Date: Wed, 08 Nov 2000 00:30:51 EST From: Dale E Wright <bwicub@hotmail.com> Subject: "The Lottery Winner" Chapter 23 Hi everyone... Wow...people are actually reading my stuff. Thanks for the positive responses. -- I'm even a nominee for some slash-fiction awards! Vote for me please!!!! (http://jump.to/nsync_stories or http://www.geocities.com/sasha02.geo/award.html) I'm nominated in the `Best Joey story' and `Best Slash Fiction'. This story has now officially taken on a life of it's own. I didn't expect it to go this long or be this developed. But so many people have written me that I have to see what happens next! As always, Gabriella and Mike and Charlie are my main cheerleaders. I'm a bit nervous--so if people could please e-mail me at bwicub@hotmail.com--I'd really appreciate it. I love e-mail!! DISCLAIMER: The name of the stalker is fictional. This is a fictional story that came right out of my own mind. I have no knowledge if any member of N Sync are gay or whatever. That being said, please enjoy the story and remember-- write me!!! (Especially write me if you're a member of the group! GRIN) --The Lottery Winner Ch 23-- ***ATTENTION ALL UNITS*** BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR A 2001 ACURA MDX, TEMPORARY FLORIDA TAG, GREEN PEARL IN COLOR. REGISTERED DRIVER BELIEVED KIDNAPPED: DALE WRIGHT, 29YO WM, 6'2" 200, BRN HAIR, HAZEL EYES. NO TATTOOS. BLACK FRAME GLASSES. NKA SUSPECT IS A WHITE MALE, 31 YEARS OLD, CURLY BLOND HAIR, BLUE EYES. NAMED LONNIE WILSON. KNOWN ALIASES ARE LONNIE GORDON, LONNIE JOHNSON, LONNIE MCELDOWNEY. APPROACH WITH EXTREME CAUTION ***END TRANSMISSION*** "Guys there's nothing you can do here so you might as well fly back up to Jersey." Johnny Wright was not a happy man. The past eight hours have been a nightmare. If asked, he could tell exactly when it all went to hell. He got a call from Lance to shuffle dates in Jersey. He then got a call from Joey about someone trying to kidnap Dale. He called Dale's mom like Joey suggested, and sent the police out to the house that Joey and Dale were sharing. They found the door closed and Dale gone. An APB had gone out on the car. So far, nothing had been turned up. He now had two frustrated mega-stars in his office, one in tears. Joey couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You seriously expect me to just go back up to Jersey like nothing has happened? My god Johnny, my world is falling apart here." "And how much of this did you bring on yourself Joey?" Joey's head snapped around. "Lance, I'm really getting tired of this. You can't beat me up over this anymore than I can. I still maintain that something odd happened, which is why I asked to stop by that clinic before we came down here. Now could we please concentrate on what's important here." Johnny interrupted them before they started bickering again. "Guys! Okay, you two are flying back up to New Jersey now. I'll keep in contact with the police and let you know if I hear anything. We've already played with the schedule enough. No more shows can be rescheduled. Do I make myself clear on this one guys?" Lance and Joey just nodded sadly. The two young men got up and left to head back to the airport. Joey insisted on going to the house first. Johnny saw the look on his face and relented. Whatever was going on, it was really upsetting Joey. On the drive to Joey's house, nothing was said for the first few minutes. Finally, someone broke the silence. "I'm sorry." Joey felt the hand on his shoulder, Lance hugged him from behind. "Joey I'm so sorry. I've been so caught up in being mad at you for last night that I wasn't even thinking about how much this is killing you. I'm sorry for yelling. I'm also sorry I hit you." Joey crumbled at that. He turned and pulled Lance into a hug. The sobs that racked Joey's body sounded so sad. Like he's lost something that he's not sure he can ever get back. ** IN NEW JERSEY** "I'm going to call them." "No Justin! They'll let us know what's going on." Chris was playing Playstation, trying to keep his mind off of the situation that had developed in Florida. "We have to trust that we'll be kept in the loop." "GOD, this sucks!" Justin threw himself onto the couch and hugged a cushion. JC was sleeping in the other room, but came out with the yelling. "God Curly. DO you have to yell? Some of us are trying to sleep." Chris got killed in his game, and turned off the Playstation in disgust. "Let's get out of here guys. Cabin fever is setting in hardcore." The three friends decided to go in to New York and do some shopping. They changed into their public outfits and headed out. The phone in the suite started ringing as the door was closing, but JC said it could wait. If it was important the right people had their cell numbers. ** SOMEWHERE IN FLORIDA** Joey looked around the house. The police had just looked through the house to make sure that Dale wasn't there. He felt like he was looking at a half-finished scene. Dale's breakfast dishes were still in the sink, he hadn't washed them yet. Joey felt something rubbing his legs, and looked down to see Loki sitting there looking at him. He didn't say anything, just reached down and pulled the cat into his arms. Loki settled in, purring contentedly. Joey scratched his ears, and smiled sadly at Lance. "Look. Loki likes me still. That has to count for something doesn't it?" Lance didn't say anything, just patted Joey's back. "Come on Joe, we really should get going. The concert isn't going to get delayed again." "We have to have someone keep an eye on Loki. Could you call Johnny for me Lance?" Joey started crying again. Lance made sure that the cat had fresh food and water, and even changed the litter box. He then called to get Johnny to arrange a house-sitting service to keep an eye on the cat and Joey's house. The ride to the airport wasn't very long, but it seemed like an eternity for the two friends. Johnny was sitting with his head on his desk. He hated headaches. His assistant came in to the office. "Johnny, there's a Detective Williams on the phone for you." "Thanks Liz." Picking up the phone without even looking at it. "This is Johnny Wright, how can I help you?" He sat up a little straighter. "They did? When? Okay thanks." He hung up and looked at his watch, they were probably in the air, but he had to call and let them know. He reached for the phone again and speed-dialed a number. The voicemail picked up, so that means the phone was turned off. "Joey, it's Johnny. The police just called. They found Dale's car about sixty miles outside of town. It was abandoned. There's more, but I really think you should hear it from me directly. Give me a call." Johnny put the whole situation out of his head for the moment, he had a business to run. He did place a call to the hotel where the other guys in the band were. It went over to the voicemail system, so he left a message reiterating what he'd already told Lance and Joey. About three hours later his phone rang. It was Joey. He and Lance had gotten back to the hotel, but the others had gone somewhere. He had to now tell Joey one of the hardest things he's ever had to tell someone. "Are you sitting down Joey?" "Johnny, let me have it. It can't get worse than this can it?" "Joey, when they found the car they found blood on the passenger seat." He heard a couple of clunks, then a scream from the other end of the phone. "Joey? Joey! Hello? WOULD SOMEONE TALK TO ME!" Finally someone picked up the phone. "Johnny, it's James. What'd you say to him? He punched the mirror and then screamed." Johnny just sighed, and repeated what he'd just told Joey. He heard Lance's hissed intake of breath. "Do they know for sure it's Dale's?" "No they don't. They're still working on it. Please make sure Joey knows that. We can have nothing impact any of the shows. As far as the world knows everything is just fine with the men of N'Sync. Do I make myself clear James?" "Clear as crystal Johnny. I'll calm him down. Thanks for letting us know. Bye for now." ** IN NEW JERSEY** Lance hung up the phone, and went over to the bed. Joey was curled up on his side, crying. Lance sat next to him and started rubbing his back. "Joey? Come on. You have to be strong right now. Keep it together." "Oh god Lance. What if Lonnie really hurts him?" Lance pulled him up and held him tight. They were sitting like that when the others returned. Justin and JC threw the door open to the suite and were being all hyper. Chris saw Lance and Joey in the bedroom, and headed in. "Guys? What'd you find out." Joey wouldn't say anything. He got up off of the bed and headed into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind him. Lance just sighed, and motioned Chris to head out into the living room with him. Lance sat the guys down and filled them in. They all were horrified when they heard about the car being found. "Oh man. What should we do for Joey?" "All we can do is be there for him." Lance sat down and began massaging his eyes with his fingers. "Fuck, what a day." He let out a loud sigh. "What do you guys want to do tonight?" JC let out a laugh. "Scoop, you look like shit. Let's just stay in and do a couch-potato night. We can get a couple of movies and just be here for each other. I think that you and Joey are not in any condition to go out." Lance just smiled wanly at him. "Gee, thanks every so much." That sounds like a plan. Does someone want to go for munchies? I have to go shower." He stood and stretched. "Chris, could you please go tell Joey what the plan is?" Chris headed into Joey's room. He apparently was still in the bathroom. Chris was reaching for the door to knock on it when the cell phone that was sitting on the dresser started ringing. "Joey. Your phone's ringing." Dead silence. "Joey? Want me to get that?" Dead silence. "Sure Chris, answer it." He reached for the cell and activated it. "Hello, Joey's phone." "Yes Mister Fatone please." "Who shall I say is calling please?" "This is Jenny Rollinson from St Thomas Healthcare. If he's there I would really like to talk to him." "Hang on a second Jenny." Chris went to the door and tried the knob. It opened! He peeked around the corner, and Joey was sitting in the tub, just staring at the wall. "Joey? It's St Thomas Healthcare on the phone." Joey didn't say anything, just held his hand out for the phone. "This is Joey Fatone, how can I help you? Really? You're sure? Okay, thank you." He hung up the phone and looked at Chris. "I was drugged last night. The girl probably did it so she can sell her story to the tabloids." Tears started streaming down his face again as he turned and faced the wall. "I miss Dale." Chris just squeezed Joey's shoulder. They both jumped when the cell phone rang in the quiet of the bathroom. This time Joey answered it. "Hello?" He sat up a little straighter and pulled Chris closer to him. He held his hand over the phone for a second. "GET LANCE!" He pulled his hand away. "Hang on a second, I'm on the other line with management. Let me get rid of them so we're not interrupted." Joey scrambled out of the tub and went into the bedroom. Chris and Lance ran in, followed by JC and Justin. They all gathered around Joey. "Okay Lonnie, I'm back. How did you get this number?" ** ELSEWHERE** "Glad you could take time to talk to me. I saw your name on the speed dial. Just wanted to say hi to the man who Dale's been spreading his legs for. Oh come on now, we're adults here. There's nothing to be ashamed about with sex. So has Dale improved any in the bedroom? I sure hope so, he was kind of a bad lay when I was with him." "Excuse me? I did not rape him. Every time we had sex he wanted it just as badly as I did. Oh, hang on a second Joey, Dale's waking up." Lonnie got up and went over to the other side of the hotel room. Dale was lying on the bed, groaning softly. "Dale, wakey wakey. Someone wants to say hi." Dale was lying on the bed, still not moving. Lonnie hauled off and smacked him. Dale snapped to while screaming. "There's the boy. Now, talk to the person on the other end of the phone." Dale reached for the phone with hands that shook. "hhhh.....hhhhhell......hello?" He couldn't hear anything out of his left ear for some reason, he remembered Lonnie hitting him with something really heavy on that ear. He heard someone crying on the phone, the voice was the last one he wanted to hear right now. "Joey. I'm sorry." Lonnie took the phone from Dale. "Aw, hear that Joey? He's sorry." Joey sounded like he was crying, suddenly someone else was on the phone. It was a deeper voice. "Who the hell are you? Put Joey back on the phone. No? Excuse me? Okay, hang on for a second." Lonnie held the phone near Dale's face, and reached for a finger. He snapped Dale's finger, breaking the bones in it. Dale screamed. "Put Joey back on the phone. NOW!" There was some scrambling on the other end, and the voice he recognized as Joey's came back on the phone. "I'll let you go for now Joey. I just wanted to check in with you. We'll be in touch." He hung up the phone. Dale was holding his hand and sobbing. Lonnie just looked at Dale in disgust. "God you are pathetic. Now, let's talk about your giving me control of your winnings. Yes, Dale that's right, your lottery money. I figure that you should share it with your boyfriend." He got up to head into the bathroom. "Now don't you go anywhere sugar. I'm feeling horny, and it's been awhile since I've fucked anything as tight as you are." As the bathroom closed, Dale forced himself to sit up in the bed. He looked at the mirror that was over the dresser. He hadn't expected to ever see that look in his eyes again. But wait...there's something more. Dale looked a little closer. There's a glint there that wasn't there the first time he was with Lonnie. Dale thought about what Lonnie had done to him that day. --// He can do whatever he wants to me. But if he hurts Joey again I can't be held responsible for my actions God. I don't want to kill anyone, but I will if I have to. //-- He was still standing there when he felt a fist connect with his nose. He staggered backwards and fell onto the bed. He felt rough hands tearing his pants open and pulling them down. As he felt Lonnie spread his legs apart, he made himself distant from his body. He couldn't deal with this again. He did laugh softly inward. --// God the man is raping me and he's using a condom? //-- ** IN NEW JERSEY** After Lonnie had ended the call, Joey had called Johnny and filled him in. He will never forget the sound of Dale's scream coming out of the phone. Poor Lance. He's blaming himself for that one. Nothing was said as the friends gathered around to watch a couple of movies. Joey was getting into a better mood, he was actually starting to enjoy himself until they watched `What's Love Got To Do With It". When the scene came on where Ike raped Tina, Joey's face drained of all color, and he started crying. The group decided to head to their beds after that. Joey did feel a little better telling Lance about the drugs present in his system, which probably explained the girl in his bed. But right now that's secondary to Dale. They all had a hard time going to sleep that night.