You got wires, going in.

You got wires, coming out of your skin.

You got tears, making tracks.

I got tears, that are scared of the facts.

-Wires, Athlete

Previously…

I just had to test her theory. I bent down and knocked her legs out from under her, catching her as she fell before raising an eyebrow at her, meeting her shocked eyes. "You can protect yourself, huh?"

She glared at me. "That's not fair. But, yes, I can protect myself perfectly well, thank you very much for your concern."

I chuckled lightly as I set her back up on her feet. "You better watch your back, Isabella." I lowered my voice. "You never know what – or who – is waiting round the corner." And then I walked off, back to my crummy little flat… and reality, where bear-men did not offer you a job protecting your crush and said crush didn't know you existed…

Victim of a Teenage Nobody

Chapter 3- Mission Impossible (A/N: yeah I'm ditching the alliteration)

Edward POV

"Oi! Cullen!" Tony Linley, my landlord, yelled at me as I headed for the stairs.

Knowing what this would be about, I was tempted to ignore him. Instead, I did the responsible thing and turned to face him. "Yes?"

"I'm still waiting for last month's rent," he told me angrily. "And the month before that, too."

I sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, Mr Linley, but I promise it'll come soon. I'm in the process of getting a new job right now."

Tony came over to me and looked me straight in the eye. "I don't care how you get hold of it, but I want my money Edward. And I want it soon."

"I'll get it," I replied stonily, and then I turned my back on him and went up the stairs. I pushed my front door open; I never bothered with locking it since there wasn't anything here worth stealing, apart from the money that was locked safely away. Besides, if someone wanted to get in it really wouldn't take much anyway- push the door with enough strength and the pathetic lock would give.

I kicked my shoes off, and then bent down to pick up my post: a bill, another bill, a note from Tony telling me pretty much what he just had, and – right at the bottom of the pile – an official-looking letter with the tell-tale hospital watermark stamped on the back. I felt my heart drop, and I walked over to the moth-eaten sofa, sat down and ripped open the top, dreading what I would read.

Dear Mr Cullen, it read.

This is an invoice for the private surgery that was undertaken three weeks ago. This is the third invoice we have sent for the same surgery, and it will be the last. If the correct amount of money is not paid to LA Private Hospital in a week, then we shall be taking legal action. Here is your bill:

Electrocardiogram $120

Cardiac Catheterisation $250

Blalock's Landmark Operation $1,600

Cardiovascular Specialist $1,000

Total $2,970

In case you have forgotten, you can pay the money via visiting the hospital, telephoning the number printed below, or on our website, also printed below.

We look forward to hearing from you and receiving your payment, and wish you all the best.

Yours sincerely,

Melissa Hughes (head of financial management at La Private Hospital)

I nodded; this had been expected. I stood up and took the four steps necessary to get to the kitchen-part of my one-room apartment. I opened the top cupboard and pulled out the heavy cardboard box labelled Vegetables. I rested it on the counter and sifted through the carrots and various other vegetables until I came across the safe. I gently eased it out and twisted the wheel round until it clicked and the lid sprung open. Inside the safe was two compartments, one that was full of papers, and the other side was crammed full of money. Small stacks of ten dollar bills, tied into clumps of $100 with elastic bands. I took the safe over to the sofa and tipped all of the money out, and then I started to count it.

This was why I knew that I shouldn't have let James take us to the hospital. I should have known that he would pick a private one; one that was stupidly overpriced and probably not as great as others. But they were keeping Cody alive and, at the moment, that was all I could ask for.

In my safe was a total of $3,860. That was enough to cover the hospital bill that had just come through, but not enough for last month's rent, let alone this one as well. I groaned, and let my head fall into my hands. I knew I didn't want to do the mission that James would be giving me tomorrow. I knew that it wouldn't be worth it, but hell I needed the money. So, so badly. I'd sooner be kicked out of this crummy apartment and live on the streets then let Cody die.

So that was why I tucked $3,000 into an envelope, ready to take with me when I made my first of the next days stops at LA PH on the way into James' office. I was dreading that trip, dreading to hear what my next 'mission' would be. If just three months ago, someone had told me that I'd be living in the crappiest of crap apartments already behind on rent, and that I'd be doing illegal 'missions' to keep Cody alive, I would never have believed them. I had been at med school, living in the swankiest dorm of the lot of them, finally doing what Dad would have been proud of me for doing; rather then what James wanted me to do. Until everything fell apart, forcing me to drop out of med school in the middle of the first semester and agree to rob the biggest bank in LA for James, just to get $4,000 of the however many thousands I had taken. I had thought that it would cover everything Cody would need medical-wise, but I hadn't studied CHDs at medical school, and I couldn't have been more wrong. $3,000 barely covered the intensive process that they had done just to find out what was wrong, and he was still gonna need much more extensive surgery- surgery that would cost a bomb. And I had no idea where I was gonna get the money; even if I did take James' mission the next day, it was unlikely that he'd give me the amount I needed.

I sighed, and put the safe away, putting the envelope of cash on the coffee table where I would be able to see it all night. Then, I pushed a chair up against the door, stripped down to my underwear and pulled my sofa out to be a bed. I threw the thin blanket over the top and grabbed my iPod out of my jean pocket. My iPod was the one thing that had come into this dreary new life from my old. It was the only thing I had that reminded me that life hadn't always been this hard. I clicked it on as I climbed into my make-shift bed, and stared at the album artwork that came up: Bella Swan.

A job as Bella's bodyguard… what would that be like? Would I be willing to spend all of my time as her protector? Would I be willing to give up time with Cody to be able to save him? And I knew I would. I would do anything for him to live. I would give up anything and everything for him, as I had promised. But then again, I thought as I turned my iPod off again and settled down to go to sleep, any father would give up anything for their son. It was something that came naturally because, after all, blood was thicker than water.

***

"Hey there, baby," I cooed as I stared down at the tiny person in the incubator. He was gorgeous, with a mop of dark hair that was slowly turning into my coppery shade. He barely ever opened his eyes, but I knew that they were a crystal clear blue – just like his mother. Trust her to leave behind the one part of her she thought was the best part.

It was just gone ten o'clock; an hour until I had to meet James. Of course he wanted me to meet him at the same time as Bella and bear-man did. I decided I would go to James first, get that over quickly, and then go and see Bella and Emmett, if they were still waiting around for me. I doubted that they would and, though I knew which meeting I would have preferred to go to, I also knew that I didn't have much of a choice. At least, not if I wanted to live to regret the choice. Bella may have thought that Emmett was strong, that I was strong, but I knew that James had much stronger men at hand. Men that could 'dispose' of me within the blink of an eye.

I sighed, and gently pushed my latex-gloved hand through the hole in the plastic incubator. I took Cody's little hand between two of my fingers and stroked it. "I'm trying, Cody," I whispered, "I'm trying so damn hard, I promise." I felt tears spring to my eyes and I let my head fall on to my outstretched arm as tears fell down my face. Why did it hurt so much? Why did I wish so badly to be the one dying instead of my baby? Why did I wish that he had never been born? I knew the answers to those questions. Well, the answer, because there was only one response for each and it was the same for all three: because I love him. I had never felt anything so strong, and it tore me apart.

I had made so many mistakes in my life, but going out that night had been the worst one. I loved Cody with all of my being, but he was suffering so badly that sometimes I wondered if it was even worth it. I think, deep down, I knew that dropping out of school and getting into the mess I was in was yet another mistake. Because somewhere inside I knew that Cody was going to die, but I couldn't accept it.

I lifted my head and looked at my sleeping son, willing him through. There were wires everywhere; attached to his nose, his wrist, his neck… he was trapped in the plastic cot in a maze of wires. All apart from his little left starfish hand, that was wrapped around my pinky finger. I stared at his hand, watching as his little fingers squeezed as hard as they could. It was amazing how such a tiny person who couldn't even breathe by himself could hold on to me so hard, be so strong.

Two weeks ago, when Cody had been born, the doctors had told me that most children born with any type of CHD grow and develop normally after surgery, but Cody wasn't 'most children'. Cody had been born almost two months earlier than he was supposed to be, and God knew there had been complications.

I sat by his side until I had to leave, and it broke my heart to walk away. But I was the only one he had, and I knew that I had to get the money for the surgery he was going to need in a matter of months, maybe even weeks.

***

"Edward," James greeted me as I slipped into his dark, smoky office seconds after he had called for me. "How are things?"

I simply glared at him.

James sighed and sat back in his chair. "I gave you a job, didn't I? I let you take the kid to a hospital? What else am I supposed to do?"

"You're my legal guardian," I spat. "What do you think you're supposed to be doing?"

James chuckled and shook his head. "Edward, you're eighteen. You don't have a guardian anymore."

"And don't I know it," I muttered darkly.

James rolled his eyes. They were so blood-shot that they almost looked red, the irises a scary deep black with no beginning and no end. "So nice to see you happy, Edward," he remarked dryly. "But. I didn't call you here to talk about your problems- that's what shrinks are for, and I'm not a shrink. I am of the impression that you need money, correct?"

"Well… yeah," I replied, trying to keep my tone casual. "Who doesn't?"

He nodded, as though he could relate. "You completed your last mission so successfully that I am going to give you the best of the best now." He leant forward across the table, the crack of light that split the dark room falling across his face and illuminating his scarred face. "I am going to give you mission x. Code name: Mission impossible."

I raised an eyebrow. "Very original," I said, venom and irony coating my words.

James laughed, ignoring my sarcasm. "Isn't it? No one will suspect anything with a name as obvious as that. It's called double bluffing." Then his tone was serious. "Now, listen very carefully Edward. This mission has been planned for a good few years, and I feel that it is one of the most important I've ever given. Which is why I am prepared to pay a lot of money." He reached under his desk and brought out a suitcase. He rested it on the desk, spun in the combination and pushed the lid open to reveal stacks and stacks of money.

"Great," I said emotionlessly. I didn't know what to make of this. Obviously, this much money would be incredible. It would cover Cody's medical costs and there'd be enough leftover to pay for the rent for the next year or so. But there had to be a catch; there always was. This much money only meant that there was more riding on the mission; that it was more dangerous.

"If you complete the mission, Edward, this would only be the start of the money. If you managed to finish it, then you would receive this much every two months. Think of what it could do. If anything ever went wrong with Cody again, you'd have enough to sort it. Not only that, but you could support him properly. You could buy a proper house miles away from here, never be involved in anything like this ever again. You could pay for day care so you could go back to med school and be a doctor. You could give him a much better life then you ever had, even with my 'perfect' brother."

James' words painted the picture in my head. Cody with a perfect life, one I had never even thought to dream of as a child. I wanted it so badly, but nothing was ever that simple. I knew that. "What is it then?" I asked. "The mission."

He pursed his lips and reached into the top drawer of his desk. He pulled out a photo- one that had been printed from one of those cameras that prints them as soon as they're taken, I could tell from the logo on the back. "Agent Cullen, your new task is as simple as it is difficult." There was a pause and then the photo came down in front of me. "I want you to murder Miss Isabella Swan."

Bella POV

I'm just a little bit caught in the middle;

Life is a maze, and love is a riddle.

I don't know where to go, I can't do it alone;

I've tried and I don't know why…

I'm just a little girl lost in the moment;

I'm so scared but I don't show it.

I can't figure it out; it's bringing me down, I know

I've got to let it go and just enjoy the show.

I sang into the mike, moving my hand up and down as I did so, losing myself in the music. I loved what I did – why would I do it if I didn't? – but sometimes, I felt lost, and not in the good way. The world was a big place and I didn't understand the fascination a lot of people seemed to have with me; it was scary. That was what had inspired the lyrics to this song. Yes, it was one I had written; unlike a lot of teenage pop stars, I tried to write my own stuff, even if it was rubbish. The down side was that the things I wrote usually tended to reflect my feelings and enough people were trying to grasp at my personal life without having to encourage them.

I kept my eyes shut as I sang, so that I wouldn't have to watch Emmett watching me. Sometimes it was great having him as my agent, but sometimes it was embarrassing, terribly so. And then there were the times when it was downright annoying, like when he got stupidly overprotective and asked a stranger – a freaking stranger – to be my bodyguard. Not that I didn't trust Edward implicitly, because I did, but that was so… I didn't know what the word was. Paranoid, maybe? Embarrassing?

Thinking about Edward got me distracted though. I didn't know what to think of him. On the one hand, he was freakishly good looking, and I especially loved his eyes… he was my sparkly-eyed perfect saviour… my hero. Not only that, but something about him made me trust him while feeling sorry for him at the same time… there was something about him, something in his eyes perhaps, that made me think that there were things he didn't want anyone else to know. There was an air about him that seemed secretive, almost… bad, but how could someone that saved me from those men be bad?

But, on the other hand, there was the other Edward I had seen. The well-muscled, bad-boy who could take Emmett on any day. The tough guy who you would find in dark alleys. The man that shouldn't have been the one saving me, but instead…

"Bella!" Em's groan lifted me out of my daydream.

"What?" I asked, pulling the headphones down over my neck. The little room seemed oddly quiet now without the melody bleeding into my ears.

"That was the best take yet and you missed a whole line!"

I frowned. "I did? Which one?"

Emmett rolled his eyes. "That doesn't matter." He looked at his watch. "We don't even have time to try it again!"

I looked at the clock on the wall. "Yes we do," I pointed out. "It's only ten thirty."

"Yes, and I've got to meet that Culling dude at eleven," Emmett said, frowning. I could tell that he was still annoyed that Edward had managed to beat him up, and slightly awed. Mind you, so was I. Nobody had ever hit Emmett without hurting themselves, let alone managed to get him in a headlock. Sure, Edward had muscles, but enough to do that?

"Um… Emmett?"

"Yes?"

"It's Cullen," I told him as I exited the little booth and came to his side.

Emmett sighed. "Look, Bells, I don't really give a damn. I just need to talk with him about what he's going to be doing."

"And what is he going to be doing, Emmett?" I demanded angrily. "What do I need? A spy? A stalker? Someone to fight off the press? I don't need that! I can handle the questions myself. Really, it's simple enough."

Emmett sighed as though I was an ignorant child. "Bella. You know as I well as I do that I don't really like, or trust, this Cullen guy, but c'mon Bells. I can't shadow you 24/7 and what happens if there's a repeat of the other night? Your Dad made me promise to look after you, and I can't bear losing you that way. Just let me do this, Bella, please."

I sighed. I hated it when he pulled that one on me. "Fine. But I'm coming to talk to Edward too."

Emmett scowled and then put on a falsely high voice to mimic me. "I'm coming to meet Edward too."

I whacked his arm lightly. "At least I can…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, at least you can get his name right," he said. "Seriously, though, Bells. There's something about that guy… he's… weird."

I thanked the woman that rushed over with my coat and held it out for me. I hated it that I had people practically waiting hands and feet on me; it made me feel uncomfortable. I mean, I could put my coat on myself, couldn't I? "How exactly is he weird, Em? He saved my life!"

Emmett pushed the door open and we walked out into the street, where one lone pap guy stood with a camera. Emmett flipped him the bird and carried on walking. I dithered and mouthed 'sorry' before following Emmett. "That was rude," I chided. "And you didn't answer my question."

"I don't know," he muttered, "he's just weird. There's something about him that doesn't seem… trustworthy…"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "So you offered him a job as a bodyguard?"

Emmett glared at me. "You think you're so smart…"

"Because I am." I smirked at him and he punched my arm lightly. I laughed and punched him back, leading him to push me harder. I tripped and fell and was unable to get back up for shrieking with laughter. Emmett tried to help me back up again but couldn't for laughing.

Thanks to our mucking around, we got to the hotel ten minutes late. I felt awful for keeping Edward waiting, but the person at reception said that no one had been in to see us. Rose said that no one had come to the room either.

Twenty minutes after we got to the hotel room, there was a knock on the door. Emmett and I looked up simultaneously as Alice walked in, beaming. "Hi Bella!" she sang.

"Hey," I sighed, and then I groaned when I saw that she was carrying an almost-suitcase-sized bag that I knew contained make-up and hair stuff.

Alice shot me a stern look. "None of that. Bella, this photo shoot is for the best tween mag in the country. You have to look great, Bells. And I'm your stylist so I do it, okay?"

"Sure, Al, just let me have this meeting first," I said, already dreading the three-hour make-over session that was sure to come.

That stopped her short. "What meeting?" she demanded.

"Um… a meeting with Edward…" I replied, shifting slightly and waiting for the inevitable question.

"Who's Edward?" Yep, there it was.

"Edward is…" I hesitated, not knowing what to say.

"Half an hour late," Emmett growled.

I rolled my eyes. "He helped me last night and Emmett's offered him a job," I summarised, not wanting to go into specifics.

"And he is half an hour late!" Emmett repeated.

Alice ignored Emmett and her eyes narrowed suspiciously at me. "Helped you how?"

That was exactly the question I didn't feel like answering right now. "Um…"

Suddenly, there was a buzz. I leapt up from the sofa and ran to the little electronic box by the door. I held down the button and said, "Yep?"

"Miss Swan?" the receptionist said, her voice ringing out of the metal box and into the room. "There is a man here claiming to have a meeting with you and Mr McCarty. He gave the name of… Mr Cullen?" She spoke cynically, as though she didn't believe that Edward could be here for a meeting with us.

"Yes, yeah. Send him up," I told her. "And it's Bella."

"Of course, Miss Swan." Then she was gone.

I groaned. "Why does everyone persistently call me 'Miss Swan'?"

Alice didn't answer my question. Instead, she cocked an eyebrow at me and said, "Don't be too long with this 'Mr Cullen'. You have to look beautiful, Bella."

I smiled at her sarcastically. "I don't need make up to look beautiful."

Alice laughed. "You don't. But it helps you to look drop dead stunning."

"Three hours of it?" I complained, slumping into an empty sofa, in the vain hope that the stunningly gorgeous green-eyed man would take the seat next to me.

Alice simply raised both her dainty eyebrows and disappeared into my bedroom, just as the knock came on the door. Emmett got up and went to let Edward in. Suddenly, my stomach was full of nervous butterflies at seeing my saviour again. Okay, maybe that was a bit melodramatic, but that man had saved my life and looked like an angel; of course I was nervous. I wrung my hair with my hands, before releasing it except for a few strands, which I twirled round my fingers. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end as I sensed him come into the room. How did I sense that someone I barely even knew had just entered the room? I had no idea.

Emmett sat down on the sofa opposite me and I didn't look up, praying to every deity that I knew of, that Mr Cullen would sit beside me. But, of course, there was an audible creak, meaning that he had sat on the single armchair next to the sofa I was on. I fiddled with my fingers, and then slowly looked up at him. If it were at all possible, he was even better-looking than the night before.

My eyes started at his feet. They trailed up his jean-clad legs, and then up along his muscled torso, which was easy to see through his skin-tight, black cotton top. He wasn't wearing a jacket, so I could see that the short sleeves of his shirt ended halfway down his muscled arms. His muscles weren't the wiry veiny obvious type, but the lean well-built muscles of someone that worked for them. And, at the end of the sleeve, I noticed something that I hadn't the night before; a thin line of black trailed down his bicep. I squinted, trying to make out what it was, but then his hand came up and tugged on the sleeve. The tight-fit of the top meant that it clearly wasn't going to cover anything, but it was more of a hint. I blushed and my eyes snapped up to his face, surprised at what I saw. Instead of the soft smile that had been on his face the night before, his mouth was set into a hard, unemotional line. His eyes weren't the vibrant green that I had drowned in the night before, when they had been the first thing I saw. They were flat, and uncaring, and devoid of any emotion. I couldn't pull my eyes from his, absolutely astonished at the sudden change in him overnight.

"So…" Emmett said, and Edward's eyes snapped over to him, breaking the connection we had gotten. "Tell us about yourself."

~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

I'm back! I am so so sorry for not updating for ages but I wasn't sure where this was going for a while. I had a plot, but then I had a new idea and I was sure that it would make Edward way too OOC so I decided that I might write it as a real story instead but then I realised that I can't let Eddie go, however hard I try ;)

Hopefully this chapter has explained some of Edward's motives. Also a few of you fail to see the point of reading when you know what is going to happen. The prologue, as I have said, is NOT THE END. And there are a lot more twists- sometimes things aren't always as they appear to be... ;)

So, as of now, this story is going to have a much darker tone to it, a much less fluffy core. I'm not sure about much else yet so I really hope that the rug doesn't get pulled out from under my feet and I end up with no more storyline. It is because of this that I don't know when the next update will be.

By the way, I researched CHDs (congenital heart diseases) as much as I could, but I'm not sure about costing because I'm sure it would vary in different hospitals. Also, there is only so much information I can get through Google, especially as each case is so different so I will be using a little creative license here and there ;)

Oh and the song used in this chapter is 'The Show' by Lenka, and there is a link to a version of this song on youtube on my profile.

Also, I have set up a facebook page for my fanfic account. Feel free to add me as a friend :) The link is on my profile ;)

Anways… I hope that you liked this chapter, and that you like this new twist, and thank you all so much for staying with me :D

PLEASE REVIEW!

Thanks

Steph