Devil's Desire [h.s.]

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The eventual discussion ended up spanning days. Almost a week, to be exact.

It had started off strong with Zayn displaying his current research, the old files on Damien's men that he'd been able to source, where there had been whisperings regarding classified information on potential warehouses and shipping locations that might have been re-introduced into rotation with all the destruction both him and Harry had caused to the others, among several other things.

As it turned out, Harry wasn't a great conversationalist when it came to things he wanted absolutely nothing to do with. He'd sat for hours at the table across from Zayn, smoking one cigarette off the other, saying nothing. At first, we'd assumed it had been because he was simply not even paying attention. Though when he'd finally been offered the chance to speak, he took a sharpie and crossed out almost every single thing on the sheets of paper Zayn had lain before him. Which were dozens upon dozens. Finding someone sort of different issue or hole with each one.

Then he'd promptly stood up, ashed his cigarette, and stalked into the backyard. When I caught up to him, he was pacing back and forth on the grass.

"River," he'd said, eyes locking on mine. "I am trying so fucking hard. I really am. I am trying to get on board with this but there is absolutely no way I will be able to when I am being told the most ridiculous things on the face of the planet."

Some of Harry's rejections included:

(1) ...The current updated list of Damien's men include Scrapped. He will have killed any men who might otherwise have been publicly available to us. He isn't dumb. But apparently you lot are.

(2) ... The old coordinates we've sourced where Damien used to do business, to ship product from, his current (new edit: presumed no longer) warehouse, and where else he could be creating and packaging orders Why the hell would he even consider going back to a location that either of us has the ability to write down on paper? Hell, if that were the case, I would leave tomorrow and finish this entire thing myself. Move on. He's had months to move his remaining product and teams elsewhere, somewhere more secure. It sure as fuck would not be a place we've been to before.

(3) ... Louis said Louis is an idiot.

(4) ... Louis still has the ability to contact Damien's security team See argument 1. Also, Louis is still an idiot.

(5) ... If River No.

(6) ... When River No.

(7) ... Could River No.

(8) ... Ri Nope.

(9) ... Olivia said See argument 3. Louis is an idiot and so is Olivia. Her dad shot River. WE DO NOT TRUST HER.

Dozens more littered Zayn's pages of research in thick, black ink. Effectively suggesting our entire plan and research thus far to be a load of shit.

I'd gone back inside and we'd all reconvened. Meaning we'd re-evaluated all of our options and not gone back to show them to Harry until three full days later. Zayn had taken Harry's annotations to heart and responded to every single one, carrying around a binder stuffed full of scribbled-upon paper that very well could have resembled a high school English assignment to the passing eye and not a plan to dismantle an underground crime syndicate.

Harry was surprisingly quiet the days following our initial proposal. He would hardly say anything during the day while the group of us worked away to hammer out specific details and new concepts. He would enter the kitchen, or the living room, and see us hunched over papers and talking quietly, to which he'd kiss me swiftly on the forehead before fleeing again.