c a l u m:

I raced through the streets of Sydney at rapid speed, ignoring every rule as I hastily made my way to Michael's house. My fingers clenched tightly onto the steering wheel, my eyebrows furrowed in anxiety as my mind kept drifting back to the text message I received only seven minutes ago.

Ashton got arrested.

There was one reason and one reason only why one of my best friends is sharing a cell with another criminal. No, not for some petty crime like defacing walls with spray paint, or stealing alcohol from the liquor store. Ashton wouldn't make stupid mistakes; he's way too smart for that.

I parked my car in the driveway of Michael's house, leaping out of the driver's seat. The entire house was dark, no light seemed to be emitted from any other windows, and I assumed the Clifford household was in deep slumber. It wasn't until I noticed the stream of yellow light seeping through the small crack of the garage door did I realize Michael was inside. I could make out a dark shadow pacing back and forth while sounds of muffling filled my ears.

"Michael, it's me," I announced, knocking on the garage door. Not a moment too soon, the door slid upwards, its gears grinding like some steam punk fantasy.

"Ashton was thrown under the bus. Someone betrayed him," Michael informed, the moment his eyes locked with mine. He was fidgety, jumpy, and nervous.

"What the hell happened? Fiora keeps his shit on lockdown. Who would've betrayed Ash?" I questioned, walking into the garage. Michael closed it immediately.

Michael shrugged, "I don't fücking know. I keep getting texts from Fiora's people about money and that Ashton was lucky the cops came... we have to get to the bottom of this shit."

"I just fücking don't understand," I grunted in frustration, plopping onto the couch, "we've never had a problem before. What the hell did Ashton do that someone felt the need to betray him?"

Ring.

I looked at my pocket and Michael did too, as my phone jingled and danced to the buzz-rhythm in my pocket. I reached into the pocket and pulled out my phone, the screen glowing in our faces. It was a call from Fiora himself-- the top of the pyramid, the ruler of the district, one of the most dangerous men in all of Sydney. No one has ever seen him face to face. If you need to speak with him, you speak through his people-- and one of those people was Ashton.

"Answer it! Is it from Fiora?" Michael asked, pressing me to answer. I nodded, my shaking finger sliding across the screen. I pressed the phone up to my ear and opened my mouth to speak. I gulped, losing all function to coherently form a sentence.

"Hello Mr. Hood," the voice on the other end was deep, polished, and sent shivers down my spine.

"He-hello," I stammered, looking over to Michael whose face was drained from any color.

"Speaker phone," Michael mouthed. I pressed the icon on my phone screen and Fiora's icy voice echoed in the garage.

"I'm sure you've heard the news of your friend Mr. Irwin. He's lucky he's alive, but he's hanging on a string. Mr. Irwin isn't as loyal as he says he is. And I'm sure you're fully aware of what happens when you're not loyal,"

"I uh- y-yes, I'm, I'm aware," I answered, screwing my eyes shut, as if the action would erase the painful memory harboring in my brain.

"Janet Riley was an innocent girl, I can see why Mr. Hemmings found a liking to her," he struck a nerve.

"Hemmings never loved Janet!" I cooly declared. I could feel the blood inside of me boiling and I was 2 seconds away from punch the wall.

"Not as much as you, right Mr. Hood? It's all in the past now, there's nothing we can do to bring back Janet Riley. What I want to discuss now is the future. Mr. Irwin owes me money and since he is incapable of doing so, you will. And since I know Mr. Clifford is listening--" I glanced at Michael who was shivering in his shoes, "--he will be accompanying you. You have one week. And if I don't receive it by then, someone will die. Goodbye Mr. Hood, Mr. Clifford, have a wonderful evening."

Click.

The garage grew eerily silent, both of our eyes fixated on the stationary device in my hand. Fiora's voice still rang in my ears, giving me an uncomfortable shiver.

"We have to fix Ashton's dirty work," I finally said.

"What the hell was Fiora talking about? Ashton knows better than to turn his back on him!" Michael expressed through gritted teeth.

"There's only one way to figure out what the fûck is going on in his head," I hinted, "we have to talk to him."

"Ashton's mum said he's still in the hospital," Michael mentioned, "and then they're moving him to the detention center once he's recovered."

"Let's go," and with that, Michael slammed his hand against the button on the wall that lifted the garage door. The two of us jumped into my car and in less than thirty seconds, my car was on the road to the local hospital.

The drive to the hospital was silent, not even music could ease our jitters. I was scared; legitimately freaked out. I was pissed off that Ashton even could think he was smarter than Fiora and now he got caught. Michael and I are in this stupid position and all of our families are in danger. The last time someone wanted to betray someone, Janet-- I couldn't even bring myself to think about it. That piece of shit named Hemmings did this to her, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's the reason Ashton is in trouble.

Michael and I ran through the emergency room, "where's Ashton Irwin?"

The secretary behind the desk looked at us with shock, "I'm sorry sir, but visiting hours are over. You can come back tomorrow morning at 8AM."

"Come on lady, it's important!" I insisted, slamming my hands on the counter top.

The woman jumped in fear, but she had other things to be more scared of. Out of nowhere, Michael pulled out a black gun and pressed it against her head. The gun was fake of course, but only Michael and I knew that.

"Tell me where the fûck Ashton Irwin is," Michael glared at the women with deadly, cold eyes, his finger stroking the trigger. The secretary nodded her head, shaking with utmost fear. With slow movements, she typed on the keyboard. Her eyes kept glancing back at the weapon glued to her head.

"He's in room 304," she answered.

"Thanks lady," I hissed as Michael brought the gun down and placed it into the back of his pants. We ran off, towards the signs that pointed us to the elevators. Once inside, I found myself leaning up against the wall, grasping and un-grasping the metal railing inside. The doors slid open, the two of us jetting out of the lift and running towards room 304.

Ashton was in a room to himself. It was dim, and a curtain separated his bed from the open door. We shuffled in, hearing the steady beeps of the heart monitor. From behind the curtain, Ashton laid on the bed with bruises and cuts all over his face and arms. The right side of his face was swollen and bandages covered his entire forehead, while needles poked his skin.

"Michael? Calum?" Mrs. Irwin was sitting on a chair next to Ashton, a blanket draped on her body. She was groggy, obviously tired from a lack of sleep.

"How's he doing?" I asked.

"Stable. Broken ribs, internal bleeding, concussion," Mrs. Irwin whimpered. She's had a long, hard day and I could tell she was hurting from all of this. "I just don't understand why anyone would jump him. Do you boys know?"

Michael and I looked at each other before back at Mrs. Irwin. We shook our heads, and a pang of guilt hit me in the chest for lying to such a kind woman.

"You boys would tell me if you find out anything, right?" she asked with hopeful eyes.

"Don't worry Mrs. Irwin," I started, speaking for both Michael and I, "I promise that we'll come to you if we know anything."

"Thank you boys," she smiled, pulling us into a hug. "I'm going to downstairs to find some tea. I'll leave you two alone with Ashton for a bit."

"Go relax for a while," Michael told her. She nodded, giving Ashton a kiss on the head before exiting the room.

We stood staring at our best friend and fury started to rise. Seeing my best friend laying helpless and broken pissed me off. It hurt me to see him like this and only fueled me to beat the shit out of the people who did this to him.

"I don't think he's waking up for a while," I observed.

"Then how the hell are we going to get answers?" Michael questioned.

I shrugged, but just as I did I heard a creaking from the bed. My eyes looked over to Ashton, whose body moved slightly. A groan escaped his lips and as if reading our minds were read, he opened his eyes.

"Ash," I gasped, leaning over to his bed. "Dude, what the fûck happened?"

"Hello to you too," his voice cracked and a smirk graced his face. Even in pain, he still tried to smile.

"Fiora called Ash," Michael disclosed, "what's this about you betraying him?"

Ashton didn't answer right away. His smile fell into a smooth line on his face and instead was ire, "I didn't betray anyone."

"Then why does Fiora think you have?" I questioned. "And you apparently owe him money. Michael and I have a week."

"I was fûcking framed," Ashton murmured, "Fiora thinks I've been working for another supplier across town... Giuseppe Tint."

"Why would Fiora think that you're working for his enemy?" Michael asked for the both of us.

Ashton shrugged, coughing a little. He winced in pain as he did but continued anyway, "someone just said that I was seen going into one of Giuseppe's warehouses for distribution. They were able to describe me perfectly-- down to my red bandana and leaving a stupid banana peel. And then when I was confronted about it, Fiora's people found a brick of cocaine with his logo on it."

"What the fûck were you doing with a brick of Giuseppe's drugs?"

"I told you, I was fûcking framed. Some bitch slipped it into my bag while I was doing my rounds or something. I don't fûcking know! As for the money, I'm guessing the cops took it as evidence when they found me. That's probably the money that's owed," Ashton explained. He was out of breath by that point and I could see his blood pressure rising on the monitor.

"Calm down Ash, you're gonna have a heart attack," I advised. "Look, how much do you owe? Michael and I will get that money back to Fiora."

"1700," Ashton answered. My jaw dropped and so did Michael's.

"1700? As in 1700 Australian dollars?" Michael choked.

"No dumbshit, 1700 pesos," Ashton retorted. "Yes, Aussie dollars." His face faltered and he looked guilty, "guys I'm sorry I got you into this mess but you need to help me find the son of bitch who framed me."

"Don't worry Ash, we got you," I assured him, just as Mrs. Irwin walked back into the room with a cup of hot tea in her hand. Her eyes landed on her son and immediately she raced over to his side.

"My baby," she cried, stroking Ashton's cheek. This was our cue to leave, and without saying another word, Michael and I quietly slipped out of the room.

Ashton needed justice. He was wrongfully framed and I was itching to seek revenge on the pussies who did it. I knew Giuseppe Tint, not personally of course, but I've heard his name through the grapevine. He was at the top of the pyramid on his side of Sydney and was someone no one wanted to mess with. The only time two districts interacted, was to strike up a deal, or when there was a rumble.

And I had a feeling, that battle was imminent.

//

Poor Ashton! And poor Ashton in real life becuase he's been in the hospital after his surgery. I love my sunshine. And speaking of sunshines, it looks like Calum and Michael are in some trouble! Hopefully they find the person who framed Ashton so justice will be served.

Hope you all liked this chapter! Please vote, comment and share with all your friends. Thanks a lot for reading! Love you!! <33