A/N: You guys are amazing. I now understand what authors mean when they compare reviews to crack! I've had a shitty few days, but seeing you all excited about this made me more excited about it so I sat down and pounded out the next chapter in record time given my total inexperience in writing. Don't expect quick updates like this often, I work 60 hours a week and am planning a wedding right now, but just this once I think we all deserve a present! 3
As always mistakes are all mine.
Disclaimer: See previous.
Finn paced in front of the garage, alternately listening for the sound of Puck's bike approaching and glancing down at his cell. It had been about twenty minutes since his panicked phone call to his friend and it wasn't like Puck to take this long. He paused and hit the call button again, biting back a groan as it went directly to voicemail for the fifth time in as many minutes.
'Guess we'll just have to go without him… shit,' Finn silently decided.
Walking back into the garage he took stock of those around. 'Jimmy is still half-cocked after last month, I need cooler heads here,' he thought.
"Ellie!" Finn shouted above the din towards the woman currently making notes on a clipboard near Caleb. "I need to head out, we've got a situation. Where's Big John? I can't get Puck on the phone."
"I sent him out on a call out on the highway, left about a half-hour ago. Why? What's going on?" she asked.
"Nothing, I just need to go get Mike and Matt. I'm going to take the van and I'll need some backup. Uhh… Caleb, come with. I'm also taking Prospect. We'll be back in a few. If Quinn calls tell her I'm out on a repo. She's been kind of jumpy lately," Finn told Ellie before turning away to head across to the clubhouse.
"Keep an eye on him, Caleb," Ellie warned once Finn was out of earshot. "He's been a bit gun shy since his last stint in County and Quinn needs him home in one piece… not to mention what Puck will do if something goes down."
Caleb nodded and then chased after Finn, finding him with the Prospect already grabbing some small arms out of one of the club's storage lockers.
"What the fuck is going on Finn? Where are we headed?" Caleb asked while grabbing his own favorite Sig and checking the clip.
"Chang and Rutherford were in town doing a bit of recon that Big John needed on Casey. I guess the he's back trying to push in Lima again and we need to find a way to shut that shit down for good. Anyway, they were at Casey's new warehouse seeing about a shipment that is supposedly coming in and Mike saw that fucker that Tina was rolling with for a while. He lost his cool, went after the guy and got caught. Matt is stuck, can't leave without being seen but managed to get some texts out to me. Mike's pretty bloody, apparently. The dickhead he went after called Casey and it looks like Casey wants him held until he can get there," Finn explained.
"Why'd he go after the guy in the first place?" Prospect asked. "Tina's a big girl and she's smart, she would just dump him if Mike told her what he was up to."
"She hasn't been with this guy for a couple of weeks. Tina said no one night; the guy didn't like that and smacked her around a bit. Tina pulled her gun and he ran off. No one has seen him until today. She tried to cover the marks but it got back to Mike and he's been gunning for this punk ever since. If it were my sister the fucker would be dead too, I get why. But yeah, looks like the creep is hitting some new lows. Anyway, we about ready to go?" Finn asked.
"Yeah, let's do this shit," Prospect responded with a grin.
Caleb and Finn rolled their eyes behind his back. Prospect wasn't allowed to go with the guys as much because of his status. They were trusting him and letting him in more and more, but the older guys were still amused by his excitement whenever he got to participate in something of actual importance.
Finn picked up the duffel he had packed and headed out after Caleb. He said a quick prayer under his breath, mostly that this wouldn't go to shit and that Quinn wouldn't find out he was leading without Puck or Big John around to bail them out if it did go to shit, tossed his bag in the back of the black van with Prospect, and peeled out of the lot.
Puck ducked down and yanked Rachel down with him. He muffled her yelp of surprise with his hand and made a gesture for her to keep quiet. She raised an eyebrow at him in question but followed his lead, looking irritated at being manhandled like that.
'What the fuck are Casey's guys doing here. I thought they were at the warehouse. Shit, I hope they can't see the bike from here,' Puck's thoughts were racing.
He checked to see that his Harley was in fact obscured from view by some bushes by the road and looked over his shoulder at Rachel. 'What the fuck am I going to do with her?' he wondered as his phone buzzed in his pocket. 'Shit. Finn. Bitch is going to have to wait a bit,' and sent the call to voicemail.
Seeing the two men from the truck heading towards the woods away from where they were crouched, Puck quickly assessed the area before motioning to Rachel for her to follow him. He crawled down the embankment towards the river and over a fallen log. As Rachel scrambled over after him her leg caught on a branch and she had to stifle a cry of pain while blood pooled in a deep gash.
Puck sent her an apologetic yet grateful glance before reaching into his pocket and grabbing a handkerchief to hold over the wound.
"I'm going to go back up and see what's going on. Stay here, don't come out no matter what until I come and tell you it is safe," Puck whispered to her. "Can you use one of these?" he asked, motioning to the small gun in his hand.
'Where the hell has he been hiding that? What the fuck is going on?' her mind screamed as she tried to ignore the pain in her leg and concentrate on the subject at hand.
"Rachel! Rachel!" Puck whispered at her fiercely, trying to snap her out of whatever was happening in her head. "Can you use one, yes or no?" At her head shake he sighed and continued. "This is the safety, this is the trigger. It is loaded. Pull this back, point and then lightly pull the trigger. These are not nice people, if someone comes down here and it isn't me or another Reaper shoot first and ask questions later. I am not joking. Got it?" he whispered.
Rachel nodded and Puck kissed her lightly on the forehead. "I'm sorry about this babe, I'll explain later."
Ignoring her pleading look to stay with her he vaulted back over the trunk and crawled up the riverbank, peeking over the edge to see where Casey's men were. Noticing them over by the woods still he creeped closer.
The two were milling around, one on the phone while the other leaned against the bed of the pickup and stared intently down the dirt access road. Puck thought he recognized one of the guys, but was surprised he didn't see Casey since it was definitely his truck. The shorter man snapped the cell phone shut in obvious annoyance and muttered something to his associate.
'Obviously they are meeting someone here, shit I hope it isn't for an exchange,' he thought, quietly taking out his other piece and checking the clip.
He was about to take out his phone to text Finn about this development when a beat-up Ford Taurus came flying down the gravel, barely stopping before the truck.
"Mario! Wilson! We gotta go! Something's going on down at the warehouse. Casey's cancelled the drop. Hurry up!" a scrawny guy with a shaved head yelled out his window. He quickly threw the car in reverse, gunned the engine and took off the way he came. The other two wasted no time hopping into their own vehicle and driving off.
'Thank fuck,' Puck thought as the car and truck turned out of sight and the dust started to settle. He stood up and began to walk back towards Rachel before a stray thought brought him up short.
'Shit! They're heading to the warehouse!' he realized and frantically dialed Finn's number.
"I'm sorry but the customer you are trying to reach is unavailable at this time, please try again later," the operator's voice purred in his ear.
"MOTHER FUCK!" he yelled, running his hand over his buzzed head. How the fuck was he supposed to get a message into Finn and the others in time? He called the garage and waited for his mom to pick up the phone.
"Puck! Where the fuck are you? Finn just tore out of here with Caleb and Prospect meanwhile John's out at a crash and isn't picking up his cell. What the fuck is going on?"
"Ma, shut up. Who's still there?" Puck cut off her rant.
"Jimmy's here with me, why?"
"Go get him! Now!" he barked.
He heard a bit of commotion on the other end of the line as he waited for Jimmy to get on the call. He decided to leave Rachel where she was for the moment and get this out of the way, his buddies lives could be on the line, she could wait.
"Hey man, what's going on? El is pretty fucking miffed," Jimmy started. Puck could hear his mom huff in the background.
"No time man, call Chief Hummel. Tell him we need a raid on Casey's home base ASAP. The guys went there to get Mike and Matt out but Casey's got back-up on the way," Puck ordered.
"Puck man, we could totally just go in with our own guys. I can grab the others from here and we can just blast in and grab 'em… Maybe take out some of Casey's bastards at the same time."
"Fuck Jimmy, no! We are not starting a fire-fight in Lima in broad daylight. We'd be trespassing at the very least. Fuck! Use your head; we don't need this shit now. Just get Hummel on it before someone gets hurt and then go over and get the others away. Mike'll definitely get hauled in but I'll talk to Artie and see if we can get him off easy. Casey will slither away and move his base, but we can't let this get bloody. Revenge later man."
There was a pregnant pause on the line; he could tell Jimmy wasn't happy.
"Look, just do it, or I swear to fuck I'll kill you myself," Puck stated in monotone. He was so done with this shit. Jimmy had been an issue for a while and Puck wasn't in the mood for his attitude.
"Alright," Jimmy finally replied.
"Good. Take care of it. I'll be there in a few," Puck bit out and ended the call before he got even more annoyed with the older man.
Jimmy and Caleb were like uncles to him; both were best friends with his dad and with Big John. He always appreciated Caleb; the guy was great with his hands, helped Puck out often and even took him to his first strip joint when he was fifteen. He loved Jimmy too, but just couldn't relate to his constant desire for violence. Sometimes you need to use your head, not guns to solve problems.
He tried Finn once more and got the operator's message again. Giving up he put his phone away and went back toward Rachel's hiding place.
As he was heading down the embankment a twig snapped under his foot. Before he knew what was happening a gunshot rang out and a bullet missed his shoulder by about two feet, burying itself harmlessly in the soil behind him.
"HOLY HELL WOMAN! Rach, don't shoot, it's just me!" he yelled from his prone position on the ground.
"Oh fuck, Puck! I'm so sorry!" she cried out as she jumped over the log and ran to his side. "I didn't get you did I?" She frantically moved her hands over his body searching for a wound.
"Fuck, you're a horrible shot. Thank fuck," He sputtered, looking at her like she was insane.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't know it was you. NEXT TIME ANNOUNCE YOURSELF YOU ASSHOLE!" Rachel's voice was steadily rising in volume until she was all but shouting in his face and trembling like a leaf.
"Shh… shh… baby, 's okay. C'mere," Puck soothed her, bringing her into his arms.
"I was so frightened. Don't ever leave me alone like that ever again. What the hell was that anyway? Where are those guys? I heard engines but I didn't peek. You didn't kill them did you? I can't stop shaking. I left your gun by the tree. Who were those men? Oh my gosh my leg hurts. What is going on?" Rachel rambled, unable to keep up with the thoughts running through her head.
Puck cut her off by forcefully slanting his lips over hers. His tongue darted out to tease her bottom lip. At first she stiffened and opened her mouth to question him. He took advantage of this movement and deepened the kiss. After a few beats Rachel relaxed into his arms and started to kiss back, tentatively stroking his tongue with her own. He continued like this until they both needed air, pulling back and looking down at her, Rachel's face framed by his large hands.
"Fuck you're short," he said, smirking at the dazed expression on her face.
Exasperation quickly washed over her and she stomped her foot in annoyance. "You can't just distract me like that!" she cried.
"Pretty sure I can and did. Seriously though, are you like a midget? You barely even reach my chest!" Puck teased.
"Ugh. You're so annoying. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!" Rachel yelled, finally reaching her limit.
"Nothing baby, it really wasn't a big deal," Puck said indulgently. "Just some guys I know that deal in some shady things. I didn't want anything to happen to you if they saw me. It's cool. They're gone, but some of my friends might be in trouble so we need to get back to town, okay?"
"Not a big deal? Are you kidding me? You gave me a GUN! Obviously something was a pretty big deal!" she exclaimed.
Puck shook his head and grabbed her hand to lead her back up the bank, choosing to let her rant instead of responding. He heard her gasp of pain and turned back to her. The cut on her leg was still bleeding pretty steadily and was now caked in dirt.
"Shit, I think that'll need stitches. You okay to ride?" he asked her.
Rachel looked down at her shin and then back up at Puck. "If I can spend six hours a day in pointe shoes with an incompetent pas de deux partner I can definitely ride your bike into town," she replied smartly.
"I don't even know what that means," he told her before lifting her into his arms and starting to walk again. "Also, I'm pretty sure I've carried watermelons that weigh more than you."
Rachel rolled her eyes but didn't protest his move, it felt kind of nice to be taken care of she admitted to herself. 'His arms are a gift from God. Seriously,' she mused as he finally set her down by his motorcycle.
"Let's get back and get you cleaned up."
Artie pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to fight the growing pain behind his eyes. Deskwork sucked and he was pretty sure he needed new glasses even though this prescription was only a year old. Chief Hummel had gone tearing out of here earlier like there was an Amber Alert, taking three officers with him and shouting over his shoulder for Artie to hold down the fort.
It had been two years since he was shot and he still hadn't adjusted to being outside the action. He'd always wanted to be a police officer, but maybe it was time to consider something else.
With a sigh he rolled away from his desk towards the coffee machine.
"Yo Abrams! Where are you?" Pucks voice sounded through the small station.
'Well this might make my day a bit more exciting at least, Puck usually gives me something more than paperwork to do, though it still often comes with the requisite headache,' Artie thought to himself.
"Back here man, I'm getting a coffee," he called out.
A few seconds later a dusty Puck appeared with a cute girl in tow. 'Big surprise,' Artie thought in amusement.
"Fuck Abrams, just because you literally sit all the time now doesn't mean you should be conforming to the fat-cop-with-a-doughnut stereotype. Drop the coffee and get over here, we gotta talk man," Puck jested.
"Puckerman, do you even know what the words 'conform' and 'stereotype' mean?" Artie shot back as he wheeled towards his desk. "Also still maybe too soon to be making cracks about the wheelchair."
"Fuck you man, whatever. You and I both know it is a fucking chick magnet once they find out why you're in it. You could be like, elbow-deep in pussy. Not my fault you chose to become one instead."
Artie just sighed and looked at the mystery woman, asking with his eyes 'do you see the shit I put up with?' She returned his stare with an understanding nod and bemused lip quirk and he briefly wondered if this chick was more than just one of Puck's usual parade of bimbos.
"Hey! Pay attention man! Rachel, this is Artie Abrams. I used to beat him up in high school when I wasn't playing guitar with him. Loser became a cop but I don't hold that against him too much. Abrams, this is Rachel Berry. She's coming back to Lima after a long absence. I rescued her earlier today in a way you and your band of merry, uniformed losers could only wish to emulate. Yes I know that word too. Now we all know each other, let's get down to business. I need you to get Mike Chang out of jail." Puck stated.
"Dude, Mike Chang isn't even in jail. What the hell are you talking about?" Artie asked, wondering not for the first time if Puck had a permanent concussion or something.
"He will be in a bit. Hummel's probably cuffin' n' stuffin' him as we speak… along with a bunch of Casey's idiots. And if I'm lucky Casey himself." Puck told him, lacing his fingers together behind his head and leaning back in his chair.
"So you know why Chief left a while ago?"
"If Jimmy did what I fucking told him to he left for a raid on a warehouse. Mike and Matt were there doing some surveillance for us and Mike attacked one of the guys and got caught. Finn went over to the warehouse to get them out but Casey sent back up so I got Hummel to hopefully shut it down before it began." Puck explained to the other man.
"If Mike attacked a guy WHILE he was trespassing I can't just let him walk," Artie told him. "Especially if the guy wants to press charges."
"Listen, Mike had a good reason and it wasn't a fair fight. I am sure Mike looks way worse than the other guys."
"You idiots always think you have a good reason," Artie responded.
"Seriously, Mike only went after the guy because he knocked around Tina when they were dating," Puck whispered.
Rachel gasped next to him, obviously distressed at the thought of a man attacking a woman he is seeing. Artie let out a low growl at the news, both reactions were noted by Puck.
"You know Mike wouldn't attack a guy unprovoked. He is the least likely out of all of us to pull shit like this, but if it was you…" Puck trailed off.
'If it was me the guy would be dead,' Artie thought. 'Tina is perfect, why would anyone ever want to hurt her? How could they even? She is so compassionate,' he recalled. She was his favorite nurse when he was recuperating from his injury. Artie continued to fantasize about the lovely Asian for a moment before realizing Puck had started talking again.
"…so can you help?" he finished.
Artie just nodded at the larger man, still in a daze from this new information. "Is Tina alright?" he asked.
"Yeah, it happened a couple of weeks ago and the dick disappeared right after, she's fine," Puck told him, grabbing Rachel's hand at the thought of his friend's sister and her ordeal.
Artie took in their joined hands and grinned over at Rachel. "It was nice to meet you Rachel. Hopefully we will see each other again. Maybe next time we will actually talk. Do me a favor and try to keep this idiot out of trouble?" Artie asked her.
"Absolutely," she responded with a wide smile.
"Let's go Rach, I wanna get your leg looked at," Puck told her, nodding his thanks at Artie. "We're heading to see Quinn at her house if you need me," he said to the other man.
"Ha! Have fun with that," Artie replied before going back to the paperwork on his desk.
'Well, I was right. Puck did give me something else to do,' he thought, watching the couple leave together. 'This could be fun,' he smiled before going back to thinking about Tina.
"'Sup douche?" Where's my husband?" a pretty blonde with a small baby bump snarked as she opened the door and ushered them into her small home.
"Hey bitch, no idea. Out on a repo or something. Quinn meet Rachel, Rach this is Quinn. Finn's her husband," Puck said, gesturing between the two women. "Q we need your help. Rachel cut her leg open when we were out at the river. I don't want to take her to emerg where she'll just sit for a few hours, can you take a look at it?"
Quinn raised her eyebrows at Puck and the petite brunette with him. "It's my day off dickwad and Finn's kid is dancing on my bladder," she stated firmly.
"C'mon Q. I'll totally owe you. Seriously, when was the last time I asked you for anything?" Puck pleaded.
"Umm, how about three nights ago when you asked me not to kill you for bringing Finn home totally shitfaced? He puked in the kitchen sink!" she countered.
"Fine!" Puck exclaimed. "How bout this, I'll paint the baby's room on Saturday. I know you've been trying to get Finn to do it and he keeps flaking."
"Deal," Quinn agreed before grabbing Rachel's arm and dragging her into the kitchen with Puck following. "Sit," she motioned to a chair at the small dining table before walking towards what Rachel assumed was a bathroom and returning with a large first aid kit.
"Why'd you bring her here when you know I'll give you shit instead of taking her to Tina. You know she's sweet on you," she asked Puck as she put on some rubber gloves.
"Tina does not have a thing for me, you and Mike just want her to… though with my reputation I cannot imagine why Mike would be okay with that. Anyway, some shit might be going down and she might have her hands full later," Puck told her.
"That 'shit' better not include Finn. Anyway where'd you find this one?" Quinn asked, grabbing a bottle of rubbing alcohol and some gauze.
"Hi, yeah. I'm actually sitting right here. And my name is Rachel, not 'this one'. What is up with all the women in your life kind of being bitches, Puck?" Rachel asked him.
He doubled over in laughter at the annoyed looks on both girls' faces. However he quickly held his hands up in supplication when that annoyance turned to twin glares. "Chill ladies, chill. Q try to be less… you. Rach, I have no idea why they are, I guess I just like strong women," he replied with a cheeky grin.
"Ugh, you're disgusting Puck," Quinn said as she sat down next to Rachel and moved her leg into her lap. "This might sting a bit," she told the dark haired girl.
"Ow! Fuck!" Rachel cried out.
"I warned you," Quinn told her, continuing to clean the wound. "Wuss," she muttered under her breath.
Rachel shot her another glare but chose to stay silent.
"Speaking of your 'strong women' Puck, I ran into Janelle at the Safeway earlier. Seems she's moved on entirely. Rumor has it she is shacking up with Dave Karofsky." Quinn told Puck.
"The fuck she is! What a fucking whore. If that's true I'll kill her, no lie," Puck threatened. "You hear that shit from Kurt?"
"Nah, I got it straight from the horse's mouth. Well, 'whore's' mouth, I guess," Quinn informed him. "She's pretty much telling anyone with a pulse. San and Britt heard it from her too."
"Guess that means it isn't actually a rumor," Rachel quipped.
Two heads turned in her direction. Puck looked as though he was just now remembering she was even there and vaguely uncomfortable that they were discussing his ex-wife in front of her. Quinn appeared mildly impressed before schooling her features to appear impassive once again.
"You don't need stitches. Just keep it clean and dry. It'll scab over soon. If you're worried about a scar pick up some Polysporin on your way home," she told Rachel, taping some gauze over the clean gash. "You bringing her to the cookout tonight?" Quinn asked Puck.
"Shit, that's tonight? Fuck." Puck groaned. "Yeah, probably. Mom'll be pissed if I bring her but she'll also be pissed if I don't show and those are pretty much my only options at this point," he said, smiling at Rachel.
"Well this should be fun," Quinn muttered as she moved to return the first aid kit to its home.
"Fuck off Q!" Puck shouted after her. "We're leaving!"
"Yeah, whatever. Just send my husband home sometime soon. I don't want him showing up covered in grease tonight!" she called from the other room.
'This really could be fun,' she thought to herself. 'Puck's maybe got a real girl… Assuming I don't kill her.'
Big John sat back in his chair, turned towards the only window in the darkened room. He sipped his whiskey quietly and thought about the day. Ellie had given him an earful when he got back from the crash. Jimmy was pretty brassed off too. Puck was still MIA, though Mike Chang was out of jail so he must have made an appearance at the station at some point. Finn told him that Puck had got caught up at the river and Caleb said everything went as smoothly as it could considering the whole recon debacle at the warehouse. Still, he was annoyed.
Jimmy could just fuck off, Puck made the right decision there and Big John knew it. Going in fully armed would have made more problems for the club than they needed and someone probably would have died. Casey would just move though, which meant finding his hole again and doing reconnaissance… again. Also, Hummel now knew that Casey was dealing in Lima again, another problem for the club.
Just then he saw Puck pull his bike into the lot, the girl from earlier still on the back. 'Rebecca? Rhonda?' he racked his brain for her name before remembering he didn't care.
"Sounds like we missed some action today," a voice came from behind him.
Big John snorted into his glass in response and motioned to the man to sit down.
Will reached over and poured himself a healthy glass of whiskey and turned to follow John's line of sight.
"She's cute," the younger man told John, seeing Rachel throw her head back with laughter at something Puck told her.
"Think she'll last?" John asked, glancing over at him.
Will furrowed his brow in thought before responding. "Listen, I know you and Ellie both think something is up with him, but I think it's pretty normal. Shit is changing around him. He's done with Janelle. He was a little crazy for a while and now it is leveling out."
Will Schuester was younger than Big John and the original Reapers but older than Puck and his boys. He was the secretary of the club and tended to be the voice of reason and, when needed, the one to help bridge generational gaps.
"I don't know sometimes. I laugh at the women and the fighting and the drinking because before that bitch Janelle sucked out his soul that behavior was the Puck we all knew and loved. But the boy has got to start stepping up. He handled some of the shit today but he wasn't actually here for any of it. I need to know what went down from his angle but it looks like he is otherwise occupied tonight," he explained to Will who nodded in understanding.
Both men sat in silence a while longer, thinking about nothing and everything before Will broke the quiet.
"C'mon old man. We gotta get to the barbecue eventually. I don't want your old lady to kill you and Carole was going to try and convince Emma to come for me. We can grab Puck and the girl on our way out," he said, finishing his drink and clapping Big John on the shoulder.
'Fuck, the cookout. Huh, and Puck's bringing a girl, eh? El's gonna throw a fit. This could be fun,' he thought, finishing his own drink and following Will out the door.