Violet opened her eyes as she heard doors being slammed. She looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. Turning on the light, she noticed that Niall wasn’t next to her. Juliet abruptly entered the room, wearing a dark wash pair of skinny jeans, a black cashmere sweater and black Tory Burch riding boots. She opened the closet, grabbing Violet’s bag and throwing some clothes in it. ‘Please don’t freak out Vi, but we have to get going.’ Juliet said as she continued to pack, her voice a bit frantic. ‘Everything’s going to be fine but please, just get ready and don’t freak out.’ Juliet said as she exited the room, her long, blonde ponytail swinging behind her. ‘No.’ Violet whispered to herself, rubbing her eyes. This couldn’t be real; it had to be a dream. Harry said that everything was fine now. ‘Babe, please, don’t do this. We have to go.’ Juliet pleaded as she returned to the room, throwing a pair of dark jeans and a grey sweater at Violet who was struggling to focus. She looked out the bedroom door and into the hallway, where Harry was talking animatedly to Niall, his voice urgent. Niall was nodding his head calmly, though his eyes looked determined. It was real. This was happening. Violet jumped up, throwing on the clothes. She felt like her body was on autopilot; she didn’t have time to panic. She threw her few belongings in her bag while Juliet rushed up and down the hallway. Violet could hear the other boys talking, as well as Paul and the other guards. By the tone of everyone’s voices she could tell something serious was happening. Lacing up her Doc Martens, she grabbed her bag, joining Harry and Niall in the hallway. ‘What’s going on?’ She asked, her voice level. ‘You have to get out of here. You have to go with Juliet.’ Niall said, looking down at her. ‘Fine. I’ll go, but you need to tell me what’s happening. You can’t keep me in the dark and expect me to stay calm.’ She said, her voice stoic. Niall hesitated for a moment, shocked by Violet’s expression. He had seen this side of her before, but always when he’d least expected it. He knew that there was a fighter inside of Violet, but she never failed to shock him with the sudden arrival of this persona. ‘It’s Wales again. They’re still pissed and now they’ve made an alliance with the crew from Belfast. They want to bring us down.’ Harry said, looking from Niall to Violet. ‘Why would they come up here? Why wouldn’t they go to London?’ Violet asked, confused. Their gang’s home base was in London, which is where they had most of their power. Most of the members resided in and around the city, leaving Violet to wonder why the seven of them had become the first target, especially when they were so far out of the way. ‘Because they know we’re here. They don’t care about the rest, they’re just pawns to them. They want us.’ Harry said, looking at her. She nodded in understanding. Violet always knew that the five boys had the most influence over the rest of the gang, the only way to break them down would be to take down the chain of command, starting at the top, meaning, Niall and the rest of the boys. ‘More importantly,’ Harry resumed, ‘they know that you and Juliet are here.’ ‘So?’ Violet asked. ‘They know how valuable you two are. They know that if they got their hands on either of you they could bargain for a transition of power.’ Niall said, his voice low. ‘They figure they can use us for ransom.’ Violet said as everything pieced together in her mind. She watched as Louis and Liam joined Zayn in the living room, carrying an assortment of weapons. Paul was standing at the front door, talking on the phone, presumably with the other guards. Violet listened to the rhythmic clicking of guns being loaded and stuffed into holsters. ‘So do you just expect Juliet and me to run away while the rest of you stay here and fight? I’m not doing that again.’ Violet said, looking at Niall angrily. ‘No,’ Harry interrupted, ‘we want you to be safe but we also need your help. We need to form some of our own alliances. We have some connections in France. Juliet has a friend who lives there and he said they’d be willing to help us whenever we need it. We need you two to talk to them, figure out a strategy while we see what we can do here. We’ll get there as soon as we can but we can’t run away. We have to stand our ground and you two can’t stay here because you’ll be the first ones they come after. They know that the rest of the gang’s been ordered to protect you, so even if they kill us they’ll still try to hold you for ransom.’ At Harry’s final words, Violet felt her breath catch. She didn’t want to consider the possibility of anything happening to Niall. She couldn’t fathom it. Pushing this from her mind, she took a deep breath, regaining her focus.
