Chapter Text
Liam wipes off the sweat that’s built up upon his upper lip as he kneels down quietly.
”This is it,” he whispers to himself, hearing the loud mob of drunken boys exiting the club.
The overpowering beats from inside enter into Liam’s ears as the doors open for a few seconds. Once they close again it’s like the sound is suppressed, and Liam’s eyes readjust - taking extra special focus of the group now leaving the over-populated scene.
He spots him amongst the crowd, Adam Baxter, the guy who stole 1.2 million dollars after he promised his dealer he’ll pay him back for the cocaine he selfishly “bought”. And Liam has no worries as he brings the sniper up, his eye looking through as he aims.
Adam takes his sweet time before departing from his friends. Obviously dosed up, he stumbles on them occasionally and his laugh is the most recognisable sound Liam’s ever heard.
He’s wearing a thick trench coat, which is a bizarre thing to wear at club, and it brings a lot of attention. He runs his hand through his greasy hair and laughs some more, his pack of skimpy girls and built men hanging off every word he says.
Liam rolls his eyes and waits. He breathes calmly and he stays hidden behind a car, waiting for the best opportunity to shoot and kill without getting caught.
And finally, Adam tells his friends good-bye, and he’s stumbling to the sidewalk, trying to hail a cab but failing.
He’s calling out but the roads are almost empty and his friends are now partially out of sight.
He collapses and sits down. That’s when Liam places a finger on the trigger, lining up the point of the gun to Adam’s temple.
"Bye bye," he mutters under his breath.
And he shoots.
-
"Left! Right! Duck!" Instructor Josh yells, his spit flying onto Liam’s face. "C’mon, Liam! I know you can punch harder than that!"
Liam strikes left, then right, and it’s almost enough to knock his instructor over but Josh is yelling at him to keep going so he does.
"Left! Right! Duck! Left! Ri—"
"Shit! Sorry coach," Liam rips off his glove as he stands over his fallen over instructor and holds out his hand to help him up.
"Woah, someone’s steamed up." He says, slapping him on the back after he stands back up. Liam doesn’t know whether he’s winded him or not but Josh doesn’t keep going.
So Liam just nods, trying to steady his breathing again.
The door of the gym swings open, and Liam’s boss arrives with the biggest grin on his face and Liam knows that smile is shown only when he’s got exciting news.
"My boy!" He exclaims, gesturing for Liam to get out from the boxing ring.
Liam squeezes through the sideline ropes and jumps down next to him, already knowing what the calling is going to be.
"Yes, Niall?"
"I’ve got terrific news for you Liam!" He beams, swinging an arm around Liam’s shoulder as he walks him out of the gym, "This case is huge, you’re gonna love it."
His cheeks are pink from excitement and he’s still grinning as he walks beside Liam.
It’s silent as they walk down the wooden-floored corridor, besides the tapping of Niall’s designer shoes every step he takes. And the worries floating around in Liam’s head are loud enough for the both of them.
Niall kicks a door and it swings open as Liam’s face fills with doubt. He’s had thoughts about quitting this career, he doesn’t want to kill people for a living anymore.
"Niall… I don’t know if—"
They enter an office and before Liam can finish, he hears Niall let out a massive sigh. He sits Liam down on the opposite side of his desk and rubs him on the shoulders before walking around to the other side. Niall stays standing, and looks him dead in the eye.
It’s always frightening when he does that. But Liam knows he doesn’t mean to be scary, because he cares for Liam, he does. He’s just very passionate about his job.
"Liam,” Niall begins, his voice as stern as it always is whenever he talks about an upcoming case. “This kid is one of the highest ranking criminals on the universal ‘Most Wanted’ list." He declares. "You know exactly what that means. Kill him, and your bank account will be larger than my cock, got it?"
Liam leans back into his chair and exhales slowly. He brings two fingers to his eyes and then pinches the bridge of his nose as he thinks. The last task, just this one and he’ll be set for life.
He looks at Niall and Niall’s staring at him with desire and anticipation and his vibe is just shouting ‘c’mon, boy’. And when Liam looks at his eyes all he sees is money signs.
One more task. One more murder. Just one.
He slaps his hand down on his thigh and shrugs, “Okay, yes, I’ll do it.”
"That’s my man!" Niall beams, holding out his hand. Liam takes it and they shake, which is basically a silent contract securing the deal that Liam can’t leave until this job is finished.
And that sort of freaks him out a little.
Niall unlocks a draw and brings out a thick file that’s been delivered to him. He opens it up and there are five photos of the target, with a large document of information about him.
Liam takes the photos and sifts through them. They’re all of some petite, brown-headed, blue-eyed, smiley boy that looks as though he couldn’t do a bad thing in his life.
"He doesn’t look dangerous." He says out loud, staring at one photo where the target is with another boy and he’s smiling so hard his eyes are crinkling at the sides.
"Liam, my boy, since when have you ever predicted someone’s behaviour by their appearance?" Niall questions, but doesn’t let in an answer, "Look at his files."
His name is Louis Tomlinson, he’s twenty-one years old and his crime is stealing. Liam rolls his eyes at that, because surely he can’t be on ‘Most Wanted’ from robbery. But he looks onto the next page, and the items this boy has stolen are huge. They’re foreign objects from the private museum, only certified members know how to get to it. And as it states, Louis then sells them on the black market.
"How does he get these?" Liam asks, bewildered, "The security system is crazy there."
"It is," Niall says, "but this kid… I’m tellin’ you, he’s not easy to catch."
"So you think I can do it?"
Niall scoffs. “You just hunted down Adam Baxter, the boy who’s been on the run for years. This is a piece of cake compared to half the other tasks you’ve completed.”
Liam swallows hard. He has killed a lot of people in his career. More than he can count on his fingers… which makes him feel kind of queasy.
"You start tomorrow, okay?" Niall orders as he leaves the room, and Liam gives him a curt nod before putting his head in his hands.
Just one last task.