The Quiet One -- Chapter 10

Chapter 10
After their little show, they'd bid farewell to the fans and were feeling good that they'd successfully gotten the word out to some of the diehard fans, those they saw every time at every show in New York. It felt good to be able to give them a little something special in return for their loyalty and they were loyal. Zac had gotten to talk to Chelsea again and had gotten her e-mail address from her. She'd told him that for years she had said he would take her to her prom. "You're kidding, right?"
It was usually Taylor who got such propositions, be it a date, marriage, whatever. "No, I'm not kidding, I wrote you in 1997 telling you!"   He grinned and she started to laugh. "Don't you remember?!"
"Oh yeah, you're that Chelsea! I'm gonna pencil you in for May of 2004, if there's a change, like, you fail your junior year or something, let me know."
"OK, now don't forget!" She shook her finger at him.
"Oh, I won't." Taylor and Isaac just watched and shook their heads. Zac could be very smooth when he wanted to be.
They stopped at Taco Bell on their way back to the hotel and ordered one hundred tacos at the drive-thru plus two with no meat for Jessica. She had heard it had noses, ears and other parts in it and she didn't care to eat it. Walker told the lady at the window they'd leave and come back in a half hour, if that would work and she was relieved and said, "No problem." He drove back to the hotel and dropped Jason and the boys off at the front, promising to return in a while with their dinner.

~~~~

After gorging themselves on corn, lettuce, cheese, and meat of questionable origins the boys were ready to call it a day. It had been their first day off in a while and they were ready to veg out. They got the OK from their parents to order a movie in their room and they decided on The Mummy. It was entertaining but Isaac couldn't keep his mind off the girl from Gadzooks. He decided to just do it and call Lee. Taylor and Zac watched him as he dialed the numbers. He stopped after six or so and glared at his brothers. "Can I help you all with something?"
"No, we're fine." Zac replied and he and Taylor looked at each other and big smiles broke out on their faces.
"Go ahead, don't mind us." Taylor said.
"Alright, what's it gonna take? Shoes, pants? What?"   Isaac really wanted them to leave, he didn't want to deal with his goofy little brothers if he was rejected and he didn't want them listening if he wasn't.
"Hmmmm, well, I already got the only cool piece of clothing you own. I think it's gonna take something else, right Zac?"
"Right." He replied.
"Whatever! Just get out of here, OK?" Isaac was wishing he were an only child right about now.
"Well, Zac said, "I am kinda hungry, those tacos just didn't cut it."
"God Zac! You ate like twelve!" Isaac said.
"So?! Do you want us gone or not?"
"Yeah."
"Tay, how much money do you have?" Zac asked.
Taylor began to empty his pockets.   "I've got... seventeen dollars... and eighty-nine cents. And a Dr. Pepper cap that's good for a free one."
"Well, I have two bucks left so I think Ike can spare some cash for his favorite brothers to go score some real food, don't you Tay?"
Isaac looked at the two and decided it was worth whatever was in his pockets to be rid of them, if only for a little while. He pulled out his money. Twenty-two dollars and six cents. "Take Jason with you. Goodbye." And he picked up the phone again.

~~~~

Once they got out in the hall, they remembered they had forgotten their jackets. Zac turned to go back in. "Zac, if we go back in there he's gonna hurt us. We're not going far anyway."
"Alright, let's just go."
They made their way down the stairs. Eleven flights of stairs seemed like a lot but going down it was no problem. When they got to the first floor they could either go to the lobby or into the parking garage. Taylor looked at his watch—10:07. The lobby might still have girls, the parking garage looked kind of creepy. "Well, where to?" He asked Zac.
"Hmm, there's a fancy place that way..." He pointed towards the front of the hotel. "Or there's a Steak & Shake that way." He pointed behind them.
"Ooooh, a milk shake, that sounds good." Taylor was a milk shake junkie. "Besides, we might not have enough for the fancy place."
"Alright, Steak & Shake it is. You don't think we'll get mobbed , do ya?" Zac asked.
"Naw, things went pretty good today. I think we'll be OK." The two boys started making their way through the dark garage.
Once out the other side there was a small alley to go out a few feet and the restaurant was right there. The "seat yourself" sign was up and so they grabbed a table in the back. "Hey, should we eat here or get it to go?"
"I guess we better take it back, we didn't really tell Mom and Dad where we were going or anything." Taylor answered.
"Yeah, we'll get Ike a double and a chocolate shake."
"OK. Since he's buying and all." They started to laugh.
They got their food in what they considered to be record time. Two girls coming in recognized them and they had to hang out for a minute or two but told them they had to go or Ike's shake would melt.
They left and made their way back to the alley. The wind was blowing now. Taylor was nearly running and Zac was having trouble keeping up. "Jeez, it's getting cold out here!" Taylor said.
"Hang on man, your legs are about a foot longer than mine..."
"Hi guys." A man stepped between them and the doorway to the garage.
Taylor stopped abruptly and Zac plowed into the back of him. "Hi." Taylor said back.
"Where ya goin'?" The man asked.
Zac was getting irritated. "To go eat, so if you'll excuse us..."
"Sorry, but I need to speak to your brother here. OK?" He said and pointed at Taylor. "Why don't you go on up and he'll be up in a minute."
"Ha! I don't think so..."
"Do I know you?" Taylor asked him.
"C'mon Tay," and Zac pushed him so he would stop listening to the man. He just looked like a regular guy and Zac didn't have the patience for any more reporters or whoever tonight.
"Here!" The man said and he tossed something to Zac who just barely caught it since he was already carrying two bags of food from the restaurant. "Now, put those on your brother. Behind the back please."
Taylor looked over to see Zac holding a pair of shiny silver handcuffs. "You are out of your mind!" Zac was getting angry enough now to just deck the guy. He stepped toward the guy but stopped when he pulled a gun out of his jacket and pointed it at Taylor's head and said, "God, I wanted it to be Isaac. Somehow, I knew you'd be trouble Zachary."
Taylor spoke up now. "Who the hell are you? What do you want?"
"Shut up." He still hadn't taken his eyes off Zac. "Now, drummer boy, do as you're told and I won't have to blow pretty boy's face all over that wall there." Zac knew he meant business. He continued, "because y'know, I would so love to have an excuse..."
Taylor interrupted, "What the fuck is your problem?!" Taylor was sure he didn't know the guy. Now Zac was getting scared.
He sat down the bags and listened as the man snapped at his brother. "You are!"
Taylor suddenly stood up very straight and stepped toward the guy. He was at least 3 or 4 inches taller than him. Zac had to do something. He didn't like the way this was going at all.
"OK, OK!" he said as he came over to Taylor and the man backed up. He looked at the man and said, "What are you gonna do with us?"
"Well, Zac, if you both cooperate here, me and Taylor are just going for a little ride and you can stay here. If he gives me any crap though... I'll kill you and make him watch and vice-versa. I'm really hoping though, that you will be the one to try something so I can kill him. Now, times awasting. Do it." Zac stepped behind Taylor. He didn't know what to do, their lives were at stake here and he knew it.
"Zac," Taylor spoke without turning around. "It's ok, just do it. It'll be alright. Just do what he says." And he put his hands behind his back but kept his eyes on the man in front of him. Zac was having a hard time. His hands were shaking and he could barely see through the tears that had sprung to his eyes. He had never used real handcuffs before. These were different than the plastic ones that he and Mackie used to play cops and robbers in the backyard.
"Make them tight, we don't want the pianist to wiggle those delicate hands out of there." He said.
With a few clicks the cuffs were locked and Taylor winced because they were very tight. He could tell there was no way he'd get them off, he'd hoped Zac would be able to leave them loose enough to slip off.   Zac was now sobbing, "Please don't hurt him, please..." He stepped in front of Taylor and faced the man. "Do you want money? What do you want?"
"I don't want money, I want to talk to your brother about some things you wouldn't understand. Im not gonna kill him, although it's what he deserves." Now he looked at Taylor "You get in the car." And he pointed to a black sports car that was parked behind a dumpster. "And you get in there." He pointed to the large green container full of garbage.
"NO!" Taylor shouted. "You said you wouldn't hurt him!" He lunged at the man but with his hands cuffed behind him he wasn't much of a threat and the man shoved him back against the brick wall. "I'm not gonna hurt him unless you make me!" The two glared at each other while Zac could only watch.
The silence was broken when a woman stepped from the car. "Alright, let's all calm down here." She walked over to Zac and looked back to the man. "Jesus, I thought they were supposed to be kids. You're lucky I came along." She was fairly small but the gun she was holding made her look much bigger. "Which is which?"
"That's Zac and this is Taylor." He said back to her.
"This is the little one?! Christ! What does the big one look like? So, that is Taylor." She looked at him coldly. "I fail to see the attraction." She looked back at the man. "We are behind schedule." She turned her attention back to Zac. "Do you want to get your little ass in there or do you want me to do it for you?" He wasn't paying any attention to her, his eyes were locked on his brother and the man who looked like he hated him more than anything in the world.
Taylor was beginning to be afraid now for Zac as well as himself, his abnormally grown up fourteen year old brother looked like he was cracking up and he didn't blame him. "Zaccy, you gotta do what they say..." He hadn't called him that for years and he hoped to get his attention now with it. The woman's patience was wearing thin, they didn't have time for this, someone could come into the alley at any time. She grabbed Zac's shirt and tried to pull him to the dumpster but he wasn't budging. With tears running down his own face now, Taylor pleaded with Zac, "Please go on Zac, so they don't hurt ya, I couldn't take that."
"Tay..." He was cut short by the woman putting the gun against Taylor's temple.
"What's it gonna be, little man? Are you gonna get in there alone or accompanied by your brother's dead body?"
Zac didn't have a choice. "OK, I'm getting in. Can I just say bye?"
"You got 2 seconds." She said.
He walked over and hugged Taylor who couldn't hug him back. It had been a long time since he'd done that and he was afraid he'd never get to do it again. He buried his face in his brother's neck and sobbed. "Tay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."
Taylor laid his face against the top of Zac's head, "Don't say that... This is not your fault..."
"Time's up!" she pulled Zac away from him.
"I love you Zac." Zac would remember it as long as he lived. It would be the last thing Taylor ever said to him.

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