A/N: I am so glad that you guys like this story! Sorry it's been a couple of days since I've updated; I've had literally tons of homework to do! But I have a little time now, so here's chapter six! I still own nothing from the world of Glee…
Chapter Six: Target Practice
Once he and Puck got to his apartment, Finn bent down and grabbed his key from under the welcome mat.
"Dude, you're making it a bit too easy for people to break into your place," Puck said, rolling his eyes.
"I'm pretty sure if someone really wants to get in, a locked door isn't going to stop them," Finn said, putting the key in the lock and unlocking the door.
"Good point," Puck said after a moment of contemplation. Finn put the key back and then pushed his door open the rest of the way.
"Damn…" he heard Puck say in a low voice. Damn was right; Finn's apartment looked as if a bomb went off inside. His couch was shoved against the wall with its cushions scattered on the floor. His glass coffee table was broken and shoved to the side. His pictures were knocked off the walls and his television was lying face down on the ground. It was a crappy TV anyway, so Finn wasn't that concerned about it. The only thing that wasn't destroyed was his dad's old recliner; it sat in the corner of the room, as dependable looking as ever.
Finn walked slowly into his apartment with Puck right behind him. They walked into the hallway and noticed that all the pictures were broken on the ground; even the one with Finn and his mom at his high school graduation.
They walked into his bedroom and saw that his room resembled the one at the hotel. His covers and pillows were either hanging off the bed or lying on the floor, his closet was open and clothes were scattered everywhere, and his dresser drawers were all open with the contents spilling out.
"What the hell was the point of messing up the bed?" Puck asked. "I mean, I get looking through your drawers and closet for info and stuff, but why the bed?"
"They probably just did it to be assholes," Finn said, sounding annoyed. "Let's go." They walked back through the hallway and into the living room. Finn was about to walk back out the front door, defeated, when Puck pulled him by the arm.
"What?" Finn asked, turning around.
"You didn't check the kitchen," Puck said.
"Why would I? Just to see all my plates and shit broken on the ground?" Finn asked a little angrily.
Puck rolled his eyes again before walking toward the kitchen. Finn stood there, feeling a little impatient. He was supposed to be finding Rachel, not surveying the damage in his apartment. He was about to yell to Puck and tell him it was time to go when Puck yelled for him.
"Get your ass in here," Puck said. Finn's eyebrows knitted together in confusion, but he walked into the kitchen. Puck was standing by the fridge, surrounded by broken plates and glass that littered the floor like confetti at a parade. "This was on your fridge." Puck handed him a piece of paper that he was holding. Finn grabbed it and looked down at a printed picture of Rachel.
She was lying there with her eyes closed, probably unconscious. A trail of blood was falling down the side of her head; it made Finn feel sick. Written on the note was an address.
"She's kind of hot," Puck said, shrugging. Finn looked up in disbelief before shoving Puck in the shoulder.
"I swear, the only brain you have is your penis," Finn muttered. "Isn't this down by all the warehouses and the loading docks?" Finn asked, pointing to the address.
Puck looked down at the paper for a second time. "Yeah. I think so," he said. "Should we call it in? Tell them Florimonte's keeping someone hostage there?"
"No. I'm taking care of it," Finn said. He looked down at Rachel sadly one more time before folding the paper up and putting it in his pocket.
"Dude, don't try and be the damn hero," Puck said quickly. "We've both seen plenty of action flicks, man. This is a trap and you know it."
"I really don't give a shit," Finn answered in a flat voice. "They've got Rachel and she's probably hurt, so I'm going. You can go too or you can stay here. I really don't care, but you can't stop me from going to get her."
Puck looked like he wanted to argue, but he could see no trace of hesitation in Finn's eyes.
"I'm in," Puck said gruffly. "You need someone there to cover your suicidal ass."
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Rachel was tired before, but now she was completely and totally exhausted. Her face was still throbbing; hell, her entire head was just a blob of constant pain. But she sat there, not letting them see her in pain. She wouldn't let them think for a second that they beat her.
Nick was sitting in front of her at a little fold out table; he was playing a card game with three other people, seeming totally at ease. Rachel looked out the window and realized that it was now dark outside. She wasn't sure how long she had been abducted, but it had at least been half a day.
As she sat there, she glared at Nick, wishing that lasers would suddenly start shooting out of her eyes. When she wasn't contemplating Nick's murder, she was thinking about Finn. Had he told the police about her? Did he have any idea where she was? Would he come soon? Part of her wished that he wouldn't since Nick wanted him dead so badly. Nick explained it all to hear earlier.
"You get more time in jail for trying to hurt a cop, dumbass," Nick said, rolling his eyes. "But you? You're forgettable. I know everything about you. You have no friends. Well, not anymore," he said with a smile. "You have no family. No one will miss you. But I'll go down for trying to kill a cop. If he's dead, he can't testify against me."
"Why not just kill me then and look for him?" Rachel asked, feeling offended.
"Trust me bitch, it's tempting," Nick said with a glare. "But I've been watching the two of you. If anything's gonna bring that son of a bitch to me, it's you."
Rachel tried to ask more and more questions, but Nick got annoyed and tied the rag around her mouth again.
Since then, Rachel had been sitting here, wondering how the hell to get out. If she got out, Finn wouldn't be in danger by coming to get her. And if she got free, she could steal one of their guns and take them all out. Like in an action movie.
There was just one problem.
Rachel was a hundred pound girl who was tied tightly to a chair with four large men keeping an eye on her. This wasn't going to be easy, but she was as stubborn as they come.
So she would wait for the perfect opportunity.
Little did she know, Finn and Puck were trying to form a plan of their own.
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What felt like an eternity later, Nick and three of the men had left the room. Before leaving, however, Nick stopped in front of Rachel and smiled sickeningly at her.
"We're keeping an eye on your boyfriend's place. If we see that cop of yours, he'll be dead before he hits the ground," he said, smirking.
Rachel plastered a believable look of terror on her face and started whining a little; her cries were muffled by the rag, but Nick smiled even more widely at her discomfort.
He then left the room and Rachel sank back into a state of deep thought.
I wonder when he'll realize I gave him a fake address, she thought to herself smugly. She reigned in her feeling of accomplishment and focused on the man in the room. He was sitting in one of the chairs, totally and completely not paying attention to Rachel. As she watched him, it seemed like he was getting sleepy. Part of her hoped she wasn't imagining it out of desperation.
While sitting there, Rachel had wiggled around enough that the ropes on her hands and feet were looser than before. They weren't about to just fall off of her or anything, though. She needed something to cut them off.
Rachel looked around her again, with more of a critical eye than before. There were random old filing cabinets around the room and some broken down desks, but she didn't really see anything sharp that could get her loose. She closed her eyes and focused on all of the old action movies she had seen where a person was tied up and tried to get loose.
She didn't have a laser in a watch like James Bond did.
She didn't have a knife hidden somewhere on her.
She couldn't just jump up and break the chair beneath her. That would totally clue the man in on what she was doing.
But the chair was made of wood.
So it had to be put together with nails or screws.
She could totally dig one out and use it to cut herself loose!
Rachel frantically felt around the edges of the chair that she could reach for a nail or a screw that was loose. Now was not the time to think about breaking a nail or something like that!
As she felt around, her heart started to sink; all of the nails were pretty securely in the chair. And her hands couldn't reach much farther.
Her wrist was at a funny angle when she felt something protruding from the back of the chair.
Yes! she screamed in joy in her mind. It hurt like hell, but she started pinching at the nail as hard as she could, shaking it back and forth to loosen it. She tried to keep her grunts to a minimum as she wrestled with the stubborn piece of metal.
Her fingertips were becoming raw and sore when the nail finally came loose. She almost started crying out of pure joy, but now she had to use the nail to cut the rope as best as she could. With the nail in her right hand, she pulled the rope tight with her left and started cutting as best as she could.
The nail slipped a few times, making her cut her left hand.
Great! Now if I get out of here, I'll need a tetanus shot! she thought to herself.
She was slightly grateful though; the cuts distracted her from the pounding in her head, if for only a moment.
She felt like crying in relief again when the rope fell from her hands. So, her hands were free, but she couldn't just start working on freeing her feet with the man sitting there, watching her.
Rachel would have to be patient.
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"That has to be the stupidest plan I've ever heard," Puck complained. They were standing next to another abandoned building; the one that they thought Rachel was in was visible from their spot.
"That's why it's going to work, dumbass!" Finn hissed quietly. "It's so stupid that they won't see it coming."
"So you just want to walk in there, guns blazing, grab her and run away?" Puck asked.
"Not quite. I grab her, bring her to you, and then I take care of Florimonte," Finn explained.
"By yourself?" Puck asked.
"Yes," Finn said firmly. "I need to get Rachel out of harm's way and you're not getting hurt because of me. I need to end this."
"Wait!" Puck said quickly. "If you kill this Nick kid, the rest of his family's going gonna be on your ass, dude. For, like, the rest of time or something!" Finn looked down at the ground, deeply in thought. He knew Puck was right, but what else could he do? Then, an idea popped into his head.
"Call the precinct. Tell them there's suspicious activity down at the docks and disguise your voice. And say that you heard gunshots," Finn added. "We'll go in there and by the time we get Rachel out and everything, the cops should be here."
"You're lucky I brought my phone," Puck muttered, reaching into his pocket. "And if one of us ends up dead or something, I'm kicking your ass."
Finn couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of his statement.
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Finally! Rachel thought to herself as the man dozed off. His head was lolled forward and she could hear him snoring softly.
She brought her hands out from behind her and realized how sore they were from resting in the same position for hours. She stretched quickly, holding in her moans. She then leaned over and started sawing away at the rope that was keeping her bound to the chair.
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"You're too heavy!" Puck complained quietly. One of Finn's feet was in Puck's hand while Puck tried to hoist Finn up so that he could peek into a high window.
"Just hold on," Finn whispered. He grabbed the edge of the windowsill and pulled himself up even further. His arms were shaking in the effort it took to hold himself up while he peeked in the window. What he saw made his heart sore.
Rachel was sitting in a chair, obviously trying to get loose. Across the room, a guy was sleeping, completely oblivious to Rachel in the process of escaping.
"Dude," Puck huffed in exhaustion.
Finn lowered himself from the window. "Put me down," he said. Puck then dropped Finn's foot from his hand. The sudden movement made Finn fall backwards onto his ass. "You could have done it gently!" Finn said.
"Do you have any idea how much you weigh?" Puck said, stretching his arms in front of him.
"Shut up," Finn said in a huff. He got to his feet and turned to face Puck. "Rachel doesn't even need our help. She's almost loose on her own," Finn said with a smile.
"Damn," Puck said, sounding impressed.
"We still have to get her out though," Finn said. Puck nodded in agreement. "Let's go," Finn said.
They walked around to the side of the building where one of the doors was. Finn put his hand on the handle and tried to twist it; the knob twisted, but the door wouldn't open. Finn pulled harder, not wanting to make too much noise.
It still wouldn't budge.
"Shit!" Finn complained. "It's locked from the inside." He checked the other side of the door, trying to find a way to open it. "Puck! Find something I can use for leverage. We'll have to pop the hinges off."
They both then started frantically searching around, looking for something to open the door and free Rachel.
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The rope around her feet broke apart faster than the rope on her hands did. When it did, she jumped up quickly and stumbled a bit. Her head was still bothering her and she was almost sure that she had a concussion. She didn't even want to see how bad the injuries to her face were.
She pushed these thoughts aside and focused on getting to the door. The only other door in the room was the one that Nick and the others took, so she knew that she wouldn't take that one. That left only the door on the other side of the room. The one she had to walk past the sleeping man to get to.
Rachel tiptoed, trying to remain as silent as possible. Her heart was pounding while she worried that at any moment the man could wake up or Nick could come walking right back through the door. She wanted to run toward the door, but that would be too loud. So she had no choice but to walk slowly and quietly.
She was almost to the door when a sudden snore made her jump in fear. Rachel could have sworn that she had a heart attack in that moment. She turned back toward the man and realized that he was still sleeping. She said a quiet prayer of thanks to whoever was listening and continued tiptoeing toward the door.
Once she reached it, her heart seized in her chest.
There was a huge padlock on the door.
Before she could start hyperventilating, she took a deep breath and forced herself to focus. Keep it together, Rachel! Find the key! she told herself.
The search didn't take very long. On a table right next to the door sat a key. Rachel figured either Nick was an idiot or he seriously underestimated her ability to escape. After a second of thought, she realized it was both.
She picked up the key and stepped back toward the door. What if it doesn't fit? she asked herself in a moment of panic. She shook her head lightly, not wanting to irritate the headache, and told herself to shut up and focus.
With a shaky hand, she grabbed the lock and pushed the key in. Her knees weakened slightly when it fit. She could literally smell the fresh air already! Rachel turned the key to the side, heard a faint click and pulled down on the lock.
It came loose!
She pulled it out and put it down on the table with the key. She then turned the knob and pushed the door open.
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Finn and Puck both jumped and looked up from their search when they heard the door open. Finn stood straight up and pulled his gun out of his waistband, pointing it toward the door.
He dropped it to the ground when he saw Rachel limp out of the warehouse.
Rachel had just quietly closed the door when she heard someone running toward her. She looked up and saw Finn with a smile on his face. Although it hurt, Rachel smiled too and threw herself into his arms.
"Baby, I'm so sorry. So sorry. I'm sorry," Finn said over and over again as he hugged her. He kissed her tenderly on her head repeatedly as well.
Rachel couldn't quite respond for a few seconds because she had started crying. She hugged him tighter and tighter, afraid that she was going to be taken from him again.
Puck just stood there awkwardly.
After a few long moments, Finn pushed Rachel away a bit to survey her injuries. Her lip was split, there was a gash on her head, she had two black eyes, and her nose was bleeding.
"What in the world happened to you?" Finn asked in shock.
"I wouldn't tell him where you were," Rachel said quietly.
"But you didn't know where I was," Finn said, sounding confused.
"I know. He didn't believe me. Hence the bruised face," Rachel explained.
"I'm just so glad you're alright," Finn said, pulling her in for another hug.
"Me, too," Rachel said firmly. "I love you."
"I love you, too, Rach. More than you know," Finn said before kissing her softly on the head again.
All three of them looked up when they heard shouting from inside the warehouse.
"I suggest we get the hell out of here," Puck said, sounding nervous. "The cops… well, the other cops are on their way."
"Right," Finn said. He let go of all of Rachel except for her hand and pulled her with him. "Let's go, babe."
Rachel nodded before running alongside Finn. Puck was already to a warehouse across the large lot when they heard the door slam open. They heard more shouting and ran even faster.
"Come on, Rach," Finn said as they ran. Rachel was lagging behind a little, but her head was pounding. She also felt like passing out at any moment.
Rachel jumped in panic when she heard a gun firing. She felt like getting sick when Finn fell to the ground. She jerked to a stop since he was still holding her hand.
"Finn!" Rachel shouted. She looked down at him. He was moaning and holding his side, which Rachel was alarmed to see was slowly becoming covered in blood. "Oh no," she moaned. She looked up and saw that Nick and the man that was sleeping were running at them. They both had guns drawn. "Finn, come on!" she shouted, tugging at him.
Finn rolled to his side and looked up at Rachel. "Just go, Rach. Run," he said.
"No!" she shouted. She was going to argue some more when she felt two strong arms wrap themselves around her. She was then lifted up and pulled backward, away from Finn.
Rachel turned her head and saw that it was Puck that was pulling her.
"Stop it!" she yelled. "Put me down!"
"No," Puck said firmly. Rachel turned and saw that Nick and the other man were getting closer to Finn. Then, her view to them was cut off as Puck rounded the corner to the warehouse.
"Stop!" Rachel shouted. "We can't leave him!" She was put down roughly and she turned to Puck. "Give me your gun," she demanded.
Puck looked at her like she was insane. "What?" he asked.
"Give me your gun," she demanded again. Instead of waiting for him to do it, Rachel snatched it from his hand. She then turned and peeked around the side of the building. Nick was standing over Finn with his gun pointed at his head.
Rachel then spread her legs for balance and aimed before firing the gun.
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Finn closed his eyes right before he heard the sound of a gun firing. He then sat there a moment, fully expecting to be in pain from being shot. Or expecting to be dead and stuff. But he wasn't.
Finn opened his eyes and saw Nick cradling his bloody, gun-less hand, sobbing in pain. He then heard another gunshot. The large man who was standing next to Nick fell to the ground. Before Finn could turn and see who was shooting, Nick was hit again, this time in the leg.
He screamed loudly before landing on the concrete. Finn heard footsteps coming toward him and looked up in time to see Puck kicking the guns away from Nick and his buddy.
"Nice shooting," Finn said, still clutching his side.
"Wasn't me," Puck said with a smirk. He reached his hand out and pulled Finn to his feet. Finn turned and saw Rachel walking toward him slowly with a gun in her hand. Finn closed the distance between them.
"Are you okay?" Rachel asked in a panic.
"I'll be fine," Finn insisted. "The bullet just grazed me." Rachel exhaled in relief before jumping up on her tiptoes to kiss Finn on the lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. He wrapped one of his arms around her, too.
They pulled apart when they heard Puck making gagging noises.
"Shut it, Puckerman," Finn snapped. He was then caught off guard when Rachel punched him hard in the shoulder.
"What was that for?" he yelled in confusion.
"For trying to sacrifice yourself for me!" she shouted. "If you ever do something as idiotic as that again, I'll shoot you."
Finn heard Puck laugh. Rachel stomped over to him and punched him too.
"What the fuck did I do?" Puck asked angrily.
"That's for picking me up and slinging me around like a ragdoll!" Rachel shouted.
They all then heard the sound of sirens approaching, which made them all exhale in relief.
"You were right, Hudson," Puck said. "She's bossy as hell."
Finn heard Puck shout in pain as Rachel punched him again.
He couldn't help but laugh.
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A/N: And there you have it! Thanks SO much for reading and reviewing my little story, guys! It means the world to me that you would leave such kind comments. Please stay tuned for the epilogue!