A/N: Sorry for the short chapter but visiting fam has me busy. Next one will be long though. Thanks for reading.
Brittany pushed her small shopping cart through the aisles of PetSmart and headed straight for the cat section. She spotted the cat beds and tried to find the biggest one they had.
Santana had left pretty early in the morning to go home and get ready for her mid-shift. Brittany had absolutely loved waking up cuddled up next to Santana and couldn't wait to do it again.
About an hour after Santana had left, the camera crew came in and installed various cameras in the penthouse and the hallway outside. Except for their bedrooms and bathrooms, every inch of the penthouse was under surveillance. Everything was in place, now they just had to wait.
Brittany looked at the bottom of the shelf and spotted the largest bed they had for sale and put it in her cart. Up next was the hunt for a giant letterbox.
Twenty minutes later, Brittany placed all the items on the counter for the teenage worker to ring up.
"Thanks!" Brittany said taking her two bags and overly large litter box.
Brittany was lucky to find a spot right near the door and didn't have to walk far. She unlocked her black Audi and after putting her merchandise in the back seat, got in and started the car. A black SUV made its way down the parking lot and stopped allowing Brittany to pull out of her spot. She waved a thank you.
As she pulled out of the parking lot and head for the exit, she looked in the rear view mirror and had expected to see the black SUV pull into the spot she had just vacated, but it didn't. It drove forward, towards the exit.
Brittany turned on her radio and sang along as she merged into the busy streets. After a few minutes, she got stuck in traffic.
"Shit!"
She had had to go to the PetSmart in Glendale because the ones near her house did not have any large beds or litter boxes. She was no where near close to being home. She decided to cut through Griffith Park hoping traffic would be lighter. She put on her signal and looked to see if it was clear to change lanes.
Brittany saw the black SUV again.
"Hmm."
She merged into her new lane and after a minute or so saw the black SUV do the same.
"Maybe he has the same idea," she said to herself.
After a few blocks, Brittany merged into the left turn lane to turn into Riverside Drive to get to the park. She didn't see the black SUV.
"Paranoid," Brittany said letting out a breath.
She turned and was glad to see there weren't that many cars cutting through the park. She continued on after passing the zoo she noticed the black SUV merge in her rearview mirror. It had merged into the lane from the cross street Brittany had just passed. It was right behind her.
"The fuck," Brittany cursed turning off her radio.
The black SUV had been at a good distance but was now speeding up. Brittany sped up. So did the SUV.
"Shit!"
Brittany had to hit the breaks because she had caught up to a minivan that was actually going the speed limit. Slowing down made it easier for the SUV to catch up and rear end her black Audi.
"UMPH!" Brittany grunted as her seatbelt locked when her body flung forward.
Brittany recovered quickly and hit the call button on her car's navigation screen. She had the system dial 911.
The SUV rammed her again.
"911 what is your emergency?"
The mini van in from of Brittany finally turned and she was able to speed up. The SUV did the same.
"This Officer Brittany S. Pierce, badge number…."
The SUV hit her again.
Brittany looked up and noticed they were the only two cars driving through the isolated park streets.
"Can you repeat that?"
Brittany managed to identify herself and tell the operator the situation.
"We're sending units to you now Officer Pierce."
The SUV pulled back a little and changed lanes. It accelerated again and managed to drive up beside her and that's when Brittany hit the breaks. The SUV passed her by and it too hit the breaks hard.
Brittany was about to put the car in reverse when she saw that a school bus was making its way down the same road. It was still pretty far away, but if there were kids on that bus, Brittany didn't want to put them in danger.
"FUCK!"
In the split second she had been distracted with the oncoming school bus, the black SUV had reversed and was heading straight for her.
###
Santana headed back to her patrol car wanting to beat Quentin to the driver's seat.
"I'm driving!" she announced getting in the car.
"I have seniority you know," Quentin said getting in the passenger seat.
"Hand over the keys slow poke," Santana said with a triumphant smile, "Next time don't have that extra taco."
Santana started the car and merged into traffic. She had been in a great mood all day. Being with Brittany yesterday and waking up next to her this morning had been amazing. She had hated leaving so early, but she couldn't be late for her shift.
She didn't expect this thing with the mayor's assistant to last much longer. All they needed was for Quinn to be living at the penthouse and as of this morning she was.
"So," Quentin said, "Any more news on the mayor case?"
"Some," Santana said, her eyes never leaving the road, "I sent my most recent findings to Jerry and he's going to send out an updated report later this afternoon."
"What a fucking mess," Quentin said.
Santana was about to agree with Quentin when an officer needs assistant call came through the scanner. That officer was Brittany.
"Oh shit!" Quentin cursed.
Santana felt her heart jump to her throat. A gripping fear had taken hold and was not letting go. She turned on the siren and turned into the street that would be the quickest to take her to Brittany.
Quentin answered the call.
"Santana," Quentin said, "There are other cars closer."
"We're going!"
Santana gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles turned white.
Brittany's OK, she told herself, she's OK.
###
"OK Britt, what happened?" Quinn asked.
Brittany took a deep breath. She was now out of the car and standing in the street talking to Quinn.
She had seen the black SUV reverse and thought it was going to hit her straight on, but instead the SUV swerved and only managed to hit the right headlight with its fender. Brittany braced herself trying her best to get a look at the driver. She did manage to lock eyes with the man and saw him mouth the word "shit" and then take off.
"Did you recognize him?" Quinn asked, "Get a plate number?"
Quinn and her partner had been the first to arrive to help Brittany, followed by two other officers that Brittany didn't recognize.
The school bus was long gone and the isolated street was now closed causing a backup of cars on either side. Quinn had practically jumped out of her patrol car and ran to Brittany to pull her into a tight hug.
Brittany had assured her she was fine.
"I didn't recognize him," Brittany said, "I gave the plate number to the operator. It's…"
A siren caught Brittany's attention and she turned to see another squad car arrive at the scene. It was Santana.
"Brittany!" Santana said quickly getting out of the car and running to her.
"Santana," Brittany said, glad to see her but also confused as to why she was here, "What are you doing here?"
Santana couldn't stop herself. She brought Brittany in for a hug. The sudden wash of relief hitting her hard.
"Are you OK?" Santana asked, "Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine," Brittany said hugging her back, "I'm fine."
"What happened?" Santana asked pulling back.
"Someone was chasing her," Quinn said.
"Who?"
Brittany told Santana the whole story.
"So you didn't recognize him them?" Santana asked.
"No, but," Brittany said, "I think he recognized me."
"What do you mean?" Quentin asked. He too had been listening in to the whole story.
"It's like," Brittany began, "It's like he saw me and was surprised. Like he expected someone else and when he saw it was me he looked like he had messed up."
"A case of mistaken identity?" Quentin asked.
"Oh God!" Quinn said, "Did they think you were me? Maybe this was Artie."
"Why would they think Brittany was you?" Santana asked.
"Aside from the blond hair we look nothing alike," Brittany said, "OH.."
"What?" Santana asked.
"My car," Brittany said, "I never changed the registration."
"I thought you said you did?" Quinn asked.
"What's going on?" Santana asked, confused.
"I sold Brittany the Audi," Quinn said.
"More like gave," Brittany corrected, "$1,500 for a 2011 Audi is practically giving it away."
"You paid for it," Quinn said, "So you bought it. Who cares how much."
"Why did you sell Brittany the car?" Santana asked.
"I wanted another car. A 2012," Quinn said, "Brittany needed a car so I sold her that one."
"I got so busy," Brittany said, "I never changed the registration information. I mean, Quinn and I are almost always together so it's not like the information would be wrong."
"This guy must have checked DMV records," Santana said, "And thought Quinn was still driving this car."
"Son of a bitch!" Quinn yelled, "He could have hurt you Brittany and it would have been all my fault."
"I'm fine Quinn," Brittany said, "This is not your fault. Don't say that."
"But he's after me and you being my friend is putting your life in danger…"
"Stop!" Brittany said, "If he's after you, he's after me. I'm not going to back away from this. I'm sticking with you until the end. OK?"
"Britt…"
"OK?" Brittany asked more forcefully.
"OK," Quinn said softly.
"Me too," Santana said, "I'm not backing away from this either."
"Thank you Santana," Quinn said with a sad smile.
"Can we go now?" Brittany asked, "I'm causing a huge traffic jam here and I should go talk to Jerry and tell him about this."
"Soon," Quinn said, "They're still combing the street for evidence. And I'll get your car fixed Britt. It'll be like new. Or I'll buy you a brand new car. Whatever you want."
"Thanks," Brittany said. She knew Quinn would pay for everything no matter how much she protested, "Just fixing this one is fine."
"I'm going to call the station and see if Jerry is there," Quinn said.
Brittany watched Quinn go back to her squad car.
"I'm going to check in with the station," Quentin said and left.
Santana turned to Brittany and wanted to hug her again, but didn't. She was just so happy that Brittany was OK and there wasn't a scratch on her.
"I'm so glad to see you," Brittany admitted.
"I'm glad you're not hurt," Santana said, "You scared me. Again."
"I keep doing that, huh?" Brittany asked.
"Yes and you need to stop," Santana said as she squeezed Brittany's arm, "One of these times I may have a heart attack."
"Sorry."
"Where were you?" Santana asked, "Why are you cutting through the park?"
"I went to Glendale to buy Lord Tubbington his new stuff," Brittany said, "That location was the only one that still had extra large in everything he needed. There was so much traffic I took a shortcut through the park."
Santana smiled, "Did you find everything he needed?"
"Yeah," Brittany said, "I'd show you but this may not be the right time for a show and tell."
"No, it's not," Santana said with a small smile, "Why don't you ride with me back to the station. They'll tow your car and check it for evidence."
"Yeah, OK," Brittany said, "Let me get my bags."
Santana watched Brittany go back to her banged up car and open the door to the back seat. She had never felt such a fear before as the one that hit her when she heard Brittany was in trouble. She needed keep Brittany safe.
In a few days this will be over, Santana thought, just a few more days.
-tbc-