A/N: Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the taste of how awesome and badass Beca is in this fic from chapter 1, but now we shift our focus to our beloved Barden Bellas… or in this case, Barden Tower residents!
And we get to meet Bumper and his crew?
And, AND, Chloe meets Beca for the first time?! But how on earth will this meeting go?
PS: The meaning of the title is revealed in the chapter For all other chapter titles in Italian, I'll tell you what they mean in the notes, it'll be a spoiler if I translate it now.
I don't own pitch perfect.
Scream or throw the remote against the TV. In her head, that was Aubrey's two options. In truth, there was a third option, to keep it all in, but it's making Aubrey so sick to her stomach that she might just puke. And if she does, well, there won't be any stopping to that.
Emily, the one and only paralegal in the newly renamed Beale and Posen law firm, sensed this and almost instinctively handed her the two nearest trash bins from her seat in their small office in Barden Tower.
But Aubrey didn't accept it. Instead, she let out a slow shrill of pain, anguish, anger, and frustration.
It was followed by a slam of the fists on the desk at the heart of their office and low grumbling noises. There, the man who started the law firm, the one who was more of a father figure to Aubrey in the last couple of years than her own father, Christopher Beale, looked just as frustrated as she was.
Uncle Chris, as Aubrey had gotten used to calling him, leaned back on his chair, took of his glasses, and rubbed the sides of his temples. Wisps of white and red strands fall upon his face, his hair a grisly mess these days, although at least he still keeps his beard well-trimmed. Both of them, Emily too, have been putting in all their efforts in securing a win for their latest case, and one with great stakes, a high-profile lawsuit against Babel Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of the Babel group of companies. Babel's rise to power in the last twenty years had been astronomical, they had a major company in every sector in the industry. They have become titans, and the mortal enemy of Uncle Chris.
Because to Christopher Beale, the last twenty years was helping so many of their victims. In their climb for success, they have used and thrown away so many of those who could not stand and defend themselves. Case in point, their law firm had recently filed a lawsuit against Babel Pharm in behalf of the remaining family members of test subjects in a clinical trial for their new drug RDU-90. All volunteer subjects died from their new test substance, their deaths covered up as Babel conducted the illegal study to march on with their development, paying off the right officials to make sure everything looks like business as usual.
They finally secured their star witness, one of the chemists in the R&D team responsible for the development and manufacture of RDU-90 from Babel Pharm have had enough and wanted to come clean.
At least, before he released a statement saying that his testimony in the on-going high-profile trial was false and their case is currently being dismantled by the sudden scrutiny of the press, dismissing their claims as false and their motivations as nothing but a money-grabbing opportunity for the family members who may just be people who have it out against Babel.
There was no doubt about it, their key witness had been bribed by Babel, or perhaps by the law firm representing Babel, Dieter Schmeichel Matterson Law Firm, or DSM. On the screen is the law firm's current CEO, the son-in-law of the one of the founding partners, Pieter Kramer, and his current favorite lawyer protégé, her best friend, Uncle Chris' one and only daughter, Chloe Beale.
What on earth is Chloe doing in the enemy camp? Aubrey chuckled at the irony of it really. In a way, one could have expected her to be working for DSM and Chloe with her dad. But the problem with defending the helpless is that you don't usually make a lot of profit, which meant a lot of financial woes to keep things a float and a whole lot of student debt. This meant that Chloe took up the chance of working at a top firm, woefully choosing to be naïve and believing that it's not her place to decide whether someone is guilty of not, the judges had that job. All she had to do was defend her clients the best she could.
Aubrey on the other hand, came from a prominent family that's well connected. Her parents expected her to work for a top firm like DSM, but Aubrey felt so disenchanted by the world of the rich. Coupled with meeting Chloe in college and learning about the cases her father had handled, and well, Aubrey felt like her path was to champion for those who needed her help. Besides, she had a cushy trust fund from her dad who doesn't seem to care much that she failed to commit to their plans for her granted she wins her cases. To be fair, that's what she's been doing, except for whenever she was up against Babel.
If it was any consolation, Aubrey knew that Babel, and DSM by extension, kept winning only because they played dirty. How many of their lawyers were actually dirty was the question, because whenever she had the chance to speak with Chloe, her best friend still believed that they were doing nothing wrong, and that her father's own frustrations were blinding him of the fact that they simply had a more solid case.
Their law firms individual wallowing for the day was interrupted by a knock on the door. Aubrey shook her head and smoothed the creases on her skirt and suit just in case it was a new client, or one of their current ones. Uncle Chris did the same as Emily stood up from her desk to answer the door.
"Oh, it's just you Mr. Calloway," Emily said, letting in their landlord.
"Oh, come on, Emily, I told you to just call me Luke," he responded with a jovial smile.
Aubrey sighed as she saw the tall well-built figure of their landlord make its way into their office. Luke wasn't a bad landlord. Despite owning Barden Tower, he's actually quite amicable with the tenants, always checking in on them. But there's something about him that Aubrey didn't quite fully trust. For one thing, Barden Tower wasn't exactly in its best shape. It runs fine but there's always leaks in a pipe somewhere, a HVAC problem, and he never seemed to be too eager to renovate the old tower since he had acquired it. That was the first and last time he had someone do some renovations, and it was in the basement of all places so Aubrey wasn't entirely sure what he improved then since nothing seems to be permanently fixed. Their lease was fair for both the commercial spaces on the first three floors of the tower and residential spaces in the upper four floors of the tower. He never seems to bother to lease any newly vacant space either except for the new tenant that arrived just the day before from out of nowhere, some quite Asian woman who Aubrey hadn't personally spoken to. It was a surprise to hear they'll have a new tenant, and a friend of Luke's to that.
Something was up.
Luked great them with a good morning with his usual charms in full effect before noticing the foul mood that persisted within the space.
"I'm guessing it's not that good of a morning then," he said with an awkward smile this time as he ran a hand through his blond hair.
"What can we do for you, Luke?" Uncle Chris asked.
"We have a new tenant in the residential spaces coming in today, she'll be with us for a short while. She's actually an old friend of mine," Luke started to say, "I was planning on showing her around in the afternoon once she gets settled in and wanted to check with you guys if you'd be in here, you know? Check in, make sure you won't be too busy. She's a lawyer too, and she gives great counsel in case you'd like to make use of her services. She can't practice here though."
"Why not?" Emily asked.
"Well, I mean, she's Italian. She'd need to do an accelerated JD program to practice here, and I don't think she's interested in doing just that."
"I don't see the harm in that," he then replied. "Sure, show 'em here, maybe that friend of yours might have an idea how to balance the uneven scales of justice."
Luke gave out an awkward chuckle before clearing his throat, something that Aubrey did not miss. "I'll see you later then," he said before showing himself out.
It looked like things were about to get interesting.
Barden Tower stood proudly at the heart of midtown-Atlanta. The neighborhood it was situated in had seen quite a bit of transformation over the last fifty years since it's been built. While Barden Tower has had some improvements too, not much work has been done on it since Luke's former boss, Wan Shi Tong had bought the tower five years ago.
The first three floors of the building were an open mall-like space, with stores lining the halls of the second and third floors and railed walkways that looked down on the open square below. The last four floors had residential apartments for rent, with the rooftop of the building used as a communal barbecue and former garden space. The basement also contained some shops, but most of them were now closed, except for one.
Business was booming all around, but to the newer buildings and nicer commercial spaces around, Barden felt more like a derelict remnant of days gone by. It wasn't that bad, and the structure itself was safe, stable, and sound. But Luke needed it to be as close to a ghost town as possible to ensure a smooth process of achieving their plans.
Former residents have left, no new one had come until Beca sent her body guard ahead of time – it's all part of the deceptive nature of their schemes, an insider they wanted to plant to convince the tenants to move their residents and business elsewhere. Because yes, some of its former tenants, the ones already leasing either residential or commercial spaces - both for those still there - still hadn't left. They stuck by their beloved Barden Tower through the years and chose not to move, no matter what better opportunity or place presented itself to them as part of Luke's orchestrations.
Even now that Babel E&C, a thorn to Luke's side, has been persistently trying to purchase the building from him, they still refused to be bought and move out.
But time was ticking. They needed them gone, and hopefully with Beca here, things would go smoother.
Luke first met Beca seven years ago. The UK was still his primary residence at the time, but his former job had him placed in Italy for a year. Luke got in trouble with the local gang in his neighborhood and, a chance encounter with a suave fresh out of college, Beca Mitchell was ultimately saved his life. This wasn't an understatement either. He truly did owe Beca whatever he had now. He would have been beaten, tortured, and then killed otherwise, that's why he swore he would always be there when the time came that she needed his help.
After the "Italian job," or so Luke called it, he found himself situated within the close circles of one Wan Shi Tong, an international crime lord wanted by the CIA, FBI, MI6, Interpol… and practically every other intelligence and criminal agency worldwide, for his smuggling and drug trafficking empire. About five years ago, Wan Shi Tong found himself in a bit of a pickle. He needed help, and the number of people who he could trust had slowly dwindled. Fearing partly for his life, and wanting to ingratiate himself with his boss, Luke offered to set up a meeting between Beca and his employer to help him hide and protect what mattered the most to him. It was an opportunity presenting itself, and Luke knew, Beca could use it somewhere down the line. Especially since Wan Shi Tong was at the point of his life where he was mortally ill, his days dwindling down with uncertainty of when it would be the last.
Beca seized this partnership and formulated her plans with Luke. When Wan Shi Tong passed away two years ago, Luke received a call from Beca. The price of her help back then was that the building would then become Beca's, but Beca, worried that her adoptive brother might eventually figure out her plans should the day of Don Fabio's death came, decided it would be safest to have the building under Luke's name as a cover for her, after all he's been managing the building since Wan Shi Tong acquired it.
And that they did.
Don Fabio soon died two years later.
And here they were.
Beca Mitchell was as impeccably dressed as always, that was Luke's first thought when she saw Beca arrive in the sleek Cadillac sedan Lilly was driving, Lilly under the cover of a Lyft and Uber driver. She wore a soft white button down made of a material Luke wasn't sure of but assumed was expensive, a light blue blazer jacker, and a pair of blue shorts that matched. It looked to be tailor-fit to her, with initials of the tailor sewed on the hems of the sleeves. She wore a pair of white leather loafers to keep things a little bit casual. Her hair was all swept to the side, and finished the few earrings she sported on her ear and one of her beloved bespoke watches on her writs. Beca removed her designer sunglasses as she walked towards Luke after Lilly dropped her off. How Beca made it look so effortless to walk with a suitcase and briefcase in one hand and another open and waiting for Luke to give her a brief welcoming hug – he has earned that honor from their hears of friendship – while her fingers delicately held her sunglasses, Luke doesn't know. But that was the thing about Beca, she always made even the most complicated f things look so easy. Child's play even.
And that's without her getting serious. Luke pitied the fool who would ever try to push Beca's boundaries and make her serious.
"Ciao, amico," Beca greeted, giving Luke that brief hug which he returned.
"For a long flight, you look well-rested, I'm glad," Luke then said. "How are you, my friend?"
"Oh, you know how it is," Beca replied before urging him to walk and talk. "Paulo's plans have been foiled for now, but we can't waste any time. I hope things are running smoothly."
"Define smooth" Luke commented. She showed Beca the way to the elevators and up to where her apartment was on the seventh floor. It was a one-bedroom flat formerly used by a couple who stayed there until a year after their baby was born and they realized they needed more space at a better place. The bright yellow paint of the walls was already chipping off and looked dull. Above on the ceiling, Beca could make out glow and the dark patterns of stars and planets littered all over the apartment. The kitchen was clean, despite the oil stains on the backsplash behind the stove, and there was a small laundry area next to the limited pantry space. The washer and dryer worked, and Luke even had a dry cleaner installed in case Beca needed it for her suits. There was one bathroom in the master's bedroom, no bathtubs, just an old small shower. To say Beca was not impressed would be an understatement, but it didn't look like she minded it much. The bed was already made, and the limited closet space was just enough for Beca. On the desk was a large black case of items that Beca had requested Luke to procure ahead of time.
"I do hope you enjoy your stay here," Luke said, trying to put a bit of enthusiasm in his comment.
Beca sighed. "I guess it wouldn't be bad for the short while I'm here," she replied. It was the safest place for to be too. She could get to know the tenants and help drive them out, all while keep a low profile in case Paulo decides not to heed her warning. No hotel bookings meant it would be harder to track her down, and Beca had prepared her finances in advance with Lilly so that she wouldn't have to use any credit cards while in the states. Even her plane ticket was purchased in advance with cash.
"So, do you wanna meet our lovely tenants, or would you prefer to rest first?" Luke asked.
"I'm good to get started, how are they reacting to Lilly?"
"Lilly's quiet and more low profile than you – " Luke started to say.
"What do you mean, I'm low profile, this is low profile," Beca interjected.
"Well then, even more low profile," Luke corrected. "They're interested in getting to know her and have given her a warm welcome."
Beca nodded. "That's good, and the rest?"
"Why don't you see for yourself," Luke said. "I already told them a friend of mine has arrived today and would be a new tenant here, so they should be expecting you. That would make it easier for us to be seen conversing without them being too suspicious of anything, motives for example."
"Now why would they be suspicious?" Beca asked as they headed out of the apartment, and Luke decided to fill her in about the problem that was Babel E&C and their desire to build Babel Tower where Barden Tower stood.
"I heard about them, on the news on the radio, something about a case against Babel Pharm," Beca said coolly. "Let's play it by ear when it comes to them, but be careful. We can't let them get this building," Beca warned as she stepped out of the elevator with Luke and out into the third floor. "We can't let them find what we're hiding," Beca added before casting her eyes down at her feet.
But Luke knew better, he knew where her eyes and thoughts were.
Luke gave her a firm nod. "Now, ready to face the wolves?"
"Wolves?" Beca asked as Luke ushered her off to their first tenant.
The third floor had a number of closed shops, the only two places of interest was the Italian restaurant near the elevator which piqued Beca's interest. She seemed to be delighted to try out some dishes from home that she no doubt already missed.
As they entered Beca noticed the mostly empty tables. Only one seemed to be occupied by a pair of amateur bloggers. She didn't let that dampen her spirits though, assuming that the place was only empty because of their subtle efforts of driving the tenants out.
"Beca, this is Cynthia Rose," Luke said, introducing Beca to the chef, and only server, of the restaurant. "We call her CR," Luke went on as Cynthia Rose extended a hand to shake Beca's, "CR this is my good friend, Beca Bella. She's actually from Italy and is very much excited to try some of your authentic dishes. I'm sure you'd impress her with it, since you did say you studied the culinary arts in Italy, right?" he added, hoping to create something she can bond with Beca and create a trusting friendship on. All part of the plan.
"Oh, my pleasure to meet you," Cynthia Rose then said. Panic briefly flashed by her eyes when Beca responded in Italian. "Si, si," then said with uncertainty.
Beca quirked an eyebrow and something soon told Luke it was probably a bad idea that she mentioned CR having been to Italy.
"So, where did you study? In Venice? At the Uffizi?" Beca then asked in English.
"Ah, yes," was CR's quick response.
Beca looked unimpressed and nodded before turning to leave for the exit. Luke quickly followed, but before they could leave, Beca paused, turned around and smiled. "By the way, the Uffizi is an art gallery in Florence, I suggest using Google to complete the details of your fake story," she said.
"Are the rest of the tenants a bunch of frauds? Or people with checkered pasts?" Beca asked as soon as the door to the restaurant closed behind them.
"Caught one in a lie that quick, huh?" Luke asked. "I was hoping you could have bonded over Italy. We need them to like you, Beca."
"Then they probably should have opened a French restaurant instead," was Beca's quick response. "Where to next?"
Luke sighed and pointed Beca to the direction of the dance studio across the floor. The dance studio occupied a quarter of the space of the third floor but, just like the Italian restaurant, it was mostly empty when they stepped inside.
The studio mostly had glass walls all around, with a giant floor to ceiling window and a chair that looked like a hand on one corner. It looked kind of gloomy, just like its owner and sole instructor, Denise, who was sitting on the hand chair while she had her head in her hand.
Luke made the brief introductions before Denise looked over to where Beca was standing, unmoved. Beca took a step forward to introduce herself but Denise didn't much react. When Beca asked if she was okay, she stood up rather dramatically, all "woe is me" and put on an interpretative dance that tried to depict her life as a struggling and misunderstood artist.
Both Luke and Beca was confused, Luke assuring Beca that she was normally not like this before ushering her back into the elevator. Off to the second floor they went.
The second floor wasn't any much different with that of the third floor. Most of the shops were closed other than that of four. With the weird interaction with Denise and Beca calling out CR's façade on her expertise, Luke figured a much quicker introduction would do.
Once they passed by the tailor shop, Luke knocked on the glass window of the small space and waved at Benji. It worked just as well because Benji, their local tailor and dry cleaner, was working on steam cleaning suit jacket. He looked a little disgruntled but Benji always had a kind smile on his face. Not this time though as he gave Beca a quick glare and reached for the closest pair of shears. Luke gently backed away and decided to usher Beca on to the next place.
As they walked through the walkway and neared the small piano school, Luke could hear a rather ominous piece being played on the piano. Beca named the piece and walked on ahead, peering through the small spaces of the glass window and past the closed blinds of the piano school. Luke knocked on the glass door and the music stopped playing. The two of them stood there for a while and when no one would greet them by the door Beca decided to look back at the glass window. Luke had to hold back a chuckle as Beca all but yelped and jumped back, the blinds now open and Stacie, their resident pianist was looking at them ominously, her head bent down at an angle. Even Luke was a little bit scared by the strange behavior the tenants were exhibiting.
Third on the list of the second floor was Flo, the owner of a small canteen. But both Luke and Beca all but comically turned as soon as they stepped foot inside and heard Flo cooking something in a boiling pot cackling like a witch. Beca insisted the tenants were either all crazy or they've decided to put on an elaborate prank to scare her away. "They're probably thinking you're about to sell out to Babel," she noted.
"And they probably think that you represent Babel in some way," Luke then said. "Well at least, the next group is sane and not that into kooky ideas."
"Are you sure?" Beca asked, a little uncertain.
Luke nodded and guided her down to the opposite side of the building where the law office of Beale and Posen was located.
And sure enough, Luke was right, they weren't crazy, just crazy busy. When they entered the law office, both Aubrey Posen and Cristopher Beale looked up from where they were seated behind their desks, buried in the stack of paper work. Emily, their ever so bubbly paralegal, was warm and welcoming though, a contrast to the brief, icy and cold greetings and scrutinizing stares that the two lawyers gave Beca. Emily apologized on their behalf explaining that they're just overworked and overstressed with the case against Babel. The comment earned her a glare from Aubrey before she returned her attention to her work, while a more curious glance came from Cristopher Beale. Beca was about to say something but decided to hold back on any comments. She decided to decline Emily's offer for a cup of coffee. Luke couldn't help but wonder if it's because all Beca could see were k-cups and a Keurig machine in their law office. Still, Luke could see Beca was deep at thought, the gears of her mind undoubtedly turning.
They soon excused themselves and Luke took her down to the first floor where the only shop open was the pawn shop that belonged to Ashley and Jessica, a young married couple. But before they could even get close to the pawn shop, they could hear the two women arguing, yelling threats at each other.
"I promise you they are a loving couple," Luke said before turning Beca's attention to the elevators once again.
"Then it is undoubtedly a show," Beca commented.
The last place they visited, much to Beca's bewilderment, was the temple.
That's right, a modern Buddhist temple, or so claimed by the sole monk inside, Amy, who insists that the temple be a place for anyone who practices any religion or none but that seeks enlightenment by following the ways of the Buddha. There was a small disclaimer on the poster outside the temple that they are not an official temple but a place that offers shelter for any who is lost and that all donations were non-refundable, and no, they are not a cult, and no, this was not a scam, monk Amy truly desires to seek enlightenment along with anyone else who so desires it.
"This is our main problem," Luke said in a whisper after he had slightly opened the door to point to Amy, wearing the traditional robes of a monk but without sporting the shaved head look, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the room, meditating.
"At least she's not as insane as the others," Beca commented.
"Oh, Becky, just you wait," Luke said with a chuckle before closing the door.
"The entrance is right beneath the mat that Amy is meditating on, and she rarely leaves the temple," Luke then noted in hushed tones.
"Then we'll just have to find a reason for her to move out of the temple, even for a day," Beca then said resolutely. "I think I get the picture overall though, let's take the evening off to regroup and talk about our approach with the tenants tomorrow. I'll circle back with Lilly too, ask her about her observations of the tenants."
"Sounds good, you be careful with your neighbors, Beca," Luke jested.
"Same here, and let me know if Babel E&C ever approaches you. From what I've heard so far, something's fishy about that company, I can feel it."
Luke nodded and the two separated ways. For the most part, Babel E&C have only made formal business approaches that Luke had promptly declined. The building was not for sale. Would Beca and Luke inevitably need to dismantle the building from top to bottom? Possibly. But that's up them how, and that's only a desperate measure they're willing to consider once they've exhausted all others.
The rest of the day went smoothly for Luke, with regards to his routines. He checked back on the tenants after their antics for the day and the group, gathered at Flo's canteen, apologized. They weren't sure if Beca was a friend or foe and after the encounter with Cynthia Rose, the resident chef sent a message to the group that their new neighbor was a little too smart and well-dressed to be there for good reasons, apparently hiding the reason to why Beca called her out away from the group. It was enough to get everyone on the same side. Why on earth would someone like Beca choose to live there anyways? It was only thanks to Lilly, who the tenants had already taken a liking to, that they apologized.
After such a long day, Luke was looking forward to a nice quiet dinner at home with his wife. She was his piece of normal in the crazy life he lived, her and their one-year-old daughter. But that peaceful meal had to be forgotten.
When he got home, they had some uninvited guests, a group of men in masks, their group leader in an atrocious looking button-down shirt and suit combo. The leader handed him a piece of paper, a document. He didn't have to guess who the employers were.
He was given a simple choice. Any wrong move would have put the lives of his wife and kid in danger.
He just had to hope Beca would be able to see a way out of the situation.
All it took was one signature, and immediately Babel skyrocketed to the list of their concerns.
Luke couldn't sleep that night. After the men left, he made sure he was there to reassure his wife that the bad men would never return. He kept checking on his baby all night too, make sure she was okay.
As soon as dawn broke, Luke found himself in his car, driving straight to Barden Tower, his phone connected to his car dashboard so he could inform Beca of Babel's threat as soon as he could.
Beca picked up on the second ring, but Luke never had a chance to say anything else.
It all happened in a blink of an eye, and he had no choice but trust his reflexes in instincts as best he could to maneuver the car before a truck coming from the left had rammed his side of the car.
Luke wasn't sure what happened after.
The last thing he could remember was hearing Beca's voice on the other end of the line, frantically calling out to him.
Then, everything faded to black.
Chloe was humming as she made her way from her spot in the parking lot to the elevator of their building. She was still feeling on a high from a recent victory from her end on the current case she was I charge of with Babel Pharmaceuticals. She still wasn't sure how the opposition's star witness decided to come clean – her intern, Chicago, said that it was probably his conscience that pushed him to do so – but now that he came out to retract his earlier statements, the rest of the trial should be smooth sailing. Barring any surprising developments, they just need a strong closing remark to all but ensure their victory.
"Good morning, boss," Chicago said, as he stepped out on the elevator next to hers almost simultaneously and into the DSM offices.
"Good morning! Did you just get here?" was Chloe's reply.
"Yeah, had a bit of fun last night," Chicago chirruped.
"Oh, date night?" Chloe then asked amused.
"No, no, just fun with a friend on an ice-skating rink. We played a few one-on-one games of hockey. Besides, you know I only have eyes for you," Chicago said with a charming smile.
Chloe chuckled. "Well dream on then. I'm your boss, and you're the intern. Never gonna happen," was her quick reply as they marched into her office.
Chicago was about to throw her his best attempt at puppy dog eyes before their CEO, Pieter Kramer, walked into Chloe's office with an envelope in hand, and a bright sun shinny mood.
"There's my star attorney!" he greeted as he handed the envelope to her.
"What's this for?" Chloe asked confused.
"Just a little bonus for our successful trial. I know, I know, a little bit preemptive to celebrate, but we all know the outcome already. Good job, Chloe," he said. "I didn't think you had it in you to crush your father's case like this, but you proved me wrong."
"It's a job, and a case is a case. A good attorney needs to defend their clients to the best of their abilities."
"And I agree. You know what, since you did such a good job, maybe you should take a day off today. I'll grant you one day of extra paid leave, how about it? Go check on your father and all."
"I doubt he'll want to see me," Chloe commented.
"Do I get an extra day off too?" Chicago then asked.
"No," was Pieter curt and brief response before turning his attention back to Chloe. "Oh, I insist. Show him we're not the monsters he thinks we are. Besides, I had dinner last night with the big boss and -"
"The big boss?" Chicago asked, interrupting Pieter.
Pieter let out an exasperated sigh. "Interns need to learn to stay quiet and speak only when spoken to," he said to Chicago before addressing Chloe once again. "I heard from our favorite client, the CEO of Babel himself, they just sealed the deal for their desired location of the soon to be inaugurated and built Babel Tower."
"And?" Chloe pressed on.
"It's Barden Tower, where I believe your papa has his offices. He, the big boss, wants to makes sure the acquisition goes smoothly. Tell him we'll even help him relocate his law office. We don't want any of the current tenants to do anything crazy or hasty."
"I don't think my father will, but he might look into how to stop you legally if the tenants ask, if that's what your concerned of."
"Right, well then, go check on them and enjoy the rest of the day, go on." Pieter said rather enthusiastically. Chicago looked like he was going to volunteer to join Chloe but before he could say anything Pieter already gave him a list of things to do.
Chloe wasn't going to do as she was told, but she figured she could at least check in on Emily and Aubrey, and the rest of the residents there. If Babel secured Barden Tower, it means Luke finally decided to sell, and the tenants should might have been compensated as well. She figured that Pieter just wants to make sure that they were happy with the compensation and not make any false claims if they suddenly change their mind. Maybe see if they could help with relocating them just to make things as easy as can be for their top client.
Chloe has heard about the plans for Babel Tower for a while now, mostly through the grapevine that was her boss. A new residential and commercial building at the heart of mid-town Atlanta, one that would become the central hub, that towers over the city's skyline. It was to develop a new, far more advanced and progressive neighborhood.
Lofty dreams and with the money Babel had, she wouldn't be surprised that they would achieve it.
Chloe wasn't really sure what she was expecting when she arrived at Barden Tower. Perhaps she expected business as usual, the tenants being their usual kooky selves. Maybe a bit of excitement for a new opportunity, the hunt for someplace new to live and start their business in, not some old forgotten building in a neighborhood that was moving forward and leaving them behind.
What she didn't expect was the ruckus that she found on the second floor of the tower, in the walkway leading to her father's law offices.
On one side, was her ever stubborn father, smack dab in the middle of the group. Right next to him was Aubrey, glaring down the opposition. Behind the two was the tall, hard to ignore figure of Emily Junk.
All the other tenants were gathered around them, talking all the same time and pointing to some flyers at hand. One had fallen on the floor of the walkway near where Chloe stood. She picked it up and saw that it was an eviction notice.
Chloe walked towards the group and stopped a few feet short of the opposition group, all dressed in flashy suits that Chloe assumed they were about to audition for a show about the yakuza, at the heart of the group was Bumper Allen, the leader of the notorious Treblemakers, and his righthand man, Donald.
The Treblemakers were a small gang of notorious never-do-wells causing hilarious and inconvenient pranks around the city back when Chloe was still a teenager. They grew to be more like neighborhood bullies, picking fights, and beating up anyone who didn't go along with their whims. They were called the Treblemakers thanks to a misspelled banner that one of their members once placed over the sign of the hole in a wall bar downtown that they once took over as their base for a day.
Recently, Chloe heard, they have come to the employment of Babel E&C as sort of security group to ensure that no "trespassers" would squat in their development projects.
"What's going on?" Chloe asked confused.
"I could ask you the same, Chloe." Aubrey had a stern look on her face. She was pissed, arms crossed, and glaring at her. Like all best friends, Chloe and Aubrey had their fair share of disagreements. This was the first time Chloe saw her this mad at her.
"Why ask her, we both now she'll rationalize this somehow," Chloe's father added in a disappointing voice. That didn't come much as a surprise. They're relationship had somehow deteriorated over the years since she finished law school. He didn't really approve of much of her life's decisions.
"I could ask the same question," she then heard someone say in the distance. Curious at who it was, Chloe looked back behind her. A petite young woman in a dark grey suit ensemble and white button down came marching down the walkway. She didn't look pleased at the situation at all but there was an air of cool calmness and confidence about her. She stopped right next to Chloe, just beside the railings that looked down the square below, stormy blue eyes shining with steeled determination about getting an answer.
The tenants all but chorused "YOU!" in response before they started talking over each other, before deciding to blame the new comer.
One of the tenants, a new one it seemed, since Chloe wasn't sure she had seen the petite Asian woman before, whistled and got everyone's attention.
"And who are you supposed to be?" Bumper asked with a chortle, acknowledging the girl next to Chloe.
"Bella," she said coolly. "Becca Bella, and who are you supposed to be? The try-hard thugs?"
The Treblemakers, Trebles for short, didn't look too pleased with that response.
"W-wait, you're not with them?" Chloe heard Flo asked.
"Why would I be associated with these motley crew? I'd rather be dead." Beca replied.
"Why I oughta- " Donald started to say before Bumper stopped him.
Bumper stepped forward, an attempt to assert dominance as he straightened out his suit jacket, and Beca did the same thing, hands in her pocket. Donald and the rest of the Trebles did the same, stopping just behind Bumper but crowding Beca.
"We're the new owners of the building, or rather, our employers are. See, the old owner sold it to us practically for free. Let's just say we're good friends of the family," Bumper explained, his arrogance on full display. Chloe couldn't help but notice Beca's facial muscles twitch at the mention of Luke's family however.
"Ah, I see," she said calmly. "You're the goober who threatened his family then, forced him to sign in exchange for their lives, and then caused his accident and sent him to the hospital."
"Hold on, What?" Aubrey asked shocked to hear the news.
"Luke's in the hospital, you lot should visit him later," Beca commented, never taking his eyes on Bumper.
"Well, then you should listen to us when we say get the hell out of here now that you know what happens to tenants who can't comprehend what the notice says then," Bumper replied. "Do we really need to emphasize the 'or else' bit before you get the severity of the situation? You don't want to mess with us."
Beca hummed and shook her head. She remained unfazed by the threat. "No," she said with a smile. "You listen to me," she went on, placing a hand on Bumper's shoulder. "You all will leave now, report to your bosses that Barden Tower is off-limits for as long as I'm here and it's under my protection, or you'll understand what it means to mess with me."
Beca removed her hand from Bumper's shoulder but not before giving it two pats. She smiled at them before nodding towards the direction of the elevator. "So, what are you waiting for, off you go?"
"Boss, this chick doesn't get it, I don't hit girls but it feels like she's disrespecting us too much," Donald then said to Bumper.
Bumper cleared his throat. "Listen, pipsqueak. Buzz off, go look for your mommy or daddy, or something, and leave the talking to the adults."
Beca sighed, "You don't really wanna piss me off. Take the hint and take your goobers out of here. I can't even take you guys seriously as goons or henchmen. Your outfits and color coordination hurt my eyes too much."
"Okay you know what, that's it," Donald said, and threw the first punch at Beca.
Or at least attempted to. But Beca was quick at blocking him, twisting his arm, bending and pulling it off in a direction. Chloe wasn't sure what just happened but it seemed like Beca Bella might have dislocated his shoulder thanks to that movement.
All hell broke lose in the next minute, possibly less, as the rest of the Treblemakers attacked Beca, but she deftly handled each an everyone of them. A kick to the shins, a precise hit on the nape of the neck, slaps to the ears, a punch or an elbow to the nose. There were about twenty of them, twenty one if Bumper was included, and all dropped like flies as Beca danced around and countered their movements with ease.
"Are we done?" Beca then asked.
Bumper, not wanting to look like a fool in front of his men pulled out a switch blade and attacked Beca. But Beca quickly disarmed him, broke his nose and then flipped him over and tossed him over the railing. Bumper hung out it by the scruff of his neck, Beca clenching on his collars with her right hand, the left one anchoring the other. Despite her frame, Beca was strong. Very strong.
The Trebles shook themselves off and tried to help their leader as Bumper screamed and cried for help. Beca released one finger from her clutch on Bumper's collar, halting them all where they were trying to stand or crawl. Bumper tried to reach out to the railing but Beca simply warned him to do so by stabbing the knife she took from him on the spot where his hand would have landed.
"Do I have your attention now?" Beca asked through gritted teeth. It wasn't without a lot of effort that she was holding onto Bumper in a delicate position. "Or will my hand get tired and completely let go of you. The drop doesn't look to bad. You might have a few broken bones though but I think you'd match perfectly with Luke. You can be hospital buddies, if you want."
"N-no, no, please. I'm listening, just don't let go, please, please," Bumper pleaded.
"Good," Beca responded. "Get out of here then, scram. And I better not see you here again or next time I'm dropping you from the third floor."
"B-b-but Babel," Bumper argued.
"Questo edifico è mio (This building is mine)," Beca said. "Capisce?"
"Uh, uh, yes? Yes, whatever you say, just pull me up," Bumper cried out.
Beca offered her left hand to Bumper and helped him up. Once over the railings, Bumper tried to steady his shaking legs, asking for the Trebles to help him out.
From the tenants, Chloe heard Stacie ask CR what Beca just said since she knew Italian. CR simply said it was something like "Long live Italy."
"That doesn't sound right," Emily commented, but Lilly saved CR from explaining herself by clapping and cheering on Beca.
The rest of the tenants followed suit.
"So, you're really not with them," Ashley asked. Beca looked like she took offense to that question.
"She meant we're happy you're here to help," Jessica then said afraid that Beca would get mad at them.
After the commotion died down, Beca finally took notice of Chloe standing behind her, "And who are you?"
Chloe found herself a little bit speechless in response, still processing what she saw. The cool and suave way Beca handled the Trebles, the prowess and strength she displayed. She didn't really know what to make of it.
"Don't mind her, that's just my former daughter, and she's leaving," she then heard her father reply. "Now, I think you and I should have a chat, Beca."
That did trick to snap Chloe back to the present. "Excuse you, what do you mean ex-daughter?" she asked, offended at her father's statement, over Beca's agreement about having a discussion.
"I'm filing for emancipation!" her father then declared.
"You can't do that? I'm an adult now!" Chloe argued back.
Aubrey the sighed and raised her hands, "We appreciate you checking in on us Chlo, but maybe we should catch up with each other some other time."
"Chloe? Ah, Chloe Beale, from the DSM law firm," Beca then said before turning to face her properly.
"And you're Beca Bella," Chloe then said back. "Thanks for today's help, but you shouldn't have pushed them that hard. They're gonna come back with a vengeance you know."
"Then tell your boss, or maybe your clients, to give it their best shot," Beca then replied with a smirk.
Chloe was caught off guard by Beca's response, and once again, she was left without words. She simply nodded and bid them goodbye, her thoughts still on Beca as she walked away.
Cool, calm, and collected, but a little bit charming too. Beca Bella was a new piece to a puzzle that Chloe wasn't sure what to do with.
What she did know was that Beca knew how to leave one hell of a first impression.
A/N Pt 2: I wonder what Beca's interest in the building is… hmmm…
Also GGs if you got the Wan Shi Tong reference xD I changed the name, I had to, mostly for the chance to slip in that reference xDDDDD
UPNEXT: Something glitters deep below! Temporary alliances are formed! And Beca's brilliant plan?
