Prompt 16 - Crime Fic
@wolfstarmicrofic July 16, word count 999
CW - Death, dead bodies
The Black family were notorious. Everybody in Britain knew who they were and knew not to cross even the lowliest member of their crime empire.
Sirius had tried to get out, but there was no getting out. At least his rebellion had taken him away from the worst of what his family was involved in. Sirius was now in charge of the legit side of things. But even though he never touched anything that could be seen as even slightly illegal, people still feared him because of his name.
One of those things he took care of was the hundreds of rental properties the family owned. This tended to not be too difficult a job. Knowing who their landlords were, the tenants all paid their rent on time and no one ever complained about the state of them. That is until a Mr R J Lupin emailed him demanding the black mould be removed, a door that actually locked, hot water in the shower, and the kitchen have cupboards, counters, and just your basic kitchen fittings. Sirius looked him up. He was renting one of the cheapest flats in the worst part of London that the family owned.
“Damn it,” He hissed under his breath. Remus hadn’t paid his rent. There was a zero-chance policy. As soon as someone missed a payment, that was it.
“Sirius!” Orion Black barged into his office. “I’ve just read a very interesting email.” His father said, holding up his tablet. “From one, Remus John Lupin. I want him out. Take Crabbe and Goyle with you and make sure he knows who he's crossed.”
“But, don’t you think we should address some of the issues? I mean he kind of has a point about the black mould,” Sirius tried to argue on his tenant’s behalf, but Orion was having none of it.
“Forget it, I’ll just send them myself.” And with that, Orion strode out of Sirius’s office.
“Careful, brother,” Regulus warned from the doorway. “They will punish you if you interfere.”
“Yeah, I know, but Reggie, he doesn’t even have a kitchen.”
“That’s really not our problem, Sirius.”
“But it is. It’s our flat, we have to provide basic necessities,” He tried to get his brother to show even an iota of human decency. Regulus sighed sadly.
“He withheld his rent, Sirius. You might have been able to do something if Father hadn’t found out, but it’s too late for Lupin now. Perhaps you can look into some of the other properties and slowly get them up to par.” Regulus moved away from the door. “Don’t do anything stupid!”
Sirius groaned into his hands. He couldn't just leave the man to those two goons. He grabbed his keys and rushed out of the building.
His Porsche 911 purred through the city. The buildings got rougher and rougher until he thought maybe he shouldn’t have driven his expensive car there.
The door to the building was wide open, not a good sign. He cautiously entered and made his way up to the third floor. He counted the doors until he came to number 8, and it was hanging off its hinges.
He peered into the flat. It was just one room with a tiny bathroom built into what used to be a cupboard. He wrinkled his nose as the smell hit him. Damp and mould and other vile scents he couldn’t even attempt to name. There was a tall man standing on the other side of the bed looking down in horror at the floor.
“Remus?” He asked. The man’s head turned towards him so fast his neck cracked.
“I-I-I,” He stammered. Sirius noticed he was shaking. He walked around the bed and froze. On the floor, not moving, were Crabbe and Goyle.
“Oh fuck!” Sirius gritted his teeth. His father would want Remus dead for sure once he found out.
“I swear I didn’t do it.” Remus grabbed Sirius’s upper arms and squeezed them tightly. “They came at me and pulled their guns. I ducked when they pointed them at me and they shot each other. I don’t even know what I did to upset them.” Sirius moved Remus to the other side of the bed and forced him to sit down.
“Those two men worked for my father,” Sirius started to explain.
“Your father?” Remus questioned, clearly confused.
“Orion Black,” Sirius didn’t need to say more, Remus paled.
“Why, why would they come here,” Remus gestured to his flat with a shaking hand.
“He saw that email you sent and that you hadn’t paid your rent. He isn’t forgiving, but I honestly have no idea what those muppets were thinking.”
“I paid my rent,” Remus pulled his phone out of his pocket and opened his banking app. “No, no, no, no, no! That bastard!” He pulled his hair as he yelled at his phone. “My ex has emptied my bank account. I had the money in there for my rent. I swear I had no intentions of not paying,” He told Sirius in panic.
A phone began ringing. Sirius stared in the direction it was coming from until it stopped. Then another one rang. Then both phones rang.
“Get your things and come with me. You can’t stay here.” Sirius ordered, and when Remus didn’t move, he dove under the bed and pulled out the plastic boxes that held all of Remus’s belongings. “Do you have a bag? Come on Remus, he’ll have sent someone else already.” He found an empty duffle bag in one of the boxes and stuffed as many clothes into it as possible. The rest he put in bin bags and dragged the scared man down to his car. He watched as the blacked-out 4x4 screeched to a halt. Mulciber and Avery jumped out and stormed into the building. They’d gotten out just in time. He started the engine and pulled out of the parking space, Remus secure in the passenger seat. Regulus was going to kill him.
