inferno // l.s.

fifty one

there's a lot of dialogue. i kinda just went with it. it's a little longer!

—-

"i need to talk to you." harry chewed on the corner of his lip. it's now or never. he needs to try before it's too late.

he can see the countryside and raising cats, he can see louis sitting on the couch with his nose tucked in a textbook, glasses nearly sliding off of his face because he's multitasking by reading and highlighting and copying his notes. no more sleepless nights. no more tears, fear, stress, or bargaining. it's worth a shot, right? to try and give that boy the life he deserves, to give himself the life he never had, he could at least try.

"what's up? i don't have long. i gotta head to breezy soon."

"i want out."

the pen dancing between mitch's fingers falls on the desk. harry watches as it it rolls off of the woodtop, landing on the carpet.

"what?"

"i want out," harry repeats. "i'm asking for your permission to leave the gang."

mitch's dumbfounded expression turns into a tight smirk. the boss began to chuckle. "you're fucking with me, aren't you?"

the underboss rose an eyebrow at him.

"you're not fucking with me."

"no, i'm not. i can't keep doing this, mitch. not if it keeps putting louis at risk."

"which is why i wanted to boss lock him in but you said no."

"boss locking him in will ultimately tie him to the gang and that is not what i want. that was never what i wanted. i didn't expect us to get this far because i fully believed he was going to walk away at any given point."

"well he might want to start thinking of an escape plan, then," the boss tuts. "because you can't just leave, harry. there are too many things that could go wrong."

"like what, exactly?" leadership, positions, sales, the club won't be the spot for drug deals and clique trades anymore. ethically, there are more cons. morally, the small amount of pros seem to outweigh them.

"are you serious? you're next in line, haz. all of this will eventually be yours. you can't just up and leave it when you know you would run this clique just as well as i have."

"i only took the spot because i knew i would die before you."

"stop fucking talking like that."

"it's true! i have a bigger chance of getting killed more than you because i am the one doing your fucking dirty work while you sit here like a pampered princess, barely ever leaving your office, and always either on your computer or talking to dominic. when was the last time we actually saw you out on the floor with the rest of us?"

"it's been a while, yes," mitch confirmed.

"and niall, poor lad busts his ass not only working in the club but using his place of work to do the deals you have him do. there have been times he's come to me for help because he had multiple clients come all at the same time and he can't serve them all at once. he and cara split the deals now. liam's still waiting for your permission to even propose to the kid."

"just like you never asked for my permission to even see louis in the first place?"

"you told me not to get messy so i figured i didn't have to ask! with the shit i do around here, i should be in that chair, not you. i shouldn't have to wait for you to tell me when i can breathe or piss or go to sleep. i am my own person, mitch. just because sarah left you over this clique does not mean everyone else should suffer."