CHAPTER 35

Meanwhile, back in Ohio, Mr. Schue was driving over to Carme to look for their instructor - Shelby Corcoran. He wanted to confront her about her student dating his. He walked into the Carmel auditorium and his eyes widened when he watched the teenagers rehearse. They were singing AC/DC's Highway to Hell, complete with a fire machine. Next to Carmel, New Directions were no more than dirt on their shoes. At the end of the song, Shelby stood up.

"Stop, please, dear god, stop!" She shouted at the group. "Seriously guys? It's like watching beige paint dry. Could everyone please look at Jessie?"

Everyone turned to the brunette at the front of the stage.

"Jessie, give us a show face." Shelby told him. Jessie smiled widely, hands on his hips, and his body stick-straight.

"That is a show face, guys." Shelby explained to the group of elite singers and dancers. "You want to look so talented, it's literally hurting you. I want a look that's so optimistic, it could cure cancer."

Everyone put on a similar face to Jessie, and Shelby clapped.

"That's what I'm talking about. Take five, everybody drink a Red Bull!"

The whole group disassembled and went their separate ways for the break. Mr. Schue's eyes widened. This group meant business! He slowly walked over to Shelby and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around to face him.

"Excuse me, Ms. Corcoran." He said. "Hi, I'm Will Schuester."

The two adults shook hands.

"I'm sorry, I don't know who you are." She said, lying.

"I'm a big fan, really. Um… I also coach the McKinley Glee Club."

"I don't usually cotton too well to my competition sneaking in to watch a rehearsal." She murmured, putting some papers in her bag. "But I also have trouble seeing you guys as competition."

"I believe you have a student named Jesse St. James?" Mr. Schue continued. "And I think he might be dating one of my students. I'm more than a little concerned with the whole fraternizing with the enemy aspect of their relationship."

"You think we're spying on you?" She asked.

"Honestly? Yes."

Shelby nodded slowly and replied.

"Noted. Look, I don't stand for any funny business, and Jesse's a good kid. I mean, what can you do? The heart wants what the heart wants. Sometimes there's that little spark."

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"Finn, you know the rules. No business can be conducted on these premises, lest incurring heavy penalties." Jackowski reminded him, sipping his martini. "Have a drink and relax. For now."

"It's personal." Finn growled and stood up. He then walked to the bar, where a familiar face greeted him. It was Addy - an American sleaze ball who had been there the last time he was here. It was her who told him where Bella was being kept. To them, Finn wasn't considered an American Army member: he was an assassin, which is why he was allowed amongst these criminals without being killed.

"Holy shit, Hudson!" He exclaimed.

"Hey, Addy." Finn replied. The two hugged.

"Oh my God! How long has it been? 7 months?"

"9." Finn corrected him.

"So tell me… how is life on the other side?" She asked.

"It was good. Far better than I deserved."

"I've never seen you like this." She remarked.

"Like what?"

"Vulnerable." She replied.

"I'm retired." Finn explained.

"Not if you're drinking here, you're not. You want your usual?" She asked, turning to the bar. Finn nodded.

"Please."

A moment later, a neat scotch was placed in front of him but Finn didn't pick it up. What he was interested in was the napkin beside it. In Addy's familiar loopy font was the name of a club in downtown Dhaka - Red Circle.

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The next day, Rachel walked into Glee rehearsal with a huge smile on her face. She finally had a boyfriend again, and they had so many similar interests. They were both into Broadway, fashion and many other things.

"Hey, guys." Rachel said, surprised. The whole Glee club was already in the choir room. Usually, she was the first to arrive.

"Cut the butter, Benedict Arnold." Santana said. "We heard about your new boyfriend."

"Look, Rachel, we're all happy that you're happy, but we've worked too hard in Glee Club to let you throw it all away on a relationship that might not even be real." Quinn said.

"Why? Cause he's in Vocal Adrenaline?" Rachel cried.

"Their motto is "aut neca aut necatus eris," which loosely translates to "murder or be murdered." Kurt remarked.

"They give their dancers human growth hormone." Tina added.

"Look, we're not saying the dude is playing you…" Mercedes started, kindly, but Kurt interrupted her.

"He's playing you." Kurt said, sassily.

"We just think that until Nationals are over, we can't risk the possibility that he is." Mercedes, continued. She had sympathy in her eyes. Like Rachel, Mercedes knew how few people in Lima wanted to date people like them.

"None of us wanna go through what happened at sectionals 2 years ago again." Mike said.

"Okay, look. Jesse and I might not be true love, but what if we are? I know who I am. And how many chances at this am I gonna get?" Rachel argued.

The whole Glee club exchanged a look, and Kurt nodded.

"If you don't break up with him, you're out." Kurt said, bluntly. Rachel's jaw dropped.

"You can't kick me out!" She cried.

"But we can all quit if Mr. Schue doesn't." Artie blackmailed her.

"Well, good luck winning without me." She spat.

"Everyone is replaceable. Even you." Puck said.

"How could you do this to me?" Rachel whispered.

"How could you do this to us?" Mercedes argued back. "We're a team, and all you've ever wanted was for us to be great, and be a part of something special. Now, is that still true or not?"

Rachel's eyes filled with tears and she stormed out of the room.

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Finn walked into the crowded, busy nightclub and immediately covered his eyes and ears. The music was insanely loud, loud enough to make his ears ring. And the lights… the neon-red circular lights were so bright that they almost burnt ring holes in his eyes. Finn was suited up in a bulletproof vest under his coat, and he had two guns and three knives stashed on his person. He was ready for anything. Little did he know that a group of hitmen were in that very bar at that moment, waiting to assassinate him.

"Floor 2, give me your status." One of the assassins - the leader - said into his ear piece.

"The VIP room is clear." Another hitman replied.

"Balcony. Tell me what you see." The leader demanded.

"No sign of him here." Yet another man replied.

"Basement. How's it going down there?" The leader asked

"Basement is clear." A fourth assassin responded. There were men everywhere, men with only one target: Finn Hudson.

Finn stood out on the street for a moment. He knew full well that there was probably a hit out on him and he knew that he was most likely walking into a firefight. But he had no hesitation. All he needed to think about was Khalid Asif hiding in a closet, ready to kill Bella and he was instantly motivated. At this point, Finn didn't really know who he was hunting down - Amir or Khalid Asif. Taking a deep breath, Finn walked around to the side entrance of the club and he stepped inside…

Meanwhile, in the basement of the club, where there were several hot tubs, Khalid Asif sat in one, drinking his head off with three girls. He turned to his bodyguard.

"Come in and have a drink with us!" Khalid exclaimed, drunkenly.

"My job is to keep a boy safe. Not babysit a drunkard." The bodyguard growled. Khalid raised an eyebrow.

"Are you scared of the fuckign boogyman?" He asked. "I'm not."

"No? You should be!"

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Rachel's eyes filled with tears and she stormed out of the room. She immediately sent a text to Jessie.

We need to meet. NOW. R x

Her text was short, and to the point. She knew what she had to do. They had to break up, for the team. Her thought train was interrupted when she got a response.

Sure, come to the Carmel's auditorium ASAP. J xx

Rachel made her way over to Carmel in her pink mini-cooper car. She walked into the auditorium. It was empty.

"Jesse?" She called out to no answer. Suddenly, a mega-powerful spotlight shone on her. She jumped.

"Who's there?"

Again, no anwer.

"I carry a rape whistle!" She shouted into the darkness. Someone snickered. She turned towards the voice.

"Just me." She heard Jessie say, and he stepped on stage alongside her. She relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.

"Most spots are 2,500 watts. This one is 10 times brighter." He exclaimed as both of them squinted at the spotlight. "We have to wear sunscreen on stage, but it's worth it."

"I guess everything is bigger and brighter here." Rachel said, glumly. Jessie giggled.

"I have to ask you something." She started. "And I need you to tell me the truth, because if you don't there will be consequences, life-and-death consequences. Because if I give myself to you, and it turns out that you're just playing me, I might die. Not literally, but emotionally. It'll be the kind of heartbreak that girls like me hold for the rest of their lives, like Barbra in "The Way We Were."

Jessie unexpectedly laughed.

"Oh my god." He chuckled and put his hands on Rachel's waist.

"What?" She asked, confused.

"You're more of a drama queen than I am." He remarked and stepped back. He then held out a hand for her to shake.

"Hi, I'm Jesse." He said. Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"I know who you are." She said.

"No, you know Jessie St. James, the star of Vocal Adrenaline, your competition at Nationals. I wanna introduce you to Jessie, the guy who's nuts about you. The guy who would never hurt you."

After his charming speech, the two of them embraced.

"No one can know." Rachel whispered.

"I understand." He replied. They kissed. As they were kissing, Jessie looked over his shoulder at Shelby, who was watching in the wings. He winked at her, and she nodded at him. The plan was set.

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Finn snuck around the side of the club but he didn't enter the facility yet. He needed information and he knew just who could get it for him. Finn walked down to the basement stairs and saw a bouncer smoking a cigarette, looking the other way. Another American asset that Finn had met briefly last year. Finn took out a gun and jabbed the back of the man's head with it.

"Hello, Francis." Finn murmured.

"Mr. Hudson." Francis smiled slightly.

"You've lost weight." Finn remarked. He really hadn't, but that was a secret code that all American government field agents knew. When they asked how much weight an asset had lost, it really meant how many hostiles are inside?

"Yeah, 60 kilograms."

Finn's eyes widened. 60 hostiles were in the next room, prepared to kill him upon sight.

"Yeah? Impressive." Finn replied.

"Are you here for business?" Francis asked. Finn sighed.

"Afraid so, Francis. Why don't you take the night off?"

Francis nodded.

"Thank you, sir." He said and walked away.

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It was now almost midnight, but Mr. Schue was still working, grading some Spanish papers that he didn't get to due to the numerous Glee rehearsals. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door. Mr Schue looked up and his eyes widened.

"Mr. Schuester?"

"Yes?"

"My name is Jessie St. James. Can I talk to you about something…"