CHAPTER 32
"And now, to announce our winner, Head Judge Rod Remington!"
Ten minutes later, the New Directions stood on stage, waiting to hear who had won. The judge took out the paper and read the name of the winning team:
"In third place… Aural Intensity!"
The Aural Intensity Glee club leapt up in delight and grabbed their third place trophy. They knew going into the competition that there was very little chance of them winning, and making it to Regionals alone was a great achievement for them.
"And, proceeding to Nationals in Washington, this year's Ohio Regional Champion… from Lima, Ohio, the NEEEEEEEEEWWWWW DIRECTIONSSSSS!"
The New Directions exploded in a flurry of cheers, screams and applause. Mr. Schue accepted the trophy and handed it to Finn and Rachel, who raised it triumphantly into the air. They had done it! They were going to Washington!
On the bus on the way back, Finn and Bella lay on the back row, concealed from everyone else, making out. Bella was right. Winning Regionals had given Finn a self-esteem boost.
"Hey, lovebirds! Care to join us!" Mercedes called from the front of the bus. Finn and Bella groaned and sat up.
"We'll continue this tonight." Bella whispered seductively into Finn's ear, before the two of them stood up and walked closer to the front of the bus to join their friends.
Half an hour later, Finn and Bella were pulling into Bella's driveway. Finn was spending the night with Bella as her parents were out of town. They parked and got out of the car and shuffled towards the front door. However, just as they were about to walk into the house, Finn pulled Bella back. He had noticed something… The lock on the door had been smashed to pieces, creating damage and a dent that could only be made by a gunshot. After all of the doors he had smashed into over the summer in the Army, Finn recognised this instantly. His sixth sense of danger spiked and his hair stood on its end.
"Get in the car. Drive to my house" Finn demanded quietly. Bella's smile slowly faded when she noticed the worried frown on Finn's face.
"Babe, what's wrong?" Bella asked, giggling.
"Get. In. The. Car. Now." Finn whispered, shoving Bella roughly into his car. It was then that Bella realised that something was seriously wrong. Finn's eyes were filled with a look that Bella had last seen in Bangladesh. Bella immediately did as told, speeding away. Once she was gone, Finn tiptoed into the broken into house, starting in the kitchen and grabbing a knife from there. He had a sense that someone was in the house, but he didn't know where or who. Thinking back to his military training, Finn methodically cleared every single room on the first floor before tiptoeing up the stairs to the second floor and clearing the master bedroom straight after. By this point, he was thinking… Was he wrong about all of this? Was he just being insanely paranoid? But when he walked into Bella's bedroom, his doubts vanished and he was more sure than ever… there was two of Bella's t-shirts on the floor!
One thing to know about Bella was that she was an extreme cleanliness freak. She would NEVER in a million years carelessly leave clothes on the ground. That's when Finn realised something… the hostile was in the closet! Gripping the knife in his hands, Finn silently tiptoed towards the closet, standing towards the side so as to not be immediately face to face with the assailant and swinging open the doors. Instantly, as expected, a gunshot rang out but it missed Finn as he was standing to the side. Finn saw that the assailant was a hooded man and Finn didn't let the man take another shot. He lunged at him, knocking the gun from his hands and judo flipping the man. However, the man was prepared and Finn was rusty. The man threw a glass that was on Bella's nightstand and it shattered over Finn's head. Finn groaned in pain and the man took the opportunity to sprint out of the room. Grabbing the man's fallen gun, Finn chased after him. Finn sprinted out of the house, only to see the man retreating rapidly on a motorcycle. Damn it, Bella had taken the car! Finn had no way to chase after the man! Gritting his teeth, Finn lifted the pistol, squinted one eye and aim. He fired a single shot…
He hit smack dab on his target, the rear tyre of the man's motorcycle, causing the man to flip off the bike and land on the ground in a heap. Finn sprinted over to him but by the time he made it, the man was back on his feet. However, rather than attempting to fight Finn, he hightailed it the other way. Finn chased after him, eventually catching up with the man in a dark back alley and tackling him to the ground. The two men grappled on the ground for a while, before Finn managed to use his judo skills to wrap the man into a choke lock with his knee on the man's neck. With the man overpowered and subdued, Finn yanked the mask off the mask to reveal an unfamiliar South East Asian looking man. Unfortunately, Finn didn't recognise him. He did look vaguely familiar though. Like he had seen him before. Maybe in a book of some kind.
"WHO ARE YOU!" Finn shouted, pressing his knee harder against the man's neck. The man groaned in pain but didn't answer. "Fine." Finn snapped. "Let's try a different question. Why were you trying to kill me?!"
At this, the man scoffed.
"You? You are irrelevant. She…"
Finn's eyes widened when realisation dawned on him.
"Bella? Why were you after her? WHO ARE YOU?!" Finn bellowed again, squeezing the choke lock tighter and tighter until the man finally relented.
"Khalid. Khalid Asif."
KHALID ASIF! Oh my God! That was Amir Asif's son. He was the son of the drug lord who had gone after Bella in the summer. Finn had seen a picture of the man in a military file - that's where he knew him from! In his shock, Finn accidentally let go of the man and the guy took the opportunity to scuttle away as fast as he could. Finn couldn't believe it. Asif, the biggest drug lord in Bangladesh and the man who had nearly killed Bella last summer was back in their lives. Not for long though. Finn needed to do something…
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That night, after Bella's family had arrived back in Lima, the whole family were in the police station to give statements. After having various cuts and gashes cleaned up, Finn was the first to give his statement as because he was the only one actually there during the situation, it took a couple of hours to complete his full testimony. Once he was done, Finn walked back into the waiting room, where he saw Bella lying asleep on a chair. Finn took a deep breath and clenched his jaw. He needed to tell her. After all, after the phone call he had made half an hour earlier, it was official…
Finn gently shook Bella on the shoulder.
"Bella. Bella. Babe." He whispered into her ear. Her eyes snapped open but she relaxed when she saw it was him.
"Hey babe." She whispered. "Can I help you with something?" She asked. Finn took a deep breath. It was now or never.
"Yeah, um… we need to talk." He murmured. Bella looked up at him, curious and concerned. It had been an extremely long night for her but she knew that if it wasn't for Finn's extreme perceptiveness, it could've been her last. "Um… there's no easy way to say this but, goodbye…"
Bella's heart dropped.
"Goodbye? You're… you're breaking up with me?" She stammered. Finn closed his eyes.
"Not in so many words." He murmured.
"Then what?" She snapped.
"I'm going to Bangladesh after Asif." He stated. Bella's eyes widened.
"You're… you're going after Asif? Why? Finn, you almost died last time! What do you think will happen this time when they already know who you are?!" She cried, tears now streaming down her face. Finn shook his head.
"I don't care. I'm not letting my family, you, and any future kids we might have together live in a world where this shit happens. I need you to do one thing for me though."
"Yes. Anything." Bella wept, cupping Finn's face.
"Forget about me." He said. Bella raised an eyebrow.
"Huh?" She asked, dumbfounded. Finn sighed and took a shaky breath.
"Look, you and I both know that I'm probably not coming back from this mission. The best you can do is forget about me and move on with your life."
"Finn, please don't go! I love you! Please don't go!"
"I'm sorry." He whispered and with that, he was gone. Bella put her head in her hands and sobbed. It had gone from one of the best days of her life when they won Regionals to by far the worst in a mere matter of hours. She may well never see the love of her life again. He had sacrificed his life to protect hers…
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That night, Finn crept into his house, well past midnight, and he snuck up to his room. There, he pulled out his old, ratty military duffel bag and started to pack a few sets of clothing and some necessary equipment he would need: a disassembled semi-automatic gun, a Swiss Army Knife, a burner phone, etc. Finally, as he zipped up his bag, Finn dug through to the bottom of his drawer and pulled out his military-issed M-18 pistol.
After this, he tiptoed down the stairs and just as he was about to leave the door, he heard a voice behind him.
"You're going after him, aren't you?" Kurt said into the darkness. Finn slowly turned around and faced his step-brother.
"Excuse me?"
"You're going after the men who kidnapped Bella and just tried to kill her tonight, right?"
Finn sighed and nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah, I am." Finn replied.
"Finn, is that a good idea? I mean, aren't there other, more well-trained people who could do this?"
Finn shook his head.
"No, there isn't. Because nobody cares about this mission like I do. Nobody is willing to go as far as I am to complete it."
"You mean, you would sacrifice your life for the mission? Seriously? Would you?" Kurt asked, incredulously.
"Would me answering that make you feel any better?" Finn murmured. Kurt sighed and shook his head.
"You must really love her." He remarked. Finn nodded. "Then good luck. I love you man. Please come home."
"I'll try my best." Finn replied and he walked out of the door. Three hours later, he was on a plane to Dhakar, Bangladesh.