Weapon drawn and back perched against the wall Emmett closed his eyes and allowed the deep growl of Ares to rake through the house. He inhaled a hollow breath, as his wife rounded the corner, "What are you doing?" She bit into the green apple that was held snugly in her hand.

Ares barks and growls grew louder as the mystery person continued to knock at the front door.
"Rosalie, get behind me." Emmett gripped his wife's wrist and pulled her away from the front entrance, "Who is it?" Ares barks drowned out any reply.
Rose pulled Ares away from the door, "Quiet down, okay." She pecked the dog, and broke off a piece of her apple for him.
"Who is it?" Emmett repeated.
"It's me!"

Rosalie set her bitten apple into her husband's free hand before pulling open the front door.
"I heard." Alice tossed her purse into Emmett's arms, as she raced into the house, "Something smells delicious, what is that?" She looked around at her two best friends, "Uh, what exactly were you two doing?"
"We were eating lunch," Rosalie took a hold of her apple, as her friend entered further into the house, "Actually, we just finished eating lunch."
Emmett clipped his gun back into its holster, "Alice, you should really start calling first. You nearly gave us a heart attack."
"You nearly gave him a heart attack." Alice laughs at her best friend's correction.

Emmett closed and locked the front door before following his wife and her best friend into the dining room. After reclaiming his seat, Emmett reached into the fruit bowl and grabbed himself a banana, "Did you hear about Mike?"

Silence falls over the three friends, and the only sound that is heard is of Rosalie biting into her green apple. After making herself a small plate, Alice took a hold of a seat across from Emmett.
"I actually," she cleared her throat, "I stopped past Jessica's house. Felicity is over there now."
Rosalie swallowed her last remaining bite of her apple, "How is she holding up?"
"She's not," Alice picked around at her food, "She's barely holding on for Brian's sake."

Rose's eyes fall upon her husband's, "I can't imagine." Her feet crossed the room, and stop just behind where he's seated. Before contact between the husband and wife could be made, a repeated ringing of the doorbell continually went off.
"You two," Emmett immediately rose from his seat, "stay here. Why doesn't anyone call first?"

This time Rosalie didn't put up an argument. She allowed her husband to play man and protector of the house. Emmett withdrew his weapon and approached the door. Alice looked to her best friend in curiosity, "We talked last night," Rosalie shrugged, "I decided to sit back and allow him to feel manly."
"By protecting you?"
"If that's what he needs to do, then I guess."
Alice smiled, "I'm impressed."

In full sleuth mode, Emmett approached the front door. His weapon drawn, and his eyes focused, "Who is it?" After no response, he swiftly unlatched the door, and threw it open. His gun raised high and aimed at his father-in-law's face.
Samuel threw his hands into the air, "It's just us."

Emmett slowly lowered his weapon and sighed in relief. His in-laws stood outside with someone he hasn't met before.
"I'm keeping a guard outside of your house," Sam nodded towards the Cullens' guard, "That's Lauren." He stepped into the house after Jasper and followed his son-in-law into the dining room, "I also placed a guard in front of Jasper's house."
"That's not necessary," Alice shook her head.
"Alice, trust me," Sam set his hand against his daughter-in-law's shoulder; "Carson does not care about anyone. He killed my wife in cold blood," His eyes drifted to his daughter, "I'm not giving him the chance of doing it to any of you." Alice silently nods in agreement, "Lauren is guarding this residence and Riley is currently patrolling you and Jasper's home. Where's Brandon?"

Jasper exited from the kitchen, "He's at school." He took a seat at the dining room table and dug into his fully fixed plate. The mystery man stood tall, confident and poised. His face held no amusement as he listened into the family's talk.
"I'm going to send Charlie to watch him."
Rose stood from her seat, "Dad, are you sure?"
"Look at this," he reaches across the table and lifts her left hand, "Carson chased you." The room falls quiet as Samuel struggles to retell the story they've heard many times, "He stabbed scissors through your hand, pinning you to the ground! He chloroformed you right before killing your mother!"
"Dad, that's enough!" Jasper interrupted, dropping his fork onto his plate.

Carson has been able to get into the minds of her family. He's been running her family for exactly thirty-one years, and that is where Sam's obsession comes from. Before the attack, he was already obsessed, and now afterwards his fixation grew to heights that she never thought would be attainable.

Rosalie's left hand held her battle wound. It was her constant reminder of what happened that day. The penetration of the scissors left the nerves in her hand forever altered. Occasionally she would feel numbness or she would feel an excruciating pain due to the trauma her hand received years ago. It varied daily. A few days after the trauma to her hand was inflicted, she needed immediate surgery due to the extent of her nerve damage received. After months of physical therapy, Rosalie can now open and close her hand without the constant shot of pain spreading through her arm. However, she was left with lasting damages, such as unresponsiveness, random shots of pain, and temporary paralysis.

The unresponsiveness contributed to the numbness. If Rosalie were to touch something hot or cut her left hand, the triggers and the discomfort would reach her sensory nerves minutes sometimes hours after the infliction had happened. The random shots of pain happened regardless of what she was doing. She could by lying down, preparing to sleep, and a quick ache of pain would hit her hand. It came with the after effects of a few of her hand nerves being wounded. As for the temporary paralysis, this only occurred after performing too many activities with her left hand. If she constantly were to lift and carry things, without allowing her hand a break, a momentary paralysis would overwhelm her hand, forcing it to go immobile and weak.

Rosalie's dream goal was to become a neurosurgeon, but because of the lapses and problems within her hand, she had to throw that dream away. She settled for becoming a nurse, and occasionally assisting doctors in surgery. She didn't want to be a doctor if she couldn't perform surgery. Yes, she could be a consulting doctor, but it wasn't hands-on. No patient wanted to take a chance with a person who had one good working hand. Her left hand wasn't dependable.
"You should have been there." She snatched her hand out of her father's grip.

Sam nodded, "I know," He brought his hand up to caress his daughter's cheek; "There is not a day that goes by that I don't regret that. I'm not doing this to undermine you. I couldn't protect you then, please just let me protect you now."
"Come on Rose," Alice waved over her friend, "Let's go catch a movie."
"Take Lauren with you!" Sam called out.

Rosalie's eyes fall to her husband. He gives her his best dimpled smile and nods. She grins back before feeling Alice pull her out of the dining room. Once Emmett heard the front door close, he spoke, "I want in."
"No absolutely not."

Samuel knew Carson enough to know how ruthless he is. He wouldn't hesitate to kill Emmett, and Rosalie would never forgive him for putting her husband in harm's way.
"You, Jasper, Elijah and Joshua obviously need help!"
"That's why I'm here," The mystery man finally spoke up, "Special Agent Edward Mason."

Emmett averted his eyes from the agent, to his father-in-law, "She's my wife." He ignored everything Edward spoke, "If I'm going to protect her, I need to know everything!"
"Dad, Emmett's right."

Sam knew both Jasper and Emmett were correct. He just didn't want any more people to fall into the crosshairs of Carson, 'The Predator.'
"I know, "Sam nodded.

Predaor

"I'm going to the restroom," Rosalie whispered into the dark theater. She rose from her seat, and excused herself as she slid past the movie watchers.

Lauren stood, "I'll come."
"No stay," Rose murmured, "I'll be gone for a few minutes."

Rosalie used the lighted pathway to guide herself out of the theater. She sighed in content as she entered the lighted hall of the movie theater. She crossed the crowded lobby and entered the woman's restroom.

The young woman quickly chose an empty and clean stall before her morning coffee fully weighed down upon her bladder. She slammed the door closed, and locked it, before raising her dress. She blocks out the sound of feet moving, and stall doors being closed and locked, as she focused on the tingling sensation in her hand.

It took seven months for Rosalie to be able to walk back into her childhood home. It took an entire year for her to step foot inside of her parents' bedroom. The tint of blood was faded, but she could still see the coloring. Carson stabbed her mother four times, and regardless of the struggle she made, he didn't stop.

Rosalie blinked through her memories, and wiped the drops of tears from her eyes. She approached the sink, and held her hand under the soap dispenser. The pink soap slowly covered the scar that forever haunted her memories. The scissors that pinned her hand to the ground were gone. The CSIs who processed the crime scene collected them, and they were never to be seen again.

A pair of office scissors was strong enough to hold her hand against the tiled bathroom floor. No matter how hard she pulled, the scissors wouldn't give. Carson used his brute force to force the scissors through bone and skin. She had to muster up just as much endurance to pull the sharp shears out.
"Mrs. Cullen-"

Rosalie gasped, and covered her mouth in fear. She turned to be met with dark eyes that refused to lighten up. The blonde hair of her body guard was tied tightly into a ponytail. Lauren rested a hand over top of the young woman's shoulder, "We should be getting back to the movie." Rose nodded in agreement and grabbed a paper towel.
"Rosalie?" A familiar voice called out from the back of the restroom, forcing Lauren to take a stance in front of Rose.

Rosalie walked around her guard, "It's alright Lauren." She looked forward and smiled, "It's just Ivy. We work together." The young Hale waved the receptionist over and gave her a small hug.
"Who's the prude?"
Rosalie smirked, "This is Lauren, and she's my bodyguard." Ivy's face scrunched together in confusion, "My dad placed her on me."
"Interesting," Ivy shrugged it off, "I'll see you at work. My movie is about to start."
Lauren grabbed onto Rosalie's upper arm, "We should be getting back to ours too."

Predator

Elliot shoved the key into the lock of his office door and pushed it open. Since Jasper was the first to move out, he quickly changed his son's bedroom into what some would call a shrine to Carson, but Sam prefers to call it his workspace den.
"Dad," Jasper entered and looked around, "when did you do this?"
"A few days after you moved out."

The once sports themed bedroom, that was covered with NBA and NFL posters now held newspaper articles and suspect photos scattered around the walls. Jasper's soccer trophies were packed in boxes and stashed away in the attic. Sketch artist drawings covered Jasper's old desk. Lists of Carson sightings were stacked on top of books that had to do with investigations and mysteries. None of the evidence seemed to have drawn their eyes, but the zoomed in photos of the deceased victims' did.

Elijah pulled a photo off of the wall, "What's with the number four?" In the image of the deceased woman, Samuel circled the number four carved into her forehead in red marker.
"They all have number fours actually," Damon added, pointing towards each photo.
Sam waved Joshua, Edward and Emmett inside, "I believe he's obsessed with the number."
"He stabs his victims four times, and each wound is around four inches apart," Jasper collected each photo of the fatalities, "Carson carves four into each body he considers prey."

"What do you mean considers prey?" Emmett stepped forward and took a look at the photos himself.
"Each person he kills isn't thought of as targets. He also kills those who get too close to cracking the case. He kills to prove a point. Someone like Carson doesn't need a reason to end a life, he just does." Elijah answered, shutting the door behind Edward.

Joshua took a seat at Samuel's desk chair, "We thought we noticed a pattern, but Emily and Michael threw it off."
"How so?" Edward asked, inserting himself into the conversation.
"During the early years of Carson, I was the lead investigator. He killed four people every four weeks. Each person was found after a four day period. He was really precise." Joshua shuffled through folders, before unraveling a long list of names, "The first four victims were Fiona Stanley, Flynn Adams, Forrest Sanders and Faith Montgomery. Carson kidnaps his victims, and dumps their bodies after four days before taking another victim. He does this over the span of sixteen days. After the fourth person is revealed he takes a break for four months, and starts again."

Elijah walks over to his father, and takes a hold of the sheet of paper, "The next four were Olivia Knight, Oliver Murphy, Octavia Callen and Oscar Moore." He flips the page, before continuing, "After another four weeks, he picked back up first with Ulysses Smith, Ursula Bowie, Uri Green, and then Uriah Wallace."

"And the next-"
"The next four began with R's?" Emmett suggested, taking the next sheet, "It sounds like a pattern to me. Ruth Little and Robert Jackson. Where are the rest?"
"We interrupted his ritual or routine, whatever you want to call it. We started getting close, and he had to place it all on hold. Anyone he's killed since Robert Jackson didn't fall into the pattern." Sam theorized, collecting the sheets of information from Joshua, Elijah and Emmett, "Mom ran the possibility of him continuing his killings and managing to hide the bodies, but that isn't him. He wants his credit. Each and every victim we found was placed in public locations. He wants his work to be seen!"

Edward nodded his head, "Sam's right. People like Carson do not change for anyone. He stuck to his pattern and broke it the day Emily Hale was murdered." A silence falls over the family, and Edward quickly notices, "I'm sorry, but she's going to have to be brought up if we are to discuss the focal points of the case."
"Why did he break it?" Damon pulled the conversation back to the matter-at-hand.
"He broke it to make it personal," Elijah glanced at his brother, "Every four days for a month you received a note…threatening your family."
Edward grinned as the realization hit him, "Emily was killed to prove a point."
"He isn't afraid of going off course."

Sam always figured that it was supposed to be him that night. He felt that he was the intended target of Carson. Maybe he wasn't. Carson enjoyed this game with Sam more than he let on. For years, Sam started to have the upper hand, and once Carson killed Emily, he moved multiple spaces ahead. If Sam were to have been killed, Carson wouldn't have a suitable opponent. Joshua didn't get as close as his son did to capturing the crazed madman.

Jasper cleared his throat, before voicing what he had to say, "Carson's been silent after killing my mom. Why now? Why kill Mike?"
"He wanted us to know that he isn't going anywhere. He's still in the game." Sam answered, shuffling through the stacks of paperwork, "He's starting to hit closer to home. He wants to hit us where it hurts."
"We never stopped looking for him after Emily though, "Elijah reminded.

This has been the only case Sam has worked on in his twenty years on the force. While multiple law enforcement officers tried to pull him off of the case, they knew that wouldn't stop Sam's efforts in searching for Carson. By having him on the force, and providing him with backup, they could keep him safer than if he went rogue.
"Emily and Mike's names aren't letters used to spell out four." Emmett voiced, pulling in everyone's' attention.
"Exactly, and that throws off our pattern."
Edward stepped forward, interrupting Elijah, "Maybe that's the reason why they weren't taken and cared for properly."

Samuel and Joshua's eyes meet in confusion. Their glances avert towards Edward, and so does everyone else located in Sam's office.
"Hear me out," he walks over to the hanging photos, "Each victim was taken and four days later their body is found and the next person is taken. This happens until we have four dead bodies on our hands. Emily and Mike weren't taken. They're not a part of his," Edward glanced to the individuals who lost their lives, "whatever this is."

They understood everything Edward was saying. It actually started to make sense, but Jasper didn't comprehend one thing, "My mom had a four carved into her forehead like the other victims, but Mike did not."
"Maybe that's his signature. We knew he killed Mike because that was the lead he received. It was a rush job. Mike spooked Carson and Carson stabbed him four times. We arrived before he could do anything more. Or maybe Carson killed Emily because he didn't want his work confused with a simple…I don't know home invasion." Emmett explained, watching as his partner nodded in understanding.
"It makes sense."

Damon glanced around the room, "Why four though?"
"Maybe it's his lucky number…you know like a four leaf clover," Emmett shrugged in thought.

The discussion of Carson continued around the room, but Edward drowned it out. His eyes scanned the navy blue walls, before falling onto a large sketch drawing of Carson taped up above the desk.
"Is this what he looks like?"

Edward's question interrupts the conversation and forces everyone to provide their undivided attention to the black and white sketch.
"From my niece's perspective, yes."

Edward nodded at Elijah's answer. It completely slipped from his mind that Rosalie saw Carson fifteen years ago. She was able to work with her father to draw out the predator's appearance. Just like everyone in the small town, he knew the gist of what happened, but not all of the details.
"What exactly happened that day? That specific case file was closed."
"It's need to know only." Joshua remarked, rising from the office seat.
"I'm working with you all on the case; I think I need to know."

"My sister was eleven," Jasper spoke up before Joshua and Edward could further their small argument, "She woke up in the middle of the night, and went to our parent's bedroom. Carson was in the closet the whole time during my mom and Rose's conversation. He attacked soon after." Jasper inhaled a deep breath, and took the seat his grandfather once occupied, "Uh, my mom held him off and told Rose to run. She did. Anyway he knocked my mom out, and went after my sister. When he grabbed her, she fought back and managed to scratch him just below his eye," Jasper pointed underneath his eye and smiled at his younger sister, "He pulled a pair of my mom's scissors out, slammed Rose into the floor, and shoved the scissors through her palm and out of the back of her hand. He chloroformed her afterwards."

Edward glanced into Carson's shaded eyes, "I'm guessing when she woke up, she found her mother. And where were you?" Jasper covered his mouth as he thought about that night. He felt guilty for years. That day was his soccer championship and he was so exhausted. He practiced the entire day, and used every fiber in his body to win the game that evening. When he came home, he skipped dinner and practically passed out from exhaustion on his bed. He slept through it all.
"That's not important." Sam answered, squeezing his son's shoulder reassuringly.

"I should call my wife," Emmett pulled his cell phone out; "I want to make sure she's okay and everything is going fine." Joshua smiles and nods as Emmett steps out of the office.

Edward taped the sketch back into its place, "What do you all need me to do exactly? Why did you bring me in?"
"We need your resources," Sam rose from his seat and approached the agent, "Carson has killed sixteen people that we know of, including my wife and officer. We need your help before he decides to kill more."

Elijah paced worriedly, "He's going to kill at least two more people before who knows what. When he finishes his vendetta, he may disappear or he may start all over again."
"We can't let that happen," Jasper argued, glaring at Edward, "You have to help us. We need to find him as soon as possible."

The door squeaked open, and Emmett leaned inside, "Rose just got home. I should head out."
"I should be leaving too," Jasper whispered, rising from the seat.

Predator

Jasper turned the knob of the front door to his house, and stepped inside. He could hear light music playing and the smell of cookies overwhelmed the interior of his home.
"Jasper, is that you?" Alice peeked out of the kitchen, and smiled, "Welcome home!"

Jasper entered further into the house, dropped his keys into the side bowl, and continued his quest towards his wife. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and pecked his lips.
"Chocolate chip cookies," he smiled, pecking her lips again, "And oatmeal?"
Alice smiled, "You know it."

Alice grinned and followed her spouse into the living room. Brandon's toy cars are sprawled out over the living room rug. Jasper hops over them as he leans forward to peck his five year old's forehead, "Hey buddy."
"Hey dad." Brandon smiled, as he rammed two cars into each other.

Charlie stood against the window as he watched the young child play. It reminded him of when his daughter was little and played with doll babies. Now she's fully grown with a career as a dispatcher, married to an FBI Agent, and raising their six year old daughter.
"Charlie," Jasper took a seat on the floor and picked up a toy truck, "Where's Riley?"
"He was standing outside of the front door last I saw him."

Jasper waved his son's guard over and handed him the toy. Charlie happily took it and sat with the enthused child, "I'm the police car and you're the fire truck!"
"Alice!" Jasper jogged into the kitchen, as his wife pulled the cookies out of the oven, "Have you seen Riley?"
"He should be outside. I'm pretty positive he didn't come in. I would have seen him."

In a rush, he pulled his cell out and dialed his father. Sam answered on the first ring, "What's up?"
"Dad, Riley isn't here."
"Maybe he stepped out."
"Why would he step out?" Jasper ran to the front door and opened it, "Dad, his car is here. I don't have a good feeling about this."

Jasper slams the front door closed, and locks each bolted lock. He backs up, and slams into his wife, "Sorry honey."
"Is everything okay?" Alice pulled the oven-mitts off of her hands.
He ignored her question, and walked through the living room, and dining room. Jasper checked the restrooms and each bedroom. Riley was nowhere in the house.
"Is Charlie still there?"
"Yes."
"Okay good," Sam sighed, "I don't think you have anything to worry about."

Jasper flopped down onto the couch in worry, "Can you just call Emmett and make sure that he and Rose are okay?"
"Alright grasshopper. I'll call you right back."

Once he heard the dial tone, he leaned back in his seat. His eyes closed, but opened quickly when he felt someone sit next to him.
"Is everything okay?" Alice repeated her earlier question.
Jasper's eyes watch as his son and Charlie play with the cars, "I hope so."

-Tiffany.