Helloooo! Louis looked the cutest ever in this gif. His little, cute, pointy baby nose I want to fucking cry. His eyes are sparking, his little hand, his fluffy hair, his little cheeks, his ears. I am fucking sobbing. I love him so much. I CRY

The last chapter was a flop, let's hope you guys enjoy this one more!

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Confusion was something that Louis had come across plenty of times since he'd met Harry almost four years ago

Despite this, the letter from Carlos may have been the most confusing thing that he'd read in his entire life; a simple sentence that sent his brain to mush

The fact that Liam also had no clue as to what Carlos had meant by those words only succeeded in confusing Louis even further

"Shouldn't you ask Harry about this?" Liam quizzed, reading over the letter whilst Louis hunched over the laptop with squinted eyes

Louis shrugged slightly, continuing to focus on the screen in an attempt to not get distracted from the mission "Working, Liam" he muttered "You should be too" he added playfully

Liam rolled his eyes at this, setting the letter down on the desk and crouching down next to where Louis was sat "You're avoiding" Liam corrected, placing a hand on Louis' shoulder

"I'm trying to save Zayn's life" Louis shot back easily, watching the three other gang members through the camera screen showing on the laptop

Liam grinned, amused "Sorry, boss" he replied, giving Louis' shoulder a soft squeeze "What d'ya want me to do?" He questioned

Louis nodded towards the screen "You can watch the cameras" he instructed "Once they get there Niall's going to set up a camera at all entrances so we can warn them if anybody is coming" he stated "You keep an eye on those" he said, standing up abruptly

Liam squinted at him in confusion "Where are you going?" He quizzed

"Zayn taught me this cool thing where we can intercept incoming signals from the cellular towers that connect to phones" Louis replied "I'm going to trace the cells towers on the day that we blew up the building and see if there were any consistencies between the numbers"

Liam blinked at this, only half understand "Uh...okay" he muttered "And that will help how?" He asked

Louis raised an eyebrow at the man "Because if I can get all of the phone numbers from the cell tower on that specific day, then we can trace all of the phones and intercept any signals from them as of today" he answered "We'll know it's the right number because we have Frank's old number that Zayn called, therefore we can see if any of the numbers from the tower called Frank"

Liam fish mouthed, entirely confused "I uh...what?" He questioned

Louis let out a short giggle "Don't worry about it" he promised "All you need to know is that if I can find a number then we have a lead" he said

Liam laughed in reply, impressed at Louis' intellect "Okay, genius" he replied "Whatever you say"

"You're ridiculous" Louis muttered "Can I have that back?" He quizzed, eyeing the letter that was on the table next to Liam

The brown eyed man passed it to Louis "What you thinking, kiddo?" He quizzed, turning to look at Louis

Louis raised his brows "I'm thinking that you shouldn't take your eyes off of that screen" he teased, shooting Liam a smile before picking up his own laptop and getting started at the other side of the room

"You know" Liam spoke up "You weren't always this bossy" he commented

Louis grinned to himself "Are you insulting me, Liam?" He asked

"Complimenting, actually" Liam corrected "I quite this like new and improved version of you" he admitted "Confident" he said "Proud" he listed

Louis got shy at this, shuffling uncomfortably as his cheeks tinted pink "Thanks to you guys" he muttered

"No, thanks you yourself" Liam told him "Don't ever forget that"

***

"This place is even worse than I remembered" Niall muttered as they parked outside of the abandoned building

The sun had only just set and there was still a soft golden glow in the sky; dark enough, though, to be hidden from prying eyes in the area

"Let's just get this over with" Zayn said, opening up the car door and jumping out of the back seat

Niall and Harry glanced at each other from the front before doing the same thing, climbing out of the car and following Zayn towards the rubble and dust

Niall set up the cameras as Zayn and Harry ventured towards the entrance, Zayn leading slightly

"Shouldn't you uh... you know?" Harry quizzed, eyeing Zayn hesitantly

Zayn turned, raising an eyebrow at Harry "Should I what?" He asked

Harry shrugged, half shy "Should you like... get behind me or something?" He questioned "So I can protect you"

Zayn blinked "Uh, Harry, I'm not a damsel in distress" he replied

Harry's nose twitched and he shrugged again uncomfortably "I mean, you kinda are" he muttered

Niall sniggered as he walked over and Zayn glared at them both "I'm fine!" He snapped "Stop worrying about me" he told them

"That's kind of hard when you're on a hit list" Harry admitted "And you're kind of my best friend and all" he trailed off in a muttered tone

Zayn scoffed at this "Kind of?" He quizzed

"Alright, you're my best friend" Harry mumbled "That what you wanna hear?" He asked

Niall blinked "Wow, okay" he muttered "I'll just go jump off a bridge, shall I?" He questioned, offended

Harry rolled his eyes "Niall, don't be dramatic" he replied "Let's just focus on the task at hand"

Niall let out a scoff but followed Harry and Zayn into the dilapidated building ahead of them

"Zayn" Harry called as the older man walked through what was left of the front doors. Zayn paused, turning to look at Harry "Careful" the green eyed man scolded "Wait for me"

Zayn huffed, but let Harry take the lead nonetheless "Stop treating me like I'm fragile" he insisted

Harry sighed, gently squeezing Zayn's shoulder as he walked past him to take the front "At the moment, you are" he stated

Niall sniggered softly and Zayn elbowed him "Sorry, buddy" the blue eyed man apologised "But you're the new damsel of the group" he stated "Gotta protect you at all costs" he said

"Yeah?" Zayn quizzed "And who was the old damsel?" He asked, brows raised at Niall

Niall shrugged as if it was obviously "Lou-" he cut himself off when Harry glared at him "Liam" he muttered "It was obviously Liam" he corrected

"Focus, please" Harry instructed, looking around the room for clues "Wasn't there a camera around here somewhere?" He quizzed

Zayn hummed in agreement "Yeah there was" he replied "Doubt it survived the explosion though" he added

"Was it in this room?" Harry asked

Zayn shook his head "Next one, I think" he answered, leading the way into the second room where the boys had been held in the house

Harry's brows furrowed as he looked around, the sights all too familiar to him. He could envision it, every heart breaking second that he'd felt in this very room not even three years prior

"You alright?" Niall asked, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder

Harry nodded slowly, offering Niall a smile before looking down at the floor where he had watched Louis bleed out

Niall sighed softly "I know" he said gently, nodding in agreement "I feel it too" he admitted, looking at the ground where he'd watch his best friend be murdered

"Uh, yeah..." Zayn trailed off uncomfortably "Sorry about that" he muttered, scratching his head awkwardly

Harry let out a huff, about to scold Zayn when something more important caught his eyes "Is that..?" He started, walking over to the corner of the room where half the ceiling had fallen down and the wall was partial

Yet, amongst the rubble there was a glimmer of silver metal in the dust. Harry walked over to it and knelt down to touch it, fingers brushing aside the sandy debris to get to it

"The camera" Niall muttered, eyeing it in awe "No fucking way" he said, kneeling down next to Harry to see it

Harry picked it up, standing up alongside Niall so that the pair could both observe it "Yeah" he muttered, turning around to show Zayn "Guess it survived after all-" the green eyed man cut himself off when Zayn was nowhere to be seen "Zayn?" He quizzed, looking around the room "Zayn!" He called

Niall looked around with Harry, both men darting of the room and into the next one in search of their friend "Zayn" Niall shouted "Where the fuck are-"

"What the hell are you shouting about?" Zayn questioned, poking his head around the crumbling door frame

Harry choked out a sigh, practically panting "You fucking idiot!" He snapped "Don't ever do that again"

Zayn blinked "Uh...don't ever walk into another room again?" He asked incredulously

Harry nodded "You stay within my sight from now on, alright?" He ordered

Zayn's lips parted in confusion for a couple of seconds before they quirked into an amused smile "Gonna chain me to the foot of your bed whilst you sleep too?" He asked

Harry's eyes narrowed "Don't tempt me" he replied

Niall shuffled uncomfortably "Okay" he muttered, looking between the men with wide eyes "Are we going to talk about the camera or not?" He asked

This gained Zayn's attention, the man quickly eyeing the object in Harry's hands "No fucking way" he muttered, taking it from Harry and eyeing it

"What are we gonna do with it?" Niall asked, taking a look

"Well, first we gotta see if it actually turns-"

Before Zayn could finish his sentence, a voice cut in from their earpieces "Guys, there's activity just outside the left entrance, you should make your way out" Liam's voice sounded "Take the front exit"

Harry sighed before nodding "Alright, we're leaving" he said through his mouthpiece "Where's Louis?" He asked, leading the other two men out of the string of rooms and out of the building

Liam let out a short laugh "He's right here and yes, he's fine" he replied immediately

Harry hummed in approval "Alright" he replied "We'll be back within the hour" he added, turning to Niall and Zayn to check on the pair

"Shouldn't we try and find anything else?" Zayn questioned

Harry shook his head in reply "Not if it's going to put your life in danger" he said easily "Come on" he added, leading them back to the car

***

When the boys returned and the full five were finally united, they got straight onto the topic at hand

Saving Zayn's life

Liam and Harry split off to try and file through all of the paperwork that they had on any of Dom's associates whilst Niall looked through camera footage from that very day. Louis and Zayn broke apart to look at phone records from Frank and attempt to fix the camera that was left in the old building

"Well, did you find anything, little soldier?" Zayn asked, crouching down next to Louis to view the computed screen

The blue eyed boy shrugged slightly, sighing as he did so "I don't get it" Louis muttered "Frank didn't contact anyone whilst in the building that we blew up" he explained "I did everything you told me to" he added

"It's alright" Zayn told him "Maybe he didn't contact anyone whilst he was there" he said with a shrug "Just means we gotta try a few more locations, alright?" He said softly and Louis nodded

"Alright" the smaller boy repeated "How far did you get with the camera?" He asked "Anything?"

Zayn shook his head, sighing "Nothing" he replied "It's completely broken" he stated

"Then we've got nothing" Louis concluded, entirely defeated "We've got absolutely nothing" he repeated

"Well" Zayn started "That's not entirely true" he said "We've got each other" he stated "And you and I just so happen to be kind of brainy" he added "We'll figure something out" he promised "We always do"

Louis hummed in agreement, silent for a couple of seconds before he changed the subject "I have a question for you" he said finally

"Shoot" Zayn replied, kicking his feet up onto the desk and raising his eyebrows at Louis

The blue eyed boy shuffled uncomfortably but finally continued "It's about our time in Mexico" he admitted

"M'listening" Zayn said, tilting his head to look at Louis

The blue eyed boy smiled before speaking again "A-and Carlos" he clarified

Zayn raised a brow at this "What about him?" He quizzed, attention peaking at the boy's words

"Remember when he gave me that letter?" Louis questioned and Zayn nodded

"What about it?" He asked "What'd he say?"

Louis shrugged, handing Zayn the letter that he'd been keeping in his lap "It was nice, all of it" Louis stated "There's just one part that I don't...understand" he admitted

Zayn hummed, taking the letter out of Louis' hands and skim reading it "What part?" He questioned

Louis leant over to point the line out and Zayn furrowed his brows

"Oh" the brown eyed man said softly, reading over the line a couple of times "What's he on about?" He asked

Louis shrugged, entirely baffled still "That's the thing" he said "I have no idea" he admitted

Zayn's lips parted in a confused sort of way as he continued to read over that single line "Do you think he means it like...metaphorically or something?" He quizzed "Like recognise as in...he didn't recognise your significance or something?" He explained

Louis shrugged again "I mean, that's what I thought at first but..." he trailed off in uncertainty "I don't know now"

"Have you asked Harry?" Zayn questioned

"Should I?" Louis replied "Would he even know the answer?" He asked

Zayn shrugged "Won't know if you don't ask" he replied

Louis shuffled awkwardly "It's his brother" he muttered, shy "It's weird" he said softly

"Why's it weird?" Zayn quizzed "Surely you can't have met him before this?" He said

Louis squirmed in his seat, bouncing his leg in a fidgety manner and shrugging

Zayn let out an uncomfortable laugh "Well, where could you have possibly met Carlos before mexico?" He asked "Louis?" He quizzed

Louis shot him a look and Zayn's face dropped, blinking in utter disbelief

"No" the brown eyed man said "No, that's too much of a coincidence" he said

Louis blushed fiercely "Y-you don't even know what I was thinking" he muttered shyly

Zayn huffed out a laugh, despite the fact that there was nothing funny about this situation "Think I do" he replied

"Then how can I show Harry?" Louis asked

Zayn shook his head "Louis, there's no way that Carlos..." he trailed off, brows furrowed "That's too much of a coincidence" he repeated "There's no way"

Louis shrugged awkwardly "Okay" he muttered

Zayn let out a sigh "You'd recognise him, surely" he said

Louis let out a bitter laugh "Trust me when I say that I tried to forget every face I ever saw in there" he replied "I blacked out for the most of it"

Zayn sighed again softly, this time in regret "I'm sorry" he said

"Not your fault" Louis replied gently, offering Zayn a pitiful smile

Zayn returned the smile before speaking "So?" He quizzed "Who have you told about this?" He asked

"Liam" Louis answered

Zayn's jaw dropped, blinking at Louis in shock "You showed this to Liam before you showed me?" He asked

Louis nodded "You weren't here" he pointed out

"Still" Zayn muttered "What'd he say?" He questioned

Louis shrugged again "He didn't have a clue either" he answered "Had no idea what it meant"

"Maybe it's just what I said" Zayn said softly, trying to comfort him "He might have meant it figuratively" he said

Louis deflated at this, nodding solemnly at Zayn

"But" the brown eyed man continued "If it makes you feel any better, we can look into it, hm?" He quizzed "I can check the flights and the logs from Mark's 'business' to see if any of it checks out"

Louis smiled softly "Thank you" he said quietly

Zayn returned his smile "And if it checks out, I'll kill him" he promised

Louis let out a giggle at this, rolling his eyes "M'sure you'll use that as an excuse to kill him" he said

Zayn grinned, nodding in admission "Maybe I will" he agreed

Niall walked in at this "Good news" he said "I left the cameras that you gave me set up around the building" he said

"And?" Zayn quizzed

"And there's been activity in and around it almost from as soon as we left" Niall answered "Which makes it looks like someone's tailing us" he explained "Or, you, at least" he clarified

Zayn swallowed inaudibly but nodded nonetheless "Well?" He questioned "Do you know who they are yet?" He asked

Niall shook his head "Harry and I have never seen them before" he answered

"Them?" Louis repeated and Niall nodded "How many is there?" Louis questioned

Niall sighed softly, showing them the screen of his phone "See for yourselves" he replied

Louis and Zayn looked at the phone before they turned to each other with wide eyes

"Yeah" Niall said softly

Zayn scoffed softly, not believing his eyes "There's like...twenty of them" he muttered, lips parted in shock

"And that's not the weirdest part" Niall told them, still holding up the screen

Zayn squinted eyeing the man curiously "Huh?" He muttered

Niall raised his brows, skipping the footage a little bit "Get's stranger" he promised "Watch this" he said

Louis let out a small gasp as the footage played out "What the hell?" He murmured, looking at Niall with furrowed brows "What are they doing?" He exclaimed

Niall let out a soft breath "They're all killing each other" he answered

Um whattt?? Hope you guys enjoyed that! There's a BIG chapter up next so I hope you guys smash this target real quick!

Question:

What's going on? Spill your theories. Best one wins a dedication

Thoughts on Louis being THIS involved? Baby's growing up(':

Do you have any questions for me?

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