.:Chapter One:.

Kevin made sure his apartment door was locked about three times before he grabbed the handle of his suitcase and wheeled it down to the elevator. Stepping inside, he pulled out his cell phone and quickly dialed a number. The phone rang a few minutes before it was finally picked up.

"Hey man," came the familiar twang of a southern accent that was starting to fade.

"Charlie, hey," Kevin replied. "Are your bags packed?"

There was a pause before a low, rumbling chuckle on the other end of the phone. "After being in jail, you quickly learn what's a necessity and what isn't. I only need a carry-on bag." He paused once more. "It's not going to be a long trip, anyway. I'm being watched, remember?"

"I remember," Kevin said firmly. The elevator doors opened and he walked outside. He waved down a cab and got into the backseat as the driver picked up his suitcase and placed it in the trunk. "LAX, please." The driver nodded and got into the driver's seat and peeled away from the curb, merging into traffic. Kevin turned back to the phone. "But Diego's gonna be there as well, so if anyone asks…he'll probably scare them away."

Charlie Mitchell let out a bark of laughter that caused Kevin to chuckle himself. He hadn't seen Diego Garcia or Paul Diamond since he had left Minnesota and their lives had been so busy since then. Charlie had recently gotten out of jail as well; it would be the first time the four of them had been together in years.

He only wished it was for a better reason than why they were meeting up.

"You're probably right," Charlie agreed. He let to a sigh. "I'll meet you at MSP baggage claim. Later, man."

"Later." Kevin hung up his phone and quickly dialed another number. This time the other person on the line picked up on the first ring. "Kendall, hey. I've got a change of plans…"

"Bye, Dad."

Kendall hung up his phone and tossed it onto the counter by the stove. He turned to Katie, who was sitting at the counter, engrossed in whatever she was looking at on her computer. "We're free for the weekend, Baby Sister," he said to her. "Dad's going out of town for some last minute conference or something."

"Cool" Katie muttered, hazel eye s shifting back and forth over the computer screen. Her eyes then opened wide and she let out a loud cry of, "no!" before dramatically falling over her laptop. "I was so close to winning! So close!" She held her index finger and thumb a few inches apart. "I almost made enough so none of us ever had to worry about anything ever again! But no, this guy bluffed me!"

Kendall cast his sister a worried glance before reaching out a hand and slowly pushing down the top of her computer screen. "If you were playing with that much money, I don't want to know where you got it." Turning back to the oven he grabbed a mitt and slid it on before opening the door and pulling out a pan of pizza. "Dinner is ready!" He called.

At those words, James, Carlos, and Logan all whipped their heads around from the TV screen, where they had been playing Alien Battle Blaster V and all screaming at the tops of their lungs as they blew each other and their opponents up in a game of capture the flag. Like a starving wolf, Carlos sniffed the air before leaping over the back of the couch and raced over to the pan that Kendall put down on the stove.

"Yum! Finally!" He reached out to grab a piece of pizza.

"Carlos, don't!" Logan shouted. "It's too—"

James reached a hand out and slapped it over Logan's mouth, giving an evil smile over towards their best friend. "Let's see if he learned after the last time," he said. Logan smirked, pushing James's hand away and the four watched as Carlos picked up a slice of pizza and immediately bit into it.

His eyes popped open wide and he dropped the pizza back to the pan and was over at the sink in a split second. "Hot!" He screeched. "Hot! Hot!" Opening his mouth wide, he turned on the faucet and nearly drowned himself underneath it. "Ow, I burned my tongue." He stuck his tongue out of his mouth as far as he could and struggled to see the tip of it. Tilting his head back, he continued to try and see his tongue before letting out a sigh then leaned towards Logan. "Doth it look tha' bad?"

Logan's eyes widened in horror as he leaned out of Carlos's range. "Carlos! Get your tongue away from me!"

Katie laughed, resting her chin in her hands. "And you all wonder why people think that you're too close," she remarked. Kendall laughed and cut the pieces of pizza before sliding them on plates, handing them out to his friends. Katie took hers and inspected it before taking a bite. "So you said that Dad's going to be out of town?"

James's eyes immediately lit up. He grinned, rubbing his hands together. "I smell party," he said. His rapidly raised and lowered his eyebrows as Carlos finally brought his tongue back into his mouth then cheered loudly. The two high-fived and started to do the same dance they had done when they had their first party at the Palm Woods.

"The Super Party Party Kings of Hollywood are back!" Carlos shouted.

"You said 'party' twice," Logan pointed out. Once again, he leaned back out of the way as James leaned towards him, giving him a hard stare as he uttered, "You bet I did." Reaching up, Logan shoved the tall boy out of his personal space before taking a step back from all of his friends, giving them a suspicious look. "Don't you guys remember what happened the last time we threw a party?"

"Yeah," Katie chimed in before any of the boys could. "The punch got spiked, Kendall got drunk, and you guys got grounded for two months." She snickered into her palm. "Though the look on Mom's face when she heard about it was priceless. I don't think I've ever seen her so mad." She thought for a moment. "Except for the time that Kendall tried to drive and crashed into the garage door."

"Katie, don't help!" Kendall said to his sister. He took a bite of his pizza and thought for a long moment. "Mom shouldn't have a problem with a party," he said slowly. "If it's only our friends and if we make her think it was her idea." His eyes shifted back and forth for a moment before the smile that was well known to the boys slid onto his face.

"Uh-Oh," Katie sighed.

"I smell plan," Carlos sing-songed.

"I hate that smell," Logan muttered.

Kendall opened his mouth to continue then stopped at the sound of the front door being kicked open with enough force that it hit the wall behind it. Kendall winced at the sound of the wall being punctured by the door handle. His mother wasn't going to be happy with that. It would probably be the twelfth time she would have to bust out her extensive knowledge of wall repair—and the other household trades she leaned over the years—to fix it again. Lest they would receive another strike from Bitters, which the Palm Woods manager was all too excited to hand out.

The boys turned to see Camille, Jo, and Stephanie in the doorway, Camille with a murderous look in her eyes. Exchanging glances, Carlos and James took large steps away from Logan, whose eyes widened in fear as they landed on his girlfriend.

"Camille?" He asked her. "Is everything OK?"

"Don't worry about her," Jo patted her best friend on the shoulder. "She's just working out the karate moves I showed her as she gets ready for her upcoming audition." She quickly stepped out from around her and gave a sheepish smile. "Though I think she's getting a little too into it."

Camille smiled brightly, the murderous look fading form her eyes, before skipping over to Logan and throwing her arms around his neck, kissing him.

"Really?" Katie's voice dripped with sarcasm. "I think the door that was just murdered by her foot would say otherwise."

Kendall laughed before crossing his arms over his chest. "Actually, it's a good thing you ladies are here," he said before motioning to the other boys. "We're planning on having a party this weekend, since plans with my Dad fell through and we could use your help."

Stephanie tilted her head to the side. "Don't you remember what happened the last time you had a party?" She took a breath to continue but was cut off with the mutterings of the four boys as they shuffled their feet. "Does your Mom know?"

"Hey, we're nineteen year old men. I don't need to talk things through with my Mom each and every time I want to do something.

"HA!" Jo let out a loud laugh towards he ex-boyfriend, knowing how much he cared about what his mother thought and hated letting her down. The slight scowl Kendall sent her caused her to smile, knowing he had just proved her point.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed James giving Kendall a hard stare, the same he had given Logan the time he was sure that the brainy member of Big Time Rush was stealing his 'swag' and rolled her eyes. She had always thought Kendall laws the jealous one, and had done her fair share of work, trying to let the blond know there was nothing to worry about. But then there was James, who was more possessive than anybody she had ever met. It was nice to feel wanted sometimes, but even James had his limits.

She then let out a sigh, brushing her hair behind her ears. "Alright, what do you want us to do?"

James moved to her side and put his arm around her shoulders. "They can get all the decorations and food and stuff and we'll go to the mall." Jo looked up at her boyfriend in surprise.

"James, you hate going to the mall," Katie pointed out.

"I know, but I like to look good."

This was earned with a roll of the eyes from everyone in the apartment. They turned at the sound of the door to the swirly slide opening. "Hey," Sydney Jackson-McGuire greeted his friends second before and his siblings—Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, and Noah—launched themselves down the swirly slide and onto the floor, landing on top of him. Sydney started to kick his legs frantically, trying to get free from the pile.

"Oh look, we squished him, eh, good riddance." Patrick laughed as he got up from the floor. Sydney frowned and reached over, punching his brother not he thigh. "What's going on?" He crossed the room to Katie and gave her a quick kiss not he cheek, before backing away from the intense stares that James and Kendall sent his way.

Katie rolled her eyes.

Even at fifteen years old, she didn't have much say in her life when it came to dating. After having first gotten out to Los Angeles it wasn't much of a problem. But then when she had traded in her comic books and following of WWE for makeup and an interest in boys and it seemed like they still couldn't handle it. James more so than Kendall, even going as far as to follow her on dates or to try and force her to only double date with him whenever she had plans to go out. At least Kendall had a looser hold on her, though he could still be as protective as any older brother could be.

"They're planning a party," Camille replied, wrapping an arm around Logan's waist. "And I could give you a million reasons as to why it's not a good idea."

"Hmm," Riley pushed her red strands of hair from her eyes before tapping her chin. Her dark blue eyes moved towards the ceiling. "Maybe the massive destruction through the Palm Woods and the hoards of kids getting drunk and getting sick all over the place is the top one?" She dropped her hand. "Or was it having to drag you,"—she pointed directly at Kendall—"through the Palm Woods, up to the apartment, to the bathroom, and back to your bed all while you were puking everywhere."

Kendall nonchalantly avoided her gaze, pretending to inspect his nails. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Have you guys always been this drongo or am I just noticing it?" Rhuben asked as she raised an eyebrow. She looked over at Noah, who just smiled and shook his head.

Riley, Rhuben, Patrick, Noah, and Sydney Jackson-McGuire were some of the first people that Big Time Rush had met when they first arrived in LA to start Big Time Rush, a little over a year ago. Their father, Robert Jackson, had been their manager at the time and Ronan their music producer for their family band the DarkElements. Australian natives, the five of them had gone to LA shortly before Big Time Rush were created to break the American market after they had MASSIVE amounts of success in their home country for the past 8 years, having started heir band at such a young age. The first year, BTR realized that they were acting different and found out they were being abused. They helped send Robert to jail and then Ronan started their adoption process and three and a half months ago Ronan officially adopted them and their oldest brother Julius officially, so he stepped ups his role to be their father, manager, and music producer.

After BTR had met the DarkElements, they had quickly been taken under their wing to try and have a lot of success in the music industry and so far they had been doing a good job as they had released their first CD, BTR, and it had gone gold and they were currently working on their second one. The DarkElements consisted of 17 year old twins Riley and Rhuben, 15 year old twins Patrick and Noah, and 10 year old Sydney. Ronan had been in the music industry for years and when the DarkElements started to help BTR with their music, he started to collaborate with BTR's music producer Gustavo Rocque and his assistant Kelly Wainright, whom he had known for years as well, then they brought in Mrs. Knight, the guys' momager and all of them became one big group of friends/co-workers.

"You're late," James stated as he finally turned away from the TV and looked at his watch. "Normally you guys are here right at 6:30."

"We had some extra work to do at the studio today," Noah explained in his quiet voice, flicking his head to the side so his hair moved from his face. "Some of our stuff was erased and we had to re-record it." He looked amused. "Plus there were a lot of Taylor Swift fans running around because there was a rumor that she was there."

Katie laughed and then pointed over to Carlos, while holding her free hand beside her mouth, pretending to whisper. "If she was there, you should have gotten her autograph for Carlos, he would have flipped."

"You're actually admitting that you, a guy, like Taylor Swift?" Sydney asked giving Carlos and odd look.

Carlos nodded. "Yep!" He stated with a proud nod and then grinned even wider. "But wait till I tell you guys how much I like High School Musical!"

"Trust me, you don't want to hear this," Logan said, totally deadpan.

"Plus we were getting in some last minute rehearsal before we go on our short promotional tour, remember?" Patrick reminded them.

"How could we forget?" Carlos, who had nursed his tongue back to health was now eating his slice of pizza. "It'll be the first time we can go back to Minnesota in two years. I'm ready for some snow."

"If you were going to North Carolina you'd have a blast," Jo said. "I heard there's a cold front coming through that's bringing in tons of snow."

"I don't know about you, but I'd be happier if we were sticking to the west coast, its warmer," Sydney said. "So glad I'm going back home soon, yeah?" He leaned over the counter and glanced at the pan of pizza that was rapidly cooling and raised his eyebrows. "I hope there's more food than this because we just got done with rehearsal and I'm starving."

Kendall reached grabbed his cell phone. "I'll order more pizza," he said. "You guys start a list of the things we need for the party…and someone remind me to call Mom. She's on a spa trip right now and I need to find a good time to ask her about it."

Logan picked up his plate of pizza and walked over to the living room. As his friends gathered around to start planning for the party, he unplugged the video game system from the TV to clean up a bit. Pulling out the audio/visual cords, the TV immediately switched from projecting Alien Battle Blaster V to showing the evening news. He looked up as something the TV had said caught his attention. And turned back to the TV that had caught his attention. Something about being a little more careful…? Logan's eyebrows furrowed together as he grabbed the remote and turned up the volume a little bit, keeping his eyes glued to the TV.

"In local news, a suburban local businessman Lucas McMahon was found shot dead outside of his house this morning. Apparently he was on his way to work, and had just stepped outside of the door when he was shot. His wife, Macy, had heard the gunshot and ran to see what happened, finding her husband on the front porch, shot in the chest. There were no witnesses and so far there are no suspects to the crime. Luca McMahon was pronounced dead on his arrival at the hospital."

"Logan, are you going to help us?" Camille called to him. "You're the only one that can keep us all organized."

Logan shut off the TV and placed the remote on the table in front of him. He noticed a thoughtful look on Patrick's face as he turned away from the TV as well.

"Something wrong, dude?" Logan asked.

"No." His lips stretched into his famous lopsided smile. "I'm just thinking of the tour."

Making sure no one was following him, a lithe figure looked over his shoulders before sliding out of the emergency exit doors of the nightclub. He had managed to blend into the crowd and get out completely undetected. Pulling a cigarette and lighter from his jacket pocket, he lit the end and took a few puffs before walking forward a few more steps, sliding his hand into his jeans pocket and pulled out a flashlight, turning it on and off three times.

Then he waited.

After a few seconds of nothing, the three flashes came back to him, simultaneously, from three different directions. Then footsteps headed in his direction as he stepped into the light of a streetlamp. His eyes flicked over the faces of the two teenage boys and the teenage girl that stepped into the light across from him, each waiting patiently.

"I was starting to wonder if you would be able to make it out here," Austen commented, taking another drag from his cigarette. He allowed it to dangle from his lips as smoke blew out of his nostrils. "I heard there was a common downtown."

"Hey, orders are orders," The tall blonde with green bangs stated, giving a malicious smile. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."

"Atta boy, Malice," Austen reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "Keep that drive for when we really need it." He turned to the other two. "Are the others holding down the fort well? Nothing happened?"

"Relax Austen, everything's fine," the brunette with blue eyes replied, cracking his knuckles, his eyes shifty.

"You don't have to patronize him, Braden," the girl replied, pushing her light pink rinsed hair out of her face. She turned and gave Austen a warm, if not seductive, smile. "I'm sure Austen knows what he's bloody doing." She moved her hands out from her leather jacket pockets and held a wad of cash out to Austen. There was a quick flash of silver, the moonlight bouncing off of the switchblade that was in her hand. She replaced it, keeping her hands shoved in her pockets.

"What's this for, Candy?" Austen asked taking the money and looking it over before shoving it into the inside pocket of his jacket.

"What do you think?"

Austen nodded slowly, his eyes taking another lap of the parking lot. He could hear excited chatter and some screams that seemed to grow louder by the second. Austen made a face, knowing that the two bands were probably leaving the arena at that exact moment.

"So, where are they?" Braden asked, keeping his eyes on Austen's face.

"They should be-"

A loud crash, hysterical laughter, and someone crying in pain was heard behind them, before the sound of footsteps rapidly moving away from them filled the air.

"Shit! This way!" Austen did a complete 180-degree turn and started to sprint down the sidewalk, following the sound of sobbing. Candy fell a little bit behind as Braden and Malice charged after Austen, their footsteps pounding down the street.

They skidded to a stop when they found a man in his forties, lying on the ground. His hands were over the lower right side of his stomach. Candy fell to her knees and pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and pushed the man's hands away, pressing it over the wound.

"He's been stabbed," she noted as Austen, Braden, and Malice made a circle behind him, looking this way and that. "Not too badly, but it's going to require stitches." She turned to Malice. "Alice, call Jax!"

Malice bristled at the name and clenched his teeth together, his eyes narrowed, his hands started to shake, and his chest heaved up and down. "It's Malice!" he spat, cruelly. "How long is it going to take to get into your fucking head? It's not my fault my parents thought that-"

"If you can prolong the re-telling of your life story, go call a fucking ambulance!" Braden ordered. Malice gave him the finger and whipped his cell phone from his pocket before hurrying back up the street to find the street signs. Braden turned to Austen. "What are we going to do now?"

"Regroup and try again." Austen replied after a minute. He let out a sigh of frustration and rubbed his neck; the muscles had suddenly bunched up and it didn't seem like they were going to relax anytime soon.

"You seem a little tense, Austen," Candy noted as she stood up, wiping blood off of her hands. She turned towards him and reached up and placed her hands on Austen's shoulders, gently rubbing them. "You could use a full-body massage."

"And I'm sure you'd like to be the one that gives it, yeah?" Braden remarked.

Candy turned her attention to Braden, although she continued to rub Austen's shoulders. "The offer goes to you, too."

"Get off," Austen roughly pushed Candy away from him, tightening his hands into fists. "If we keep going like this, then all of our work will be for bloody nothing!" He yelled out a curse, turned, and punched the brick wall beside him.

Shaking off the pain he turned back towards Braden. "Call Ace, let him know we're going to need his help sooner rather than later."