-Continued from the previous chapter.
"Wait!" Quinn exclaimed desperately. "Before we do anything else, will someone PLEASE tell me what the heck is going on?"
Santana and Rachel exchanged a glance, to which Santana replied with a curt nod. Rachel took Quinn's arm and looked deep into her eyes, gulping softly.
"You're right, Quinn. After all this, you deserve to know the truth. Problem is, I don't think you'll believe me when I tell you."
"Oh, trust me. After what happened tonight, I'll believe whatever you say."
Rachel then took a deep breath, and began to explain everything to Quinn, along with all of the bits that Santana had filled her in on while they were driving to Brittany's house. She told her about Blaine, the diamonds, how Brittany and Santana met, how they fell for each other, and now, how Santana wanted to leave her old life and just be with Brittany, but Blaine feared that Santana would tell someone about his illegal activities once she was freed from his control, and so had kidnapped Brittany in order to scare Santana into keeping her mouth shut and remaining his employee.
Quinn listened to all of this with wide eyes, her breath coming out in short, sharp puffs, as if she was being told a particularly chilling horror story. Once Rachel was done, Quinn let out a large breath, as she realised how unaware she was of everything that had been going on, up until now.
"Well," she muttered, as she turned to face Santana on her left, "I guess I seriously misjudged you."
"What do you mean?" Santana asked, one eyebrow raised questioningly.
"Well, I just thought you were like all those other girls who've hurt Britt in the past; the ones who act like they like her, then they suddenly ditch her like she meant nothing. It's been so long since she's had an actual relationship, I just assumed this would be the same. But I see that I was wrong. You really care about her. I see that now."
Quinn offered Santana a tentative smile, which Santana returned wholeheartedly. The Latina then wrapped her arms gently around the blonde and hugged her warmly, while Quinn leant into the embrace and smiled.
"So, how do you fit into all of this?" Quinn enquired, this time turning to face Rachel.
Santana didn't miss the blush that spread across Rachel's cheeks as Quinn fixed her stunning hazel eyes on her, but she didn't comment on it, instead choosing to smirk to herself and sit back, arms crossed, just watching the other girls amusedly.
"I, um, I also work for Blaine. Well, I guess I should say I used to work for him. Like a second-in-command type thing, you know? Like, if Santana ever, uh, goes out on a mission, then I'm normally there to, uh, help."
Quinn thought Rachel stuttering over her words was the cutest thing she had ever seen.
"I see." she replied, looking at Rachel appraisingly, while the brunette nibbled her lip and giggled nervously.
Santana rolled her eyes at the obvious sexual tension in the room, chortling to herself.
"Well ladies, so sorry to break up this lovely conversation, but don't we have something kinda important to plan?" she drawled, her voice dripping with sarcasm, although her eyes were bright with amusement.
"Right!" Rachel exclaimed, clearing her throat delicately and shaking her head a few times, as if to clear it.
She leapt up from the sofa and grabbed the upturned coffee table, setting it back on its feet. She then ushered Santana and Quinn to sit either side of her, and they got to work.
Brittany awoke in a daze, her eyes clouded over with sleep, her mind jumbled and confused. She glanced around, disorientated, wondering where she was.
Then, it all came flooding back.
The men. Quinn on the floor. Being dragged out of her house. The van. And now, here she was, lying on the freezing concrete floor in a dark, cold room, the walls grey and streaked with dirt, her hands and feet bound by rigid, unforgiving chains that constricted around her wrists, a small trickle of light filtering through the one grimy window in the topmost corner of the room. She struggled, testing the chains, but they were unyielding. She then began to panic, her breath becoming ragged and uneven, as she began screaming in terror.
"Help! Someone help me, please! HELP ME!"
All of a sudden, two men burst into the room; one a tall, light-skinned man with a quiff, the other a slightly shorter, portly man with dark skin and buzz cut. The light from the hallway blinded Brittany momentarily, so she couldn't see the men for a second, but then they were upon her, kicking and punching, snarling vicious words of hate.
Brittany yelped as blow after blow rained down on her vulnerable form, which only enraged the men further.
"Shut up!" one of them growled.
Brittany then lunged forward, head butting the smaller man violently. He looked down in shock to see blood gushing out from his nose.
"Sebastian, did you see what that little bitch just did to me?" he exclaimed in anger.
"Hold her still, Azimio." The one called Sebastian ordered, before delivering a particularly hard blow to Brittany's cheek with his clenched fist. She cried out in pain, so Sebastian then proceeded to cover her mouth with a scrap of material he extracted from his pocket.
Once they were satisfied with the damage they had inflicted upon the trembling blonde, who now lay silent and broken on the floor, whimpering helplessly, they straightened up and smiled triumphantly, exiting the room.
"I bet this'll teach Santana to listen to Blaine in the future." Sebastian sneered.
Azimio nodded, grinning darkly before closing the door behind them.
Brittany could feel herself slipping into unconsciousness, her head throbbing and reeling due to the countless blows she had suffered, but before she was completely enveloped by the dark, albeit welcome oblivion, one whispered word ghosted across her bruised lips.
"Santana..."
The girls had been huddled around the now-upright coffee table for about half an hour, Rachel in the middle, using one hand to jot down ideas, the other grasping Quinn's trembling hand firmly. They were deep in conversation about where Blaine could have arranged for Brittany to be taken, although most of the contributions were made by Rachel and Santana, due to the fact that Quinn had pretty much no idea what was going on, whereas the other two women were rather well-informed when it came to thinking about hostage situations, having been involved in a fair few over the years that they had worked for Blaine.
"Okay, well, another suggestion could be one of his many associate's offices that are situated around the city?" ventured Santana, but Rachel shook her head, her forehead creased slightly as she pondered.
"No, that's too easy. Blaine knows we would think to look there. He would have told them to take her somewhere unknown, somewhere hidden and difficult to find, unless you knew where you were going."
"Hmm, how about his office?"
"Again, too easy. Remember, Blaine wants this to be hard. He's doing this to prove to you that he controls you, and that you can't leave unless he says you can leave."
"Urgh, this is impossible! We've brainstormed loads of ideas already, she could be anywhere!" Santana cried, sounding more and more distressed as time wore on.
Quinn's eyes darted back and forth between the girls, as she tried her hardest to think of a place, so she could at least be of some help.
"Well, I do know of one place in the city that would be good for hiding things..." she spoke timidly, causing Santana and Rachel to look at her, their expressions mildly surprised but interested. "There's an old abandoned warehouse, um, right down in the South side of Lima, out in the suburbs. Uh, not many people go there, I mean, no one lives there, it's an uninhabited area. My dad's a cop, I've heard him talk about people using the warehouse for illegal stuff. I just thought, maybe, that's where Blaine may have taken Britt."
Santana and Rachel stared at Quinn in awe, mouths agape. Rachel suddenly exploded, launching herself at Quinn and tackling the surprised blonde, grasping her in a bear hug.
"Quinn, that's it! Oh, it's so obvious now, I can't believe we didn't think of this sooner!"
Santana looked at Rachel in confusion, until the smaller brunette offered an explanation for her excited outburst.
"A few weeks ago, I overheard Blaine discussing property with an estate agent. He was asking if abandoned properties had to be legally bought, or if they were just open for the taking. I didn't take much notice of it then, but now it all makes sense! He was asking about the warehouse, of course! It's the perfect place for him to carry out his interrogations and to hold hostages, many people don't even know it exists!"
Santana grinned at Rachel, her excitement gradually building as she realised that they may actually be able to get to Brittany before anything bad happened to her. Quinn was smiling too, but this may have had more to do with the fact that Rachel's arm was still firmly around her waist, their sides pressed together.
"Okay, thanks to Quinn, we now have a possible location for Brittany. Do you know how to get there?"
"Yes," Quinn nodded, "Well, I know its rough whereabouts, I've seen my dad's maps of the city, so I'm sure I'll be able to direct you to it once we're in the area."
"Good. Now, Santana, when we get there, you and I will scope the place out and come up with a plan. Quinn, you'll remain in the car, ready to drive us away when we need to get out of there. Got it?"
Santana and Quinn nodded; the blonde feeling more than impressed and slightly turned on by the new authoritative tone in Rachel's voice.
"Alright then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
And with that, the three girls scrambled to their feet, running out of the broken front door to the van that Rachel had stolen.
As they were buckling themselves in, Rachel in the driver's seat, Quinn and Santana in the back, Rachel turned to the other two girls, a devilish smile on her face.
"Oh, also, the van wasn't the only thing I took. Look under that tarp."
As she put the car into drive and sped away, Santana warily pulled back the green tarpaulin that was stretched across the large empty section in the back of the van. Quinn let out a gasp, while Santana grinned widely, as they saw what else Rachel had stolen.
It was weapons and equipment Santana was all too familiar with, while Quinn stared at it all in wonder.
Guns. Grenades. Small knives. Walkie talkies. Body armour. Utility belts.
Quinn swallowed nervously, while Santana smirked as she inspected each instrument.
"I thought that would make things a little fairer." Rachel said, winking at Quinn in the rear-view mirror, as she turned left down a road marked 'South Lima'.
Quinn directed them to the warehouse, which was so discreetly placed that anyone who didn't know it was there wouldn't see it at all. It was positioned behind a large row of buildings, which all used to serve as multinational corporate offices, but were soon forgotten about as people moved more and more of their businesses into the heart of the city. The warehouse was shrouded in darkness thanks to the cover provided by both the other buildings and the rapidly approaching darkness that accompanied the descending night-time, and was hard to spot, even in the daytime.
"Nice going, Quinn." Rachel said warmly, causing Quinn to turn the most endearing shade of pink Rachel had ever seen. She then steered the van into a shady spot out of the soft glow of the moonlight, which was overshadowed by the tall, gray, ex-office blocks that made up half of South Lima, disguising the van and keeping it hidden.
"Okay, here's what I think we should do." Santana began speaking, sounding confident and determined. This was her area of expertise; they were in her territory now.
"Quinn, like Rachel said, you stay in the van, in the event of us needing a rapid escape. Also, be ready to call the police the second we get back here; we don't want to give Blaine and his thugs time to escape. Now, Rachel, take these."
She tossed Rachel a gun and a knife, and then handed her one of the grenades.
"Here's the plan for when we get to the warehouse. Rachel, you throw this grenade somewhere near it, outside though, in order to distract whoever they've got guarding the door. Once that's done, you take care of whoever comes running." Rachel nodded resolutely, her expression serious and focused. "Once that's done, you keep watch by the door, and use this walkie talkie to warn me if you see Blaine anywhere. Then, I'll sneak in, using my little friend to take care of anyone who gets in my way." She gestured to the gun in her hand, much to Quinn's horror.
"Wait, you're just going to shoot anyone, regardless of whether they attack you or not?"
"I will if it means I can get Brittany back in my arms safely. She's the single most important person in the world to me." Santana answered, her eyes narrowed and dark with hatred for the people who had stolen her girl away from her. Quinn gulped and nodded, not daring to question Santana again.
"As I was saying, I'll go inside, get rid of any of Blaine's cronies that try to stop me, then I'll try to find the main room where they store their equipment and stuff; there's bound to be some sort of control room with cameras, where they monitor everything that's going on inside the warehouse. I know Blaine, he likes seeing what everyone is doing, it makes him feel powerful." she sneered, her voice sharp with disgust for the oily-haired little man. "Then, I'll use the monitor system to locate Britt, and then I'll blast my way through anyone who tries to stop me from getting her out of there. And believe me, I will show no mercy."
Santana's words fell from her lips like a promise, each one heavy and true, a solemn oath to do everything in her power to get back the love of her life.
"We all set? Okay, let's g-"
"Hold on!" Quinn cried, lunging forward and blocking Santana from exiting the van. "You almost forgot these."
She held up the torso body shields, looking worried for the other girls. Rachel sensed this and smiled tenderly, reaching over the seat and lacing her fingers with Quinn's, whose hands were trembling.
"Quinn, don't worry about us. This is what we know best, we'll be fine." she spoke softly, trying to reassure the terrified blonde.
"B-but, what if they f-find me out here?" Quinn stammered, her rampant, growing fear now evident to both Rachel and Santana.
"Look here Q." Santana said, grasping Quinn's shoulders and looking her firmly in the eye. "Nothing, and I repeat, nothing, is going to happen to you. Okay? Rachel and I will be gone for a little while, and then we'll be right back in here with you."
"P-promise?" she whispered, frightened tears building in her eyes.
"Promise." answered both Santana and Rachel, their voices honest and sombre.
The girls then suited up, stripping off their jackets and tops before pulling on the body armour.
Even though she was terrified beyond belief, Quinn couldn't help but to let her eyes wander as the girls sat in nothing but their bras as they adjusted the straps on their torso shields. Her eyes first danced over Santana's lithe frame, her abs taut and refined, but then she soon found herself even more entranced by Rachel's soft, lightly-tanned skin and her defined stomach muscles that rippled every time she moved. Quinn then shook her head, to clear the haze that had descended upon her mind, but did so lightly, so as not to be noticed by either of the half-naked women before her. Santana, however, picked up on Quinn's attempt at not staring at Rachel, and chuckled quietly to herself.
The Latina's chortles alerted Rachel to the situation, and she glanced up in time to see Quinn look away from her quickly and blush furiously, as she stared down at her clenched fists. Rachel, however, simply giggled a little, before pulling her shirt back on over the body armour and planting a light kiss on Quinn's cheek. Quinn's head whipped up as she stared at Rachel, dumbstruck.
Meanwhile, Santana had been wirelessly connecting the walkie talkies, and was now handing one to Rachel, who clipped it to her utility belt alongside the gun.
The two brunettes then locked gazes, breathing deeply and evenly.
"So, we all know the plan?" Rachel murmured, as Quinn nodded hesitantly and Santana replied with a firm "Yes."
"Okay, good. Let's do this."
And with that, Santana and Rachel each got out of the vehicle, leaving a petrified Quinn quivering in the front seat of the van.
"You'll be fine Q." stated Santana.
"There's nothing to worry about. We'll be back in no time." murmured Rachel soothingly, before pulling Quinn into a tight hug. She then closed the door softly, as Quinn placed her hands on the steering wheel and gripped it tightly, in an attempt to stop them from shaking. Rachel blew Quinn one last kiss as she and Santana prepared to run, and then they were off, racing towards the hulking infrastructure ahead of them, not knowing what was waiting for them inside, but ready for any challenges that came their way.
And the excitement continues! I am having SO much fun writing this fic, it's actually insane. Usually I'm just really happy when I find some time and write a new chapter, but now, I actually feel excited when I'm planning my next chapter and thinking about what's going to happen next ^^ I think this may be my favourite story to write so far, it's just so exciting and different from anything I've written before :)
As you can all see, along with the action heating up, the Faberry is gradually increasing too :D I feel like it's necessary because, well, not only are Quinn and Rachel ADORABLE together, but I feel like without them, there would have been no fluff in quite a few of the previous chapters, due to the fact that Brittany and Santana have been apart. So yeah, I hope all of you like Faberry as well as Brittana, if not, then just stay tuned for a couple more chapters, then the Brittana fluff will return, that's a promise!
Another thing – THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has reviewed/favourited/alerted this fic. It was the best feeling in the world to go away for a week and then come back to almost double the amount of reviews and hits! So a massive thank you to all of you, you give me the encouragement to keep writing :)
But yeah, I think I should end this author's note now, before it becomes a story of its own xD Once again, thank you to EVERYONE who is following this fic, especially those who have followed it from the beginning.
Don't forget, reviews are always appreciated, so don't be shy, let me know what you think! ^^
Next update should be along soon, and until then, stay awesome everyone!