A/N: We get a break from the Babel nonsense, at least momentarily, with some fun shenanigans here.

I don't own pitch perfect.

Stacie could feel it, something changed in the atmosphere of Barden Tower ever since the trial.

Ever since Norman, to be exact.

She wasn't particularly keen about having the need to keep tabs on her neighbors, but with everyone acting a little suspicious since they heard about the story about the gold, well, she practically had no choice.

Jesse was the first of those who started acting sus. But, to be fair to him, he had always been a little bit odd. She had noticed him leave the restaurant after closing, possibly looking for Norman. Stacie decided to keep an eye on his movements, wanting to make sure that the homeless man would no longer spread the rumors about the gold, especially to some newcomer like him. She ended up hiding in an old abandoned store in the basement, not far from the one Jesse hid. To Stacie's surprise she also saw Beca and Luke there, exiting the temple, the two of them in a deep conversation. Stacie couldn't help but wonder what they were doing there. She had her own suspicions of course, but she decided she would keep to observing for now.

Jesse had left soon after, his interest seemed to be keeping an eye on Beca. For what, Stacie wasn't sure. Maybe he's some weird fan.

The next two nights have been interesting to say the least.

Stacie had decided to stay in her piano school up late. Usually, she'd be someplace else, doing something else… or rather someone… but tonight she'd had to keep her guard up. Figure out why everyone was acting weird.

Lo and behold, it seemed everyone had gold on their minds.

For two nights, she had seen Ashley and Jessica dress up in cat burglar outfits, checking out closed stores to see if anything was hidden there.

Cynthia Rose and Denise had some weird military get-up with nigh vision goggles, stalking the halls, looking for something, perhaps a sign or clue that could point to a hidden room somewhere.

Flo had been exploring the now empty apartments, using a metal detector.

Benji had a shovel, a drill, and other tools for digging, checking the parking deck attached to the towers, and spending sometime in the basement.

How did Stacie monitor all their activities? That was simple. She kept at a safe distance to observe the movements of one or two of her fellow neighbors. The rest, she reviews from her surveillance equipment back at her apartment the following morning. Since she moved in, she had placed camera's all over the building, in hallways and old shops.

So far, the only ones not interested in gold are Lilly and Jesse, who was more interested in Beca's activities. Emily and Chloe knew nothing either, Aubrey as well. Amy wasn't brought into the loop either.

One could say Beca didn't know either. But Stacie knows as much, the rumored gold belonged to someone, and only it's true owner would know where it is, how to get it, and how best to get it out. Which meant that Stacie would need to start getting friendly with one of Barden Towers newest residents.

Stacie sipped on her morning coffee upon reviewing the latest set of recorded surveillance. She wasn't sure if her neighbors would find any success, but if she wanted to beat them to it, she had to make a move soon.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a phone call, however, before she could think up of a plan. "You've been avoiding me," she heard Aubrey say on the other end of the line.

"Well, isn't this a nice change of pace," Stacie then replied. "I've been busy."

"With?" was Aubrey's reply at the end of the line and Stacie couldn't help but laugh. When things started between them, Aubrey had insisted to keep it on the low. They weren't exactly dating; it's mostly been physical really.

Although Stacie would be lying if she said she didn't want anything more. Aubrey was simply sadly married to her work.

What she didn't expect was Aubrey sounding so incredibly jealous on the end of the line. Since their thing started, Stacie lost interest in seeing anyone else, and, though she didn't say it out loud to Aubrey, she had always thought that they had an understanding that they were only seeing each other.

"No one, just work. It's all been me and my computer, really," Stacie replied with a suggestive tone. She wasn't exactly lying, and there's that added bonus of teasing Aubrey. She loved to tease Aubrey she was rather adorable when she gets flustered and tries to keep it cool.

"Why did you call, Bree?" Stacie pressed on. "Did you miss me?"

Stacie heard a huff on the other end of the line. Of course, Aubrey wouldn't admit that she does, she expected as much. But she couldn't help but try.

Stacie chuckled. "Okay, okay, maybe I wanted you to miss me a little, that's why I haven't been around," she quickly said. She couldn't bring Aubrey into this, not her personal mess. Absolutely not. If it meant lying, then she would have to just lie and lie well. Aubrey was too smart not to notice something was off.

Besides, she was partly telling the truth anyways.

"And if I did?" was Aubrey's response.

"That's all I needed to hear," Stacie replied. "No more avoiding you, I promise," she added, closing her laptop while continuing to talk to Aubrey to make plans over the phone.

It looks like she had to stop following her neighbor around. She won't be able to react on time if she stuck to reviewing the recordings on a later time, however, she had faith that they weren't smart enough to figure where the gold was hidden.

To say Luisa was in a bad mood would be an understatement. It's been three days since the trial concluded and Luisa didn't waste any time to deliver her promise to Chicago, wanting to establish a place of power by his side. Pieter had been Theo's right hand when things were relatively easy for Babel, during these trying times, and most especially now that they know the truth of who the real boss was, she had an opportunity to steal that spot away. If she played her cards right, that would guarantee the sphere of influence and power she had craved for so long.

Except things were easier said than done.

The day after the trial, Luisa had scheduled a dinner with her former boss, the current DA, and with the state's attorney general as well, trying to sway them to Babel's side. She knew very well they were desperate for influence and having wealthy donors for their re-elections was always a must. Babel could have easily become their most powerful ally. But she had miscalculated their greed and willingness to play the game on Babel's side thanks to the recent loss and negative press. Despite Babel's efforts of cleaning things up and fighting to keep a clean image, the results of the trial had their desired damage, not to mention the persistent lawsuits being filed against them recently had made potential allies nervous of siding with them.

Which left with Luisa being shamed by both the DA and state general attorney with their holier than though attitude, scoffing at the attempt at bribery.

Luisa hated losing, but she hated being humiliated even more.

Chicago wasn't pleased by the news either, but she did promise that things were going better with her other mission at the moment. If not a little slow.

Luisa was just about to bark at the junior partners at the firm yet again, demanding that what she asked for be delivered soon, but she was beaten to the punch by one of the said junior partners. Jimmy Wilkins, the said junior partner who was also a good source of entertainment thanks to his incredibly accurate impressions, stopped a few feet short of Luisa's door just as she abruptly opened it. Luisa looked at him with a demanding gaze, and without the need for words handed her three flash drives, red, black, and blue.

"Is this all of it?" Luisa asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Jimmy replied while rapidly nodding his head.

A smile settled on Luisa's lips, one that gave Jimmy goosebumps.

It was time to get even.

Three days after the trial, and it's back to full force with work. Beca was in a good mood lately, so much of a good mood that Lilly wasn't even sure if she's ever seen her boss this way before. Luke has been out for a few days now, Beca saying he's finalizing things in Shanghai for their efforts at getting the gold out, but he did send in necessary documents and info for Beca to check out.

She took one day of rest, and by rest Lilly meant Beca spent the whole day out with Chloe. Come evening time, Lilly helped Beca review some of the documents Luke sent over. The following day, there was clean-up over the Babel trial as well as checking out the new building Luke had picked out for Beca, a deal in place and ready at any time. All they needed was agreement with the tenants.

Suffice to say, things were progressing according to plan.

The tenants have also taken a liking to Beca, being inspired by her actions and words to give Babel a taste of their own medicine. With a win against them wherein Beca was an instrumental part of, their admiration of her boss had grown too.

Beca had gathered all the tenants at Cynthia Rose's Italian restaurant for a quick meeting, proposing the new location, her good mood clearly impacting her pitch for the new place as she enthusiastically spoke to everyone.

Once she was done, Aubrey jumped in explaining that all the legal documents were also in place already, all they needed to do was sign.

That's when they were met with silence.

"Um, so what do you all think?" Beca asked, confused. She was undoubtedly expecting a round of cheers or applause afterwards. She did, after all, find an actual place that met everyone's demands, expectations, and checked all the marks on their wish list.

Cynthia Rose cleared her throat, and Benji fidgeted in his seat.

"Well, you see," Jessica started to say.

"Um, about the move." Ashley chorused with her wife.

"We kinda changed our minds," Denise then said.

"Huh?" was Beca's simple response. She was a little bit stunned by this turn of events.

"We saw how hard you fought for the victims of BLSD," Flo then said, "and though our contributions to that fight were small, it felt good to be able to do something about what felt like was a losing battle. To make an impact, to fight back."

"Barden Tower is our home, Beca, and if we can fight for other people, we believe that we can fight for ourselves too," Benji then said.

"That's right, you showed us there is hope," Cynthia Rose then chimed in.

"So, we're not moving? Is that the consensus?" Amy asked.

"Well, if everyone's set with that…" Stacie then said.

"We want to fight," Ashley then added.

"And we're gonna fight back!" Jessica declared. She was met with cheers by the rest of the residents. Chloe looked happy with their fighting spirit, and Emily was moved by their passions as well. Aubrey looked at Beca amused as Lilly's boss tried her best to hide her disappointment with how things turned out.

It looks like Beca inspired them a little too much that it backfired.

Although, Lilly couldn't help but think, that something else influenced their decision to stay.

Here's to hoping her boss can figure out a solution for this one.

Beca was sitting on the arm chair of the Beale and Posen in the little corner of their office where the TV was. Her chin was on her hand as she listened to the afternoon news update while Emily was sat on the floor in front of the loveseat, going over documents on previous Babel cases, the folders neatly stacked on the coffee table in front of her and Beca. Chloe was doing a little bit of research herself on the her desk, amused by Beca's antics and grumpiness from yesterday's events. Aubrey, on the other hand, paid a visit to her other client in the hospital.

Things had been going so well lately, she could almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. She would finish the case with Babel, get her gold, go back to Italy. Aubrey will handle that person's case – no she won't call that man who he was, she wasn't ready to face it – and she's been contemplating planning regular visits to check in on the tenants, Chloe for the most part. Maybe fly them to Italy on a nice trip once and a while.

She wasn't expecting to be hit by a roadblock that came in the form of Barden's tenants refusing to move now. Lilly had mentioned the homeless man who told them about the gold. She thought the matter had been resolved, could it be that the tenants were dreaming of the secret treasure? Is that why they want to stay?

This left Beca grumbling to herself as she tried to come up with a clever way of dispelling the truth about the rumors.

"Here, you look stressed out," Chloe said, giving Beca a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

Beca accepted the cup with a light smile as she watched Chloe seat on the armrest of the chair she was in. "Wouldn't you be more comfortable sitting over there?" Beca asked, pointing at the loveseat behind Emily.

"No coffee for me?" Emily then briefly asked. Chloe shook her head and Emily excused herself to grab a cup for herself.

Beca gave Chloe an expectant look, not that she was complaining that she chose to seat somewhere close. It was a genuine question pertaining the comforts of one Chloe Beale.

"This spot has a better view of the tv," was Chloe's excuse. "Anything on Babel?"

"Not much, just follows up on the state of their plummeting stocks," Beca replied, reading the scrolling headlines at the bottom of the screen, trying to hide the fact that she hasn't really been paying that much attention to the news. "Oh, Maldini is in town?" she then let out noting the update on sports news.

"Maldini?" Chloe then asked.

"Paulo Maldini, one of the best defenders of all time. He's currently the sporting director of AC Milan, looks like he'll be here for a few weeks to scout up-coming talent from high school and collegiate teams for their under-21 squad," Beca replied, summarizing hat she saw from the headline.

Chloe simply nodded along, "I didn't know you were a soccer fan."

"Don't you mean football?" Beca quickly retorted and Chloe chuckled. Their conversation was quickly cut short by Emily returning to join them with her drink.

"So, what's next? With Babel, I mean?"

"I was thinking we can speed things along, maybe try with the DA's office, or reach out to the state attorney general's office. I'm sure there are public prosecutors who tried fighting Babel before."

"There are, I found a few of their higher profile cases online, most were during the time of the former chair and CEO," Chloe then noted. "But the prosecutors lost, and most were forced to move elsewhere. I don't think their offices tried anything after that."

"They didn't have us before," Beca then commented. "If we can work something out with them, maybe reopen and retry old cases, or build new ones, we'll be able to stop Babel for good."

Emily looked poised to add something to their conversation when Beca's phone started to ring. She raised a hand to motion to Emily to pause and hold the thought. It looked to be important, after all, it was Babel E&C's director, Tom, who was calling Beca.

"I see," Beca said thoughtfully after listening to Tom. "Thank you for the info. Keep me updated," she said before hanging up.

"What is it? Who was that?" Chloe asked.

Beca ran a hand through her hair, her thoughts quickly racing to come up with a plan. "My insider at Babel E&C," she said. "Babel's CEO is pushing for the demolition. They'll try again in two days' time."

"Which means we have to stop it, especially with the tenants refusing to move," Chloe then commented. "I'll call Bree to brain storm ideas," she added before excusing herself to do just that.

"Even if we can convince the tenants to move, two days isn't enough. Aren't they afraid of collateral?" Emily then asked.

"No, because the collateral will serve as a message to anyone who dared to defy them," Beca replied and sighed.

When it rains, it pours.

"Relax, brother, you look so tense," Chicago said, taking notice of how stiff Theo was seated on the end of his dining table in his penthouse suite.

Theo had just given Chicago an update on their activities with regards to Babel Tower, some progress after frustrating hiccups along the way to building his beloved tower. One he hoped would be a symbol of prosperity and power that Babel will have in the years to come.

Added to Kommissar's update on their little retaliation plan, there really was nothing to be worried about. Chicago was in a good mood, and he strongly believed that so should his brother.

Sure, matters with the Beale and Posen law firm haven't been fully dealt with – especially when it comes to one Beca Bella – but Chicago was confident they would resolve those soon as well with a sense of finality too.

"I'm just…" Theo started to say, his voice a little weak. "I've made a lot of mistakes lately brother, I'm sorry."

"You're making it up to me, are you not?" Chicago replied.

Theo then nodded.

"No more mistakes, right?"

Theo continued to nod.

"Then relax and enjoy your meal," Chicago then said.

Theo once again nodded. "Thank you, brother. I promise I'll try not to disappoint you again. I've just been worried. I'm scared you'll have me killed like you did with our father."

It was at that comment that Chicago stopped enjoying his meal. "Ah, so you know about that," he then said dryly before turning his full attention to Theo.

"You visited him in the hospital and spoke with Dr. Matthews. That night he passed away. I heard Dr. Matthews give you the update on the call that 'it' was done," Theo explained. "But don't worry about me brother, I have my lips sealed, you know that," he hurriedly added, scared he would get on Chicago's bad side.

Chicago sighed. He really did need to pay more attention to his lesser sibling. He stood up and walked around the table, placing both his hands on Theo's shoulder, giving them a tight squeeze.

"I have your loyalty, yes? Then don't stress yourself out. Worrying isn't good for that little brain of yours. Besides, you might just end up spilling information you shouldn't even know, do you understand, brother?"

"Y-yes," Theo squeaked out as a reply.

"Good," Chicago said. "Make sure you don't fail again. Remember, it's you're pretty little head that's on the chopping block if you do. Now, finish your lunch, I'm going back to the office, you already ruined my appetite," he then said before making his way out.

He didn't want to ruin his day with Theo's nonsense, not when he had so much to look forward to.

Aubrey had just gotten back in the office when it happened.

And it all happened so fast, like a whirlwind of events.

DSM and Babel's retaliation.

Chloe was pacing back and forth in her jail cell. Aubrey was quick to work to buy some time for Chloe and to figure out a counter offensive, arguing with the police detectives who arrested her. Beca, impeccably dressed in a grey suit ensemble she paired of with black heels and a black neck tie, was keeping her company. She was just as deep at thought as Chloe was.

"Judging from the color of the USB drives and the mountain of evidence DSM decided to pin on me as they wash their hands of their dirty work, I'm going to stay imprisoned for a while. At least three Olympics would have passed before I'm free again, Beca, that was the flash drive's message," she said with a dry chuckle.

Beca didn't look to amused at all. "Those were serious charges Chloe, from intimidation to bribery, and of course they have all credible evidence of the crime. Minus the fact that it wasn't you who did them but rather other partners at DSM who would gladly provide a testimony against you too, if that cleans their slate off."

Chloe groaned. She hated the situation.

"You gotta help me, Beca," she said, walking up to the bars and pressing her face between two of them. "By all means, necessary, please, I have two days and that's it, they'll transfer me to a detention center. Those prison jumpsuits don't look good on me, Beca."

"We'll work on it, don't worry," Beca said. "We just need Aubrye to buy us more time."

"I don't think she can," Chloe admitted as much. If the Kommissar was behind this, she would have made their case fool proof as a way to teach Chloe a lesson. "You can't play by normal rules here. I know Bree's got my back, but she's going to have to much on her plate right now. You gotta help me, Ms. Mafia Lawyer."

Beca stiffened a little bit upon the mentions of the word "mafia" and "lawyer." If anything, the reaction on her face looked absolutely adorable.

"I don't know what you mean," Beca said a little softly, mumbling her words a little. She adjusted her tie. "I'm not in the mafia."

Chloe would have played along with that, wanting to believe it to be true. She just couldn't really imagine Beca being in a cut throat world like that. She had been nothing but kind, if not a little bit badass at times.

But now wasn't the time to play dumb.

"Handle this matter like a member of the mafia, please?" Chloe said, dropping her voice down low so no one would listen in on them. "Do it, like you've done things lately."

"Ch-chloe, like I said," Beca then replied, still trying to insist.

Beca was thankfully close enough for Chloe to reach through the space between the bars. She grabbed a hold of Beca's arms and pulled her close, practically clinging on to the arm. "Beca," she said softly but seriously. "Enough with the act, it's been getting a little difficult to play dumb."

"I… I don't know what you mean…" Beca still insisted and Chloe scoffed. Beca grumbled, looking away from her. "H-how did you know?"

Chloe chuckled. Beca looked like a kid who got caught putting her hands in a cookie jar. This was not at all how she imagined Beca would react, but in a way, she loved it.

It was so… Beca… her Beca Bella.

"You sent a pillow stabbed with syringes and fake blood to Theo Walters, burnt down Babel's warehouse, found out info about the Kommissar's cronies in a short period of time, interrogated them and scared them to working for you for free, know how to fire a gun, can easily hold your own against common thugs like the Trebles, forced the Kommissar to face her actions and threatened her with the incident at the laundromat… how can an ordinary lawyer do all that? Not to mention, you keep saying mafia this, and mafia that, during our preparation and scheming from the trial. You brought them up every chance you got too. Being from Italy isn't an excuse, and you know that," Chloe went on to say, listing all the clues she's noticed. "Did you really think I'm that much of a fool?"" she then asked Beca with a pout.

Beca still looked quite guilty and flustered. "N-no…" she replied.

"So, then, please Beca?" Chloe pleased, doubling down on her request. "Now is not the time to play by the rules. Aubrey will still try to do that, but you won't. You get things done," she went on to say.

She didn't want to put Beca on the spot like that, but she was desperate.

Besides, Chloe most definitely did not want the Kommissar to win this round.

"I'll handle it," Beca confidently said, asking Chloe to let go of her. Chloe obliged and watched as Beca smoothen out her suit's blazer. "I'll do things my way."

"Thank you, Beca," Chloe then enthusiastically said, pulling Beca in for an uncomfortable hug through the bars. Chloe even managed to let her head rest on Beca's shoulder's a bit.

Beca looked away and nodded, her cheeks turning pink, before pulling away again.

"What are you two up to?" Aubrey asked as she finally joined them.

"Nothing," Beca was quick to say, "I've got this, Aubrey, just focus on the problem with the tower," she added as she started walking away.

Both Chloe and Aubrey kept their eyes on Beca until she disappeared from view. "Will you be okay here for a night or two? You sure it's okay for Beca to handle things by herself?" Aubrey asked. "I can figure out ways to get the detectives to let me keep you company here."

"I'll be alright, I have faith in Beca," Chloe noted.

"I suppose a mafia consigliere does know how to bend the law to her will," Aubrey let out as a comment with a sigh.

"Ah, so you know too, did Beca tell you?" Chloe asked.

"Why? Would you be jealous if she did?" Aubrey teased, leaving Chloe stunned for a minute. She laughed and shook her head. "No, I pieced it together. She's not exactly subtle, try as she may."

"I'm shocked you're not here to give me a lecture in the morality of working with someone like Beca," Chloe then commented.

"The world's not black and white, Chlo," Aubrey then replied. "Besides, deep down, I can see, she's got a good heart."

"Yeah."

"Good enough for my best friend though? Verdict's still out for that," Aubrey then teased.

"Bree!" Chloe replied in protest and Aubrey chuckled. "How?"

"You're more obvious at your crush on Beca Bella than Beca is on being what she is," Aubrey commented and shook her head. "Besides, your eyes were shooting daggers at Dr. Hannah Matthews the entire time we were meeting with her, that was a dead giveaway. Kidding aside though, Chloe, stay strong, okay. We'll get even with Babel, someway, somehow."

Chloe nodded. "I will, Bree. So, you better not slack off, okay? I'll only be here, two days tops!" she declared and fully believed in it. That's how much she trusted Beca.

It was all up to Beca now.

A/N Pt 2: With all the mafia talk, Beca shouldn't really be surprised she gets discovered xD

UPNEXT: ATTACK AND COUNTER-ATTACK! ENEMIES WORK TOGETHER! PLANS FAIL BUT OTHERS SUCCEED!