As she walked down the darkened corridors that she had once known so well Cara tried desperately to focus on the situation they were about to face but her mind was racing. Everything she had been working towards, all she had done for the last four years was lost. She had thought she had finally found her place in life, her role in this world and despite everything that had happened since those last few weeks in Lima she had been hopeful that that would continue.
Now, thanks to that asshole Sebastian telling Rachel about her before she had a chance to talk to Santana properly, that security was lost. She would give anything to be able to talk to her friend, to make her see that although their relationship was initially built on a lie everything she had done since had been true. But if she knew anything about Santana Lopez it was that her trust was difficult to earn and almost impossible to regain.
They were approaching the conference room. She held up her hand to halt the group following her and travelled the final few feet to the corner alone. Pressing her back to the wall she inched towards the edge as slowly and quietly as she could and glanced around it. One guard stood outside the conference room door, his rifle resting in the crook of his arm as he inspected his nails and chewed on his gum like he didn't have a care in the world. She pulled back and leaned her head against the wall. Not a good sign. They knew they were there. They must know where they were headed. Why weren't there more guards?
Cara chanced another look around the corner, trying to make out any other signs of life. There were none but something didn't feel right. She moved slowly back down towards the group, her sense of alarm growing when she took in Santana's battered body, the sweat dripping down her face and the rolling movement of her eyes.
"Are you alright?" She whispered, her eyes narrowing in concern.
"Fine." Santana whispered back, her eyes snapping into focus. "What's going on?"
"One guard on the door." Cara replied. "I don't like it. They must know we're here."
There was movement behind Santana and suddenly the guy with the shaved head walked quickly past them up the corridor. Cara reached out to grab him but was too late and he sauntered round the corner, his rifle slung casually over his back.
"Hey." She heard him say as she looked at Santana in alarm. "I'm here to relieve you."
"Why?" Came the reply as Santana and Rachel had one of their non-verbal exchanges. "My shift doesn't end for another hour."
"Hey, man, I just do what they tell me."
"Oh yeah?" Cara could practically hear the guard squaring up. "Who's they? Cause I gotta tell you, man, I don't recognise…"
They heard the distinctive sound of damage being done to flesh and a body dropping to the floor and then their guy was back, jerking his head to signal the all clear. Cara turned back to Santana who just shook her head and sighed as she moved forward and beckoned to the others to follow. Cara fell into step beside Rachel and chanced a look at her. She was focussed intently on her girlfriend and seemed to be having the same concerns about her that Cara was. Santana was in no shape for this fight. She would give anything to be able to convince Rachel that she had the girl's back, that she wouldn't let anything happen to her, that she would die for her if it came to it, but there was no time. She would just have to prove it.
She snapped her eyes to the front and focussed on the door they had stopped in front of.
"Alright," Santana started quietly. "This is it. Jake, Ryder, cover the corridor to the right. We don't want anyone coming in after us. Tina, Mike, cover the corridor we just came from. Sam, Mercedes, keep your gun trained on Cara and if she tries to get in there or raise the alarm in any way, shoot her."
"What?" She hissed as the blonde guy grabbed her and shoved her against the wall. "Santana…!"
"Rachel, Blaine, let's end this." Santana turned to face the door and squared her shoulders, the shaved guy, Blaine presumably, taking position to her right with a hand on the doorknob. Rachel moved to her left but looked back at Cara with a conflicted expression.
"Santana, please!" Cara cried a little louder. "I can help you! Rachel, please…"
Suddenly her friend span round and cracked her in the jaw with the butt of her gun and kneed her in the crotch. As she dropped to her knees Santana grabbed throat and hissed in her face. "What did I tell you I would do if you ever spoke about Rachel again?"
"Santana…" She heard Rachel say gently. She opened her eyes to see Rachel's hand on Santana's shoulder, gently pulling her away.
"If she speaks again, kill her." She heard her friend say before she shoved her head hard into the wall and let go.
Her ears rang and the edges of her vision started to bleed black. A wave of nausea washed over her but she tried to stand. They couldn't go in there without her. It was a trap, couldn't they see that? She had to help!
"Stay down." A soft voice said to her and a gentle but firm hand pushed her into a sitting position.
She tried to speak but all that came out was a moan and all she could do was watch and let the fear wash over her as Blaine pushed the door open and the three of them walked through it.
Cara shook her head and tried to breath, her eyes wide as she tried desperately to clear her vision and focus her mind. The doors in front of her swung shut and they were gone. She looked down at the floor and saw the fallen guard, his neck at a strange angle and his eyes glassy. She looked to her left and saw two scared looking boys aiming guns with shaking hands down a darkened corridor, eyes twitching between each other and her and their friends at the other corner. She looked up at the blonde guy standing guard over her, his gun aimed at her head and his ridiculous mouth set into a sharp line. To her right, a soft hand on her shoulder, Mercedes looked down at her with sad eyes and shook her head gently. At the other end of the corridor Mike held his corner with a determined stance, as if he was born to do it. Tina returned her gaze and covered her boyfriend, but her eyes showed the conflict within her. As she regained her senses Cara pleaded with her eyes for Tina to take her side, to help her get into the room and back Santana and Rachel up, but the girl looked away and didn't speak.
And so here she was. She had lost the trust of the person she cared about most in all the world. Sure, she had come into her life by deception but in the time they had known each other she had come to love Santana like a sister. She had seen through that bitchy, hard exterior and gotten to know a woman who was fiercely loyal, frighteningly intelligent and so surprisingly soft and gentle when she wanted that it made your head spin. She had started off as Sue Sylvester's spy and it was true that the woman had saved her life, but Santana Lopez had given her something to live for. If she had been asked to choose between the two of them there would have been no contest. And now all she could do was sit here and wait as the person she had sworn she would always protect walked straight into a trap and there was nothing she could do about it.
As if on cue a shot rang out and she heard Rachel's voice let out a single shout. Sam's eyes snapped towards the door and she used the distraction to snap his wrist up and take his gun. She shrugged Mercedes hand off her shoulder and lurched towards the door, ignoring Sam's cry of pain as he cradled his arm.
"Cara, stop!" She heard Mercedes yell from behind her but there was no way she was stopping. She crashed through the door, her movements still a little woozy, rolled down the flight of stairs she had forgotten were there and landed in a heap at the bottom.
She lay there for a moment, winded and trying to make sense of the scene, before a hand grabbed her and pulled her out of the way just as a shot rang out and a bullet entered the floor where her head had just been. A pair of extremely annoyed and icy blue eyes glared at her before Sue Sylvester put a finger to her lips and returned to her position. Cara bit back on a wave of nausea and clutched at her ribs, shaking her head to clear it before drawing in a shaky breath and raising her gun. They were crouched behind the low wall which divided the seating area of the conference room from the presentation area. Her entrance had not been exactly subtle and she knew that whoever had been shooting would know exactly where she was. The question was who had been shooting and which side had her rescue put her on? Sue had begun moving further down the line to the next aisle, her own weapon raised in front of her. Cara could see no other movement in that direction so she shakily moved back the way she had come and hesitantly chanced a look out into the space.
On the small stage at the front of the room stood Russell Fabray, a demented grin on his face as he held a knife to Santana's throat. One of his guards had Rachel pressed face down onto the podium as two others were making their way round the aisles in search of, she supposed, herself, Sue and Blaine.
And behind Russell, strung up by his arms, naked, castrated and disembowelled, was Puck.