Justin paced around the scene anxiously. He'd seen Lance and Roberts get out of the car. He'd seen the police swoop down on them, plastering Roberts against the car, while herding Lance away and into an ambulance. He had a few small cuts and bruises, and a nasty abrasion on the back of his head from where he'd fallen on the pavement at the beginning of the ordeal. Justin knew all of this from Lonnie who had filled him in on Lance's condition as he passed by a few moments before. Now, Justin was waiting until Lance was free to come to him, to make sure he was ok for himself.
Justin also wanted to find out what the hell was going on.
Lonnie's loud voice broke him out of his thoughts. Raising his head, Justin could see the man he loved and his bodyguard coming towards him. Lonnie was giving Lance a good 'talking to' about the stunt he'd pulled. Justin didn't care about that at the moment. He only cared that his lover and friend was safe.
Disregarding the media that was only a parking lot away, Justin ran to Lance, engulfing him in his arms tight enough to keep Lance from breathing correctly.
"Uh, Juju. I kinda need to breath occasionally." Lance croaked out, making Justin loosen his hold.
"I'm sorry. I was just so damn worried. What the hell were you thinking? Are you ok? Where are you hurt? Did that Roberts guy hurt you? I'll kill him, with my bare hands?" Justin started firing the questions off rapidly, barely taking a breath in between the different questions.
"Justin, baby. I'm fine. A few scratches, a headache that surpasses the worst hangover I've ever had, some bruises, but otherwise I'm fine." Lance said, framing Justin's face in his hand, speaking softly and giving him a shy smile.
Justin let out a deep breath to calm down. When he felt he could keep his emotions in check for a few more minutes, he opened his eyes and offered Lance a small smile. "I'm glad you're ok."
"Everything's going to be fine if things work out the way I hope they do." Lance said, glancing over his shoulder to the cop car that was taking Roberts to the police station.
"Are you going to fill us in on what's going on?" Justin asked, glancing from the cop car then back to his lover.
Looking back to Justin, Lance gave him a sly grin, one that made Justin shudder. He'd been on the receiving end of that grin before. It didn't come out often, but when it did, you could bet Lance had something up his sleeve.
"Let's head to the police station." Lance said, walking over to the cop that was going to escort them.
~*~
The Orlando Police station was crowded. Prostitutes, drug dealers, petty thieves, burglars, and other assorted criminals littered the building. Some glared at the clean cut looking men making their way through the ocean of paperwork and uniformed officers. Most paid them no attention at all, preferring to keep to themselves.
"Hey Sugar, you look like you need to loosen up a little. What's say you and I have a little party when we get out of here?" One of the more brazen prostitutes asked, sidling up to Lance as he made his way to the room where he would give his statement.
"Um, no thanks. Not my sort of thing." Lance replied, shocked but trying still to be polite. He shot a glare at the snickering Justin.
"Oh come on. Bring your friend. The more the merrier." The prostitute persisted, raking her eyes over Justin. He quickly sobered up.
"Sorry, we have some place we have to be." Justin said, grabbing Lance's arm and dragging him into the room that Lonnie had disappeared into.
"Come on Paul. Your usual cell is waiting on ya." One of the uniformed officers said, taking the prostitute by a handcuffed arm and leading him away. Justin looked back in time to see 'Paul' wink at him and Lance and blow a kiss.
"Dude! That was a dude!" Justin exclaimed, turning back to the others in the room. He flushed red at the looks the others in the room were giving him.
"And that bothers you because?" Lance said, cocking one eyebrow and folding his arms over his chest.
"It's called cross dressing. Deal. We have more important things to worry about." Lance said, sitting in a chair on one side of the desk while the detective took a seat on the other side.
"Mr. Bass. You do know that you have put us in a very awkward position, don't you."
"Yes, and for that I am sorry. Surprisingly enough, Roberts and I talked in the car while this whole thing played out. I believe what he tells me and I also believe him when he said he had no choice. Given his circumstances, I would have probably done the same thing." Lance said, nodding his head in agreement with his assumption.
"Well what makes you think that he was telling you the truth on what ever it is he told, which you have yet to fill anyone in on.?"
Lance thought about that question. "Because it makes sense. The guy knowing where I lived, when I should be home. Knowing what hotels we were going to be staying at, being able to get in them. Knowing where I was going to be after the first attack, and the second. He knew when I was going to be at the mall, and we made sure we weren't being followed. It all makes sense." Lance said, shrugging.
"How did you know I was checking for a tail?" Lonnie asked, with a sheepish grin. He'd try to do it so no one would notice. He hadn't wanted to add to Lance's nervousness.
"I've been around you for nearly 8 years, Lon. I know when you're checking for a tail." Lance said, smirking at his overprotective body guard, glad that he was around.
"How is it that all of this makes sense, because it isn't making sense to me. What did Roberts tell you."
"How could anyone have known where I was going to be after the first attack? The only people around afterwards were policemen. Even the neighbors stayed in their houses. And the hospital room? There were supposed to be policemen at the door. They wouldn't have just left for anything. And the only people who knew we were going to the mall were my manager, those of us in the van, all of which I trust with my life, and the detective in charge of my case." Lance said, giving a pointed glance to the man behind the desk.
"Rodriquez." The other detective whispered, realization dawning on him. "But how does that explain how he would know where you were before the first attack?" the detective wondered aloud, not understand completely.
"That makes the most sense if what Roberts told me is true." Lance said, leaning forward in his chair, elbows resting on his knees. Justin knew this position. He was business Lance, nothing ruffled him, nothing surprised him, and nothing scared him. This was the Lance that wouldn't back down until he got what he wanted. This was the Lance that wouldn't say anything unless he was absolutely sure of what he was saying, which meant that Lance was pretty damn sure of what he was getting ready to say and believed in it whole heartedly. That was enough to make Justin believe what ever he was about to say.
"I own a production company. I've had so many people come to my company trying to get me to sign them soley based on who I am and what I do. They figure that if a "pop star" is backing their album, their sure to make some money, even if things don't pan out after the first one. That's what Rodriguez thought too, according to Roberts. His son wanted to be a singer. Rodriguez wanted to make a lot of money off of his son. He got him to audition for my company. While in negotiations, it's important that my possible clients as well as those already signed can get in touch with me if they need to. This being the case, that would mean that his son had a copy of my tour schedule, where I'd be staying and when. The room numbers wouldn't be hard to get for a police officer. He'd also know where I was living and my recording schedule when I was here in Orlando. Needless to say, I didn't sign his son, due to time constraints on me. I didn't sign anyone last year. He's pissed because he didn't get the fame and fortune he wanted from me."
"Ok that does make sense. I always knew Rodriguez was a vendictive bastard, but I never thought he would go so far as to use his son and then try to kill someone. This is�.strange." The detecive said, sitting back in his chair and running a hand through his messy hair. "The DA is going over some things with Roberts, and he's being questioned. He's going to need your input to put this whole thing together. We have enough right now to at least bring Rodriguez in. Then it shouldn't be too big of a problem to get what we need to put him away."
"Can we see Roberts? I want to make sure he's doing ok, and I need to get something from him." Lance said, standing when the detective did.
"What do you need to get from him?" Justin asked, standing with him.
"Don't worry about it. It's just something I need to do to return the favor." Lance said, following the detective down the hall.