Taylor Hanson squinted under the hot studio lights and shifted nervously in the director’s chair he’d been sitting in. If he had had to venture a guess, he’d say this was the millionth interview he and his brothers had done since the debut of their album a little over a year ago.
Man, this is getting old.
All the interview questions were the same and each host seemed more obnoxious than the last. What any of this had to do with making music he’d never understand.
“This is all part of it, guys,” the people from Mercury Records would say. “It’s how you sell records.” They’d been told that every time a new interview or photo shoot would be scheduled.
At least now Taylor knew the secret to being successful in the music business. All you had to do was hop around like a trained monkey and smile on cue.
But where does the music fit into all this?
It's like someone somewhere suddenly decided to erase every bit of enjoyment out of the whole thing. All they’d ever set out to do was make their music and have a little fun. However, certain circumstances were working against them in that aspect.
The fans, which Hanson loved dearly, were getting a little too crazy. A riot had nearly broken out at their last appearance in a Los Angeles music store. Poor Zac had nearly been trampled to death when security had been unable to hold the crowd back. As a result, Walker insisted on tighter security, and that all personal appearances be shelved indefinitely since Zac had been so shaken by the whole ordeal.
To make matters worse, the amount of bizarre fan mail was on the rise. Someone was tracing their every move. For the last three months they’d received threatening messages at each hotel. Each one seemed to be from the same person -- a man in his early thirties who had an unusual fascination with Taylor. Each note grew more and more graphic, describing in detail what he intended to do to Taylor if he ever got his hands on him. This was yet another reason for the added security.
The family seemed to be taking it harder than Taylor was. He was concerned but for the most part didn’t think that it would ever amount to much. They had received strange mail before with nothing ever coming of it.
He saw no reason to live his life in fear of other people. Heck, the dangers of everyday life far outweighed those of crazed lunatics. If people took precautions against every threat to their life they’d have to move into one of those plastic bubbles.
His brother, Isaac, nudged Taylor from his thoughts.
“Hey, Tay,” he whispered. “That guy is staring at you/”
He leaned over. “Which guy?”
“Second row, directly in the middle.”
Good Morning Manchester was the first live, local morning show they’d done with a studio audience. Taylor casually glanced to the second row and immediately saw what Ike had been talking about.
There were very few people over twenty out there and the ones that were fit your typical description of a mom or a dad, with an occasional older sibling rounding out the bunch. This guy however stood out like a shark in a goldfish bowl.
He looked to be about thirty-one or thirty-two with jet-black hair shaved close to his scalp. There was a strange look in his eyes and when he caught Taylor’s glance he offered a smile that chilled Taylor to the bone.
Taylor leaned back over to Isaac. “Creepy.”
The audience warm-up guy suddenly sprang into action, raising his hands in the air, causing the audience to applaud. A make-up person did some last minute touch-ups to the host as the assistant director, crouched down in front of the camera, obnoxiously informed them that they were going back on the air.
“And we’re back in five, four, three, two --” Instead of saying “one” he did this goofy motion with his pointing finger. Taylor laughed to himself.
They must teach that in assistant director’s school.
The host of the show, Tad Thomas, who seemed cold and indifferent during the commercial break, suddenly came to life with a huge smile on his face.
“Good morning Manchester!” he said so cheesily that Taylor almost lost his breakfast. “It’s 6:45 and we’re back. Unless you’ve been living in a cave over the last year then you probably know my next three guests. Their first two albums have already sold over eleven million copies and album number three is on the way. They’re currently touring the country and they're playing here tomorrow night at the Morris Auditorium. Please welcome Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson.”
The audience erupted into applause and adolescent screams filled the studio. As the three brothers smiled and looked out over the crowd, Taylor noticed his admirer clapping loudly. A sick feeling formed in the pit of his stomach. He tried to push it out of his mind.
“Welcome to Manchester, boys,” Tad Thomas said.
“Thank you,” Isaac replied. “It’s great to be here.”
“So, Zac, are you excited about your sold-out concert here in Manchester?”
“Yeah, we sure are.”
Once again Taylor glanced out into the crowd -- the guy was still looking at him. This was all too weird and it was beginning to get to him.
“The last time you guys were here you generated quite a bit of excitement. Tell us about that, Isaac.”
“Well, Tad, we were fortunate enough to work with the great people over at HIT101 who sponsored a very successful promotion. The private concert they put on was a big success. They were able to raise a lot of money for charity and the concert was a lot of fun.”
A paralyzing fear struck Taylor as the man smiled at him again with an evil grin. This was getting all too strange and Taylor didn’t like it at all. He couldn’t help but wonder if this could be the author of his recent “fan letters.” He wished he could just disappear from the stage.
Isaac nudged him.
“What? Huh?” he responded.
The audience chuckled. Tad Thomas smiled. “I asked what you thought about the reaction from your fans.”
He looked out at the guy again, who was still smiling. “Uh --”
Isaac, realizing something was up, quickly stepped in. “Well, you can never expect the kind of response we’ve gotten from our fans. It’s been incredible.”
The rest of the interview was a disaster, with Taylor missing a few more questions. Tad Thomas was obviously frustrated and confused. No one knew why Tay was acting so strangely but no one could say anything since they were live.
The man had continued to stare throughout the entire interview and by the end Taylor was completely freaked out. He didn’t even realize the interview was over until Zac shook him gently.
“Tay, are you okay?”
He couldn’t say a word -- he was speechless. Taylor simply stood up and walked off the stage to the amazement of the entire studio.
Taylor sat in silence in the greenroom unable to talk to anyone. His brothers and father, who were trying desperately to get something out of him, surrounded him. Jason, the boy’s bodyguard, stood quietly by his side.
They heard Tad Thomas before he ever entered the room and quickly understood the assistant director’s warning that he had a short temper. Tad burst into the room and made a “bee-line” for Taylor.
“Do you mind telling me what the hell that was all about?” he screamed.
Zac stepped forward. “What’s your problem, Regis?”
Tad turned toward Zac and frowned. “Don’t you start with me, too, you little twit! I wasn’t even talking to you!”
Jason had had enough. “Alright, pal, let’s take a walk.”
“I’m not leaving here until --”
“Take a hike, Donahue!” Zac chimed in.
Tad glared at Zac as Jason escorted him out of the room.
As soon as they were gone Walker got down on one knee if front of Taylor. “Tay, buddy, I want you to tell me what’s wrong.”
He didn’t say anything -- he just stared into space.
“It’s Dad, Taylor,” Walker said. “You can talk to me.”
Taylor looked into his father’s eyes. “I saw him.”
“Who did you see, son?”
Isaac stepped forward. “There was a guy in the audience who was looking at Tay really weird. It was giving me the creeps.”
“He wouldn’t stop staring. It was like he was staring straight into my soul.”
They were interrupted by a knock at the door. The audience warm-up guy walked into the room and handed something to Taylor.
“This was left on one of the seats in the audience for you.” He turned to leave but stopped. “Don’t worry about Tad. He’s a jerk. None of us around here like him much.”
Taylor managed a smile. “Thanks.”
He nodded and walked from the room.
Taylor slowly unfolded the note, immediately went white, and dropped the note to the floor. Isaac quickly picked it up and read it aloud. “Now you know what I look like. Soon you will be mine.”
Taylor just sat there mumbling over and over. “I knew it was him. I knew it was him.”
Several hours after the delivery of the note, Hanson was finally ready to leave the building. Security had sealed the studio and conducted a thorough search for the man the two eldest brothers described.
Taylor made sure he apologized to Tad Thomas, more out of spite than courtesy, before leaving. The host simply offered a snooty smirk in return.
A large crowd had gathered outside to bid farewell to Hanson. Taylor was understandably a little nervous as he stepped out into the waiting crowd. The studio security was doing a fairly good job of keeping the fans at bay with Jason doing his part as well.
The three brothers assumed the autograph position. They were standing each about four feet apart with Jason not far behind them. A path had been roped off for the boys to walk through. Taylor stood closest to the building where a two-foot gap was left between the outer wall and the rope. He was walking backwards toward the opening in the barricade, signing autographs and shaking hands as he went. He didn’t even notice the man from the studio was waiting for him.
As Taylor reached the end of the barricade he looked up to see whose hand he had just grabbed. His smile instantly faded as he recognized the sick, twisted grin of the guy from the second row. He opened his mouth to yell but no sound came out. The man grabbed Taylor and pulled him close to his body.
“You’re mine now, beautiful,” the man hissed in Taylor’s ear while running his free hand around the young boy’s body. “Just keep your mouth shut and everything will be okay.”
Taylor struggled to get away, but the man’s grip grew tighter. He looked toward his brothers who were still busy signing autographs. Jason was standing behind them making sure the fans didn’t get too close. Taylor opened his mouth to scream again. “Jason!”
The big bald man turned to see where the scream was coming from. His face turned white as he saw Taylor being carted away. He broke into a sprint but stopped in his tracks.
The man had pulled out a gun and was pointing it at Taylor’s head. “Don’t come any closer!”
The young fans screamed at the sound of the man’s voice.
“Get them away from here!” the man yelled, pointing to the fans.
Several of the security guards that had been holding the girls back stared in shock.
“I said get them out of here!” He pointed the gun into the air and fired. The crowd went wild – screaming and running in different directions. As soon as they’d left the man pointed the gun back to Taylor’s head.
Four security men, weapons withdrawn, fanned out. The man continued to back up taking Taylor with him. “You drop your guns, you hear? I’ll blow this pretty little thing’s brains out!”
Walker, Isaac and Zac stood behind the security men watching the whole scene.
“I said drop your guns!”
The security men did as they were told.
“Now, step back.”
They all four took a step backward. Jason remained where he was. “Listen, pal,” he said. “Let the kid go. You don’t want to do this.”
He continued to back away, moving toward a black van that was parked nearby. What he didn’t notice was another security man who was approaching him from the back with his gun pointed at his head.
“I’m not going to hurt anyone unless you make me,” he said. “I just want us to be together. Don’t you understand?”
They were all silent. The security man was slowly beginning to make his move.
“I just want to be with Taylor.”
He continued back stepping his way to the waiting vehicle.
The security man made his move. “Drop your weapon now and let go of the boy!”
Startled, he loosened his grip on Taylor and spun around with the gun ready to fire. Taylor quickly dove forward as Jason rushed to pull him to safety. A shot rang out and Taylor’s captor fell to the ground.
Chapter Two
Table of Contents
Archives