"Has anyone gotten word from Mark yet?" Liam questioned, strolling into the board room and kicking his feet up onto the table as he sat down

Zayn shook his head "No word on Mark, but I do have some rumours on Peter's whereabouts" he stated

Harry sighed at this, prolonged and agitated "What of Peter's whereabouts?" He asked, not hopeful for anything substantial

Peter Sinclair. A man almost as despicable as him. He wasn't exactly a threat to Harry as of now, but he was someone that he'd like to keep an eye on for the time being. Knowing his sick and conniving nature, he was sure that it was only a matter of time before he did something unforgivable to the five of them

"There's whispers about him heading to France" Zayn explained "Paul has...his ways of knowing so" he added

Niall raised his brows in reply "Paul" he muttered lowly, shaking his head "Who's to say we trust his word?" He questioned

"I do" Harry answered almost instantly, his words coming out as more of a bark; snappy and unforgiving "I trust his word" he said

"You trusted Mark's word when you gave him a shit ton of coke" Niall replied right back, just as sharply as Harry had

Harry didn't flinch "Mark will pay up" he said in certainty "He has incentive and the means to do so" he added

"The means to do so?" Liam echoed incredulously "He's broke, Harry, not the mention his business is in decline" he reminded

"Well that's what happens when you're a crack addict running a whore house" Harry shot back

Zayn smiled "You would know" he grumbled

If Harry was affected by the nature of his words, he hardly let it show "You'd be the first worker I'd employ, seen as you'd enjoy every second of it" he declared, witty as ever

Zayn barked out a laugh, masking whatever agitation he had with his his middle finger, punching Harry softly on the shoulder to showcase his slight irritation with his friend before they continued as if the insults had never been thrown

Liam let out a soft "You deserved that" before continuing "We need to start looking at long term solutions" he said "Clearly this isn't enough inspiration for Mark to pay up" he acknowledged

"What else can we take from him?" Niall questioned "His whores? His house-?"

"-His life?" Harry interjected, holding his hands up in defence when the other three boys glared at him "Just kidding" he muttered

Zayn sighed before speaking "Am I the only one concerned with the news about Peter?" He asked "What's he doing in France?"

"If he's even in France" Niall added, as if reminding him "For all we know he could be anywhere"

"That's not what Paul said" Zayn told them "And he's one of our closest allies, if not our friend" he added "We trust him"

Harry nodded in agreement with this "So what if he is in France?" He questioned "Why is that a concern for us?"

"Anything out of the ordinary is a cause for concern" Liam told him "He's obviously up to something" he added

Harry shrugged "He's no threat to me" he replied easily "Half-arsed gang and a couple of guns is nothing" he dismissed "Give me some real news" he demanded

"It's almost like you want us to tell you that someone is plotting your demise" Zayn replied

"Someone is always going to be plotting my demise" Harry told him "Knowing that they're doing so is the best thing that a man could wish for"

And though that thought was dark, no doubt, Harry was absolutely right

***

Time is a burden, passing for no one's pleasure but its own. Persistent little thing can't be stopped no matter what power is thrown its way

And so two weeks had passed like the blink of an eye, time leaving the past behind to create the present, despite the protests of those living in it

It was inevitable really, with the way things had played out, that Louis had to be told what was happening by the gang leader himself. Mark was struggling to pay and Harry wasn't one to strike a bargain

"You don't look all that upset about not going home as soon as we'd thought" Harry observed, looking Louis over once the predicament had been explained to him

It wasn't exactly disconcerting in his eyes to be kept away from his broken home for a couple of weeks longer. In fact, he may even go as far to say it was blissful to be freed from the prior confinement

Before he could voice that, the door to the office opened and Zayn strode straight in, speaking on business matters before even looking up to notice Louis "So, Harry, I got a lead on where Peters could be-" he paused upon looking up from his papers and noticing the two of them "Oh shit, didn't mean to interrupt" he apologised, immediately backing up

"You're fine" Harry told him easily, despite Louis who felt himself tense from the moment the third person walked in

Zayn nodded, pausing for a second just to soak in his sight

"You were saying?" Harry questioned, sitting straighter in his seat and giving Zayn his undivided attention

The man blinked but  continued "Anyways" he started "I did some digging and found out that some of Peter's known associates have a place just outside of Paris" he explained and Harry nodded for his continuance "I followed up the lead and got Liam to look into the address and there's a pub right next to it, along with a DIY shop. Both businesses have had a rise in profit over the last 15 days. So my theory is that they left England and moved there for a new start"

Harry was nodding throughout the whole of the explanation "Good work Zayn" he praised "That seems highly possible" He agreed "We'll send someone out to check it out, Paul maybe"

"Paul's in America on collection duty" Zayn reminded him

The boss hummed, nodding his head once more "Then he's got a busy couple of weeks" he stated, a smile edging its way onto his lips

Zayn hid his amusement, though his eyes brightened "He has indeed" he agreed easily

Harry smiled, clasping his hands together in a way that extruded power "Anything else?" He asked

"That's all" Zayn shook his head as he answered "See you later" he added dismissively, taking a step back

"You're going out?" Harry questioned, brows raised

The recipient shrugged "Supplies don't sell themselves" he pointed out "I'll be back soon" He promised

Harry resisted the urge to tell the man to take Liam or Niall with him, but decided against it and allowed his friend to leave the room before he even had time to protest

***

Regret is a parasite. It eats away at you until there's nothing left; gnawing away at your brain, eating up your mind and leaving you with nothing but the inconsolable desire to find something to numb the guilt

And when Liam stumbled into the living room carrying a half-conscious Zayn, Harry felt that there was nothing in this world that would numb his guilty conscience

"What the fuck did you do?" Harry questioned, pacing back and forth as Liam deposited Zayn, who was profusely bleeding from his leg, onto the sofa

Zayn blinked "What did I do?" He questioned "I didn't jolly well shoot myself, did I?" He snapped

"You should be asking what he didn't do" Liam added, trying to sound spiteful, but coming across as more concerned than anything else

Zayn scoffed "I killed him, that's what I did" he stated, wincing as Liam pulled his trouser sleeve further up his leg, revealing the bullet wound in his calf

"Who?" Niall questioned, eyeing the wound on his friend's leg with wide eyes

"Fucking Peter's guy" Zayn practically spat out, gritting his teeth when Niall turned his leg for a better view of the would "Put some pressure on it, stop the bleeding" he ordered

"What guy?" Harry questioned "One of Peter's guys fucking shot you?" He asked incredulously, pressing his hand against the wound as Liam fumbled around for an antiseptic of some sort

Zayn huffed out a pained laugh "That's what I said" he replied "Serious though, you're gonna lose me if you don't fucking do something about this bleeding" he reminded, squirming around uncomfortably on the sofa "Help me lift my leg higher"

"Alright, brat" Liam muttered, initial shock wearing off so that the two could exchange their usual banter

Zayn smiled "Nice of you to pitch in" he replied, letting the man manoeuvre him "Thought you'd leave me to die for a minute" he teased

Liam rolled eyes, propping his leg up onto his lap "Shut up" he muttered, pressing a hand on top of Harry's to prevent further blood loss

"You're going to want to get the bullet out right?" Niall quizzed "You know, just in case it's-"

"Poisoned?" Liam finished "You think it will be?" He quizzed

Zayn huffed "I'd rather not find out" he replied "It only hit soft tissue, but I'm not overly fond of you performing open surgery on me" he stated

"Rather me knock you out?" Harry asked, raising a brow at his older friend

Zayn strained out a laugh, flinching when Niall removed their hands to assess the open hole in his leg "Alright, careful" he joked, though there was a silent plea behind his words

Niall swallowed, looking him over "You're right, it's hit nothing serious" he agreed "And I can see the direction the bullet's gone in through, so it shouldn't be so hard to get out" he promised

He was right; the bullet had only hit the side of Zayn's calf, only a caught a couple of inches deep in the flesh on his slim leg

"Gonna sit talking all day or are you gonna help a brother out?" Zayn forced out the joke, squeezing his eyes shut

Without anymore warning, Niall made a small incision and used tweezers to push apart the skin and fish for the bullet. Instantaneously, Zayn flinched; his whole body spasming and convulsing when Niall pressed against a nerve. The blonde moved quickly, and Zayn's body went slack against the sofa, panting softly

He breathed out a soft "Dickhead" before letting his eyes close

"Sorry" Niall grumbled, finally feeling the metal clang of the bullet against his own instrument. It took an unreasonably long time to pull the bullet out completely, sighing in relief when he finally did so

"Here" Harry said, handing Niall a small cylinder of green liquid "Purple for poison" he added, letting Niall deposit the small bullet into the liquid and sighing "Guess we just wait now" he muttered

It took a few more minutes for Zayn's wound to be cleaned and dressed before they had finally finished. The injured man made sure to grumble his complaints the entire time, instructing the four other gang members on how to do everything properly and what medications to inject him with. He didn't lose much blood in the grand scheme of things, barely a couple of pints and definitely not enough to go into hypovolemic shock or even pass out

There was a couple of moments of complete silence; the satisfied kind that occurs only after the panic of the storm. But Zayn, charming as ever, broke it with a soft "Anyone know where the kid is?"

Liam blinked at this, seemingly having forgotten about the teenager that had been living with them for almost a fortnight "Fuck" he muttered

Zayn hummed "Need to tell him something" he stated

Harry raised his brows "What?" He questioned, not having expected that at all

Zayn hummed once more, unfazed "Whoever fucking shot me had a thing or two to say about him, that's all" his voice began to fade out sleepily

Harry shook the man to jolt him awake "What are you talking about?" He demanded

Zayn waved his hand around lazing "Yeah" he half whispered, dopey on the meds "They know he's here"

"Hey" Harry snapped when Zayn's eyes slowly shut "Hey, arsehole, you with me?" He said loudly, trying to shake the man awake

Liam slapped his hand, glaring at the gang leader "Let him rest, idiot" he scolded "You can ask him tomorrow"

Harry didn't have it in him to tell the man that sometimes tomorrow never came

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