A/N: I've fully outlined the fic and believe that we can conclude it at… *checks notes* 45 chapters?!
Watch me get away with writing and push it to 50…
Anyways, might reduce updates to twice a week for now as I'm getting busy with work again. I do hope you're enjoying the fic!
We get a break from the Babel nonsense, at least momentarily, with some fun shenanigans here.
Also, Calamity from Evermoist is here for a reason xD
I don't own pitch perfect.
Beca didn't think she'd see the insides of the same precinct twice in one day when it started, and yet here they were.
The noise complaint from the brawl was what ultimately got the police to Barden Tower, breaking up the fight between its residents and the Trebles. Thanks to Stacie's quick and Emily's recordings, they were able to broadcast the situation happening at the tower live, with the Trebles threats aired out to the public and with #SaveBardenTower trending on social media, the goons and thugs of Babel E&C were currently being held in jail, the demolition postponed. The residents finished giving all of their statements to also properly record what had happened, and of course, Chloe and Aubrey were quick to defend their clients, the residents, insisting that any and all actions they did was all for self-defense.
This of course gave them another bullet in destroying Babel once and for all, giving a potential case for reclaiming Barden Tower some legs.
The residents were mostly bloodied and bruised, battle-worn from their fight, but they still wanted to celebrate thwarting the demolition plans. That's how they found themselves at a local barbeque joint, just before they closed. Beca wasn't exactly hungry, nor does the local cuisine suit her particularly sophisticated appetite, but she did find watching her neighbors eat with such gusto and tell the tales of how things came to be particularly amusing.
"It's really all thanks to you, Ms. Bella! I mean, Beca, if I may," Flo then said, catching Beca by surprise. "I don't think we would have done such a thing before."
"Yeah, you inspired us, you know? We weren't kidding when we said that before," Jessica seconded.
"You were willing to fight for us, and you barely even knew us… we've been so sued to being the victims, and the downtrodden underdogs, that we didn't even realize we can stand up for ourselves too," Ashley added.
"I'm just glad none of you seriously got hurt," Beca settled on saying in response, moved by their sentiments. They were all looking at her in awe and she wasn't quite sure how to feel about it. Lilly seemed to just be happy that they were seeing Beca in a new light now, after such a tense start where they mistrusted her intentions.
Not that they were wrong.
Of course, Beca remembered Lilly's reports on Norman too. A part of her couldn't help but wonder if their desires for her gold was part of the reason too. Beca couldn't simply drop her guard on that either.
"So, what's next?" Cynthia Rose then asked. "Do we file Babel a lawsuit? Build a case first? How do we continue?"
"I'm honestly too tired to think about that right now, it's been a while since I was in a brawl," Benji noted. "Sorry about being violent in front of you, Emily."
Emily looked confused but nevertheless blushed a little. "Oh um, I think you were pretty cool, actually."
"Ah, I see you're still going for that reformed gangster storyline," Amy then commented, "You don't have to try so hard Benji," she went on to say giving him a pat on the shoulder. She then turned her attention to Aubrey, Beca, and Chloe. "I'm sure you all need to rest just like us, but we do want you three to know, we're in this together. We'll fight against Babel with you. Tonight, I have unleashed the Kraken against their thugs, tomorrow I can unleash Cthulhu if need be."
Aubrey looked to be at a loss, unsure how to respond to Amy. Stacie, who sat to Amy's other end, and in front of Aubrey, reached out to grab Aubrey's hand and give it a gentle squeeze. "She means we'll do our best to fight with you, whatever you need for us to do," she edified before throwing a wink at Aubrey. "And I mean everything."
Aubrey shook her head at Stacie's antics before pulling her hand away.
"Maybe not the same everything you're suggesting there," Amy then said to Stacie, almost in a whisper.
"Either way, you can count on us," Denise then proudly said.
Beca nodded and decided to answer for them. "Then we will, for now, just enjoy this victory. And don't worry about dinner, it's my treat."
"Oh, you don't have to, Ms. Bella," Jesse then said, his face all swollen from the hits he took, but his eyes shining with adoration before whatever else he said was drowned out by the cheers of the residents.
It was truly a long day for Beca. And night too.
After their celebrations, the residents grouped up and planned on how to get back to the tower. Beca's SUV could fit the most people but she insisted she couldn't take anyone else since she promised to drop Chloe home. Chloe quirked an eyebrow at her, technically speaking no promises were made, but she did want to see Chloe make it home safely after spending two nights in jail.
"I guess the next logical thing is figure out who the real mastermind is, huh? That's what you didn't want to discuss in the restaurant? That's why you shut them up with the promise of free dinner?" Chloe then asked once they were in Beca's car.
Beca started her car, fastened her seatbelt, and started driving before acknowledging Chloe's question with a nod. "The sooner we can find and identify them, the better. We have to bring Babo into the light."
Chloe chuckled. "Babo?"
Beca shrugged. "We don't know who they are, that'll be their codename for now."
"And what will the mafia do to Babo then? Once their out in the open?"
Beca hummed. "Back in the fifties, once a rival family have a new capo, or boss, the Bella family would pay them a surprise visit during one of their gatherings. The bigger the event, the better. Then, we'd rig a set-up so that the new boss would be bathed in pig's blood. To mark them, humiliate them, and effectively send a message. But like I said, that's back in the fifties."
Chloe made a face, "Gross," she said. "Still, can't say I wouldn't mind seeing it, especially if it's done on Babo. They have so much blood on their hands, it just feels fitting."
They settled on silence for a few minutes as Beca entered the expressway, just listening to the music softly playing from her dashboard, in comfortable silence. Just as Beca made her exit, Chloe hummed. "I am curious though, I know why you're staying indefinitely now, but you still haven't told me the truth, Ms. Mafia Lawyer."
"About what?" Beca asked.
"Why are you really here?"
Beca chuckled. Technically she has answered the question with part of the truth already, but Chloe didn't believe her.
"Care to answer that question now?" Chloe then followed up.
Beca looked thoughtful as they stopped at the red light. "My father died," was Beca's response. Chloe quirked an eyebrow at her just as the light turned green. Beca snuck a glance at Chloe before driving on ahead. "My adoptive father, at least. He was a good man, despite being the boss of a mafia family. Fair, with his own set of morals. He never wanted innocents involved in our business – women, children, people who have nothing to do with our world. He'd always says, let monsters devour each other."
"Seems like he influenced your ways too," Chloe commented.
Beca could feel Chloes eyes stay fixed on her while she kept her own glued to the road. She didn't feel any shame or judgment there, just a genuine curiosity to know. It made it easier for her to talk.
But then again, being with Chloe, spending time with her, whether it be scheming to bring Babel down or just sharing a drink to celebrate their small progress, made everything easy.
Easy to talk, easy to smile, easy to laugh.
Easy to be honest. Easy to just be Beca.
And Beca knew, it was a little bit foolish. She knew it could bite her back in the ass in the end. A part of her worried that telling Chloe anything would put her life in danger as well, but the other half of her would say that with Babel around, it was already in danger to begin with. If anything, it made Beca want to be more honest so she could better move according to her nature and protect Chloe at all costs.
It wasn't supposed to be like this.
This wasn't part of the plan.
But Beca chose to indulge herself with whatever time she has with Chloe, knowing it may not last forever.
That's why she chose to be honest.
"He got sick unexpectedly, although I suppose it was a long time coming based on his lifestyle. His heart just gave out. We never had instructions on what he wanted after, who would be his heir, and perhaps he thought he still had the time to sort things out. Paulo, his son, was the obvious next in line, but they never saw eye to eye. I'm not sure if he ever hoped that he would change either. But I served him well. He taught me well, trained me on everything I needed to know and managed all of the affairs of the family. I was his right hand. But I was still just an adopted daughter. American-born, and a little less palatable to the older, more conservative side of the family. They focused on their desires for blood heirs, so Paulo was their obvious choice. Besides, he can give them more of it, I wouldn't give them one because of my preferences."
"So, Paulo's your boss now?" Chloe asked.
"No," Beca replied. "Paulo would rather me dead. The older members had him fixed as the natural option for a new boss. But his methods clashed with my father's vision, and many other members of the family have no desire to head his words. He has no class or finesse, and he doesn't care who become collateral."
"So, you're in hiding?" Chloe clarified and Beca gave a nod as they turned right into Chloe's neighborhood.
"For now," Beca then said. "My business with Paulo is pending."
Beca pulled up in front of Chloe's childhood home and got out of the car just as Chloe did so that she could walk her to the door.
"Do you really have to face him? Paulo?" Chloe asked, looking rather thoughtful as she kept her eyes fixed on the ground. If anything, she sounded like she was almost pleading for Beca to stay instead.
"I can't turn my back on the people who need me, on my family," Beca replied truthfully. "Paulo will run them to the ground and put their lives at risk. Not to mention, he'll ruin Don Fabio's legacy."
"Your adoptive father?" Chloe asked, clarifying, turning to face Beca as she did.
Beca nodded and stopped right in front of Chloe's childhood home. "Wouldn't it be dangerous?"
Beca chuckled. "I was already put into a coma for ten days while I'm here," she pointed out.
"I suppose danger just follows you then," Chloe joked. "Thank you, for everything by the way. For helping me get out of jail, making sure our friends don't go to jail, the dinner, and taking me home. You didn't need to. I know I lived in the opposite direction. I'm pretty sure my car is still parked at Barden Tower anyways, so you could have just driven me back there and I could have gone home alone."
Beca shrugged. She liked spending time with Chloe anyways, and she was still worried Babel would pull something again. She wanted to make sure she was home safe. "I heard there's a good wine store nearby. I'm out of wine and wanted to check if they have what I want," was her reply.
Okay, maybe Beca can't fully be honest about everything.
Chloe laughed. "Isn't there a big one near Barden? I assumed they'd have more variety there. Besides, the one near here closes early."
"I might check it out then, on my way back," Beca then replied, shoving her hands in her pants pocket. "I assume the one here is already closed? The one near Barden should still be open, right?"
Chloe checked the time on her watch and nodded. "About an hour ago, yeah. The one near Barden also closes in fifteen minutes, you know?"
"I guess I'll get some tomorrow instead," Beca then said, keeping her eyes on Chloe.
Chloe shook her head at Beca's antics. "I know you probably won't need me saying this, but please get home safe," she then said.
"I appreciate the concern," Beca replied and watched Chloe step into her home. Once the door was firmly shut, Beca lingered for a couple of seconds, observing Chloe's neighborhood, making sure nothing seemed suspicious or out of place before heading back to her car and driving back to the tower.
Chloe was finally home, and she deserved some rest.
Beca won't let Babel disrupt that again so soon.
Aubrey huffed when she tuned into the news early the next day. She was really enjoying watching Babel suffer financial blows thanks to their own actions, what with investors worried about Babel's current downwards trajectory, and their slipping stocks. But Babel seems to be on the move to more than make up for the loss, if the news was to be believed. Theo Walters was seen dining with Calamity Evermoist, the chair of both Evergreen Banks, which belonged to his father, and Moist Financial Firm, which belonged to her mother.
"I guess evil doesn't stay punished for long," Emily commented while they started to gather around their meeting table.
"I guess we have to deal with them too," Chloe then said with a huff as well.
Only Beca was the one who looked rather amused at the news. "You seem very relaxed about this, if a deal goes through, Babel will be stronger than ever."
Beca shrugged, "It will be Evermoist's funeral in the end when Babel inevitably falls," she replied, trying very hard not to laugh.
Chloe looked at her amused, "Is it the last name? Her parents decided to join their names together, you know, Gerard Evergreen and Serenity Moist. Although, I think they still kept their maiden names in use during official public engagements, their daughter most certainly uses the combined name though."
"Well, that was a stupid decision," Beca replied sniggering as she leaned back on her seat, hiding her face behind one hand, trying to pull herself together. "But Gerard Evergreen, that name sounds familiar."
Aubrey quirked an eyebrow at Beca. If they were to stop this deal from going through, she needed Beca scheming to do so. And to do that, she needed to give Beca proper motivation.
And the fates were on Aubrey side, because she knew of the best motivator there was.
"He was the murder victim," Aubrey then replied as she sat down in her own chair, tossing Beca a folder from her desk. Beca quirked an eyebrow at her reaching out for the folder as her curiosity got the better of her. The mirth in Beca's eyes quickly disappeared as she read the file, the smile dropped from her lips. If anything, her expression became unreadable.
"Murder victim in what?" Emily piped up to ask.
"Oh," Chloe then said, realization dawning on her. "I remember the case now… it was on the news during the lengthy trial… Gerard Evergreen was the murder victim in Dr. Mitchell's case."
Aubrey nodded, keeping her eyes trained on Beca. "Dr. Mitchell worked as a professor in English literature at a prestigious university here in Atlanta. He was out on sabbatical for a couple of years due to an intense fight with cancer. After a miraculous recovery, he started working back at the university. At that time, Gerar Evergreen, an alumnus, became more and more active in the development of a few facilities on campus. During an alumni event, Dr. Mitchell got into a fight with Mr. Evergreen. There were conflicting testimonies but I personally believe in Dr. Mitchell's version of the tale, he found good ol' Gerard assaulting one of the co-eds on campus and tried to save her. They fought, and when he pushed him off, Gerard hit his head on the concrete. It was pretty much self-defense. Serenity found them soon after and implicated Dr. Mitchell in the crime. The girl he saved was paid off so she wouldn't testify, although she has reached out to his former defense attorney out of guilt to push for a retrial, now wanting to testify, especially since the MeToo movement and the desire of other victims to tell the truth."
"You really did your homework, huh, Bree?" Chloe then said. "I feel really bad for Dr. Mitchell now… but how could he just accept his fate like that? Because he got cancer again?"
But Aubrey didn't humor Chloe with a reply, eyes still trained on Beca.
She sat still for a moment, looking thoughtful, before closing the folder and giving it a gentle shove towards the middle of the table. She stood up, grabbed her suit blazer from where it was placed behind her seat, and started walking towards the door.
"Emily, get me everything you know about Calamity, I'll have Lilly do some digging too," Beca then said, stopping just before she turned the doorknob.
"Does that mean we're about to teach Evermoist a lesson?" Emily asked.
"A lesson? No, we'll make them pay," Beca said as calmly as she could before leaving the office.
Chloe got up from her seat, curious about the sudden change in her mood but Aubrey stopped her and volunteered to go after Beca.
"I should start gambling, I guess right that you would be here," Aubrey said as she made her way towards where Beca stood on the rooftop.
"You know, don't you?" Beca asked, keeping her eyes trained at the distance, watching the view of the city from the rooftop.
Aubrey sighed as she stopped next to Beca and leaned on the railings. "It's not hard to piece together based on how you were acting, Mitchell."
"That's not who I am anymore," Beca replied.
"You do know he didn't want to abandon you, right? He thought he had no choice when he got sick, having no other living relatives. He did come back for you, I wonder if you knew… but by then you were already adopted and left for Italy. It's his guilt over that, something he never could get over, that made him accept this unworthy punishment."
Beca used both his hands to hide her face again, this time not masking any laughter. Her body shook gently and Aubrey couldn't help but wonder if she was trying to fight back sobs and tears. When she finally stood straight, she ran on hand across her hair and looked away from Aubrey for a moment.
"Does he know?"
"If he does, he didn't tell me," Aubrey replied truthfully, recalling the conversation she had with Dr. Mitchell once Emily stepped away, that day he got confined indefinitely in the hospital.
"Chloe?"
Aubrey shrugged before vocally responding, "Not to my knowledge. She hasn't asked much about the case and we've been busy with Babel. Emily doesn't know either."
"Keep it that way for now," Beca replied before finally turning to face Aubrey. "You'll get him out, right? I'll give you all you need for the retrial. We'll get it from them."
Aubrey nodded. "And, will you tell him?"
Beca looked away again. Aubrey didn't want to push, but she could see how much this was weighing on Beca. She's already seen how Chloe was destroyed by her father's death without even achieving any reconciliation from their misunderstandings, she didn't want Beca to have to deal with the same thing either. "Just consider it," she then said.
Beca gave her a tentative nod. "Come on then, we have a new target, we can't waste time over sentimental nonsense," she said before walking past Aubrey, leaving her with her thoughts for a while.
Chloe wasn't sure how to feel about anything right now.
This started three days ago, when she, Beca, Aubrey, and Emily were reviewing what they knew about Calamity Evermoist. From they knew from the news, there was going to be a big event to announce the joint venture between Babel and Evergreen Bank as well as Moist Financial Firm. Because they couldn't possibly let that deal go through, they had to be able to step up and dismantle the deal before anything is signed and finalized.
Hence the development of their hodge podge of a plan that no, Chloe doesn't hate. She absolutely doesn't. She's totally all in on this.
Beca wasn't entirely certain either from what Chloe could tell, but she was soldiering on with a determination she's only seen now. She's been acting a little weird since they found out about hw Dr. Mitchell was connected to this case, but Chloe wasn't entirely sure how to approach that topic either. Instead, they focused on diving head first into the plan.
The plan, as discussed three days ago, was to win over Calamity's heart, get the dirt on her, and have her cancel the deal by making her fall in love with none other than Beca Bella.
"Why me?" Beca had said when both Aubrey and Emily volunteered her.
"Why her?" Chloe had all but chorused.
"Look, Calamity is, well, a walking calamity," Aubrey had explained. "There's a record of every girl she's dated and picked up in her bar. She's volatile, once the woman she's dating doesn't fit her view, they get physically and violently assaulted. The same for the girls who turn her down. We already know Beca can defend herself pretty well, making her our best option here. Not to mention she fits her type of cool and sophisticated."
"I really don't want to," Beca had protested. She looked close to begging too.
It's not that Calamity was nowhere near good-looking. She was actually quite handsome, to say the least, with that bad girl energy coming off her. But Beca didn't seem interested at all.
"You were fine with flirting with Dr. Hannah Matthews, what's wrong with doing the same thing now?" Aubrey had asked, sounding a little exasperated.
"First of all, that was different. Charming a woman for an hour, simply flirting is easy. Going on a date with a vile human being is not. I have to actually spend time with this woman to win her heart and pretend to be her exact specifications," Beca had argued.
But Aubrey wasn't one to back down either, laying down the law and giving examples of terrible scenarios of what would happen if it was Emily or Aubrey herself, or worse, Chloe in that situation. It was then that Beca volunteered Lilly, but then even Lilly was shaking her head saying she might end up killing if not maiming Calamity.
With no other choice, Beca had begrudgingly agreed. This set up phase one of their plan, or what Emily would like to call an accidental but significant encounter. They spent the rest of the last few days prepping, setting up Beca's fake identity, and making plans upon back-up plans.
Which brought them to the present day.
Calamity rode horses and had her own house in a local stable. She would go horseback riding from time to time. Under the disguise of new stable hands, Aubrey, Chloe, and Emily watched as Beca rode into the scene with her own horse, looking incredibly dashing with an expensive scarf looking like a free-flowing cape behind Beca.
Who knew Beca could ride horses?
"Chloe, you might want to close your jaw a little, you're practically drooling," Aubrey teased, snapping Chloe back to present day as they cleared out hay in the distance.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Bree," Chloe replied, nevertheless wiping the corner of her mouth now that Aubrey made her feel self-conscious.
Aubrey chortled next to her, still keeping surveillance of Beca as she made contact with Calamity.
Chloe did the same. It looked like Calamity was taking the bait, she seemed quite smitten at Beca – or rather Bea Bee, because apparently, she liked one syllable names; Beca on the other hand, looked absolutely mortified at the name that sounded more like "baby" than anything.
Chloe's grip on the pitch fork tightened as she watched Beca pet Calamity's horse. Calamity on the other hand started touching Beca on her arms. Chloe was quietly keeping count, pouting by the time it reached ten. Calamity seemed very touchy feely. And then, as planned, Beca's scarf loosens, and Calamity catches it as they had hoped. Beca then tied it around Calamity's neck, paying her a compliment that it suited her.
"Chloe, please focus on the hay instead, anymore and smoke will start coming out of your ears," Aubrey teased yet again.
"Oh, shut up," Chloe replied, stabbing the hay with the pitch fork. "I'll check on things inside, see if I can do anything there," she then said with a huff.
Chloe spent the next five minutes trying to figure out what she could do to help in the administrative side of things before she remembered she probably shouldn't. She knew nothing about running a stable and the only reason why they were allowed to work undercover was because Beca charmed the owner enough to let them.
Snap out of this, she thought to herself as she marched into the stables to find Beca sitting on the fence of an area where the horses were kept so they could gallop around, looking deep at thought.
Chloe made her way towards her, and as soon as she placed a hand on her shoulder, Beca all but jumped up.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"She wants to have drinks tonight," Beca replied rather monotonously. "I don't think I can do it, Chloe. Just thinking about it makes me shudder. Do you know what she said earlier? I asked if I could ride her horse, and she said he was a wild one, but I can ride him. When I asked why have a wild horse, she said she enjoyed breaking them in. That's her idea of flirting, Chloe," she then said, mortified.
Chloe was too.
And Chloe very much wanted to tell Beca she didn't need to do it. She could stop. But that would mean that Babel will grow more powerful. That would also mean they would miss up on a chance in finding a way to help Dr. Mitchell with his case.
"I don't have to Beca," Chloe settled on as an answer. "But it might be easier to win her heart if she's drunk. Plus, if you can fake drinking, you can have the upper hand. We'll be close by too."
Beca shook her head vehemently, trying not to speak so loudly. "Nope, nope, I can't do this. No."
Chloe grabbed Beca's shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. "You're the mafia's lawyer, right? Cool-headed and strong. You never let go of your target. You're charming and smart and capable. Think of all her victims? Her and her family? Only you can catch her in your trap. If you can't, then who would?"
Beca visibly gulped and nodded along. "I can do this, I can do this," she then said as she excused herself from Chloe's company, not wanting to keep Calamity waiting.
Chloe took a deep breath. She didn't want to, it sucked, but she had to bolster Beca's confidence. She can't let her waver, because at the end of the day, this whole mission isn't about the two of them at all, but all other people who could benefit seeing the so-called powerful pay for their crimes.
"That's right! You can do this Beca!" Chloe cheered on, running around to where Beca was facing, trying to be cheerful.
To her surprise, Beca grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her close to an accidental hug.
Chloe stilled for a moment. This was probably the closest she has ever been to Beca, and she didn't know how to act. She didn't even know what prompted that reaction.
"Horses spook easily," Beca replied. As if the horses wanted to prove the point, one of the horses behind Chloe who was tied outside the fences and who was turned away from Chloe, neighed. "It's not safe to startle them from behind, they could kick you, so be careful."
Beca took a step backward and Chloe nodded. "I guess we shouldn't be horsing around here, then," Chloe then said and Beca shook her head and laughed a little before leaving.
That little encounter was enough to power her through for the evening.
She sat by the bar with Aubrey and Emily, their backs turned against Beca and Calamity who were in a nearby table. They were close enough to pick out bits and bobs of their information and monitor their reactions on the reflective surfaces of the incredibly chromatic designs of the rather upscale and modern bar they were in.
But Chloe tried very hard not to listen in, her jaws were already clenched tightly as Calamity continued to be touchy feely and started calling Beca "babe" thanks after she saw her name on the fake business card Beca handed to her.
Beca looked just as uncomfortable based on her reflections. Calamity didn't seem to notice and so she soldiered on, first talking about her little firm as a lawyer and being inspired to fight for the little people which Calamity found to be charming. She then proceeded to compliment Calamity for being in a highly regarded position at their age, trying to get her to talk about it.
That's when she started talking about her family. Her mother who heavily influenced the board of directors for their company, and who still held majority of the shares in both. She simply didn't want to deal with the day-to-day life at both the bank and the financial firm so she let Calamity handle things since her father died.
Beca apologized for her loss and Calamity shook her head. Under the influence of alcohol, she had very little filter, and thus she shared the most intriguing tale. Calamity knew what her father did the night he died because she was there. He had brought both his wife and child along with him to attend the alumni event. Bored, Calamity took to exploring the campus, and that's how he found him assaulting a young student. Something that was apparently a habit of his whether at work or when they were travelling, even at home with their maid staff. She saw her father enter a struggle with a professor from the university, and saw how he fell, how the mother found them, and had asked the professor to leave them, promising to deal with her husband, who was still alive at that time.
Something changed in Beca's demeanor then as she prompted Calamity to keep talking. Even Aubrey looked surprised at the sudden revelation.
Because Dr. Mitchell didn't kill Gerard Evergreen.
His wife did.
She had grabbed a rock on the ground and hit him in the head a few times with it as he tried to get up from where he fell.
Her mother knew Calamity saw, but they decided to keep it a secret, a promise that she would rise to the top of the companies when the time came and take over running it. This also freed her mother from a wretched husband she could no longer bear. Thanks to the scuffle, it was easy to pin the crime on the professor, Dr. Mitchell.
Chloe looked over to where Beca and Calamity sat, watching as Calamity lean in close to Beca, tucking a lose strand of her hair behind her ear, whispering something. Beca shook her head, insisting Calamity rested for the night. She placed a hand under her chin, tilting it close to Beca, almost as if she was about to kiss her. But Beca didn't. Instead, she simply asked her for another date the next day, to a local amusement park, promising to have a fun day and an even better evening then when she wasn't drunk.
Calamity agreed. Beca helped her get into a cab to get home safely afterwards.
When they joined Beca at the parking lot, ready to head back to the tower, Chloe could see something had truly changed.
There was fire in the stormy blue eyes of her.
"So, what's next?" Aubrey then asked. "The plan was to convince her tonight to cancel the deal with Babel."
"I told you, didn't I? We'll make them pay," Beca answered coldly. "I'll start working her on Babel tomorrow, but we also need to plan for getting her to pay for her crimes, and then her mother, and that takes time."
"We don't have that much time," Aubrey reminded her.
"I don't need much," Beca replied.
"I'm guessing we'll be spending a late night at the office, huh?" Emily asked Chloe as she watched Beca and Aubrey talk about their plans.
Chloe nodded along, wondering what's going on with Beca, and wanting to help in any way she could.
Something tells her things had suddenly gotten very personal.
Chicago slammed his fists on the desks, berating Pieter and the Kommissar. His recent plans to be Chloe's savior and to make a deal and bring her back to DSM had been spoiled, but at least now they had the DA and the state attorney general in their pockets.
But his frustrations with Beca Bella kept growing.
Even now as they were working on a deal with Evergreen Banks and the Moist Financial Firm, she's there trying to spoil in on the fun, Calamity having been spotted leaving with Beca Bella at some upscale bar by Theo who had just arrived then. He did his duty to inform him instantly, watching from a distance so that he wouldn't be spotted.
Sometimes having a brother for a lackey was useful.
"Sir, we can work on…" Pieter started to say, wanting to propose another way they can solve things legally.
"I don't need a lawyer right now; don't you get it? I need someone with the devil's spirit to get things done! I want this deal secured!"
Chicago huffed and slumped down his chair before leaning back and placing his feet up on his desk in his newly minted office in DSM.
"I'll handle it sir, and rest-assured that this deal will be completed," Luisa then replied.
"Be sure it is. And the Trebles?" Chicago asked, rubbing the sides of his temples, remembering yet another failure. He wants his tower built, and that will only get done if Barden Tower falls and is finally in ruins.
"They have been taken care of," the Kommissar then replied.
"Good," Chicago said. That was one problem taken care of.
He won't tolerate failures like them any longer.
Bumper was never one who would contemplate the decisions he's made in life and how it got him to where he was now.
At the very least, until that moment.
To say he was shivering would be an understatement. "H-h-huddle closer, c-c-come one," he said, pushing himself towards Donald, his right hand, Tom, the former director of Babel E&C, and Unicycle, the accountant for their little unofficial business as Babel's lackeys and the one in charge for reimbursing them for expenses and filing them under more legal and palatable work-related matters. The four of them all tied up together in the heart of a walk-in freezer. As far as he can tell, they were locked in there by the more brutish thugs Babel had recently hired to take care of them.
The rest of the Trebles were tied in groups of four and five. Most have already lost consciousness. Bumper was scared that some of them had already died.
But he can worry about them later. Bumper wasn't sure how long he could stay awake for, and they need to find a way out, otherwise, that certainly spells their doom for them.
"B-b-b-boss, I d-d-d-don't know how-how m-m-m-much l-l-l-longerrrrr I can be a-a-a-awake," Donald then said.
"W-w-w-weeeee have to g-g-g-et out of he-he-here," Bumper replied with chattering teeth, making them scoot over and around towards any exit they find. If they have to break some doors down by force they would, but first they need to find something that can cut through their ties.
There must be something in there they can use.
Anything.
That's when Bumper saw a meat hook in the distance, one they can maneuver to bring down. It would require all their strength to do so, but they will get it done.
That was the only way they could survive their predicament.
At the very least, they were going to die trying to escape from there frozen fate.
A/N Pt 2: The plot keeps thickening in this one…
Will they succeed in financially crippling Babel?
Also, what's the best guess for Bumper? Does he live? Does he die? And the other Trebles?
How will Beca's next date with Calamity go?
Will Chloe survive it too?
The next chapter is gonna be fun, but I'm more excited for what comes next, you'll know why when we get there xD
UPNEXT: A dramedy scenario? A declaration! And, an intruder?! OH NO!