A/N: Sorry its taken longer than my usual updates. I hit MAJOR writer's block with this chapter. But don't worry, I got inspiration for future chapters and managed to write quite a bit for other chapters. This is probably my least favorite chapter so far tbh, it was just hard to get through and I don't know why. But I hope you still like it. I'm excited for some future events for Bechloe! Let me know what you think and if you have anything you'd like to see happen. (Chaos hunter, I have a plan with your suggestion. I hope you like it when I get to it)
Chapter 22: The First Key
Chloe was almost to HQ when she saw a blurr whiz on by her window. She gasped and took an angry look to see the offender that cut around her. Of course it was Beca. She rolled her eyes, still slightly aggravated. But when she saw Beca give her a wave of the hand over her shoulder she couldn't help but smile.
"The little shit…" Chloe muttered to herself as Beca sped off out of her view.
Once she got to her parking spot in the garage, she got out of her car slowly, seeing Beca leaning against her bike. She rolled her eyes again, walking briskly by her. Beca pushed herself up and skipped to catch up to walk in step with Chloe.
"Took you long enough. We could've had time for a quickie if you'd let me give you a ride." Beca bumped her hip against Chloe as they entered the elevator.
"Beca." Chloe gritted her teeth, trying her hardest not to give her the satisfaction of a smile. "You can't say stuff like that here."
"I thought it…" Beca was about to say that the Agency didn't care if agents dated as long as the job wasn't affected. They certainly didn't encourage it, but its not like they could get fired or assigned new partners. But she held her tongue. She didn't want to jump the gun by suggesting that they were actually dating. "Are we supposed to keep it a secret?"
"Well...I mean… for now." Chloe pressed the button in the elevator. She didn't necessarily want to hide anything, but she also needed to know what she might actually be hiding before she made that decision. Beca leaned against the elevator rail beside her and she swore she felt her body buzzing. Images of the previous night kept popping into her head and it was getting her more and more frustrating. And Beca just standing there in her…Beca-ness...was not helping.
"I can do a little secrecy." Beca moved just slightly so that their arms grazed each other. Chloe felt a tingle run up and down her arm and was scolding herself for getting this worked up over little things. "I am an agent after all." Beca said smugly. Ah, that cockiness. That had an odd effect on Chloe. Sometimes it got her hotter than the Texas sun in the summer, and other times it was like a bucket of cold water. She couldn't pinpoint why either sensation happened. But this time? That little cocky smirk Beca had on her face? It cooled Chloe off a bit.
"So keep your hands to yourself, Mitchell." Chloe rolled her eyes and took a step forward away from Beca, who wasn't fazed at all, still had the cocky smirk plastered on her lips. "And wipe that smirk off your face." Chloe shot her a slightly playful glare over her shoulder.
"Maybe you should kiss it off me." Beca took a big step forward as the doors dinged. Chloe quickly shoved her in the chest to take a step back as they entered the main floor, where Aubrey was already waiting with Jesse.
"Ah, good. You two are here. Let's get started." Aubrey whipped the glasses off her face and led them down the staircase where the analyst was working on the briefcase. "We have a special analyst that's been working nearly non-stop on this case. She and the FBI have been working together on figuring this out and we've realized it could be a disaster in the wrong hands."
"What is it? Nuclear?" Beca asked as they took a turn down a corridor.
"It's not a weapon." Aubrey said, still a little surprised about that.
"Well…" Jesse corrected. "Technically its still a weapon. Its just a cyber weapon."
"What kind of cyber weapon?" Chloe asked as the double doors opened to the room holding the analyst and briefcase that sat on a steely white table.
"The kind of cyber weapon that could take down an entire country's infrastructure." A dark haired, tall agent in a simple white suit and black button up shirt intervened. "Our economy could be depleted. Roads, trains, buses, planes, shut down. Homes without electricity. No wifi, no cell phones. We could be thrust into depression-era like America."
"Well, shit." Beca put her hands on the table.
"I'd also just like to say its an honor to meet you, Agent Mitchell." The agent ducked her head and held out her hand. Chloe narrowed her eyes at the girl. "I'm Emily. Emily Junk. And I just hope to be able to assist you in protecting our country. Your service is admirable."
Aubrey and Jesse exchanged looks as if this was an inappropriate moment to act starstruck. And it wasn't like the Agency was the type of place for people to be starstruck. Emily was acting like a teenage girl at a Shawn Mendez concert. Chloe also had a look of disapproval and was staring daggers into the young analyst who had never and probably would never see any legitimate action that required talent and skill. She folded her arms and waited for Beca to make a response.
Beca, of course, was oblivious. She probably went through life expecting people to just always be as impressed with her as she was with herself. Beca glanced up and gave Emily a small smile.
"Well, thanks. We're all here for the same reason. Just glad to do my part." She said quickly before returning her focus to the case. "So what's the plan on this?"
"Well, agent Mitchell, as you can see here..." Emily moved the case and herself around the table to lean in close to Beca. Chloe's eyes narrowed even more as she took a step toward Beca too. Thankfully Aubrey and Jesse were oblivious to the jealousy radiating off of Chloe, but were too busy being confused by Emily's unprofessional fangirl behaviour. "There are two keys needed to access the device. This first key, based on my team's study, is used to turn it on, pick a specific location for use, and set a time for detonation so to speak. Hypothetically I'd assume if they would be attacking America they would choose the East coast. It could easily take out most of the states on the coast plus a few others. Its that powerful. The second key is what might be more important. It is what would be used to actually detonate the device. Presumably so that when someone is using the first key they don't actually start the detonation and target the wrong coordinates or attack too soon. So as long as this second key is not used, the device is rendered useless. Whoever plans to use this, absolutely has to have both keys or else they won't be able to make any cyber attack."
"Well...that's good?" Beca glanced around the table. "Who cares about the keys? We can just destroy this thing right?"
"Close." Emily gave her a patronizing wink. And Chloe gave her a demonizing glare. "The only problem is the second key is the only thing that can destroy it."
"Its indestructible?" Beca scoffed. "Just throw it in a fire, blow it up, I'm sure there's a U.S military weapon that could destroy a little briefcase, right?" She let out a little laugh, looking for reactions from her fellow agents who still had skeptical frowns.
"I wouldn't say it's indestructible." Emily tilted her head. "The problem, though, with a weapon like this is that if it is tampered with it will basically self destruct. We aren't certain what the ramifications of that would look like."
"So in short, we need both keys." Chloe said matter-of-factly, cutting to the chase.
"Yes." Emily glanced at her for a moment before returning to Beca. "But from what I've heard, I have no doubt you'll be able to get them and add another heroic mission to your resume."
"Yeah…" Beca gave Emily a weird look. "Me and my partner are known for success." She turned and shot Chloe a wink. Chloe smiled proudly as she stood up a little straighter, enjoying the slight look of embarrassment from the analyst.
"So what info do we have on the key locations?" Beca turned to look at Aubrey and Jesse.
"Fat Amy got info out of Jimmy Marelli that his older brother has one key, we believe the first key. They second key is unknown. He was never told that information, obviously because he squeals like a baby pig." Aubrey shook her head in disgust at the short mafia man. She could still hear his whiny cries that occurred less than ten minutes into Fat Amy's interrogation. "He thinks it is either with his uncle or grandfather. They are both in Sicily. Since the plan to sell the case fell through... they are holding the keys secure, knowing the type of damage this can do."
"Do we know who was trying to buy it?" Beca asked.
"We heard that there was a Saudi prince planning to buy it purely for economic reasons. Most likely he would have targeted the oil industry in the middle east." Jesse explained. "While that would still be a crisis of epic proportions, it is better than a terrorist who wants to shut down America to kill us. I'm guessing he's pretty upset about it right now, though."
"But either way." Chloe added. "We can't let this case out of our hands."
"And we won't." Aubrey added confidently. "We are going to Sicily today and getting those keys. By tomorrow, this case will hopefully be destroyed and we won't have to worry about it again."
"Except." Emily winced as she spoke softly. "Whoever made this one just creates a new one...it could happen. It would be ideal to find the engineer for this device and prevent new ones from ever getting made."
"Good point." Beca nodded. Emily beamed at the compliment and Chloe just tried to keep her eyes in the forward position and not roll in judgement of the young analyst. She couldn't figure out if she was more irritated that Emily was fawning over Beca unashamedly or the fact that she was so bothered by it.
"So, since we are on a time crunch…" Aubrey wrapped up the mini-presentation by Emily. "I need you two to prep for SIcily today. I emailed you a briefing. Its not as thorough as usual, but we want to get this taken care of ASAP. Let me know if you have any questions." She started to dismiss everyone when Beca asked a question.
"What time do we leave?"
"Our jet will be ready to go at noon sharp."
"So...we can look over this material at our homes in the meantime? Or do we need to stay here?" She asked, catching Chloe's eyes for a brief second.
"You can go home if you need to. I'm not trapping you here." Aubrey grinned slightly. "But I do expect you to be fully ready to go in a few hours."
"Got it." Beca gave her a little salute as the group started moving out of the room. "My place?" Beca whispered into Chloe's ear so no one could hear her.
"I think we should stay here." Chloe gave her a look that said if they went back to an apartment, they wouldn't get much work done. And Chloe was never one to be unprepared for a mission.
"I focus better at home." Beca countered.
"Agent Mitchell?" Emily's hesitant voice made both agents turn around just before they reached their office.
"Yeah?" Beca asked, hoping this would be quick so she could go back to convincing Chloe to prep for the mission at her apartment...among other things.
"I just wanted to say again how honored I am to meet you. I heard about how you diffused that bomb in France. And being an engineer myself I was really impressed. Not many people could do what you did."
"Oh, yeah, thanks." Beca nodded, almost like she was embarrassed. Chloe was used to seeing Beca in all her cocky glory, but she was almost shrinking into herself with Emily's compliments. Chloe would've figured Beca would be all over the praise and eating it up. It was kind of nice to see Beca get a little shy about her accomplishments.
"So, anyway, I'll let you get to work preparing. I look forward to working with you. And you too, Agent Beale." Emily shot Chloe a quick smile before scurrying out of their office.
"Oh, so she realizes someone other than you actually exists?" Chloe didn't mean for the question to come out so snarky and rude, but it did. And Beca slowly turned her head to look at her.
"Upset you don't have a fan? Are you…?" Her questioning face slowly turned into a little smirk.
"Don't." Chloe lifted up her hand and closed her eyes.
"You have me as a fan. You don't need to get-" Beca was almost into a full sized grin when Chloe quickly snapped to interrupt her.
"Say it and what happened last night?" She stood up and smiled herself when Beca froze. "It won't happen again for a long, long time." She whispered in her ear as she slowly returned to her seat.
"Say what?" Beca gulped and lifted up her hands in defense. "I wasn't going to say anything except...that you...you're really pretty."
"Wow..." Chloe started laughing. "I'm so flattered." She sarcastically brought a hand to her chest and fluttered her eyelashes.
"Oh, shush." Beca rolled her eyes and gave up to go sit at her own desk.
They were in the air, and Chloe was doing her best to hide her irritation that Aubrey had brought Emily along. She wasn't a field agent. She had no experience with real life danger. She was supposed to be behind a desk in the safety of HQ or one of its other facilities. And Chloe was really trying not to be aggravated by her near constant attention on Beca.
"So...what do you think about this layout?" Beca asked, all business, as she leaned over to point at her map of the Sicilian mansion belonging to the Marelli patriarch. "Where do you think the best entry is? And…" She flipped through their binder. "Based on tonight's agenda, there should be a good distraction with the party."
Chloe looked at her for a moment. There was something about Beca being professional and getting the details down for a mission that managed to fluster Chloe in a way it hadn't done before. She shared her ideas and listened to Beca's. They formulated what Chloe believed a great gameplan for the night. She wasn't sure if it was because of their newfound closeness or if it was just coincidental timing, but this was the best they had been working together since they were paired. It gave Chloe extra confidence that she realized she didn't have before.
After a few hours Chloe noticed Emily was passed out with an Agency blanket draped around her, and she felt silly for being annoyed by such an innocent picture. But she was still annoyed that she was here. And she wasn't even staying awake on the flight. As her eyes were observing the young analyst, she felt a hand run along her thigh. She flinched in her seat and her head whipped around to look at Beca who was still looking at her papers as if she wasn't doing anything.
"Beca…" She whispered as she shifted in her seat.
"Hmm?" Beca hummed innocently. Chloe reached under the table to stop Beca's hand from its journey north and Beca quickly snatched it in her own. Beca laced their fingers together and then flattened Chloe's palm right-side up to start tracing patterns on her palm that rested on Chloe's mid thigh. Chloe felt heat rise to her cheeks and any chance of focusing on the binder in front of her was lost to what was happening beneath the table.
Beca slowly traced circles and lines across and up and down Chloe's hand. With every swipe Beca felt a tingle go up her arm. She was extra satisfied feeling the look Chloe was giving her and sensing her getting a little worked up from the light touches. Beca casually turned a page in her binder and then reached to sip on the coffee sitting on her right. She smirked behind her mug when she heard Chloe take a deep breath and let it out shakily.
"Okay, agents." Aubrey suddenly appeared as she took a seat across from them. Beca immediately retracted her hand and Chloe awkwardly cleared her throat as she sat up straighter in her own seat. "Fat Amy won't be joining us on this one. She doesn't want to ruin the FBI's work compromised over a jurisdiction issue. But she'll lend support from the States, if need be. She passed along some info on key Marelli family members. Specifically the grandfather, Stefano. Jimmy seems pretty confident that he will be the one to have a key."
"Do we know if both keys are at the mansion?" Chloe asked, as she regained her professional demeanor.
"We're actually pretty confident that they aren't." Aubrey said disappointingly. "But, considering the Marelli family's proclivity to talk under pressure, I think we'll find the other's location soon."
Beca kept her hands to herself the rest of the flight, since Aubrey had decided to take permanent residence directly across from them. She went back and forth from staring out the window, to flipping through the pages, to glancing at a sleeping Chloe, to dozing off for a little sleep herself.
Her nap was cut short, though, when Aubrey announced they should be landing in the next half hour. Her eyes fluttered open and she felt a tickling feeling on her cheek. She glanced down to see Chloe with her head rested comfortably on her shoulder. Her heart rate sped up. A blush crept to her cheeks. And she wanted nothing more than to stroke the red locks and place a gentle kiss on Chloe's head.
Get a hold of yourself, Mitchell. Beca subtly shook her head and glanced to see if Aubrey noticed her staring. Thankfully she didn't. So Beca did a very Beca thing.
"Up and at em, sleeping beauty." She lifted her left shoulder in a quick and aggressive manner, causing Chloe to be jolted awake. "I understand wanting to sleep on me, who wouldn't?" Beca flashed her a wink while Chloe just stared at her behind groggy eyes. "But we got work to do, partner. Let's go get ready?"
Once Chloe had adjusted from sleep state to wakefulness she shot Beca a glare that sent a shiver down the brunette's spine. Beca quickly hopped up to her feet, continuing her act as her usual cocky self that usually got on Chloe's nerves, not aroused her. She gave Chloe a smile, trying to indicate she was just playing, but Chloe squinted her eyes and slowly stood to her feet as well.
"Well at least one of us will be well rested and prepared for the night's mission I guess." Chloe shrugged as she strolled past Beca toward the back of the plane, lightly bumping her with her shoulder. Aubrey just watched them and shook her head, mumbling to herself, "Idiots. Total idiots."
Beca and Chloe went to the back to start putting on their gear. Emily followed hesitantly and watched them like a sports fan watches their team warm up. Chloe noticed her as she was adjusting her vest and putting all her accessories in it.
"Can we help you with anything?" Chloe's tone was harsher than she had planned, but the brunette was getting on her last nerve.
"Oh…" Emily nervously rubbed her hands together, feeling flustered. "I just wanted to check on your equipment. See if you needed help with anything. And there's a new camera they had me create that we were planning on putting on your vests so we could be your ears and eyes."
"We?" Chloe scoffed as she continued, strapping in her extra ammo and knives. Beca was slowly preparing her weapons as she looked at Chloe with a nervous look. She was being very unnecessarily curt with Emily. Beca was feeling a bit bad for the kid.
"Yes, we...me...and um Aubrey-sorry, Captain Posen- and Captain Littner. They asked for my help developing new technology for the team."
"The team?" Chloe asked. "Like our team?" She pointed back and forth between her and Beca.
"Not specifically. Although you guys are my favs." She let out a laugh as she looked back to Beca. "But no, they want my help with tech and analysis for all agents. They're having me go on a few missions for a trial run."
"Trial run, are you kidding me?" Chloe dropped her hands at her sides. At first she was annoyed that Emily was fawning shamelessly over Beca. But now she was concerned about her jeopardizing a mission. "You're an analyst. You shouldn't be in the field."
"Chloe." Beca stepped in, feeling like Emily was in need of saving. "She's probably just going to stay in an Agency van, right?" She then looked at Emily for confirmation.
"Oh, yeah." Emily nodded quickly. "I'm just going to be a voice in your ear. I'll be strictly in the van like a true tech geek."
"Still makes me nervous." Chloe mumbled as she finished loading all the pockets of her vest.
"Well...let me know if you need anything with your tech equipment." Emily gave a weak smile toward Beca and left them alone in the back.
"Did you really need to be that rude?" Beca asked as soon as Emily was out of ear shot.
"I just don't understand why she has to be here with us. She can do tech crap from back home."
"You have a problem with her don't you?" Beca crossed her arms.
"Well have you seen the way she is around you?" Chloe's eyes widened. "She's like a damn puppy."
"Okay, so what if she's a little star struck." Beca smirked proudly. "Can you blame her?"
"She is not star struck." Chloe gave her a pointed look. "She is totally flirting with you."
"Flirting?" Beca exclaimed, then glanced around to make sure no one heard her, not meaning to be so loud.
"Oh Agent Mitchell you're so amazing." Chloe flipped her hair and raised her voice in a mocking tone of Emily. "Oh Agent Mitchell can I follow you on missions."
"Oh my God shut up." Beca couldn't help but laugh. "I did not catch the flirting vibe. And she's just a kid. Its not like I'd do anything."
"That's not the point." Chloe huffed and spun around to zip up their bags.
"Well what is?"
"Because I think she's flirting with you and I don't like it. And I know I sound like a crazy person and am being unreasonable but it is what it is." Chloe spit it all out in one breath.
"Okay." Beca bit her lip so she wouldn't smile and catch Chloe's wrath. "What do you want me to do?"
"Just…" Chloe turned back around. "I don't know. Try to not to encourage her I guess."
"No problem. I'm not even attracted to her." Beca shrugged. "Especially…" She took a step forward and glanced through the door to make sure no prying eyes could see. "When I have a fiery redhead to keep me plenty occupied." And she placed a short but intense kiss on Chloe's lips. When she stepped back, Chloe's eyes were slow to open and she had to shake her head to regain focus.
"And I know over a hundred ways to kill you so there's that, too." Chloe shrugged as she lifted a bag over her shoulder. As she strolled back to their seats she passed Beca and gave her a light and playful tap on the cheek. Beca watched her until Chloe had sat back down and then let out a breath.
"You really might just kill me one day, Beale." She shook her head, grabbed her bag, and followed Chloe back to the table to get ready for landing.
They sat in the van a few miles from the mansion, Chloe sending Emily little fiery glares every time the analyst so much as breathed a little too loudly. Emily seemed clueless to the anger being directed her way. Beca could feel it and felt hopelessly awkward and helpless to stop it. Although, she'd be lying if she said it wasn't a little entertaining to see Chloe get a little jealous. Especially over her.
Emily got the two ear pieces and handed them to the agents. When she started explaining how they worked Chloe silenced her with a harsh "we've used ear pieces before, Junk." Emily just awkwardly muttered her way through a change of subject and wished them luck.
After their two mile trek, Chloe and Beca reached the Sicilian mansion. Music was being pumped through the house as there was obviously some celebration going on, causing the perfect distraction for them to get inside without as much chance of getting noticed. Beca attached her climbing gear as Chloe shot the hook and rope up to the balcony railing.
"You first." Chloe nodded to Beca as she attached her own climbing gear. Beca slowly started her ascent. Chloe grinned like she was planning something devious as she whispered before Beca could get too high. "You know, I can think of a few better options for strap-on devices."
The comment sent Beca flailing as her head spun around to look at Chloe. Her arms let go of the rope and she went spiraling around before being yanked to a stop by the rope. She ended up dangling upside down, almost face to face with Chloe.
"Damn, woman." Beca chided. "You can't say things like that to me when I'm in precarious positions."
"Like what other positions, Becs?" Chloe continued her tease. Beca gulped and shook her head of the many images that flocked to her mind's eye.
"You're killing me, dude." Beca closed her eyes and shook her head. "Miss professional, my ass."
"Oh shush, and get back up there." Chloe couldn't hold back her grin.
"At least let me have one of those spiderman kisses. Its the least you could do after torturing me a little." Beca nearly whined her request as her hands gripped tightly to the rope. Chloe just rolled her eyes and moved an inch closer, feeling pleased as she saw Beca's eyes dilate. She slowly put her hands on Beca's cheeks and pulled her closer. She could feel Beca's pulse on her neck quicken as she closed her eyes. She smirked proudly, leaning in to close the short distance. As soon as their lips met, Chloe knew it was a mistake. Because suddenly all thoughts except Beca lying naked in her bed vanished from her mind. Beca let go of the rope and awkwardly grasped at Chloe, grabbing anything she could get her hands on. Beca let out a contented sigh and that's all it took for Chloe to lean impossibly closer to deepen their kiss. Her tongue did a quick sweep of Beca's mouth before she felt Beca chasing it with her own. She groaned happily as her hands slipped into Beca's hair. And who knows how long they would have stayed like that if it hadn't been for Emily's voice interrupting them.
"Hey guys, just checking in. You reach the house yet?"
Chloe's head flew back by the unwelcome interrupted, and extra unwelcome voice that accompanied it. Beca looked like she was still in a daze as Chloe reached up to turn on her mic.
"Yes, we just hit a snag with the climbing ropes." Chloe tried to keep her voice even.
"Everything alright?" Aubrey chimed in.
"Yes. Beca's just a little clumsy and slipped." She winked when Beca snapped her eyes open and grumbled. "We're almost to the balcony though."
"Okay, great. Don't forget to turn your vest camera on once you're inside." Emily added.
"I know, Emily." Chloe grumbled. "This isn't my first mission."
There was silence and Chloe felt a small amount of remorse for being a little harsh. Very small. Microscopic, maybe.
"Okay, then. Good luck ladies." Emily's tone had lost some of its enthusiasm and Chloe disconnected her mic.
"Alright, lets go." Chloe let out a sigh as she quickly spun Beca around to get her back in climbing position.
They crept along the top balcony and came to a stop at the tall floor to ceiling windows of the upstairs study where they figured a lot of "business" meetings were held.
"You know you don't have to be so mean to her, right?" Beca whispered as she took out the laser gun to cut a hole in the window.
"I'm not being mean."
"You're being unnecessarily cold and harsh with her." Beca shot her a glance before returning focus to the laser.
"She's just a bit much." Chloe sighed. "She's like a fangirl over you."
"She is not that bad." Beca let out a chuckle as she finished cutting the window enough to reach the lock. Chloe just rolled her eyes, letting the discussion drop for now since it was time for business. She turned on the camera attached to her vest as Beca held out her hand for Chloe to go in first.
"Ok perf." Emily sounded as if she was adjusting things from the van as Chloe mouthed the word 'perf' at Beca with a roll of her eyes. Beca silently shushed her, biting back her laugh. "Okay, I'll let you know if we spot anyone or anything helpful."
"Great. Turning my mic off now." Chloe said in a fake cheery way as she clicked her ear piece. She and Beca climbed into the room and did a quick search for the key. Beca opened the door to the hallway, gripping her gun, to check for any goons. The music at the party got louder and Beca saw a glimpse of fancy clothing on the floor below in the large dining/living area.
Beca thought back to the schematics of the house and remembered a vault in a room down the hall. She nodded her head in that direction and that was all it took for Chloe to nod back, thinking the same thing. They approached the door slowly and Beca pulled the handle, but sighed in frustration when it was locked.
"5-2-3-7-4." Emily's voice came over her ear and she punched the code in the keypad and they heard a quick click of it unlocking.
"Helpful." Beca cocked her head toward Chloe who just rolled her eyes. They entered the room and were shocked by the amount of automatic weapons laid out or hanging on the walls of the vault. There were a few steel chests containing what Beca assumed either ammo, explosives, or money. Chloe pulled out her lockpick tools and started working on the various chests. The first one popped open and suddenly a blaring alarm echoed through the mansion.
"Fuck." Chloe closed her eyes and shook her head. She was kicking herself for not even thinking there might be an alarm system.
"Well, here we go." Beca cocked her gun and shrugged as if to say what's done is done, let's handle this. Thundering footsteps could be heard from downstairs, quickly making their way to the stairs. Beca and Chloe had moved back to the room they entered while Aubrey was working on an evac plan. Beca stood behind the door while Chloe stood on the opposite side of the door, back flush to the wall. They gave each other an encouraging look and confident nod as a tall Italian man in slicked black hair and a fine suit stepped inside cautiously holding his gun up. Beca quickly highed kicked the gun out of his hand while Chloe tased him. Another man quickly followed and received a vicious throat punch from Chloe followed by a tase when he collapsed to his knees. With a supernatural amount of upper body strength, Chloe moved the massive dead weight bodies further into the room.
As footsteps were heard jogging down the hallway, Beca gripped the door handle and slammed it into the body of the next man who tried to enter their room. Then she quickly brought a knee up to land in his gut, knocking the wind out of him. He fell to the floor and Beca gave him another kick to the head to knock him out. She peeked in the little space where the door met the wall to see a handful of guys still coming.
"I have a chopper on the way. We can come pick you up in the field behind the mansion in about ten minutes. Will you be okay?" Aubrey's voice came through their mics.
"Sure!" Beca replied sarcastically as she clicked on her mic. "We can do this for hours."
"Just hold tight." Aubrey replied, ignoring the sarcasm, moving to call her pilot to hurry it up.
Chloe ran to the corner of the room and started pushing a bookcase forward to try and block the door so she and Beca cold have some extra time to wait for their evac. This was a complete disaster. She was angry with herself for just jumping in to trying to pick the locks of the safes. Of course such a renown mafia family would have security measures in place. She wondered if Emily might've been able to actually help her if she'd just asked.
Beca threw an elbow into the next man that entered the room. As she glanced at Chloe who was trying to move the bookcase, she took her taser and knocked two more men down. She knew Chloe's distaste for shooting bullets when there were other good options.
"Chopper's five minutes out. Get downstairs ASAP." Aubrey instructed over the noise of what sounded like a van speeding down a gravelly road.
Chloe looked out the window and saw a frantic exodus of people fleeing the mansion and speeding away. They all probably thought it was some sort of police raid. And more than likely given the location of the party, they were all some sort of felons.
"How many people do you think are left in the house?" Chloe asked from behind the bookcase.
"Probably not too many. Just the bosses probably...looking for whoever set off that alarm." Beca tried to keep her tone neutral, though she knew if she'd been the one to set it off Chloe would've scolded her like a child.
"I messed up." Chloe shook her head. Beca looked at her for a moment and turned off her vest camera so Emily and Aubrey couldn't see Chloe flustered.
"Hey, its okay. We're pros at getting out of jams like this." Beca quickly stepped beside her and ran her hand up and down her arm. Chloe looked back at her and quickly regained her composure.
"Sorry. I just...I hate screwing up."
"Don't be sorry. That's why you have me. We help each other." Beca shrugged her shoulders, hoping her words didn't sound too trite.
"So let's find that damn key." Chloe nodded her head firmly.
"Agent Mitchell, I just got a call from Agent Amy Hobart. She got more info out of the little Marelli brother." Emily's voice popped up over their ear sets again. Beca's hand flew to her ear to turn her mic on.
"Make it quick, Em." Chloe gave her a playful but reproving look.
"He said the grandfather, Stefano Marelli, keeps the key around his neck during waking hours. And he keeps it in a false drawer in his room when he sleeps."
"Got it. And he's here tonight?"
"Should be. He has solid white hair. Thick mustache. And probably a ridiculously expensive suit on."
"Thanks." Beca turned the mic off again and turned to leave the study.
"What are you doing?" Chloe asked.
"Finding this Stefano character so we can get the key and get home."
"But the chopper-"
"They'll wait." Beca encouraged and turned her back to leave the room. Chloe took a deep breath and followed. Chloe was nervous about venturing further into the house of a mafia family who was obviously loaded with weaponry. And they would currently be on high alert since she set off the alarm.
The two agents cautiously entered the hallway. The music was gone and voices were silent. There were a few muffled whispers coming from an area upstairs Beca couldn't quite pinpoint. She held her gun at her waist as she started scanning the rooms the lined the hall. Suddenly Beca felt the butt of a gun land on the back of her shoulder. The sharp pain made her drop her gun for a moment and then the one that had hit her was against the back of her head.
"It is very foolish to break into a Sicilian's house. It is downright suicidal to break into a Don's home." The gruff voice behind her scolded. "We don't give out mercy like you weak Americans."
"Who says we do?" Chloe's voice piped up as Beca heard a scuffle behind her start. Chloe got two good kicks in before the goon landed a punch of his own. Beca spun around and quickly swiped her leg to knock him off his feet. Chloe grabbed him by the collar and used all her strength to hurl him over the balcony. They were out of breath as two more men came out of a room. It seemed like that was where Stefano was hiding out with any guards left.
Beca and Chloe stood side by side, landing punches and kicks expertly to their attackers. The tall Italians were too surprised by the fighting ability of the two agents, that they didn't have enough time to retaliate. Beca kicked one in the gut that sent him down the stairs and Chloe finished her attacker off with a taze to the neck.
"Chopper's here, guys. Get out before reinforcements show up." Aubrey's voice came through and they could hear the sound of the chopper over the ear piece.
"Five more minutes." Beca stated more than asked as she held her gun up, entering the next room. Sitting at a large mahogany desk was a large man fitting Emily's description perfectly. And if there was any doubt, Beca and Chloe could hear her excited voice over their ear pieces saying "that's him! That's him!"
"Well...agents…" He said calmly. "What brings you to my humble abode."
"We'd like that key around your neck." Beca stated firmly, keeping her gun trained on him. She moved slowly further into the room while Chloe stood in the doorway for any more possible attackers. Stefano let out a roaring belly laugh at Beca's statement.
"Ah, yes." He tried to control his laughing. "Who doesn't want this key? It's really quite valuable. But its value is lost without that little case you stole from my idiot grandson."
"And you're not getting that case back, so you might as well let me have that key."
"I'll give you the key...for the price I was going to get for the case. Three billion dollars."
"Are you fucking serious?" Beca let out a laugh of her own.
"Here's a better deal then." Stefano stood up and opened a small compartment on his desk that brought up a button. Beca looked around as she heard a whirring sound. "You either let me climb out that window to my awaiting vehicle. Or your partner there gets her body riddled with bullets." Beca's eyes frantically searched and then landed on the turret that had come down from Stefano's ceiling. It was pointed right at Chloe. "Time's up." Stefano grinned evilly.
Instead of taking a shot at him Beca dove at Chloe knocking her back into the hall just before the sound of bullets thundering through the wall and floor hit them. Beca stayed hovering over Chloe as she moved them further into the hall. She could hear the sound of Stefano calling out to his driver as he exited the window in the room. She kept her defensive position with her back tensed up and arms protectively covering Chloe's head. It was very similar to the position Chloe remembered from their fake honeymoon, the first time she witnessed Beca's night terrors.
When the bullets stopped, Beca let out a breath. Chloe was just looking up at her with an expression Beca couldn't quite read. Chloe gulped and then let out her own breath as she chest rose and fell quickly trying.
"You know." Chloe's face relaxed as a little grin appeared. "Its really sexy when you save my life like that." Beca nearly choked as she tried to swallow but then let out a short chuckle. Shaking her head, she stood to her feet and held out a hand for Chloe.
"I should get a reward or something." Beca cocked an eyebrow, knowing that Chloe knew exactly what she was hinting at.
"That could be arranged." Chloe let her eyes wander obviously down to Beca's lips and back up as she took a step closer. Beca was about to kiss her when they both jumped at what sounded like a car crash. They bolted down the stairs and ran outside, guns ready.
When they reached the driveway they saw a sleek black car that had slammed into the agency's van. The driver was unconscious. Stefano was held with his hands cuffed behind his back. And Aubrey held the key in her hands, grinning as her two agents walked outside.
"Aubrey? How'd you-?" Chloe studied the scene before her.
"Just because I work behind the scenes mostly now doesn't mean I wasn't an exceptional field agent at one point." She shrugged and gave Stefano a little nudge as she let her men take him away. "Now get your asses on the chopper so we can get home and work on finding that second damn key."
The flight back to HQ was peaceful. Emily spent most of the time sleeping, so Chloe didn't have to worry about getting annoyed with her. She did have to force herself not to let her head drop onto Beca's shoulder beside her. She eventually got up to sit on the opposite chairs claiming to need more room to lie down. Beca slept like a baby, and thankfully she didn't have any sleep disruptions. By the time they were back, everyone seemed pretty well rested considering how far they traveled and the intensity of the mission.
Chloe followed Beca back to their office. She had gotten enough sleep to regain a certain amount of energy that she would really like to use up said energy in a manner involving Beca. Beca fell into her chair and looked up as Chloe sidled up on her desk.
"So…" Chloe couldn't stop the grin from appearing on her lips.
"So?" Beca reciprocated the facial expression.
"If you're not too tired...I'd really like to revisit certain activities from the other night." Chloe bit her lip in her flirtatious way she wasn't used to using on Beca.
"Is that so?" Beca leaned forward. "And maybe I could get my reward?"
"I think that could be arranged." Chloe nodded slightly as they drifted closer and closer to each other. Beca glanced down at Chloe's lips and leaned up to close the distance when Aubrey came through the door. Chloe nearly slipped off the desk and Beca nearly fell out of her chair as they jolted away from each other.
"Chloe, could we have a chat There's something I'd like to discuss with you." Aubrey asked, seemingly unaware of the moment she just interrupted.
"Sure. Yeah. What's up?" Chloe stood up. But Aubrey motioned for her to follow to her office.
"Ohh...someone's in trouble." Beca stood up and said in a mocking juvenile tone. Chloe just playfully swatted at her arm. "Meet me at my place when you're done?" Beca asked as she tossed on her jacket.
"Definitely." Chloe grinned as she back out of their office. She glanced down the hall to make sure no one was around before planting a quick kiss on Beca. Beca let out a little hum of surprise as she moved forward. But before she could really enjoy the kiss, Chloe pulled back and swiped her thumb along Beca's lip.
"See you later, then." Chloe winked as she headed for Aubrey's office, leaving a flustered Beca standing in the doorway.