Title: My Damned Town, My Damned Rules
Summary: Forks Washington, Chief of Police, Charlie Swan has just made one of the hardest choices of his life and now he's beyond pissed off.
Pairing: Charlie Swan
Rating: M for language
Word Count: 4290
DISCLAIMER: Twilight and its inclusive material is copyright to Stephenie Meyer. Original creation, including but not limited to plot and characters, is copyright to the respective authors of each story. No copyright infringement is intended.
God Damn Them!
I said no! Because of them, I had to say no to my baby girl and I was pissed about it. It broke my heart to do it, but I had to say no. I couldn't, in good conscience, let my daughter come here. This is the last place on earth I'd want anyone's daughter to come to. Why? Because Forks is a hotbed for the supernatural, it's like living in the 'Twilight Zone'!
Laugh all you like but where most Chiefs of Police get DUI's and Domestic Violence; I get Shape Shifters and Vampires! The worst of it is, I knew deep down I knew. I heard all of the Quileute Legends. As a boy, I sat with Billy Black around many a bonfire listening avidly to his father and the other elders telling us about 'Taha Aki' and the third wife. Hearing how the tribe was safe against the Cold Ones because they turned into Wolves. Like him, I thought them to be stories. I wish they were only stories.
One of the reasons Renee left me and took my Bells with her was the creepy vibe she said Forks had and God damn it, she was right! I was just a rookie cop back then. After they left I threw myself into the job, giving it my heart and soul. My old chief, Bob Cartwright, took me under his wing and the rest, as they say, is history.
But it wasn't that simple; he passed the mantle to me eventually, leaving behind a legacy like no other. I became like him and his predecessor, Chief Mitchell, the Protector of Forks and the surrounding areas. What that entailed was taking care of any vampires who decided to stop here to feed, rather than pass through.
Now you'd think that would be the tribe's job, but there is one large flaw in that theory. A vampire has to stay for at least a couple of weeks before the wolf gene can be triggered. That's why the area is protected by me, a human, just like the two men before me. It's a hell of a design flaw, that the one thing that can kill a vampire isn't triggered immediately and so in recent recorded history there have only been two packs and they came about because of the same vampires, the Cullens!
Ephraim Black made a treaty with them during Chief Mitchell's time. He told Ephraim to say bite, not kill, in the wording of the treaty and this is the first time the Cullens have returned since then. They live here now, right here in my God damn town and have for the past eighteen months. Why might you ask? Well, these are a strange vegetarian coven of vampires and they drink only the blood of animals.
Two attended the high school, two pretended to attend college, one works in town and their leader works in our hospital, as a trauma surgeon no less. His wife and mate runs her own business from their home. They had a few really stupid, over the top ideas about their lifestyle when they arrived.I soon disabused them of that nonsense; this is a small logging town. Granted Seattle is only four hours away, but designer clothes and flashy top of the line cars ...nope not happening here.
My turning up at their door was a shock to them all back then. There are seven of them this time, the original five and two new ones. I laid it all out for them; they could stay here if and only if they followed my rules. Update the treaty with the tribe; fine, but it was what I said that was important not the Quileutes. I kinda set the cat amongst the pigeons that day, firstly by knowing what they were and then laying down the law to them.
The leader Carlisle Cullen was clearly an intelligent man, but he constantly deferred to a young boy called Edward. I know they are not the age they look, but this one really was, and petulant, dear God! I was there five minutes before he pissed me off enough and I threatened to shoot him.
"Bullets, really? Obviously, they can't kill a vampire, Chief Swan!" he told me pompously.
I laughed menacingly at him and said,
"You keep telling yourself that little boy, while I talk to the grownups."
That didn't go down too well with him at all. It got a laugh out of the big one called Emmett. The quiet watchful blonde one known as Jasper nodded, he at least seemed aware that yes, they could, under certain circumstances.
"Who the hell runs this coven? Why am I being harangued by a child? I came here to discuss things with this coven's leader!" I then asked.
The doctor bristled and informed me haughtily,
"We are a family Chief Swan, and I am the head of it."
This time I barked a laugh right at him and explained,
"No, you're a coven of vampires and not a human family. Let's not lie to each other or ourselves! I have work to do Doctor, so let's get this over with shall we?"
So, with that, I laid down the law: no fancy cars and no fancy clothes. They get jobs like everyone else and they stay out of my way until they leave. The doctor then told me the five children as he called them would be attending Forks High.
"Are you insane Dr. Cullen or just plain stupid? One of those downstairs could never pass for a college student, never mind a senior in high school! The mouthy one yeah, he'd pass as a junior and the bouncy energizer bunny one as a senior. That's it though! The big guy and the model could pose as college students. As for the calm dangerous one, well, he needs to get a job" I told the gobsmacked doctor.
Sort it out Doc; I know you can get all the forged documents you need!" I told him concluding our talk.
As I left, I thought I'd fire a shot across the bow, to let them know I was no one's fool. So, I politely bid them goodbye saying,
"Good day to you, Mrs. Cullen and you too Major Whitlock!"
MDT, MDR
As I said that was eighteen months ago. I wanted them to keep out of my way and stay low key, if only! Turns out Alice Cullen, the aforementioned energizer bunny, doesn't do low key. Three days in and I pulled her over for speeding. She was flabbergasted, couldn't understand how she didn't see me catching her. That's when I found out she could see the future, well the various possibilities of it anyway. It all seemed a bit ad hoc to me, really.
I clocked her at one hundred and thirty in a fifty zone, so I confiscated her car and banned her from driving while they lived here. She was ranting and raving until I warned her I'd put it on official record if she didn't shut up and go home. I knew the Volturi, the vampire governing body, flagged every vampires name and they'd see it right off.
The bloody Cullen's thought they were so damn smart and nobody could touch them or knew they were vampires. That's a laugh; I'm only one of many protectors who monitor their world. Years ago, it was a lot more when and if they passed through. Warning the next state over that they were headed their way. But not anymore, in this digital age we know where they are most of the time.
Information is passed back and forth and all in the guise of police business. Usually in the missing person's database, with coded data embedded into it. It's a fairly simple system and therefore less noticeable. The more intricate the more obvious and the vampires we spot don't let on they were spotted for one simple reason; if the Volturi knew they'd be terminated too, so it works for us.
For those that think they can take me, well a suitably placed maiming shot sorts them out and they move on. The blood of a Shape Shifter or real Werewolf can hurt them, it's poisonous if ingested. Bullets made of shifter claws or Werewolf bone penetrate their bodies, combine the two and they are sick for weeks and if they are filled with incendiary material, it makes a pretty mess let me tell you.
On the few occasions, I've had to terminate them, a hollow point bullet to the brain is always fatal and removes all evidence of the body to as they go up in flames. Now I know you're wondering how I could be faster than a vampire to take them down. Well, that's easy, they are all so arrogant and the red-eyed ones always like to play with their food.
That gives me ample time to get the job done, as they always have to taunt me to hike up the adrenalin. I have been constantly underestimated by vampires; it always makes it feel so much better when I win. They never see it coming. Like I said: damned arrogant bastards!
MDT, MDR
I've put Bella off for six more months, said a serial rapist was loose in Washington State and I didn't want her here. Renee agreed and Bella is going to stay with her friend Suzie and start out her senior year then come here for the last six months. I promised Mary to send Bella's allowance and maintenance to her directly; this for some reason didn't go down too well with Renee.
After speaking to Bella, it turned out she'd never received any allowance from me, via Renee. I threatened to have my ex-wife arrested if Bella didn't get it all back, every damned cent. Phil was pretty upset about it too. Bella tells me her new bank account is now beyond healthy. I'm paying it in directly to her account. Jesus, is nobody honest in this world?
Alice Cullen has already left Forks High and is supposed to be at college. Edward has six months to go and then I told them all to get the hell out of Dodge, so to speak. I can't wait, that boy annoys me by just existing! He's churlish and demanding in school, nobody likes him at all.
I also found out he can read minds, but for some reason not mine. Thank God for that! This makes him think he's better than humans and many of his own kind; he's a delusional little prick. I can only stand three of them and really only like one of the three. In another lifetime he and I could have been friends.
When I suggested Major Whitlock got a job, I never thought he'd apply for the job of deputy here in my station. After having spoken to him for a couple of hours, I realised he was nothing like the others.
Emmett, hell no one could not really take to that boy. He was a clown and doesn't seem to have a bad word to say about anyone.
Esme Cullen has to be one of the nicest women, human or supernatural, I've ever met. She's helpful and kind. I didn't think it was false and Jasper has confirmed it is not an act, she really is that nice.
The others I avoid as much as possible.
Emmett's wife and mate is a hard nut to crack. I've seen rare glimpses of the good woman she could be all the time, but she prefers to be standoffish and bitchy.
As for the tribe's elders, dear God almighty! They are the most useless, arrogant ineffectual, prejudiced idiots known to mankind. The elders knew the Cullens were back. Did they watch for signs of phasing? No! So, it left Sam Uley to fend for himself. After he'd been missing for a week, I went searching for him and found the poor boy trapped in his wolf form in a state of panic.
So, I spent several hours talking him down enough for him to phase back. Whilst he ate and redressed I explained all that his tribe should have told him. Well, I told him the unbiased story and gave him all the facts he needed to make a non-judgemental opinion. He's a good kid and will make a half decent leader for the short time the Cullens are here. Once he was controlled enough, I set up a meeting with only him and Dr. Cullen.
The Doctor wanted that boy Edward there and I said no! After all, Sam was the Alpha and at present, he had no backup, so Carlisle needed none either nor had they any right to read his thoughts without his permission. They reaffirmed the treaty and added the two new members as well. I noticed Carlisle didn't offer up Jasper's real name, so I did.
A pact based on lies was as worthless as the paper it was written on. So, they agreed to stay out of each other's way and if the Cullens were having visitors the pack or Sam, at present, would be notified. I also told Sam to remember the Chief only had jurisdiction over the tribe, not the pack. The elders could advise him, but he had the final word. Otherwise, the fools would railroad him into a war because they had no idea how to act around peaceful vampires.
As I said this all happened eighteen months ago. Now the pack stood at four: as well as Sam, Jared Cameron. Paul Lahote, and Embry Call. That's when Sam and Embry realised they were half-brothers, quite the shock for both of them! Billy was less than amused by my, as he called it, interference in the tribe's business. I reminded him I was not involved with the tribe, but the pack, and would discuss it only with the Alpha which he was not! I had never seen myself as a bloody diplomat but that's what I'd become. Okay maybe not very diplomatic, but I was the go-between.
MDT, MDR
Everything was peaceful for a couple of months, the Cullens calmed down, less speeding about in their cars and more staying under the radar. The Quileutes had a few changes but none detrimental to Forks, so that too was good. Sam met Harry Clearwater's niece Emily Young and that sent Leah Clearwater, his ex-girlfriend and also Harry's daughter, off to stay with Billy's daughter in Hawaii. She's now attending college and thriving there.
Then it all went to hell when three nomads heard the Cullen's having a game of baseball one thundery evening. Jasper and I were on duty, so he missed the game and wasn't aware they were in the area. Once more, Carlisle listened to that child's take on things and let them go on their way. Straight into town, that was their first mistake. Jasper caught their scent and followed them.
He heard them say they'd wipe out the whole town since the Cullen's were too weak to do it but intended to make sure the blame landed firmly on the Cullen's shoulders with the Volturi. Turns out they told Carlisle, Laurent was the leader and Edward read only his thoughts, ignoring James and Victoria, the real leaders. Once more that arrogant idiot didn't even try to find out if they were lying.
He was so up himself he thought nobody could fool him, but we didn't know that until after it was all over. I called Sam and he brought up the pack and we closed in around them. A lot of the tribe worked in town so I had no qualms about letting them help out. I was surprised to see six wolves and not four. Turned out Jacob Black and Quill Ateara had now become wolves too.
Therefore, during a thunderstorm, on the edge of town, the three were surrounded and very surprised. Jasper had politely asked me if he could take charge and damn that boy was good. Strategically and tactically head and shoulders above me. It was a precision attack and earned him the pack's respect too.
He had the three youngest wolves take on Laurent the weakest link. Jared, Paul, and I took down the red-headed woman, she was fast and evasive. A well-placed bullet to the thigh slowed her enough for the wolves to finish her off. Jasper and Sam tag-teamed the leader and we stood in a loose circle around them watching in awe as the Major and the Alpha ripped him slowly to shreds.
The pall of purple smoke brought the Cullens running, arriving only to see the Major and Sam shaking hands over the burning head of the nomad leader. Carlisle recognised him right away and started to rant at Jasper about unnecessary violence and taking things into his own hands without a family meeting.
"Shut the fuck up Doctor! Those three were about to decimate my town and lay the blame at your door with your leaders. Didn't fancy pants read their minds since you seem to recognise them?" I demanded.
He blustered for a few minutes before we got the story and by then the wolves were all growling at the idiots. Yes, Edward had looked, but Victoria had been thinking of a degrading sexual act as he put it and the other, James, was thinking of such violent acts against humans he stopped looking! Even the other members of the coven were staring at him in disbelief.
"What the fuck Eddie? You stopped looking because it was too much for your delicate constitution? Didn't that make you think they were dangerous? I don't believe it! How fucking thick are you?" The large vampire Emmett was raging at him.
"Now Emmett, don't talk to your brother like that!" Carlisle said haughtily.
"He's thankfully no brother of mine. You do realise Jasper, the Chief, and the wolves just saved our asses and you're worried that I might upset Dickless? This coven's a joke! We're out of here Rose, I won't stay around here and wait until he gets us all killed," he said in a deathly cold voice.
"Go on then; no one's going miss you!" Edward said in a sickeningly childish tone.
Esme's clenched fist shot out so fast no one saw it and Edward sailed twenty feet away. He was lying in a crumpled heap at the base of a tree. Carlisle went to help when her voice rang out.
"One more step and it's over Carlisle. I warned you about listening to everything he said as if it was spoken by the gods. That child almost cost us our lives and all you are worried about is him. Why? What has he got over you that you would allow him to destroy us all?" she demanded.
There was utter silence for a couple of minutes before Carlisle heaved a sigh, it sounded relieved to me.
"He knows I'm not your..." Carlisle started.
"What you're not my mate? And?" Esme said calmly.
"That I like..." He tried again.
"Oh, that you like men too? And?" Rose this time interrupted him.
"He said no one knew or guessed! That you'd all be disgusted by me, if you found out!" Carlisle gasped; Edward was backing away when Jasper signalled the wolves to hold him in place.
"So how long has Dickless been blackmailing you, Carlisle?" Emmett asked quietly,
"Since the beginning, well since Esme came in 1921," he huffed and hung his head, everyone hissed.
"Hey man, how come you call him Dickless?" Paul shouted to Emmett and was confused when Rose and he started to laugh loudly.
"He tried to blackmail me in 1937; I ripped off his tackle and have yet to return it! Why do you think his pants hang so well?" he said in an innocent tone, and the place erupted into gales of laughter.
"How come I never saw any of this?" Alice asked confused.
"Well best I can guess is, I never decided to give it back to him and Dickless never decided to stop blackmailing Carlisle. You see the future Alice, not the past!" Emmett said and everyone nodded.
The wolves and I had never been so entertained before, it was like watching crappy reality TV. I knew he was off somehow, my bullshit radar is never wrong.
"What about you son, he never try and blackmail you?" I asked Jasper, he snorted.
"Yeah, he tried when he realised Alice and I weren't mates. Thought he could get rid of me, but I showed him in graphic detail what a vampire looked like turned inside out and that shut him up!" Jasper said smiling evilly.
"Whoa man, is that even possible?" Embry asked and Jasper nodded.
"Yup, doesn't even kill them, but it fuckin' painful!" he said shrugging and everyone shivered.
"Alice?" Carlisle asked she shook her head.
"He's been trying for years, but I always see it first and pre-empt him. I wish I'd known about everyone else though," she said sadly.
"So, all your little confessions dear, that was his attempts?" Esme said glaring at Edward.
"Yes, Esme, all of them! I just thought he was jealous because I had a better gift than him," Alice answered and now everyone was glaring at him.
"I don't want to butt in here, but none of these things are the acts of an adult vampire. His behaviour sounds very childish and petty. Just exactly how old is he? Seems to me you've gotten yourself an Immortal Child, Doctor. Shouldn't you have known better?" I say casually and then turn to the wolves.
"Thanks for the help tonight guys, you've done you tribe proud. But mostly thank you, Major, the pleasure was all mine, seeing you in action was a treat. Well, this human needs to sleep, so I'll leave you all to it. Goodnight" I say and set off back to town.
"Goodnight Chief, be careful on your way home" Jasper called after me.
"Always am son, always am" was my standard reply.
MDT, MDR
The following day Jasper told me that the Cullens were leaving. Emmett and Rose were off to Jasper's brother in Texas. Alice to friends in Alaska. Carlisle and Esme were taking Edward to Italy to be assessed. All his little scams and schemes were found out and they needed the Volturi to check him over and see if I was right and he was the wrong side of adulthood mentally.
Jasper was staying here and would carry on working until I got a replacement for him. That meant Bella could now come to Forks. She was already eighteen and she could finish her senior year here, before going off to college, locally I hoped. I was really looking forward to it. She had plans to work in a publishing house before settling down to write her own stuff. Wow, I could have a famous daughter one day, but no matter what she wanted to do I was really proud of her.
Embry Call approached me about a week later asking about becoming a deputy here one day, wanting help filling in his application for the Police Academy. This could be a good thing; maybe he could be the next protector. If he kept phasing it would give him a definite edge if not well, I could teach him how to do things the human way. Having someone to hand off to eventually would be good.
The next few weeks flew by; I got a temporary deputy from Port Angeles. Their Chief Jim Turner asked if I'd take him, the boy was being groomed for bigger things and needed some more rural training. Jasper was leaving soon; he'd been here two years and thought it was time to go before someone noticed he wasn't ageing. I was gonna miss him, he was a damn good deputy. As I said before, he could have, in a perfect world, been a friend.
Turned out he was flying out the day Bella was arriving so I offered to take him to Sea-Tac.
"Thanks for everythin' Chief, I'm gonna keep your number. My brother sometimes knows things, so I'll give you a heads up if anythin' is headin' your way in the future," he said as we waited in the airport.
"Okay son, that's good. The more we know the better. It was nice to have known you and you stay safe out there," I said really meaning it.
His plane was delayed by forty minutes, due to the weather and would leave twenty minutes after Bella's arrived. So we waited together for my Bells flight to clear customs. I saw her stumbling along with her case and called out her name.
"Hey dad, I made it in one piece," she said laughing and I hugged her to me so happy to see here at long last.
"Bella this is Jasper, he was my deputy. He's flying out today for home," I said introducing them.
As their hands met in a handshake Bella said,
"Whoa, static much!"
Jasper looked stunned and mumbled,
"Hey darlin', nice to meet you,"
I watched them like watching a train wreck unable to do anything to halt it. He had to rip himself away and said over his shoulder,
"I'll call you later Chief, this changes everythin'. I'm sorry."
I led Bella outside with her looking back at him until he was gone. Well, looks like I was protecting her for nothing. She is destined for the supernatural world and probably always was. God damn it!