"I should have known it was you behind all this."
He didn't turn around but at the sound of her voice, his shoulders perked up. "I've been waiting for you to show up, Stoner."
Piper tensed up at the nickname, so tempted to just shoot Samson in the back right then and there. She'd put up with his shit for long enough. But there were two large men flanking either side of Samson, both of them with guns trained on her and Clive. She wasn't taking any chances.
"You know, you're a real prick Samson."
He turned around slowly, a haughty expression on his face. It looked like he had something on his mind but whatever he'd been about to say was lost when Samson caught sight of Clive standing by her side in the doorway. His eyes widened as his whole body stiffened, his hands wrapping up into tight fists at his side. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" he barked at Clive, his eyes narrowing viciously.
"Decided I didn't like working with you," Clive told him with a casual shrug, waving his gun casually before training it back on Samson. "I've had about enough of your bullshit if I'm totally honest."
"Bloody typical," Samson scoffed as he threw his arms up in exasperation. "Does family loyalty mean nothing to you?"
"Family loyalty?" Piper repeated incredulously, shifting her gaze to Clive momentarily, long enough to see a sarcastic smile slip onto his features.
"You're not the only one with a brother you don't get on with, Piper."
"Wait, what?" Piper looked between Clive and Samson, her jaw dropping open when neither of them denied what had just been said. "Samson? He's your brother?"
"Half-brother," Samson snapped. "There's a difference."
Of all the things about this whole situation, the family tie between Clive and Samson was something she could never have guessed and was therefore something she was struggling to comprehend. Earlier she would have said there wasn't a thing in common between the two of them except for their black souls and their bad attitudes. Looking closer though, she could see the same bone structure in their faces, the same angular jaws and square chins. The two of them had the same dark brown eyes and, while Samson was a good deal larger, they had a similar build as well.
It was the way they looked at each other that convinced her that they were telling the truth. It was the thinly veiled contempt as they stared at each other, the same sort of contempt that graced Andrew's features, and her own as well, whenever the two of them fought. It was the kind of look that only two siblings could share.
"Holy shit."
"Are you really that surprised Stoner?"
"Actually, no," she said as she shook her head, feeling completely disoriented by the news but slowly starting to fit together those last few pieces that hadn't fit in this big puzzle. "You're both complete shitheads. Never thought that Clive would be the better brother though."
"That's still up for debate," Samson sneered as he turned his cold stare back to his brother. "From where I'm standing, he's just about the worst brother in the world. You'd think after all I did for him, he'd be able to scrape up a bit of loyalty. Or at least obligation."
"After what you did for me?" Clive snapped back incredulously, rolling his eyes. "Please, enlighten me as to what you did for me. Because from where I'm standing, all you've done is bring a whole lot of shit down on my head and then made me babysit your bloody dog while you were off gallivanting around Vauxhall, fucking everything up."
"Hold on," Piper interrupted. "Bertie was your dog?"
Suddenly Clive's annoyance with her nickname made sense. While Bertie had seemed the natural nickname to give to a dog named Albert, it was also an apt nickname for someone named Bertrand. Like the man standing before them. A man that Clive obviously wasn't a fan of. She couldn't believe she hadn't made that connection earlier.
"What do you mean I didn't give you anything?" Samson shouted, completely ignoring Piper. "I gave you the syndicate."
"Oh, you gave it to me? Is that right?"
"I'm the one that got Dad out of the way so there was an open spot at the top."
"You only did that because you wanted to be the head of Shoreditch and you thought that with Dad out of the picture, you'd get the job."
"I would have been head of the syndicate too, if you hadn't stolen it from me."
"Stolen it?" Clive scoffed, throwing his hands up and letting them fall to his side. Piper cleared her throat, shaking her own gun so Clive would get the picture and raise his own so she had some backup, but he was too focused on his half-brother. Piper wasn't even on his radar. "I was voted in, you shit. I never wanted any of that. I was happy."
"Oh sure, real happy." Samson's sour tone made it clear that he was mocking Clive and when Piper glanced over warily, the expression on Clive's face was practically murderous. "Such a shame about Jill, wasn't it?"
"Don't say her name."
Piper felt a shiver right up her spine at the dark undertone in Clive's voice but Samson hardly seemed to notice, a wicked smirk slipping onto his face instead. "She was such a lovely lady, wasn't she? It's so sad that she passed like that. Car accidents are so tragic."
"Don't say another fucking word about her!" Clive whipped his gun up once more, his hand shaking around it. "I know it was you, you son of a bitch."
Samson pressed his hands to his chest innocently in a who me? sort of manner. The gesture was offset by the evil glint in his eyes. Piper felt her whole body go cold just from the look. She knew that no matter how bad Clive was, there was still something redeemable in him. His pain over Jill, whoever she was, was genuine. So was his hatred for his brother.
The only emotion Samson seemed to have was rage. And a sick pleasure at watching their pain.
"You couldn't have everything, Clive. That's not how it works." Even Samson's voice made her sick to her stomach. Everything about him just felt like blackness and evil, a miasma that seeped into her and made her feel all dark inside. "You got the Shoreditch Syndicate and I got stuck in MI6. Although," he said as he sent a lecherous grin in Piper's direction, "it occasionally had it's perks."
"You're disgusting."
"Oh, I'm gutted," Samson said sarcastically as he pressed a hand to his heart dramatically. "You might be changing your tune soon, Stoner."
"Not likely."
"I've always liked that attitude of yours, Piper." His eyes skimmed down her body, over the Kevlar vest and down to her fitted trousers where they lingered on her legs before flicking back up. "I'll like it even better when I manage to tame it. It'll be nice watching feisty Piper Stone submit for once in her life."
"This is why I got the syndicate," Clive snapped. "Because you're too fucking distracted by pretty red hair and a pair of tits."
"Watch it," Piper growled over at Clive. He might be on her side but that didn't give him permission to talk about her like that.
"I knew what I was doing," Samson shot back.
"No, you had your little obsession with Stone the moment you saw her and it corrupted your tiny brain. The only reason I was voted in as head and got roped into this mess is because everyone knew you were a fucking psychopath and that you'd get us all in trouble because of your sick perverted end game."
"I was doing my job!"
"Shooting her, that was your job? Getting your cover blown because you couldn't keep your fucking mouth shut at that god damn paintball game? No, Bertrand, you fucked this up from the very start and you nearly brought the whole syndicate down with you."
"So what, you're having a temper tantrum and switching sides?" Samson snapped as he crossed his arms with a huff, pressing his tongue into his cheek as he tried to rein in his own temper. He snorted out a derisive laugh. "Playing for the good guys now?"
"I want you out of my life," Clive hissed. "You're the reason the police are nosing around in the syndicate. All I need to do to stop this situation from stinking up my whole syndicate — the one you so kindly gave to me — is to throw out the trash."
Samson's lips were pressed together so tight that they went white and when he narrowed his eyes, they looked so dark they were nearly black. His chest was lifting and falling at a quicker pace as his anger rose to a peak. "Well, come on then," he sneered at his brother. "Don't just stand in the doorway. Come and put me in my place."
Piper was a little surprised when Clive didn't move, just stood there staring at Samson and breathing hard enough that Piper could hear each time he sucked in a breath and then blew it out violently. She'd been sure that Clive was going to be halfway across the room by now, throttling his brother.
Like always, she had to do all the work.
"At least get your gun out so it's a fair fight," Piper snapped at Samson as she brought her left hand up to cradle her right, holding the gun steady in her hands. For the first time since Italy, she felt confident holding a gun, assured that she'd be able to use it.
"Uh uh, not so fast Stoner."
Before she had the chance to make her move, an arm wrapped around her middle and dragged her back against a firm chest. The man's other arm knocked on top of her extended arms, the gun clattering to the floor as her arms were yanked down against her body. She was effectively trapped.
"You have a very important job to do," Samson told her with a smarmy grin. She struggled against her captor but, like all the other Mirage men, he was humongous. No matter how much she flailed her arms and legs, his hold didn't budge. Samson seemed pleased to see her trapped, sauntering closer with his hands clasped loosely behind his back. "It's best that you don't get shot in the crossfire of my brother's stupid revenge plot before you've served your purpose."
Piper pulled at the man's arms, digging her nails into his skin as she tried to get free, but he was implacable. She let out a disgruntled shout as she fell limp in his arms, not willing to waste her energy when there was no hope. She struggled to get her feet on the ground, or her toes at least so she had something to stand on, but she dangled just out of reach.
"Clive, help me!"
He'd been startled by her attacker and had jumped away immediately to avoid being grabbed himself. Now he was standing a few metres away just watching, his gaze calculating. He was coming to the same conclusion Piper was — she wasn't getting free anytime soon. Instead, Clive raised his gun in Samson's direction.
"Let her go."
Piper watched as Samson's eyes drifted from Clive's face to just over his shoulder. She craned her head around and saw the man coming up behind Clive, his gun raised over his head. She thrashed against her captor and shouted to get Clive's attention but it was too late. The butt of the man's gun came down hard on the back of Clive's head and he went sailing to the floor with a thump, his gun falling from his hand and skittering across the floor. Piper waited hopefully for him to start moving but he didn't.
And just like that, she was on her own.
"Leave him," Samson said, giving his unconscious brother one last snide look before he turned away. "Give me the girl."
"Don't you dare," Piper hissed as she thrashed. Samson grabbed her arm and yanked her out of his associates hold, wrapping her up in his arms instead so her back was pressed to his front. She felt his hot breath on her neck and flinched away from him. She began to thrashing around once more, pounding her arm back against Samson's torso. He shook her firmly to get her to stop. "No! Let me go."
"Quiet now, Stoner," Samson growled in her ear as he held her in a bone-crushing hold around the waist and lifted his free hand to the straps of her Kevlar vest. He yanked the velcro back until he could slide the whole thing off, tossing it over his shoulder. She could hear him panting against her neck, his breath hitting her skin in hot spurts, as his hand pushed up the bottom of her blouse and snaked under, finding her breast and squeezing.
"Don't touch me, you wanker!" She struggled in his hold, tossing her head back until it connected hard with his face, smashing against his mouth. Samson nearly lost his grip but recuperated soon enough that Piper couldn't break free. He pulled his hand from under her shirt and then spun her around so she was facing him. His lecherous grin made her sick.
"Behave," he said simply, feigning patience and deference. She shoved against him and it earned her a hard smack on the arse before Samson picked her right up and tossed her right over his shoulder.
"Put me down!" She wiggled but his hold was tight, one of his palms taking up permanent residence on her arse as he began to walk with her across the trading floor, weaving around pillars covered in computer monitors that usually held trading information but had since gone dark.
"If you do what you're told, nobody has to get hurt."
She kicked her legs back, trying to hit the Samson as hard as she could, but it was useless. She knew it. When he just slapped her arse once more, she gave up on fighting back for the time being.
They came to an open space where there were no pillars with computers and instead there was a large wall of monitors. She craned her head a bit, trying to see the message written across every single one of them.
100%
Transfer Complete
They'd managed to do it. They'd gotten all the money transferred to the secure servers. The only thing they needed now was her code and Piper was determined that they weren't going to get it.
She would have tried fighting again, making a scene and yelling, but she was completely distracted by the man tied up to a chair just in front of the monitors, his head hanging down so his chin was resting on his chest. There was blood matted in the curls that hung in front of his face. Piper could see the rise and fall of his chest but it was just barely there. She had no idea if he was even conscious.
"Harry!" she shouted shrilly so her voice carried across the space. Samson's hand came down sharply once more to get her to be quiet but she didn't care. "Harry, are you okay?"
"Petal?"
She let out a relieved sigh when Harry dragged his head upward and met her gaze across the space. His eyes looked bleary and a bit unfocused as he caught her eye, a consequence of being knocked out, but his lip tugged up at the corner at the sight of her. It slipped off when his eyes began to clear and he realized just what was going on. He immediately began tugging against his restraints which held against his efforts.
"Oh, isn't that just the sweetest thing. Petal." Samson dumped her back onto her feet beside a small table set up near the wall of monitors, shoving hard on her shoulders until her knees buckled and she was forced to sit down. "Henderson," Samson barked as he waved one of his men over, "make sure she stays here. And keep an eye on her," he added. "She can be quite difficult."
Henderson moved to stand just to the side, pulling a handgun from his hip and pointing it in her direction. Samson, on the other hand, sent a wry smile over his shoulder at Piper as he sauntered across the space, bending down in front of Harry so he could shove that ugly smirk right in his face. Harry tried to surge forward but Samson was just out of his reach and he only tugged ineffectively at his bindings.
"Down boy," Samson sneered arrogantly as he hovered just outside of Harry's reach. He made a face that Piper couldn't see that made Harry's eyes narrow icily and then straightened up. "Now, petal," Samson said, placing a heavy emphasis on the nickname. It made her sick hearing a name Harry had used with such affection being twisted around maliciously. "When my associate arrives, we'll have some work for you to do."
"If you think I'm helping you —"
Piper cut off with a yelp as Henderson reached forward and smacked her hard across the face, hitting the same cheek that one of his friends had punched earlier when she'd been up in the observation room. Instead of just smarting as it had before, it began to ache terribly, stinging fiercely as she grimaced.
"Don't touch her!" Harry's voice echoed across the space and he began fighting against his bindings once more. He hissed when Samson threaded his fingers into Harry's curls and yanked them until Harry's head was tilted all the way back, forcing him to look up at Samson.
"If you've got any sense of self-preservation, Styles, you'll keep your mouth shut. Piper can't be distracted while she's working."
Piper scoffed, crossing her arms with a huff. "I'm not doing anything for you."
Henderson moved forward to hit her again and Piper flinched back in her chair. Samson cleared his throat before Henderson had the chance and the larger man backed off, going back to his resting pose.
"Oh, yes, you will Stoner," Samson said as he left Harry behind and crossed over to where she was sitting, "if you know what's good for you."
She was already shaking her head, ready to protest again, but she was surprised to hear Harry's voice carrying across the space, quieter than before. "Piper, don't fight."
"Listen to your boy toy, Stoner."
Piper sent a glare in Samson's direction before looking over at Harry. He was watching her carefully, his gaze steady on hers. When he shook his head, it was a careful action and Piper could tell he was pleading with her to just cooperate.
She wanted to continue fighting and to tell Samson where he could shove it but Harry tugged at his bindings and she got the message. Both of them were trapped until someone came to get them, which didn't seem likely at this point. Neither of them were armed and there were three Mirage men circling around on top of Samson who was armed and lethal. Until they found a way out of this, it was better for both of them to just see what Samson wanted.
She gave Harry a slow nod, trying to be as subtle as she could. He noticed, based on the way he blew out a relieved breath. When he nodded back, she swallowed hard and looked back at Samson, watching his approach. He didn't seem to have noticed the exchange between Harry and Piper, his attention focused on something to the side of the room.
"How are things coming along, Martin?"
Piper's head whipped up and sure enough, Martin was walking across the room from a side door, carrying a laptop in his arms. He was wearing a smug expression as his eyes flickered over to Piper. He gave her a wink that made her shudder uncomfortably before turning his attention back to Samson.
"We've got all the pieces set up," he told Samson as he held up the laptop. He'd crossed over, stopping at Piper's side. Setting the laptop down carefully, he leaned across her, getting right up in her personal space, so he could open it up and tap the space key to bring the screen to life. The screen filled with chunks of code, just waiting to be linked together. "Piper just needs to fill in the rest."
Piper's eyes roved over the screen, reading every character as she skimmed the lines that made up the code. She recognized every single one, recognized this exact combination like she'd written it yesterday instead of nearly two years ago. Already her mind was filling in all the spaces that remained and she had to shove her hands between her thighs to stop herself from jumping right into the code and fixing what was wrong with it on instinct.
Instead she turned her icy gaze up to her colleague. "You too, Martin? All this time?"
"You underestimated me, thought I was some weird fucking loser and completely discounted me."
Martin shrugged nonchalantly and Piper was baffled by the complete change in Martin. He hardly seemed like the same guy who used to try and spoil Doctor Who for her and who played Celine Dion music way too loudly on New Years Day. Instead he wore a haughty expression and his eyes were dark with a malicious glint to them that made her a little nervous.
Not that she was going to let him know that. "You are a weird fucking loser, even now."
Martin tensed up, straightening up so he wasn't hovering uncomfortably close to her any longer. His nostrils flared as he tried his best to reel in the anger that was pushing to spill out. "Well, I'm also going to be really rich soon which is more than I can say for you."
"Money?" Piper scoffed. She rolled her eyes at Martin before switching her gaze back to Samson who was pacing gentle circles behind her, looking for all intents and purposes like he was just having a fucking stroll. "That's what this is about?"
"It's always about money, Stone," Samson told her, his voice calm and steady. It made her skin crawl. "It keeps the world turning. Allows other work to be done."
"Well, you'll have two fewer people to split it with. We arrested Nigel and Sandra W. I bet they're being interrogated right now."
Piper was hoping that would wipe the stupid grin off Samson's face but it only made it larger, a laugh bubbling up out of him a moment later until his bellowing laughter echoed throughout the empty trading floor.
"I don't think so," he told her with a shake of his head once he'd caught his breath. "I'm sure our man back at Vauxhall has taken care of them already."
"You have another?" Piper asked incredulously. She'd been under the assumption that they'd rooted them all out, now that Samson and Martin had finally come out of the woodwork. She'd had trouble wrapping her mind around two doubles — now they were up at five and counting. "How many doubles do you have?"
"Plenty. And not just at MI6 — all over. Mirage is hidden everywhere."
She'd had just about enough of this Mirage bullshit. "What the fuck is Mirage?"
"A mercenary group," Harry spat out, drawing everyone's attention back to him. His gaze was locked onto Samson and there was a ferocity in his expression that Piper had only seen a handful of times. It was clear that Harry knew the name Mirage very well and that his past experiences with them weren't very nice ones.
"You're oversimplifying, Styles," Samson said, spitting out Harry's name like it was venom. He plastered on a smug grin as he sauntered in Harry's direction, his hands tucked neatly behind his back. "Mirage is the next big name in international crime. This is just the start. Once we're done here, we're taking the money and expanding."
"You keep saying we like you mean something to Mirage," Harry countered, his voice low and rough. Piper recognized the undertone in his voice — he sounded like he was at the very edge of his patience. "You're nothing more than a foot soldier."
Quick as a flash, Samson had reached behind him and under his jacket, extracting a gun from the holster there. He clicked off the safety as he raised it, pointing it straight at Harry. "I'm pretty sure I told you to shut the fuck up, Styles."
"Leave him alone!" Piper yelled, pushing up out of her seat. Henderson was on her before she could even stand up, shoving her back down hard. He pulled his hand back and gave her another smack, backhanding her on the other side of her face hard enough that her head jerked sideways and she was forced to spit out blood as she accidentally bit into her cheek.
"Enough!" Samson's voice rang loudly through the room and settled heavy over Piper, making her whole spine go stiff as a shiver raced through her body. She glanced over her shoulder warily and saw the pure rage on Samson's face. Gulping nervously, she looked warily at Harry who was watching the exchange with a careful gaze, taking in every detail. Calculating.
Until he could find them a way out of this, she had to keep her head down and not get into trouble. She kept her eyes trained on the screen as she heard Samson's feet clacking on the floor as he began to pace once more. "Get typing Stone," he barked at her from somewhere over her shoulder. "Do what you do and get that code working. Martin, you have the account numbers for the transfer?"
"Right here." Martin pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket and unfolded it, pressing it down to the table just beside the laptop. Piper had a chance to read it over as Martin smoothed it out with his palms. It was the identification number for a bank account and Piper assumed it was the account that Samson wanted her to transfer the money to once she hacked into the secure server.
Martin took a moment to pull a cord up from the floor and plug it into the laptop. The feeds on the monitors up on the wall flickered and then the same code that was on the laptop was also being displayed on every single monitor. They'd be able to see any code she wrote and any changes she made.
"Go ahead, Stone," Samson coached in a snarky tone. "Show us this magnificent code we've all heard so much about."
"What's going on?" Harry asked, his voice sounding more hesitant than it had before. She looked back over her shoulder at him. He was frowning up at the screens displaying the pieces of a code that she wrote a long time ago. When his eyes shifted back down to her, she felt her whole face flushing as a wave of shame rushed through her.
"Oh, you didn't know, Styles?" Samson sounded like the cat that got the cream, a wide grin stretching at his lips. "Our Piper is quite the little criminal."
"So?" Harry snapped back angrily. "She has a criminal record and did some hacks. What's your point?"
Samson laughed heartily and mockingly in a way that made Piper feel sick to her stomach. She'd never been all that embarrassed by what she'd done in the past. She'd made up for it in the long run and it had gotten her the job at MI6 which had brought her everything else. But it was also a terrible stain on her past and was the sole reason they were all there now. She wished she'd never written it.
"Styles, you have no idea, do you? Piper didn't get a slap on the wrist because she wrote some malicious code." Samson looked back at her with an arrogant smirk, a spiteful glint in his eyes. "She hacked into the CIA's secure servers and nearly got 15 years in a federal prison for it."
"She — she what?" Harry choked out, his eyes shifting to her immediately. She shot her gaze down to the ground. She didn't want to see the disappointment on his face.
"See this lovely code?" Samson waved toward the monitors behind them. "This was all Piper's great masterpiece. Unfortunately, it's been broken into pieces but I know Piper can fix it, can't you princess? And then you'll transfer all the money to the accounts we want and if you don't make a big fuss about it, I might let you live."
"That's what this has been about the whole time?" Harry's voice was quiet and it made Piper nervous. She forced herself to look up and found herself relieved to find Harry sending his nasty glare in Samson's direction instead of hers. "You've terrorized her because of a mistake she made when she was just a kid?"
"It was only two years ago," Piper corrected, clearing her throat when her voice shook. "I should have known better."
"I told you, Piper, we all make mistakes," Harry said steadily as he met her gaze, his expression open and non-judgemental, so much so that she could have cried. Even now, he understood. He always understood.
"I'm sorry," she said anyway, because she was. She was sorry she'd ever tried that program in the first place, and that she'd let one of her stupid ex-boyfriends get inside her head and fuck with it enough that she ever considered doing that hack. She'd thought she was better than this but she was just as bad as Samson and his cronies. She'd done it for the glory but all it had ever brought her was shame and guilt.
"Don't apologize, Stoner." Piper tensed up at Samson's smarmy tone, saying the words she wanted to hear in a way that made her want to reject them completely. "You've done us a big favour. You should be proud of what you've accomplished."
"Fuck you," she muttered as she spun around in her seat and refused to look at him. Her heart was racing in her chest and she had to take deep breaths to try and calm herself down. She was a mess of emotions and at this point, she wasn't sure if she wanted to start yelling and breaking things, or if she just wanted to curl up and cry. She wanted to be anywhere else but here.
"Now, now," Samson said smoothly. "Let's not be difficult, Stoner. Get to work."
"I'm not doing it," she hissed as she crossed her arms with a huff.
"Yes, you are." Samson's voice was a lot less calm and she could sense the tension changing in the room. She spun around in her chair, levelling Samson with a vicious glare.
"I'd like to see you try and make me."
Samson looked murderous for a moment but then he shrugged casually and quickly raised his arm, pointing his gun straight at her. Her heart seized up in her chest and suddenly it felt like she couldn't breathe.
"Don't!" Harry yelled, pulling at his bindings and shouting with aggravation when he couldn't pull free. "Let her go."
Samson ignored him, focusing his attention on Piper instead. He quirked his brow at her and then glanced down at the gun before levelling his gaze with hers. "Go on then, Stoner. Start typing. Or you'll be leaving this room in a body bag."
For a moment, Piper couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't do anything at all. But then she realized what was happening, that Samson was threatening to kill her even though he needed her. And it was just so ridiculous that she snorted a laugh.
"Go ahead!" she shouted, surprising him based on the way his face slackened. "Kill me. What's it going to get you?"
Samson looked put out for a moment, his forehead scrunching up as he realized she was right. Her lips tugged up at the corner, sure that she'd won, but the smile fell away when she saw the way Samson's lips spread out into a Cheshire cat grin. "Hmm, you're right," he told her as he let his arm drop, the gun falling to his side. Alarm bells started going off in Piper's head. "Fine, let's do this instead."
He raised the gun except it was in the opposite direction this time, right at Harry. A strangled yelp escaped her as Samson easily pulled the trigger, the gun going off with a loud blast. It found it's mark, judging by the way Harry slammed back in the chair, his head falling back as a pained cry slipped from between his lips. It only took a couple of seconds for the red to blossom on his shirt on the right side of his abdomen. His head dropped to his chest as he struggled to catch his breath, his chest rising and falling erratically as he winced with every pained breath.
"No! Harry!" Piper screamed as she jumped to her feet. She got two steps before Henderson had her wrapped in his arms, yanking her back toward the table. She kicked and fought with all her might but his hold was unbreakable and she was trapped. Tears pooled in her eyes as she flailed her legs uselessly. "Let me go!" she yelled, scratching a path down Henderson's bare forearms. "Don't touch him!"
"Next time," Samson said as he raised the gun once more, "it's his head."
Piper lost all her fight as she watched Harry drag his head up, his lips parted as he breathed through the pain. Samson was watching her, waiting for her answer, but she couldn't look away from Harry whose eyes were dull and glazed, and who looked like he was struggling to keep himself from screaming. She knew then and there that she'd do whatever Samson asked.
Harry must have seen the resigned look on her face because he began shaking his head. "No, d-don't," he said, trying to sound insistent but failing when his voice came out as only a whisper, shaking with each word. "Please. Not —" he sucked in a wheezy breath "— not worth it."
"I have to," she told him.
"P-piper —"
She tore her eyes away from Harry and pressed her lips together to keep her chin from wobbling as she focused on Samson instead. He was wearing that self-satisfied grin once more but she couldn't even muster up any anger. She'd just given up. He'd found the one thing she wasn't willing to lose and he'd exploited it. He'd won.
"What do I have to do?"
Samson grinned arrogantly and then nodded to Henderson who dragged her away and sat her back down in her chair with a thump. He stood by her side this time, one hand resting firmly on her shoulder to keep her in place. She blew out a slow breath and then raised her hands to the laptop, her fingers poised just above the keys.
"Piper d-don't."
It was the hardest thing she'd ever done but she ignored Harry, keeping her attention focused on the screen in front of her. She could hear him repeating her name behind her but she refused to look back at him. She'd failed him — failed to follow the one instruction he'd given her — and she didn't want to see the disappointment on his face.
Harry had once told her that sometimes it was necessary to sacrifice one for the sake of many and that even if it was someone who meant a lot to her, she had to be ready to make that choice. But she couldn't — not when it was him. She couldn't sacrifice the man she loved, not to protect government money. Money could be replaced. Harry couldn't.
In the back of her mind, she knew she was deluding herself. This wasn't just money. This money was going to fund a terror cell. It was going to buy weapons that would kill people and pay for foot soldiers who would steal and hurt people and commit crimes against the city and the country. She knew it was stupid and selfish to push all that aside because it was Harry at the other end of Samson's gun.
But she loved him. She loved him and she couldn't bear for him to get hurt.
So she started typing, slowly first as she tried to get a feel for the code she'd written two years ago and then quicker once her memory kicked in and the sequences became familiar once more. Soon the spaces that were empty on the screen were being filled and things were beginning to tie together into a cohesive program. Every so often she'd hear someone say something behind her but she blocked it out and just focused instead. She needed to get this done as quickly as she could. Behind her, Harry was bleeding out and there was only a hope of getting him to a hospital in time if she got this finished fast.
It almost felt like going mindless as she let the part of her brain that was an expert in this take over, pushing aside all rational thought that wasn't related to getting this program written. She lost all track of time and awareness of what was going on around her as she skimmed the code for holes and filled them in when she found them. Strings of letters and numbers and characters flew past her vision as she kept going and going, her fingers clacking against the keys the only sound she registered as she pieced together her old masterpiece.
She didn't even realize she'd finished it until she hit the enter key and watched the screen come to life, components moving around until they all disappeared, replaced with Access Granted flashing across the screen. She slumped back in her chair, her palms resting against her forehead as she leaned her head back. She took a few ragged breaths and then focused on calming herself down and coming back to herself.
"There we are." She tensed up at the sound of Samson's pleased voice. "I knew you had it in you, Stoner."
She sent a withering glare over her shoulder at Samson but found her attention snagged by something else. Hovering just behind Harry's chair was a man, crouched down, who was fiddling with Harry's bindings. She flickered her gaze back to Samson, hoping he hadn't caught her slip. His eyes were trained on the screens behind her as he smiled victoriously at those two flashing words. Piper glanced around and saw that everyone's attention was captured by the screens — Martin's, Henderson's and all the Mirage men as well. She made sure of it before she let her eyes drift back to Harry.
When she did, she nearly jumped with surprise at the person peeking his head around the chair. He had blood matted down the side of his neck but Clive was alert and well regardless. When he caught her looking, he gave her a wink just as he got Harry's hands untied. He reached forward to grab Harry when he sagged forward in his seat, pulling him against the back until he was sure Harry was settled. Piper watched as Harry tilted his head back, his eyes widening when he saw just who had untied him, but Clive simply held his finger to his lips and then ducked away, pulling his gun from the holster at his back. He nodded toward the screens, mouthing fix this to Piper before he disappeared behind one of the pillars.
Piper zipped her gaze back to Samson, hoping he was still distracted and relieved to find that he was. It was Martin that broke the trance they all seemed to be in, snapping, "Well? Finish it."
Samson finally tore his eyes from the screen, quirking his brow at Piper before pointing toward the desk with his gun haphazardly. Piper flinched instinctively when the weapon was aimed at her, shrinking down in her chair. "You've got the account numbers," he told her. "Now make the transfer."
It was as easy as that. All she had to do was type in that account number and make the transfer and Mirage would have the cumulative wealth of London at their fingertips.
The idea hit her so quickly that she gasped a bit. She wondered why she hadn't thought of it before. It was so simple. She knew just what to do.
Piper had to work exceptionally hard to keep the vindictive smile off her face as she got back to work, leaning over the laptop as she constructed the block of code that would allow her to make the transfer. They weren't even going to know what hit them until it was finished and they couldn't find their money.
She'd been nervous about taking a stand before because she and Harry had been trapped in this situation with no conceivable exit strategy. But they had an ally on their side now. Clive was waiting somewhere in the wings to strike once he knew that Piper had sorted out the money and kept it away from Shoreditch. She knew that now was the time to make her move and stop Mirage from getting their way.
The program prompted her for the account number and she didn't even glance at the page. She just kept typing, filling in the account number that the money would be transferred to.
It was just really lucky for her that she happened to know the account numbers for One Direction's secure bank accounts by heart. She'd always had a memory for numbers. It had never come in handy more than it did in this moment.
She was halfway through the account number before she heard Martin let out a choked gasp at her side. "No, wait, that's not the right number," he said, his voice squeaking with panic. "That's not — stop her!"
Before anyone could touch her, Piper typed in the last numbers and then slammed her finger down on the enter key, watching in satisfaction as the progress bar for the transfer began to steadily climb up from 0%. She grinned, a breathy laugh escaping her before she could stop it.
It cut off in her throat as Martin grabbed her hair, tucked up in a neat bun, and used it to yank her head back. "Fix it! Fix it right now!"
"Like hell I will," she snapped back, throwing her elbow out and hitting him right in the ribs. He huffed a breath as he let her go, wrapping an arm around his stomach instead as he bent over. She took the opportunity to smash her elbow into Martin's face until she heard a crack, watching only for a second as he staggered back, cupping his nose.
Henderson lifted his gun in some sort of attempt to threaten her but her focus was elsewhere, trained on the knife that was holstered on his belt. She zipped forward and snatched it, sinking it right into his thigh. Henderson crumpled down on his injured leg, losing his balance as he sagged into the table. Piper jumped up from her seat and sent her knee flying toward his arm, knocking the gun right out of his hand. She planted her foot against his chest and gave him a hard shove.
"Clive!" she shouted as she bent to yank the knife from Henderson's leg. "Now!" Before Henderson could get up, Piper kicked at his head, hard enough that she knocked him out.
That's when the shooting started.
Piper ducked instinctively, using the chair as a bit of a shield until she could figure out what was going on. Clive had come in, guns blazing, having picked up a second gun from somewhere else on the trading floor. He took out one of the Mirage men right away and then ducked to the side to avoid the fire of another. Piper watched as Samson, standing between her and Clive, raised his own gun.
She barely hesitated as she shot up, flicking the knife so she had it pinched between her forefinger and thumb. She only took a second to shut one eye and aim, and then she chucked it. She was pleasantly surprised when it planted sharp end first into Samson's shoulder, distracting him long enough that Clive noticed him and got out of the line of fire.
She realized she hadn't quite thought it through when Samson rounded on her, his eyes narrowing as his gun aimed for her instead. She backed under the table just as two bullets slammed into the ground where she had been standing. Knowing that Samson would be on her in no time, Piper scrambled sideways toward where Henderson was sprawled out. She grabbed the assault rifle that was stuck under his back, yanking as hard as she could to try and get it free.
"Come on out, princess," Samson said teasingly as he walked slowly toward the table. "It's about time that I taught you a little respect."
Piper snorted a laugh as she finally got the gun free. "I don't think so."
She yelped as a bullet landed right near her knee, nearly nicking her as it ricocheted off the floor. When she looked up, Samson was looming ever closer. She hefted up the rifle and didn't bother aiming before letting off a barrage of bullets. Samson dived out of the way and none of them hit their mark but it gave her a chance to slip away. Within a heartbeat, she was up on her feet and sprinting across the open space of the trading floor.
She ducked on instinct every time she heard a gun being fired, just in case it was a gun that was aimed in her direction. Clive was somewhere fighting with the other Mirage men and Piper would never live it down if she got hit by one of his stray bullets so she was being as careful as she could be.
Looking over her shoulder, she searched for Samson as she slowed her run. She was confused when she couldn't see him anywhere, not by the table and not anywhere between there and where she was standing. There were very few places he could have gotten to.
She let out a shriek when she slammed into something hard, sending her stumbling back a few steps. She whipped her head around just in time to catch sight of Samson's wicked sneer before his hand swiped across, the butt of his gun smashing against her forehead. She staggered sideways under the force of the blow, her vision blurring from the hit, and found herself tripping over her own feet and tumbling to the ground. Her arm hit the ground and the gun flew from her hand, clattering away and out of her reach. She tried to pull herself back and away from Samson but he stomped his foot down on her ankle and leaned on it. It kept her in place. It also made her cry out as she felt something crack.
"Where do you think you're running off to, princess?" Samson snapped at her as he raised his gun so it was pointed directly at her head.
"Let me go," she hissed as she reached behind her, stretching her fingers toward the rifle. She screamed when Samson pressed down harder on her ankle. It was only when she stopped reaching that he let up a bit, enough that she could catch her breath. Her ankle throbbed, sending a pain up her calf that hinted at a serious injury. It hardly seemed to matter when there was a gun aimed at her head.
"I've had about enough of you, Stone. Always prancing around like you own the place, like nothing can touch you. Well, look at us now. Me on top and you, where you belong, beneath me. You know," he added conversationally as his eyes narrowed, "I always imagined that I'd find a way to tame you and take what I was owed." She shivered at the lecherous undertone to his words, her stomach roiling as she imagined what Samson had planned for her. "But you're not even worth the fucking effort. I think I'd rather just be the one to end you, once and for all."
Piper let her eyes drift shut, controlling her panicked breathing as best as she could. She had no way of fighting back. Samson was at close enough range that his bullet was sure to be a kill shot. If this was going to be her last moment alive, she didn't want to be looking at him.
It was easy to let her mind drift to Harry. She could picture him perfectly in her mind — his bright green eyes and his wild curls and that grin of his and those perfect dimples. She remembered lying in bed together, wrapped up in his arms and feeling like she was home. She remembered tracing his tattoos and stepping into Harry's past in the process as she touched on all the moments that had made him who he was. She remembered his laugh, the ones that burst out of him when he was trying his hardest not to let them, full of pure joy and happiness. She remembered the first morning they'd spent together, sitting on her bed sharing eggy bread, and their last morning together, taking in the warm sunshine in the library as they sat in comfortable silence. She remembered his voice saying that word that she loved so much — petal.
She felt a weight lift off her chest and a smile tugging at her cheeks. She could feel the tension ebbing away, replaced with an all-encompassing lightness that could only be described as love.
If she had to go, having Harry as her last thought seemed the perfect way.
"Over my dead body."
Piper's eyes whipped open at the sound of Harry's voice, unsteady but clear amid all the noise on the trading floor. Piper watched Samson's gaze shoot up and his gun follow a moment later. She shuffled beneath him, turning her body just in time to see Harry take his shot. His whole abdomen was stained red and his face was deathly white. He looked like he was barely standing. But his arm was as steady as she'd ever seen it, the gun gripped in his right hand and cradled in his left. When he took the shot, he barely flinched.
Piper jumped when a shot fired from much closer range mere milliseconds after Harry's shot. She looked up with wide, panicked eyes as Samson's gun smoked from the bullet he'd just fired. He only had about a second to look proud of himself before Harry's bullet lodged itself in his chest, sending him staggering backward until he stumbled to the ground. Piper was relieved to see him down but it was nothing compared to the sheer horror of hearing a second body hit the ground.
She rolled over quickly, ignoring the sharp pain in her ankle. Harry was no longer standing but was instead sprawled on the ground, his arms thrown out at his sides. "Harry!" she screamed as she began to crawl, the tears already pouring from her eyes. "Harry, please! Answer me."
She couldn't breathe. It felt like there was a weight pushing down on her chest, compressing her lungs until she could barely gasp for breath. Her cheeks were wet with tears and they blurred her eyes. Combined with the blood running off her forehead, she could barely see.
When she reached Harry, she hovered over him, one hand pressing down on the new wound that was blooming on his chest and the other curving over his cheek. "Harry?" she asked, sniffling back tears that continued to fall anyway. "Harry, please, can you hear me?"
She could feel his chest rising and falling beneath her hand as she applied pressure to his chest wound but it was a gentle rise, barely there. It took everything in her not to break down into ragged sobs. She couldn't let herself do that, not until she knew for sure. "Harry, please open your eyes," she said instead as she swiped her thumb gently over his cheekbone. "Please let me see those green eyes of yours."
He sucked in a gasping breath and then began to cough. Piper's heart stopped a moment in her chest when she saw blood pooling at the corners of his lips. She didn't know much about medicine or anything like that but she was a smart girl. She could put two and two together. Blood when he coughed meant blood in his lungs which meant the bullet had done some damage.
Harry was struggling to breathe, each attempt resulting in a wheezy gasp that twisted her stomach. He was struggling and he needed help. And she didn't know what to do.
"Just hold on," she told him, lifting her hand from his cheek so she could wipe away her tears and the blood on her face with her forearm. She reached for the radio on her shoulder and pressed down, waiting for the crackle that meant it was live. "Please, if anyone can hear this," she said into the radio, her voice choppy and tear-laden, "we need help. We need — please, send paramedics and backup to the trading floor. There's an — an agent down and we —"
She had to stop as a sob forced its way out of her, her chest heaving as she tried desperately to breathe. It was that painful sort of crying that hurt everywhere, not just in her chest but in her eyes, her lungs, her heart, her stomach. It was only her hand keeping steady pressure on Harry's wound that was keeping her from collapsing.
"I-it's okay, p-petal."
She choked on her gasp as she dragged her head up, her eyes meeting Harry's green ones. She pressed her lips together to keep in the wailing sob that was trying to break free, her chin wobbling from the effort. When it finally felt like she could keep in control, her hand found Harry's cheek once more. "Hi."
Harry's lips tugged sideways, a hint of a dimple appearing on his right cheek. Piper's whole face scrunched up in an effort not to lose it completely.
"Hi," he said back, his voice a little stronger but still shaky.
"You're going to be okay, Harry. Someone is going to come and help, and everything is going to be fine. Just hang on okay?" She knew she was rambling but she hardly cared. Talking was keeping Harry alert and focused, and as long as he stayed awake, she knew things were going to be okay. "You're going to be fine, just — just stay with me."
Harry looked past her for a moment and then he shook his head as his eyes found hers once more. "I didn't think it would — would end this way. I thought we were going to m-make it."
"We are, Harry," Piper said hurriedly as a fresh wash of tears slid down her cheeks. She sniffled hard, nodding emphatically as she did. "We are. You're going to be fine. Just hold on, okay?"
Harry coughed, red bubbling up from the corner of his mouth when he did. "There's something I want to tell you."
The way he said it, so resigned, made Piper's stomach clench. She didn't like that tone and she didn't want to hear the words that went along with it so she shook her head. "Harry, you're going to be fine."
"I love you, petal."
It felt like all the air flew out of her lungs as her heart crunched painfully in her chest. "Don't say that."
"Right from that f-first morning after, I knew." His eyes drifted shut as a wistful smile crossed his face. "When we were sitting in bed and — eating eggy bread and you looked s-so heartbroken thinking I was leaving." He swallowed hard as he struggled to breath, sucking in a gasping breath and opening his eyes. The green was dull and empty, and Piper's own eyes filled with tears. "And I said — I would always b-be there in the m-morning. I wish I didn't — have to break that promise."
"You won't, Harry," Piper growled forcefully as she cupped his jaw, directing his gaze right back at her. "Stop acting like you're dying."
"Piper." He said it with a wisdom in his voice that she recognized. He knew. He knew better than anyone when his injuries were something to be brushed off and when they weren't. He was dying and he knew it.
"It wasn't supposed to be like this," she cried, the tears falling off her cheeks and landing on his. "You were supposed to tell me you loved me when I least expected it, like when we were lying in bed almost asleep or when we were in the shower together because that's who we are," she said emphatically as she pressed hard on his chest, reminding him that she was there. "That's Piper and Harry. We both already knew it so it was just a matter of saying it out loud. But it wasn't supposed to be like this!"
Harry just shook his head gently. "Say it back."
"No, I won't!" she shouted. "This can't be it Harry. We were supposed to have a future." She choked on a sob, tucking her face into her shoulder as she fought to keep control of herself. "We were supposed to get married and have little ginger babies and be happy forever. It wasn't supposed to end like this."
Harry's eyes pressed shut painfully for a moment and when he opened them, they were wet with tears. "Please, petal, say it back."
"Oh god, Harry, of course I love you. I love you so much it hurts." She sucked in a ragged breath, the tears streaming down her face. Leaning down, she pressed her lips gently to his forehead, letting them linger there before pulling back. Harry looked up at her through tears that finally brought some life back into his green eyes. She wiped at the tears on his cheeks with a tender touch. "You can't leave me like this," she said, her voice barely a whisper, "you can't. I don't know what to do without you. You're it for me."
"You're it for me too." Harry's voice was garbled by the shock of red blood that coloured his lips with his next breath. When his eyes fluttered, struggling to stay open, Piper shook him frantically, her hand dropping from his cheek to his shoulder.
"You can't leave me!" she screamed, forcefully shaking him over and over to try and rouse him. "It's not fair, you can't leave me!" He took a shuddering breath that sounded painful and brought more blood up to his mouth until it spilled out and ran down his cheek. "No, Harry, no! Open your eyes. Don't go. You have to stay awake."
"L-love you, p-petal."
"No, don't! Stay awake! Just stay awake for me a little bit longer, I know you can do it." She let her head drop until her forehead pressed against his sternum. She could barely feel his weak heart beating and his chest barely lifted as he gasped for breath. "If you really love me, you'll do it," she murmured, the words muddled by her tears. "I can't do this without you. I need you, Harry." She lifted her head so she could see his face, could see him struggling to keep his eyes open. "Don't do this."
His lips were moving but they made no sound. She could tell by the way his lips pressed together that he was saying it over and over again — petal, petal, petal. And in time with his words, she repeated a chorus of I love yous into his ear, the words stumbling out in between ragged sobs and paltry attempts to catch her breath. When his eyes finally drifted shut, it was like something broke inside of her. She wasn't ready to let go.
"Wake up!" she screamed as she shook him violently, her hand releasing his chest so she could grip him by both shoulders. "You have to wake up! Wake up!"
There was banging behind her and voices but she hardly noticed, not until a familiar voice yelled, "Piper!"
She whipped her head around, her eyes roving over all the people dressed head to toe in black until she saw a familiar head of blond. "Niall!" she screamed, her voice shaking from the tears. "Niall, help!"
He broke away from the rest of the Firearms Unit that had come in with them, a trail of paramedics following behind him carrying supplies. Piper gave Harry one more shake, hoping she could rouse him now that help was here.
Niall dropped to his knees by Harry's other side. There was a brief flash of panic that crossed his face at the sight of his best mate, unconscious and bleeding, but he replaced it with steely determination as he pressed his hand down on top of the chest wound. "Piper," Niall addressed her, his eyes sharp and alert as they skimmed her body, "are you hurt?"
"He's still breathing but barely," Piper said instead, lifting her shaking hands from Harry's shoulders as she was shuttled out of the way by a paramedic that reached across to put pressure on Harry's abdominal wound. "And he's been bleeding out for so long and he won't wake up."
Niall just sighed, his eyes full of empathy and understanding. She looked down at Harry instead because she couldn't bear to see it. That was the face of someone who had given up and she hadn't given up on Harry.
She was startled by a pair of arms hooking under hers and dragging her away from Harry. She scrambled and fought against it but managed to hit her ankle in the process. The pain was excruciating and she tensed up which gave the person grabbing her enough time to yank her right away.
"Stop!" she said as she twisted to find that it was Liam hauling her away. She managed to break out of his hold with her squirming but it was only long enough for Liam to circle his arm around her waist instead, his hold incredibly strong.
"Piper, let's go," he said brusquely as he picked her up with both arms around her middle, lifting her clear off the ground.
"What? No, Liam stop." She struggled in his arms but he held fast, walking backward away from Harry. She threw herself against his arms, trying to break free but he was stronger than her and her efforts were useless. "No, let me go! Let me go! I'm not leaving him!"
"Piper, you need to let them help him. Stop fighting me." Liam's voice sounded hoarse and unsteady. It sounded hopeless. It broke her heart.
"I'm not leaving him! It wasn't supposed to be like this!" She tried for one last attempt at breaking free but Liam had managed to drag her all the way across the trading floor and she couldn't see Harry anymore. She flopped down in his arms as the tears came back, crying pitifully as she sagged in Liam's hold. She was wailing painfully by the time Liam got her out into the lobby.
He didn't go any further, just sat down right there on the floor of the lobby and pulled her into his arms. She leaned against him, fisting her hand in his shirt as she tucked her face into his neck. She sobbed painfully, her own cries sounding terrible even to herself. Liam tried to soothe her, whispering gentle words into her ear as he rubbed his hand up and down her back.
It didn't work. Nothing was going to make this better.
"It wasn't supposed to be like this."