Author's Note: I am now a different person after seeing BTR in concert! Wow...they were amazing in Atlanta! However, I am truly saddened to read that Kendall came down with Covid and can't perform tonight in NYC. That's exactly what NO ONE wanted to happen, after all the hard work and travel and the love they've lavished on the fans and vice versa. My prayers are going out for him and the rest of the boys for health and grace and peace of mind. Now, back to the story...um...and here's a good time to warn you again about adult language, tense situations and violence.
They all piled back in the car and James plugged his phone into the new charger right away. "Miranda?"
"James, I had no idea you could all sing like that," she said in a voice that wavered with exhaustion. "It was beautiful. It gave me so much hope."
"Oh, thank you," he said, giving a brief smile before focusing back on her terrible situation again. "I'm so sorry we didn't get to Taylor first." He would never forget how close they had been to getting to the boy first, only to watch him snatched while literally feet away.
"You tried and that means a lot," she said quietly, then whispered, "oh no. Don't say anything."
James sat up straight, instantly knowing what was happening. "Shut up," he hissed to Logan and Carlos who were still singing. They stopped instantly. "He's back!"
Kendall, alarmed, put an arm around James' shoulders and pulled him closer, leaning in to listen. James held the phone out between them, squeezing his eyes shut as Miranda started crying out.
"What...what do you want? Stop, please- NO!"
There was a horrible thud and a dragging sound. She was whimpering. What was he doing? James shuddered. Was he going to kill her?
"Oh my god," Kendall whispered soundlessly. He hated feeling so helpless. James found his hand and gripped it tight.
Finally, the man growled at her, "Who did you talk to?"
"No...no one..." she said weakly. "I don't even know what...what do you mean?"
"There were some punk-ass kids there trying to pick up your son. Why?"
Kendall and James looked at each other in shock. Had they just made things worse?
"I don't...I don't know," Miranda said hesitantly. "Maybe the police found my housekeeper's body. Maybe they're looking for-"
"No. We've got the police handled. It's not that!" The man took a deep, calming breath before changing tactics. "Here... I have something to show you. Come over to the window."
Miranda sniffed and took a sobbing breath as she followed his instructions, moving away from the phone. James was trembling so hard that only Kendall's tight grip kept him in his seat. He had one hand over his mouth, wanting to help Miranda so badly and knowing there was literally nothing they could do that would help. They had to sit in silence.
The men must have shown Taylor to Miranda because she suddenly started screaming at the man and fighting him. "Leave him alone! He's just a baby!" They could hear slaps and hits and then- the man retaliated. With just two hits, he silenced her.
James' vision started tunneling. It was almost word for word something his mother would say when she was trying to protect James from his dad. Blood drained from his face and he started to feel faint. Kendall noticed immediately, pushing him down so that James' head lay in his lap. He pulled the phone away and put it against his own ear.
The man was talking again. "You've seen him and now you know he's okay...so far. His well-being depends on your cooperation." Kendall breathed a sigh of relief that Taylor was okay so far. But Miranda...
"Yes, yes. I'll cooperate," she said in a small voice laced with pain.
"Good. Then tell me where your husband wanted to meet you. He called it PJs, but there is no PJs."
"Yes, there is," she protested, but then shrieked in pain. Kendall squeezed his eyes shut, shocked by how much he wanted to kill this guy with his bare hands right now. He sucked in a breath and fought off tears. James was crying enough for both of them right now, not that he seemed aware of it.
Carlos was doing his best to help, leaning over the seat and silently rubbing James' arm and shoulder. Logan was watching with concern, catching glimpses of them from the rearview mirror. He was ready to drive whenever they figured out where to go next.
Kendall was the only one still able to hear the man continuing his campaign of terror. "Explain. Or I get my associate to shoot your son." The bastard cocked his gun next, probably threatening her with it right now.
"No, please...please, I'll tell you," Miranda sobbed. "It's a place by the beach called The Hangout. The owner is a friend named Paula Jane so we called it PJ's. Please, please. He'll be there waiting on me...Please...don't hurt Taylor...please."
"Glad to see you're finally cooperating. Now stay here and be good while we go and pick your husband up. If you try anything, the kid dies."
The loud footsteps clomped away, the lock on the door slid home and Kendall went limp, exhausted. Carlos started to ask a question, but Kendall held up a finger telling him to wait.
"Miranda?"
There was a rustling of fabric and the sound of labored breathing. "James? Did you hear that?"
"It's Kendall. We both heard. Are you okay?"
She took in a shaky breath. "They have Taylor here and he looked so scared. My poor baby," she said, crying quietly.
"I'm so sorry. We're going to try to figure out a way to help, okay?"
"...okay," she finally whispered, sounding too exhausted to hope.
Kendall pulled James up and looked at his blank, pale, tear-stained face. He wasn't responding at all. Finally Kendall gave Carlos a nod and the boy clapped loudly right in James' face.
James jumped and blinked a few times.
"Are you okay?" Kendall asked him, watching him carefully. James nodded, and it was obvious when he remembered what had just happened. His wide eyes found Kendall's as he clutched his arm tightly.
"Is she okay?"
"She sounds pretty rough. Her husband is at a place called the Hangout. They threatened Taylor to make her talk."
"How do we keep making this worse?" James buried his face in his hands.
"It's all right," Kendall said automatically, patting his back.
"I know where the Hangout is," Logan said right away. "Camille loves that restaurant. It's about ten minutes away."
"Okay, good," Kendall said, putting the phone back up to his ear. "Miranda, Logan knows where The Hangout is and we can get there in ten minutes."
"Oh! Kendall...I want you to so badly, but these men are dangerous." James leaned over to listen as well and Kendall held the phone out for him to hear. "You have to stay out of the way or they'll hurt you, too." Her quiet sobs broke Kendall's heart. They had to help her.
Kendall put a bracing hand on James' arm before talking on the phone again. "We'll get your husband and he'll help us figure this out. Okay, Miranda?" She didn't say anything in return. "Just sit tight."
Kendall muted the phone for a moment. "Let's do it," he said, catching Logan's eyes in the rearview mirror. "We're the only hope she's got."
Carlos nodded, focused. "This is so Star Wars right now. And she's Princess Leia."
James tried to smile, but couldn't.
"So then I should drive to the Hangout?" Logan checked with all of them. "All agreed?"
"Done," Carlos said.
"Done," James whispered, his eyes wide.
"Done," Kendall agreed.
"And done. Okay, then...I'm driving," Logan said, pulling out of the parking lot.
Kendall sat back and sighed. "I better tell Mom what's going on."
Carlos whipped around. "You're going to tell Mama Knight that we're chasing bad guys?"
"Wait- what do you mean, chasing bad guys?" Logan asked, alarmed.
"She's gonna' kill us," James said, looking worried.
"Look, we're not chasing bad guys," Kendall said. "We're trying to...beat the bad guys and get there first."
"Again? How is that better than the last time?" Logan asked tensely.
"Because this time we get there first and get away before they get there. Of course that's better."
Carlos frowned. "Maybe I should call Papi. He would know what to do."
"He's too far away to help, Carlos," Logan pointed out. "And that would drive him crazy."
"He'd get on the first plane out here," James said with a small smile.
"Which would be kinda' awesome...but too late. I'd better not call," Carlos decided, "but I sure do want to." James patted his shoulder, looking more like himself now.
"When this is over, we'll be grounded until Easter," Logan warned.
The other guys all groaned, imagining how miserable their lives would be going forward.
"But we have to help her, guys," James said quietly.
The car went silent until Kendall finally called his mom. Logan was right, Mama Knight was not happy with them at all, but she understood why they wanted to help Miranda. She just thought they should call the police first.
"Yeah, but Mom, the guy said they had the police 'handled,'" Kendall mused. "I'm not sure what he meant, but I don't think we can count on them to help."
"What?" Logan's wide brown eyes met his in the rearview mirror. Then he pulled off at the next exit.
"Logan!" Carlos burst out. "What are you doing?"
"This isn't the way to PJ's, is it?" James asked, staring at Logan.
All of them were looking at him now, noting his set jaw, clenched teeth and quick, angry movements. And they all readied themselves for a blow-out of epic proportions. Logan didn't usually get mad, but when he did it was one you usually remembered for a long time afterwards.
James took his phone back from Kendall and kept it muted; this was going to be bad and Miranda didn't need to hear it.
The car skidded to a halt in front of a dilapidated gas station. Logan jumped out of the car, the others following a bit more slowly. They stared at each other over the hood as Logan got himself properly wound up and started talk-yelling at them.
"Let me get this straight: the bad guys have taken two hostages. They have guns and have actually shot and killed one person just earlier today. However, because this woman we don't know accidentally called James, we are going to march into a restaurant where the bad guys are heading WITH THEIR GUNS and try to STOP the bad guys from taking another hostage?"
James crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at Logan. "It's like you just got here or something. Yes. Yes. And YES! If we don't help Miranda, she will get KILLED and so will Taylor and newsflash: I will feel HORRIBLE FOREVER because I could have stopped it and I DIDN'T!"
Logan smacked his forehead with one hand and turned to Kendall. "Does this make sense to you? Should we really endanger ourselves because James got a phone call and has a hero complex?"
"A hero complex? HERO COMPLEX? It's called a protective nature, Logan. And I happen to know you like it when I'm protecting you," James sniped and stalked off, muttering under his breath. Behind him, the guys continued to argue, but Kendall would win; he always did.
James took a deep breath and unmuted the phone. "We just had to stop for Logan to take care of something, but we'll get there soon."
"James. Oh, James..." Miranda's voice was so soft James could barely hear it. "I know I'm asking too much of you. You've tried so hard."
"Yeah...maybe, but I haven't actually managed to help at all. Everything has gone wrong and you're...you're still stuck there."
"That's not your fault, James. I'm so sorry for putting you in danger and dragging you into this."
"I don't care," James said stubbornly. "I believe things happen for a reason and I was meant to get this call so that instead of wasting my time today being dumb, I could actually help someone- help you."
"You have helped so much. Please. I only have to ask you to do one more thing and then get away from all of this as fast as you can. All right?"
"Okay."
"Just get to The Hangout and hand your phone to my husband and then walk away. That's all you need to do."
James closed his eyes and nodded. "Okay, that's what I'll do. We'll be there in like, five minutes."
"Thank you, James," she whispered, sounding beyond exhausted.
He jogged back over to the car and interrupted what was probably another incredibly smart and logical argument from Logan. "Listen: all she wants is for me to hand the phone to her husband and then leave. Can we please get there so I can do that?"
Logan stared at him. "And then we leave without your phone?"
James hesitated. "I can get a new one. I'm sure they'll destroy that one." He climbed in the backseat, feeling like the issue was settled. Carlos and Kendall climbed in next. Then Logan, still looking unsure.
"Okay. So you go in alone, hand off the phone and we leave?" He turned around to give James a questioning look.
"Why James, though?" Kendall asked. "Let's think about this."
James glared at him. "Because she's on my phone and she asked me to help her!"
Kendall gave him that very practical look that meant whatever he said next was going to suck. "But you're very emotionally involved and you tend to panic-"
"And what- you're made of stone? I'm your best friend! I've seen you panic plenty of times!" When Carlos nodded, James gestured to him as if to say, "See?"
"Maybe I have, but not as often as you."
James scowled. "Gee, thanks for being so honest. Must be nice to know EVERYTHING."
"Yeah, it's nice," Kendall said bitingly, the stress finally getting to him. "You should try it some time."
"Oh yeah? Yeah? Well here's something you don't know: I'm not LETTING you go in there. It's too dangerous." James summed up, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Ohhhhh. But it's not dangerous for you?" At this, Logan and Carlos turned to watch the argument. Kendall raised his eyebrows higher. "Are you wearing Kevlar?"
"Just start the car and drive, Logan," James snapped. "No, Kendall, I'm not wearing Kevlar which is FINE because I'm just walking in and handing my phone to someone. No bullets involved."
"So it's just a hand-off," Carlos summed up, shrugging. "Then I could do it."
"NO!" all three of his friends yelled.
"Why are you all yelling like that? You don't think I could do it?"
Logan and James floundered, but Kendall summed it up easily. "Of course you could do it. We just want you to stay safe."
Logan picked up the argument. "These guys have guns and beat people up for fun. They aren't nice, Carlos."
Carlos scowled. "I'm just as tough as James is, tougher probably because I don't care what happens to my hair."
James stared at him, betrayed. "You can care about your hair and still be tough, Carlos. I am a perfect example of that. Now, Logan, drive us to The Hangout or I'm getting out and walking."
Logan exchanged a long look with Kendall. "Fine."
"James..." Kendall said, but gave up before even trying to persuade him.
"So you're letting him go in alone?" Carlos asked in a defeated tone.
"They don't have a choice, Carlos," James said in a conciliatory tone, patting him on the shoulder. "Miranda asked me to do it and then get to safety. So...that's what I'm going to do."
He expected another argument, but the other guys were silent, contemplating the coming confrontation and the small likelihood of things going perfectly. Funny, but he was expecting them to argue more.
Camille answered her phone on the fourth ring, surprised to hear Lucy on the line. "So Camille, are you watching the news on channel twelve right now?"
"Of course not. I'm studying a script for an audition tomorrow. Why? Are you watching the news?"
Lucy watched the screen in shock. "Yeah, and the guys are on it. They apparently sang a Christmas song and some customers bought them a car charger. Did you know they were doing an appearance today?"
"No, not at all," Camille said as she got the tv remote and flipped on the television. "I would've gone to see Logan sing. He's so cute in a Santa hat."
The news journalist was interviewing a tall, dark-skinned girl with the name tag Sylvia on her apron. "It was absolutely not a publicity stunt. There was this one guy, the dark, tall, sassy one-"
"Oh, that was James!" a young blonde girl in the crowd called out. The camera cut over to include her in the shot. "Hi!" She waved to the camera. "I love BTR!"
The camera cut back to Sylvia. "Anyway, James was on the phone with someone and his phone was dying and he was like, totally dramatic about it."
"He was," the blonde called out. "He had this cute little worried look on his face-"
The camera cut back over to the crowd and caught the brunette next to her who jumped in next. "And did you see him leap that table?"
"YES! He jumped like five feet over this table because he was in a hurry-"
"To get the charger that the short, cute one-"
"That's Logan!"
"Are you saying Carlos isn't cute?" The brunette frowned.
"NO! They're both adorable."
"Just checking."
The camera moved back to Sylvia, who had her hands on hips and one eyebrow raised. "Excuse me, this is my story. Anyways...James needed the charger and he kept yelling how he was going to 'lose her' if he couldn't charge it and he just seemed so...like, desperate."
"And didn't Kendall say it was life-and-death?" The camera switched back over to the enthusiastic fans.
"Oh god, yes," said the brunette, "with this seriously serious look on his face, like James' call was super important to him, too."
"Yeah, that was kinda' weird, but cool, because everyone knows they're as close as brothers."
"Or closer..."
They collapsed into giggles.
"But the call," the journalist said, and the camera switched to him briefly. "It was on James' phone and they bought a charger and saved the call?"
Sylvia looked slightly less disgruntled. "They didn't buy it, a customer bought it for them. And yes, they didn't lose the call and everyone cheered, like it was a freaking happy ending in a movie! Which means that, of course, they had to sing next." She rolled her eyes.
"And sing they did! Here's a short clip from a bystander's phone," the journalist said as the camera switched to a shot of the boys in a huddle as they got the right note and then turned, smiling to the crowd.
Camille watched the boys perform with a smile, suddenly remembering Lucy when she heard words coming from her phone. "Oh, sorry! What did you say?"
"Doesn't that strike you as strange?" Lucy asked.
"Maybe. I've never heard James that worried about losing a girl's phone call. Plus, he always charges his phone because Logan always reminds him."
"Right? Maybe we should call the guys and ask what's going on," Lucy suggested.
"Nah. We can corner them when they get home and get the details. It's strange, though...I thought they were all going to be here at the Palm Woods all day today. I wonder what changed?"
"You can do this, James," Kendall said in a low voice.
It was five minutes later and they had made it to The Hangout. James was hesitant to get out of the car; the danger suddenly seemed much more real.
Kendall continued, "Just do exactly what you said: go in, find Miranda's husband and hand the phone over, then get out. Right?"
James had to look in Kendall's eyes one last time. What he saw there was faith and a reassuring confidence that James could do this. Which probably meant that he could.
"If you're scared, you could wear my helmet," Carlos offered, holding it out.
"Thanks, 'los," James said, touched. "But...if I'm wearing it that means that you're not and that sounds like a bad idea. Plus, it would totally wreck my hair."
"I figured," Carlos said, popping it back on his head.
"James, come right back out, okay?" Logan asked seriously. "Don't mess around or I'll send Carlos in after you."
James half-laughed and opened the door, feeling better now. His friends were the best. He took a deep breath, raised his chin and went through the chorus of Windows Down in his head. That always pumped him up. Whatever confidence he lacked, he faked. James was pretty good at that.
The Hangout was a dive of a restaurant, situated across the street from the beach. It had a glorious view of the ocean from the second floor patio and plenty of seating. The first floor was noisy, with a large bar area featuring five televisions. Beside the bar was a wide wooden staircase that led to the second floor patio.
Miranda said her husband would probably be at their favorite table on the second floor, but to be certain, James checked the first floor, too. The noise and people seemed comforting, like nothing bad could happen down here. But eventually James forced himself to climb the stairs.
It was much quieter here and James easily found Miranda's husband, sitting at a table near the corner. Only one other table across the room was occupied by a couple.
James swallowed hard and spoke into his phone. "So I see a muscular guy in a black ballcap and a hoodie. I can't see his hair but he has blue eyes, or maybe gray. Is that him?"
"Yes. Oh thank you, James! Yes, just take him the phone and then get out of there. I'll find a way to repay you one day."
"Sounds great," James said as he approached the table. "Are you Daniel Hadley?"
The man looked up, surprise in his light gray eyes. "Who are you?" Daniel looked to be in his 40s and was very polished-looking for a guy in a hoodie.
"I'm James, James Diamond. I have your wife on the phone and she needs to speak with you." He held out the phone and the man snatched at it, his eyes holding James' own for a long moment before speaking to Miranda. Then his attitude and tone changed.
"Miranda, baby? Are you okay?" he listened with growing fear and horror. "Oh my god..."
"I have to go," James forced himself to say, then turned to leave as he had promised. But he didn't get very far.
A large man was blocking his way, smirking and giving James a glimpse of the gun in the shoulder holster hidden by his jacket. Beside him was the woman James had thought was the man's date. Newsflash: they weren't on a date. She had a gun, too, and it was pointed at James.
The man grabbed James' arm and shoved him down onto the bench seat across from Miranda's husband, who was watching with wide eyes.
"Scoot," the large man told him and James did, feeling mostly numb as he moved farther over in the booth, not even surprised when the man sat and blocked him in. The woman smiled as she casually held the gun on him.
Daniel finally spoke. "Why are you threatening him? He has nothing to do with this."
"Oh, he wishes he had nothing to do with this," the woman said. "But he's been up in Miranda's business all day long and he deserves everything he's gonna get."
James tried to stop the full-body shudder, but failed. She could shoot him right now. He could die before ever having a solo hit on the charts...or his own apartment...or a steady girlfriend...shit!
The woman took James' phone from Daniel and tossed it to the large man beside James. He was smiling and as soon as he started speaking, James closed his eyes in resignation. This was the man they'd heard over the phone threatening and abusing Miranda.
"Miranda? Guess who we found: Daniel. And, bonus: we now know who you've been talking to: a handsome kid by the name of James. Say hello, James." He whipped his elbow out and slammed it into James' temple with no warning.
James' head exploded with pain as he hit the wall and slumped forward, the inside of his head all echoes of pain and noise and flashing lights. The large man was still talking, and his words passed over James like water down a stream.
"Did you hear him?...Oh no, he wasn't talking. That was his head thudding into the wall."
"Did you guys see that?" Kendall burst out, watching the security feed on the computer screen. "Bastard!"
"Oh my god. Oh my god." Logan whispered. "Come on, James- get up."
"Is he okay? Is he...out? Is he moving? I DON'T SEE HIM MOVING!" Carlos yelled.
"Stop yelling, Carlos!" Logan yelled back. "Oh my god. Oh my god."
"I'm going to kill that bastard," Kendall said darkly before striding over to Tony, the restaurant manager. "You see what we're talking about? You see? Now, give me the hat and the pen and the freaking note pad."
"Yeah, I saw it all right. I'll call the cops. Here you go, kid. You done this before?"
"No, but I got this," Kendall said, glancing again at the screen. James was only half-conscious, hand twitching as he tried to push himself up.
"Be careful," Tony said. He meant it; this situation could explode about fifteen different ways- none of them good. As soon as he had heard there were guys with guns upstairs, he had decided to clear out the bottom floor. It had been chaotic; some people had to take their food and leave without paying and the wait staff had to be sent off, too. But Tony knew it was far better to lose some money than to have a customer shot in the restaurant. "I probably shouldn't even be letting you do this. You should all clear out, too, and let the cops handle this."
"We can't," Carlos interjected.
"We're not leaving without James," Kendall snapped. His friend had gone still again, slumped over the table. "Shit. I'm going up." Kendall headed for the stairs.
"Kendall!" Logan called after him, waiting until he looked back before continuing, "be smart."
Kendall smirked. "That's your job. I'll do what I can." He nodded once at Carlos before turning and heading out of the office.
Logan forced himself to focus on the manager. "So there should be cops who patrol this area. Do you know them?"
"Oh yeah, definitely," Tony said. "Malcolm and Bertie. They eat here at least twice a week."
"Excellent. Call them. But tell them...no sirens because there's a hostage. They will need back-up and...an ambulance...maybe two," he said. "Carlos- do you still have your...helmet? Carlos?"
Carlos was gone.
When James finally peeled himself up off the table, he saw that not much had changed. Or at least, he thought it hadn't; he was having a hard time seeing straight. Damn. His left eye throbbed and his right temple felt numb and maybe wet? Oh. Blood was on his fingers. It took him a moment to realize he'd just found it on his face.
"Shut up," the woman hissed suddenly and pushed herself into the other side of the table, forcing Daniel to move over. James tried to read the man's expression but couldn't make his eyes focus. Then a verrry familiar voice spoke up.
"Can I get you anything to drink? Or are you ready to order?"
James turned his head to look at their "waiter" but had to let his vision settle a few moments before he could see that...yes, that was indeed Kendall Knight wearing a paper hat and holding a pad and pen in his hands. Which...makes no sense at all.
James tilted his head to the side as he contemplated what world he'd woken up in. Was this an alternate universe where Kendall worked here? Waaaaait...if this was an alternate universe, did James have superpowers? Because that would be amaaazing.
He closed his eyes and spent a few seconds trying to levitate, or maybe incinerate the salt shaker with his gaze, or maybe...read the big guy's mind.
"What are you staring at, buttwipe?" The man glared at James, proving that no, James couldn't read his mind. He sighed in disappointment.
"What's wrong with you," the woman said, kicking at his ankle.
"Ouch," James said, frowning. "Besides a head injury...nothing is wrong with me. I just think this is a very disappointing alternate universe so far."
"You know, he doesn't look like he's feeling good," Kendall interjected. "I should show him where the bathroom is." Which totally solved everything in one fell swoop because his best friend was brilliant like that.
"Yes!" James said brightly.
"No," the man said quickly. "He's fine; he just tripped."
"Tripped?" Kendall said skeptically.
"Yeah. He landed on his face."
James raised his hand, trying one more time. "I do need to go to the bathroom."
"At least let him go wash the blood off his face," Kendall commanded.
"Definitely not," the man said, putting a hand on James' knee and squeezing until the bones ground together. James whimpered; he couldn't help it.
Kendall growled, "If he needs to go to the bathroom, then you should let him."
"Mind your own business, waiter," the woman snapped.
"Make me," Kendall spat back, body tense as a bowstring.
"If I have to, I will." She lifted her hand above the table so that Kendall could see her gun.
The man gave her an approving smirk.
"Look, kid," Daniel tried to catch Kendall's eye. "You're not helping anyone right now, least of all yourself. Just take our drink orders and go back downstairs."
The man finally released his knee and James fell back in relief. However, he couldn't seem to get enough air. "Don't feel good," he mumbled. Dimly, he heard the other voices as they gave their drink orders, but it was hard to focus.
"And I'll get your friend a ginger ale. That should make him feel better."
James rolled his head to the side and gazed at Kendall through his one good eye. Ginger ale would make him feel better. "Thank you," he whispered.
"I'll be right back," Kendall promised James, staring at him intently.
"Okay..."
As Kendall turned to leave, that's when James started losing control. It was hard knowing that his friend was so close but unable to help...and that his eye was swelling shut which meant he looked horrible and felt even worse, and that there were TWO GUNS in this booth. His eyes started to burn.
In his mind, he heard Kendall's voice saying, "You're very emotionally involved and you tend to panic..."
James couldn't help being emotional; he'd been a mess all day because this situation was stressful! He didn't know how to handle kidnappings and threats and the evil underbelly of the city. But...maybe he could try not to panic and...just have faith in his friends; they knew he was here and would get him help. And just because there were guns here didn't mean...didn't have to mean that he was going to get shot. Right? His mom would kill him if he got shot.
While the man and woman and Daniel discussed important but vague stuff, James sat and inhaled and exhaled, focusing on each breath. It didn't help with the pain, but it did push away the tears and make him feel calmer.
"Stop breathing so loud," the woman snapped.
James stared at her for a moment. "Okay. What's your name? I'm tired of calling you 'the woman' in my head."
"What?" she snapped.
Everyone was staring at James like he was crazy. Maybe he shouldn't have asked that?
Daniel jumped in, smiling bitterly. "No, no- let me introduce you. This is Amanda Reynolds and she's a cop. She's his partner- Sean Harris. They're both dirty as hell and I have a video that can prove it. So they kidnapped my wife and my son because they want me to turn the video over to them."
James stared at Daniel in shock. They were cops? The people responsible for everything that happened to Miranda...?
"I am so screwed," James whispered.
"Yeah, you finally get it. So. This is your phone, right?" Harris turned to him and asked, knuckling him hard in the thigh when James took too long to answer. "Yeah? Yeah? That's your phone?" When James finally managed to nod, the man gripped his chin and forced him to look at him. "You've been pissing me off all day long, did you know that? And I've been thinking of a lot of ways to pay you back. I hope you're ready for some serious pain." Then he took James' phone and smashed it into the table, shattering it.
James' eyes were watering, his eye and temple and thigh throbbing in time with his heartbeat. But the thought that Miranda had just lost all contact with the outside world made him feel even worse. She would be devastated.
"Hey! Asshole!"
Everyone turned toward the voice at the exact second that a frying pan slammed into the big guy's head.
THWACK!
"Pick on someone your own size!"
Harris went down, falling out of the booth onto the floor on his hands and knees, dazed.
"James! Come on!" Carlos was there suddenly, kicking Harris aside and grabbing James' arm, trying to pull him out of the booth...
Until Reynolds stood up, her gun once again aimed at James. "You move and I shoot him," she told Carlos. "How's that for a fun party game?"
"Don't shoot him! They're just kids," Daniel protested.
"Shut up or I'll put in a call that will end your entire family," Reynolds barked, still holding the gun on James.
Daniel sat back in the booth, going quiet again.
James was frozen, wavering in place. Reynolds was only feet away from him and Carlos; she couldn't miss. If only this were the alternate world where he was a superhero. But, wait...
What is Kendall doing?
His best friend was climbing over the back of the seat one booth over, creeping forward slowly, moving a lot like Spiderman. Wait- was Kendall Spiderman here in this world? So frickin' cool. James watched with wide eyes as he started to climb over the table, gesturing at James to look away. Look away? Oh...right...don't let them know he's coming...
James turned his head to see Carlos putting down the frying pan, evidently realizing that he was on the losing end of this stand-off. Which left him helpless as the big man- what's his name, Harris- climbed unsteadily to his feet. He glared at Carlos, blood dripping down from his temple, his face glowing with rage.
Out of the corner of his good eye, James saw that Kendall was nearly in place. But before he could do anything, Harris lunged for Carlos.
"No," James whispered.
Then everything went so fast he only saw it in fragments-
-Carlos dodging Harris' punch by going low-
-Kendall flinging himself over the booth wall, crashing into Reynolds and driving a steak knife into her outstretched hand-
-the hand that held the gun-
-which went off-
BANG!
James jerked as a line of heat seared his left thigh and sent him twisting in pain to the ground.
"James!" Carlos yelled, distracted.
Kendall was frozen in horror. James was on the ground, halfway to unconsciousness again, fingers pressed to his thigh, blood seeping between them.
THWACK!
Kendall spun to see Carlos hitting the ground hard. Harris stood over him, raising the frying pan for another blow.
"Try it and I shoot, you rat bastard!" Kendall yelled, raising the gun he'd grabbed from Reynolds and shifting to where he could have both Harris and Reynolds in his sights. The weapon felt alien in his hands, strange and cold. He hated it, but it might be all that could protect his friends now.
Was Carlos okay? He'd had on his helmet...but that was a vicious hit. James was still conscious, but for how long? Kendall licked his lips nervously. Where was Logan?
Harris smirked at Kendall, both hands held up innocently, one with the frying pan. "You gonna' shoot me," Harris asked Kendall. "I'm a cop. They'll put you under the jail, you stupid, punk-ass kid."
"Yes, I'll shoot you! You're a BAD COP," Kendall yelled. "Two of my best friends are on the floor because of you."
"Actually, you shot that one," Reynolds said, nodding at James. She was holding the hand Kendall had stabbed, obviously in pain.
"Shut up! I didn't fire the gun- you did!"
Harris made a move and Kendall shifted to aim the gun at him.
"Don't. Move," Kendall snapped.
Harris froze and smiled. "Just putting down the frying pan- honestly."
"Just give me a reason to shoot. It's your funeral."
"Oh, so you know how to shoot a gun?" Harris asked.
"No, Kendall," James said, but Kendall couldn't spare him a glance right now. He was too busy trying to save their lives and the numbers weren't adding up. Harris still had a gun and there were far too many targets in this room. Daniel was sitting in the booth, evidently afraid to get involved because his family was still in danger. Reynolds was still a problem even without her gun.
"Come on, kid, just put the gun down. You're in way over your head," Harris said in a surprisingly kind voice.
Kendall swallowed hard. He was pretty sure he'd lose a shootout with a cop; he'd only been to a shooting range twice in his life. "You put the frying pan down, and then pull out your gun and put it down," Kendall countered.
"Son-of-a-bitch!" Harris finally lost his patience. "Look. You're out of time. The cops will be here soon and you'll be on your way to jail, if you survive the trip."
Kendall barked out a laugh. "If I give up this gun, we won't even survive the next ten seconds."
Harris smiled. "You're smarter than you look. But get real, I can pull out my gun faster than you can shoot. I train every day for situations like this."
Kendall raised his chin. "You think you scare me, some washed-up, pathetic, dirty cop?"
"Kid, I'm serious. We have thirty seconds to settle this, and if you don't put the gun down, I-"
"No, goddammit! You put the frying pan DOWN and then you put your gun on the FLOOR!"
Just as Kendall was about to lose it, Logan peeked his head over the stairs. Thank God!
"Logan! Get his gun," Kendall called out. Harris and Reynolds looked over to see Logan climbing the stairs hesitantly.
Logan gulped. "I- is 'Los okay?"
"Just get the gun," Kendall said between gritted teeth. "You- move over to that table!" He looked at Reynolds, who slowly did as he directed. Now he could see both Reynolds and Harris easily.
"Kendall, are they okay?" Logan asked in a shaking voice. "Is James shot? Is Carlos?"
"Oh, James is shot," Harris said easily. "Isn't he looking pale? Probably needs to go to the hospital. Now this little guy- I guess that's Carlos- took a frying pan to the head. Just like me." He gestured up to the bloody gash on his forehead. "Hurts like a mother. But I paid him back with interest. Frying pans, who knew?"
Logan froze. "What should I do, Kendall?"
"I said get his gun."
Logan blinked a few times. "But..."
Kendall knew exactly what was holding him back. Logan was a pacifist; this situation could be straight from one of his worst nightmares. He kept glancing between James on the ground, bleeding, Carlos on the ground, unconscious, and Harris grinning like a cat over a huge bowl of cream.
Logan held up a shaky hand, revealing that he had been hiding a long chef's knife behind his pant leg.
"Oh, so you came to play," Harris asked. "I'm surprised, but happy to turn you into mincemeat, too."
"You know all of this is on camera, right? The security system has recorded everything and the cops are on their way," Logan said in a trembling voice.
"I am the cops," Harris snapped back. "Who are they going to believe- bunch of punk-ass kids trying to rob the place or their fellow officers?"
"Maybe they'll believe the punk-ass kids who have a security tape backing them up?" Logan edged closer to Harris.
"I said put the frying pan down," Kendall snapped.
"Okay, okay, just relax," Harris said as he bent over and put the frying pan on the ground.
Finally, Kendall dared to check on James. "You okay?
James opened his mouth to speak and- as if it were a prearranged signal- Harris and Reynolds both attacked. Harris knocked Logan's knife to the ground. Reynolds hurled a salt shaker at Kendall.
Kendall turned back in time to see something coming at his face and fired off a wild shot that hit no one. Then Reynolds was in his face, knocking aside the gun with a strike and following up with a vicious punch to Kendall's throat. He started sputtering, dropping to his knees and completely losing track of the gun in his panic to breathe.
At the same time, Harris had grabbed Logan and now had him wrapped up in a headlock from behind. Logan looked terrified.
James started army-crawling to Kendall, ignoring the pain, desperate to help at least one of his friends, but had to stop when the stupid, frickin' gun appeared in his face. It was Reynolds again; she really wanted to shoot him, didn't she?
"Come on," he whined in frustration. "I need to help my friends."
"Sit," she barked at him.
James sat, his gaze switching between a watery, one-eyed view of Carlos finally sitting up, of Kendall trying to breathe, and Logan choking behind Harris' forearm. None of them should be here. His best friends were all in pain, all because they'd been trying to help him.
"James?" Carlos said tentatively.
But he wasn't listening. Desperation turned slowly to rage inside him; his cheeks went hot and his heart thudded in his ears. All of James' pain dropped away and words emerged. "You punched my best friend in the throat!" he growled.
She shifted the gun to his forehead. "Oh, I see. You wanna' die today?"
"No, James!" Carlos cried out.
And maybe she was planning on pulling the trigger right then, but they would never know. James surged upward like a tidal wave, shoving the gun aside while punching her so hard that she was out cold before she hit the floor, the gun spinning out of her hand. There was a long second when James paused to enjoy how good that felt before moving toward Harris, glaring at the man who was daring to hold Logan hostage, until...
James stumbled to a stop. Harris had his gun out now, resting the barrel against Logan's temple.
"No," Kendall rasped out.
Out of nowhere, James' thigh spasmed and he fell to one knee, the pain roaring back. Everything hurt worse now and it was terrible timing. Logan had gone pale as chalk in Harris' arms.
"Don't shoot him," Carlos pleaded, and James glanced over to see him standing now, one hand outstretched.
"You took out my partner, kid," Harris spat at James. "What do you think I should do to yours?"
James shook his head, holding up his hands. "No, please."
"Or maybe I should take out the one who's been pissing me off all day," Harris said, setting his sights on James. "You."
Of course, James thought. He'd told everyone he'd be safe and he didn't need Kevlar and here he was, facing down another gun.
"No, don't shoot him," Carlos said tearfully.
"You don't want me to shoot anyone, do you?" Harris said, cocking his gun. Then he paused...his eyes slowly growing wide in shock. To everyone's surprise, Logan twisted out of Harris' grip easily and moved a few steps away.
"What...what did you do to me, boy?" Harris said, his speech slurring by the end of the sentence. The huge man was clutching the underside of his left arm; blood spilled out between his fingers and over the barrel of the gun. "What did you do?"
Logan's eyes were huge in his face as he held up a small, bloody knife. "I hid this in my pocket. I sliced your left brachial artery. It pumps out a lot of blood. I...oh god...I'm so sorry but you hurt Carlos and you were going to shoot James."
Harris staggered toward the boy, dropping his gun. "I...didn't...know..." he said. Carlos ran to stand protectively in front of Logan. They both watched in horror as Harris sank to the floor.
"Oh my god..." Logan whispered. He clutched at Carlos as Harris...slowly...went...limp, a silent wave of blood flowing from his failing body.
Daniel crept out of the booth, walking cautiously toward Harris. Everyone watched, hoping Harris wouldn't move again. Daniel kicked the gun away from him and knelt to check his pulse. "He's gone," he said after a moment.
"You okay, buddy?" Kendall was suddenly there beside James, crouching to check him over. James didn't know how to answer that, but he threw himself at Kendall as soon as his friend knelt and opened his arms.
"You can breathe," he whispered.
"You're still alive," Kendall croaked back.
"Thanks to you," he whispered into Kendall's neck and his friend squeezed him tight.
"Ow," James whimpered, pulling back to sit again.
"Sorry." Kendall pulled back to send a worried look at Logan. "Can you stand?" he asked quietly, but James shook his head in the smallest movement he could make.
"My leg gave out."
"Okay, you sit here," Kendall said before he moved over to where Carlos was holding a sobbing Logan.
James felt the tears come back, but he pushed past them. "Logan?" James called softly, and his friend turned devastated eyes on him. "You saved my life. Thank you."
Logan nodded but couldn't stop crying as Kendall pulled him in a hug.
"Carlos, you too," James said, holding up his arms. Carlos stumbled over and sat down. He ducked his head into James' chest and hugged him fiercely.
"I thought you were going to get shot again," he said, sniffling.
"Nah, once was enough for me," James said lightly. "Thank you for hitting that horrible man with a frying pan. Is your head okay?"
"It hurts," he said through tears, "but not too bad, thanks to my Lucky Helmet."
James kissed his Lucky Helmet and promised to never make fun of it again. Then Kendall led Logan over to the other two and sat him beside them. Logan leaned in so James could put an arm around him and hold him tightly as he could.
"Ouch," Logan said tonelessly.
But James didn't apologize. "I love you guys. Kendall, you were amazing. Thank you, thank you, thank you."
Kendall finally teared up and knelt close to the little knot of his best friends. He put his long arms around them all and bowed his head. "I love you guys."
"Love you, too," they all told Kendall, in differing degrees of snottiness and pain.
"But...I am never touching a gun again," Kendall vowed, "so don't make me."
James started to laugh, but couldn't. "I am so sorry you had to," he whispered.
Daniel had tried to give them a few moments to recover, but now he strode over to Reynolds. "I have to find out where they put Miranda." He kicked away her gun before kneeling and slapping the cop lightly on the face. "Wake up!"
The boys just stared at them for a moment.
"Wait- did you actually punch a girl?" Logan asked James.
James looked shocked as he remembered what he had done. "I guess I did. But only because she punched Kendall in the throat!"
"She totally deserved it," Kendall agreed, grimacing as he touched his neck.
James nodded and then winced as the pain in his thigh suddenly deepened. "Owww. I think I need to lie down."
"I think you need to pass out," Logan said, wiping his eyes. "How are you still conscious?"
James considered. "I think Carlos is holding me up."
"I am," Carlos agreed. "But you can lie down now."
Carlos and Logan each took one of James' arms and helped him lie back. James grimaced at the feeling of being floaty and weightless. He hated passing out. Kendall took off his flannel shirt, balled it up and put it under James' head. "It's okay," he said softly. Kendall's face was the last thing James saw before everything faded to black.
"And...now it's my turn," Kendall said, sitting back as he started to feel wobbly, too. There was so much blood from James' thigh and on the floor by Harris and on Carlos' head...
"Get Kendall," Logan directed Carlos and he did, helping him lie back as Logan folded up his sweater to put under his head.
As Kendall felt gravity increase under him, he reached out and grabbed onto James with one hand while Carlos took his other.
"It's okay," Logan said soothingly. "The ambulance will be here soon."
"You boys all right?" Daniel was watching them with concern, but Logan just waved him off, feeling depressed as Kendall did, indeed, pass out.
"I should put a tourniquet on James' leg," he said slowly, but didn't make a move.
Carlos watched him with concern. "Are you next, Logie?" he asked his friend. "Oh...maybe it's me," Carlos said hollowly. "My head hurts." He stood and wobbled his way to a chair, sat down and slowly put his head on the table.
"We need that ambulance to get here," Logan said slowly. "Then we'll be fine." His gaze traveled across the floor to Harris' lifeless body and he froze.
Daniel must have noticed because he walked over, leaving the unconscious Reynolds. "I know you hated to do what you did, but there's no way Harris would have let James survive, or Kendall, or any of you." He put a hand on Logan's shoulder. "That was a very smart and brave thing you did."
Logan nodded, too choked up to speak. He didn't really want to think about it right now.
Then Reynolds groaned and Daniel moved back over to her quickly.
Logan pulled out his handkerchief, folded it and used it to put pressure on James' wound. He didn't have anything to make a tourniquet with and so he sat, watching his friend lie still and grow paler. By the time the police and ambulance finally arrived, he had sort of...lost interest in anything. They kept asking him questions, but he couldn't really focus and eventually was laid down on a stretcher like the other boys.
The EMTs took them to the hospital, with only Kendall awake enough to remember any of the ride. He had woken up with all the noise and begged to ride with James, feeling like he had to keep him safe as long as his friend was unconscious and bleeding and wishing he could do the same for the other guys. As the ambulance sped along, the main thing that kept running through Kendall's mind was a prayer: thank you, thank you for keeping them alive.