Rachel sat in the dining hall with Tina, trying to eat the food her friend had put in front of her. She felt like she hadn't eaten in days and honestly she couldn't even remember if that was the case. Still, her stomach roiled at the prospect of eating and she was desperate to get back out to the compound.
"Please, Tina, I can't!" Rachel whined. "Can't we just go?"
"No!" Tina replied firmly. "You need to eat something. We need you focused and strong."
Sullenly Rachel stabbed into the food with her fork and pushed it into her mouth. It tasted like gravel and she had to take a swig of water to be able to swallow it.
"Happy? Can we go now?"
"Rachel Berry, I swear I will slap you if you don't eat everything on that plate in the next five minutes."
Rachel sighed and grabbed another forkful. This was ridiculous. They had far more important things to be doing, like coming up with their rescue plan. She wished they would just listen to her but she knew it was useless to keep fighting Tina, and secretly she knew she was right.
"What are we going to do, Tina?" She asked between chews.
"Well, I know you're going to yell at me again but I really think we have to trust Sebastian."
"No." Rachel shook her head violently. "I told you, I don't trust him and I don't want his help."
"But…"
"No!" She slammed her fork down angrily. "Look, I know you think I am doing this out of some kind of misguided attempt to back up what I said in there…" She chose to ignore Tina's small shrug. "But we tried it his way and it didn't work. If we go back in through the tunnel their defences will still be in place and even if they didn't find out about Karofsky…"
"Karofsky?" Tina repeated, eyes wide.
"Yes. He was the first one there, he must be the contact."
"Well, maybe not. Sebastian did say that the plan wasn't supposed to happen till tonight."
"Yeah, but how big of a coincidence is it that Karofsky just happens to be working for Sue, that he just happens to know all of us from Lima, just happens to have frequented the same bars as Sebastian…"
"Karofsky drank in the same bars as Sebastian?"
"Well, back in school he did but… forget about that." Rachel shook her head, they were getting off track. "The point is if he still drinks in the same kind of bars they could have bumped into each other again?"
"Well, maybe but it just doesn't seem like something Karofsky would do." Tina scrunched up her nose in contemplation.
"Whatever, forget Karofsky…"
"Wait, forget Karofsky? Is it Karofsky or not?"
"Stop saying Karofsky!" Rachel held her hand up in irritation. "Whoever the source is…"
"Eat." Tina interrupted, pointing at her plate.
"Whoever the source is," Rachel continued, rolling her eyes but picking up her fork. "In all likelihood they have been scared off by what happened earlier and won't be there when we turn up tonight. I for one do not want to risk getting back into that water without knowing there is someone we can trust on the other side."
"Okay, but what are our alternatives?" Tina asked. "Hang about outside and wait for some guards to stroll by? Clock them over the head and steal their uniforms like in the Wizard of Oz?"
"Tina," Rachel put her fork down, eyes lighting up. "You are a genius."
"Er, Rachel, I was joking. I'm not doing that." Tina folded her arms and shook her head.
"What?" Rachel asked, distracted. "No, come on, Tina, I'm not...don't be stupid. Where's Cara?" She stood up and walked back towards Santana's room.
"I don't know." Tina replied following her. "I haven't seen her since you got back and I didn't want to ask in case...well, you know."
"She's fine, she came back with me." Rachel pushed Santana's door open and turned back to Tina. "Can you go and find her for me?"
"Sure. But what are you planning?"
"I'll tell you when you get back." She smiled. "Go get the others and meet me back here. Not Shelby, and definitely not Sebastian. Keep this quiet, Tina."
Tina nodded, an uncertain look on her face, and headed back down the hallway leaving Rachel to search through Santana's bag for the information she needed.
Rachel looked around at her friends gathered in the room, trying to gauge their reactions. Tina and Mike looked at each other and then back at her, Tina with a small nod, Mike with a shrug. Sam smiled over at her with a nod. She had known he would be okay, her plan was ridiculous enough that it could be a pivotal plot point in one of his favourite movies. Blaine's face was unreadable, as it had been for the whole six months she had spent with him in Mexico, but he gave a tight nod and it was all Rachel could have hoped for. Mercedes looked worried but nodded at Rachel with a sigh.
"It's risky but I think it could work." She admitted. "If Santana's plans are right and the maps of the compound are up to date, and if they haven't got a higher guard presence after what happened earlier...But it's a lot of ifs though, Rachel. I still think we should bring Shelby in on this…"
"Absolutely not." Rachel stated firmly, shaking her head. "I don't trust her, Mercedes. She lied to us and she's working with Sebastian. The only people I trust are either in this room or already in that compound." She looked around. "Or missing. Are you all certain you haven't seen Cara?"
They all shook their heads. "Do you think she went back?" Tina asked.
"She wouldn't have gone without me." Rachel shook her head. "Although, I was acting a bit crazy. Maybe…"
"A bit?" Tina said quietly, earning her a glare. "So, when do we leave?"
"You guys get the stuff and load up the truck." Rachel replied, giving Tina a final glare for good measure before turning to the rest of the group. "I'm going to look for her once more and then meet you out front. Do it as quickly and quietly as you can, I don't want any interference from them."
"What about the guy on the door?" Sam asked.
"Just...take care of it." Rachel said, eyes hard. Sam nodded at her tightly and stood up. Each member of the group picked up what they needed from the room and filed out the door. Rachel picked up Santana's bag and handed it to Mike. "Pick up Puck's too, would you?"
He nodded and pulled her into a hug. "I'll see you out front."
"Mike?" She called after him. "Thanks for coming back for us."
"Of course." He nodded and headed out the door.
Rachel followed him out and stopped by her own room to pick up her stuff before moving on to Cara's. When she pushed the door open the feeling that had been gnawing at her grew stronger. The redhead's room was empty, all her stuff was gone but it looked like it had been done in a hurry. Not that they had been there long, or had had any particularly personal touches to remove, but the chair was at an odd angle and the sheets on the bed looked like they had been cast aside in a panic. Much as they would have been when Cara woke up and realised Puck was gone.
It wasn't right, Cara wouldn't just have left without telling her. Something must have happened.
"Looking for your friend?"
"Fuck off, Sebastian." Rachel snapped, pushing past him and out of Cara's room.
"Seems odd that she would just run off, doesn't it?" He asked, following her down the hallway. "Unless she was afraid of something."
"And what might that be?" She sighed, really not wanting to be drawn into conversation, but really needing to know where her friend was.
"Maybe she was worried that someone would find out about something?" He smirked.
"Sebastian," Rachel stopped and turned to face him wearily. "I really don't have time for your shit so if you know where she went just tell me?"
"I thought you didn't want my help?"
"God, you are the most pathetic…"
"Look, I wasn't lying when I said I was buying time to make sure I could trust you." Sebastian cut her off. "Turns out I was right not too."
"What are you talking about?" Rachel asked, so bored of this conversation she couldn't even bring herself to care.
"Not everyone in your little group is who they claim to be."
"Sebastian, I really…"
"There is no such person as Cara Harris." He cut her off again. "Well, I'm sure there is, but that's certainly not who she is."
"What?" Rachel asked thickly, suddenly more interested.
"She's been lying to you, Rachel. Santana as well." Sebastian walked towards her, his expression unreadable. "Her real name is Jennifer Cook. She grew up in Cleveland but got into some trouble and was sent to a military school not far from here. When she was 15 she was handpicked, along with several other girls, by one Sue Sylvester for extra training. Then, about five years ago, she disappeared, never to be heard from again. Until now."
"Bullshit." Rachel said quietly. "She saved our lives. Why would she do that if she was working for Sue?"
"Who knows?" He shrugged, hands in his pockets. "Maybe so Sue would have the satisfaction of killing you herself?"
"That's ridiculous." Rachel shook her head and walked away.
"Then where is she, Rachel?" He called after her. "And why isn't she helping you with your little plan?"
She ignored him and carried on through the dining hall, walking quickly up the corridor towards the exit. He was right about one thing, Cara had definitely left, but what he was telling her had to be a lie. She had helped them, saved their lives on more than one occasion, and she seemed to genuinely care about Santana. She refused to believe that she had been lying to them all this time. And if she had been, Rachel hoped with everything in her that Santana never found out because she knew that if she did it would kill her. Or she would kill Cara.
She pushed through the door and out into the night, sparing a thought for the unfortunate soul who had been on guard duty that night. From his slumped position in the room next to the door it looked like he was going to wake up in no small amount of pain. She jogged quickly up the path to meet the others and threw her bag into the back of the truck.
"Let's go." She called, swinging her leg over Santana's bike.
"Cara?" Tina called back.
"She's not here." Rachel started the engine and sped off down the road.