salute ➳ 〚h.s.〛 〚a.u.〛

chapter 33 - courtroom chaos & facing facts

"Afternoon lads!"

Three heads popped up when Piper stepped into the boardroom in Executive branch that was now home to One Direction's investigation into this whole mess with Shoreditch and the server parts. All three of them looked bleary eyed and tired which was why they perked up when they noticed the tray of takeaway cups in Piper's hand.

"Tea or coffee?" Louis asked warily as he rubbed at his right eye, pushing his glasses up off of his nose for a moment as he did. Piper had never known that Louis wore glasses, not until he started spending his nights at his computer working on this mystery, trying to dig up information that could be pieced into a cohesive picture. She rarely saw him at HQ anymore, only spending time with him here in this very boardroom. The poor guy desperately needed a break.

"Both," Piper said as she plucked up the largest cup from the tray and handed it over to Louis. "Tea for you, black. Just like you like it."

Louis gave her a warm smile before lifting the cup to his lips, taking a long sip and letting a sigh slip from between his lips. He immediately turned back to his computer, setting the tea down where he had easy access to it and then typing up a storm as he did whatever it was he was doing.

Zayn actually got up from his seat to come over and stand with Piper for a bit. She suspected it was just an attempt to stretch out his legs after sitting for so long. "One for me too?" he asked hopefully.

"Got you a latte," Piper told him as she handed up the cup that had zayn written on the top in her messy scrawl. "It's probably not as good as yours but it will have to do."

Zayn chuckled as he took the lid off the top and tossed it in the bin before lifting the cup. "Are you ever going to let me live that down?"

"Never. It was still the best bloody coffee I've had in my entire life. You've squandered your true destiny doing all of this spy work. You were born to be a barista."

"I'm not sure whether I should be insulted by that or flattered."

"I'm particular with my coffee," Piper reminded him. "So you should be flattered."

Zayn rolled his eyes but it was in jest and he managed a tired smile for Piper as he took his coffee with him back to his seat at the table, surrounded by stacks of case files. With two down, Piper turned toward the last person in the room. Niall was sprawled out on the floor with his hands covering his eyes, files spread out around him. He looked like he was just about done with all of this. He tilted his head so he could see her, looking up at her with tired eyes.

"Please tell me you got me tea," he whined as Piper crossed over to him, tucking her legs beneath her as she sat on the floor beside him. "I'm desperate for a tea."

"Well, actually, I got you a coffee." Niall grimaced but nodded his head, as if it was his solemn duty to drink whatever he was given. "But seeing as Harry isn't here, you can have his instead. You'll have to drink it the way he takes it though."

"That's fine." Niall mostly sounded grateful as he sat up with a groan, taking the cup that Piper handed to him. He ignored the harry that was scrawled on the top, surrounded by cute little love hearts, and took a big gulp of the tea. "Ah, bless you Pips. I needed this."

Piper bypassed the cup that had liam written on the lid and took up the last cup, taking a sip of her own latte. "Where are Harry and Liam?" she asked. She'd been expecting them to be here, chugging along with the other lads trying to wade through the murky mess of information.

"Liam's at the JIC meeting with El," Louis told her. "And H went to check out some attack at the Treasury."

Piper choked on her coffee a bit. "A what? Attack at the Treasury?"