Save You Tonight // one direction short story

Chapter 5- Eavesdropping

*ZAYN’s POV*

I woke up to the sound of hushed voices. The clock on top of the telly read 4:02 in the morning, and the whole house was dark except in the kitchen where Ariana and an unfamiliar middle aged man were sitting. They were leaned over the table, scanning through papers that were scattered all over, both looking a little stressed out. Ariana ran a hand through her undone hair as the man rubbed his eyes, trying to either wake himself up or handle his stress. Probably a little bit of both. He had stuble on his chin and both of them had bags underneath their eyes. How long have they been up for? Wasn't she just laying down here with us? As I started to wake up a little more, I could hear their conversation better.

“How are we supposed to work with this?” Ariana whispered, angered.

“It’s going to be difficult under the circumstances, but we’ve got a group of agents working in the shadows to come up with a solution. It’s going to take a lot of risks though. Risks that may or may not affect your life.”

I could see her eyes meet straight into his as determination bubbled up inside of her.

“Those are the best kinds of risks. It gives you all the more reason not to fail. I’m in.” She smirked, but then they returned their attention to the papers, pictures, and brown folders labeled “Top Secret” on them.

I was immediately alarmed when they talked about her having to risk her life, so I shook all of the boys awake. This was serious. They of course began to complain and question why I had woken them up so early, but I put a finger to my lips, implying that they need to shut up just for now. After they finally listened to me, I pointed over to Ariana and the man in the kitchen and whispered for them to listen. And so they did.

"So I’m seriously confused. How could someone have possibly taken control of the FBI without anyone even noticing?”

“Well, he took over the position of a man that not many people get the chance to meet or even see because he has such a high position. Everyday agents would never be able to tell that there’s a new man in charge. This man and his team threatened the people that would be able to tell the difference, and even killed a few. He’s staying low for now until he continues with his plan to terrorize the nation. He’s mainly sending out his own men to do his dirty work for now, but it’s very occasional.” The man informed Ariana.

“So what does he want with One Direction? Why is he sending his men out to kill them? Their level of importance isn't that great. They're in a whole different world that this.” Her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

 The boys and I all looked at each other. The man who’s trying to kill us has now taken over the FBI? That gives him a much better chance of killing us. I mean, now he’s basically in charge of everyone who’s working to protect us, including Ariana. I know she would never turn on us, but that doesn't mean that he won't send in any agents to “help us”, but instead have them kill us off. Who's to say he hasn't done it already? Any of these guys could be secretly involved in murdering us.

We all were obviously thinking the same think by the look of panic in everyone’s eyes, but we continued to listen in on Ariana and the man’s conversation. She had a good point- where do we fit into all of this?

“It’s not just One Direction that he wants. He’s targeting the biggest names out there. Rihanna, Beyonce, Justin Bieber, you name it. Their teams are all on high alert at the moment, just like One Direction's team was, and especially now after recent events. It’s not personal either. It’s all part of his plan. Like I said, for now he’s staying low. But once one of these people, like One Direction, are killed, everyone in the world will find out and then he will be known to everyone. He knows people will fear him, and he will be able to have complete control over all.”

“So this is all a big plan to have control? Killing five innocent boys along with many other people is just all part of his idea to become a ruler?! Surely there are other ways!” I could see her anger building up as her voice began to rise.

“Yes, Ariana, he’s a terrorist. You should know by now that these things aren’t hard for them to do. They don’t feel things the way we do, they aren't rational at all. But neither he nor his men will get to One Direction. He won't get to anyone for that matter! Not as long as everyone continues to work together to keep all of our celebrities safe.” He concludes.

“But Niko, you said it yourself. This man, this crazed man, he runs the FBI now. He has the whole organization under his control. He could send any one of his followers to pose as agents and kill the boys.” She looked over at us in concern, but it was too dark where we were for her to see that we were wide awake and completely eavesdropping on what was obviously supposed to be a very secret discussion.

“Which is exactly why we’re going off of every radar. You know that group of agents I told you about before? They’ve prepared a new safe house completely unknown to anyone but us. That includes the FBI. Tonight, we’ll sneak behind the FBI’s back and take a car to the plane that will be waiting to take us to our destination. It’s been all planned out. No one will know where we are and we’ll be completely safe. They'll be safe.”

 This was relief to hear, and I saw Ariana nod.

“You can agree with me though when I tell you that this isn’t just going to be handed to us. There will be a few bumps in the road. You need to be fully awake and on your toes.” He informed her in all seriousness.

“I will be, don’t worry.” She replied confidently, making him smile.

“I know you will. I didn’t train you to slack off.” He winked at her. We all looked at each other. This is man who goes by the name Niko must be her commanding officer or something. Niko continued to talk. “Just remember- no killing any agents, even if they are his men. The only time you’re allowed to kill is for self-defense. You know the penalty for killing without a reason.”

Ariana nodded once more, obviously knowing this penalty. But we didn’t know it. And we feared that whatever it was involved death.