A/N- Thank you all so much for favoriting/following this story. Glad you all liked it (:
A week after their encounter with the police, the trio stopped by the underground subway just to make sure no one interfered with their work. So far they haven't seen any activity or signs that someone's been there for the past week which is a good sign, this means Rachel can finally dismantle the camera that's been spying on them.
Before she can even walk out their run-down apartment, it was her turn to get some groceries. She tried to convince her group that the camera was way more important than getting milk and eggs, but Puck definitely put up a fight about having food in the fridge. So, she grabbed her bag, put on some decent clothes other than her usual baggy hoodie and faded jeans, then headed out.
The fresh air conditioner washed over her body, sending chills from the back of her neck down to her spine. Grabbing a basket, she made her way down each aisle, just throwing in junk food that looked good and some fruit for her. Oh the damn milk, can't have a perfect life without milk.
Since the market place she goes to always has expired milk, she has to rummage her way through every carton of milk to find the one that expires in four weeks. Container after container they all had a date where it passed or is about to pass in a week, just as she was about to check the last one, another hand beat her to it.
"That might be expired." Rachel warned the person who grabbed the milk, still not looking at said person. When Rachel didn't hear the stranger say thank you or ew gross for warning them, she looked up and her face went pale. It was Russell's daughter, was her name Quinn?
Rachel was so lost in her thoughts she didn't notice that the girl gripped her wrist and took her to the back of the store near the spice area; no one ever goes there. Her back was slammed against the wall and Quinn held up her pepper spray.
"How dare you, you thought you were gonna get away with it, huh?" Quinn hissed, cheeks turning a light shade of pink from the adrenaline coursing through her body.
"Obviously I always get away with it, why you think your idiot father never caught us," Just as the insult slipped out her mouth, Rachel felt a sting to her cheek, hissing in pain as her cold hand ghost over the heated area "Okay, I deserved that. Now can I go? I have food to purchase."
"You don't get it do you? I caught you and now you're busted."
Rachel smirked, thinking this girl can really take her to the slammer. In a quick motion, she grabbed Quinn's arm, brought it to her back and pinned her up against the wall "I came to buy milk, not to deal with rich girls like you. So, if you want to keep this arm then you would keep quiet about this, got it?"
"I swear to god I'll-"
"You'll what?" Rachel interrupted Quinn's attempt to threaten her "Take me to jail? That's all you got?"
When Quinn didn't say anything, Rachel released her arm, picked up her grocery basket and headed to the front of the market for checkout. What the hell just happen? Wasn't this the part where the girl surrenders and gets sentenced to jail?
Tucking away her pepper spray, Quinn tried to follow the girl's tracks. She's got to catch this girl for her father, make him proud. The brunette made her way out the store and took a left, Quinn waited at least two or three minutes before she went out and followed the brunette; not too close, yet not too far. The girl lives pretty close since they were coming to a dead end at the last building, she couldn't possibly live there, right? The worn down, faded paint apartments look like they were about to collapse any minute.
Suddenly the girl stopped dead in her tracks causing Quinn to pull off to the side just in case she decides to turn around. The brunette was standing in the middle of the street as if she does this often. Quinn's heart sank when the girl looked to her left where Quinn was hiding and said, "I'm not stupid, Quinn, but you sure are. I don't even live around here." and just kept on walking.
How did this girl know she was following her, was it too obvious? Or was she that smart? Whatever it was, Quinn sure did feel stupid after stalking the girl for 10 minutes only to lead her to an abandoned neighborhood. Rubbing her temples in frustration, she walked back to the nearest bus stop and waited for the transportation cart to take her home, there was no way she was going to walk through this sketchy neighborhood.
When she got home, Russell came rushing from the living room and embraced his daughter. This only happens when she's done something right or when he takes his pain killers.
"How's your hand, daddy?" Quinn gently stroked the bruised up hand, purple and green making it look more repulsing than when he got hit.
"It's getting there, just glad you're safe." Kissing her forehead, he went back to the living room and sat in his big, comfy chair as he watched television.
Quinn bit the inside of her cheek, wanting to know if he had any files at home about the subway taggers. Since he's high on painkillers, he'll be willingly open on whatever she asks him "Hey daddy."
"Yes princess?" He chimed
"You know those subway taggers you hate so much?"
Russell made a face of disgust and grunted "God those bastards, can't wait till they're locked up and away from me. Why you ask, honey? Did they harm you?"
"No, but if they did I would want to know who they are, right?"
"Of course."
"Then you must have files on them," He nodded "May I take a look? Just for informational purposes."
"Sure, but don't mess them up. I want them neatly filed away when you're done. The files are in a box on top of my closet."
Quinn kissed him happily on his cheek and ran up the stairs like there was a fire in the living room. She tip-toed her way into his bedroom, careful not to wake her mother, and brought the box down. She looked for any label that had subway taggers on it, pulled it from its place and skimmed through the very thick file. There were picture of the three in various areas with their graffiti all over the walls and even on home property. And people say that graffiti is another form of art- HA!, art is something meaningful and beautiful, not pigs in uniforms or a name in a weird, funky looking font.
Quinn searched for the girl's paperwork to see what she's up against, her eyes landing on a very low quality candid that was taken from afar and next to it was a school picture. Wow, she thought as she compared both pictures. Her school photo made her seem like an outgoing little lady with high hopes and dreams, while her current picture looks like the total opposite. Rachel Berry, good to put a name on the face.
What seemed like minutes to Quinn was actually an hour sitting in her dad's closet still reading Rachel's files. She just couldn't believe that Rachel was once a sweet, innocent girl that got sucked into this life with Puckerman and Lopez, who by the way were already in the lifestyle before Rachel decided to join in. There's not a lot of details of who they are exactly and what they're capable of, just a few pictures and snapshots of the places they go to frequently to 'express' themselves. After she had formed a plan on how to catch them based on their hideouts, she decided to call it a night and went to bed, hoping that tomorrow will go somewhat according to plan.
Quinn woke up bright and early for this stakeout, considering this is a weekday she's glad that her friend Brittany can cover for her. She had to explain many times that Brittany has to lie and not actually cover Quinn with a blanket, only tell Sue that she won't make it today because she's sick. Sometimes she wonders how in the world Brittany made it high school.
Making her way out her house, she waited for the next bus to take her across town to the underground subway. After 10 minutes, she reached her destination and hopped off. Carefully looking around to see if those numskulls were near, she slowly walked towards the entrance and notice that it was too quiet, there was no cans being sprayed or thrown on the ground.
Hey eyes were met with many artworks, some very inappropriate, others just didn't make any sense; what's with the diamond? How original. Then there was the Statue of Liberty, its good and all, but what the hell does it even mean?
Quinn took a glance at her watch and saw that it was now 8:30 in the morning; they probably won't be here that early so she went off to the side and waited. She knew it was silly to wait, but she just has to catch them. Minute after minute she slowly started to drift off into sleep, tired from looking at nothing. She pulled her knees close to her chest and rested her head, starting to get a minor headache that the silence is doing to her.
An hour later, Quinn was awoken when she heard someone drop a piece of metal on the stairs. She hid behind a trash can that was placed against the stairs and squinted when the body came to full view. It was Rachel carrying a bag and some tools she got from the bush outside. It all clicked in her mind on what she was about to do, the brunette mentioned it to her buddies when they first had their encounter.
Rachel pulled out a Nerf gun from the bag and shot it right at the camera, the bullet sticking to the lens. Then she tossed the wrenches at the device till it was shattered into pieces, her father worked really hard to install that damn thing, almost falling off the ladder while doing so.
Quinn kept her eyes on Rachel so intensively that she didn't notice a little mouse crawled out from the trash can and onto the back of her hand. The whiskers tickling her skin, she looked down and screamed, shaking the rodent off her hand.
"Show yourself!" Rachel called out.
Cursing under her breath from the fact she was caught and was so close to getting away with it, she rose from her squat position and stared at Rachel blankly.
"Seriously," Rachel shook her head "Are you that obsess with me? Not even your dad is this clingy."
"For your information, I came to capture you and turn you into the police."
Rachel laughed at the girl's confidence that this time she actually caught her and is certain to take her to jail "When you want to arrest someone don't actually tell them that you're going to arrest them. Go home, I have work to do."
"Rachel, I'm serious."
Rachel arched a brow and smirked at the mention of her name "I see you've done your research," reaching down to collect her belongings, she headed to the stairs since she won't be doing any tagging while Quinn's here "Bye now."
She can't let her get away again "I know you weren't always like this," This made the brunette halt. Quinn found her weak spot, so she pushed further "You were happy, went to school. What happen?"
"None of your business," She said through her gritted teeth "And if I catch you here again I'll make sure your dad will get more than a broken hand next time."
When Rachel finally got away from her, Quinn decided to follow after her, still poking at Rachel's sensitive spot to try and make her crack, "What horrible thing happened to you that made you drop out? When did you run away from home? Do you miss your family?"
The f-word really pulled a sensitive nerve because Rachel dropped her bag and gripped Quinn by her shirt collar "What the hell do you want from me? If you wanted to arrest me you would have done it by now with the call of your daddy's minions."
So much anger in such a little body, Quinn was caught off guard; her mind couldn't form any words at the moment. Rachel's had enough of her crap, sucking in some air, she tossed Quinn aside.
"Confront me again and I won't go so easy on you." Outrage, Rachel took off stomping, leaving Quinn and her bag on the ground.
The faded brown leather backpack is just filled with something Quinn can use to find them or get more information about Rachel. Curiosity got the best of her and rummaged through the bag, nickels and dimes rattled as she moved items around. There was nothing here but paint bottles and brushes. She needs to know more and catch those idiots. Wow, she is becoming obsessed and that's because her father was seriously injured by them, therefore, she has to pay what they broke.
Rachel angrily slammed the door to their apartment causing the picture frames to rattle and startled her friends that are sitting in the tiny living room.
"What got your panties in a twist?" Puck snickered, while he continues to watch his football game.
"That damn Fabray just won't quit!"
Both their ears perked up when their heard the mention of Fabray. Shutting off the TV, Puck led her to the couch while Santana gets a glass of water for Rachel.
"What he do this time?"
"You need us to beat his ass again?" Santana came back to the room with a tall glass of water "Cause you know we will."
Rachel kindly accepted the water and took two huge gulps, sending a cool sensation down to her throat and into her stomach "It's the other Fabray. Quinn."
"How did she even- why is she on you?" Santana didn't get why Fabray's daughter is more into catching Rachel than he is, he's wanted to catch them for a while now.
Rachel explained to them that Quinn wants to catch them herself in honor of her father "She even thinks that she can actually take me to jail."
"Why is she targeting you?"
"Probably cause I was the cause of her dad's smashed hands," Rachel shrugged "This would've never happen if you sent me to go get milk."
"Are you trying to blame this on me because I sent you to the market? Blame Puckerman since he argued about food."
"We literally had nothing in the fridge!"
Santana shook her head and ignored the mohawk boy "Did you talk her down? Threaten her?"
"Of course, I even threw her to the ground when she mentioned my 'family'" Rachel air quoted on the family part. Ever since she separated herself from the two men who adopted her, she doesn't consider them family anymore.
It's been a year since she left her adoptive parents and two years since she got separated from her biological mother. She missed Los Angeles, her old friends, her old fashion style; miniskirts and cardigans.
Santana placed her left hand on the brunette's back and the other on her knee "She doesn't know what you went through, don't let her get to you like that or else you'll end up like me and hate the world."
Rachel's eyelids drooped down; a sudden wave of memories of her mom washed over her and shuddered "I miss her, San."
"I know, sweetie." It was rare for Santana to show sympathy to anyone even her friends, but in this moment Rachel really needed a shoulder to lean on. Not cry. Santana made that very specific the first day she join the group, there will absolutely be no crying in this apartment.
Puck stood there awkwardly, fiddling with his thumbs and waiting for their moment to end so he can ask Rachel a question. Looks like that won't be happening anytime soon so he cleared his throat to get their attention "I don't mean to interrupt, but I just wanted to know where your backpack is. I left some paint in there and I really needed it for my work tomorrow."
"Aw crap," Rachel face palmed, she was so angry with Quinn that she forgot to pick up her things "Quinn must've taken it already. I left it on the floor where the subway's at."
"Seriously, Rach? I traded valuable stuff to get those paints. You need to get it back somehow."
"Hell no, there is no way I'm seeing her again."
"Valuable. Stuff." Puck punctuated each word, their art supplies is something not to be messed with. It's what created them in the first place and without it they're just a bunch of kids living in a hell hole.
In the end, Rachel decides to come face-to-face with Quinn again and hopefully for the last time. There was just something about her that made Rachel's inside burn with anger, not sure if it was just Quinn using her information against her or she's the policeman's daughter.