Wow, I'm actually updating this in less than a month! Go me!

Disclaimer: Well. About owning Big Time Rush...I really don't, not at all, never have, and never will. Sorry.

Guest: Thank you so much! I'm so happy you like it! :)

seethrutheglass: Well, you were right about it being Snake, so nice one!

THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or followed this story! You guys are amazing, and I love how enthusiastic and support and in love with this story you've been so far!

Warnings: Language, action, violence, and mentions of non-con voyeurism.

Oh, you may notice that I changed one of the genres - it used to be romance/mystery, and now it's romance/suspense. The story was a lot darker than I originally thought it would be, and it just made sense to change the genre.

Enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 16: Trapped and Desperate

Katie's POV: 3 1/2 Years Earlier, the Palmwoods

I sighed from where I was sitting on the orange couch in 2J. James was doing his usual morning routine, i.e. walking around the apartment wearing sweat pants and nothing else. Not that I minded. He could go shirtless twenty-four/seven and I wouldn't complain. His body was amazing. I just wished that I could touch it…

He looked over at me from where he was shoveling cereal into his mouth. "You okay?" he wanted to know. "You look a little depressed."

I pulled my feet up under me. "No, I'm fine. I just had a weird dream last night."

"Like a nightmare?"

I shook my head. Not in the least.

"So…what was it? Did it just not make sense?" he pushed.

"It – it made sense…"

It made a lot of sense…Sex dreams generally do…especially when they involve a really hot guy like, say, James Diamond.

"Well, if you want to talk about it, we can," he said to me as he plopped down on the couch, mere inches from me. He took another bite of his cereal.

I found myself staring at his fingers, watching how he controlled the spoon, held the bowl, how his fingers gently curled around the base and side of the dish, his thumb occasionally sliding up and down the plastic. It was a simple, innocent movement, but if his thumb moved like that along something else…it would be obscene.

I swallowed forcefully. I knew I didn't have a chance with him. He was three years older than me, a grown man at nineteen. I was only sixteen. He wouldn't want to be with me.

But what if he did?

As I watched him, I noticed the way his eyes seemed to rest on my bare legs, and raise until he was eyeing my chest, finally settling on my face.

It was at that moment that it occurred to me that we were both teenagers, and three years' age difference really wasn't that much. What were the chances that he was interested in me?

Biting my bottom lip, I decided to give it my best try.

"Well, the thing is, I kind of do want to talk about it," I said quietly. "But it's kind of…embarrassing."

"Should I get your mom?" he asked, sounding almost alarmed.

I shook my head. "I don't know what she can tell me that books haven't already."

His hazel eyes, already large, seemed to widen even more, and he half-choked on the spoonful of cereal he had just taken. "Uh – uh huh…"

"It's just so hard to have hormones with no outlet," I explained to him. "You must know how that goes."

He looked like he was about to drop the bowl.

"I mean, at least you have masturbating. A lot of girls don't even have that."

The look of complete and utter shock was more than enough to make up for the fact that my face was probably turning a bright red.

I sighed again, stretching out, catching the way his eyes lingered on my chest as it rose.

"It's so hard to get what you need to out of it," I continued on. "It doesn't come naturally for everyone, you know."

"Seriously…um…you should talk to your mom about this…and not me…" He stumbled to his feet.

"Am I making you uncomfortable, Jamie?" I asked, trying to sound sweet and innocent. "You've always told me I could talk to you about anything."

"I – I know – it's just – masturbating? Really, Katie? Really? Why are you even bringing it up?"

"I could use some help," I said, my voice sounding small as I realized that he was about to reject me. "I don't know what I'm doing and…" I took a deep breath. "I've been having dreams about you a lot…"

For a split second, it looked like James' eyes lit up, but then a sad and confused look settled on his face. "It's just because I'm available," he mumbled. "Your mind's immediately going to me. That's all it is, Katie. Nothing more, nothing less."

"James…"

"I'm sorry, I – I need to go." He rinsed out his bowl and put it and the spoon in the dishwasher, before hurrying to the bedroom he shared with Carlos.

I covered my face with my hands, trying not to cry. I knew I hadn't had a chance with him…I'd known it…

And then that night, everything changed.

Katie's POV

2:30 AM

There was complete silence in the room. No one spoke. No one moved. We were frozen in shock and horror. A gun was pointed at us by a masked man. And standing beside him was none other than reality TV show super-producer, Snake Timmons.

Snake…

Snake…

The Replacement?

But no, that didn't make sense. His voice and The Replacement's didn't match up. It was the masked man who had spoken in the first place, not Snake Timmons. And the masked man's voice did match The Replacement's…

Snake Timmons was The Serpent.

But beyond that…further than that…we had finally come face to face with The Replacement.

I licked my lips, trying not to quake with fear. I felt James reach for my hand, slipping his fingers through mine.

"I guess you are really secretive," I finally said to The Replacement. "You'd have to be, to pull something like this off. To spy on us since the guys were seventeen. To get Arthur Griffin on your side, to hire Snake Timmons, to blackmail us."

"To beat you," he said coldly. "Ah, and James Diamond." His lips turned up into an icy smile. "The one who I would have replaced, if it wasn't for one Miss Katie Knight." He nodded at me.

"That was you?" James whispered.

"I locked you in a cage and left you dog biscuits. Remember that? Such fond memories."

"You were already crazy at thirteen," James snapped. "You were a foot shorter than me. Skinny as hell. You didn't look a thing like me."

He stepped towards James. "But I was diabolical. All I wanted was to know what it felt like to be my idol. Permanently." His voice turned mocking. "But Katie Knight wouldn't allow that. She wanted to keep you in the band, because she couldn't let you go."

"I was a part of Big Time Rush," James snarled. "I had every right to be in the band. You weren't me! You could never be me!"

The Replacement smiled again. "I know that now. I could never fit in with any of you. I'm not so young and naïve now. I've had this plan in my head for five years. And now, I'm finally going to get my revenge." He continued to move towards James, and I instinctively stepped in front of him, trying to shield him from whatever wrath The Replacement might wield on him.

I felt James' hands on my shoulders, and then with a push, I stumbled into Kendall. I looked back at James, but he didn't glance my way. He was going to meet The Replacement head on.

"What're you going to do?" he asked quietly. "Shoot me?"

"Of course not," The Replacement said coolly. "I want to watch you burn with everyone else. But I fully intend on using this opportunity to my advantage."

James blinked, and I caught a look of fear shooting across his face. He quickly disguised with a haughty expression, but I knew what I'd seen.

The Replacement slowly raised his mask as he reached James. He held the gun up, pointing it at me. "Stay still," he murmured to James. "Or else your girlfriend gets shot."

James swallowed, but nodded his understanding.

"Good. I wonder what it would be like to kiss myself…"

We all blinked. What the hell was he talking about?

But then it hit me. He had wanted to replace James. He had wanted to be James. Which meant…

Before any of us could do or say anything, The Replacement touched his lips to James'.

I felt nausea roiling in my stomach, heading towards my throat. Kendall held me tightly, his face buried in my hair. Logan had his hand over his eyes, and Camille and Jo had both turned away.

But I watched.

James' face twisted slightly, and his body was tense, telling me he was fighting the urge to push The Replacement off of him, but he didn't. I was sure that in his head, he was repeating a mantra of Stay still, stay still, stay still. He would let The Replacement rape him before he let him hurt me. And I couldn't let that happen.

After several more seconds, The Replacement pulled back, brushing his fingers over his lips. "I knew you'd be a good kisser."

"Put the gun down," James said shakily. "Please…"

The Replacement smirked, running his finger over James' cheek. "But where's the fun in that?"

James shuddered. "I'll do anything you want…Just please don't hurt her."

"Anything I want?" he repeated.

James nodded, his body visibly shaking.

"You're almost making it too easy," The Replacement purred.

"James..." I whimpered. "Don't…"

"It'll be okay," James said, trying to sound reassuring. "It'll all work out."

The Replacement licked his lips. "Maybe if you two do what I want, maybe I'll keep you alive, for a little while."

"What'll you do with us?" I asked him.

"Keep you two. You know, I loved watching it all go down. You two were so hot together." He tilted his head back, eyes closing slightly, as if he was in a moment of passion.

"Yeah, that's just gross," Kendall spoke up. "You actually liked watching my sister and best friend have sex? Dude, you have some serious issues."

"Seriously," Camille piped up, "you need therapy. I mean, I get that voyeurism is kind of kink and all that, but to go so far as to spy on people, and then decide to keep them so that you can watch them go at it, well, you need professional help. Seriously, give a therapist a call, you'll feel better."

The Replacement stared between Kendall and Camille in shocked disbelief. "You do know I'm holding a gun, right?"

"Duh," Camille intoned. "But without that gun, you're all talk. And if you think we're going to let you use James and Katie as your sex slaves or whatever, you're even nuttier than a squirrel's cheeks in the winter."

"On second thought, maybe I'll keep you…You're sassy, I like that."

"Oh, please, we're all sassy," Jo rolled her eyes. "One of the advantages of growing up in Hollywood. Learn it. Live it. Love it. And in your case, kill it."

"Or you…" The Replacement shifted his gun to point at Jo.

"Or how about me? Goodness knows I'm pretty sassy," Kendall spoke up, striking a pose.

"And me. I'm a doctor, I gotta bring the sass too," Logan grinned.

James and I blinked at each other in confusion. What the hell was wrong with everyone?

The next thing I knew, everyone was crowding together, facing The Replacement down.

We weren't going down without a fight.

Carlos' POV

"There has to be something to help us get out of here," I mumbled as Gustavo and I continued to search Captain Montgomery's office. "Anything…Anything at all."

"Something to break through the door?" Gustavo suggested.

"Like a chair?" I added.

"Yes! A chair would be perfect. Something sturdy. It won't matter now if it breaks, but we need to make sure we can get through the door."

I nodded in agreement.

He grabbed the desk chair and hauled it over to the door, swinging it at the wood. There was a loud thud.

He did it again.

Another thud.

Another swing.

Crack!

The wood splintered slightly.

Gustavo and I shared an excited, hopeful look, before he smashed the chair against the door again. The wood broke apart some more.

One more swing, and the center of the door gave out completely, falling in a pile of oversized toothpicks to the ground.

Gustavo and I grinned at each other, and then he pushed himself through the hole in the door. I scampered out after him.

Once we were safely out of the office, we took off down the hall.

"Where do you think the others are?" Gustavo asked me as we skidded into the lobby.

"Beats the hell out of me! I wonder if Stephanie, Kelly, and Jenn ever found the control room…"

"Let's hope so…I'll text Kelly." He sent her a quick text. A moment later, his phone beeped, and he opened the new message. "The control room is on the upper floor of the ship. Come on!" We raced up the stairs, finally reaching a door at the very top. We busted through it to find the three women huddled around a control panel. They looked up as we came racing in, their faces pale and tight, fists clenched.

There was a moment of silence, and then Stephanie spoke: "We're about to be hit by a tidal wave."

I gasped. "W-w-what? What're you talking about?"

She led me over to the big window-screen-thingy. She pointed to a weird, uneven heap on the screen, that was moving towards us pretty quickly. "That's a tidal wave. I don't know when it's going to hit, but with the way it's coming towards us, I'd say soon."

"What do we do?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"I don't know," she said helplessly. "I wish I did, but I don't."

"We could turn the ship around, if we knew how," Kelly spoke up. "But we don't even know how far away we'd have to be for the tidal wave to miss us."

"We should still try it," I replied. "We've gotta try it, it could be our only chance. We can maybe stand up against a bomb, if we can find it, but a tidal wave? Forget it! It'll completely wipe us out! We won't survive that!"

"Are you sure it's a tidal wave?" Gustavo asked Stephanie. "Because that could be a lot of stuff. Hell, it could be another ship."

Before she could answer, the boat suddenly began to rock back and forth. It had been pretty unsteady for the past hour, but this felt like…

"An earthquake," I whispered.

"Except we're on water," Jenn pointed out.

"Oh my God…"

"This has to be some sort of trick, it just has to be," Kelly whimpered.

"We'll focus on whether or not this is a trick later," I said. "Come on, let's figure out how to steer this damn thing."

"If only the captain was still alive," Jenn sighed as we all unsteadily moved towards the steering wheel-like thing in the center of the room.

"Yeah, well, The Replacement got rid of him," I replied. "So we're kind of on our own now."

"I don't know if we can do this. What if the wind's wrong?" Gustavo spoke up.

"The wind's actually going to help us," Stephanie told him as she examined some sort of meter thing on the screen. "It's pushing us in the opposite direction. If we turn the ship around, we could move even faster away from the tidal wave."

"Let's give it a try," Jenn agreed. "Anybody have a handbook for the ship?"

Gustavo grinned and pulled out a small, yet thick, book from his jacket pocket. "I'll find the section about turning the ship."

James' POV

The Replacement sneered at us. "Do you really think you'll all be able to take me down?"

Logan shrugged. "Who knows? But hey, there's six of us, and only two of you, although you do have a gun. So, I'd say the chances of us escaping are probably fifty/fifty."

I wasn't sure I liked those chances, but hey, they were a hell of a lot better than, say, 90/10 in Snake's and The Replacement's favor.

The Replacement stared at him. "And what're you planning on doing?"

Logan shrugged. "Hadn't thought about it."

"We'll figure something out though," I assured The Replacement.

He rolled his eyes, sneering again. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

I looked over at Logan. "Hear that, buddy? We have no idea what we're talking about."

"Oh, well, damn. I guess we'd better stay here and wait for the bomb to explode. After all, who wants to take chances?"

"Certainly not me, now that a psycho's told me I have no idea what I'm doing."

"Oh, agreed. Everyone, listen to the psycho! He knows exactly what he's talking about!" Logan waved his hands around. "After all, he knows everything there is to know! By the way," he added to The Replacement. "You're not actually holding the gun right. Here, let me show you." He walked over to The Replacement, who had a stunned look on his face again. "It's like this." Just as there was a soft click from the gun, the boat began shaking violently.

The Replacement and Snake both looked up at the ceiling.

We didn't wait for Logan to yell it – we ran for our lives.

Up the rope ladder, all of us gripping and grappling to get out of the little cellar. I heard both The Replacement and Snake cuss us out vilely, but we had taken them completely by surprise. They hadn't expected us to run so soon. Not to mention, the fact that the ship was shaking the way The Titanic must have when it had run into the iceberg.

I really hoped we hadn't crashed into an iceberg…

"Split up!" Logan yelled.

We didn't pause to think. Logan and I ran in one direction, Katie and Kendall ran in another, and Jo and Camille ran in a third.

Logan and I reached the lobby and slowed down to look at the extra wall. It separated the lobby from what was now just a random room, but both rooms were decorated pretty much the same.

"That's the wall we need to demolish," Logan panted to me. "That's the wall we need to get into."

"What did you do to the gun?"

"Put the safety on. I thought it might buy us a couple of seconds. The Replacement seems easily distracted and startled, which'll help in our favor."

I nodded. "Come on, we have to go – "

Before I could completely finish my sentence, a tall, thin, white-haired man appeared, dressed impeccably in a suit and tie.

Griffin.

Like The Replacement, he held a gun. Black. Shiny. Lethal looking.

We had no chance…

Except…

"Your gun can only shoot six rounds," Logan spoke up. "You have six shots. You need to make them count."

Griffin smirked. "Oh, believe me, Logan, I will." He trained the gun at Logan's head. "Maybe I'll use all six shots on you. What do you think?"

"I think Camille's going to be really pissed if she finds out you used me as target practice."

I nodded. "She gets really dangerous. It has to do with her method acting. I wouldn't want her as an enemy."

Griffin rolled his eyes. "Psyching me out won't work, boys. I'm the master of psyching people out."

I snapped my fingers. "Darn."

Griffin took a step towards Logan, and then another step. Logan backed up, looking for a way to run, but there was none. Griffin was closing the distance between them.

I licked my lips. I had to do something.

And then…

The Replacement and Snake came dashing into the lobby. Griffin whipped around, and his finger slipped on the trigger.

There was an echoing BANG, and Snake went down.

At first I thought he had just tripped, but then blood splattered all over the floor.

This wasn't going to bold well for Griffin…

I was right.

The Replacement raised his gun coldly and shot straight at Griffin's chest. He tumbled to the ground, blood staining his suit jacket.

Logan and I didn't wait around to see if The Replacement was interested in playing Pin the Tail. We took advantage of the empty space between us and The Replacement, and made a break for it, into the next room.

We kept running, taking as many turns as we could, before we finally stopped.

"We need to figure out how to get into the wall," Logan breathed out.

"Obviously."

"If we could just find a good hammer…"

"There has to be one around here somewhere. Maybe in a supply closet?"

He nodded. "Let's go find one."

So, what'd you guys think? Were you shocked by what happened to Snake and Griffin? How about that tidal wave?

A couple of people have asked me how much more of the story is left to write. In all honesty...I'd say around two more chapters, maybe three. I could be totally wrong, but that's my guess.

Anyway, it'd be greatly appreciated if you clicked on the review button! The button would be thrilled at some company, and I love hearing your thoughts on the chapter :)