A/N: Ayo, things are about to heat up. My fave chapter has gotta be in chapter 27, so let's see how we soon we can get there…
For now, here's a short update ft. messing with Chicago and the gold!
Enjoy!
I don't own pitch perfect.
It's been a busy past few days for everyone in the tower. Flo's head was spinning with all the new information.
One was who their real enemy was. Charles Walters, Jr. or rather, the person who they believed to be Chicago Walp. Someone who had walked the halls of the tower a few times over the last couple of months, either with Chloe, as her intern, on official business back when they were both still with DSM, and by himself, as Chloe's friend, when he was visiting Chloe after she had gone.
He had always been so cordial and nice. Discovering who he really was felt like a betrayal for everyone in the tower, maybe except Beca and Aubrey. Lilly didn't seem to care either way.
Two was the discovery about Beca being a… what was the term again?... mafia lawyer – Flo decided to stick with that term – something they found out when she got back with Aubrey and Chloe who managed to sort things out. How? They wouldn't say, but Beca made no attempt to deny it was the truth. Who knew mafia lawyers could be so cunning and dashing? So kindhearted too? The rest of the tenants had started spewing out their own ideas about what she could be doing in the tower, the most popular opinion was that she was hiding from someone, but Amy seems insistent that she had personal reasons to be there.
Third was, of course, the rumored hold in the tower. No one had forgotten about that. Since the truth about Beca had come out, the tenants thought it would be best if they told her so that Beca, with all her underworld connection, can help them. They even offered her a share of the hidden treasure. Beca scoffed at the idea but Lilly managed to convince her. She promised she would look into it and came back three days later saying that it seemed to be nothing but a myth. She said she tracked down Norman and he doesn't seem to recall the story he told the tenants, so perhaps, it was just nothing but a made-up tale he gave them in exchange for some food.
Four was the current plan to out Chicago. Beca had gathered all the tenants in Denise's dance studio and, together with Chloe and Aubrey, brought everyone up to speed with their fight against Babel. They had offered to help, after all, because they all wanted to fight hard for their home and show they shouldn't be trifled with, no matter how rich and powerful their opponent was.
The major focus of the meeting was how they could get Chicago to come out and admit who he was. It was the only way to bring him to justice, after all. Charles Walters, Jr. was behind everything, and so Charles Walters, Jr. had to be found guilty by the court of law and imprisoned for his crimes. He might use Theo as a patsy if he isn't brought to light.
How will they do it?
Beca seemed to already have a plan set in motion. It started as soon as she found out who he was, when Beca broke into his home and attacked him, promising she would eventually get him.
It seemed to do the trick in scaring Chicago, as Beca's intel indicated that he was currently staying in one of their vacation houses out of state. He was currently hiding away in coastal North Carolina, Wilmington to be exact.
"So, what does that mean? What's the plan exactly? Do we attack him there? Give him a scare? I can google up ways of effectively torturing someone…" Denise then said.
"Um, no, no we're not gonna do something that extreme," Beca then said, dialing down the situation. Aubrey shot Denise a disapproving look but Chloe seemed to consider it.
"If we need extra help, my Uncle Mauricio…." Flo then volunteered before Beca stopped her with a raise of a hand. She shook her head.
"I just need a few of you," Beca then said. "Lilly's coming with, but how about you Cynthia Rose? Ashley? Jessica? And Benji? I need a hand with somethings. We'll be going on a road trip."
"Count us in!" Jessica and Ashley chorused.
"Sure thing," Beca replied.
"How about me?" Jesse then asked, eagerly volunteering his services.
"Someone needs to run the restaurant while I'm gone," Cynthia Rose then responded.
"And we need capable hands to stay here while we're gone, just in case they plan another attack," Chloe added.
"It's also the reason why we decided that Bumper, Donald, and Uni stay behind," Aubrey pointed out, nodding towards the three new additions to their group staying at the back of the room.
"You can count on us!" the three reformed Trebles then chorused.
"Alright, sounds good and all, but what exactly do you have in mind, Beca?" Stacie asked, a fair question Flo thought. It doesn't seem like Chicago would give up his advantage quite easily.
Beca smirked. "People like him, they have dreams of grandeur and excellence. He doesn't really care about anything else, other than getting what he wants, even when he stays in the shadows. Even when people never find out that the success he wants Babel to have, it was all because of him. But that comes with a price… We'll make Chicago come out of the shadows and step into the light, by using the one thing a man like him fears."
"And what would that be?" Flo found herself asking out loud.
Beca gave a knowing smile.
"Fading into obscurity," Beca then replied. "His ego would never be able to accept that."
Stacie was pacing back and forth in front of Amy's temple. She had the perfect opportunity to set her plans into motion right then. Beca was away with some of the others to enact her plan to out Chicago's real identity, Chloe was in charge of checking in on Dr. Mitchell, and Aubrey was busy finalizing documents to file a motion for a retrial for Dr. Mitchell.
Emily wasn't really much of a problem since she's studying for the LSATs whenever she wasn't busy helping their resident lawyers. The rest of the residents were up to their usual shenanigans, still not giving up on the rumored gold, but they were easy to manage and misdirect. Luke wasn't sneaking around under the pretense of checking in on them either.
If Stacie was going to find the gold, now was her best chance to do so.
Her time was running out after all. Beca turned out to be a consigliere and Stacie was willing to bet she knew who Wan Shi Tong was and that she was truly here for the gold. Judging from her observations, Luke was clearly in cahoots with Beca. Furthermore, she can deduce that the gold was likely buried or hidden in the temple, what with their nighttime excursions that Stacie had discovered during her investigations.
So, what was Stacie doing at the temple? She was thinking of joining. Temporarily of course, just so that she could freely snoop around the temple and figure out where the gold could be hidden. She would be lying if she said she had any intentions of giving up her fun adventures with Aubrey to be a monk. Not that Amy was a typical monk either.
Although lately it seems like Amy was questioning her decisions of committing to the lifestyle she's very loosely following. Bumper was there again, flirting with Amy. Their back and forth has been rather uncomfortable with the lack of subtlety, especially around the other tenants. Stacie didn't think she would be even more uncomfortable just watching them from outside the temple, when she wasn't even in the same room as they were.
From what she could gather, the two were talking about the rumored gold. Amy was feigning disinterest, but admits she was curious, and Bumper decided to add finding the hidden gold to their already strange mating rituals, promising to find it for Amy and everyone in the tower, and bragging about having an old prospector contact.
Stacie bit her lip. The walls surely were closing in.
She had to hedge her bets and decide on the right course of action.
She has waited for so long, biding her time.
It's not that she wanted all the gold for herself. She just wanted a guarantee.
A payment.
For all that she's done and for all that she's suffered.
She just wanted her fair share.
And the time to lay claim to it was drawing near.
Chicago's summer home on the coast of Wilmington looked rather out of place considering how modern the architectural structure was compared to all other houses in the area. Granted it was a huge property, complete with a private beach, with all other properties a good distance away. The place stood out, but it the distance from its neighbors made it look less jarring.
Jessica used her binoculars to spy on the happenings inside the property. Outside, the van where she and Lilly were camped were hidden well by a thicket of trees. Not far from the property was the entrance to a hunting ground after all.
Chicago was clearly spooked by Beca's initial break in, and, wanting to ensure he was safe, he hired about a dozen towering body guards, all beefed up and wearing incredibly tight standard issue suits. They were positioned around the property at different entry points, with one keeping a close eye on Chicago and Theo. Well, mostly Chicago, as the guard stuck to Chicago whenever Theo would excuse himself.
One of the guards let a white van in. The driver? Ashley. She was with Benji and Cynthia Rose. They were disguised to deliver fresh groceries and supplies to the house. Jessica kept track of them as best she could while the three they completed the delivery. The original delivery team was currently snoozing with Lilly and Jessica in their van after they intercepted them on the road, and Lilly knocked them out.
Based on the delivery size, Jessica figured Chicago was planning to keep a low profile for a while, probably for as long as it takes for him to get rid of his main adversary, Beca, something Jessica highly doubted was going to happen.
"Looks like they're leaving," Jessica then noted, finally putting down the binoculars once she saw the van leave the premises and head their way again. "How long do we wait?" she asked Lilly.
Lilly simply stared back at her. She figured the answer was as long as it would take.
Which shouldn't be long. They did tamper with a few of the expensive water bottles they delivered to ensure it would happen fast. They didn't worry much about whether Chicago would get it or not. The damned bastard bought cases of a generic brand for everyone else.
Jessica supposed she should thank Chicago himself for making their job so damned easy.
Lilly had planted a few cameras around the facility once the delivery was complete. The swiftness that which she carried out her task was something that would never cease to amaze Ashley. She wondered just how Beca and Lilly got along so well until Benji put two and two together.
Lilly worked for Beca all this time.
Suddenly all the mysterious air of danger that surrounded Lilly made sense.
Beca watched the recordings patiently, fiddling with a lighter in her hand. Ashley often wondered if the lighter was a keepsake, because she's never seen Beca smoke, not even once. She would ask, but Beca had an aura about her, one she sported whenever she meant business.
Ashley chucked it up to this being Beca on corn salad-mode… or whatever it was that the FBI agent called her.
Let's just go with Mafia Beca, she thought to herself.
It was already late at night when Beca finally stirred in her seat. She set her lighter down, a smirk playing on the edges of her lips. From the camera placed on one of the trees near the master bedroom, they saw a half-naked Chicago, a towel wrapped around his waist, hair drenched in soapy bubble, stepping outside the balcony. He looked to be looking out, searching for something, or perhaps, someone.
Beca grabbed the burner phone she had brought with her and dialed Chicago's number. Briefly, Chicago headed back inside to grab his phone and answer the call.
Beca put the call on speaker phone, pressing a finger on her lips to remind everyone with her in their hideout to stay quiet.
"WHO IS THIS?" Chicago screamed into the phone, demanding for an answer before they saw him stomp out the balcony once more.
"See how easy it is to get to you?" Beca then said calmly. "I don't even have to do much. Your hired help is useless."
"If you're going to kill me, might as well look me in the eyes and do it yourself," Chicago replied.
Beca hummed. "But where's the fun in that?" she asked. "I have all the time in the world, you're nobody after all. No one's going to miss you, or look for you. Nobody cares about what would happen to Chicago Walp. You're just another hired help for DSM, a goofball lawyer. No prestigious history. Nothing. I can take my time in killing you, make it look like an accident. Like now, for example. The water bottle you just drank had a small amount of melatonin, the active ingredient in most sleeping pills. I calculated the dose I administered in a few of your drinks so that the effects would only last for a brief period of time, a few minutes would suffice," Beca then explained before she gave out a chuckle. "I never could have guessed it would happen while you were taking a bath though. If you were relaxing in a tub, you could have drowned in the bath water if I miscalculated by even a fraction of the dose."
Chicago looked like he was seething on the other end, based on the camera recording. "That would have taken out all the fun in this, I'm glad you survived. But just how lucky will you get the next time, I wonder? Maybe I should have gone for an overdose from the start. The quicker you disappear, then faster I thwart your plans for Babel," Beca went on to say. Her words were clearly having an effect on him.
Ashley had to admit it to herself, she was impressed.
"You won't get away with this," they heard Chicago say through gritted teeth.
"I already am. Like I said, Chicago Walp bears no importance to the world. You'll just be a passing blip in the river of time, with no real impact, no real significance."
Chicago didn't humor Beca with a response after that. He was too frustrated that he chucked his phone out the window.
That obviously ended the call.
"What now?" Benji then asked.
"We wait a bit longer, and react accordingly," Beca said. "It's safe to say we got into his head. We just need to give him one final push so that he'd decide to take over Babel. Once he does, we can fight him out in the open and prove to everyone what kind of monster he is."
Ashley simply nodded, along with everyone else in response.
Mafia Beca was proving to be an even fiercer ally than just regular ol' lawyer Beca.
For the last few weeks and counting, Theo's heartbeat had been on an irregular rhythm. It was like he had been on one never-ending rollercoaster ride.
And things just got much worse.
Chicago's moods were getting harder and harder to predict. Every time he experiences a defeat against Beca Bella, Chloe Beale, and Aubrey Posen, he was getting worse and worse. It didn't help that he recently smashed the previous DA's brains out with a hockey stick.
Theo just wanted all of this to end.
But the fear of his brother, his temper, his retaliation kept him in line.
Then there was Pieter, whispering thoughts of a mutiny in his head. Of replacing Chicago, getting him out of the way.
Recently, Pieter insists on reaching out to their enemy, a temporary truce. Perhaps make a deal with Beca Bella to eliminate his brother. Apparently he did try to reach out and hold a talk with Beca but when she asked what it was about and Pieter told her, she scoffed at the idea, or so Pieter said.
Suffice to say, Theo was at a loss on what to do. He couldn't leave in constant fear anymore.
When Chicago suggested they lay low at their property in Wilmington, he welcomed it as a break. Staying with Chicago there felt like both a nightmare and a dream, but being away from their troubles for a while should calm things down.
However, it did not do that at all.
It only aggravated things.
Chicago was stomping around half-naked in their living room, summoning all the guards and extra security he hired, just about ready to strangle the most incompetent one of them so he can at least lay blame on someone with regards to how Beca Bella managed to get him a drugged bottle of water. Theo wasn't sure what to do, but if killing something could help satiate his rage, then he could at least come up with one plan.
"Let's go hunting, how about it, brother?" Theo all but blurted out in the middle of Chicago's tantrum.
"Don't you hate hunting?" he asked, not knowing if he should laugh or yell at him.
"Father always thought it was a good bonding activity with us, and well, it will help take your frustrations out. Just imagine the deer we're going after is Beca Bella," he offered as an explanation.
Chicago seemed to consider his suggestion when he stomped off back into his room that evening.
The next morning, Theo found Chicago examining newly bought hunting rifles, planning their day out in the woods. Before he knew it, they were already in the woods, looking for game.
Since their guards proved useless at stopping Beca Bella anyways, and they were armed anyways, Chicago decided to leave them behind at their summer home.
Theo felt nauseated. He hated hunting. He hated how brutal it felt. Not to mention, he always felt queasy at the sight of blood. Chicago on the other hand relished it, only making him feel more ill.
Chicago started giving chase to some wild fowl – Theo wasn't sure, he wasn't really paying attention – with his focus on what would be his prey, when the thoughts that had occupied his thoughts of late resurfaced, racing through his mind on overdrive.
It felt like his head was swirling with conflicting thoughts and ideas. He heard Chicago tell him to be armed and ready, and so he did, pointing his hunting rifle at the direction Chicago told him to. He saw a quick blur of movement and told hi brother his observations. Chicago smirked, having found his prey, and moved towards it, at a better angle.
Theo positioned himself as well, trying to guess where it would move, ready to shoot himself if Chicago doesn't kill it with his own shot. With his brother's back behind him, Theo made a move to adjust his position.
But then he hesitated.
And a wicked thought crept in.
With everything going on, Theo's head kept swirling, and just as Chicago fired his shot, so did Theo.
Chicago's bullet had missed his mark.
But Theo's landed on his.
Chicago fell to the ground, his shoulder furiously bleeding. Theo felt the blood on his face slowly drain as he made his way to Chicago with great uncertainty.
He could do it, finish him off now. Play it off as an unfortunate accident.
He could do it, he should do it.
The world would be better off if he did.
But he didn't.
In the distance, Theo could hear the rustling of leaves, of twigs breaking under the weight of someone making their way through the woods. He wasn't sure if it was the fear of getting caught, the fear of Chicago's wrath, or if he truly loved his brother deep down inside that made him call out for help. It was probably a mix of all three.
Theo threw his gun away and yelled louder, trying to furiously stop the bleeding as Chicago lost consciousness, completely uncertain if his chosen course of action was the right one.
Only time would tell.
A/N Pt 2: Hey, what do you know, a cliff-hanger.
What do you guys think will happen next?
Next chapter is a doozy
UPNEXT: The return of Luke! Shenanigans with the tenants! And a bet pays off?