Guns & Roses (Larry Stylinson)

Fears

   It made sense why Zayn was losing it in the background.

  "I just talked to him...." I trailed off, feeling weak in the knees. Niall was one of our best. They were finding some of our top guys.

  "I know. We talked after you two did. He was telling me that he was trying to call Zayn, but he wouldn't answer."

  "He's going insane, isn't he?" I didn't even need an answer. I heard him barking out orders in the background. He was relentless in his obvious agony.

  "Say what you want about Zayn, but he did care for Niall. Think he might've loved him, man," Liam explained, and I glanced over at Harry's sleeping form. "I think he's more pissed at himself for not being able to do anything about it; for not answering the phone the last time he tried to talk to him."

  "What do we know about his disappearance?" I gritted out, my hand grabbing onto my dresser tightly, trying to stay calm and think this whole thing through. Giving into emotions would be idiotic right now. What the hell was I doing? Everyone was risking everything, and I was so focused on my own internal conflicts and past trauma. I should solely be focusing on the mission, but... thinking about Harry made me realize that was no longer an option.

   I couldn't just block everything out, but I couldn't lose myself in the destruction either.

  "I was the last one to talk to him. He didn't give any signs that he suspected anything in our conversation. He didn't seem worried or paranoid. He seemed like his typical, loud and cheerful self. There was nothing at all that indicated that this other gang had even the slightest notion of where he could be."

  "Liam," I questioned, feeling my stomach drop. "Do you think we have a rat?"

  "Honestly, Louis? I wish we did, but that is highly unlikely. There are only a few members of the tech team who know where our gang is spread out at, and they are with me nearly all of the time. Me or Zayn. It'd be impossible for them to share any information. I always check their computers as well at the end of every day. I can hack into pretty much anything," He said, and I knew it was true.

   "Fuck," I muttered. The only other option was that this gang was actually that good. They were incredible in their tracking skills. Still, it didn't explain how they were able to find three of our members in such a short time span.

   "We're sending scouts to Niall's location soon. They'll look for any evidence and report back, but if it's anything like the others, then we'll have very little information on what actually went down." It was a frustrating situation, and all I could do was stand idly by. "Zayn was even talking about going down there to investigate himself."

    "That's the stupidest thing he could do right now," I scoffed out. I could still hear Zayn in the background, shouting at members of the tech crew. I could hear the hurt in his voice, even if he wasn't speaking to me directly. "Let me talk to him."

   "Louis, he's pretty out of it right now-"

   "Just put him on the fucking phone. Someone has to talk some sense into him."

   I heard Liam hum before he stopped talking, calling Zayn's name out. Zayn snapped at him briefly, and then I heard his voice come through the phone.

   "I don't have time for this, Louis. I don't have time for any of your bullshit right now. Figure shit out yourself-"

   "Zayn, shut the hell up and listen to me," I snapped, hearing Harry stirring in bed. I looked back at him, seeing that he was spread out across the bed now, still very much asleep.

   "What?" Zayn forced out.

   "Do not go to investigate. Send a crew, sure, but it'd be reckless for you to go, and I think you know that," I reminded, trying to keep my voice steady and strong for him. "If you go and they have something else planned, then you're putting yourself and the gang at risk. You'll also be putting Niall at risk by showing that he means something more to you. It'd be like capturing the king in a game of chess. You're our leader, Zayn, so think like our leader. Use your head instead of your emotions."