Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction using characters and elements from the Pitch Perfect movie series and Sense8 by the Wachowskis and Straczynski. This is meant for entertainment, not part of either source's respective narrative. I don't own any of it nor intend any copyright infringement or profit from this. Also, I don't own any of the songs mentioned below.
AN:
And here as promised is the first of two updates! The next update will be tonight, can't spoil you all at once. Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy it!
Fun note, feel free to send some suggestions for chapter 9!
FLO – 6
She laid on her back, sprawled out on the sidewalk, electricity no longer pulsing through her body but the clearest sense of helplessness and fear welling up instead.
A group of people surrounded her. One of them, a woman, kneeled by her side and asked if she was all right, but she didn't register the words or the strangers circling her with concern. All she could think about was Beca.
That despite the knowledge of what happens within BPO's walls bubbling up from the recess of their minds, the stubborn brunette told her to go.
That no matter how hard she pushed to stay, the storm blue eyes practically begged her to leave, to stay safe.
Now the only thought on her mind was to do something.
She sat up quickly, keeping a hand on the ground and the other on the woman's arm to balance herself.
"Are you okay?" The woman asked as she supported the redhead.
One of the others had a phone to his ear. "Do you need to go to the hospital?"
"No, no. I'm fine, I'm all right. I need to -" She urgently cut herself off as she brushed them aside and took off down the sidewalk in a frenzy.
Shouts of "Wait!" and "Hey!" reached deaf ears as she raced home, running straight through crowds of people. All she was focused on was telling the others.
She reached out to all of the voices in her head, suddenly appearing to each of them at once.
"Stace! She's gone." She pleaded the tall brunette, clinging onto her shirt sleeve as she held Bella. The scientist met her gaze, confused.
This was the same reaction Amy, Flo, Emily, and the others gave the worried redhead.
"Chloe, what's going on?" Stacie asked.
"Yeah Red, and what's this with Beca?" Amy asked.
But Chloe didn't elaborate further, instead she thundered through the front door of her apartment complex and up the stairs. Everyone followed, rushing up the stairs and appearing at her side as she finally reached her apartment.
"Bree, Bree!" Chloe yelled as soon as she swung the front door open with more force than necessary.
"Congrats Jess! That's great. Chloe will be so excited." Aubrey's voice carried from her room.
"Brey!"
"She's here. I'll tell her, ooh I'm so happy for you! Call you later."
"Chloe you'll never guess what - Chlo?" Aubrey called from her room, her own door gently swinging open.
Then when her best friend came into sight with narrowed brows and concern written all over her face, everything Chloe put aside in her frenzy hit her all at once.
Most of them were her fears about what BPO was going to do to Beca, the things that Gail warned them about, but that wasn't what made her legs buckle.
It was the realization that she won't see Beca ever again. The thought hit her like a ton of bricks and she barely remembered to breathe.
Aubrey barely made it into the kitchen before Chloe fell into her arms, fresh tears streaking down her cheeks, and repeating "She's gone. She's gone."
She crumpled to the floor a second later as her legs gave out.
"Chloe who's gone?" Stacie asked again, comforting the redhead the best she could. She had a feeling she already knew, mentally checking off everyone present. The worry in the pit of her stomach only grew as all but one collected in the kitchen. The one that never leaves Chloe's side.
"Who's gone? Hey sweetie, who?" Aubrey struggled to understand the redhead amidst the muffled, yet repeated phrase, against her shoulder, her own arms wrapping around the redhead in response.
Then, Chloe pulled away, a new set of tears already welling up and in the smallest voice Aubrey's ever heard from her said, "Beca…They got her, Brey. They have her."
Much like the others, Aubrey didn't need to know who 'They' were. She gasped and tightened her grip on Chloe as she shook harder. Complete disbelief and shock washed over the blonde, that the stubborn -as-hell brunette who was always careful, was taken. All she could muster were words that couldn't bring Beca back.
"Oh Chloe, I'm so sorry."
If Aubrey was able to, she would have seen six other faces drop as the redhead's words sunk in.
Cynthia cradled her head in her hands as she settled on the couch, Flo sat next to her still as a statue, Amy's jaw went slack as she seemed to process the information, while Emily had wide eyes and shook her head. Lilly was there too, pacing back and forth in the kitchen. And Stacie sat right next to the distraught redhead, rubbing a hand up and down her back as she tried to comfort her. She didn't say anything, rather she kept silent and closed her eyes.
But no one needed it repeated. Beca was gone, captured by the same people they dreaded to ever come across, and they didn't know what to do or what was going to happen next.
"His name was Whispers when he first started hunting, he picked up Cannibal later." Gail began.
"One of ours," she paused and looked to the side briefly as she cleared her throat, "He got caught. Someone tipped BPO off, found him when he missed his blocker."
Chloe followed her movements, eyes trailing Gail's figure as she walked to her desk and picked up a picture frame. One with her and a few other people. She didn't know for certain if they were her cluster, but Gail's thumb brushed over a man in particular, one that had a crooked smile and a mischievous glint in his green eyes.
She put the picture frame down and leaned against her desk as she trained her attention once more on the group of women in front of her. Chloe thought she saw her shiver.
"They – Whispers hurt him to get to us and by the end he was broken."
"We were afraid for our lives. We thought it wasn't going to end until he knocked down our doors and took us too, but Mitch found a way out." She added grimly, her downcast gaze trained on the tip of her heels.
Chloe listened intently, brows furrowed. She was relieved, but Gail's sullen expression left her wary.
The woman would have never thought in a million years this is what they had to be concerned about. Her jaw clenched as she registered the very real danger she found herself in.
"If Whispers comes for you, remember this." Gail warned and thought of a memory. One that Chloe, and everyone else, didn't know they had.
In a flash, the well-decorated office disappeared, replaced with a dimly lit hallway, grey concrete walls surrounding her. She was alone, her steps softly echoing as she spun and familiarized herself with her new surroundings.
It felt more like dream, one so real that she instinctively ducked at the sound of gunshots behind her. To her surprise a barefoot man sprinted past her with a gun in one hand and a pair of handcuffs hanging uselessly from his wrist.
The gown he wore was caked with blood, a bullet wound on his side dripping blood as he ran. His breath came out in heavy pants as he spared a glance behind him.
Gunshots sparked against the wall and Chloe cried out the same time her unknowing companion managed to scramble into an open door. The redhead didn't even notice she was in the same room until she heard the click of the lock.
"Where – wait, who are you?" The words came out rushed as adrenaline started to pump into her veins. The man didn't seem to hear her.
Instead he limped around the room, one that gave Chloe chills down her spine when she noticed heart rate monitors, surgical knives and tools laid out on a small table. In the middle was a reclined seat, made of metal with a thin layer of padding and leather restraints.
Then Chloe got a better look at the man. He looked just like the guy in Gail's picture, the one with a crooked smile and green eyes, except the amount of blood on his face matched his gown. That didn't stop her to notice how terrified and exhausted he was.
If it didn't feel so real. If the smell of blood wasn't overwhelming her senses, his mutterings under his breath didn't reach her ears and the bullet indents in the door didn't look so painstakingly real, she would have thought she was dreaming.
He seemed to be searching for something, but in the next second gave out a frustrated shout.
"Get the fuck out of my head!" In one swing of his arms, he pushed everything off the table.
The equipment clattered to the ground in a mix of metallic clanks and dull thuds, but it wasn't loud enough to cover up the commands from outside the door. The voices overlapped until finally an ominous ticking replaced them.
"We – you have to do something." She urgently called.
She spun around to see the once mischievous man gaze at the gun in his hand with what could only be described as defeat. In that moment, he looked like a completely different person than what she saw in the picture. The bright and teasing nature was long gone as his sunken eyes focused on the gun. The hopelessness in his green orbs reflected an undesired decision.
One that Chloe didn't have to guess twice.
Then he took a deep breath and sat in the chair, much more calmly than his outburst a second ago. The handcuffs jangled as he adjusted himself.
"Don't, please don't. You can't give up!" Chloe begged as she watched him slowly draw the gun up to his head. He looked up into her own eyes and Chloe wondered if he could actually see her.
"I'm sorry."
Then he closed his green eyes and pointed the gun right at his temple.
"No!" Her arm shot out in a flash, but it wouldn't reach anything.
BANG
Gasps and startled screams filled the room as everyone returned to the present. Chloe was one of the louder ones as her heart hammered in her chest. She didn't even notice she was trembling nor the heavy breaths escaping from her mouth.
"Protect each other. You only get one chance." The blonde finally advised, her warning finding perch in each of their minds.
Usually Chloe could feel everyone on the edge of her subconscious, just close enough to reach out but far enough to know they were there. They each had their distinct features in her mind, like a sense or feeling attached to them and eventually she associated certain words with each one. For example, Amy was that sense of adventure, Cynthia was reliability, and Flo cheerfulness.
In turn Beca was her happiness, her rock except right now there was a cloudy haze in her place. It was harder to connect to than usual.
Now, she felt lost.
But that didn't mean she wasn't determined.
The online searches and amateur crime board they set up only helped so much against a secret organization.
"Have you heard anything Stace?" Chloe could hear the hushed question from Aubrey's room.
If she cared to, the redhead could have heard the response, but she didn't need to. She already knew the answer.
She remained in the shared sitting room. Her computer laid in front of her with several windows open from her own search. She recently added markers on their crime board indicating their domestic offices. Their most notable headquarters were in Chicago and LA. If she was part of a secret organization, she'd look for the closest one to minimize travel time.
Could they have secret offices though? Could they have taken her there?
She let out a frustrated groan. This didn't help.
I knew Kommissar was trouble, if I ever see her again….
Her thought trailed off, anger seeping through her clenched fists.
"Please tell me you have something, anything." The voice begged and honestly, Chloe would kill for that too.
A pause.
Then there was a sigh, "Okay, just be safe."
Aubrey was trying, God was she trying. Since Chloe broke the news, she's been trying to get answers too, in her own thorough way (she started to the crime board, organized and labeled).
Stacie hadn't found anything, Chloe knew. What she had managed to do was finish analyzing the blockers Beca sent and recreate her own recipe, enough to last for months and maybe years. They haven't been tested yet, no. No one wanted to risk being isolated right now.
Light footfalls came from Aubrey's room before they finally stopped when her best friend sat next to Chloe on the couch.
"Stacie's just finished the last batch, but nothing new." She shook her head.
Chloe only nodded her head and pointed to the changes on the board.
"These are their offices, but this one here," her finger landed on Chicago, "biggest one in the near the east coast. They could have taken her there."
"They could have." The blonde hummed, "Was Denise able to find out more?"
Right now, Chloe and everyone else had the most hope in Denise, Cynthia's longtime girlfriend. She was, in no certain terms, a hacker. One that companies hire to dig into competing firm's systems. Cynthia attested to her skills, "There's nothing my girl can't find."
This time the redhead hung her head. "No. She says they have a complex system."
Aubrey sighed, one that the other woman matched.
Everyone was pushing for a plan to save Beca from BPO's clutches, but everything came up short.
They all knew why too. They've spent so much time being careful that they never learned about those who hunted them.
No one knew what to do and the lack of answers only left them scrambling for even a sliver of information because having something was better than nothing.
She was agitated, that much was clear. There was a creeping sense of useless in the back of her mind that didn't settle well.
She closed her eyes and leaned back against the grey-blue couch cushion as if to calm herself but stopped short as a soft fwap came from the kitchen.
Her eyes caught a pile of envelopes and packages on the floor then moved to the figure standing above them.
To her surprise, Beca was there.
She wore a fresh hospital gown and her normally brown and wavy hair was matted in some parts. Finally, there was a helmet made of tubes upon her head, colored wires snaking out at the sides.
But what caught the redhead's attention was her pleading expression and the panicky energy rolling off her in waves.
"Who's there?" Aubrey called, throwing a confused glance as Chloe walked towards the pile of letters.
"Beca," She whispered in relief or worry, she wasn't sure. She didn't realize Aubrey asked her a question, too caught up in the moment.
"No, don't…You - all of you need to stay safe." The brunette finally spoke and took a step back as the redhead tried to comfort her. Then she shook her head back and forth and for a moment it looked like she was in pain.
"Don't come for me."
The words hung in the air as the redhead flinched, and a gunshot played back.
Beca didn't seem to notice, panting heavily now, and closed her eyes. "I don't know what's going to happen, Take –." She cut off.
Regardless of the warning, a stroke of electricity violently ripped through her. Something that felt like it was tearing her body in two.
Her heart stopped, and her body seized as she toppled to the floor.
She didn't feel it. Everything blurred around her and all that was left was the non-stop agony coursing through her. She cried out, grunted and shook with each passing second until it stopped. She could vaguely feel something warm running down her nose.
"Chloe!" Aubrey yelled. She scrambled from her seat at the couch to where her friend fell. The redhead was panting heavily with blood streaming down her nose, pain as clear as day as she groaned.
She didn't hear Aubrey or feel herself being lifted off the ground. Instead she was in Beca's place with a wired helmet strapped to her head as an assistant in a white lab coat hovered above her holding two electric paddles. There were no thoughts, no feelings, just an instinct pushing her to resist when the man held the paddles to her chest.
Her body arched, the leather restraints cutting into her limbs as she thrashed violently. Everything hurt, and she barely registered the different shouts of pain filling the room.
Then as soon as it started it stopped, and it was like she could breathe again.
She lolled her head to the side, her whole body suddenly felt like it was on fire. Her heart pounded in her chest as she selfishly took large breaths of air. Chloe tried to prepare herself for the next one, but there wasn't enough time.
The other assistant held a tablet and in a dissatisfied manner shook his head, "Nothing. Try again."
In a matter of seconds, the same unforgiving pain coursed through her. She couldn't keep her eyes open as she shook uncontrollably. There was more blood streaming down her nose, some even pooling in the back of her mouth.
After what felt like minutes passed by, the pain disappeared.
Her body ached, and her lungs tried to catch up to her racing heart. She closed her eyes, afraid to see what the two men were going to do next, but instead of waiting for the next shock she succumbed to exhaustion.
The next time Chloe opened her eyes, she was back in the kitchen wrapped in Aubrey's arms. There was an expression of concern and fright, one that Chloe would have never thought she'd see on her friend's face.
"Chloe, are you okay? What was that?"
"That's what they're doing to Beca." She quietly mumbled, clutching onto Aubrey's top.
"They're hurting her Bree. We have to save her."
"We will Chloe. We will." Aubrey comforted her.
And in that moment, Chloe made her own resolve. As long as she still breathed she wasn't going to let Beca go without a fight.
They need answers fast. Damn the consequences.
To say that she was worried was an understatement.
After the rather shocking revelation earlier (it'd taken quite a bit to reassure her family she was okay) she decided to go for a walk. She did this when she was stressed. At one-point (and probably still) Stacie had every path at Barden memorized. Either early morning or late at night when parties would start to die down, the quiet would bring some clarity to her thoughts.
And most often than not, the answer she needed.
It was still light outside, the sun barely starting to set, when she mindlessly let her feet take the lead. She tuned out the conversation between a father and his son, of two teenage boys loudly disagreeing over a game console, and the church bell tower nearby. She simply walked.
Her mind was elsewhere. It was like a broken record, replaying the same part of the song over and over. She kept coming to the same two questions in descending order.
Where is Beca?
How do we save her?
The first problem was the where. Where did BPO have her locked up? Any building could house the small room where Beca was being kept. This is the starting point, once they find out where she is, and hopefully soon, they can enact a plan to save her.
The light turned red and a white stick figure popped up on the street across. Stacie continued onward.
Which leads to the second problem, the how. Once they have her location, how do they save her? They can't barge in and storm the place, completely unrealistic. They would most likely take a quieter approach; sneak in and carry her out without anyone noticing. They'd need more information to blend in without raising suspicion, but that would be their safest bet.
If they succeed, they can live their life to the fullest degree that blockers can give them. If they fail, they're trapped in BPO's headquarters and be at their mercy.
Stacie frowned. There is a lot of risk and precautions to consider and until Denise hacked her way in.
She scrunched her eyebrows together and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Too much to decide, too little information.
Her reflection stared back at her. She was near the outskirts of the city, facing a thrift store that mirrored the setting sun and orange streaks in the sky. There were some apartments and office buildings littered in this area too, but she never found herself here often enough to remember their names. A few people meandered by, none that Stacie concerned herself with. It was just her, the quiet, and beautiful sky.
She took a deep breath to admire the moment when a van drove past. One that looked oddly familiar. It appeared to be a company vehicle plastered in green paint and the name detailed in white next to a DNA Helix.
Stacie didn't have to guess which company.
However, this was unusual. They had an office in Chicago right in the heart of the city. So why was there a truck all the way out here?
With a curious nod of her head and a determined expression, she spun around and followed the van.
Luckily, it idled at a red light, letting her catch up. Once she was close enough, she saw the driver dressed in what looked to be a white hazmat suit and a matching black helmet. That was not what they normally wore when they dropped of shipments at her work. It meant something, but of what, the scientist couldn't be 100% sure.
The van took off once the light turned green, heading straight down the road. Stacie followed, briskly walking. Then she broke into a run once the van pulled into a narrow side street on the left a few blocks ahead and out of sight.
"Shit." She swore as she crossed the street when the van was out of sight. It appeared to be the entrance to a small business district, a business or two stood out on each side of the road before it curved to the right. There were cars parked on the side of the road and the accompanying parking lots, nonetheless the green painted van was nowhere to be seen.
It didn't come into view until she turned the corner. Immediately her vision was filled by a huge warehouse on the left, easily three stories tall and a football field long. There was a small parking lot across from it with a land strip filled with trees and bushes in front. If anything, it easily looked like a distribution warehouse. There were a chain link fence surrounding the gray colored building except for two areas. Stacie caught the back of the van passing through one of the unusually well-lit entrances with two men guarding it.
The scientist wisely hid behind a nearby bush as the men turned in her direction. Her heart beat quickened, she hoped they didn't see her.
"What did you do?" Cynthia popped out of thin air, crouching next to her, "What's going on?"
"I saw one of their trucks and followed it. They don't have an official office out here. It might help us." She kneeled to better conceal herself.
Cynthia nodded and poked her head atop the bush.
"You found something, that's for sure. This is dangerous, those guys have guns." She said when she ducked back down.
The tall brunette took a second glance to confirm. Not only did they have guns, they were also well-armored. Too well-armed for a distribution warehouse.
Cynthia sighed, "Stace, let's go. We don't even know if Beca is in there. Wait for Denise, she's almost done."
Stacie bit her lip. If they could just get inside, they could find out more of what they're up against. But Cynthia was right, it was dangerous to go any further.
Before she could answer, her phone rang.
Startled, Stacie fumbled with her phone, unlocking it and swiping on the decline symbol as fast as she could. Stacie shuffled it back into her pocket as she silenced it.
In turn, Cynthia looked back at the guards. She only spotted one where she last saw him, the other…where was the other one?
"…checking out a disturbance." The voice carried from a distance. The guard was slowly making his way towards their hiding spot.
"Shit," Cynthia muttered, kneeling back down and trying to make herself as small as possible. Stacie tried to do the same, curling in on herself, but the vibrating device in her pocket made it difficult to adjust.
"Stacie, why aren't you - wait what's going on?"
Cynthia and Stacie shushed the insistent, but confused redhead as the guard stepped closer. Chloe's eyes widened when the man's voice got louder with each step.
Crackle "Copy. Sounded like a phone. Approaching the area now."
She shuffled closer after meeting the two women's panicked gazes.
Then the heavy footfalls stopped right behind them. Stacie kept her head down, staring at the ground. She and the others held their breath. A bright light shone above them and onto a light red sedan facing the group.
The tip of one of his black boots landed underneath the bush, a few inches away from Stacie's hand and rustling against the small branches and leaves. The light wavered with it, gliding across the rest of the cars settled in the parking lot.
The boot shifted closer, this time they were mere centimeters from touching.
They were lucky it was getting darker by the second.
"Nothing's here. Someone probably left their phone on in their car. Returning to post." He spat.
Stacie let out a breath of relief as the guard turned around and marched back to the entrance.
"We should go. I don't want that guard to come back with his pal." Cynthia jabbed a thumb back to the main road.
Stacie nodded, she had enough excitement for one night, and if anything, she could come back later to check it out. She pushed herself to her feet to leave, but Chloe stopped her.
"No, we aren't leaving." The redhead stubbornly stated.
Cynthia was dumfounded, "They could kill us Red."
"You can leave if you want, I'm staying."
She faced Stacie, conviction in her eyes, and clasped her hands as if she was her lifeline, "Stacie please. Beca is fighting, she is protecting us. And she's running out of time the longer we wait. The answer might be in there or it might not, but I'm willing to take that chance."
This was a new side of the redheaded woman she hadn't seen before. The same optimistic woman she's come to know, and trust couldn't hide the vulnerability in her voice.
"Please."
Stacie couldn't imagine how it must feel to lose her other half. What Chloe and Beca have is something else, an intense connection that's stronger than anything she has with the others or Aubrey.
"Okay." She answered and curled her hands around Chloe's, "But we are leaving as soon as there is trouble."
Chloe nodded and grinned. "Deal."
"You're crazy, but you're onto something." Cynthia added with a shake of her head and a small grin of her own. "So how do we get in?"
Chloe hummed, "sneak in? I haven't thought that far ahead, has anyone done this before?"
The two met her sheepish look and shook their heads.
A voice piped up next to them, "I have."
Kneeling next to them was Flo Fuentes.
Shortly after appearing, Flo had successfully snuck them into the warehouse.
She had crept along the side of the fence, staying clear of any sources of light, first. Then she gracefully flipped past the guard's sight. Luck seemed to be on their side (and hopefully for the rest of the night) and they followed an unsuspecting employee into the building through a side door they hadn't seen earlier.
"And here we are girls." Flo finished, closing the door behind them once the scientist was out of sight.
"Great job Flo, now we just need to see what's here." Chloe continued, already reaching out to open one of the doors closest to them.
"How'd you do that?" Cynthia asked in interest while Stacie trailed after the determined woman.
Flo shrugged, "I helped my brother escape a flock of chickens in the henhouse a few times. Oh, and there was the one time when some men hired my brother and I to sneak into a mansion."
"Okay." She slowly drew out, unsure how to respond.
In the meantime, Chloe and Stacie looked high and low for anything that may help them. They didn't find much at first as they crept through the off-white colored halls. When they came to a two-way wall, they poked their head out to watch for any employees or guards who might walk past.
It was eerie as they crept through the surprisingly clean and bright halls. It was even cleaner than a few hospitals Stacie's been to, but despite the sanitized environment, Stacie couldn't shake the feeling she was being watched, sending wary glances behind her every few minutes.
Still, they explored.
In their search they noticed an elevator and found out exactly how big this building actually was. There were 7 floors and for what felt like an hour they were still hadn't covered the entire floor they were currently on.
More went on here than hunting down sensates and genetic research it seemed.
They finally came across something in one of the research labs. It looked empty besides a few papers and bottles scattered around the room. They chalked it up to luck that no one spotted them yet, even the few people milling around with clipboards in their hand or pushing a cart full of supplies in the hallways.
Stacie skimmed through a few research reports, trying to gather more information about what BPO does while the others searched the room for any more clues.
Thus far, the research reports started out the same. The individual, identified by a few letters and numbers, would be subject to acute pain and the researchers would then study the highlighted brain activity with an external factor. What they found was linked to the subject's cluster and how to find them.
These reports were only a month old and it only concerned her more as she read, but there was a sense of relief knowing Beca wasn't one of their documented science experiments yet.
It matched what Gail told them, but the next part was harder to swallow. There was a surgery, that was practically lobotomization and it seemed there was a low success rate.
Subject CH-530 expired during surgery because of improper technique.
Subject CL-872 successfully survived surgery and complacent. Currently sedated and under supervision.
Subject CO-619 resisted surgery and forcibly expired due to behavioral factors.
No matter how many times she read it, it did little to quell the growing worry in the pit of her stomach. These people knew what they were doing, knew these were real people and yet they treated them like a disposable science experiment. It was inhumane. If they weren't able to save her, Beca will be just another statistic in their records.
"Have you found anything?" Cynthia called from the back of the room, "All I have are chemicals that I don't know how to say."
"I don't have anything either," Flo shook her head, standing next to a stack of cardboard boxes, the tops open.
"Stacie?" Chloe inquired.
The tall brunette paused. "I found something, but you're not going to like it. There's a surgery every subject goes through. It's not always successful."
She pursed her lips and met their gazes.
"You mean, she might not..?" Flo managed to make out. Stacie wished she could say it wasn't a possibility, that Beca could die, but she couldn't.
"Ay, this is bad."
Chloe bit her lip, hard enough the scientist thought she going to break the skin.
"That won't happen, we won't let that happen." She repeated, like a mantra. They were going to save her. That's all she needed to tell herself.
The others nodded, not quite sure how to take her response, but before they could discuss further the door to the lab creaked open.
Stacie panicked, eyes flicking over anything that may help them. Flo pointed at a lab coat lain forgotten on a chair. Cynthia tossed it to Stacie who shucked it on without a second thought.
The door creaked open, revealing a dark-haired man with glasses in a lab coat of his own. He was holding a cardboard box overflowing with what looked like more research reports. If Stacie wasn't a nervous wreck, then she would have felt even more sick.
"A little help please?" He squeaked out as one end of the box slipped as he tried to keep the door open.
Awkwardly, the tall brunette nodded and took the lower end. Between the both of them, they maneuvered it inside the lab and nestled tight against the others.
"Thanks, this is the last one the Doc told me to grab. I should -" The young man swiped his brow and stopped.
When he looked up, his face morphed into shock. "It's you."
"Uh -" Stacie took a step back, her nerves building up. Did he know her? Did he know that she doesn't work here?
Cynthia, Flo, and Chloe eyes darted between him and Stacie, sizing him up at the same time. If things went south, they could get past him and make a break for it. He wasn't big, rather he was an average guy with a slim frame.
"It's you." He repeated, rushed this time as he stood up and pointed at her.
Stacie didn't answer. She eyed the exit, ready to bolt at any moment's notice.
Then before she could make up her mind, he said in a hushed whispered, "Are you crazy? You can't just sneak in here, you're going to get both of us killed."
"What?"
Stacie and her group echoed in disbelief.
"We met months ago. At the Bean, remember?"
Among the confused glances, Stacie recalled that day. Her sunglasses dropped, and she lost her family. She was looking through the crowd for them like a madwoman.
"Oh," she sluggishly nodded, still uncertain what he meant.
He huffed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Yes, I'm like you and you need to leave."
Stacie paused, even more confused at his rushed response. Her mouth moved as if she was speaking, but no sound came out. The others, well to be honest, they were in the same state too.
There was a sigh this time, "I'll explain later, come on."
He took her hand in his and pulled. She didn't know who he was, if he was telling the truth, she let herself be pulled into the hallway.
He walked with purpose, fast yet slow enough to not pique suspicions. Stacie, on the other hand, picked up her pace, eventually matching his stride. There were definitely questions on her mind, but she waited until they were out of this ominous facility.
They walked and turned corners on an imaginary path that the young man only knew. There silent journey stopped once they found themselves in what must be one of their drop off areas with a small parking garage. It was quiet, their steps echoed throughout the room. Furthermore, there were multiple green vans just like the one Stacie spotted on the street, settled in a few of the rows.
"This one," he pointed towards one of them, "let me get the keys."
He rushed off to the van, leaving the others behind.
"No, we can't leave."
Cynthia and Flo shared a glance at the defiant woman, this was not a part of the plan. None of it was. They didn't know what to do, and instead the tall brunette made a decision. She turned towards the redhead who stayed behind.
"Chloe," she softly called.
"Stace, we can't leave yet. We still have to find Beca." Chloe defended as she backed up closer to the door and took Stacie's body with her.
It hurt to see Chloe like this, to hear the desperation in her voice, to know that she was holding onto a few strings of hope. That she might risk everything, even her own life, to save Beca.
"We will save her, but the longer we stay here the longer we are in danger and who's going to save her if we get caught? I have a feeling this guy is going to help." Stacie comforted. She offered her hand, inching closer before finally waiting for the redhead to take it.
The bright blue eyes shot to the side for a moment.
"Trust me."
The redhead looked back from the door, to Stacie, and finally to the van. Then she took Stacie's hand.
"Okay."
"Let's go!" The man yelled from the now rumbling van.
Once they made it out of the garage and past the guards, did they finally get some answers.
They parked far away, closer to the heart of the city now, when the man named Liam told his story.
"I know what you're thinking. Why am I working for them? It's a cover. We - my cluster – heard a rumor."
Everyone sat in the back of the van, the doors closed and a tarped open space with seats on each side and an empty gurney in the middle. It wasn't comfortable, but it was better than anywhere else right now.
He shrugged, "I've never seen my cluster like that before. They were terrified."
He slumped against the tarped, but padded wall. He had a far-off stare, one that was reminiscent of a man who stared down the bottom of a beer glass.
"What do you mean?"
If he would have had a drink in his hand, Stacie could imagine him taking a big swig of it. Whatever Liam knew, he was afraid of it.
"One of them heard that something was going to happen, something big. I got on board with BPO right as they started rolling this out."
Liam paused for a moment.
"Did you read the reports? All of them?" He continued, and added as Stacie nodded, "They're building an army of us. Disposable people they can control and do their bidding without any resistance. And the man in charge of it all is Whispers."
The drink would have landed on the counter completely empty.
The group of girls went quiet. It definitely wasn't what they were expecting.
"What can we do?" Cynthia asked in place of her friends.
There was a humorless laugh, "Nothing. You'd have to take out him and even the men above him, and no one knows who they are. It's impossible,"
The more they learned about BPO, the more they learned how powerful they really are. Ones you can't fight by yourselves.
"What about Beca?" Chloe asked, "one of ours, she was captured a few days ago. Would she become one of them?
He shook his head back and forth, "If they have her, she's done for. Just give up now."
It was like the temperature in the room dropped. Instead of curiosity, narrowed eyes and frowns covered everyone's expressions.
Stacie squared her shoulders, and in a voice her mother would have been proud of said, "We are not going to let that happen. We will save her, and you are going to help us."
Liam only responded with a raised eyebrow.
They were in Chicago.
Well, particularly in the airport waiting for their luggage.
Stacie surprised everyone and convinced Liam to help them. At first, he doubted it, bringing up every counter-argument he could find, yet in the end it fell flat. He was the missing piece of the puzzle and soon after Denise finally hacked into their systems.
They found her.
Beca was in Chicago. In the same warehouse the three found themselves exploring. She was on one of the upper floors, which Liam confirmed. He was able to be sneak in under the pretense he was refilling the sedatives and blockers and subtly reduce how many sedatives she was given.
Chloe loved the progress, but she hated the waiting and the blockers. The next day, BPO was back at it and the pain unexpectedly ripped through them while they went about their normal lives. Somehow it hurt more each time. To protect themselves, Stacie sent them her custom-made blockers. It would protect them from BPO's shocking attempts to find them.
But she never thought she'd stop hearing voices in her head.
After she took her first blocker, she panicked. She couldn't feel anyone, couldn't reach out to them. It felt extremely uncomfortable. There was a wall of anxiety building as the days passed that she couldn't get rid of and even if everyone kept in touch with text messages and calls, it didn't quell the overwhelming feeling.
Aubrey wasn't as visibly affected as Chloe, but she had her moments. Chloe would see her best friend about to say something, like "What did Amy do this time?" "Don't say it. You and Beca have to wait until I leave the apartment.", but she never did. Instead, she would awkwardly pause and return to her task in front of her.
She reminded herself that it was temporary until they got Beca back.
Eventually Stacie called and informed everyone that they have everything figured out and with the help of Denise and Lilly, who loudly (surprisingly audible) said she had something that would help. That they can save their favorite sarcastic and stubborn porcupine.
Everyone booked their flights that second.
Now, Chloe and Aubrey waited for their luggage in the airport.
"Chloe? Aubrey?" They heard from behind them.
Chloe couldn't stop a smile from spreading on her face, "Cynthia, Denise! I've missed you." A rush of relief washed over her as they hugged. They were here, they were safe.
"Hey Red, Aubrey! I'm almost forgot what you looked like." Cynthia joked and Denise chuckled.
"I can't believe I'm actually meeting the voices in her head. I feel like I know you already."
Aubrey laughed too, "I know what you mean."
Chloe grinned. Aubrey knew them quite well, especially Beca. She was able to tell who Chloe was talking to within seconds. To be fair, most of the time it was Beca. Nonetheless she knew them.
"Is Lilly with you?" Aubrey continued, "She said she lived in California. Did she catch the same flight?"
Cynthia spoke this time and nodded, "Yeah she's right behind us."
Behind them, the four saw the thin Asian woman sitting atop a large suitcase twice her size with a slightly smaller suitcase right next to it. The suitcases looked easily 50 pounds each and the woman had somehow managed to carry both without breaking a sweat.
"Hi," She mumbled in her typical fashion with a smile and wave.
"Hi," Aubrey offered back, slightly taken back. Chloe waved back with a smile though.
"Oh my aca-gee this is actually happening."
Everyone turned to see the jingle writer quicken her pace, her suitcase rolling behind her, as she got closer.
Cheers and conversation continued, until they finally got their luggage when a loud shout echoed in the lobby.
"I'm here aca-bitches!"
Heads snapped to the lobby, and there was Fat Amy walking out with men in valet jackets carrying her suitcases. It was quite a Fat Amy entrance to be honest, and no one was surprised. It also appeared that she and Flo flew together. Flo was walking in sync with the blonde, her suitcase carried by one of the other men, and a satisfied smirk on her face.
"It's Amy and Flo!" Emily jumped with excitement and everyone couldn't help the smiles widening on their face.
Everyone was back together, they just had to meet up with Stacie at the drop off area.
It was like a big reunion.
Except for one.
But they were going to change that soon.
Chloe couldn't sleep.
Unease snuck up on her in the middle of the night and try as she might, she couldn't rest. Instead she laid in her bed staring at the clock. The sound of Amy's snores was loud enough to hear through the thin walls. Somehow Aubrey slept right through it. How she could with that racket next door, Chloe would never know.
But they were in Chicago, practically a stone's throw away from BPO - from Beca. They were so close.
She bit her lip, eyes shifting to the city outside. The sheets fluttered to the other side as she got up and made her way to the balcony. Silence enveloped her as she stepped outside. The city lit up the night, building and street lights surpassing the stars in the black sky above.
Then amidst the stillness she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and reached out for that familiar feeling, the one that was once bright but now clouded over in a dull haze.
It was faint, due to the sedatives, but she could sense it was stronger tonight than it's been since Beca's capture. She'll have to thank Liam after this is over. She dug deeper, chasing the connection that became second nature to her.
A beat later she found it.
She stood in a medium sized room with tables topped with medical instruments, wires and other devices that Chloe didn't know the name of, surrounding the seat Beca was strapped down to.
The room reminded her of Mitch's last stand.
Did he kill himself in this room?
She shivered at the thought.
Then the image of Beca with a gun to her head flashed past.
No, they were going to save her, she reminded herself. She shook her head back and forth until the thought slipped away with it and focused on the bounded woman.
She appeared to be sleeping, her chest rising and falling slowly with closed eyes. There were bags under her eyes, old trails of sweat from her hair line, blood down her nose, mouth, and neck until it reached the gown she wore. If it was possible she was paler than normal. Chloe couldn't imagine all the pain she's gone through.
The beep-beep of the heart rate monitor kept ticking away.
One of her hands traced a path down her left arm, picking over the tube and needle in the crook of her elbow, the bandage covering part of the cursive words tattooed on her forearm, and the tight leather strap until she found the other woman's own hand – colder than what she remembered – and clasped it tight.
The brunette mumbled something in her sleep.
"We're here, we're here Beca." She smoothed a hand over the fatigued woman's face, wanting to clean up the blood marring her features. Her fingers brushed over the loose hairs poking every which way.
"Just hold on a little longer, please." She placed a kiss on her forehead. Tears were threatening to spill over as her heart ached at the sight.
Then she felt the slightest hint of pressure on her hand and the flutter of eyelids to reveal a sliver of storm blue that missed their shine.
Chloe smiled at the sight despite everything around them.
"Ch-," Was the sluggish response before Chloe stopped her.
"Don't, you need to rest."
Drowsy eyes blearily gazed up, registering the words.
"We're going to get you out of here."
She shook her head, with more energy than what she looked to possess.
"Yes, we will. I won't let them have you without a fight." Chloe promised. For a moment it reminded her of the older times, of the bickering she's admittedly missed, but the noises from the equipment around them and the bloodied gown reminded her otherwise.
"Remember what I said that night I flew to New York?" She continued, instead of watching Beca shake her head again. The other woman simply squeezed her hand in response. Chloe could already picture what she would say ("Course I do, Beale." in the brunette's teasing tone, "But tell me anyway.") and smiled as the memory surfaced.
They laid in Beca's bed, sheets resting against their bare skin and the sun peeking through the curtains when Beca wistfully whispered that they should leave everyone behind, fly somewhere and stay there forever. "I really love what we normally have, I really do," she paused and bit her lip, "but I want to be here with you in person, like right now. I want to have this and our normal stuff all the time."
Chloe chuckled, her red hair splayed out on the pillow. Then she met the clear and curious storm blue eyes she loves and softly kissed her on the lips, brushed through her dark brown hair, and whispered in a loving tone, "We will Becs. Nothing can keep us apart"
"I promise Becs, we will be together," She repeated as she embraced her hand, to hold onto hope that everything was going to be okay. To hold onto the one person she loves more than anything else.
"I love you," the redhead whispered, placing a kiss over her lips as a tear rolled down her cheek. She felt the brunette weakly return it before letting go of her hand. Then her eyes briefly fluttered shut for a moment, a clear sign that the connection wasn't going to hold for much longer.
Chloe caught the remnants of a "I love you" before Beca succumbed to sleep once more, which left her alone on the hotel balcony with Amy's snores and the city lights for company.