Out For Blood

Chapter 7

Remorse weeps tears of blood.

- Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Disclaimer: The plot is mine. Everything Twilight is not.

BPOV

"Bella!" Mike exclaims, jumping to his feet and leaving his clan of people that I've yet to spare a glance to. I watch him approach me, but my mind doesn't catch up with what he's about to do until he's got me wrapped in his arms and is hugging me too tight, his arms crushing me too low for it to be just friendly.

My arms stay limp at my side, and I wonder for a moment if I've gone into shock. The last time I was this close with Mike Newton, he was trying to pin me down with one arm and pull down my pants with the other. I jerk backwards when the memory slaps me in the face. The dark alley outside of a club we'd frequent with our friends. I stumble right back into Edward's chest, who catches me and steadies me, though when I look up, his eyes are glued to Mike.

"Oh Bells," Mike chuckles, "you always were a clutz."

Before he can say anything else, Jasper steps forward, offering his hand for a shake, introducing us all. But I can't hear him, I feel like I'm underwater and the words are floating over my head like bubbles.

Edward guides me towards the long dining table with a hand on the small of my back and a second hand on my forearm that steadies me. He helps me into my seat, which I'm grateful for, because I'm not sure that I'm capable of doing anything on my own right now. I'm struggling to even stay upright.

Finally, as the rest of them strike up conversations around me, I gather my thoughts enough to at least look at the other people Mike has with him. There are eleven of them. I only recognise a few and none of them are people that I ever associated with but I know them from mutual friends and from seeing them around the places I used to go.

Jessica hangs on Mike's arm, shooting glares at me. I'm sure she's scowling behind all of her botox. Lauren sits right next to her, too busy making eyes at Edward and trying to adjust her inflated cleavage to notice me looking. Between them, they've done enough coke to make sure that their dealer has a very long, happy and lavish life.

I recognise Tyler, because he was the one that took Mike to the hospital when I'd managed to escape the alley. He's watching me intently, and averts his eyes when I turn to him, choosing to engage in conversation with Emmett.

I blanch and stay so quiet it's deadly as everybody else talks around me. Pleasantries first, with Emmett and Jasper offering most of the conversation from our side. Alec chimes in occasionally. Edward answers questions that are asked directly to him, but mostly watches Mike. His gaze wanders to Lauren a few times – or more specifically, to her boobs. I focus my eyes on the table, and wring my hands in my lap.

"Bella," I look up and watch as Jessica smiles at me, "I haven't seen you in forever. How have you been keeping? Congratulations to the pair of you, by the way."

I force a smile onto my lips and nod my head. "Thank-you, Jessica." I don't answer her question, or say anything more, or ask about her life which I couldn't care less about.

To emphasise the point in a way, Edward slings his arm across the back of my chair.

"Yeah, you kind of vanished on us there," Lauren adds.

My eyes flicker to Mike, then back to the table, and then I settle my gaze Lauren. "Yeah," I agree, shrugging, "I suppose I kind of did." I flash her a smile that I know she'll find patronising, and, slowly finding my usual self underneath the shock, I wink at her.

She glares at me. Jasper plugs the awkward silence by asking Mike about cars or some other bullshit. We order drinks a few moments later. I ask for a Coke, because I want my wits about me.

Mike raises a brow at me and laughs heartily, like it's the funniest joke of the century. "Since when did you stay sober, Bells?"

I stiffen and refuse to even look at him, choosing instead to check my phone rudely. Alec, who is sat to my right, kicks my leg under the table. I pull away from him, which incidentally has me leaning closer into Edward, who stiffens at the brief contact.

Lauren answers in my place, her nasally voice grating on my nerves and maybe it pisses me off that Edward keeps checking out her boobs. "Since she's underage, that's when," she snips.

I chuckle and look up at her, smirking. I tilt my head to the side and she scowls at me. I don't explain myself, and that's exactly what pisses her off so much. She huffs and turns away from me when the drinks arrive.

The sugar helps pep me up just a bit, and I feel a little less shaky.

Around me, the discussion descends into business as soon as everyone's got a drink in his or her hand. I tune it out, because I'm not informed enough to understand it properly, aside from the fact that they have overstepped themselves and we're here to dispose of them so that we're guaranteed that they'll never try again.

Edward leads the discussion on our side, setting firm, outrageous terms that would be impossible to enforce, but it doesn't matter since we have no intention of doing so anyway. I guess he's just trying to prove a point – to showcase his power, or something. He's unapologetic in his ridiculous requests that, had I been in Mike's position, I'd have shot down immediately. However, I'm not in that position and since Mike doesn't want Edward to shoot him before he's finished his fruity cocktail, he tries to politely decline and offer alternatives for him.

Miraculously, nobody pulls their gun and the worst reactions are the raised voices, and a few threats that nobody take kindly to. We go through four rounds of drinks, where I alternate from lemonade to Coke. Edward has one scotch, but sticks to water after that. Jasper and Emmett stay with beers, but Alec is absolutely wasted by the time they're wrapping up the discussion, because he's been committed to spirits the entire time.
Mike isn't far behind him, which might account for the fact he's just willingly and relatively happily promised half of his ground to Edward's men.

We stand to leave. Jasper bids our goodbyes for us, since he's always been the more diplomatic one, and I push myself onto my feet, a little jittery for reasons I can't explain. I'm halfway to the door, a couple yards behind the rest of them when there's a smash behind me – someone dropping their glass, I assume.

"Oh no, wait, Bella!" Mike calls, standing so suddenly he knocks his chair back. He bounds over and he's hardly a foot away when he stops in front of me. "You have to come out with us – for the sake of the good old days!"

I blink at him and don't even bother with a smile. "Mike, I'm tired. Sorry, maybe another time."

I move to turn and step away, but he follows me and blocks me from getting far. "Come on, Bella, you know that we can show you a good time."

I take a step back, and then another, and when he follows me I press a hand against his stomach to push him back. "Mike, I'm too tired to go out with you guys tonight."

He scowls at me, grabbing the hand that I'm using to keep him at a distance and squeezing my wrist. "Don't give me that shit! Don't even try!" he explodes, his face suddenly too close to mine.

My mind blanks out and I remember the last time he tried to kiss me and my chest constricts and shoulders tense and my eyes burn.

He's knocked back onto his ass before either of us can blink. Jasper arrives at my side and Edward towers over Mike, the heel of his shoe pressing into Mike's hand. The men that we brought with us stand at attention at the door, their fingers threatening the triggers.

The boys at the table stand and Tyler shouts for Mike. Jessica and Lauren scream, their faces paling.

"Keep your hands off of her, or I'll break every fucking bone that's in them," Edward snarls at Mike.

"Bella, lets go," Jasper murmurs, his lips close to my ear. Gentle, he nudges my head so that my face is turned into his chest. He takes me back to the hotel in silence and I keep my hands hand fisted in his shirt the entire way. The only time I let go is when we get back to the hotel. While he heads off to change out of his suit, I steal a bottle of Bacardi from Alec's bag and then lock myself in my room.

I don't bother with a cup. I just unscrew the lid, tilt my head back, open my mouth wide and pour.

The next day, it's eerily quiet in the suite. Jasper wakes me at the ass crack of dawn – thankfully, with a mug of coffee made just how I like it and some painkillers for my headache – to explain to me what the plans for the day are. He doesn't comment on the fact I smell like I've bathed in vodka, which is unusual for him because Jasper isn't one to let things lie. It makes me suspicious.

Using his laptop he shows me a map of the places that he, his brothers and mine will cover and the buildings I'll have to infiltrate to grab the people we need. He rushes through the explanation that he stumbles over his words and that is definitely not Jasper, so I know that there's more than what he's telling me.

"So, your job is to round up the four main leaders of the gang – which are Mike and Tyler from last night, then this couple called Lola Carlson and Mikey Dawson. You know them, right? Alec said you might," he says, tilting his head at me, pulling photos of them up onto his laptop just in case.

I nod my head. I've known them for years because they also trained at Jackson's for a while. They never seemed to like me and I didn't have much interest getting to know the two notorious ass-kissers of the class. We worked together sometimes on a few of the easier jobs, but they weren't part of the team I was on, so I only saw them when we were sent out to compete or work.

"Yeah, I knew them." I don't say anything more than that and in another unlike Jasper move, he doesn't ask.

He nods his head and continues, "Well, they all live in the same apartment building, which makes it easier travel and time wise, but it'll going to be difficult not to alert everyone as to what's going on. We've got three men that you can take with you, and a driver. There's a rental van downstairs for you, which is fully prepped for detaining them. The idea is, you'll sneak in, stick them with a few tranquiliser darts, have them taken downstairs and then you'll sneak out. We've got some guys working on the CCTV, so don't worry about that."

I nod my head, surveying the area Jasper's pointed to on the map. It's a rough area, which doesn't surprise me because Mike never fails to take an opportunity to show that he's tough. It's drug central down there, which also might be why he chose it.

"Edward will question them. Maybe Alec, too. We'll be done with our bit around six if all goes to plan. So we need you to have them all together and down there for seven. Do you think you can do that?"

I'd be insulted, if Jasper wasn't a natural stress head. Nodding my head, I take a long sip of the bitter coffee and sigh. The job is easy, one of the easiest I've done in years. It's the keeping quiet bit that I'm unfamiliar with. Usually, I get something done quick and fast and there's minimal noise, but we clear out so fast afterwards that it doesn't matter. Today, it does.

"Yeah," I answer, stepping out of bed even though I'm only wearing my underwear and a long t-shirt. Jasper's seen me in less, not purposely but it happens when you spend so long living with someone.

I flip the lid of my case and start picking out some clothes for the day. Black cargo pants, a black t-shirt, a black puffer coat. Jasper laughs when I lay them out at the bed, muttering something about the lack of colour. I shrug, "I can't afford a bloodstain."

He glowers at me, "Bella, you're not supposed to kill them. You need to deliver them very much alive."

I laugh. "Of course, they'll be painfully aware just how alive they are."

Sighing, he orders, "No broken bones. No wounds that need stitching. And try not to piss them off too much, you know it makes it so much harder to work with."

I roll my eyes at him and curtsy, grabbing my clothes and a new set of underwear and heading towards my en suite. "Yes, sir, I think I can live within those means."

He scoffs and huffs, but doesn't leave.

Quickly, I change, pull my hair into a high ponytail, wash my face, brush my teeth then spritz myself with some perfume. On my way out, I stuff my feet into some heavy, black Timberland boots. Jasper's still sitting on my bed, watching me rush around the room. I sling my duffel bag over my shoulder and take the rental keys that Jasper dangles in his hand.

Five minutes later, as my fingers are wrapping around the steering wheel of the sleek black van and my foot is pressing on the pedal, there's a surge of adrenaline that sends me spiralling into the ugly train of mind that comes with this work.

I press the pedal, we jolt forward and the three men in the backseat make sounds of surprise when I narrowly avoid crashing into a pedestrian, but I don't. Because I know these streets, and I know these people and I know what I'm doing. Which is nice, seeing as it's the first time I've known it in a while.

It's easier than I even thought, and I had low expectations. One of the men riding in the backseat hands me a dart gun, so all my job is to pick the locks and then take two good shots and to be quick about the reloading.

Really, I'm kind of pissed that they've dragged me all the way over here, and made me deal with people I don't care for, just to do what any mediocre crook could do. The only difficult bit is stomaching the sight in Lola and Mickey's room and trying to pull some clothes onto the pair of them.

Until I get to Mike's apartment, because I don't give him the mercy of a dart gun. He's smiling when he sees me, and too strung out to even ask how I got in. He moves to grab my ass, so I pull the handgun out of my pocket and bring the butt of the gun down on his hand so hard it shatters.

It's only after I've done it that I remember Jasper's rules. Still, I don't feel bad. So much so that I make sure to crack his nose before I smack the gun hard enough into his temple that it knocks him out cold. The men I'm with carry him down to the van in the garage, then I drive us all to the Cullen's holding house on the outskirts of town, a few miles from a gated neighbourhood, a little bit into the woods. It's creepy, but I guess that's the point.

The men unload them and drop them into individual holding rooms. I check my watch to see that it's only two in the afternoon. And yeah, maybe it makes me a bit smug that it only took me two hours to round up four of them, but I don't say it.

The boys arrive earlier than expected, as well and park up outside at half past five. The men with me scatter to look useful, even though we've spent the past hour sitting around playing cards for cigarettes.

I'm smoking one of the twelve that I won when they walk in. Jasper drops down into a seat beside me. Alec and Edward disappear down one of the hallways, a crowd of puppies in black suits shadowing them.

Emmett wraps me in a hug and scrunches his nose at the cigarette. "I'm glad you're okay, Belly-boo."

I smile and kiss his cheek. "Yep, not a scratch."

We watch from our side of the double-sided glass as Mickey is dragged into the room, screeching his anger. Edward and Alec stroll in behind him, both of them holding a machine gun in their hands. I roll my eyes. Idiots.

Emmett chuckles, "This is gonna be quite the show."

I shake my head, "They won't get far. Not with those guns anyway."

"Edward is good at his job, Bella," Jasper snaps, apparently in a foul mood.

Shaking my head at him, I say quietly, "I never said he wasn't, but they were at Jacksons, too, and we were taught to be good at withstanding this. They know they're going to die, and they know that a few bullets from a gun like that would be a quick way to go, so it's a no brainer for him."

Jasper cracks out of nowhere, and snarls, "You think you know everything!" crossing his arms over his chest and slouching.

Which is why I'm so much more satisfied when I'm proven right, and Mickey provokes Alec into pumping him with lead so fast he's gone in seconds. Jasper huffs and storms from the room. Emmett snickers, but I frown.

Tyler is next in. He lasts longer, and Edward manages to pull some information from him before he winds them up too far. Alec is on him like a rash, his fists flying at Tyler's face with abandon. Edward drags Alec from the room, leaving Tyler cackling in his chair.

I know that Tyler knows more than what he's told everyone, and I know better than to waste a valuable hostage on my brother's incompetence and Edward's impatience. I'm on my feet and in the room before I can blink and before Emmett can stop me.

"Hey Tyler," I greet, cheerily as I can, walking to stand a few feet in front of the chair he's tied to.

He spits at my feet, but misses, and there's blood in his spit, which tinges it pink. I chuckle and raise my eyes to his, where he's glaring at me.

"Well, that wasn't very nice." I smile, reaching into one of the pockets on the left leg of my pants for my switchblade.

He spits again, but it's a pathetic attempt and most of it dribbles down to land on his lap.

"Tyler, Tyler, I thought we were friends. You know what friends do? They tell each other things, and they don't spit at them."

I flick the blade and press it lightly against my finger. Then, I walk towards him and press the blade against his neck. I hold it against the skin, light enough that it doesn't break the skin, but just hard enough that he fears it might.

"You know, I'll cut it. Just the tiniest nick, and then we can sit here and you can tell me whose funding you, or you can tell me know and I'll let you die by a bullet. Your choice."

He spits at the ground again, so I bring up my knife and I stab it through the bag of his ear. He screams so loud the glass should shatter, but it doesn't.

"Come on, Tyler," I say, moving my head and leaning down so that my lips brush against his other ear. "Tell me. I'm your friend."

"Over my dead body!" he yells.

So I take my knife, and I run it across his fingers, until one of them is gone. He screams so loud my eardrums pulse.

"You know that we're friends, Tyler, come on, buddy. Tell me a secret."

I move to stand in front of him and I feel something twist in me when I spot the tears on his face. He's broken Jackson's number one rule – never show your pain. Before I can back off, before I can feel bad, I stab my blade through the back of his hand, until the end of the blade squeaks against the metal arm of the chair beneath. I tut at him and reach for the handgun in my pocket. I flick the safety off, cock it and shoot his left foot.

My face stays blank, because I've learned how to keep it that way over the years.

He yells and the blood is already pooling at the bottom of his chair. The puddle is so big it's terrifying. When I step back, I leave a trail of bloody footprints.

"You're being annoyingly slow, Tyler. Just give me a name and I'll make it all go away," I offer, cocking the gun again and pointing it at his head. "Just one name and I'll let you rest."

He gurgles and grits his teeth. He snaps, "Volturi. Aro Volturi."

I smile at him, nod my head, but inside I can feel my brain bubbling. "Thank-you," I mumble quietly, and then I shoot a bullet through his brain.

It's mercy, in a twisted way.

My kill count ups once again, but I'm beyond keeping count now. All I know is that if I stacked the bodies, and set them on fire, it'd be the biggest fire the world has ever seen.

A/N: So, we see Bella's work side in this chapter. Things will speed up soon and we'll see more Edward-Bella interactions, and that's what we all want, right? If there are any confusions in this chapter, they should be explained in the next one, but if you're not quite sure, let me know and I'll try to clear things up for you guys.Also, we've surpassed the 4000 word mark - which is a feat for me!

Leave me your thoughts. I'll try to get back to as many of you as possible.

- Laylz