Mr. X |harry styles| ON HOLD

c h a p t e r t e n

We follow Madison through a series of dingy hallways and staircases. She stops in front of a metal door and presses a button next to it. "Yes?" a voice comes through the speaker just above the button.

"It's Madison. I have Shane and his two girls," Madison says, leaning against the wall.

"Perfect," the voice says. "I've been waiting for this."

A loud screech is heard before the metal door slowly moves to the side, revealing a room made totally of cement. The only things in the room are a desk and a chair. A fierce looking girl sits behind the desk, her dark hair in a braid down her back. "Thank you, Madison, that will be all," she says, dismissing Madison. Madison turns and exits the room. "Shane, how are you?"

"Good," he answers, pushing Emily and I ahead into the room. The door shuts behind us. "You?"

"Great now that this meeting is happening." The girl, Val I assume, leans back in her chair, putting her feet up on the desk. "Listen, I don't know what exactly your plan is, but I want to be a part of it."

"I understand that, you were very clear about your interest in your emails and calls, but why do you want to be part of something that could possibly kill you?" Shane asks.

Val grits her teeth. "I lost my brother to a threat similar to that," she says. "People like that don't deserve to live."

Emily bites her lip. "I don't know..." she says.

"Listen, I've got the people, I've got the weapons, I've got the strength, I've got the stealth. All the members in this warehouse are here by choice, they know that they might have to end up going on a mission where they will die, and they are all okay with that," Val says, standing from her desk.

I look to Emily. "I say she's in," I say.

Emily tilts her head, staring at Val. Val stares right back at her, waiting for her answer. "Val..." she says. "Welcome to the A-Team."

*~*~*

We ended up going back to the house after our meeting with Val, promising we'll bring the boys tomorrow to have a proper meeting. As soon as we walk in, we're greeted by the smell of pizza, and the sounds of video games coming from the gaming room down the hall. Shane goes off to do something or another on his computer, while Emily and I go to the game room.

"Hey, guys," Luke glances at us before returning his eyes to the screen, where Michael and Calum were shooting at a bunch of guys. "We got pizza if you want some."

"Awesome!" I say, grabbing a slice from one of the open boxes on the coffee table in front of them.

"Alex, we just ate like two hours ago," Emily says, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Emily, you've known me forever, have you ever known me to turn down food?" I retort, placing a hand on my hip and taking a bite out of my pizza.