Disclaimer: Everything belongs to S. Meyer. Just playing with plots here.
A/N: Sigh! I've just restarted writing today and I thought this would be a good little experiment. Tell me what you think.
The alley was dark and it stank of all manner of bodily fluids better not contemplated. Refuse and the homeless alike huddled in shadowy alcoves, shying away from the crisp click of her heels as she headed confidently down unfamiliar territory. Head high, eyes forward, she concerned herself with neither the unsightly surroundings nor the shifting shadows. A mangy half-starved stray darted across her path but still she walked until she reached the end and paused, half shielded in shadow herself.
A cold barrel of metal pressed suddenly to her nape and a slow subtle tension engulfed her shoulders as she lifted her hands slowly in surrender.
"Pretty little girls shouldn't be out after dark." A raspy voice hissed; his breath stirring strands of her mahogany hair.
The women turned, her arm shooting out in flash, disarming the vagrant while she gave him a swift, smart smack across his questionably stained face.
"I didn't know you cared Jake."
Jake's head snapped back and he grinned, blackened teeth visible between cracked lips which he pursed as he made obscene kissing motions towards her.
"Always Baby, never question it."
Bella gave him an assessing look. Taking in scuffed hole ridden shoes, long ragged trench coat and limp matted hair, she shook her head in disbelief.
"Why we couldn't have met at a nice quiet café is beyond me."
Jacob immediately straightened from his dramatically hunched posture, the joking expression dropping from his face in an instant as he grimaced.
"Your father wanted…"
She waved away the rest of the answer impatiently, scoffing as she rolled her eyes. "Yes. I know what Charlie wants. I swear, sometimes, it's like I'm still 5 years old rather than 25."
"You know he only wants to protect you. And hey, when the bossman says jump, we jump." Jake answered with a noncommittal shrug.
Irritation clear in her eyes, Bella's lips pulled into a stiff frown as she shook off the subject. "Is the rest of the team in place?"
"Sam is taking the night watch and Leah and Paul are patrolling the…"
Bella snapped to attention. "Fuck! You let the two hotheads partner?"
Jake held up a quelling hand. "We gotta let them sort it out. Better now than later when the heat is on."
"Shit!" She swore and wished to hell that Charlie had approved her request to include James as part of her team instead of Leah. "Shit!" Bella kicked aside a crushed can angrily as Jake watched her while she worked it off.
"We're your team now and you need to deal with that. I know you want your old team back but you're the one who wanted this assignment and you knew we came as part of the deal."
Bella rolled her shoulders tensely, rubbing her temples to quell the rising headache. Yeah, she had desperately wanted this assignment but she sure as hell didn't want to deal the baggage that came with it.
"Fine. Have Jared monitor their coms. If they so much as breathe wrong I want him down there to settle it."
"You got it, Bells." Jake gave her a good natured grin and shucked her jokingly across her chin. "Don't look so glum, darling. Aren't you glad I'm on your team?"
She responded in an instant, a beautiful grin lighting her face as she settled her ruffled feathers. "Yeah, Jake. I'm glad to see you whole and hale…and out of Russia."
A shadow crossed his expression before he could suppress it, but the smile stayed resolutely in place as he reached to embrace her, engulfing her much smaller body in nearly 7ft of muscle and heat which was welcome in the cool chill of the night. Returning his embrace only for an instant, Bella checked herself and pulled away, careful to show nothing but mock disdain as she brushed off a stain left on her blouse by Jake's questionable attire.
"Ok. Enough of that. Let's get down to business."
Jake, sensing her cooling emotions, reached into his coat and pulled out a non-descript folder and handed it to her. With his dark eyes settled heavily on the top of her head, Bella weighed the stack of documents in her hand with an impressed whistle.
"Langley really did their research."
A tense laugh followed her comment. "Yeah. Bossman thought you should know what he eats, drinks and shits. Just in case; preparation you know."
"Damn, I don't even want to know what Charlie is preparing me for." Bella retorted with a cynical twist of her lips. She looked up at him after doing a quick check of the papers. "You ready Jake?"
The dark Quileute gave her a brisk nod, giving away nothing in his expression. But Bella could read him as easily as an open book, could detect the tense set of his shoulders, the defensive turn of his body and the strengthening bracing of his legs. She reached out and gave him a solid affirming pat, knowing that he'd never ask for it but needed it anyway.
"It's a completely different situation here, Black. You're on home soil."
He didn't meet her eyes as he rubbed a quick hand over his face. "Yeah. Shit, Bells, I know." For a moment, he reminded her of the old Jake, back in the carefree days when they were children, but the moment was gone in a blink and the same life-hardened Jacob reasserted himself and once again stood harsh and aggressive, ready for the world.
"You better get going. Big day tomorrow." He said at last, the mood, filled with unspoken things dissipating swiftly after.
Bella nodded, letting it drop as she turned away. "Check all the eyes and ears again tonight. I want every angle covered. Did Quil have any trouble with the phone lines?"
"Nope." Jake iterated with a sassy pop of his lips, his grin showing off his interesting dental work once more. "The bossman cleared the way with nary a roll of red tape in sight."
"Good. Have him link everything to the van and to Langley, make sure his conversations are always monitored and analysed then –"
Jake gave her a disgruntled nudge. "This isn't my first time you know."
Bella grunted. "Sorry. Just…getting used to things."
After a brief hesitation, she began walking back the way she had come earlier, only pausing to look back to check if Jake was still where she had left him. The empty alley greeted her and she shook her head clear of the sentimental moment.
Leaving the slums, Bella quickly turned down several unassuming streets and hailed a cab to take her home. As the car pulled up at her apartment building, she shoved several crumpled notes into the driver's outstretched hand and slid off the fake leather seats and into the open city air. For a brief moment she contemplated calling Charlie to report on the night but figured Jake would do just that so she dismissed the notion. Still smarting from his gruff set-down the last time they met, Bella was in no mood to deal with her father.
A quick juggling act between her keys and the thick clumsy folder had her through her apartment door in a few seconds and Bella grunted in frustration as she struggled out of her jacket and engaged all her heavy duty security locks.
Quickly perusing the room out of habit, Bella found everything in the sparsely decorated room undisturbed and a quick check of the adjoining bedroom and bathroom confirmed the same. Returning to the living room, she walked into the kitchen and pulled open her fridge door. Three bottles of beer stood lonely in the illuminated white space and after a quick disgruntled shrug, Bella pulled one out and settled herself on the two-seater couch, one of only three pieces of furniture in the room.
Unable to put it off any longer, Bella opened the folder and poured its contents onto the coffee table before her. Photos slid out, scattering the space along with sheafs of handwritten notes and a USB hard drive. She ignored it all and reached into the plastic to retrieve the last item lodged within. A plain manilla file with crinkled edges sat unassumingly before her and with a deep mouthful of cold beer, Bella flipped it open and sat back with a curse.
"Well shit. Hello Edward Cullen."
The morning dawned hard and cold as Bella rolled quickly from bed and surveyed the misty morning from her window. The city smog rose with the mist as she turned away and made her way to the kitchen, passing the cleared coffee table and the silent television. After a fortifying cup of coffee and a quick top up, she made her way to the bathroom.
Setting the still steaming mug down on the counter, she stripped and showered quickly. Stepping into her wardrobe with the towel still draped around her, Bella gave a quick glace to the clothing which lay hanging there. She smirked at the assembled assortment of items and knew in an instant that her father had chosen most of the pieces. Not a single stitch of clothing would reveal anything beyond a glimpse of calf or perhaps a hint of collarbone.
Indifferent to fashion as she was, Bella shrugged it off and slipped into a shapeless grey pantsuit and dark flat heeled shoes. Sweeping her hair up in what she hoped was a professional looking style; she set about tucking an almost invisible earpiece into her ear and cleared her throat.
"Are you reading me?"
"Reading you loud and clear, Swan." Came the voice, clear in her head. From what she could discern, the voice was unfamiliar and concluded that it must have been either Embry or Jared, the two members of the team whom she had yet to meet.
"Better get your arse out that door." The man said quickly. "Cullen's already halfway to the office."
Swearing, Bella glanced at her clock, sure it still read half past seven and swore again. "A fucking early bird, just my luck."
A familiar chuckle greeted her as she grabbed her purse and left her apartment at a brisk walk. "Bells, darling, already late for you first day of work; tut, tut, what will Mr. Cullen think?"
"Mr. Cullen can bite my perky little arse." She snapped back as she stepped into the elevator, recalling the abandoned coffee, undoubtedly cooling in her bathroom still.
The man beside her gave her a queer look before she could recall herself and Bella settled for an awkward smile and a nodded greeting. He chose to ignore her which was fine with Bella as she tapped her foot impatiently until the doors opened onto the sublevel parking garage. Headed to her assigned space, she spotted the dark sedan and stuck her hand under the framework, coming away with the key and a wad of industrial packing tape.
"Fuck." She shook her hand free of the sticky substance and ignored the snickers in her earpiece. "I'm already late and you guys have to pull this on me?"
Sliding into the driver's seat, Bella started the car, slammed it into reverse and squealed out of the lot. With a good deal of cursing and some creative interpretation of the road rules, she managed to arrive at the midtown office in under a quarter of an hour. The underground parking lot of the imposing Cullen Tower was still mercifully empty and after checking that Mr. Cullen's spot was equally deserted, Bella made for the elevator and quickly scanned her employee ID through.
Edward Cullen's office sat on the top floor, at dizzying heights that Bella loathed to contemplate, the large circular space held only four spacious offices for the head honchos and the large glass desks perched in front of each door for the assistants which guarded those sacred entrances.
Discerning the polished golden name plate of her target on one door, Bella threw her jacket and purse haphazardly on the glass desk and walked through his door without preamble. She was eager to canvass the space before Cullen's arrival.
The first impression of wall to wall glass made her frown. In terms of defence, the space was an open target; a sniper could easily position himself on an opposing rooftop and pop this guy in the head as he sat in his cushy executive chair.
Other than that…it felt, warm.
In contrast to its steel and glass exterior, the inside was covered in rich cream shades and dark blue tones. Polished cherry wood furniture sat where she had expected angular modern designs and his desk was a charming mix of organised chaos littered with framed photos of his family.
A noise alerted her that she was no longer alone and with a few sweeping steps, Bella positioned herself in the private adjoining kitchen space, turning on the sleek coffee machine and scooping in what was undoubtedly an expensive imported blend. As she bent to retrieve milk from the mini-fridge, a voice interrupted her.
"Who, may I ask, are you?"
The crisp, British accent rolled languorously through her as she straightened, met his golden eyes and calmly replaced the milk on the countertop beside her.
Let the show begin. "Good morning sir, I'm Bella Smith. I'll be your personal assistant starting today."
With a wide smile, she proffered her hand and stepped forward to reach him.
His grasp was firm and hot as he met her halfway, a polite half smile barely tilting the corners of his lips as his eyes delved impersonally into hers.
And there stood Edward Cullen, all 6 feet, 2 inches and 173 pounds of him and Bella had to admit that his picture didn't quite do him any justice.
A/N: Yay. End of the first chapter. I find that I like the third person infinitely more than first person when it comes to writing, allows me a certain degree of freedom don't you think.
Anyway, what do you think Bella's up to? All that cloak and dagger stuff...
PLEASE REVIEW.