EPOV

"We got 'em." The horse whisper drifted across the gloom, reaching my ears. I nodded, my hand falling to the small revolver on my hip. The knife strapped to my left bicep would have been my first choice, but this was a long-range hunt, and even if I wanted to, our prey would be gone by the time I got close enough to use it.

"Roger that." I muttered, adjusting the mike glued to my face. It was crude, but it did the job. I knew that the Boss back at Headquarters would hear.

"McCarty, you're on left. Take 'em out. The rest of ya'll wait here until we're back." Jasper Whitlock, the organizer of this run, muttered into his radio. His heavy Texan accent made it hard to understand him sometimes, but I was pretty sure most of us had gotten the message.

"Signing off, Major." I smirked and hit the switch on my radio, slipping it into the pouch on my left hip. I could almost see Whitlock's scowl. He hated it when I called him Major. I did a quick run over, tightening the straps on my boots, testing my gun, that sort of stuff, before straightening up to my full 6'5.

Perhaps a bit of an explanation would be helpful here. I'm Emmett McCarty, Tennessee native. I moved to New York after college, seeking a new life. I quickly became part of one of the notorious street gangs in New York City, The Bloods. I rocketed up the rankings, due to my build and strong fighting skills. Now I'm part of Whitlock's gang, the elite takeout team. I love it. I've already been a vital part of at least 5 missions, and now I'm second in command.

Tonight, we've been staking out around a forest to capture a small group of boys, from Manhattan. They popped up a few weeks ago, quickly turning into a force to be reckoned with after they took out one of our informants, Mike Newton, and his gal, Jessica Stanly. Both had many times gone undercover at the police station, Mike becoming an officer, with Jessica being his secretary. They had disappeared one night on their way to Headquarters, and we suspected these men for that.

I started slinking through the shadows, my steps quiet, as tall as I was. I drew out my gun, loading it and adjusting the scope as I walked. I twirled the barrel, checking the functions, before clicking the safety off. By now, I was ten feet from their fire, listening to the talking around the light.

"I told you the first time! Their trussed up good in the back of the truck." One of the boys spoke, his skin tan.

"They'd better be." The tallest man spoke then, and I could tell from his tones that he was still the one in charge.

"God, Jacob, calm down. It's fine. That little gang of pansies has nothing on us anyways." The first man spoke again.

The tall one, Jacob, rose. "Shut it, Quil. Nothing is fine until that cash is sitting in our truck where those idiots are now."

The first boy, Quil, held up his hands in the universal 'calm down' gesture. "Alright, alright Jake, breathe. Sam won't be happy to know that you blew on this mission."

The smallest boy's hand flew out, catching Quil in the neck. "No names, idiot! You could get us killed!"

Jacob sat down slowly, his eyes on the younger boy. He sat still for a few minutes, before sighing. "Look, Seth, I requested you on this mission because I thought you'd be a break from Embry. Just take a chill pill, alright? We've said Sam's name before, and look, we're all still here."

Seth nodded stiffly, before turning to the hot dog he held over the fire, stuck on a wire hanger. Silence fell over the boys as they sat there, doing nothing.

I pulled out a thermal scanner one of our boys had snitched from the FBI on an undercover mission. I swung it around the area, looking through the lens. There were only five red spots- the hearts of the three boys, and two lying vertical next to each other, somewhat far away. They never moved. I assumed that this was Mike and Jessica, but I couldn't be too sure. Then an idea hit me. Whitlock had told me to draw away at least one of the men, to pump him for secrets later. I quickly pulled out my phone, dialing Jessica's number. She always had her phone on, and in one of those new charging cases. Sure enough, the loud sound of Katy Perry's "California Gurls" played out from somewhere, causing the three boys to jump.

Quil sighed and stood, brushing off his jeans. "Stupid hostages, not turning their phones off. I'll see to it." He stood and walked into the gloom, where I assumed the truck was.

Then I tapped my mike with my finger, sending a slight noise to where Whitlock was across from me in the trees. That was the signal. I counted to three before placing my finger on the trigger, letting the shot fly. The dart buried itself in Jacob's neck, and his eyes bulged. He opened his mouth to scream for help, but he never got time to before he fell onto the ground. Seth jumped up, I suppose to check on his fallen leader, but Whitlock's dart caught him in the thigh. He fell to his knees, groaning, but not down. I heard Jasper cuss over the mike before shooting again, this one hitting the neck. Seth went down like a stone, his head landing on Jacob's leg.

"All clear." He whispered over the radios. "Grab the bodies."

I walked from the shadows, stuffing the boy's into a black body bag. Those would go in the car until the tranquilizer wore off. I then sat at Seth's spot, my back to where Quil had disappeared. And I waited.

Quil did not disappoint. He walked up from straight behind me, mumbling something about nails and girls. Then he stopped. "Hey, Seth – where's Jake?"

"Oh, he's out for the night." I stood, turning slowly, my gun out. "Now, hands on your head, no sudden movements, and no one's gonna get hurt."

Quil nodded franticly, his eyes huge. He didn't know that there were no real bullets in this gun, and I wasn't planning on telling him anytime soon.

"So," I started walking towards him. "Who are these…hostages you have with you?"

Quil shook in his boots, terrified. "A-a guy and a g-girl. J-Jake ca-called them Mi-Mike and Jess-Jessica."

I nodded slowly, lowering the barrel of my gun by a fraction of an inch. "Good. Anything else you have to say?"

Quil shook his head.

I shrugged. "Ah, well. No problem of mine." My finger slipped back down onto the trigger.

Quil's eyes bugged even more, if that was possible. "You said you wouldn't hurt me!" He squeaked, terrified.

"Well, guess what? I lied." I pulled the trigger, watching as he fell in a heap at my feet. I stuffed him in the remaining body bag and threw it over my shoulder, before walking in the direction Quil had come from.

I soon saw the truck, an ugly pickup. A metal sheet had been thrown over the back, but it was easy enough to remove. I grinned at the faces of Mike and Jessica staring up at me. No one liked them, but it would be good to have a flow of info again. I quickly untied their bonds, ripping the duct tape gags from their mouths. "How goes it?" I asked, helping them out from the truck.

Mike glared at me, reminding me how much I hate that guy. "How do you think it's been, McCarty? Or have you gotten dumber since we were gone?"

I sighed and gently placed the metal back on the truck. "Zip it, or we won't be getting out of here."

Mike shot me another look, before following me to where Whitlock was standing. "Nicely done, McCarty." He bumped my fist before turning to his radio. "The job's done – get ready to clear out." He dropped it back into his belt before waving us out. He took the lead of our little party, with Mike, than Jessica, then me behind him. I slipped my gun back into it's holster, carrying the three bags on my shoulders. Jacob was staring to shift, and I was worried we hadn't pumped enough tranquilizer fluid into the darts to knock someone of his size out. I quickly opened the bag, sending a swift punch to his head. He fell still once more, and I continued walking.

We quickly found our men, already sitting in the car. They looked like any other group of boys goofing off in their car in a back lot. I threw the bags into the trunk of my red Jeep before jumping into the driver's seat. Jasper swung into shotgun, while Mike and Jessica joined the mess in the back. I quickly slammed down on the gas, swinging us forward with a jolt. Even though Jasper was my superior, he knew better than to touch my Jeep. And truthfully, I think he was afraid of the thing, so much different from his motorcycle. The drive to headquarters was quit, broken only once when one of our braver boys, Eric, asked Jessica if her right leg had met her left leg recently. He earned a slap for his efforts from Jessica, but laughter from most of us guys. Well, except from Mike. He just glowered. Like always.

We pulled into Headquarters late at night, the moon brushing the roof of the place. We all piled out, most guys stifling yawns. I unpacked the bags from the back before locking the Jeep, knocking on the steel door of Headquarters. And who else had to answer the door then the son of our Boss.

I scowled at the boy standing in front of us, his red hair spiky, his yellow and dark red argyle sweater vest standing out in the gloom. "Emmett." He greeted me formally, my scowl deepening.

"Edward. Out of my way." The Boss's son raised his eyebrow.

"Should I tell my father about the arrogant tone you take with me?"

"Go bang on your piano a bit. Maybe you can churn out something good for once." I muttered, brushing past him. That wasn't fair – Edward was actually a fantastic composer, but was I going to tell him that? Noooo.

He scowled at me, but with his lack of any training, there was nothing he could do. The rest of the group pushed past him too, some of them giving him a gentle shove, sending him reeling. Jessica paused to flirt with him slightly, but he just sighed and looked over her head. She scowled and followed our party through the building.

Headquarters really was a fantastic place – three stories high, with over fifty rooms. The biggest room, of course, was the Boss's office. I guess we got lucky with the Boss. He was actually amazingly nice, treating us all like we're his children. His wife was even nicer, cooking for us and often buying us things.

The Boss's wife was one of the few girls in Headquarters. We had Jessica, Edward's girl Bella, Garret's girl Kate, a few other girlfriends, and the little barmaid. Now she was a force to be reckoned with. Barely coming up to my shoulder, she was dishing out drinks to the guys at night and practicing in the dojo during the day. Yet her eyes were always sparkling, and her black hair was short and pointy, almost like Edward's, yet they weren't related. Her name was Mary Alice, although we all called her Alice. No one knew her last name, and no one cared either. Once, while Jasper and I had gone for a drive, he had admitted to me that he had feelings for her. I had laughed so hard I had to pull the car over, and when I stopped, Jasper's horrified expression sent me into more peals of laughter. Of course, I was the only one who knew, and carried his secret with pride.

I was one of the only guys in The Bloods who didn't have a girl to call my own, and it bugged me. I mean, I'd met a few girls, but none of them really stood out. But I didn't really have time for a girlfriend anyways, due to all the work I did for the gang. Whatever. I mean, this isn't a sappy story about my lack of romance. Back to the storyline.

The entire group had dissipated by the time Jasper and I made it to the Boss's door. No one liked coming in here, unless they were summoned for a raise, or a medal. Even now, when we had returned our informants, and brought three prisoners, my heart was still pounding and my stomach churning. I swallowed and looked back at Jasper. He nodded and stepped forward, rapping softly on the wooden door with his knuckles.

"Come in." The Boss was still young, maybe 37, at my best guess. He and his wife adopted Edward when they were twenty, and he was their only kid. We walked in, sitting down on the comfy leather chairs he had in front of his desk. I dropped the bags to my feet, looking at the man that ran my life. He had close cut sandy blond hair and startling blue eyes, hidden behind a pair of thin wire glasses. He wore a thin white cotton button down and a pair of khakis. I assumed that his shoes were as sensible and comfortable as the rest of him – possibly old loafers, or Nikes. His lab coat hung on a hook attached to the door, pictures of his family spotting the whitewashed walls. Shelves filled with books took up most of the room in the area, with confusing medical titles I didn't understand. Edward's grand piano sat in the far corner, shining with the faint light coming from the fan on the ceiling.

I turned my attention back to the man at the pale wood desk. A small laptop sat in front of him, sending light onto his face. He smiled at us, his perfect skin pulling back around his mouth. "How'd the mission go?"

"Good." Jasper spoke, his voice calm and quiet. "We successfully rescued Mike and Jessica unharmed, and collected the three men guarding them."

The Boss nodded, turning to face me. "Where are the three men?"

I picked up the three bags from my feet, placing them on my lap. "Right here. We shot them with tranquilizers, like you asked."

The Boss opened the bags, inspecting our men. After a pause, he looked back up at us. "How would you guys like it if you got moved up to the E.G?"

I blinked. "The E.G?"

The Boss laughed softly. "Do you know of any others?"

We both shook our heads, stunned. The E.G stood for the Elite Guard, a group of men and boys that took all the top jobs. They were also in charge of protecting The Boss anytime he went out.

The Boss folded his hands, placing them in his lap. "Well?"

"Of course!" I exclaimed. "We'd love to."

Jasper nodded quickly in agreement, his long blond hair going back and forth.

The Boss smiled. "I'm glad. Jasper, tell Garrett he's in charge now. Emmett, you can take the prisoners to the interrogation room. In the morning, report back here."

We nodded and stood, my hand clutching the top of the bags. As we were walking out the door, The Boos held out his hand. "Of, and boys – call me Carlisle."

We nodded again and shut the door behind us. Once we had walked a bit down the hallway, I pumped my fist, giving Jasper a high five. "Yes! We rock!"

Jasper grinned and clapped me on the back. "I'm gonna go talk to Garrett – see you later."

I nodded as he walked down the hallway, before starting towards the interrogation room. It would have been more fittingly named the torture room, but that sounded too harsh. A plank of wood sitting on a large stone was the only furniture, besides a door in the back. I opened the door to reveal a disgusting cell, filled with black bags, most empty. I threw in our newest catch before slamming the door shut again, punching in the four number code on the keypad.

I turned and walked out, walking through the hall until I made it to the stairwells. I walked up the spiraling staircase, reaching the third floor quickly. I walked down to my room, flinging the door open. I barely had enough energy left to shower, brush my teeth, and change into my pajamas. I lay down on my bed, the events of the day catching up with me. With a rush, I suddenly felt utterly exhausted, as if I had run five miles. I yawned, flipping of the lights. I was asleep by the time my head hit the pillow.