I apologize for the cliffhanger(s?) in this chapter. Next one won't give you answers but they will be answered.
TW for some more violence.
I don't own pitch perfect.
Aubrey paced about in her office, taking a break from the last-minute legal matters she had to handle. She knew that the likelihood of her proving Beca's innocence was high, she just thought it would happen once Beca was far, far away from here and all their problems have been resolved.
She supposed this was all part of defending a knowingly guilty defendant, although she was surprisingly innocent of one crime she was going to be potentially charged with despite serving the victim up on a silver platter. Aubrey supposed not knowing Beca's plans makes it easier to convince herself Beca was innocent.
It doesn't help though that her actual girlfriend was busy breaking so many laws at the moment to aid and abet her current and future client.
"Yeah, but the law is broken in the first place, so is the justice system," Stacie had argued as a counterpoint to whatever moral code Aubrey was wrestling with at the moment while starting to get dizzy watching Aubrey walk back and forth endlessly. "It's made by people on top who know they can get away with anything only so they can police other people's actions. The law gets some of the really bad guys out of the way, yeah, but only the ones who can't afford to buy their way out. It only ever punishes the weak and the desperate."
"Is it so bad to wish that there's still good in upholding it? Maybe in a perfect world, law and justice can be upheld the way they should be. I know I'll fight in my own way for it," Aubrey then said before stopping for a minute, looking thoughtful. "I suppose I just thought I'd have more time to separate my own feelings and thoughts about the matter with what needed to be done. I am human after all."
"And that's okay, Bree," Stacie then replied. "Just don't stress yourself out. There's evil out there in the world that good people like you just can't comprehend. Someone like me probably can't either. That's why Beca's the one handling this not us. We're not meant to confront things like this the way that she is."
"I mean, at the end of the day, good and bad is just subjective, right, attorney?" Uni then said cycling in on his unicycle with a tray of a hot meal from Flo's canteen, Bumper with him, mostly to open doors for him.
"Yeah, but when the narrative is being strewn together that our camp's the bad guys while we're working on actually getting rid of the equivalent of human garbage out of the picture, it makes things hard. Time is of the essence," Bumper answer for Aubrey. As much as Aubrey hated to admit it, Bumper made a good point.
That's why she's so stressed out about it. There's the matter of worrying for Chloe on top of grappling with her own morality, and getting stuff done according to plan too.
Stacie shook her head in her quiet corner at Uni cycling around and setting food for them, she never really liked him, before her attention was drawn by a red blip on her computer screen. She fished out for her phone immediately after.
"What's the matter?" Aubrey then asked.
"Chicago has stopped running around town, his direction is heading towards the docks," Stacie then said before muttering "pick-up" a few times over, her phone pressed over her ear.
"Well, if we need to buy time, just say the word, I'll rustle up the cavalry," Bumper quickly volunteered.
"And get yourselves killed?" Aubrey threw back, shutting down the idea. Chicago is dangerous, after all. He did kill Theo and kidnapped Chloe.
"We'll stall, that's all, and we're quite capable with fighting too. I'll bring our best fighters," Bumper then argued. "Come on now, we were thugs before. We can't let Chicago escape, not now."
Aubrey considered her options while Stacie tried calling Beca again. She bit her lips as she mulled things over. She didn't want anyone else to get hurt, but if Chicago escapes? All their sacrifices would be for naught.
"We'll go one way or the other," Bumper then argued.
"Fine, just stay safe," Aubrey relented. "All of you."
Bumper gave her a firm nod, so did Uni, before they quickly left.
Aubrey sighed.
She just hoped this was the right move to make.
Flo munched on chips she grabbed as she listened to Denise and Ashley share their thoughts on the current situation. She wasn't even aware of what flavor it was, so many bags were opened up and left on the table, too engrossed in the exchanges. In the background, Uni, and Donald where busy mopping her place. The two were the assigned guards for the tower in case of any trouble.
Bumper had rustled up the cavalry and it was agreed that Amy, Benji, CR, and Jessica would go with him to stall and cause Chicago some inconvenience. Stacie couldn't reach Beca but managed to deliver the message to Lilly who had met up with her boss already and she promised to head to the docks shortly.
The race was on, and Chicago must be stopped.
"I swear that man is just lucky I'm not going with Jessica," Ashley huffed. "I would have loved to get in a hit or two."
Denise nodded along, "Yeah, but it's a stressful situation you best avoid now," she commented, subtly hinting that Ashley shouldn't be doing some fighting right now, given that she is pregnant.
Flo hummed in agreement. "Besides, to many people might end up being a hindrance. Let's just pray Beca gets there fast."
"Do you even think your God will listen to that prayer?" Donald then asked absent-mindedly before Flo shot him a glare. Donald gulped and cleared his throat. "I just mean, well, we don't talk about it but we all know what Beca's about to do."
"Technically, we don't," Denise replied.
"Not specifically, but do you think that the divine would allow that?" Donald then replied, which, Flo would have to admit, was a good question.
"I think we all have a part to play," Ashley then replied. "A role to fulfill in this world. Besides, if you're really thinking that deep, why don't you ask why the divine has allowed someone like Chicago to cause so much chaos?"
"Well, I think that's no longer the divine at work there," Donald answered truthfully.
"The consigliere always said that she's the devil," Uni then replied thoughtfully. "Just because she's the devil doesn't mean she doesn't have a heart though… maybe life simply isn't as black and white as we make it to be."
Flo spoke up. "I think at the end of the day it doesn't matter anymore. What matters is we fight for what we believe is good and do what we think is best. I know I want Chicago to be stopped, and that's what I'm going to pray for. We're not pretending to be angels, we're human.
"My uncle once told the story of a despicable man who lied and cheated his way to a good life," Flo continued to speak, telling them a story. "Many people suffered because of him. But one stormy day, with raging winds and flood everywhere, while driving on the road, he saw a young child about to fall into the river from the bridge he was crossing. He stopped his car and saved the youth at the cost of his life. He finds himself in front of St. Peter, at the pearly gates, ready to be judged. On a scale, they place all the blood, sweat, and tears of the people he stepped on one end of the scale, tipping it in favor of being found guilty and sentenced to an eternity in hell. He had no good deeds, save the life of the child he saved, and the small amount of blood that compared to this child's life would not be enough to save his soul. But this youth was destined become someone important, someone who would save the lives of many. The blood of the lives that would be lost, if this man never stopped his car to do the right thing for once, tipped the scales in favor of him being allowed into heaven."
"Okay, but how does this compare to the situation?" Donald asked.
"The man was viewed to be a villain all his life, and he accepted that. He did what he had to for himself, but he wasn't completely heartless, just thoughtless, and selfish, like most of us," Flo explained. "But that one action created a chain effect that allowed for many lives to be preserved, and for good change to happen to the world. Beca might not be the most morally upright, but you have to admit, she's fought for us and others who are innocent. So maybe she will take a life, and maybe praying for her success is a little sinful, but what happens if Chicago is allowed to continue on? We're not meant to be judge, jury, or executioner, that's too much to bear, and not one of us is without sin. But someone needs to step up and take care of people like him. Because most of us are good and honest, and we keep thinking that fighting the good fight and fighting fair will allow us to win someday when our enemies never had honor to begin with."
"Right," Denise agreed. "We're not trying to be righteous, we just want the suffering to end, or at least, cheer on the person who is capable of doing something about it."
"Besides," Ashley then jumped in, "You're one to talk and ask questions when you were common thugs preying on the weak and defenseless before."
"She does have a point," Uni then said.
Donald groaned. "This is too much to understand I guess, but I am with you, I want Beca to win. That bastard nearly had us killed once he was done with us too."
Flo nodded. Truth be told, she wasn't entirely sure she knew how to feel about the whole situation.
She just wanted things to work out for the best somehow.
The drive to the docks was, well, painful to say the least. Bumper's car was a Fiat 500, with him in the driver's seat, Amy in the front passenger's seat, and Benji, CR, and Jessica squeezed in the back. Then there was the fact that Bumper was driving at the speed of a snail barely trying to win a race that Amy had to steal the wheel from him and push his leg down to give the car a bit more gas. It was honestly a miracle they managed to reach the docs alive and with no police cars chasing after them. She'd like to think Stacie had to work her magic with the traffic lights.
When they arrived to the docks, they all practically spilled out of Bumper's car. They saw Chicago in the distance with his henchmen, waiting for a shipping vessel to arrive.
It was chaos after that.
They all quickly jumped in and pulled out their best moves, Amy with her monk shaolin prowess and mixed martial arts knowledge, Bumper with his… rat technique? He was biting his enemies while beating them up. Benji was quick with the stabbing of his shears, and Jessica proved worthy of being on the cavalry team taking down a few of the Hangers herself. CR too.
They had weapons, they did not. Well, except Benji. But Amy believed herself to be a weapon too. She made quick work of the remaining Hangers once they knocked about half of them down, while Bumper, Benji, and Jessica focused on stopping Chicago from escaping. Chicago had a gun, and Benji managed to stab him in the arm, causing him to let go of the pistol he had aimed on them. Bumper was knocked down with a punch from him but he was quick to retaliate, nibbling painfully on his ankles, causing him to stumble about a bit. Jessica jumped up and grabbed on to him, trying to pull him down the ground. It was a struggle, but they succeeded.
Amy rushed to dive and slam down on him, leaving the rest of the goons for CR to finish off, but Chicago managed to pull and roll away, resulting in her slamming down on Bumper instead.
Benji managed to kick the gun away but Chicago pulled out a hunting knife. It was a battle between knife and shears at this point. Chicago managed to land a slashing cut on Benji's arm. He was about to stab him when Jessica tried to wrangle him away.
That's when it happened.
Chicago managed to dodge and stab her with knife in the gut, twisting it in even as he grinned and pushed her off him.
Benji was quick to catch Jessica and assist her, the knife sticking out from where it would undoubtedly have hit an organ. Chicago wasted no time in darting towards his car, picking up the gun he dropped earlier and firing warning shots at them when Amy and CR tried to pursue him. Bumper on the other hand prioritized rushing to Benji and Jessica to help however best he could.
For the first time in a long time, Amy felt an anger stirring up deep inside of her.
But that's when Lilly's car pulled up, Beca immediately jumping out and firing a shot at Chicago while Lilly rushed towards the shadows of the shipping containers and warehouses that surrounded them. Beca landed her shot, hitting Chicago in one of his knees, causing him to fall down. Lilly was then quick to reappear behind him and knock him out.
Beca wasted no time rushing towards Jessica herself, Amy too. Lilly meanwhile wasted no time in securing Chicago in her car. Time was of the essence.
Jessica was still conscious but she was struggling to stay away and she was losing a lot of blood, quickly too.
"Sh-should we remove the knife?" CR asked, tears already streaming down her cheeks, she was shocked by this turn of events, and panicking to help save her friend.
"NO!" Bumper practically shouted stop her. "Place your hands here, we need to stabilize that knife, but don't pull it out. She'll bleed out to death quickly," he said, taking control of the situation. They started to hear sirens in the distance, Amy's guess was that some of the police after Beca managed to track them down there.
"Benji, try to get their attention," Bumper then said and Benji did as he was told, rushing towards the direction the sound were coming from. Bumper then quickly turned to Beca who looked quite shaken herself. Amy could tell, she truly cared about them. "Go, Beca, we've got this," Bumper said. But Beca was not moved by her words. "You have to end this."
"But Jessica," Beca then started to say.
"I've got this," Bumper then reiterated. "I-I wasn't going to say anything but before the Trebles because I didn't want to brag, but I was actually a nurse at Barden University Hospital. They called me the white angel of Barden University, never lost a patient, not once."
Amy nodded, that she knew from the time she's spent getting to know Bumper since the Trebles moved to the tower. Bumper left his former career, disillusioned by how the healthcare system of this country failed its citizens, prioritizing capital and profit over actual service and aid.
But Beca still looked uncertain, wanting to prioritize Jessica.
That's when Jessica grabbed Beca's hand, gave it a tight squeeze, and smiled. "I-I'll be fine, go-go…"
"You should be saving your strength," Beca argued.
"Ma-make him pay," Jessica then went on.
Beca nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Amy could see she was struggling to reel her emotions in at the moment, perhaps scared to lose Jessica too.
Amy knew she was definitely crying herself right then, so she could understand Beca.
"But you have to live, promise me," Beca then said, her voice cracking a little.
Jessica gave a weak nod. "Of course, so-so I… I can see you again for my chi-child's baptism… you-you'll be their godmother… wi-will you?"
That was apparently what took Beca over the edge. Amy saw her gave a weak smile in return as tears started to fall from her cheeks. "It'll be my honor," she replied.
Jessica let Beca go then as Beca ran towards Lilly's car, Chicago secured and Lilly ready to leave. She gave them one last look before taking a deep breath and left.
The sirens grew louder and Amy jumped in to help CR and Bumper keep Jessica alive.
It was all in the hands of Beca now.
Emily slunk back the couch of the living area of the private suit Chloe was in. She's been keeping her company during her hospital stay, though Chloe has mostly just been sleeping and resting. Her face was in her hands, trying her best not to cry after receiving the rather frantic phone call from Cynthia Rose. In the background the TV kept droning on and on about updates on the murder of Pieter Kramer, the now missing Kommissar, Chicago who was also still wanted for Theo's murder, and the whole story of the detective wanting to pin all of this on Beca.
They just can't get something done easily, now can they?
"What's wrong?" she heard Chloe ask as she was stirring awake. Emily quickly wiped away her tears and did her best to plaster a smile on her face so that she could reassure Chloe.
"N-nothing's wrong, everything's peachy," Emily replied, walking towards her bed. "Do you need anything? Some water? Want me to prop up your bed a bit? Or are you hungry?"
Chloe quirked her brows at Emily. "I could hear you quietly sobbing, what's going on? Is Beca okay? Did something bad happen?"
Emily looked torn, she didn't want to stress Chloe out if she said anything. If she didn't, well, she might end up worrying about Beca. Besides, she was never really good at handling the stress and pressure of keeping something from Aubrey or Uncle Chris before. Especially Uncle Chris, who mastered a certain look that made Emily crumble anytime she was torn about giving him bad news. Chloe had evidently mastered that look.
Like father, like daughter.
Emily sighed and bit her lip. "Chicago tried escaping," were the first words out of her mouth.
"And?" Chloe pressed on, concerned about Beca.
"Well, the Barden Bellas wanted to help and make sure he doesn't. Beca's okay, and she's got Chicago now, that's what CR told me, but well, he managed to stab Jessica."
Chloe joled upright from the surprise, seemingly wanting to do something, before wincing from the pain of her injury. Emily helped her to settle back down. What she wanted to do, Emily wasn't sure. She looked thoughtful for a moment, and tried to keep her calm.
"How's Jessica?" Chloe asked.
"Critical condition, it's a serious injury, but Bumper and Amy were working to stabilize him and they managed to get help quickly," Emily reported.
Chloe nodded along, processing the information as best as she could. Her face became unreadable before giving Emily a tentative look.
Emily braced herself, she also knew that look.
"Ems," Chloe then said. "I have a favor to ask.
Emily felt dread. She already knew she wasn't going to like what this favor was. But the look of determination in Chloe's eyes made her sure that resisting was futile. If she doesn't help Chloe, she'd get things done her own way anyways.
"I'm listening," Emily replied, relenting.
The day was already a long one, and it looked like it was going to be an even longer night.
So, remember when the Bellas were playing the game Mafia and Bumper got the role of the doctor? That was what I'd like to call a subtle foreshadowing
You'll find out Chloe's request in chapter 44, and as for Jessica, you'll find out her fate in the epilogue (chapter 45). So, uh, hang on tight?
UPNEXT: A final confrontation! Theo (yeah, you read right, I said Theo) MVP? A dentist chair?