Betrayal

Chapter 1: Get with the plan Ashley!

"Yeah I'll be home soon...Yup...I'll see you soon...Bye." Ashley turned off her phone and returned it to her pocket. "Sorry that was my roommate."
She sat back down with the rest of the group. They were discussing the plan.

"Ashley, the plan is written here so you can catch up." Jerrie passed her a piece of paper.
"Thanks Jerrie." She hastily scanned the scribbled writing. "Are you sure this would work? I can see at least three flaws already that could easily be thwarted but could as easily be corrected to get us in."

Being the intellect of the group, Ashley knew everything about anything. She explained her ideas on the issues she had brought up.

"Wow I didn't even think about that." Dorian got up. "Much obliged Ashley. And now we talk about the primary target. Jessica Smith. Head of our rival group, The Rose Caymans."
The brunette's eyes immediately widened.
"What!" her head shot up. "Jessica Smith? The same Jessica Smith I was in the Barden Bellas with?!"
"Absolutely, that Jessica." the dark man got up and went over to the computer. Ashley gulped and analyzed the plan more. She recollected her time in the Barden Bellas with the blonde. They were so close. Then that question she had been evading for almost half a decade now popped up in her mind. Why did she leave Jessica when she was the sole person she could go to?

"Ashley, are you listening?" Sheridan's foreboding stare peered out from above some files and straight into Ashley's soul.
"Indeed I am. I was merely wondering how she became the leader of the Rose Caymans. Because she seemed relatively innocent when I knew her. I had to teach her a hell of a lot of basic knowledge." The brunette tucked some hair behind her ear. "And we all recall them bastards only chose the best of the best."

"That's what I was just getting to. We need your knowledge of her." Dorian clicked his pen and pointed at the files Sheridan was holding. "We only have a few facts that could assist us get to her. We need her weaknesses, strengths, friends and family and a hell of a lot more. We need you to get to know her again."
"What exactly are we doing to her anyway?" Ashley inquired, writing down notes. The meeting went on for a couple more hours until the brunette was finally able to go home.

"About time Jones." Ashley's roommate, Aubrey Posen frowned at her, stood in the door frame. "Your dinner's gone cold."
"Bree you don't need to make me dinner. I've told you that, you know I stay late a lot of the time." the brunette walked into her bedroom and put her bag on her bed, returning to the lounge.
"That's funny because I called into your work asking for you and they said you left at 6, when your shift ended." the older blonde raised an eyebrow. "Mind telling me what you were actually doing?"
"Fine. I was out with friends. We do it every day, at the same time. It's like a routine thing for us to do." Ashley shrugged, grabbing her plate out of the microwave.
"And why was that so hard to tell me?" Aubrey folded her arms and stood by the counter.
"Why are you so desperate to know what I'm doing? You're not my girlfriend." the brunette rolled her eyes and sat down at the dining table, starting to eat.
"Because you know I like routine and I like knowing exactly what is happening at every moment." the green eyed girl sighed and sat down next to Ashley. "If you just told me then I could have fit the schedule around that."

"Mmh." Ashley hummed. "Should I start talking to Jess again?"

"That was a bit out of the blue. But you probably should. Explain things." Aubrey got out her daily planner and started writing out the daily plans including Ashley's 'meeting with friends.' "But I must warn you, she was deadly furious."
"I can imagine." the brunette washed up her plate. "Thank you for dinner. It was amazing as always."
Aubrey smiled and hugged the brunette. Just then Ashley's phone started vibrating constantly.

"Did you hear about the Jadefists?" the blonde ignored the younger girl's phone. "One of the members got caught today! We're one step closer to ridding the state of those menaces. I heard rumours they're some sort of mythical creature. I'm not sure which, I don't remember. But just be careful as always."

Ashley nodded and made her way to her room. She sat down on her bed and opened her phone to almost 100 messages on the gang's group chat, code named: The Best Weirdos.

"They got Dorian.." the brunette groaned, laying back on the bed. "Of all of them, Dorian."

With Dorian gone, it would mean that Sheridan would take charge. The woman was incredibly terrifying, that was if you knew her. One the outside, she seemed quite plain and almost normal. She had black hair and brown eyes, tanned skin and always wore jeans and a hoodie, no matter the weather. But once she revealed herself, the darker layers unfolded into an extraordinary formidable character. Most of the Jadefist members were completely jittery around Sheridan and for a good reason too. She was exactly like an army sergeant but over 100 times worse. And the only person in charge of her? Dorian.

Ashley turned over and scrolled through her contacts until she met the name. My-Sister-From-Another-Mister🤗😎💖 (aka Jess). She chuckled fondly, reminiscing those times when they were inseparable. The brunette clicked on their messages and sighed when she saw the hundreds of times Jessica had tried to message her but she had ignored her. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard for a few moments before she typed out a message.

Ashley: Hey Jessica, it's been a while. I hope you're doing well. I've been thinking and it was stupidly wrong of me to leave so randomly. Yes, it took me this long to figure out. But you know I can be slow at times. I was wondering whether you'd like to meet up at some point? Let me know.

Ashley pulled herself up and got changed into a large hoodie and shorts that had quickly become her pajamas after she disappeared from the Barden Bellas. In all honesty, the clothes were actually Jessica's but they brought her comfort and a sense of safety from the risks that came with being in the Jadefists. She tied her hair back into a braid and slipped under the covers after turning the light off.

A few moments passed and as Ashley gazed lifelessly into the dark abyss outside her window, her phone lit up with a notification for a message from that girl.

She sat up, turning her bedside lamp on, and read the message.

Jessica: I don't need your fake apologies.
Ashley: I'm sincere, let me prove it to you. Saturday at The Old Coffee Cup at 2pm? I'll pay.
Jessica: Fine. But you only have one shot at this.~
Ashley: Thank you

Ashley sighed and put her phone down, rubbing her eyes and yawning. Jessica had gotten a lot pitiless since they last talked. She wondered how hard it would be to become even slightly close to her now. Especially being the leader of one of the most powerful gangs in the state.

"Come on Ashley, sleep. You have a long day tomorrow." she muttered to herself, closing her eyes and letting the blanket of sleep drape over her.