"Are you guys ready to go?" Celine asked after the party.
"Yup," Taylor answered. "Thanks for the party."
"It was fun. Let's do it again sometime!" Celine smiled at Taylor.
Zac and Ike clumped down the stairs. "Ellie, you're coming with us, right?" Zac asked.
"Yeah. I wouldn't want you to leave without saying goodbye. We're picking Gabby up on the way."
"Okay, cool." Zac turned. "Goodbye, Celine Dion's house!"
I laughed and pushed Zac out the door.
__________________
"I'll go get her," I said when we pulled up outside Gabby's house.
"I'll come too," Taylor offered. We jumped out of Celine's limo, raced each other to the door and rang the doorbell. Gabby appeared, dressed in black bike shorts and a t-shirt. She was wearing her hair down, framing her face, and wore lip gloss and face powder.
"I'm going to the airport with Ellie to see Hanson off!" Gabby yelled. Then she stepped onto the step. "Hey, guys!" she said brightly.
Taylor and I both looked at each other. Here we go again, I thought. "Hey! Ready?" I asked.
"Yup!" Gabby walked between Taylor and me to the limo. I climbed in beside Zac and Taylor and Gabby climbed in across from Celine and Ike. I noticed Ike glance at Gabby.
"So, where are you guys off to?" I asked.
"We're going out West," Zac answered me. I looked at him. "I'll still write," he whispered.
"Wow, Celine, this is the first time I've actually noticed how big this limo is!" Gabby exclaimed.
"Thanks, Gabby," Celine said. "How about some songs? We have an hour until we get to the airport."
"Okay. Hey, Celine, how about you start us off with The Reason?" I told her. Celine nodded.
The ride to the airport was very musical. Celine and Hanson traded off songs and sometimes Gabby and I sang along.
"Okay," Celine said, laughing as Hanson finished "Look At You". "Now, Ellie, your mother told me you and Gabby do quite a beautiful version of Tell Him."
Gabby blushed. "We dabble from time to time," she said.
"Can we hear it?" Zac asked.
"I'm game if you are," I said to Gabby.
"Sure. But we need some music. We can't do the song a cappella like you guys have been doing."
Celine pressed a button, and Tell Him started. No turning back now. Zac scooted over to sit beside Taylor, so Gabby and I were facing Hanson and Celine.
Gabby started singing, very softly and shyly. She kept glancing up at Ike, whose eyes were fixed on us. Taylor seemed very interested, as did Zac. I jumped in, singing more boldly that Gabby.
As I sang, I noticed the lyrics were about an elder telling someone else to go after the one they loved. I met Celine's eyes and gave her a thumbs-up. She winked back.
The harmony in the song worked perfectly, and before I knew it, I had forgotten Celine and Hanson were even there. I really felt the words, singing them with conviction for Gabrielle.
"Wow, that was great!" Celine said, applauding with the guys.
"Aw, stop," I said. Zac switched with Taylor and took my hand.
"It was really good," he said. I blushed.
"I'm glad you liked it."
We pulled up outside the airport and jumped out. The airport was nearly empty, since it was almost 2 in the morning. We walked down to our gate.
"Ellie, do you wanna go get a drink?" Zac asked me as I sat down by Gabby.
"There?" I pointed to a little stand near another gate.
"No, there," Zac teased, pointing to a bar. I laughed.
"Okay, let's go!"
"Guys, where are you going?" Celine asked.
"Just to get a drink. We'll be right back," Zac answered.
"Jason should go with you!" Ike said, referring to Hanson's bodyguard.
Zac rolled his eyes. "Ike, calm down. We're going right over there. We won't get lost!" Zac pulled me away before Ike could answer.
~Gabrielle~
"Geez, how long could it take for those two to get a drink?" Taylor mumbled. "It's been an hour! It's almost time to board."
"We should've made Jason go with them," Ike sighed.
"They're fine, guys," I said, but I didn't believe myself. What else was new?
"Where are Zac and Ellie?" Celine asked, coming up to us.
"We don't know."
Celine ran a hand through her hair. "Guys, it's time to board. I'll go see if I can find them."
I turned to Taylor and Isaac. We were all silent for a moment. "Well, thanks for everything, Taylor," I finally said. "You guys are really great. Don't ever stop making your music."
"We won't," Taylor said. He gave me a hug. "Did you tell him?"
"No," I whispered.
"Gabrielle…" Taylor groaned and let me go. Then I turned to Isaac. I had no idea what to say, afraid if I opened my mouth, I'd say something I didn't mean to.
"Goodbye, Gabby," Isaac said, extending his hand.
"Goodbye, Isaac," I said, putting my hand in his. Our eyes locked for a moment, but all I knew was I wanted to stay like that forever.
"Taylor, Isaac, wait!" Celine's choked voice rang out through the terminal. She ran up to us. To my surprise, and happiness, Isaac made no attempt to release my hand. "Guys, I found this at the refreshment stand. The cashier gave it to me."
Taylor took it from Celine. "Oh, my God…" he said.
"What does it say?" I asked.
"We have Zachary Hanson and Eleanor Silverman as hostages. Unless you can come up with 50 million dollars and present it to us by noon on Saturday, Eleanor will die and Zachary will soon follow. The Scream Squad."
My free hand flew to my mouth. "Ellie…Zac…Oh, God…" I murmured. I couldn't handle this on top of everything else! My heart pounded in my chest and I felt like I was going to pass out. Isaac's hand brought me back to reality. He was still holding it.
"Guys, what do we do?" Taylor asked.
"Call Mom and Dad," Isaac spoke up.
"Are you sure?"
"Tay, they're our parents! We'll tell them we're staying here in Canada to find them. Will you help us, Celine?"
"Yes. I love Ellie like she was my own daughter," Celine said. Her face was very white.
"How about you, Gabby?" Taylor asked.
"Yeah," I said.
"Gabrielle, you look like you should sit down. Are you okay?" Celine asked.
"I…I don't know. My best friend is kidnapped…" All I could think about was Ellie dying. What would I do then?
"Okay, Mom and Dad know," Isaac said, thanking the gate attendant and putting down the receiver. "They're going to try to figure this out from Tulsa."
Celine, Taylor, Isaac and I had been at the gate for nearly three hours. I was scared out of my mind. Zac would protect her, and Ellie was strong…but could they come through a kidnapping together?
"Gabby, you look really pale. Are you sure you don't want to just go home?" Celine asked me.
"How would that help? I'll stay!"
"We need some sort of plan. Saturday is four days away," Isaac said.
"I think we should get some sleep," Celine suggested. "Everything will look in the morning."
We silently walked out of the airport. I kept glancing back, hoping this was a terrible joke. But as I got into the limo, I knew this was serious.
Isaac and I were sitting across from Celine and Taylor. The events of the night were beginning to catch up with me. Everyone was lost in their own thoughts.
I was glad I was sitting next to Isaac. "You should try to sleep, Gabby," he whispered to me. I nodded and put my head on the window. Silently, Isaac gently pulled me over so I was laying on his lap. Feeling safe among my friends, I fell into a troubled sleep.
My heart pounded uncontrollably in my chest. God, how could this have happened? I should have been paying more attention, or sent my bodyguard, Eric, with them. I looked around the limo and saw everyone was asleep. How could they not? The sun was just creeping up over the horizon.
I reached for my cell phone and dialed Ellie's number. I felt badly about waking Mia up this early but she had to know.
"Mia," I said gently into the receiver. "This is Celine. We have a very serious situation. Ellie and Zac have been kidnapped with a ransom of 50 million dollars." I heard Mia at the other end. I decided to leave out what would happen if they didn't get the money. "I love Ellie so much, but 50 million is a lot of money. I have my best people working on this, Mia. We're going to get it figured out, I promise. Right now, the boys and Gabrielle are going to stay in Montreal with me and Rene while this gets figured out. Mia, we're going to come through this. Everybody is going to get it worked out."
I said goodbye and hung up. Emotion was racing through my body. When had I last felt like this? When my favorite niece, Karine, had died in my arms, I decided. I had promised Karine they'd find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis. I'd promised her everything would turn out all right. I'd promised! Karine had trusted me!
Now, here I was with another child that I loved with her life in danger. There I went again…promising Mia that everything would be okay, when the situation was racing downhill. I couldn't let Ellie or Mia down like I had Karine. We have to do something…but what? I buried my face in my hands, tears streaming through my fingers.
I ran into the room and almost tripped over a body. I glanced down and saw Zac. I reached out for him, but Zac was dead.
My eyes flew open and I tried not to scream. Ike and Gabby were still asleep, Gabby's body draped over Ike's lap…like Zac's had been sprawled on the floor.
I shook my head, trying to clear the dream out of my mind. I wished I'd gone with them. Zac was only 13, and had an incredible career in front of him. He couldn't die!
I glanced to my left, where Celine was crumpled against a window. "Celine?" I whispered, putting a hand on her back. Celine started and sat up.
"Hi, Taylor," she said faintly.
"Shhh, you'll wake Ike and Gabby…" I looked at her tear-stained, makeup-streaked face. This was a whole new side to Celine. "Celine, are you okay?"
"I promised…I wouldn't let her down…I can't…she's too special…" Celine gasped.
I scooted closer to her. "It's okay. We'll find them. Don't worry." But inside, I was doubtful. Sure, between Hanson and Celine Dion, we had 50 million dollars, but would that really guarantee their return? And the note had signed "The Scream Squad", Zac's nickname for overly crazed, screaming Hanson fans.
It was my turn to start. Hanson fans…would some Hanson fan really capture Zac?
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