The Ring Of Fire || L.S ✔

3. Severed ties

Things were felt of a thousand hues.

His eyes blanched when met green his blues.Fearless eyes quivered in the harmless sight.The innocent sight yet feelings obtuse.

TW- Mentions of 2017 Manchester concert bombing. Its only 1 line but still.

June 2017

London, UK

Louis wasn't having a bad day. Nope, he was having a bad year. And it was only half over.

His face was as grim as the overcast skies above as he watched the morning news report on his phone screen. Shootout at Ariana's concert in Manchester. Third one in England alone that year, and it was bad. And those kids, and the shouts of panic from the footages, the screeches of the ambulances... Louis sighed and closed his eyes. People could be such monsters.

He was in London for a reason. And he couldn't afford to mess it up. There had been three attacks that year. He was going to ensure that the number didn't change to four today.

"In position. Louis, proceed." The feminine voice instructed.

Emotional Detachment. It wasn't an option in his line of work. It was a necessity. In a blink of an eye, Louis was in character. Just another person in the tourist busy pier under the ominous grey clouds and sharp winds. The London Eye looming over his head as he waited for the ferry along with the others.

The boat arrived on the dot. Louis kept to the sides as he boarded so that he could easily slip into places where he wasn't supposed to and keep an eye out.

"The device is two floors below." Alexa's voice chirped through the comm link.

"Copy." Louis attested and instantly started walking towards the stairs. The ferry was packed to the brim. Easily fifty plus people. None of them aware of just how much danger they were in. Louis internally sighed as he descended the first flight of stairs. He found their ignorant bliss both refreshing and appalling at the same time.

"Stop day-dreaming. It'd be a pity if you slipped on the stairs and broke your neck on accident." Alexa's voice again fluttered through his ears. "That'd be an embarrassing end to your career." Arachnia's latest recruit absolutely loved teasing both him and his partner Liam until their wits end. But Louis usually didn't mind because he loved her. A sharp young girl with a promising future.

Louis paused suddenly. His senses on high alert. "How considerate of you." He muttered as his eyes scanned the deck around him. The ferry had just restarted its engines and the voice of the tour guide greeted through the speakers. Outside, he water licked and lapped against the hull.

It was peacefully quiet.

"Thanks." Alexa agreed. "Someone's got to look out for you."

Louis rolled his eyes and continued for the stairs once he was satisfied with his assessment. This should get interesting. "Update on Liam?"

Alexa hummed. "Still in pursuit of suspect. We can't rely on him though. Disarming the device is our best option."

Louis whined on the inside. Yes, he loved his job. But tinkering with an actual bomb this close to going KABOOM! wasn't exactly on his bucket list. But it was in his job description.

He continued to make his way through. The second floor was much less crowded with more cables and equipment than people. As soon as Louis reached the bottom of the stairs, he beelined for the crates next to the stairs and ducked behind it. "Potential target points?" He quizzed.