The Silenced Drummer

Chapter 17: Paul's Idea

Ringo could not tear his gaze away from the hundreds of fans outside the moving limo.

George, who sat beside him, stared on forward, not wanting to acknowledge whatever was going on outside.

It had been a few hours since Brian announced the letter's existence to the media, and the four Beatles all knew just what kind of chaos it would cause.

The wanted posters on the trees and telephone poles, showcasing a middle aged man with dark brown hair did comfort Ringo a bit, but he knew that Harold was aware of the massive manhunt for him.

John, sitting next to George, looked over at Paul, who kept on staring outside.

Even he was shaken by what had happened today. And the fact that Harold was just feet away from him without him even knowing it still tore at his nerves.

Brian stopped himself from looking back at the four musicians as he continued to drive out of the city. He had something else on his mind.

Pretty much every fan knew where they were going next.

It would have been selfish to not let all those loyal fans not know where The Beatles were going, but Brian knew all to well that Harold knew as well.

Brian hated himself for not doing more to prevent all of this from happening. 

Though, he knew that Mal and Neil couldn't have known what would happen, and even himself was guilty of that.

However, the notion still plagued his mind.

As the sight of crowded buildings and sidewalks gave away to a long bridge, Ringo exhaled, finally being able to see something different.

The water below the bridge sparkled as the sunlight reflected off of it, just as blue as his eyes.

For once, he did not care as to what would happen.

Seeing just how peaceful and endless the water seemed to be was a nice distraction from...

Ringo slowly raised his hand up to his throat.

He winced a little as he ran a finger over the scar.

A part of him knew that nothing could distract him from reality for no much longer than a few minutes, but to him, those few minutes of forgetfulness were worth having.

George turned his head to look at the drummer, seeing how he was feeling his scar.

He knew that Ringo could touch it now, but the sight a sick feeling form in his stomach.

He could not imagine how much it had to hurt. The very thought made him shiver, but, George still wished that he was the one who was targeted instead.

That thought made a question appear in the guitarist's mind.

Why did Harold target Ringo?

Was it premeditated, or did Harold just choose him at the last moment?

Either way, George's anger for him was justified.

Paul sighed, staring out the the window as he saw John's reflection turn to him.

"So... what are ya thinking about?" John asked quietly.

"Just about what we're going to do once this drive's over..." Paul replied, not turning his head away from the window.

John turned his gaze over to the two other Beatles for a moment.

"I just hope that they don't pester him with questions, you know?"

Paul knew who John was talking about.

"To be honest... I think that even they understand how much he's been through."

John looked down at the limo's clean floor, not knowing how to respond.

"John?"

An arm wrapped around him.

"Are we going to... to go somewhere with Ringo tonight?"

John looked at Paul, who was facing him now.

"Well... Brian said-"

"We'll all go together. He'll let us. After all... we do pretty much have all of those people protecting us..."

John thought about it for a moment.

"Hmm. A bar?"

"I guess so."

Paul finally sat back on his seat, still keeping eye contact with John.

"I mean... what else can we do?"

John sat back as well, sighing. 

"Don't know, but... I suppose that it's for the best if we try to have some fun..."