Chapter 3 - The First Move

Wednesday evening

Caius POV

It had taken years of careful planning, but the time for vengeance was nigh.

Knowing the Cullens had a seer in their ranks, we had to be extremely vigilant. We knew that Alice's ability only worked with vampires or humans that she had previously encountered, and she had met Marcus and me decades ago, when Aro had insisted on paying a visit to our old colleague, Carlisle. It was on that trip that we discovered the existence of the seer, the mind-reader and the emotional manipulator—all formidable members of Carlisle's precious so-called family.

Not long after Aro's death, we came to the conclusion that new vampires needed to be involved to skirt the seer issue and help us carry out our revenge. Marcus sought, and turned, a promising robotics engineer, as well as a gifted scientist, the first chance he got. Once they were past that first bloodthirsty year, Jane explained the situation and left them to devise a tool to aid in our retribution. She told them not to show us their results until the project was in effect, not wanting to allow the Cullens any chance at foresight.

Today, Wilhelm and Roberto had finally told us of their invention, which had already been implemented the day prior. Roberto had designed a swarm of robotic insects resembling mosquitoes. The bugs were programmed to hone in on the genetic makeup of vampires. Roberto had sealed the insects into a parcel that was sent to an unsuspecting human in Forks; someone who had ordered a shipment of grapes from a vineyard nearby. When said human opened the box, the swarm would emerge and set out to find their targets. The human would think it was merely an accident in the shipping department—an errant egg sac that hatched en route. That sort of thing happened all the time.

When the mosquitos found their targets, they would land on their skin and leave behind a tiny adhesive chip that contained a mind control pheromone designed by Wilhelm, which, when released via an on-site control panel, would compel the vampire to do our bidding. The chip also contained a camera, and the images would be streamed to screens in our control room. The bugs were programmed to return to Volterra after planting the chips on their targets.

The mind control pheromone could be individually activated from the control panel. With the help of the cameras, we would be able to watch their movements and choose the most effective vampire to carry out our plan.

It was a brilliant plan. Wilhelm and Roberto were immediately gifted with the dark robes of our inner circle, which they donned with great pride.

After the presentation of the invention and the robes, Marcus, Jane and I retired to the library to decide on an avenue to take with this creation. With the package scheduled to arrive sometime today, we needed to decide immediately. It wouldn't matter if the seer figured out our plan now, as it would already be in action. Still, we avoided the topic of the insects, and focused on the desired result.

Once we were alone, Jane clapped her hands, unable to contain her excitement. She looked very much like the little girl she always would be, finding joy in the pain of others. She was similar to myself in this way; I enjoyed the feeling of power I got when I watched stupid vampires grovel at my feet.

"A most brilliant plan, I must admit," Marcus said, as stoic as ever.

A wide grin spread across my face. "Now to consider what we should do with this advantage."

"We will be able to see and hear all that goes on in their home," Marcus offered.

"And we can make them do whatever we choose. We could have them kill each other!" Jane cried. She was getting a bit out of control, but I didn't mind. I liked where her mind was headed.

"We could," Marcus replied, stroking his chin.

"But that would deny us the opportunity to watch them squirm," I interjected. There was no way I was going to let them take each other out. Carlisle annoyed the hell out of me with his "morals." I wanted to be the one to end his life.

Jane agreed with me. "Yes, that would be much more fun."

We were silent for a time as we considered what we could do. I was considering a sneak attack. The insects had cameras, so we would see their whereabouts and learn their daily routines; we could easily infiltrate on their home turf and hopefully have the element of surprise. But no, that would take too much time. The seer would surely warn them as we traveled, and they could make an escape. Temporarily stymied, I let out a heavy sigh.

Jane began to laugh rather maniacally, pounding a fist on the antique table, causing it to splinter. Marcus frowned disapprovingly; the table was a favorite of his.

"I've got it!"

"And what is it?" I prompted.

"A perfect plan. Why did Aro go to Forks in the first place? To see if the rumors of the pregnant vampire were true. I think it is safe to say that they were. So, an eye for an eye." She sat back with her arms crossed, smiling smugly.

"Have them kill the child?" Marcus queried.

Jane rolled her eyes. "No. The mind control chips are individually activated. Activate the chip on the vampire that minds the child, and program said vampire to bring the child to us. The others are certain to follow."

I sucked in a sharp breath, shocked by her brilliance. A vengeful mind is a brilliant mind.

"Yes," I agreed. "Surely, they will flock to Volterra, to save their precious little freak child."

"All of them will come. Of that, I am certain." Jane grinned devilishly.

Marcus nodded. "I like it. Caius?"

"I love it."

Jane beamed with pride. It was then that we smelled Roberto rapidly approaching the library, and a moment later, his head was poking around the door.

"I apologize for interrupting, but the package has arrived."

I shared a devious smirk with my colleagues before we sped after Roberto, following him eagerly to the lab.

The screens in the control room only showed the inside of the box; deep red grapes and brown cardboard. But the voice of a woman could be heard, muffled through the cardboard, but obviously excited by the arrival of her grapes. There was a rustling as she opened the package, and suddenly, light poured in. In a swirl of motion, the bugs flew out of the box. The woman screamed as she was swarmed by the insects, her arms flailing about. It was quite comical. She rushed over to the window and, throwing it open in disgust, the bugs were freed.

We watched in rapt attention as the bugs zipped through the air in search of their vampire targets.

Early Thursday, 2:30 a.m.

Alice POV

In the wake of our all-night discussion, we all came to the conclusion that we ought to take it in turns to go hunting, so we would be sufficiently fed for a while and wouldn't have any distractions in the protection of Anthony. I felt so helpless, not being able to see who the kidnapper was, but found some satisfaction that, at the very least, we knew it would be a vampire. There were a lot of us—I felt confident that we could thwart the abductor's plan.

It was decided that the women would go now, Edward would feed later today ahead of the engagement party, and the men would go the following evening, while Edward and Jacob were in La Push.

Denali and Cullen women set out in a group, determined to find a herd quickly so we could return before much time had passed. None of us wanted to be gone too long; our nerves were too rattled to enjoy the thrill of the hunt tonight.

A herd was forthcoming, about twenty miles from home. The group was large, more than enough to sate us all—we were lucky. We descended on the unsuspecting animals, intent on drinking our fill. As my teeth tore into the neck of my second doe, a strange buzzing sound filled the air. Not pausing my feeding, I peered up through my eyelashes, trying to pinpoint the source of the unfamiliar sound.

And then I saw it. A swarm of insects were headed straight for us. They appeared to be mosquitoes. This wouldn't normally surprise me—mosquitoes fed on blood too, after all—but it was odd, because all life forms usually avoided vampires, insects included.

The bugs swept in, surrounding us; some even landed on our bodies. I felt one land on my back, and I shook it off, emitting a low growl in warning. The others followed my lead, and soon the swarm dissipated, sufficiently frightened off.

Wiping my blood-stained lips with the back of my hand, I rose from my kill to find the others doing the same. Our eyes met, brows furrowed in confusion.

"Well, that was weird," Rosalie retorted.

"Must have been a mentally retarded batch of mosquitoes," Kate said, the corner of her mouth tugging up into a small smirk.

"Or just seriously hungry. Hungry enough to throw caution to the wind," Tanya suggested.

Shrugging it off, we swiftly buried the evidence of our massacre before heading back home.

A/N: A couple of announcements:

First, I sincerely apologize for the lack of review replies. Real life has been so busy and any free moment I have, I choose to write with it. I figure you would rather have a new chapter than a review reply. I'll do my best to keep up, but if I can't, I will at least answer any questions posed in a review.

Second, I'm writing for the Slash Backslash 4.0 contest! It's a little different this year – it's anonymous! So head on over and read the stories! Submissions are being extended to September 17th…so get reading! There are Art entries this year too; lots of great stuff! I'll be sure to remind you again once voting begins!

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And finally, my one-shot, The Pretense of Dominance and Control, has been nominated for an Emerging Swan Award, which are awards given to underappreciated works! The category is Best Vamp Volturi/Nomad/Non-Cullen (any pairing). Voting starts TODAY for one-shots! If you liked the story, please head over to vote!

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