wrrrby: I'm not ready to end the story just yet.
Pduongg:Yeah, it doesn't show, but Bumper is more dangerous than Phil, I think.
PitchPerfectLover: It took me a lot of time to think about Luke's allegiance 'cause he'd been a great Head anyway, and if everybody turns out to be Syndics then Clarence would be left with no army of his own. Initially, it worried me, but later on, I realized it would be a really awesome twist in the story.
PurpleWedding, BeChloeFan01, Mustafa09: I'm too in love with it, I didn't know how to continue...
kassdunn, atty jannie, madness2013: I realized the last time we had a sweet BeChloe moment was on Chapter 16... Just in case they die, at least they had a beautiful ending, right?
avidreader, Bechloe123, Cookie: Oh twists! LOL.
Guest (11/09): Ugh, I just really love Stacie in this story.
rzv08: I appreciate every reader, don't worry. And thank you for your compliments. I'm safe, hope you are, too. :)
XxSendrickShipperxX: That's what you get when you write chapters in the spur of the moment. LOL.
MysticFalls94: I kind of intended that. Beca's mother survived the fall, so maybe Beca and Chloe could survive the crash.
Guest (11/09), Lackluster Brilliance, Guest (11/08), nii4itu: Sorry, it's taking me too long to update...
cxcxcx386: Writing the last chapter was such a challenge for me, but I'm really glad about how it turned out. About Stan... unfortunately, I don't have a particular celebrity in mind when I wrote him because I thought I'd leave the imagination to the readers. For some reason, personally, I picture out Pepe Toth or Gaspard Ulliel. But definitely not Chace Chawford just because I watched 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' and I think it would be really weird to see him as Anna Kendrick's brother this time around.
chile101: Finally!
This chapter is obviously shorter than the previous ones. I felt like Chapter 20 seemed to be some sort of another finale, and it's like going back to square one writing this next chapter. But I think it's worth reading still. I can't stop smiling...
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: Refugees
"Stan? Stan, wake up… Please… Stan!"
The young Mitchell felt a pair of hands shaking him awake and heard a familiar voice creeping into his ears. At first, it was inaudible; simply a sound that didn't make any sense to him as if he was stuck inside a deep well and everything was a meaningless vibrating echo. A few shakes more and gradually, the sound became clearer. A minute or so passed by then finally, he realized that she was actually calling out his name.
"F-Fat Amy?" he mumbled while frailly pushing himself up from the grass. How the hell did he end up down there again? And whether it was his bones or muscles, he could feel something in his body was aching.
"Thanks to all saints in hell, you're alive!" exclaimed the Australian blonde pulling him for one long hug. Never mind that he actually felt groggy especially with the very reckless manner of expressing her emotion of relief. She almost lost him, so it was only proper and rational to hold on to him and never ever let go. "Those fucking Syndics, I thought they've killed you."
Syndics. The events from few hours ago had come flashing back into his head all at once – Beca was rushing out of the diner; Stacie announcing that Chloe was in danger; the two of them hurrying to the Beale manor to help out in the rescue fighting off as many Syndics as they could handle; he finally found Beca and Chloe in the backyard, but a shiny black car had gone to chase them off; he started to run after them as well in a desperate attempt to save his sister, but another car hit him hard from behind causing him to fly around in the air then tumble down to the grass unconscious.
"What happened?" he asked referring to the events after he had blacked out.
Suddenly, Fat Amy fell silent. She was biting her lower lip and wore a pair of puppy dog eyes, a sign that she knew something she wasn't supposed to say. It was either a confidential thing or a really bad news. And Stan needed to know.
"Y-You're badly hurt," she began taking a glance at the scratch on his gorgeous face. "Come on, we should let you take a rest."
"No," he refused. He forced to get back on his feet, a struggle against himself, enduring the pain oozing from his possibly fractured knee. "It's not over yet. Nobody's resting until we win this fight, understand?"
"But they're already gone, Stan, all of them. We're the only ones left here."
"Guys?" Jesse ran out of the manor building towards the pair. He anxiously held up his tracker device for them to see. "The police are on their way. Somebody from the neighborhood must have called already. We have to get out of here… fast."
"Where are the others?" inquired Stan.
The two IT experts quickly exchanged looks. Jesse quickly turned his heels to the side brisk walking away from his remaining friends much to Fat Amy's dismay. As he ran off, he left her an unfortunate message, "You explain to him while I go get the car."
After glaring back at his back, Fat Amy took a deep breath and again bit her lower lip as she turned to face the injured man who unluckily had lots of questions in mind.
"They freed the two secretaries but killed the other woman," she started with the least significant information. It was easier to break things out that way. "After the car chase, all the Syndics who survived the night left, probably went back to their headquarters… They managed to get Clarence and Paul as their hostages."
Stan grunted at her update. Bad news it really was.
"Where's Beca?" was the real question here. It's the most important one to be answered to him.
"We don't know," she answered the truth shrugging her shoulders in the hopes of making it look more convincing. "There were too many cars chasing after them. There was no way to get away from it… Her car… i-it fell off the bridge, Stan."
"No!" the older Mitchell yelled out. It couldn't be. Not Beca. Not his sister.
"But she has to be alive," the blonde woman hurriedly added the assumption catching the tall young man with her arms as he was about to fall back down in misery. "They found no body, not even Chloe's, so they have to be alive. I don't know where they are, but I know they're alive."
Still, the guy couldn't stop his worries.
"Come on, Stan, it's Beca. We would probably be all dead by now, but she'd managed to survive… She's the Mighty Phoenix."
"She's my sister."
Shaking her head, Fat Amy insisted, "She's also Chloe's protector now. So not until Chloe's safe, Beca wouldn't let herself die. She would kill death if she has to, you know that."
The Honda Accord hurriedly drove into the backyard not caring if it destroyed the beautiful and possibly expensive garden landscape. Jesse pulled it over by his friends and urged them to hurry up.
"What about Stacie?" Stan questioned when he didn't find the brunette inside the car.
Fat Amy pulled his arm around her neck and guided him into the car before he could decide to go look for the missing woman.
"She's hurt, but I saw her alive!" argued the young Mitchell.
"We couldn't find her," it was Jesse's turn to explain. "The manor is filled with dead people. She's either dead or let's just hope they better have her, too. Now we really have to leave, Stan."
He ignored another set of pleas from the young Mitchell and drove away. The police siren glared at them as they quietly stayed hidden in the darkness of the park. The convoy of authorities raced to the Beale manor while the lost Phoenixes casually made their exit out of the subdivision. Where to go? Not really sure, but they have to go somewhere safe wherever that was.
"I've been cheated by you since I don't know when."
Chloe must be having a dream because there was no other conceivable explanation as to why she was singing an Abba song with an animated version of Meryl Streep in Sanrio world.
"So I made up my mind, it must come to an end
Look at me now, will I ever learn?
I don't know how but I suddenly lose control
There's a fire within my soul."
She slowly fluttered her eyes open and instinctively put a hand on her temple as she grimaced at the feeling of a terrible headache. It felt more horrible than a hangover, and she seemed to have a slight fever as well. Was it how it felt to die after crashing off a bridge? The bridge! And Beca! Where was she? Chloe forced herself up in spite of the worn out feeling and looked around her environment. She was in a room, an unfamiliar one. And it became more foreign when she could find no sign of Beca around.
"Just one look and I can hear a bell ring
One more look and I forget everything, whoa oh oh oh."
Good news was she was alive, or was she? Maybe this was just heaven already, and the angels were preparing a disco party for the arrival of new souls like her. The unfortunate headache she was having and the soreness of her body though were all too real. Yeah, she was indeed alive. But what about Beca? Chloe climbed off the bed and headed out the only door in the room.
"Mamma mia, here I go again
My, my, how can I resist you?
Mamma mia, does it show again?
My, my, just how much I've missed you
Yes, I've been brokenhearted
Blue since the day we parted
Why, why did I ever let you go?
Mamma mia, now I really know
My, my, I could never let you go."
Judging by the structural design of the place, she was in a house. No, it was not the manor; it was relatively much smaller than her incredibly huge home. Certainly, she had never been to this place, and it could be a problem. She wasn't sure whether it was safe to call out Beca's name, so instead, she followed the sound of Mamma Mia descending the stairs towards the living room.
"I've been angry and sad about things that you do.
I can't count all the times that I've told you we're through."
On the couch, she found the yellow Las Vegas shirt. It was no longer stained with blood, but the trace of thread which sewed the holes penetrated by bullets was evident like somebody had tried to salvage the shirt which held a precious sentimental value. Good, that meant Beca had to be somewhere in this house.
"And when you go, when you slam the door
I think you know that you won't be away too long
You know that I'm not that strong.
Just one look and I can hear a bell ring
One more look and I forget everything, whoa oh oh oh."
Chloe turned to her left and the several picture frames hanging up on the wall right by the stairs caught her eyes. Was that a tinier version of Beca on one of them? It was a kid wearing a black shirt with a printed skull and plain red shorts, but the blank stare displayed on her face was rather too familiar. It had to be Beca. And the taller child standing next to her, charming as always, looked like Stan.
"Mamma mia, here I go again
My, my, how can I resist you?
Mamma mia, does it show again?
My, my, just how much I've missed you
Yes, I've been bro-"
"Great, you're awake."
The sound of Abba was suddenly replaced by a familiar voice. Chloe urgently turned around to see Veronica Grant sending a friendly smile at her.
"R-Ronie?" croaked the young heiress in surprise and confusion.
"Ah, the music must have woken you up," the older woman put away the vinyl record in realization. "Who doesn't love Abba, right? I just hope you've rested enough to groove to the music."
She glanced at the very confused redhead who was awkwardly clutching at the back of her neck. Ronie slowly made her way towards her and place a hand on her forehead to feel her temperature. After some time, she pursed her lips together and began guiding the way to the couch.
"Your fever has gotten down, and you seem better now, but you still have to take-"
"Wait," Chloe cut her off lightly pushing the grip away from her arm. "I don't understand. What are you doing here? Why am I here?"
"Don't ask me," the other held up her hands in the air as she tried to clarify things. "Your bodyguard came knocking to my door at three in the morning; both of you badly hurt. She was bleeding out and you were lying unconscious in her arms. I just took you in."
"Where's Beca?"
"She's preparing dinner. Shall I ask her to come over here?"
Chloe didn't respond, yet the look on her face spelled out a very eager 'yes'.
"Beca?" the brunette called out.
"What is it this time?" somebody shouted back from where the kitchen supposedly stood.
"Just come over here!"
"Stop shouting! You'll wake her up," Beca emerged from the kitchen and was glaring at her mother when she suddenly stopped at her tracks at the sight of Chloe silently standing next to the older brunette.
The redhead, on the other hand, stared back at her intently, running her bright blue eyes over her entire being. The mighty Phoenix was at her most out of character state to date. She was wearing an orange-colored sweatshirt, a pair of denim shorts, and flip flops. If it wasn't for her piercing dark blue orbs and her long wavy hair, she would have been unrecognizable. Instinct urged Chloe to put on a sneer at the very rare attire, but immediately frowned when she focused on Beca's left arm hanging helplessly on a sling.
"I guess I should leave you two for a while, let you have a talk," Ronie clapped her hands summoning everybody back from their deep thoughts. She then turned to the other brunette and said, "By the way, I tried everything I can to save your shirt. It's not as good as new, but it's not totally ruined."
Beca absentmindedly nodded her head as a sign of gratitude. That was her mother's cue. Barden's Chief Directress felt that her presence in the room was becoming more and more unsolicited as time passed by, so she grabbed the grocery bags from the coffee table and proceeded to the kitchen leaving the pair of quiet crickets on their own.
"How are you feeling?" the mighty Phoenix was the first one to speak surprisingly. She fixed those softened eyes on the redhead hoping she would agree on the sudden decisions made without consulting her opinion about it.
"What's going on?" the other questioned instead. She didn't sound mad, just really puzzled by the turn of events. "Is this Ronie's house?"
Beca nodded in response.
"What are we doing here?"
"This is the only place I know where they can't find us."
"We're going to put her life into danger."
"She wouldn't mind."
"But Beca, Ronie is just-"
"She's my mother," the Phoenix finally confessed. It would be the only thing that would shut the redhead up. And it did.
Chloe gasped while she had her eyes and mouth wide open at the shocking revelation. That would explain the picture hanging up on the wall. But Beca's mother was supposed to be dead already, at least that was what the former bodyguard had made her believe. Again, it felt like everything about Beca was just a big fat lie.
"I can't keep on trusting you, Beca, if you keep on lying to me."
Beca lowered her head and quietly nodded.
"Now where's my dad?" the redhead inquired what she'd been dying to ask, and it was the perfect time to ask because she knew the other wouldn't dare to lie this time around. Worse, however, was that Beca didn't bother to answer the question. She was being the usual quiet cricket at this crucial instance. "Where is he, Beca?"
"I don't know," muttered the brunette in all honesty looking into Chloe's eyes. "I'm sorry."
She didn't notice, but the young heiress had begun to shed some tears at the news. No, her father had to be safe. Without realizing, she was looking for the door, for a way out of the place, and when she found it, she was almost running towards it, keen to leave immediately.
"Where are you going?" Beca asked running after her, grabbing Chloe's arm with the only functioning hand she had for the time being. "Chloe, wait!"
"I have to look for my dad."
"No, it's not safe outside. I'm sorry, but we have to stay here."
"Well, you don't have to come with me."
Chloe turned towards the door once more and so Beca had to pull her back again. For someone who had to work with a single hand, she was actually quite strong.
"I'll go wherever you go," she firmly told the redhead. "But you have to stay here."
"My father is out there and in great danger because of some stupid treasure! I don't even know if he's still alive or what! He's probably being tortured again by those evil people, dying in pain and agony, Beca! So why the hell should I stay here?"
"Because I love you!" Beca yelled out matching the same agitation as Chloe's. She didn't even care if she sounded so selfish already.
"Don't lie to me now," demanded the redhead because it wasn't the proper time for jokes.
Shaking her head, the mighty Phoenix said, "No more lying or pretending. No more hiding behind bittersweet nothings. This is just me being all out, trying to tell you how much I love you, Chloe. Look, I almost lost you out there. I'm not going to risk your life that way again. You could have died! And I would never forgive myself if you did! I seriously thought it was the end of it, Chloe, but I just couldn't bear the thought of not being with you ever again… so if you decide to walk out that door, then just kill me now… because I'd rather die tonight than live tomorrow with the misery of not being able to save you."
Chloe kept her mouth shut and her eyes on Beca. Was it really happening? The cold-blooded killer just told her directly that she loved her. The quiet cricket just made that moving and heartfelt little speech. On top of that, the horrible monster was crying her eyes out in front of her in complete desperation. Chloe had never seen Beca like this in her weakest form. What had she done to her? What had love done to her?
"Okay," she heard herself breathed out. "I'll stay."
The brunette looked up to her, but the tears still wouldn't stop from falling. Therefore, Chloe slowly moved closer to her reaching out to wipe the tears streaming down her face. It was her turn to cheer up the brunette; turned out Beca's strength could be simply traced back to the young heiress.
"I'll stay," she repeated. This time it sounded more like a promise, not an act of mercy towards the sense of vulnerability.
"We'll go look for your dad," swore Beca. "Just give me some time to prepare."
"Take all the time you need."
"I need you to trust me, Chloe."
"I told you, Beca. I trust you with all my life." Chloe's lips curved into a smile before they found their way to Beca's for a quick kiss. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
Just when they were about to meet for another kiss, the sound of someone clearing her throat echoed in the atmosphere. The pair of lovebirds broke apart and turned towards the source of interruption in the form of Veronica Grant.
"If you two are done 'talking', dinner's now ready. We have grilled salmon courtesy of the young lady who will be rolling her eyes behind my back in a few seconds."
Ronie childishly raised her eyebrows along with a playful smug on her face before returning to the dining room. As had previously guessed, Beca indeed rolled her eyes and let out a sigh at her mother's nonsense. It was either her mother knew her too well or she was just too easy to read.
"Well, that's my mom."
"She's more fun than you are," teased the redhead pecking Beca's cheek to make up for it. "Can't wait to taste that salmon."
"You better like it."
"I'm starving. I'll eat anything, even the worst kind."
Chloe paused from her tracks when she realized that the brunette was no longer trailing behind her. She turned around and giggled at the sight of Beca sloppily standing in the middle of the living room because of her statement.
"That's how it feels when you don't laugh at my jokes," the redhead threw a knowing look as she walked back to the quiet cricket dragging her along to the dining area for the anticipated dinner.
Listening to the roar of thunder and enduring the flashes of lightning could keep Chloe awake the entire evening feeling scared from the cruelties of nature, but the storm had gone away, the stillness of the night, the non-existing noise and the landscape of pitch black surrounding her had the same effect on her unluckily. She couldn't figure out which one was worse, silence or viciousness. Nonetheless, she twisted and turned on the bed until she decided to settle down with the plain view of the ceiling. She grabbed hold of the blanket over her body and began counting slowly in her mind, but still no luck, she couldn't fall asleep, so she abruptly kicked off the blanket as she climbed off the bed and made her way towards the hallway.
Where was she going? She wasn't sure, but the urge to go down the stairs was becoming too difficult to resist, so she did, as slowly and quietly as possible not wanting to wake up their generous host. She deliberately let out a deep sigh when the living room was unfortunately covered with much darkness for her eyes to see. The manor she had gotten used to dimmed its lights through the night, but was never this dark.
"What are you doing?"
She looked around her in panic searching for the source of the voice that didn't belong to her. It only meant that she wasn't alone in the room. She strained her eyes as she looked around yet couldn't make out anything. Oh boy, was it a ghost? God, please no.
Thankfully, the table lamp on the side of the couch lit up spreading its pale radiance around the area. Chloe breathed out a sigh of relief as soon as she saw her favorite cricket lying on the couch struggling to stretch her right hand out to reach the lamp then squinting her eyes towards the intruder.
"It's past midnight," Beca briefly glanced at the medium-sized clock hanging up on the wall. "You should be resting."
"Ronie said I was asleep all day," was the redhead's excuse.
"You needed that," the other pointed out remembering the fever she had. "Go back to sleep. I'll wake you up tomorrow."
Beca was about to reach for the switch once more, but Chloe was still standing in place not planning to move her body any second. The brunette eyed her only to receive an awkward stare. Alarmed, she instantly stood up to address whatever problem presumably there was. Stupid arm sling was slowing her down.
"Something wrong? Are you okay?"
Chloe nodded her head as a guarantee. Really, they didn't have to make a big deal out of it. She just couldn't fall asleep. Maybe it was because everything around her was so unfamiliar that she needed to find an effective security blanket."
"Were you sleeping?" she questioned. "Why are you sleeping on the couch?"
"Well," Beca started shrugging her shoulders in the process. "There are only two bedrooms in this house."
"We could share one. It's not like you could get me pregnant or whatever."
The brunette had to roll her eyes on that last sentence.
"What?" the other stiffed a laugh at the reaction she got. More importantly, she found a better way to spend her night rather than wasting all of it glaring back at the ceiling back in the guest room. She would have to disturb Beca though. "Come on, let's have our first date."
"What?" mumbled the cricket, the element of worry was evident on her body language. Date? She wasn't prepared for it!
"Come on, scaredy-cat," Chloe grabbed Beca's hand anyway and hauled her towards the stairs. "We'll just get to know each other."
Left with no other choice, the injured Phoenix submitted herself to her lady love.
So the first real date went like this – they had one set of windows opened allowing the cold night breeze to come and keep them company while they share a blanket as they sat next to each other on the carpeted floor, their backs leaned on the side of the bed and their hands clasped together underneath the woven fabric, just staring at the few stars glinting up in the night sky along with a Celine Dion album, one of the most recent ones of Ronie's collection, playing in a low volume on the background. For the first time in weeks or maybe even months, life was generally this peaceful and fulfilling. It seemed like, again, nothing else mattered in this gigantic universe but the two of them together.
"So Beca Branson doesn't exist," Chloe clarified as they went on with their random topics of conversation, and her former bodyguard nodded her head in confirmation. "Your real name then is Beca Grant?"
"Nope," Beca shook her head this time. "Mitchell. Beca Mitchell. My mom filed for divorce if that's your next question."
"Oh," was all the other could reply to such news. "Well, what's the deal with Ronie? I mean, why did you tell me she was already dead when she's not? Was that part of your cover?"
"I honestly thought she was already dead. Supposedly, I… I-I killed her."
"What?" the redhead turned to her urgently in shock. Okay, that sounded too evil. "What do you mean you killed her?"
"Listen," Beca gripped Chloe's hand tighter afraid that the redhead might leave her right away for all the wrong things that she had done in the past. She was a demon, a Dothraki warrior, and possibly, saying that she had killed hundreds of people already might be a major turnoff. "Before you met me – okay, maybe even on the day you met me – I was the worst person to love, Chloe. I don't know what you've heard from my friends, but I was just an empty nutshell who breathed no sense of life and was only made to be a monster. I've stolen billions of dollars, and I've killed hundreds of people. I was sent to accomplish a number of missions. It wasn't part of the plan, but apparently, you made me fall in love with you. You've stolen my heart, and you killed the beast in me."
Chloe blushed at those words. Well, who wouldn't?
"I'm starting to like this Beca Mitchell more than the insensitive Beca Branson. Now keep talking."
Beca chuckled. This had to be one of the reasons why Chloe Beale was a standout of them all – she could make her drop the stupid blank stare out of the silliest of reasons. There was no way a spell wasn't involved here. Oh yeah, the hypnotizing love spell.
"I was so jealous of Tom," admitted the brunette from out of the blue.
"Aha! So you really know his name after all!" Tom's ex-girlfriend rejoiced. "I knew it. You calling him 'Timothy' was just your defense mechanism."
The other rolled her eyes. Really, whatever.
"And you're so jealous of cute little Maverick, too!"
"Cute?" Beca gasped in disbelief. "Really? Cute? You think that little rat is cute? Oh please."
"He's adorable, too!"
"He poured a pitcher of juice on me! How adorable is that!"
"He's just a kid, Beca!"
"Yeah, and then he's going to grow up a dickhead anyway. Most people do."
Chloe gave her a generous amount of glare. It was one way of saying 'little Maverick is cute and adorable. End of discussion.' Hence, the notorious brunette sighed in surrender. She was right; that little rascal was more difficult to defeat than Tom Jacobs.
"You're scary," said the redhead in a playful tone. "You're rude, you have a very bad temper. You're crazy, irrational most of the time, and you definitely are one killer machine."
"So what's the point?"
"I wonder how you turn into this person I really really love."
Chloe smirked at Beca lovingly, and who wouldn't back down to that?
"You're lucky I love you."
The redhead giggled at the statement sliding down her back a little so she could rest her head on Beca's shoulder. Then, she pulled her hand from the grip and ultimately hugged the body next to her like it was a human-sized teddy bear she never had. Somehow, Beca felt like Chloe was treating her like a weird replica of Hello Kitty, but she wouldn't mind a hug, not from her favorite redhead anyway.
"What's up with Hello Kitty and the pink power revolution or something?" asked the brunette out of curiosity.
"What's up with your all black fashion sense and the hatred for bright colors?" Hello Kitty's disciple shot back.
Beca stammered as she tried to pick up an answer. How should she answer that? It's just her thing. It wouldn't be her if she didn't exhibit the fondness for dark clothes and hatred for every bright color invented in the face of the earth.
"Same thing," an amused smirk was plastered on Chloe's lips when her human pillow failed to come up with a sensible answer. Sensing that Beca was rolling her eyes, the redheaded monster reached out and playfully pushed her on the face. Yeah, she was lucky the beast loved her that damn much.
"Chloe?"
"Hmm?"
Beca carefully pushed Chloe's hands away for the meantime and stared at the little scar on the angelic face that was fading through time. The blemish might go away soon, but it still caused a pang of pain in her chest. She did this to her for all the wrong reason.
"I'm sorry I hurt you," she told the redhead touching the scar delicately with the back of her index finger.
Chloe let out a small laugh then smiled at her before quickly diving in to hug the Phoenix again as if the moment didn't even have to happen in the first place much to Beca's surprise. It was a resolved case already.
"I don't even remember that anymore."
And Beca couldn't help but beam herself. Truth was she was the lucky one. She was too damn lucky that she was being loved like this.
"How's your hand?" inquired Chloe as she ran a ghost hand over the arm sling. "Does it hurt?"
"Of course, this ain't a movie."
"Did you have it checked?"
"My mom did."
"Is she a nurse?"
"Nope. But she's my mom. She thinks she's better than any doctor."
Chloe giggled at how cool Beca's mother was.
"I'm sorry you were shot because of me."
"It was my fault. I didn't move."
"I think you should teach me… the things that you do, you know, so you don't have to save me all the time. I don't want to be some sort of a liability forever."
"Who says you're a liability? You will always be my greatest asset, Chloe. Besides, it's the only purpose I have here. Don't strip that off of me. Otherwise, I would be worthless. And I really like saving you, alright?"
"But I want to help, too."
"Your safety is more than enough for me," the Phoenix assured planting a kiss on top of the ginger hair.
"Tell me about this treasure, Beca," demanded the other. "I mean, what does it have to do with my father, with you, and Luke, and everybody else? What kind of a treasure is it that people had to die for it?"
Beca took a deep breath at the question posted. Explanations were always the hardest part of everything.
"Your father accidentally made a treasure," was the first detail to be presented. "From what I've heard, it's enough to make someone really rich, even richer than your family… Now he and my father used to be the best of friends. Growing up, they served as members of a secret criminal group called The Secret Society. My father became the Head while yours became a very successful businessman. Having the knowledge about the hidden treasure, my father sent me to steal it."
"Hence, applying for the bodyguard job."
"That wasn't the initial plan, but yes," Beca nodded her head, glad that the redhead was able to follow. "I spent the entire time looking for the treasure… but all I found was you."
Again, Chloe put her palm on Beca's face and playfully pushed it. If it wasn't Chloe, the mighty Phoenix should have drawn a knife in a second.
"That's what Luke and the others had been doing, too, wasn't it?"
"Yes, but I didn't know that. Luke and the rest of your security group belong to another organization, the Bourgeoisie Syndicate. Thus, the name, Syndics."
"So you're not on the same team even though you're practically doing the same thing?"
Shaking her head, the Phoenix answered, "The Secret Society was made to protect the people when the real society couldn't do it. The members, like me, are sworn to a code which requires us to serve no one else but The Society. Basically, what we do is to get rich for the poor, kill the bad ones, and steal from the ignorant. The Syndicate, on the other hand, commits crimes solely for the purpose of accumulating wealth for themselves. For them, selfishness is only rational; it's human nature."
"So you kill people," realized the redhead. "Before that trick you played on the vault, you've killed people already."
Beca took another deep breath and remorsefully confirmed Chloe's thoughts.
"So you're like a Robin Hood in real life then."
Obviously, Chloe was trying to make it sound positive, but Beca knew she was no angel or saint.
"If you ask me, no matter what the intention is, The Secret Society is no different from the Bourgeoisie Syndicate. All of us, we are all one and the same. We're just… plain old criminals… running away from the real world, creating our own sets of truths to justify our crimes. No need to sugarcoat it. We are all monsters who will, someday, rot in hell."
"No!" the young heiress protested pushing herself up so she could look at those dark blue orbs. "You're different! You're not a monster, Beca. You're not going to rot in hell. Say it. Take it back."
Beca had to chuckle at Chloe's efforts, "I'll always be a monster, Chloe… but I'll always be a different one… because I made the best choice there was… I chose you, and you're the only rational truth I believe in now. You proved to me that I don't have to steal or kill or stray away from the system like everybody else. Love in itself can change people's lives. That's what you did with me; you saved me, Chloe."
And as if on cue, when it was time for Chloe to reply, the room fell silent and Celine Dion's voice was the only thing travelling in the atmosphere as it went back to the first track.
"Don't know much about your life
Don't know much about your world
But don't want to be alone tonight
On this planet they call Earth."
"I think it's time for us to get some sleep," Beca held Chloe's hand preparing to leave the floor for the bed.
"Not until you kiss me," bargained the other, however, making the Phoenix sneer in delight.
"You don't know about my past
And I don't have a future figure out
And maybe this is going too fast
And maybe it's not meant to last."
So the brunette placed a hand on Chloe's cheek delicately pulling her face towards her. She stared at those piercing bright blue eyes while the redhead was inevitably drawn to the pair of dark blue lagoons as usual.
"I love you," it didn't matter who said it first and who said it back. Both leaned in, two pairs of lips touched, and the rest of the world faded out. Funny how it still felt as magical as the first time.
"What do you say to taking chances?
What do you say to jumping off the edge?
Never knowing if there's solid ground below
Or hand to hold, or hell to pay.
What do you say?"
Phil Mitchell, closely guarded by his men with Blue and Red on the front line, cautiously sat on the fancy-looking dining chair opposite Bumper Allen who had his own army right behind him. The young man would have looked like a Clarence Beale kind of rich if it weren't for the faded jeans, plain red shirt, and dark green jacket he was wearing. Nevertheless, what was truly threatening in this foreign place, Bumper's mansion, was the fact that he casually had his usual sarcastic grin on.
"Have a drink, dude," he told his guest sounding as hospitable as possible. "There's no poison in there, no worries. If I wanted to kill you, you should be dead already."
Phil huffed, but left unconvinced. The coffee wasn't important anyway.
"I thought we're a team, dude."
"Then you should have told me about your plans. You've been inside the manor all these years, and you never bothered to tell me about it, Bumper."
"I let you take the first move, didn't I, Phil?"
"Your men were trying to get rid of my daughter!"
Bumper began laughing on his own again, and the Head Phoenix had to sit back for some time and wait for the end of it.
"Do you know how many men your daughter slaughtered that night?" the young man questioned when the laughter finally subsided. He didn't sound angry or mad; it seemed to be just a normal conversation surprisingly. "I lost almost a hundred Syndics in there including my Right Hand, one of the best actually."
"Maybe he wasn't that good after all," muttered the guest.
"I would have loved to get Beca on our team. Turned out stories I've heard are true, she's exceptionally skilled in this profession. But, well, she broke my heart already. Not to mention she also has Beale's daughter. Ugh, I'm starting to hate your daughter, dude."
"You have Clarence," was Phil's way to divert the attention from his strayed Phoenix. "Just squeeze out the necessary information from him."
Donald, Bumper's new Right Hand, chipped in, "He's not talking."
"It's going to be a lot easier if we could convince him that we have his daughter at our mercy," the Head Syndic updated. "And it's not going to happen if he knows that she's under Beca's protection. Clarence is a smart man, you know that. He's not going to just take every shit we feed to him."
"Let me look for them," proposed Phil.
"The Syndics have already started in fact," the young man eagerly informed after sipping on his own cup of coffee. "But a help from you would be great 'cause we can't find your son as well."
"Fine," was the reluctant response. "You can have the girl, but don't hurt my children, Bumper. You will leave them to me."
"You have my word, dude."
Bumper, with lips pursed together, raised his cup as his guest started to leave his seat then headed towards the exit. Phoenixes and Syndics mutually kept an eye on each other just in case one or two decided to betray the clearly defective alliance. Phil and the last men on his group had disappeared into the hallway and so the young Head Syndic nonchalantly took another sip of his coffee.
"Donald?"
"Yes, boss?"
"Kill everyone who stands in the way," he ordered. "All we need is the girl."
"Yes, boss."
Because they weren't allowed to go to Barden with Ronie, let alone leave the house, in the fear of getting tracked by the enemies, Beca and Chloe had to stay at home all day and night. For the brunette, it was like a perfect regular day in Pandemonium with no Fat Amy to bug the hell out of her. On Chloe's part, a little adjustment had to be observed. Fortunately, everything turned out to be really fun as long as Beca was there with her. Even Scrabbles weren't so boring anymore when you get to spell out 'I love you' on the board and your significant other then would add 'too' at the end of it.
The living room was no Pirates of the Carribean-themed home theater, but the best part of every day was the movie afternoons for a number of reasons: Chloe almost always get to pick out the movie (by the virtue of a reliable competitive rock-paper-scissors) – since Ronie's movie collection was limited to films released before the millennium, Beca had no choice but to endure Grease, Titanic, 10 Things I Hate About You, and other 'cheesy movies' (good thing horror and slasher films back then were a lot better); Beca would be obliged to prepare delicious snacks (too bad Aubrey wasn't there to be impressed all over again); but frankly, it was the best part simply because they had the perfect excuse to cuddle up for hours without being scrutinized.
"Today's movie is," Chloe paused dramatically like she was about to announce the winner of some sort of a prestigious award, "Four Weddings and a Funeral!"
As expected, the quiet cricket let out a huff and sunk on the couch while Chloe happily clapped her hands before putting the DVD into the player. The redhead then hurriedly jumped into the seat next to the brunette not wanting to miss anything.
"You know it's a good movie when you have both Hugh Grant and Mr. Bean in one movie."
"Any movie is good as long as I have you," whispered the mighty Phoenix as she decided to rest her head on Chloe's shoulder. She intended not to be heard because she'd been getting out of character for far too many times lately, but the redhead heard it crystal clear.
So smiling and blushing at the same time, the young heiress searched for Beca's hand and whispered back, "I wonder if this is what forever with you feels like."
"How is it?"
"So far, it's been the worst rollercoaster ride, but I don't ever want to get out."
"Great 'cause it's about to get better," Beca pulled the hand in her grip to kiss the top of it. Indeed, any movie was good as long as she had Chloe Beale. Hopefully, this was the first day of forever after.
Songs: (1) Mamma Mia - Abba; (2) Taking Chances - Celine Dion
Disclaimer: I don't own Pitch Perfect.