A/N
This is my first attempt at fanfiction, it is unbeta'd and all grammatical, plot, spelling, etc. mistakes are my own.
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters, Stephanie Meyer does.
Warning: This story is rated M for profanity, violence, and sex. Do not read if you are not 18 or older.
Sanctum
Chapter 1 – In the dead of night
Jpov
"I don't understand why I have to come along," I grumbled, pushing my blond locks out of my eyes, "Rosalie is a competent field medic, hell she probably has some gizmo that has an encyclopedic knowledge of medicine along with step by step instructions for brain surgery that a 5 year old with steady hands could follow."
"I'm working on one, Jas," quipped Rosalie, "But you saw the report from Jake, Seth has a broken wrist and no way of setting it. I might be able to fix him up, but you're a sure thing. The only other option is for the Voturi medical people to tend it, and if he tells the Volturi about the injury, they'll want to know where he got it before treating it. He can't very well tell them he was poking around in their warehouse while they were gone."
"Besides," said Alice reasonably, "He can't leave the compound, you can fix the wrist and put on one of those excellent clear casts of yours, and none of the baddies will be any wiser. He might even thank you." She said waggling her eyebrows suggestively.
I flushed at the last comment and, muttered something unkind about Alice's parentage. It was well known around the unit that I was gay, even though it didn't seem to bother anyone, they all made comments from time to time. Seth seemed intent on feeling me up every time we were in close proximity, just his way of teasing me, like Emmett's crude jokes. "Carlisle could go," I suggested hopefully.
Alice shook her head, "His cane would do wonders in the field, and even if he were physically able to do this op, the last thing I need is Esme tearing me a new one if her husband gets a paper cut in the field. Look, it's all quiet here, and you don't have anything or anyone to do here. Esme said that I could have you for the night, you have the training, you have the tools, and besides, the Volturi training outpost is supposed to be more or less abandoned, one or two guards, and the new recruits. Jake said he and Seth would meet us just inside, exchange info and get Seth's wrist attended to."
"Stop being a baby, Whitlock," Emmett growled, not looking up from the rifle he was cleaning, "If anyone should be complaining, it's me. This op is going to be dead boring, and I'm the one that has to babysit you while you fix up Seth's booboo, doc."
"Time's up, Jas," Alice said, "You don't have a choice, and we don't have a huge window of opportunity here. Wheels up in 5."
I sighed and got to my feet, heading toward the medical bay on the other side of the complex. Sometimes I hate my job.
4 years ago
I was working for the SPD when a case came to the organized crime division, a new family called the Volturi had started a minor drug operation in the slums of Seattle and after a few months, the officers working the case, Mike Newton and his senior partner Charlie Swan, had organized a takedown involving 35 police officers (3 full SWAT teams included) when they reached the scene, everything appeared to be under control, but by the end of the op, 15 minutes later, 12 of the officers involved were dead, including Detective Swan and a full SWAT team taken out by a sniper. Only one officer came away completely unscathed, Riley Biers had been in one of the trucks not destroyed by explosives, grenades, or RPGs and had thus avoided injury. Several others sustained only minor cuts and scratches. Ben Cheney and his wife Angela had broken limbs from blowback when a crate near them exploded, the others of their SWAT team were not so lucky. Benjamin Amun had been in a hand to hand altercation with one of the Volturi guards, and had just managed to best the other fighter, though not before suffering severe bruising and several small stab wounds from the knife the man wielded. Of the survivors, Mike Newton came the closest to death, I had to remove three bullets from his chest, one had come within millimeters of his heart, and one of his lungs had been collapsed by another. These five were the only officers on the scene that remained with the department after the debacle. It was declared the most catastrophic operation in the history of the department, and with the help of the media, the numbers of dead and damage done were concealed from the general public.
The Volturi case was moved to top priority for all divisions and for three weeks the entire department hunted for additional leads that would give us a better idea of who the Volturi were, how much influence they had, and how they were able to conceal enough information to take apart the impressive force leveled against them. That is until Esme Cullen, a striking woman in every way, visited the chief of police and left with the entire case file and instructions that no one in the department was to mention or pursue the case further, upon pain of … well, if they told us what they'd do, the threat wouldn't have been nearly as effective as the simple icy glare that Cullen treated us to individually.
In my 20 years, I had never thought much about my own father. When I joined the force at 18, I'd been assigned to the medical division, and I showed a remarkable aptitude for surgery, quickly advancing through the ranks. Since I was gay and in the closet, I had very little social life to speak of, I studied almost constantly for 2 years, reading medical texts, talking with other medics on the force, as well as officers who (unsurprisingly) were a wealth of first-aid tricks and tips. Some attachments were stronger than others, of course, and the one man that I came to respect the most was none other than Charlie Swan. He became a father figure of sorts, advising me to "find my passion and give it 100%." He also confided in me once that the saying had come from his previous boss, who had used the mathematically impossible 110%, which irked Charlie.
I suspected that the real motivation for Charlie's mentorship of me is that he wanted my passion directed to his daughter, Bella, who had worked in the station for 3 years more than me. Charlie would often hint, not so subtly, that Bella was single, attractive, and had her father's wit. Had I been straight, I'm sure we would have at least dated, but I resisted every attempt at matchmaking with the excuse that I would have time for romance and family later. The day Charlie died, I mourned the fact that I had not confided my secret to him, I held Bella at the funeral, and came out to her that day.
Present day
"Move it, Whitlock!" shouted Alice from across the expansive motor pool, "Sheesh! You'd think you didn't want to go, the way you're dawdling."
"I don't want to go." I shouted back, picking up the pace, nonetheless. As I hopped into the back of the van, Rose took off out of the complex, pulling into traffic at a heart-stopping pace. I had to fight back a moment of nausea as the centripetal force of our momentum pitched my organs toward the far side of the van.
"Where's the fire, Rose?" I asked, smiling weakly.
"Don't sass my woman, Whitlock." Emmett growled (his usual mode of speech is grunts and snorts, but when he feels up to the effort, he always growls. I shudder to think about him and Rose in the sack.)
"Your woman?" Rosalie asked calmly, I could see sparks sizzling behind her lovely violet eyes and her platinum hair whipped around as she leveled a glare in the direction of Emmett. The bear-like man gulped, his blue eyes wide.
"I was trying to stand up for you, Rosie," Emmett said carefully, "… besides, you've always said you're going to get my name tattooed on your ass, so…." He finished cheerfully. Still watching him, (not the road) Rosalie snorted indelicately, "You wish, McCarty," She turned back to the road just in time to slam on the breaks as a light shifted to red. My stomach lurched again.
"Goddammit, Rose, watch the road!" I said, trying to keep it from sounding like a plea. I looked over at Alice, who was studying some blueprints, ignoring us completely. "This is why I hate field ops, Alice. Please keep them from killing me before the Volturi have a chance."
"Rose, ignore Emmett, he's an ass. Emmett, stop being an ass. Jasper, shut up." She said this all without looking up from her papers. We all sat quietly for the next few minutes until we reached our destination, Rose stopped the van and hopped out. Pulling a black knit cap out of her pocket, she piled her hair up onto her head, secured it, and slipped the cap on, she picked up her rifle and a small toolkit and shrugged her vest on over her black top. Emmet was businesslike too, as he checked his arsenal of grenades, C4, handguns, and knives before shouldering his own massive rifle. He saw me watching with slightly stunned amusement, it's not like we're assaulting a country here I thought to myself. "What?" he growled softly, I was a boyscout."
Alice hopped out of the van just behind me and shut the doors. "Right," she said, "the warehouse we want is about a quarter mile west, it's right along the water and has 3 entrances, there are guards at both the ground-level doors, but if we approach from the roof of the adjacent warehouse, Jake says he's the only one on the roof. We get in, get the info, help Seth, and get out. No talking unless necessary. Any questions?"
Yes, do I absolutely have to go? As I saw the steely look in her eyes, the question died on my lips, not that I would have asked it anyway.. probably.
Emmett took the lead, making sure no hostiles would spot us as we padded softly between buildings and containers. Alice and I were in the middle, me with only a handgun, and Alice with a rifle and sat-uplinked PDA showing thermal images of the buildings we were surrounded by. Rosalie took up the rear. We reached the desired warehouse and climbed the ladder swiftly. As we crossed over to the opposite side of the roof however, my stomach clenched as I saw that the gap between the buildings was 6 feet, at least. Emmett was the first to cross, dashing to the edge and leaping easily to the other side, landing in a crouch to avoid making any noise. You had to do this in training, you had to do this in training, you had to do this in training… Don't look down. I steeled myself, sprinted for the edge and leapt, barely reaching the other roof. Emmett grabbed me by the arm and steadied me as I flailed momentarily. And that's why I don't work in the field. I thought to myself. Emmett gave me an encouraging thumbs up, and motioned me toward the building access structure near the middle of the roof. Without waiting for Alice and Rose, who were only seconds behind, we ran swiftly to the door, Em knocked three times, then paused and knocked once more, then leveled his rifle at the door, Rose and Alice assumed similar poses as the door swung open.
Jake and Seth peered through the open door, identical grins breaking onto their faces as they greeted Emmett, Rose, and Alice. Jake immediately handed over a PDF device to Rose so she could dump his full reports onto a hard drive for later study. The short haired, muscular Native American then turned to Alice and furtively asked after Bella's health, they retreated a short ways away while Emmett kept guard over us and Rose worked her tech magic. Seth came over to me immediately. Unlike Jake, he wore his straight black hair slightly long, and it fell into his deep brown eyes as he glanced at me, averting his eyes every time our gazes intersected. I felt his arm tremble slightly, and he caught his bottom lip in his teeth as I gently inspected the wrist. "Do you need something for the pain?" I asked quietly, he jerked his head from side to side, and I think he blushed. . "I need you to lose the shirt, Seth. This will be less painful if I don't have to work under your sleeves." He flushed darker, but pulled off his shirt, revealing a lean, muscular torso. He was attractive, and shy, but unfortunately, he wasn't my type. I pulled out a leather strap and handed it to him, "The break is clean, but it's slightly out of alignment, and I need to set it, put that in your mouth," He obeyed, and I sharply jerked his hand and forearm to reset the alignment of his wrist, then I retrieved the clear sheath that we used as a cast. It would limit his motion as well as remaining nearly invisible for the duration of his recovery. I quickly snapped the sheath together around his wrist and worked the pneumatic pads to pressurize, locking the cast in place, and providing sufficient support to act as a fiberglass cast would. "Done here, Alice," I called out softly as Seth put his shirt back on. He refused to meet my eye as I told him to try and make contact if anything happened with his cast. Rose handed back the storage device to Jake, and packed her portable tablet away, shouldering her rifle once more. A few tendrils of her hair had escaped to snake down around her neck. Alice nodded to Jake, murmuring a farewell and promising to send his regards to Bella.
We retreated the way we had come, the roof-to-roof jump much easier the second time, maybe I could get used to this fieldwork shit, I thought as we returned to the van and started the trip back to the base I have called home for the last 3 years.
3 years, 9 months ago
After Charlie died, I gave up some of my medic duties to sift through case files with the rest of the department, looking for any clues that would link to the Volturi and give us more information. When Esme Cullen came to inform the department that we would no longer be pursuing the Volturi case, I was furious, to say the least. I cussed at the cool and collected woman for a full 10 minutes, and then I vowed that I would never leave the case alone. Charlie was the closest thing I'd ever had to a father, and I'd be damned if some useless suit would keep me from finding and punishing his killers. Bella had a similar reaction, and both of us were suspended pending evaluation of our actions and mental status, which only gave us more time to focus our efforts without the distractions of every day police work.
Bella and I used Charlie's influence to get our hands on copies of some of the more promising case files before we left the station, and we spent the next 3 months sifting through the files until we had come up with a few leads that seemed to solidly indicate the Volturi. We quietly contacted the survivors of the raid that stayed with the department, and they, after an initial bout of hesitation, agreed that they would use their resources to follow our leads without putting anything on paper. This continued for another six months, and then Bella and I finally hit a wall we couldn't get over secretly. We needed to try and track down an ex-Volturi who had turned state's evidence in Los Angeles over a year prior. The information was classified, and Bella had to hack the server, in the process, she stumbled upon a firewall that did not belong to the police.
The next day, we were walking along the street when a black SUV pulled up beside us. Before we could blink, two men jumped out of the vehicle and flanked us, they didn't look happy. One was built like a freight train with short black hair, he was wearing a tight black t-shirt and black jeans. On his right hip was a .45 calibre pistol, and he had at least 3 knives, one on each thigh and another in one boot. The other man was thinner, with shoulder-length brown hair caught back in a horsetail, he was dressed in a trim suit, but also appeared to be heavily armed. Bella and I had planned out a strategy if we were ever accosted by Volturi operatives, so we quickly fell into character, her clinging to my arm and me cowering away.
"You need to come with us," the larger man growled. Bella shrank closer to my chest and whimpered.
"Honey, who are these guys? Have you been gambling again?" she questioned me, as she posed the second question, she started to shift from fright to anger. When I didn't answer her, her eyes blazed and she stalked between the men and me, "You have haven't you?" she shrieked, slapping me hard across the face, that was the signal. In sync, we both lunged, her to one side and me to the other, hoping in the confusion at least one of us would get away and be able to get help to the other. I heard her gasp and snarl behind me moments before a pair of steely arms wrapped around my arms and torso.
Bella started to curse, "Son of a—" I heard a crackle and the last word shriveled on her tongue. The thinner man had tasered her. Not wanting to experience the same treatment, I immediately went slack in the clutches of the giant assailant. "I'll come quietly," I muttered. We were both bound and I was blindfolded and thrown into the back of the SUV.
About twenty minutes later, we were deposited in a room and our bonds were clipped off. I slipped my blindfold off just as the single door to our cell (for that was the only thing it could be) was closed and locked.
Present day
After we returned to Sanctum, we found that nearly all other operatives on base were in the field, an almost unheard of occurrence. Since I had only been off base a handful of times when undercover agents were wounded or when the chance of injury on a particular op was extremely high, I knew that there were seldom less than 20 people on base at any given time. Only 3 people other than our team were still on base. Esme Cullen was in the Ops center as usual, and Bella was with her. The other agent on base was Esme's husband Carlisle, who had been half crippled in an operation over a decade ago. To my knowledge, he never left the base, and he never went on missions, leaving the tech and medic roles to Rose and me if there was ever extreme need. He was almost always in either the Medical Bay or the Tech Lab, fixing up humans and machines by turns.
It was almost 2 am when we returned, and Alice and Emmett had both been up for 36 hours, so they both headed off to their bunks. Rose said she was going for a run, and I decided to finish some paperwork and head to my bunk. Half an hour later, I was in my room. Instead of taking a bunk in the barracks like most of the personnel on base, I had private quarters between the Medical Bay and the Tech Lab. Since I was the on-call medical officer whenever Carlisle was otherwise occupied, I needed to be close at hand to Medical in the event that an operation went south, or there was an accident on base. Esme insisted that the private suites in the barracks area were more comfortable and tried on several occasions to convince me to move my things there, but since I rarely left base as it was, I opted for the rather greater privacy afforded me by my own place away from the rest of the base personnel. God knows, I still had my share of visitors, which is, I suspect, most of the reason Esme wanted me to bunk with the others, but since I was unattached, in contrast to many of the operatives on base, I didn't need an actual lock on my door, or walls without windows, preferring the seclusion of living in an entirely different section to the claustrophobic privacy of a room crammed up against everyone elses, after all, sound travels very well through metal, and with my luck, I'd probably be adjacent to Alice and Garrett and Rosalie and Emmett.
I was idly reading, waiting for fatigue to return after the rush of fieldwork when a noise startled me out of reverie. Mindful of regulations, I strapped my holster on one hip and set my book down before leaving my room in the direction of the Tech Lab, where the noise had come from. As I stepped into the darkened room, I was confronted with one of the last things I'd suspected. On the ground in a corner was a pile of rubble, and as I watched, a figure dressed all in black dropped from a hole in the ceiling just above the rubble. Even though I was shit with a gun, I knew that this situation could get rapidly out of hand if I didn't do anything, I turned on my radio to the frequency I knew Rose would be on, and I activated the switch, then I pulled my gun, checked that the safety was off, and leveled it on the intruder.
Epov
Fucking break in to Sanctum! James is round the bend on this one, and I'm supposed to do it alone! Well, I can't stand any of the others anyway, Tanya and Irina really need to lay off, I'm glad that Kate finally found another boy-toy to occupy her, but honestly, if he'd paired me with any of those three they might already be dead. Who likes anything with that much plastic anyway? Give me a tall blond with a big cock and I'm set, oh yeah, I'm gay, so sue me.
I think that I realized it when I was still living with my father, but dammit, no privacy or free time for 10 years is enough to make anyone an awkward shut-in. If I'd ever been able to get away from my brother or mother for more than a day since I was 12, maybe I'd have a life, a boyfriend, a first kiss… anything? Anyway, I'm just glad the bimbos Denali aren't around to paw at me with their acrylic nails or press their silicone or collagen implants (breast, lip... chin *gag* or otherwise) on any part of me.
You'd think that after two years of working with me, they'd notice I have no reaction whatsoever to them… girls are stupid. No wonder I don't find them attractive.
Anyway, the only other agents my age that aren't on permanent assignment are Jake Black and Seth Clearwater. While they are fine specimens of masculinity, I would never be able to make it work with either. Jake isn't even in consideration 1. He's straight, 2. He's Native American (so no blond, blue eyed perfection for me) 3. He has a mind like a rusted steel trap (seriously, he's good with his hands *snort* and with weapons, but give him a map, a compass, and a year's supply of food and he wouldn't be able to plan an escape from Toys'r'us.) you get the idea. Seth has been eyeing a few of the men, so he might be gay, and he's got a pretty good head on his shoulders, but he lacks confidence, Jake treats him like an annoying little brother, and still with the Native American vibe, plus he's only 18, and I don't really want to go there, he's barely legal, and I'm not into that.
Despite these drawbacks, the overwhelming reason that I'm not with anyone is undoubtedly James, if he ever finds out I'm gay, I have no doubt that he'll at least try to kill me.
I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, I knew it would come to this eventually, and who knows, maybe this is my moment, the chance I've been waiting for.
I grew up in France until I was 12. My father, Frank Masen, was an American Ex-pat with sallow skin, lank blond hair, and all the personality of a bar of hotel soap. (come to think of it, he usually smells like hotel soap…) He started out as a low-level attaché to the US consul, but after some drama with a British intelligence asset (trust me, not as glamorous as it seems) he was forced to leave the consul and he severed ties with the US. I'm technically American, though I have several passports that disagree (honestly, who would buy me as Arabic? But with a little face paint, a fake nose, colored contact lenses, and some black hair dye you might be surprised.)
I was always slim growing up, probably due to my father's propensity to eat 9/10ths of whatever food I made, and my own love for the outdoors, I suppose my body is adequate, my hair is completely hopeless, some weird shade of bronze-brown and whenever it's longer than crew cut length, it does a fair impression of medusa, tangling endlessly and mercilessly. My eyes are my best feature, striking green that doesn't seem to match either of my parents, for some reason, but then again, none of me ever seemed to fit in.
At 12, I moved to London when my mother decided I had to join the family business, until then, I had never really met my mom, when I found out I was going to move in with her, I was happy because I thought surely it couldn't be more awkward and uncomfortable than living with Frank all my life had been. I remember the first day I moved in with her, the sinking feeling when I realized that, indeed life could get worse than it was with Frank.
I lived with her and James for the next 6 years until he moved to Seattle to open up a new branch of the family industry, and I moved out 2 years later, exiled because apparently, a Volturi who won't kill people isn't worthy of working with Victoria Masen, so here I am, with 3 plastic bitches throwing themselves at me every 3 seconds, my own brother hates my guts, because the bitches won't throw themselves at his slimy ass, and I'm just all around screwed, though not in any pleasant way, I'm literally screwed.. Fucking bunkers.
"Last chance to man up, Eddie," James said to me this afternoon, I was momentarily distracted by the urge to vomit all down his sweaty, grungy clothes as I caught a whiff of his stench, seriously, showers people. Maybe if my brother would wash his hair more than once a month, and change his clothes daily instead of bi-weekly, the Denali sisters would leave me alone.. I look at his face.. Maybe not.
Compared to the rest of my family, I'm downright pretty, which isn't saying much, but James mentions it scathingly every chance he gets, calling me a fag (little does he know) and a pussy (ew) and a wimp.. (true..) He has a face that would make sculptors weep, and not in a good way. He got my father's nose, huge and fleshy with grotesque gaping pores filled with unmentionable dirt. He inherited my mother's heavy forehead, complete with unibrow, and shallow-set grey eyes. His hair is long like Victoria's, but straight, blond and lank, like Frank. (If I call them Frank and Victoria, it's only to imagine for a moment that some mistake was made, and I'm not actually related to any of the three by blood.) Back to James, he has vile crooked teeth that generally have at least one bit of food stuck in them, as if hoarded against starvation, and he's constantly picking his nose, or ears, or crotch, probably because of some horrible rash he acquired somewhere down the line.
Victoria is not an attractive woman. Imposing, yes, elegant no. She has a very muscular frame, sharp features, and has never smiled in the 10 years I've known her, she smirks, she scowls, she grimaces, she shouts, she kills people, all in all she's what I would call scary beyond all reason. Her only beautiful attribute is her long red hair (which I'm not entirely convinced is natural.)
With Victoria as a mother, I can't see how James is so filthy, at least in hygiene and fastidiousness, she and I are well paired. The happiest I ever was with my living conditions (if you call virtual imprisonment while learning to do something you hate and are sure is illegal "happy") was during the two years after James left, when several questionable odors disappeared completely from our shared space in the Volturi training complex, and there was no longer any danger of walking on used condoms, cigarette butts, or clothes soiled by what one can only pray is dirt and sweat. But despite all this, I'm the more disappointing child, which is a wonderful feeling when you're being compared to the sleaziest jackass that ever walked the earth. James is in charge here, and James makes the rules, here goes nothing.
On the outside, the Sanctum base looks like a 3 story business complex, complete with a daily cadre of economy sedans and bored looking office workers populating the insurance agency, 2 telecom sales businesses, and waste management company office that populate the three above ground floors. Innocuously situated at the edge of downtown Seattle, these incredibly riveting peons live rewarding and fulfilling lives of pencil pushing, haranguing unwitting housewives, and water cooler gossip. (Actually, compared to my life, that might be preferable).
Underground is where I need to go, I don't really have blueprints, because .. well, it's Sanctum, so obviously not on the grid. I do know that the personnel on base will be few and far between, since James has evidently come up with a distraction to draw all but the essential operations agents away. The best way in is through the floor of one of the telecom server rooms. Strategically placed, the telecom offices are the main reason Sanctum is here, and ironically they provide one of the only structurally insecure points of the building. Conduits piggyback up through the server rooms of both floors of telecom offices, and link up with the dishes on top of the building, making use of the fact that most lay-people wouldn't realize that there's simply too much equipment for only 2 offices to be using.
I quickly break into the main office, no alarms, because honestly, who would break into these offices. There's nothing of value that isn't bolted down, all the tech is a decade old at least, and it's almost across the street from a police station. The telecom office is slightly more challenging, but picking locks is one of my better skills, so I'm in quite quickly. The server room is at the back of the office, so I sprint past rows of dreary cubicles, finding the spot of floor adjacent to the conduit I line it with shaped-charge explosives that will (hopefully) reach only through the floor, and not set off any alarms in the Sanctum complex. The charges work beautifully, and I find myself confronted with a hole that leads down to Sanctum's tech lab.
For the thousandth time, I almost turn back, but since it's likely the last op I'll ever do for the Volturi (whether because if I chicken out James will ship me somewhere even worse that here or because if I succeed, Sanctum will almost undoubtedly capture me and most likely execute me for my lack of interesting information) I buckle down and secure a rope to one of the ventilation shafts, hoping it will hold my rather light frame if I can manage to get back here to escape. I drop down through the hole, not bothering with the rope, and land crouching on a pile of rubble below.
"Don't move, asshole" is the first thing I hear upon landing, the second thing I hear is the hammer of a pistol being cocked. Well, that went swimmingly. For once in the two years I've been in Seattle, I get to be alone, and do I go to a bar and find a hot guy? No, I practically fucking turn myself in to people who would kill me as soon as look at me. He's somewhere behind me, and I know he's got a gun, so I raise my hands and stay crouched, maybe he'll get close enough that I can turn the tables and escape.
I hear padding footsteps approaching me, and I keep my hands loosely held behind my head. Please, put the gun to my head. I think fervently, waiting for the pressure that will tell me he's made a rookie mistake. I feel a presence looming behind me, and finally, after an interminable time, I feel the light press of metal against the back of my hood. Yeah! Fucking-A, it's a trainee, or some moron guard! I crow internally.
I quickly whip my hands around the hilt and barrel of the pistol, wrenching it away from the back of my head in a matter of a split second, I simultaneously pivot on one knee while sweeping my other leg out behind me to try and catch this moron off guard. I realize I have one of his hands under my own on the hilt of the pistol, and adjust my grip to help with my leverage as I swing him around. I feel his legs start to give, and apply more pressure with my own, throwing the startled man to the pile of rubble underneath me. I now have him on the ground beside me, I jerk the gun from his hand and turn it around, pressing it to his chest as I straddle one of his legs and pin one of his arms to the ground, trapping him with my body. I look at him, to assess how dazed he is, you know? And time seems to stand still as I see his face for the first time.
The man lying under me is practically my dreams personified. He's got long-ish blond curls that frame his face, his eyes are wide with panic and confusion, but are the most striking blue I've ever seen. His nose is straight and beautiful, his lips *swoon* look like they've been carved from marble. I realize that my hand is still touching his, and a feeling like the buzz from an electric fence is working its way through my body, and embarrassingly, to my crotch. Suddenly, my hand on his seems too intimate, and I jerk it away, feeling my pants tighten as I realize how close I am to this man.
Oh, god, don't let him feel that. Fuck, Edward, how weak are you man? Can't even incapacitate a fucking Sanctum trainee without popping a boner, really professional hitman you are.
He closes his eyes, and angles his head away as he says, "Do it quickly, please." I hear a hint of fear, masked by stubbornness and his voice goes straight to my groin, it reminds me of honey on warm bread. Fucking do *you* quickly, if you please. Jesus I have no mental filter, I realize that my hand is still on the gun, though I can't think why he would ask me to kill him.
"Shit," I groan, "'Fucking base will be empty, I swear' bullshit. Fuck, man, who are you? Why are you here?" I demand. Not even 2 minutes into the op and already it's blown, I need the man in charge if I'm going to do what I came here to do, I only have 2 options now, tie up this beautiful man and try to find his boss, or abandon the op and go back… James would fucking kill me. Onward and upward then.
"J-Jasper," he stutters a bit over his name, and revel in the sound of his voice once more. "Whitlock. I'm the medic on base."
"Well, Jasper, medic on base," I say slowly, "Here we have a problem, because I need to find your boss, and you just fucked it all up." Fucking doctors with guns, no wonder he was so easy to take down. I wouldn't mind getting a physical from him, strike that. I wouldn't mind getting physical with him. So I'm stuck here with a doctor who's practically the personification of every naughty fantasy I've had for the last 10 years, I'm holding a gun, and my body is telling me to jump his bones… lovely.
"You can let me go, I won't tell anyone, I swear." He says, eyes opening once more to look up at me, pleading. Fucking Bambi eyes? Seriously? Goddammit, tying him up is sounding better and better. I'm not going to have time to find the man in charge, James is going to FUCKING KILL ME!
I snort, "Jasper, I'm skilled enough to break into a secure Sanctum facility, and incapacitate at least one of their operatives, give me some credit, I'm not stupid. Besides, anyone who's seen a cheesy spy movie knows that people who say 'I won't tell anyone' are lying." He's still watching me, but he seems to relax a bit at the joke. "So you're a doctor, and you have little to no combat skills, why the fuck did you pull a gun on me?" I demand, "Does anyone else know I'm here?"
"Fuck you, you broke in here, I suppose I should have just kept on walking?" he has some fire in him after all, I like. First question answered, not the second, not good for me.. I guess the best thing for me to do is get myself captured and hope no permanent damage ensues before I can explain myself… in the meantime there's something I've been dying to try for about a decade…
"Fuck you, Jasper," I retort, loving the way his name rolls off my tongue, "Now you've gone and fucked up my entire everything." I'm not angry at this point, mostly just resigned. I inhale deeply, and steel myself for what I'm going to do. I fucking refuse to be taken down or, god forbid, die without having a first kiss. "I'm really sorry, I'm going to have to knock you out, but first." No time like the present, I drop the gun, whip off my hood, and grab both his hands, pinning them above him, and just as his eyes widen, I bring my lips crashing down on his. Any second I expect I'll feel excruciating pain in my lower extremities, sure he'll knee me in the groin, but if so, I'll at least die happy. As my lips connect with his, lightning explodes through me, dousing the world in sparks. God, his skin is soft, I think, as I assault his mouth with my own, desperate to fit as much passion as I can into what is going to be my only kiss ever, and as the lightning heat of contact sears through me, I moan into him, and he. Fucking. Kisses. Me. Back.
When I gain some modicum of awareness back after the first bolt of lust becomes bearable, I feel him arching into me, his lips move against mine urgently, his leg rubs exquisitely across my rock hard dick. I can't think or breath in the onslaught of desire, and I release his hands, bringing my own hands down, one to tangle in his perfect blond locks, the other snaking around his waist to pull him closer. I'm drowning in a wash of heat and I vaguely feel his hands run up my back to tangle in my hair, mussed from the hood.
I feel him sigh into the kiss and take the opportunity to slip my tongue into his mouth, sampling his flavor, honey and cinnamon, he caresses my tongue with his own, and our bodies continue to strain together as our tongues dance erotically.
After what seems like an eternity, I pull away from the kiss, the amazing, reality shattering, mind blowing kiss, and gasp for breath. I look down at Jasper, he's breathing heavily as I am, and his face is flushed, his pupils blown wide with desire. I feel his own erection straining against my thigh and his hands are still tangled loosely in my hair.
I'm about to dive back down for my second kiss ever when I hear the sound of a hammer cocking for the second time, a steely female voice says, "Don't move fucking asshole, I will blow you away where you stand if you don't fucking release Dr. Whitlock, put your hands on your head, and kiss the ground."
Well, I figured he'd called for backup, and the kiss was totally worth the time it took. I groan and say, "What is this, fucking Times Square? The base is supposed to be empty, for fuck's sake!" I do as she says and kneel down, I hear Jasper shifting beside me, and change a glance over, he's still flushed and breathing heavily. I smirk, knowing that it's because of me.
"You okay, Jas?" the woman says, he replies shakily that he is, indeed, unharmed. "Tie him up, Doc, We need to secure him before we contact the boss. Are there any others?" this last was directed at me, I figure there's no point in lying, "No, just little old me, I—" I feel hands on mine, a buzz of energy fires through me and I know it's Jasper tying my hands with a pair of zip ties. I really hope they won't kill me, but in the mean time… The feel of his sure steady hands binding me is erotic, and I bite back a groan as I imagine myself at his mercy, bound to a bed as his naked body meets mine grinding, thrusting… Then his hands are gone, and I snap back to reality, I lower my hands and start to get to my feet, "Look," I say, "I'm not who you think—" "Fucking don't move, I said" the woman dashes over to me, and the last thing I feel is the butt of a pistol connecting with the back of my skull, that's gonna ache like a motherfucker tomorrow. Darkness seeps in around the corners of my vision and I slump bonelessly to the floor. Kiss was still totally worth it.
Jpov
… wow…
So… to recap, I got my ass handed to me by the mysterious dude in black, then he started bitching at me and how I put a crimp in his plan to kill Esme, and just when I thought the whole situation couldn't get more surreal, he took off his mask. I've never used the term beautiful to describe a man, but this unknown guy was the most beautiful creature I'd ever laid eyes on. As I felt him press my body to the floor underneath his, I gave an involuntary gasp, his eyes were incredibly green and supremely pissed. He had the most amazing bronze colored sex hair I'd ever seen, add to that the fact that his hard body was pinning me to the ground in a deliciously dominant fashion, and I was half gone.
Before I knew what was happening, my entire body exploded with molten fire as he pressed his mouth firmly onto mine, had I been able to hold on to even a shred of coherence, I would have wondered why he was kissing me instead of planting a bullet in my head, but all rational thought abandoned me in a rush of lust and desire as I felt my body respond to the furious assault of his lips. I attempted to press my body more firmly onto his as I submitted to the wave of heat rushing through me, I felt his hands release mine and wander to my lower back and my hair, and take the opportunity to grab his head and hold him more tightly to me. His rock hard cock dug into my thigh as we strained together, trying to fuse our bodies into one.
Writhing on the ground, in the throes of the most intense kiss I'd ever experienced, I sighed and felt his tongue instantly invade my mouth, far from protesting, I responded in kind. Then he pulled away.
For a moment, I was dazed, staring up at him, then I looked past him and saw Rose rounding the corner, gun drawn. I remembered my radio and thought about how the situation must look, we probably looked like we'd been wrestling for the gun. I looked up and saw the beautiful assassin still gazing at me while Rose leveled her gun at him. She would make no foolish mistake like I had, she would not lose control of the situation (given the choice of course, I might very well accidentally lose my weapon to this particular intruder, if I found myself in such a position again). As soon as Rose threatened the beautiful man, I knew he would not use me as a hostage, I extricated myself from under his body, and obeyed Rose's instructions to bind him, though I felt a pang of remorse at having to treat him like the enemy he obviously was. I almost cried out when she pistol whipped him, but, knowing Rose, she probably would have done the exact same thing if she had known what we were really doing when she showed up. Strike that, she definitely would have pistol whipped him. He slumped to the ground, bronze hair a riot of color on his otherwise dark form.
"How did he get you on the ground, Doc?" Rose queried, she quickly followed up with, "You don't seem hurt, should I get Carlisle to take a look at you?"
"I'm fine, Rose, don't wake Carlisle on my behalf," I said hastily, not wanting anyone else to know about my foolishness before they absolutely had to. "I was careless, I got the drop on him, but I got too close, and he got my gun and pinned me before I knew what was happening. Didn't you hear on the radio?" I blushed, knowing if she had been listening the entire time, she would have heard some sounds that were definitely not violent in origin.
"As soon as I figured out it was you and why you turned yours on, I turned my radio off, you're always here anyway, and I figured that if I left the damn thing on, he would hear me coming a mile off," she reasoned, "He got the upper hand pretty quickly, Doc. You should have known I'd be right around the corner, haven't we taught you anything about prisoner taking? You never get in arms reach of the bastards, some of them are like octopi, all arms and legs." She scolded me sternly, though unnecessarily, "You're lucky I was around, Doc, that could easily have bitten you in the ass, and it will some day. If you want some help with your combat skills, let Em or I know, we'd be happy to help you brush up." She grinned at me, her tone turning playful, "Besides, you know Em likes to play the bad guy whenever he has the chance."
I snorted at this, it was true, every Halloween, Emmett would dress up as a commando, or a terrorist, or some other threat, and he would try to convince whoever was the most junior recruit that he was a bad guy trying to take over the base, of course, without Rose to help, he probably would have been shot, but the recruits he was going to punk invariably came in the rotation up for weapons check a day or two before one of these "attacks" and their entire armament of weapons would be loaded with blanks and their knives would go missing from the armory until after Emmett had his fun.
He insisted that such jokes actually served tactical purposes, and would say so to Esme every time she pulled him in to chastise his ridiculous charades. Of course, Emmett was the best weapons and hand-to-hand combat trainer on base, so the recruits would line up to agree with him in order to curry favor and be allowed to train with him and Esme would relent with a stern warning to "maintain professionalism on base." I'd seen several of these lectures, and though her words were always stern, once or twice I'd seen a glimmer of humor in her grey-green eyes.
"Seriously, Doc, if you have any doubts, don't just radio next time, you need to wait for backup if you don't think the situation is secure, if I'd been a moment later who knows what this creep would have done to you."
I blushed, who knows, indeed… "You're right Rose, I just thought I should do something before he got his bearings, I do know that my combat skills aren't the equal of many on base, and I didn't know what he'd do if he managed to get oriented, besides, it's not exactly a typical night, is it? What with only 7 people on base. If I'd known how close you were, I probably would have waited, but Esme and Bella are on the other side of the complex, and I know Alice, Em, and Carlisle are all in their quarters. If he got away from me before you arrived, we never would have found him.. he said something about needing to find the boss, I think he was here to make an attempt on Esme's life."
"What?" Rose was suddenly attentive, eyes flashing angrily, "Well, he won't have a chance to get to her, I won't even let her have anything to do with the interrogation. I'll get him to one of the holding cells and stay with him until more agents come back from the field. You should tell Esme what's going on. I'll let Alice and Emmett know, they'll probably want to get to the ops center in case this son of a bitch is lying about his accomplices."
"I don't think he was, I got here very quickly, I don't think he expected anyone to be in this part of the complex, so his entrance wasn't as stealthy as it could have been. There's no way another assassin could have infiltrated the base before I arrived." I was confident of this not only because of the time frame, but also because my assailant had said there were no others, and I wanted to trust him.. Great job, Jas, fall for a bad guy, nobody would mock you then…
Rose nodded, "Even so, I'll let them know, and I'm sure everyone will relax once we get enough people back on base to do a sweep safely. When you talk to Esme, have her do a security lockdown, no alarm, just a lockdown. That way, if there is another assassin on base we can either trap them or track them."
Without waiting for me to reply, Rosalie hauled the unconscious man onto her shoulder in a fireman's carry, she hauled him away in the direction of the brig and I fought the impulse to go with her to make sure he was unharmed. After scolding myself once more for the unreasonable attachment I seemed to be forming with an enemy operative, I considered the hole in the ceiling. Obviously it was a security risk to leave it there, but there were only a few ways of securing it. I decided to use a plasma net, quick and dirty, and it would kill or maim anyone who was foolish enough to touch it, but something needed to be put in place until I could get Carlisle up and he could devise a safe and secure alternative. I got the appropriate piton gun and fired the anchoring darts at each corner of the hole, activating the net once all four were securely in place. Blue light flared in a jittering web across the gap. Satisfied that the breach was secure, I returned to my office, a small space adjacent to my quarters with plate glass windows that opened on to both the Tech Lab and Medical Bay. I swung my chair to face the web in the corner of the Lab and pulled up sectional comms, "Ops Center, this is Whitlock in the Medical Office, Bella I need you to start a lockdown of base immediately, no alarms, just doors, then I need to be put through to Esme, we have a code 3 security breach." I heard a hushed intake of breath, even though the code indicated that to the best of our knowledge all assailants had been neutralized. "Right away Jasper," came crackling over the comm channel, a moment later, the interior of Esme's office filled my laptop screen; she smiled pleasantly, "Jasper," she said warmly, "What has you up at such a late hour?"
"Director Cullen, there has been a security breach in the Tech Lab." Her demeanor immediately shifted from cordial to concerned and authoritative. I continued on before she could ask any questions, "It's a code 3, Rosalie was close at hand and between the two of us we apprehended a single assailant. From his comments, it seems that he was working alone and intending to assassinate the director of this office," I tried to be business like, but my throat caught as I considered the possibility there could be more. I pressed on, "I've already requested a lockdown of the base without alarm, Rose and I felt that if there is another accomplice it would be better to trap them or force them to trip silent alarms to move around base rather than alerting them to our knowledge of their whereabouts, at least until more teams return to do a full sweep of the complex."
"I see," Esme was deadly calm, "first of all, good work Jasper. I will have to make sure the incoming teams know what to expect upon their return. I would prefer you to remain in the medical area so you don't run into any possible intruders, but if you feel unsafe, you should come to the ops center until we can assess the situation. Secondly, you say that I am the target? Have the rest of the personnel on base been alerted?"
"Rose is getting Alice and Emmett to come up to the ops center just in case anyone is loose on base, she said she would stay at the brig until someone could relieve her."
"Very good, thirdly, how was the breach accomplished, and is the point of entry secure?" I grinned when she asked.
"Yes, ma'am," I said, "I put up a plasma net as a temporary deterrent, however, I did want to ask if Carlisle could come down to the Tech Lab to help me patch the hole more safely and securely before the office above us opens for the day."
"Excellent work, Dr. Whitlock," Esme sounded genuinely relieved now that the major considerations were out of the way, I saw her reaching into her desk and pulling out a firearm, checking that it was loaded, then she pressed a few keys on her keyboard and a base-wide alert went out to each terminal informing any agents on site to arm themselves and travel the base with caution and only if absolutely necessary. "I'll send Carlisle right down, Cullen out," Esme cut off the channel and I could only assume that she was alerting the field teams as to our situation, confirming Bella's lockdown, and a thousand other tasks needed to ensure the safety of everyone on base.
I began working on my report as I waited for Carlisle to show up so that we could plug the leak permanently.
3 years, 3 months ago
When Bella came to 40 minutes after we were left in the cell, I released a sigh of relief, I held out a plastic cup full of water for her to drink. The water had come from a sink set into the wall of our cell and activated remotely after a call was put out. Aside from the door, there were no entrances to the space, no vents, no windows, (no mirrors, because let's face it, some things are just too cliché to even consider) there were two bunks with horribly solid mattresses and scratchy wool sheets. There were 3 visible cameras, and obviously someone was watching, because the water was activated promptly when I pushed the call button.
"Where are we?" Bella rasped after sipping down the entire glass. "Who were those men?"
"I don't know much more than you, Bells," I said, "I haven't seen anyone or anything except for the two men you saw. I think we're still in the city though, and I think we went into an underground parking garage before they took us here, so…" I trailed off significantly, Bella and I had been piecing together information on possible Volturi operations sites, most of our leads suggested an underground bunker of some kind, and with the way we were captured, I'm sure Bella was thinking along the same lines as me, we had been taken by the Volturi and were being held in their private prison.
"Jas, have you figured out how to—"
I cleared my throat loudly and shook my head, glancing meaningfully at the cameras in the ceiling above. I had been analyzing the cell for the last 40 minutes, searching for possible escape routes. Among the things Bella and I had learned in the months since finding out about the Volturi was that people who were suspected to have been kidnapped by them rarely returned to civilization, at least not alive. We had, therefore studied lockpicking techniques, surveillance circumvention, and other useful tricks in case we ever found ourselves in a situation such as this. I was reasonably certain that I could get free from the cell using the set of picks in my belt buckle, but without knowing more about the facility where we were being held, I doubted we would get far.
"Bella," I said casually, "How are you feeling? Is that Mexican still giving you trouble?" I raised my eyebrows and she caught my drift, arranging her face in a mildly queasy expression she nodded before staggering to her feet and lurching toward the door. She pounded on it and called out, "I need to get to a bathroom, hello?"
"Please have a seat on one of the beds, Ms. Swan, Mr. Whitlock," a light smooth voice instructed over a comm. system. Startled by the politeness and lack of gravel in the voice, I did as it requested, as did Bella, a moment later the door opened and the last person we expected walked through the door.
"I apologize for the… exuberance with which you were collected, Ms. Swan, had you given Emmett and Garrett time to explain, I feel you may have reacted differently to their attempt to bring you in," Esme Cullen stood in the center of the room facing us, an armed guard on either side of her.
"If you would come with me, I will explain everything, but I feel this is too, confrontational, I would prefer the two of you to be more at ease," without waiting for a response, she turned and strode out of the room, leaving the door open behind her. Bella and I exchanged a glance and then followed her, the guards outside the room brought up the rear as we walked down two corridors and into a conference room with a round table and 5 or 6 comfy chairs around it. Esme sat in one and motioned for us to sit and for the guards to leave.
"That's better, isn't it?" Esme commented as Bella and I sank into chairs opposite her. "As I was saying, Garrett and Emmett were instructed to apprise you of the situation and bring you in quietly, I believe that they were surprised at your attempt to flee." She paused eyeing me significantly, "I was not aware that you and Ms. Swan were intimate, or that you had a gambling problem, Mr. Whitlock, otherwise it would have been in your file. Though we do have pictures of you two, Emmett and Garrett were confused by your apparent personal drama and hesitated because they were unsure that they had the right targets. Our files indicate that you …" she paused as if searching for a delicate way to say what she wanted, and I realized where she was going.
"Your files are very comprehensive if you know that I'm gay," I threw out the comment casually, though it was true that I had come out to Bella, only a handful of other people knew my preferences, how it ended up in Esme Cullen's files (or anyone else's) was a mystery to me.
"Well," Esme gave me a small smile, "Our backgrounds on you and Ms. Swan are as comprehensive as any you will ever see, we learned of your … preference… from a certain Matthew Ellis in Austin, Texas." I gaped at her openly, Matt was the first and only boyfriend I ever had, I hadn't even told my mother about him, how the fuck?.. I realized I had said the last out loud as Esme answered my question.
"We have extremely good operatives, Mr. Whitlock, one of them did a complete workup on your life before Seattle, but don't worry, our methods are not sinister, all information was given willingly, Mrs. Cope is very good at working herself into a community and asking the right people the right questions."
Shit, I thought, Isn't Mrs. Cope that woman mom said moved in next door? No wonder she was so interested in me, but fuck, she moved like, 6 months ago.
"Who the fuck are you people?"
Esme's smile faded a bit at the profanity, but she nodded and answered, "I represent an organization called Sanctum. We exist all over the world, and our sole objective is the identification and dismantling of Volturi operations wherever they exist. We do not owe allegiance to any single government, though we have the assistance of many around the world, we operate in secret, often circumventing the legal system in order to protect the innocent, unfortunately, we were unaware of the new Volturi operation in Seattle until it was too late to prevent the police operation that resulted in the death of your father, Ms. Swan." Esme was grave and looked truly remorseful. "That said," she continued, "We have assumed responsibility for tracking and destroying the Volturi base here, and we cannot have any interference, whether from the police, or from civilians." She emphasized the last word, giving Bella and myself a pointed look.
"You can't stop us," Bella growled, "I won't stop hunting these bastards until they pay for what they did to my father, my friends." I nodded curtly in agreement, Esme sighed heavily.
"You don't understand, either of you." She had a note of finality in her voice, "We cannot allow you to jeopardize your own safety or the safety of the men and women working with Sanctum. If you refuse to cease your investigation, we will be forced to detain you."
"Fuck you, Cullen," Bella spat, "You can't possibly understand what—"
"You're wrong, Ms. Swan," Esme cut her off, "Every member of Sanctum understands your pain, every member of Sanctum has lost something or someone to the Volturi. My husband and I lost…" She lost her voice for a moment, unable to vocalize her pain. After a moment she continued, voice thick with emotion, "We lost everything when the Volturi intersected with our lives, Garrett lost his brother, Emmett lost his wife and son. Others have lost more. Don't assume you know about us, Ms. Swan. No other group of people on the planet has more of a stake in the destruction of the Volturi. We all volunteer, we contribute whatever skills we have, and we vow vengeance, justice. To that end, we do not tolerate interference from outsiders. In Sanctum, there is accountability, we learn to control our emotions, to carry out our missions without compromising security or integrity for personal vendettas."
Esme paused for another beat, gathering her thoughts before continuing, "Ms. Swan, I am deeply sorry for your loss, I regret that we were unable to save your father and colleagues, but we are the only hope you will ever have for justice. We dismantled an entire operation in Los Angeles over a year ago, I fear that we may have forced the Volturi to turn their attentions to Seattle, we only found out days before the raid that James Masen, the son of a powerful Volturi leader, was sent to oversee the reconstruction of Volturi operations on the west coast. Had our operations in London been more vigilant we might have forced them into the open, but since taking down the entire police assault force, I'm afraid the Volturi have solidified themselves in the criminal community here. Trust me when I say, you and Mr. Whitlock have no idea what you are getting yourselves into. You should step back, try to move on with your lives, and trust that we can and will find retribution for the lives lost."
"No," Bella said calmly, staring Esme down, "I will never give up. If, as you say, the entire force of Sanctum is volunteer basis, then show me where to sign, because I will never stop fighting the Volturi, and if you won't let me do it alone, then I'll join you, gladly."
"That goes for me too, Cullen," I said, "Charlie was a father to me, and I knew every one of the officers killed. You can't expect me to ignore their deaths and go on with my life as if nothing happened."
Esme looked saddened by our conviction, her shoulders slumped slightly, "Very well," she said, "It pains me to see such promising youths caught up in a fight we should have ended decades ago, but I understand. When our.. When Carlisle and I.. When the Volturi destroyed our entire reason for existing, I felt compelled, as you do, and I was given a chance to make the world a safer place, I cannot in good conscience deny you the same opportunity." She motioned for a man outside to come in, I recognized the mountain-like bulk of the large man from the SUV, "Emmett will see you to trainee quarters, then he will sit you down with our operations personnel and find out where your skills will be of greatest benefit. Welcome to Sanctum."
