care about her now. It’s kind of a little late for caring, don’t you think? Anyway, how about a game?” he proposed. “You like to play games, stupid little games; no tour buses, no backstage visits—so how about another foolish game?” he offered.
“First question, do you care about Lizzie more than, let’s say,” he looked up as his eyes searched then turned to me with a bone chilling smile, “Hawkins?”
The color drained from my face and I suddenly felt faint, but I wouldn’t answer him. “Now Joie, look into the camera and tell America,” he said sweetly like a parental figure, “tell us which one you care about most.”
My jaw clenched as I stared ahead.
“Joie,” he growled. “Tell us.” He grabbed my hair and jerked my head over. Screaming from the pain, the van swerved on the road. “Tell me which one!” The van vibrated as it ran over the warning track.
“Tell me!” he roared.
We were going to drive right over the hill if I didn’t answer him.
“Hawkins!” I screamed.
He released me and I suddenly started crying. “Oh, Joie, don’t cry,” he whimpered. “It’s only me here,” he cooed. “You see I don’t plan to air this little documentary until well after you’re dead. Can’t let Hawkins know yet.” He smiled sinisterly.
Tears fell down my face so hard and quickly that I could barely focus on the road. The only thing that kept me going was knowing that the longer he tormented me, the more time Lizzie had to live.
“Let’s see what Lizzie picked in our little game,” he said then looked down at the opened laptop. “Does she know that you’d be willing to let her die if it meant Hawkins could see another day?”
The laptop had a picture of Lizzie with her head hung down while crying. A hidden person put a gun to her head. She tilted away with a fearful expression across her face. Her hands shook as she flipped over the card in her lap.
There written in a shaky scribble was one name. “Hawkins.”
“Wow, good job, Lizzie,” he commended her. “You will live to see another question.” He exclaimed like a game show host before the screen blacked out on the laptop.
“Did Hawkins ever tell you why he looks so miserable all the time? Why he couldn’t write anymore?”
Turning to look at him, a feeling of horror overtook me. “You wired his bus?”
“America needed to know, they had a right to know,” he stressed. “Why Hawkins was so ‘cynical,’” he made quotation marks with his hands, “all the time.”
A sickening kind of shudder raced down my back because he was referring to my private conversation with Hawkins.
“You see, I’m not here for the ransom money, Joie. No, no, no.” He shook his head. “I believe Hawkins might have mentioned his brother was dead. How it was so tragic for him,” he said grimly. “How he allowed his brother to drive home drunk.” His jaw clenched. “He knowingly let his brother drive home drunk,” he leaned in to whisper with his hand cupped over his mouth. “That’s not going to do well for his ratings.
“He could have stopped his brother, but he didn’t,” he glared ahead. “And now my wife and daughter are dead too.” He turned to look at me intently. “He took the ones I loved from me and now I’m going to take the one he loves from him.”
Jerking my head towards him, I saw him looking at the dashboard. Knowing that he must have done something to the van, yet still not understanding, I followed his gaze. “Oh yes, you’re going to be reunited with your dead dad sooner than you thought.” He smiled sickly. “A happy little family reunion.
“It’s happening a little later then I originally planned.” He glared over at me. “Since someone had to be a hero the other night in the Escalade. You were so brave then. Are you feeling brave now?” He glanced down at dashboard again. “It’s funny how the brakes aren’t working anymore.”
Instinctively, I tapped on the brakes, but the van didn’t slow down.
Trying again, this time I rammed the breaks when Cyrus cried out, “WEEEE!” He held his arms up like he was on a rollercoaster ride. “It’s amazing how fast that brake fluid can leak. This is going to be so much fun now!”
“You’re going to willingly kill yourself?” I shot a look over at him.
“No, I have some friends waiting to pick me up.” He patted his belly while stealing a glance through the side window.
What did that mean, pick him up? “You’re just after me, right?” Oh, my god, what if he could reach Hawkins.
“Now, Joie, I don’t want to ruin the surprise for America.”
“Is Hawkins safe?!” I shouted again.
“Well, ask yourself this.” He smiled crookedly again. “How safe could he be when he has me as a member of his crew?”
“You’re a crew member?” The pieces were all starting to fall into place. “So Riley was right,” I whispered to myself.
“Of course I’m on the crew, but I’m not the only one involved,” he toyed with me. “I couldn’t have killed Monroe and planted his body all on my own, you know.”
Swerving around a few cars that had slowed down, I started to really panic. God, any minute we could crash into another car!
“So, who’s helping you?”
“Oh, goodie!” He clapped his hands together. “That sounds like a great game question! Don’t you think, America?” He looked down at the opened laptop. “Why don’t we phone a friend? Oh, I know, how about…Lizzie.” His face brightened. “Ah, Joie, try to focus on the road.” He pointed ahead.
Snapping my head forward, I swerved over before barely colliding into the back of an SUV. Gulping, I tried to take a deep breath and eased back for a moment in the seat. If I didn’t hold it together, I was going to end up killing myself.
“Oh, Lizzie,” Cyrus cooed as the image of Lizzie came up on the laptop again. “We have another question.”
Lizzie looked wild wi
th fear as a gun caressed her face. “Who do you think helped me from within Hawkins’ staff?”
“Is it Hampton?” My eyes darted from the road over to him.
“You and your nicknames,” he said happily. “I’m not much of a football fan, but I have watched a few Steelers’ games to see if they really resemble these guys.” He laughed. “Somewhere the real Casey Hampton is wondering why there’s a cop car outside his house.” He turned back to the image on the laptop. “No one knows these ridiculous nicknames besides you and your stupid friends.”
“Lizzie?” Cyrus prompted her.
She looked through her cards on her lap while whimpering. She held up a sign that read, “Woodley.”
“Oh no, I’m sorry.” He mockingly winced. “Let me tell you what you’ve won,” he announced in his game show voice. “A trip of eternal bliss, in heaven.”
“It’s Harrison.” It suddenly dawned on me. “That’s why he gave Lizzie such a hard time about her social. He wanted to leave her vulnerable with us in the van rather than safe with Warren.”
“Ohh, very good.” Cyrus grinned a flash of yellow teeth. “We need a tie breaker.”
Sighing in relief, Hawkins would at least find out the truth, even if I didn’t survive this nightmare. Now I needed to focus on helping Lizzie stay alive as I glared ahead at a sharp bend in the road up ahead.
Looking through my rearview mirror, I realized that the same semi-truck had been tagging us for the last several minutes. Was it behind us at the exit?
When I started to change lanes, Cyrus laughed out, “Faster, faster!” The semi had to swerve to keep up with us. The driver’s face was hidden by the rim of a low ball cap. The passenger wasn’t identifiable either, but the camera in his hand was.
I searched the image of Lizzie on the laptop. “You might not want to take your eyes off the road,” Cyrus warned. Looking up, I just had time to jerk the steering wheel from going over into a side ditch. Glancing over at the monitor, I had just enough time to catch Lizzie being jerked over by the sharp turn of the road too. She was behind me in the semi-truck! I refocused my attention back to the road when I felt Cyrus’s cold eyes sear into the side of my head. Had he noticed the double take?