Chapter 8
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? POV
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The black SUV swerved dangerously close to yet another vehicle on the highway. The eight gang members had just narrowly escaped being arrested, and now they were driving full speed on the highway. Each person within the car were having different reactions regarding what had just occurred.
The driver of the car, Alec, had his hands clenched around the steering wheel, and would nervously look through the rear view mirror and make sure there wasn't any police following them. Alec was trusted to do this job; he had been the one delivering the list of clients for the bosses to use. Similarly, there was another list containing names of those who had failed to meet certain demands, and were soon to be punished, or even killed, and what made him feel worse was he had left those lists at the house.
He couldn't shake the feeling that this was his fault. Despite the fact someone else had realised there were undercover cops watching the house, and someone else who took the first shot at them, he kept believing that they must have been there because of him.
Alec checked the mirror one more time to make sure he wasn't being followed and then turned quickly off the highway.
Another man, Royce King, was sitting next to him in the passenger seat. He on the other hand was pumped up with adrenaline, and didn't fully comprehend what they had just gone through as he was too hyper to care.
The other three people sitting in the backseat, including Alec's sister Jane, were all just as shaken up as the driver. All were silent and staring out of the windows of the SUV into the night.
Two other people were sitting in the far end of the van, with an extra person sitting between them looking out the back window. A woman sat on the right hand side, her head leaning against the window pane, a tear rolling down her cheek. Although she was looking through the tinted windows, and watched various buildings and greenery go past, all she could see was the pain in her fiancé's face.
She shut her eyes in an attempt to clear away the image, but it would just reappear and haunt her. She knew it would haunt her for the rest of her life, and she wouldn't feel better until she took revenge on the one who took away her boyfriend's life.
The SUV finally rolled to a stop outside one of the gangs many safe houses. This particular building was just outside of Chicago, and it was said that they should only come here incase of an emergency. No one argued the decision to arrive here as they all made their way up to the warehouse doors silently.
They stayed together as the group made their way to the main office. They had to tell them what had happened. That not one, but all of their leaders had been arrested, and would most likely be charged and sent to prison. Alec ran his hand through his hair nervously as he knew it would most likely be him to tell the others the bad news.
They eventually reached the end of the corridor, a closed door infront of them. Alec swallowed nervously as he opened the door and stepped into the office, followed by the others. The room was filled with a few members of the gang who were trusted by the leaders themselves to control certain divisions of the state.
They looked slightly shocked as they saw the eight people walk into the room, all shaken and silent, Aro, Caius and Marcus not walking in with them. Although they didn't realise it yet, with the three leaders in lock-up, it meant the selected few people in the room would be seen as the new people in charge.
The seven escapen members all looked to Alec encouragingly for him to break the news. Jane held his hand within hers to help calm him.
One of the men already in the room, Laurent, stood up and walked towards the group. He took in the expressions on their faces and was immediately concerned.
"What's happened?"
Alec breathed in a shaky breath whilst Jane squeezed his hand in encouragement. "We got caught." There were murmurs around the room when he said that and he continued, "The cops knew what we were up to and there was a shoot out. We managed to escape but some people didn't make it out."
"How many? Did we lose anyone?" Laurent asked.
"We're not sure how many were still in there, but they got the Family." Everyone's eyes widened at the mention of the Family – Aro, Caius and Marcus. Alec took a quick glance over to the woman who was standing at the back of the group, her head leaning against the wall and tears falling down her cheeks. "And we lost James." He added.
Laurent had been good friends with James and on hearing this news he immediately felt bad for his fiancé. He quickly walked over to her and embraced her in a hug. She was comforted by the gesture, even though the pain she felt was still overwhelming.
The whispers were getting louder and it was clear people were starting to panic. Laurent sensed this and stepped back into the middle of the room and hushed everyone before he spoke.
"We can't fall apart because our leaders were taken, if we do then it shows we are weak. They may be the foundation to this organisation but we don't need all of their help to run it. They would expect us to continue with this even if they are put in prison."
Laurent turned to Alec then, "Which officer was it that made the arrest tonight? Can you remember what he looks like?"
"Sure, it was that Cullen guy. His partners were injured outside so we couldn't get a glimpse of them, but…"
"What? His partners were outside and that cop barged in by himself?" Alec remained silent as he realised where Laurent was going with this. He stepped back so he could look at all eight of the people who had escaped. "There was only one guy but none of you could've taken him out!"
The group remained silent as he continued, "So this Detective is able to enter a house filled with more than a dozen armed people, and is able to make it out alive, taking out one of us and arresting the people he has been intending to arrest for over a year!"
"We just panicked. We knew that we had to get out of there fast."
"But your little cowardly decision has been costly to us. Do you realise what will happen now that they have the Family? They can get us all. They will track us down and arrest us; it will be the best series of arrests one single cop has made, due to your idiocy!"
"We have to do something about this." A voice said from behind of Laurent, "Are you sure you weren't followed and we are currently safe?" His expression clearly showing he was not happy with this turn of events.
Alec nodded, "Yeah, for now."
Laurent stared at a small mark on the floor as he thought of the best way to sort out this mess.
With an idea forming in his head, he looked up and clicked his finger as he pointed to a man beside Alec, whose name was Antonio or Ant as they usually called him. "You, I want you to do research for me, find out anything about this Detective Cullen or the case he's leading. Also try and find out when the trial will be. Get me anything, go!" He waved the guy off and he ran out of the room to do what he said.
"What about our insider, Riley, any news from him yet?"
"No he hasn't given us any news yet. He'll probably find out news about the trial and stuff before we do."
"What about the Family?" Someone else asked, "Are they going to just stay in prison?"
"If they stay there they could possibly get the death penalty." Another person added.
Laurent was thoughtful for another moment until he spoke up again. "We can't chance a visit to them, even if we pose as their lawyers, they'll automatically associate us with them and we'll be under questioning. But we still need them. How about getting them out of jail?"
Someone in the room laughed and Laurent recognised it as a 'supposed' friend of his, Ryan. "What? like a prison break? I don't think so. If this Cullen guy has been chasing our tails for years and is able to get not just some of us, but the Family, then I'm sure he'll be doing everything he can to stop them from getting out."
"No not like that." Laurent contradicted, "I mean get them out before they even have to go to trial."
"You know your ideas are starting to sound really stupid." Ryan told him.
"Well just consider it because I doubt you have any better ideas." Ryan stayed quiet. "Thought so."
The guy Laurent had sent to do some research, Antonio, came running back in then with a couple of sheets in his hand. He moved over to a table and spread the sheets across the surface. The people in the room started to crowd around the table.
Laurent nodded to the guy for him to start talking.
"Alright we got these when we heard he took our case, this…" He said pointing to a picture of a police officer with bronze hair and green eyes, "…of course is Edward Cullen, he's running this show. He was also the one who made the arrest on the Fami-"
"You're telling us things we already know." Ryan said impatiently.
"Just let him finish." Laurent said back annoyed, and turned back to Ant.
"Okay, so he made the arrest on the Family, and he was the one who shot James."
At this news the woman who was standing silently at the back of the room lifted her head up and listened intently on the words he just said. She quickly moved across the room and made her way to the table, pushing aside some other guys and looking down onto the array of sheets.
She spotted the focus of everyone's attention immediately. In the middle of the sheets was a larger piece of paper with just a photo on it. The picture showed a police officer, with an unusual shade of blonde or brown hair and pale skin. Green eyes stared up from the photo, and the woman almost felt like he was staring right at her, teasing her.
A flash of what occurred earlier that night flashed through her mind. The officer bursting into the room. James ushering her out of the house. Turning around and shooting at the officer to slow him down. The cop taking a shot and hitting him in his chest. James' pained look as he fell to the ground, his lifeless eyes looking at her.
Her hands clenched into fists as she started to feel the anger rise. That Cullen was going to pay for it somehow.
She jumped startled when she felt someone's hand on her own. She looked up to see Laurent looking at her with sympathy, and she hadn't noticed the room had gone silent and they we're all looking at her.
She relaxed her hands, and she felt her tears rolling slowly down her cheeks. She looked down in a mixture of embarrassment for crying infront of all the men.
"Victoria?" Laurent said quietly, and she looked up slowly and met his eyes, "We'll get him back okay? I promise." All Victoria could do was nod and then left the room.
Laurent watched her walk out the room and then turned back to Anthony, nodding for him to continue.
"Alright, now when he first took on the case some of the guys got a little background info on him. He lived here in Chicago and then moved up to a small town called Forks, Washington, after his mother died." He pushed forward another photo along with a newspaper article. It showed a picture of a middle-aged woman, along with the headline Serial Killer Strikes Again – woman is 15th victim of Seattle Killings.
"But," Ant continued, "her death was because of us. Some initiation thing I guess that happened up in Seattle." Laurent nodded his head as he remembered the numerous killings that happened in Seattle. A group of around ten people wanted to join the gang, and were told to do something that would earn them a right in the gang. Unfortunately they weren't inconspicuous with their killings, and the police were automatically looking at the Volturi as their number one suspects.
"He dropped out of college to become a cop, and within a couple of years he was already being considered for becoming a Detective. As we know he took our case almost two years ago, and will most likely close it within the next couple of months."
"Okay, what about family? Friends?"
"Erm, well his mum is dead – obviously, and his dad died when he was young. The only immediate family he has is his Uncle and Aunty who he lived with in Forks. He keeps in touch with some of his old high school friends; he is particular close with one friend who works with him in the force, a Jasper Hale, I think he's his co-partner or something for the case."
Laurent glanced over some of the photos another time until his eyes landed on one that caught his attention. He reached over and picked it up. On it was Detective Cullen, standing next to a young woman around the same age, with a young boy about two years old. Their arms wrapped around each other and the little boy and they looked pretty close.
"Who's this?" He asked, handing over the photo and pointing to the woman in the picture.
Ant looked at the woman and then figured out who she was. He grabbed another sheet and passed it to Laurent.
"This," He started as he handed the other piece of paper to Laurent, "is Isabella Swan. His wife." Laurent was shocked as he looked down to the sheet. On it was another photo of Isabella in a wedding dress, and standing next to her was Cullen in a suit, both wearing exuberant smiles on their faces.
"They've been together since high school, moved in together up in Chicago, and then got married soon after."
"And the child?"
"Their son." Laurent turned to him astonished. "Mason Cullen, but unfortunately for them he was kidnapped when he was three years old." He pushed another newspaper article infront of him with the headline Child taken from park before parent's eyes. "He's never been found. Well he was considered to be dead after a few years because he was so young, totally tore them apart."
"How come we didn't know about this?" Laurent asked.
Ant shrugged but Ryan said, "We did know about it." Laurent turned to him as he continued, "It was only a bit of info, we didn't take it serious or anything, it was just something we could know about him."
"Didn't anyone think of using this," he shook the sheet infront of his face, "against him in the first place."
"What would it have done anyway? It won't be like the movies where he'll do everything he can to save her, they're probably not even in love anymore." Ryan said.
"They're still together aren't they?"
"Yes but-"
"Then why didn't we use her in the first place? And if not her someone else in his family."
"I-I-I'm not sure; I guess we didn't think of it before." Laurent didn't answer but just hung his head; all of this could have been avoided.
"Well it doesn't matter now I guess." He finally said, "But I think I have a way of sorting it out."
The room was silent as Laurent told them his idea for getting the Family out of jail and hopefully securing their freedom. After telling them what he thought everyone remained silent as they thought over what he said.
"It wouldn't work." Ryan dismissed immediately, "It could be a risk and a complete failure. You'd have better success holding up a bank."
"Or," Alec said joining in, "it would still be a risk, but it would be a great success." Laurent nodded at him, "I'm in then." He said looking at Laurent.
Calls of 'I'm in," were heard in the room and Laurent smiled at everyone's cooperation. He turned lastly to Ryan who looked annoyed at the outcome, but he just nodded his head and said "Me too."
"Alright then, let's get this sorted." Laurent said clapping his hands together, and they started on their plan to get their leaders out of jail.
AN: Can you guess what his plan is? :P I know it's not E's or B's POV but I thought it would be good to include this chap to show what they were thinking at this time.
Thanks for reading, let me know what you thought of this chapter, sneak peeks will be given again if you review :)
Will update next week :)
Thanks again,
Jaimie x
