Chapter 2

"The city continues to tremble in fear as another life is lost at the hands of these criminals." The news reporter shook her head in pity. It was a little girl this time. She and her mother were robbed in an alley. The young girl got in the way and was shot once in the head.

A video of her hysterical mother made Harry clench his eyes shut to hold in tears of his own. It's been an entire month, the city was sick of the crimes.

"Weren't you the one who wanted us to stop focusing on that?" Niall asked as he made breakfast. Harry turned off the television and went into the kitchen.

"Yeah, well, it's hard to avoid something that's everywhere."

These criminals were becoming more famous than Beyonce. They were some of the most clever criminals of all time. That made the matter worse. They easily avoided the police and left absolutely no trace. It was terrifying.

"Eat up. We have a meeting in an hour." Niall placed a hearty plate of breakfast in front of Harry.

Harry smiled. Niall was always looking out for him. He was grateful for that. He needed someone like that in his life.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Niall wondered as he prepared his own plate and poured a cup of orange juice.

Harry laughed. "If I'm going to live in a fucked up city like this I'm glad it's with you, buddy."

"Oh, stop. You're making me blush." Niall turned shyly away, eliciting another laugh from Harry. "But seriously, we're in this together. We agreed to always look after each other."

And they agreed that when they got married they would live within walking distance of each other. And they agreed that when they had kids they would make sure their kids became best friends. Keeping the Horan/Styles friendship alive had been their ultimate goal.

"I'm just glad you're a good cook." Harry mumbled as he began to scarf down his breakfast.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" Niall wondered as he sat at the counter next to Harry.

"I'm stopping at the ATM before the meeting."

"Oh, right."

The two of them were going to drive down to Boston to see friends for the weekend. They needed money.

"You coming too?" Harry asked around a mouthful of toast.

"Nah, I'm not even dressed. I'll meet you at the school."

Harry finished his food and put his dishes in the dishwasher. "See you in a little while." He said on his way out of the door.

Their apartment wasn't too far from anything. It took Harry 15 minutes to get down to the bank. He stood at the ATM, waiting for his money to print out. He whistled to himself until a chilling voice froze him in place.

"Everyone, put you hands up in the air. Against the wall, now!"

Harry's eyes widened. He was a few steps from the door. If he was quick, he would be able to dash out and call the police. He hesitated for a second too long. Liam was the first one to see him.

"Are you deaf? Get against the wall, now!" Harry jumped as a black pistol turned his way. The gun was trained on him as he walked over to the wall where everyone else was lined up, some cried, some trembled, some prayed. He didn't do any of those things.

Liam went to lock all of the doors while Zayn paced in front of the cowering hostages. He made eye contact with each and every one of them, twirling his gun around his finger.

"Listen, we're all friends here, right? We don't want to hurt anybody. As long as you keep your mouths shut and keep your hands where we can see them, this will be quick and painless. Right Louis?" Zayn called over his shoulder. Louis held an empty bag as he went over to the ATMs and printed out obnoxious sums of other people's money.

"Right Zayn. Keep them occupied. This won't be long." Harry's eyes followed Louis as he stuffed the money into his bag. Liam came and stood in front of Harry, blocking his view.

"You look familiar. What's your name?"

Harry didn't realize he was being spoken to until Liam kicked his foot. Harry grimaced in pain. "Hey, I asked a question. What's your name?"

"H-Harry."

"Harry what?" Liam leaned in, his gun clutched in his expert hand.

"Styles. Harry S-Styles."

"No shittin'. Hey, Louis, did you hear that?" Liam turned around. Harry could see Louis standing in front of a bank teller's counter. There were safety bars in front of this girl's desk so burglars couldn't jump over the counter and steal.

"Shut up. I'm busy!" Louis yelled at Liam who cowered. Yes, Louis was definitely the boss. Harry watched as Louis fake pitied the girl who trembled behind the counter.

"Oh, sweetie. Don't worry. I won't hurt you. These guns are just for show. You see, we don't actually fire them unless we get pissed off. Give me all the money you have and we won't have a problem."

She was in shock but she nodded. She ran off to grab the money and Louis leaned against the counter. "What were you saying?"

"This here is Harry Styles." Liam laughed and pointed his gun at Harry.

"Really? Harry Styles of the famous Styles family. How much money do your parents have?"

"I-I don't k-know." Harry responded.

Louis laughed and turned his attention elsewhere. The woman was hurrying back with the cash but Louis' eyes scanned the line of people against the wall. There was a father that sat protectively in front of his wife and children, the wife was talking on the phone to the police.

Louis began to walk over towards them. They weren't too far from where Harry sat and he cringed as Louis crouched down.

"Why don't you step aside so I can speak to the little lady behind you?"

He refused to move. "You have to go through me first." Louis rolled his eyes and looked over his shoulder at Zayn.

"I just don't get why they can't cooperate. Things would be so much easier if they did."

Zayn nodded and Louis turned back around to face the man. Louis threw a powerful punch that knocked the man on his side, nose bleeding profusely. The woman behind the man held her children close.

Louis took the phone from her and tossed it aside. "I'm in a good mood today. Don't piss me off."

He stood up and made his way back to the counter to receive the money. As the lady filled up his bag, he turned around. The woman who had called the police was reaching for her phone. With expert aim and quick reflexes, Louis pulled the trigger and shot her hand.

She screamed and begin to cry. She prayed in between, she prayed for her children to get out safely.

"I told you not to piss me off."

"That was unnecessary." Someone spoke up. It took Harry a long time to realize it was him. Zayn and Liam pointed their guns at the man.

"You've got balls, kid." Louis smirked. "Put the guns down."

Harry had been close to either crying or wetting himself. He wasn't sure. But he relaxed when the guns weren't trained on him.

"I won't forget that." Louis said. Just then, they heard the sound of a police siren.

"Fucking police always ruining our fun. I'm having fun. Aren't you guys?" Louis smiled like he expected everyone in the room to answer. Liam and Zayn agreed.

Louis turned to the woman who had handed him the money. "These door and windows are bullet proof. Aren't they?"

"Y-y-y-es." She stuttered.

"In that case. I think I'll keep you guys for a little bit longer."

Niall left the house after Harry did. He texted Harry to ask if he was on his way to the school but didn't get a response. Niall shrugged it off. Harry barely answers his phone anyway. He stuck his hands in his pocket as he hurried to the school. The meeting would start in 20 minutes. He assumed Harry would be there by then.

He made his way into the teachers' conference to find Harry missing.

"Where's Harry?" Niall asked a loud to the rest of the staff.

"Shouldn't you know? You guys are usually together." Callum pointed out.

"He went to the bank and left before me. He should have been here by now."

They all just shrugged. He might have stopped for coffee or something. Niall wasn't at all worried as he mingled with his friends until it was time for the teachers' meeting. By then, when Harry still hadn't showed up, he began to worry, as did everyone else.

"I'll try calling him." Niall stated. He took out his phone to dial Harry's number. It rang and rang with no answer at the end. Niall tried a few more times and so did others. Still, no answer.

"That's weird." He said aloud,

The meeting went along as planned but Niall couldn't focus on anything but Harry. The students were already starting to arrive at school and it was very unlike Harry to miss work and not call ahead of time. Niall knew something was wrong.

When they were dismissed for work, Niall started his students on an assignment and went to Harry's classroom down the hall. The kids didn't have a teacher and were talking and yelling. The class was out of control.

"Hey! Keep it down!" Niall yelled. Everyone stopped talking and looked at him. "I want all of you to get your things and come to my classroom." The class wasn't too big and Niall could watch after the students until Harry got back.

"Where's Mr. Styles?" Someone asked.

"He's running a little late." Niall responded. He led the students to his classroom just as Sophia ran in, looking horrified.

"They want you in the teachers' lounge right now. I'll look after the students."

Niall nodded. From the urgency in Sophia's voice, he knew it was something important. He ran to the teachers' lounge and found a couple of them and the principle huddled around the TV. Niall pushed his way up to the front.

The news showed live footage in front of the bank. Police were surrounding all the exits with guns. Niall watched as the camera panned closer to the door and windows, showing the people inside.

Niall gasped when he saw Harry. He was against the wall, petrified. He had been punched in the face and his lip dripped blood. Liam, Louis, and Zayn stood in front of the hostages laughing. They had taken all of the money they needed and were having fun teasing the police.

"Oh my god."

Harry didn't have any reason to be scared because Niall was scared enough for the both of them. If Niall had gone with Harry, he would have been sitting there next to his friend cowering. Niall had never branded himself religious but he closed his eyes and began to pray.

"So, Harry. Do your parents live in New York?" Louis crouched down to Harry and ignored the shout of police to surrender their weapons and unlock the doors.

"Yes." Harry said. He didn't want to look Louis in the eye. He was intimidating, they all were.

"I wonder how they would feel about their precious son being on the news."

Without warning, Louis punched Harry, hard. His lip began to bleed. "How much do they love you? Huh?"

Harry knew he looked pathetic. His life was on the line here and he had no choice but to cooperate. "We have a great relationship."

"Good to know." Louis smiled deviously as he made eye contact with Zayn and Liam. They spoke a language of their own without words. Somehow they knew what their leader was thinking.

"Alright everyone. I'm in a really good mood today. I think I'll let you all go."

Everyone sighed in relief.

"The police have this place surrounded. You have nowhere to run." It was the lady with the shot hand that spoke.

"Do you have a death wish?" Louis hissed as he pointed his gun at her head. She gulped loudly but her husband sat in front of her, his nose clearly broken. Louis took off the safety latch and slowly brought his pointer finger down on the trigger.

The entire room held their breath. Right at the last second, Louis pulled his finger off the trigger and laughed.

"I'm just fucking with you. I'm not a murderer. To reply to your earlier statement, you're completely right. The police do have this place surrounded. But, you see, we've been doing this for a long time and we always have a place to run. Stand up." He waved his gun at the woman and she stood.

Her husband stood instead. "No. Take me."

"Whatever." Louis rolled his eyes. Liam and Zayn randomly chose someone from the lineup. Louis grabbed the man's arm and took him over to the door.

Liam, Zayn, and their chosen victims were dragged along as well. Harry was glad it wasn't him. He watched as Louis unlocked the door. The police all surrounded them. They held the innocent people in front of them like shields. Harry watched as they stealthily put their guns away before running and merging into the huge crowd. They disappeared within seconds.

He was too stunned to move until he was jostled by someone suddenly jumping up to run out of the open door.

He ran out of the door as well. The police all looked around, stunned. They were stealthy, Harry would give him that. He was just thankful they were all alive.

Harry allowed the police to question him until he heard a familiar voice call out of his name. He turned around and Niall came running at him. They embraced in a hug.

"Oh my god, Harry. Are you okay?"

Harry tried not to allow himself to show how scared he was inside the bank but he allowed himself to be petrified now. He cried into his best friend's arms. To think that he could have been killed. He was held at gunpoint by the most notorious criminals in New York.

"Let's just go home. Let's just go home." Harry allowed himself to be taken away from the crowd of people asking if he was okay. No, he was far from it.

Niall prepared tea for Harry who hadn't stopped crying since they got home. His parents called him, they had seen the news, Harry cried harder.

"Shh. It's going to be fine. You hear me?"

"I could have died. I could have been killed." Harry sobbed into Niall's chest. Harry's phone rang nonstop from concerned friends. Their buzzer rang nonstop because of more concerned people. Niall told them to all go away.

He turned on the TV instead to get his mind off of everything but it only broadcasted a re showing of the day's earlier events. Harry didn't want to see himself held hostage. He just wanted to sleep.

"I'll be out here if you need me." Niall said. Harry nodded and walked to his room. He shut the door and closed his eyes. Today's events had come and gone. It didn't matter. He was safe, he was alive, he was fine.

When Harry crawled into bed and shut his eyes. He couldn't get the image of Louis from his mind. Louis was terrifying. Liam and Zayn were just his lackeyes. All of the questions about his parents, he couldn't get that out of his mind.

He finally fell asleep a couple of hours later. He was awoken by a loud noise and a hand pressed over his mouth.

"Don't say a word." A gun was pressed to the side of his head. Harry gasped at the voice. It was Louis. Harry wondered how the hell he even got there or found out where he lived.

"Harry, you're going to be spending a lot of time with us. I'm giving you 10 minutes to pack whatever the hell you need and then we're out of here. If you even think about calling for help you'll regret it." Harry nodded and Louis uncovered his mouth.

Harry flipped on the light and began packing. Louis waited patiently, gun at the ready. No one said a word until Niall burst through the door. "Are you okay Harry? I thought I heard-"

Niall gulped as a gun was pointed his way. "Who are you?" Louis asked.

"N-Niall." He replied. Louis walked closer to him, gun held in front of his body.

"You live here?" Louis asked.

Niall nodded, unable to find words.

"He's my roommate." Harry spoke up, his voice shaky.

"Ah, it might be nice for Harry to have company. I won't kill you Niall. Pack your bags. You're coming with us too."

Niall didn't protest. When someone holds a gun out to you you don't protest.

Niall came back a moment later with a suitcase in his hands. His legs trembled slightly, his hands shook, he was as scared as Harry.

"Let's go boys." Louis said in a singsong way. He gestured for the boys to follow him the same way he got in, from the fire escape. They followed him down the stairs into an abandoned alley. They followed him to an empty side street where a car waited.

"Get in." Louis ordered.

They scrambled into the backseat. Liam drove and Zayn wrote shotgun. Louis clambered in the back with Niall and Harry.

"Alright, boys?" Zayn laughed as Liam started the car.

"I hope you weren't too accustomed to your pathetic lives. Now you're rolling with us. We won't give you back until we get what we want."

"What is that, exactly?" Harry spoke but was afraid he was being too forward. He cringed. Louis laughed.

"You'll find out soon enough."

As the car drove away, Niall realized his wish was coming true. He was always sick of leaving a boring life but now his life would be anything but boring. It would be changed forever.