Walking on the sidewalk, Shelby heard yelling into her earpiece as her hand instinctively went to her ear to slightly push in the earpiece so she could listen more clearly. "Hurry up! You're going to lose him!" Shelby flinched at Kendall's loud and annoyed yelling as she walked closer to her desired destination and the yelling stopped suddenly. She pulled at her collar from habit and kept walking, eyeing her surroundings carefully. Hearing the incessant yelling again, Shelby pushed the earpiece and raised an eyebrow as she looked around. Someone was watching her carefully. She just knew it.
Riley walked down the street a few blocks away from Shelby, but they both headed towards the same direction. He carried a closed umbrella as rain fell down periodically and threatened to give him an unwanted cold. The same yelling was heard into his ear and he frowned as he searched the area frantically for any suspicious movement and for the one person both he and his accomplice were searching for. Nervousness was an understatement in his situation. It was his first time on the job and they were currently prepared to interrogate a target that their group has been hunting for years. He had information they needed and they were going to get it no matter what.
Kendall barked out one last order to them before putting down the communicator and sighing in frustration. She knew that no matter how much she yelled, none of them would listen because they knew their mission, their assignment. They didn't need her telling them what to do. She hit the desk with a growl and picked up a manila folder, pushing aside papers of long paragraphs about the target's information and history and why they were targeting them. Near the back of the folder, a picture of the target's face was shown and Kendall tightened her grip around the folder. This was who they were after. This was who they needed information from. This was who they were going to kill.
Shelby and Riley instinctively hid behind different sides of the same building and quickly checked around the corner to see the target walk out of the building in a full suit and curse briefly at the rain. They saw the target put their messenger bag over their head and walk away in anger as Shelby quickly followed after the target and met him under an overhang, bumping into him on purpose. The target gave her a quick apologetic look as she smiled in return and looked down at her bag. Pulling out a device smaller than her finger, Shelby quickly placed it on the back of their neck as the target was distracted with the wet messenger bag and swiftly making sure that nothing in it was damaged. She smiled at them again when they quickly looked up to give her a strange look, but she just patted their shoulder as they shook their head in confusion and walked away.
Reaching out to say something to the target, Shelby felt her words get caught in her throat before quickly retracting her hand as the target walked away from her. Pursing her lips, Shelby wiped her forehead from droplets of rain and licked her lips in irritation, smacking the building lightly and immediately contacting Kendall. "Phase one complete. Riley, you're up." Shelby walked in a different direction as Riley nodded in reassurance to himself and looked around for the target.
Opening the umbrella, Riley turned around to face the plaza's map and examined it, staring at it with a puzzled look on his face as he waited impatiently for the target to show up. The target ran up a few stairs before turning around the corner to see a small plaza with people bustling around in different directions. Quickly spotting the only interesting sight in the whole plaza, the target quickly jogged over and tapped Riley on the shoulder who read the plaza's map with confusion.
Riley turned to face the target and stared with raised eyebrows, silently telling the target to explain their interruption. "Excuse me, do you need help?" The target asked with a genuine smile as Riley smiled back and nodded.
"Yea, I'm new to the city and I'm just finding my way around." Riley said nervously and scratched the back of his head with a shy smile.
The target's smile seemed to grow immensely, "How 'bout I show you around then? I'm not going anywhere."
"You sure? I don't want to bother you." Riley asked.
"No, I insist!" The target replied and started walking as Riley followed and promptly placed the umbrella over the both of them. "Come on, let's go!" The target said enthusiastically and led Riley around the city.
"The base would be preferable." Kendall replied angrily when Shelby informed her that the two were headed away from where they were supposed to be leading the target to.
The target stopped walking and watched as Riley stopped as well and turned to give him a smile, "Chase Randall. You are?"
The smile on Riley's face grew slightly and he answered, "Riley Griffin."
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you." The target-Chase-said and offered his hand to shake.
Riley shook his hand loosely, "Likewise." The two started walking again as Chase smiled brightly at Riley who gave him a side glance. He could not do this. The happiness practically radiating off of Chase made Riley feel extremely uncomfortable and guilty. The fact that he was going to kill this person caused doubt to spread in his mind and he started to second guess himself. Was it really worth it to complete this assignment? What would he gain from this anyway? What would happen if he didn't complete his assigned tasks? These questions and more swam around in his mind the whole time he was with Chase and his true intentions for agreeing to walk with Chase almost slipped through his teeth. He wanted to tell Chase the truth, but alas, the outcome of both of their fates if Riley as so much as said anything about their operation would either get them killed or tortured. Or both. Riley shivered at the thought and forced a smile as Chase continued to lead him around the city with that signature smile of his.
Realizing the rain had stopped, Riley closed the umbrella and laughed at one of Chase's jokes as Kendall yelled into his ear, which he promptly ignored. "Riley, what are you doing?! Get him back to base before he becomes suspicious! Riley! Your insubordination will cost you-" Riley stopped listening after that and smiled widely at Chase and laughed at another one of his stupid jokes as they continued their tour of the city.
"Shelby, you have to interfere before Riley ruins everything we worked so hard for." Kendall said as Shelby sighed, hoping Kendall didn't hear her quiet sigh. Of course Riley would somehow mess this plan up. He was the most inexperienced on the field out of all of them, so it made sense. Plus, the teen was gay so it made this job even worse for him. Shelby shook her head in disappointment. They should never have brought Riley along. Shelby quickly pinpointed where the two were and followed close behind them.
Stopping at a pier, Chase turned to Riley who grasped a nearby pole and swung around slowly before stopping right in front of Chase. The two were so close they were practically breathing the same air and Riley looked up slightly to see Chase's hesitant expression. Slowly leaning forward, Riley hesitated, "He'll be killed anyway, there's no reason to be attached." Kendall reminded him and he stopped mere centimeters away from kissing those lips. Riley moved away from him and saw the disappointed look on Chase's face, which made Riley feel like he'd been punched in the gut. Stepping back until his back touched the boarded high railing, Riley watched Chase walk closer to him and place a hand next to his head, resting the hand on the boards loosely and watching Riley carefully.
Looking away, Riley bit his lip and refused to even acknowledge the person standing too close in front of him. "Bring him here!" Kendall yelled one last time and shut off her connection with Riley when Shelby confirmed that Riley wasn't going to listen to her any time soon. Slamming the communicator down on the table, Kendall clenched her jaw and shook her fists in anger before taking deep breaths and bringing the communicator to her mouth. "Shelby." She said simply as Shelby nodded and started to get into position. She knew where the pair would likely end up, whether Riley would appreciate her help or not is a totally different conflict she would rather have to deal with when the job was done.
"Guess I shouldn't have been too forward." Chase apologized as Riley looked up at him in worry and quickly shook his head.
"No, it's fine. Just didn't expect it." Riley replied weakly and smiled reassuringly at Chase who gave a small smile back. "Should we finish the tour?"
Chase chuckled, "Sure!" He said enthusiastically and swung his arm around Riley as the two walked side by side. "I'll show you my favorite place!" As they walked, the people seemed to thin out until eventually there was no one around them and Riley felt uneasiness starting to rise in the pit of his stomach. Something was not right and the fact that Kendall stopped yelling at him and Shelby wasn't following them anymore meant something was about to happen. He almost felt like they were walking into a-
Trap…
Shelby walked out of her hiding place and pulled a gun on them as they immediately stopped. No. Not now. Not when he was sure he would be free from this nightmare if he just went on a little longer. He was so close. Shelby gestured with her head for Riley to get behind her and held the gun firmly as it was aimed right at Chase's chest. Reluctantly, Riley slowly trudged towards Shelby and walked behind her, turning around to see the hurt and confused expression Chase was giving him. "I'm sorry." Riley managed to say quietly before Chase looked down and closed his eyes briefly.
"Turn around and walk." Shelby ordered as Chase obeyed and occasionally looked behind him to stare at Riley in lost hope.
"Good, Shelby, keep guiding him. We'll get what we want in no time." Kendall nodded in satisfaction as the trio neared their destination.
"Stop." Shelby commanded and Chase stopped immediately. "Open it, Riley." Riley hesitated for a second before moving to the building's door and punching in the code needed to enter the building. He opened the door and walked inside as Chase and Shelby followed soon after. Shelby closed the door, not bothering to keep her eyes off Chase for even a moment. Riley continued to walk further into the building as the others followed and Chase examined his surroundings quickly. They turned into a hallway with a dead end and one room attached to the small hallway. "Go in there." Shelby gestured at the empty room with her gun as Chase stopped for a second before running into the room to avoid getting shot. Riley pushed Shelby aside quickly and ran into the small compact room as Chase closed the door behind him. "Riley!" Shelby shouted and ran to open the door, but it was already locked. She pounded on the door to get it open, but she was unsuccessful. "Riley, no!"
Kendall walked up to a line of switches and smirked before flipping one of the switches as transparent gas flooded into the room for several seconds. Instantly the effects seem to be taking over his body, Riley's eyelids felt heavy and exhaustion caught up to him quickly. He looked over at Chase who wasn't doing any better and closed his eyes briefly. "I'm sorry." Riley said quietly as Chase quickly looked over at him in confusion.
"Stop being sorry." Chase said in between gasps. "It wasn't...your fault."
"If I hadn't-"
"What? Caught my attention by your cute looks?" Chase asked sarcastically with a smile as Riley felt his cheeks heat up. "Trust me… I don't regret walking up to you. I'm glad you had the guts to disobey orders, though." Soon, Riley's body felt heavy and he almost slipped off the wall if Chase hadn't quickly caught him and hugged him tightly as Riley clung onto Chase for dear life. He didn't want to die at such an early age. He didn't want Chase to die. The two slid to the floor and broke their embrace as Chase glanced at Riley briefly before pulling off a necklace and taking Riley's hand. "Keep it safe." Chase placed the necklace in Riley's hand and slowly closed his hand. "It's safer with you than with me." Chase assured when Riley shook his head as tears threatened to roll down his face.
"I'm dying with you." Riley reluctantly reminded him and grasped Chase's hand as they slowly moved closer. "I'm not leaving you anytime soon." They were breathing the same air again and eventually their lips connected, kissing each other passionately before they knew the inevitable was coming to claim them.
A/N: This whole fic was inspired by a song really. There was a music video James Davies starred in and the plot of the video was pretty good, so I wanted to write it out. I am incorporating this story into something else I'm working on, so you will see more of this. I can promise you all that. Anyway, thanks for reading and please leave a comment! Song is Musica Leggera by Sal Da Vinci. I have no idea what the lyrics are, so I'm sorry if it's offensive in any way.