SUNDAY, 3:50 A.M. AUGUST 4, 2001
Josh squinted, waiting for his time to come. Would it hurt? he wondered. Will I feel a thing?
The gun made a clicking noise.
"Damn...outta bullets," Renee said and searched around in her pockets. She found one, loaded it, and pointed it at Josh's forehead again. "Ok, this is the real thing." She smiled cruelly.
Josh closed his eyes and winced, waiting for the bullet. But it never came. Renee was slumped in his arms.
"What...?"
"Hey," Justin greeted. "What's up? You alright?"
"No, I'm not all right!" Josh yelled. "I almost got killed! By a girl!"
Justin flashed him a smile.
"Wait..." Josh paused. "Why are you here? What are you doing? And why is Renee passed out or whatever?"
"I've been tracking her down for years," Justin explained.
"Why?"
"Well, I don't really know why. Newspapers and tabloids offer me a lot of money, so I hired someone to keep an eye on her while we're working. She took pictures of you and Renee on the plane."
Josh nodded. He looked down at Renee. "She's not..." He swallowed hard. "Dead, is she?"
"Of course not! I'm no murderer!" Justin ran his fingers through her light brown hair. "Such a beautiful girl...I'd date her if I didn't know her profession."
Josh grinned. "You wouldn't date her, you'd do her."
Justin grinned back. "I could do her now."
"No, don't. She's asleep. She wouldn't feel a thing." Josh studied Justin's face. "What are we gonna do with her?"
"Turn her in," Justin answered. "Lots of media coverage, lots of publicity for *N Sync."
Josh rolled his eyes. "We can't turn her in. She's...too innocent."
"She's poisoned your mind. Forty-one companies in just four years. Pretty good...for a woman."
"You are so sexist.”
“C'mon, let's go get some coffee. We'll come back later. I shot her with a tranquilizer. She'll be out for a few hours." And they left.
SUNDAY, 4:30 A.M., AUGUST 4, 2001
Renee woke up groggily. She looked around. She didn't remember where she was, but she knew this place seemed familiar.
"Hey, sweet cheeks," a voice said. It was Justin.
Renee mumbled something and turned over, only to find one of her hands was handcuffed to the bed.
"Don't even think of trying to escape." Justin smiled, kissed her on the cheek, and went back to the living room.
As soon as he was gone, Renee studied the handcuffs. She could get out of anything. She took the bobby pin from her pocket. Bobby pins were great for picking locks and this was a good cause. She finally picked the lock and stretched.
Renee cracked open the door and peeked out. Josh and Justin were sitting on the couch, talking. If she went out that way, they would catch her.
She stepped back in, closing the door softly behind her. There were three windows in this bedroom. Beneath one of them was the entrance to the apartment complex. There was a cloth over the entrance.
If I jump just right, I can land on it, Renee mused.
She pulled open the window and it made a cracking sound, as if it hadn't been opened in awhile.
Justin and Josh burst through the door. Justin ran over to her.
Taking a deep breath, Renee jumped and landed perfectly on the cloth. She leaped off and broke into a run. She ran into the apartment complex's parking garage and picked a nice convertible.
It was unlocked. Renee slid into the driver's seat and kicked the footrest area open, messing with the wires. She had learned a little about cars, and how to hotwire them.
A few minutes later, she drove out into the street, dodging cars.
As she turned onto Highway 14, which led to Atlanta after many miles, she smiled.
Life was sweet.