Hope you enjoy this chapter.
Hey, so I know I missed my usual self-appointed post day but it was the week before spring break which means one thing…test, lots and lots of test.
Again sorry for missing my day so here you go.
Please Review.
Until next time.
The Forks High seniors piled off the two charter busses around 9 that Saturday night with grins and laughter including Bella who's phone went off the moment she stepped off the bus,
"Swan" she announced as she answered the phone
"You're officially on standby" George informed her
"Understood" Bella replied before hanging up and climbing into the passenger side of her Jeep
"Who was that?" Emmett questioned as he started up her Jeep
"I'll explain later, but first we're going to yours, then I'm going to catch a quick nap, and then we're going to have that talk" Bella informed him
"Okay" Emmett nodded as he pulled off following Jasper who was driving Emmett's Jeep
The entire ride to Emmett's house Bella never took her eyes off her phone as her fingers flew over the screen, at some point she fished out another phone and called her Uncle Charlie to let him know that she was back, safe, and not pregnant. How Emmett never noticed that she had two phones was beyond him but if the reaction of Peter and Charlotte in the back seat was any indication, then neither had they.
Emmett parked in the driveway of his house and climbed out and quickly made his way around to Bella's side to open the door for her,
"Hey" she whispered grabbing his hand to stop him from moving as the others filtered in carrying in both of their bags as well as their own
"You okay?" Emmett questioned, she had this pleading look to her that he didn't recognize from her or like to see
"You know that I love you, right?" she asked, her voice was soft and unsure…he'd never heard her sound like that before
"Yeah and I love you too, is everything okay?" Emmett questioned
"Yeah, Em everything's ok" she smiled sadly and patted his chest
"Hey" Emmett called softly as he caught her arm, "Give me a kiss" Emmett smiled and Bella met him halfway, the kiss was tender, loving and… wrong, she was kissing him as if she was saying goodbye and it worried Emmett but for Bella it was goodbye because she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he wouldn't take it well. What he would say when she came clean, she didn't know, but she knew it would not go over well with him.
Emmett walked her upstairs to his room before leaving her to sleep on his bed while he made his way downstairs,
"What was that?" Rosalie questioned
"I don't know, but it felt like she was saying goodbye, hell, even her kiss felt like she was saying goodbye" Emmett mumbled
"Because she is" Peter shrugged
"What do you mean, she's not going to leave me Peter" Emmett glared
"No, but whatever she's going to tell you, you won't take it well and she knows you enough to know you won't take it well, but she's going to tell you anyway in the spirit of honesty" Peter replied
"That's not true" Emmett replied as he shook his head in denial
"Yes it is, mark my words Emmett" Peter nodded
"And is that your Yoda telling you that?" Emmett challenged
"No, but I know that if I were going to tell Charlotte something and I knew deep down that she wouldn't take it well…I'd make sure she knew that I loved her and kissed her goodbye, that Emmett, is what Bella did tonight" Peter replied
"So how can I fix it?" Emmett questioned, he couldn't lose her not her she was far too important to him
"Take it well" Peter shrugged, he wasn't a fucking magical 8-ball, why the hell should he know?
"But I don't know what it is" Emmett replied
"You have to decide whether you love her more than anything she has to tell you or will what she has to tell you more important to you" Jasper informed me
"I fucking love her" Emmett growled
"So remember that when she's coming clean to you" Jasper replied
Emmett listened to the shower shut off then nothing until his door opened and Bella rounded the corner with her suitcase in hand, Emmett watched as she silently moved to the other side of the coffee table to take seat in the empty armchair and sighed,
"You want to go first?" Bella questioned
"Yeah, yeah, I'll go first" Emmett whispered softly as he eyed her
"Okay, when you're ready" Bella nodded
No one dared say a word as they watched Bella and Emmett look into each other's eyes searchingly, they could both see the love that resided there but their hidden truths clearly held back parts of the both of them,
"Bella, I…my family and I are not human, haven't been for a long time. We're vampires but nothing like the ones that Hollywood portrays, short of needing blood and being pale, that's about it. In our species, well normally in our species we are deathly pale or pretty close, no fangs, skin like granite, eyes that are either gold or red, cold to the touch…Carlisle thinks we have a core temperature of about 60-75 degrees, perfect re-call, inability to sleep, super speed and strength and heightened senses plus some of us have extra powers. My family though, we don't know why but we appear more human; our core temperatures range from 80 to 85, depending on when we feed, our species can't eat food but we can and we can sweat out the waste, our skin feels softer than granite but it's stronger than the rest of our species, we're faster and stronger and our senses are better, and our eyes stayed the same from when we were human except more intense. Gold eyes mean animal blood is what the vampire survives off of, like Veronica and Carly, red eyes means the vampire either survives off human blood or is newly changed and still has their own human blood still roaming their system. My family drinks human blood because it's the best thing for us so we can stay at our best, but I promise you're not in any danger, we have exceptional control. As far as powers goes, Rosalie has compulsion, Edward can read minds, Jasper can read and manipulate emotions, Alice can see the subjective future, Peter has really strong gut feelings that provides him with information at times, Charlotte has extreme self-preservation, and I have a physical and mental shield plus the ability to exceed at all things physical but none of it works on you, we think maybe you're a physical and mental shield too, short of the pulse in your neck and your ability to sleep we would think you were one of us" Emmett explained
"You're a vampire; your entire family are vampires….Veronica and Carly…vampires?" Bella clarified, she had suspected but she needed to be clear, they couldn't sense her if she was out of sight…that she had not suspected
"Yes" Emmett nodded
"Okay" Bella nodded
"…okay?"
"Yes okay, Emmett. Baby you and your family are good but I knew you guys weren't human"
"What, how?"
"You were just a bit too cold to pass off as poor circulation, your skin doesn't give, I've hugged all of you and held your hands and never once did I feel a pulse, and your fingertips are too smooth, so there's no way any of you have fingerprints. Add the fact that the people down at La Push have been not so subtly hinting at you all being Cold Ones every time they tell the legends at the bonfire…does that mean Sam and his boys and Leah are those wolf spirit warriors?"
"Uh, yeah, we have a treaty with them…blood bags while we live here and we stay out of La Push. But Bella if you suspected something, why didn't you say anything?"
"Because you would've told me only because you got figured out and not because you trusted me, I didn't want to put you in that position"
"How'd you figure all that stuff out about of us, it looked like you never noticed anything" Emmett noted, Bella hummed before opening her suitcase to pull out one of two identical military grade laptops.
Emmett and the others watched with confusion as Bella scanned her thumb and dialed in a code into the laptop handle before opening it and quickly signing on,
"Look at that first" she instructed as she turned the laptop around for them to see to reveal what looked like mission reports along with Bella's picture in the upper left corner
"What does this mean?" Emmett questioned
"Officially, Isabella Marie Swan has spent the last 11 years attending The Episcopal School of Texas in San Antonio before leaving halfway through her senior year to attend a normal high school as per the instructions of her parents will. Unofficially I only attended The Episcopal School of Texas in San Antonio for 2 years before 3 psych evaluations and two therapists deemed me morally flexible and perfect for a nationwide program. Each class had recruits ranging from 10-15, my 9 year-old self was the exception. For the past 4 years we recruits, now thoroughly trained, have been working as the hidden strong hand taking orders from one man and another named Simon Wagner" Bella explained
"That's the President" Jasper noted
"It is" Bella nodded
"When you say hidden strong hand…?" Carlisle trailed
"I am what he needs me to be, most of the time I am just a cleaner, we go in and remove what needs to be removed and other times we do extractions that have already been deemed suicides" Bella explained
"Why are you here?" Emmett questioned
"Security breach" Bella replied, she answered but looking at him she knew his mind was racing and it wouldn't end well he was trying, she supposed somebody probably told him this is the way he would react and he was trying to fight himself but he was losing and he was losing fast
"What do you mean?" Jasper questioned
"Are you in danger?" Esme questioned
"No more than usual, but this is unprecedented" Bella nodded, she wanted to say more but at that moment her phone rang
"Swan" she announced as she answered her phone giving them an apologetic look
"You're off standby, coordinates are being sent to your phone now, and you need to be there within the hour" George rattled off
"Company?" Bella questioned as she quickly rose from her seat and zipped up her suitcase
"One guest and a friendly"
"Okay"
"And you're hot at all times; I can't have us getting caught with our pants down again"
"Understood" Bella announced as she pulled a Beretta 92FS seemingly out of thin air and checked the chamber before tucking it away
She was going to leave without a word but the look on Emmett's face made her stop, she was trying her best to avoid the confrontation not wanting him to ruin things…to ruin her
"Ask your question Emmett" Bella sighed
"All of this was just a cover, to keep you safe?" Emmett questioned, she knew what he was getting at really, but this had really all been a cover to keep her safe and while she didn't want to help him get to the point he was getting to, she would not lie to him
"Yes" Bella nodded
"Was any of it real or were you lying to me every time you smiled and told me you loved me?"
"I've got to go" Bella sighed as she grabbed her bag, she wouldn't answer that, he'd gotten it out but she wasn't going to answer that question
"What, go kill more people?" Emmett shouted as he followed her
"Why don't you say what you need to say and get it all out, don't hold back now" Bella replied dryly as she tossed her suitcase into her Jeep
"Were you even going to tell me?"
"Don't ask something so stupid"
"Stupid was believing a fucking trained government liar on anything she ever said to me"
"Tell me how you really feel" Bella mumbled and with that she pulled off leaving Emmett standing in the driveway
"Told you" Peter sighed
"Yeah, I fucking know Peter, but she kills people Peter she's a trained fucking killer that lies to everybody around her" Emmett glared
"So what, we lied to her too, you don't see her climbing onto her high horse to start passing judgment" Rosalie pointed out
"She fucking kills people Rosalie, you telling me it's okay to be in love with someone that takes human life?" Emmett questioned
"I'm sorry but what do we do again?" Charlotte questioned
"It's not the same" Emmett huffed
"You're right Emmett, you are totally right" Esme nods
"See, someone gets it" Emmett huffed
"When she does it she saves nations and thousands of people but when we do it, we save maybe 10 drunk college kids who were probably way in over their heads to begin with. But our good does far outweigh hers because hers has authority behind it and ours is self-appointed" Esme added sarcastically, she loved her baby boy but she was well aware that there were times when he just needed to be told like it is
"Emmett, son, I think you're forgetting that we're no better and the only difference between us and her is she waste the blood and we don't" Carlisle pointed out
"Feel like climbing off that high horse of yours now?" Jasper questioned
"I fucked up didn't I?" Emmett whispered
"Pretty much" Edward nodded
"Fuck" Emmett whispered as he pulled his phone out and dialed her number, the ringing sound came straight from his room and he knew she was gone
"Feel like doing one of those epic romantic movie chase scenes?" Peter questioned
"Yeah" Emmett nodded
"Let's go, before we lose her this road hits the highway really soon and she left in a hurry" Alice chirped and without another word they took off in the direction Bella drove.
They caught up to Bella just as she climbed out of her Jeep, to a make shift army base in a clearing they often played baseball in,
"Swan, you're a sight for sore eyes girl" a tall and muscular African-American man declared as she made her way over
"Nice to see your face first instead of your ass, Shemar" Bella smirked as she stepped into his arms
"Hey, you're one to talk I saw your boyfriend on the satellite feeds" he smirked as he hugged her
"Oh?" Bella raised her eyebrows as she stepped back
"Yup"
"And what's the verdict?"
"Well he sure does fit your type, although he'd be on the paler side of the spectrum"
"Why do you say that?"
"You hardly ever mess with your own kind, you're more inclined to the brothers like myself, but the sisters….they definitely your type"
"There was a black guy in my class"
"Oh no Bella, he was tall glass of low fat chocolate milk, but if you want a little chocolate loving before you get in the swing of things I am here"
"Been there and done that Shemar"
"Several times in Japan if memory serves me correct"
"You know I was still a minor when that happened right?"
"Yeah, but I was the minor, you schooled me seven ways to Sunday and I don't get schooled"
"Fair enough" Bella conceded, "So who's waiting on me?"
"Bomber, middle east and he has friends. We've been tracking them and we know there are at least 9 other locations and we've only got 4 days and we don't have the time to take a crack at him so we need you to break him and break him fast" Shemar explained as he handed over the tablet with the information which Bella quickly read through
"Drug, sedated, and delirious?" she questioned as she began to strip
"What the fuck?" Emmett growled quietly
"Shut up, she already turned him down for sex you moron" Charlotte replied
"She and Irina would be really great friends" Rosalie noted, never mind the fact that said vampire was mated and gay she always seemed to hold a special hunger of the carnal nature towards a strong black man….she could see the appeal, shit Edward probably heard that,
"I'll remind you later just why you're mated to me Rosalie" Edward growled out possessively, she couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine…she really enjoyed when he got possessive, the bed not so much but that really wasn't her problem now was it?
"Just the way you like it baby girl" Shemar nodded as he handed her an innocent soft yellow and white outfit
"Give me two days" Bella informed him before walking off with a silenced Browning Buckmark Camper in hand
She entered the blacked out tent twirling the gun,
"Okay let's cut to the chase, Albert" Bella announced as she stood in front of him
"Albert is not my name"
"I know, but will you give me your actual name?"
"You know the answer"
"Then Albert it is. Now Albert we need to face some facts, you're going to die here but you have some information I want before that can happen"
"I'm not going to tell you anything"
"Yes you are Albert and it's going to be the truth"
"I am prepared for your torture"
"I have no doubt you are prepared for torture but the question is whether or not the information you hold up in that pretty little head of yours is worth the pain you'll experience. I find that when I'm done, people really don't think it is but maybe you'll be different Albert. Maybe you will be the first, a pioneer for the people that fall to me…either way one thing is for sure though Albert"
"What is that?"
"You've got your work cut out for you" Bella smirked before proceeding to shoot off his index and middle finger
"Hold that thought" Bella informed the screaming man as she walked out
"Get my book ready, I'll need it in a few" Bella instructed Shemar as she quickly pulled the gun apart and slipped on a pair of brass knuckles
"Will do and I got a little something different from your usual machete" Shemar informed her
"Can't wait" Bella winked before she disappeared into the tent
Bella exited the tent covered in blood,
"He passed out from the pain, he really did last long" Bella mused as she cleaned off her brass knuckles
"Damn, you beat his ass didn't you?"
"I had some aggression that I needed to release"
"Yeah well you'll have plenty of targets to take your aggression out on"
"How do you mean?" Bella questioned as she took a seat and the beer he offered
"Since the order went out for us to keep our heads down, the bad guys have gotten pretty busy and we've still been taking hits. Now, we've been trying to reassert our dominance but someone is fucking around with us and we've got a full blown terrorist organization about 80 strong in the middle east, not even trying to hide from the world and everyone we've sent in has been gutted and hung…literally"
"George is sending me in?"
"Yeah he wants you to leave them drowning in their blood with no question of who did it"
"Done"
"The other main job though is extraction"
"Doesn't sound good"
"It's not. It's a Russian prison, co-ed and filled with the worst of the worst. We sent in an operative to get some needed information from a CI about who hacked us and sent us underground"
"…And now they're stuck"
"The Russian underworld owns that prison and everyone in it, somebody let it be known we had someone on the inside and exactly what they looked like. The CI got stuffed from behind like a Christmas ham and his head nearly cut clean off and our guy on the inside is now a mouse with a bounty on its head in a pit of money hungry snakes"
"Not good"
"Not good indeed, but we're about to drop a mongoose in there with a thing for saving mice"
"Sounds fun"
"We thought so; George said you should also brush up on your Farsi just in case"
"I might be going to Persia"
"Possibly, Marko can't be here but I'll lone you my body"
"Okay put on the music and put in the CD" Bella nodded as she stood
"You better let me lead" Shemar warned as he rose turning on the music and the Farsi disc
"Of course" Bella nodded as she took his hand
"Wow, she's really good" Esme noted
"She once told me that dancing helps her think" Emmett mused
"Guess she wasn't lying about that" Alice mused
"Yeah, Alice, I get it" Emmett huffed
"Do you?" Edward questioned
"I'm beginning to" Emmett nodded solemnly
Bella exited the tent wiping down the katana Shemar had given her. After brushing up on her Farsi with the help of Shemar she had taken her katana and copy of The Odyssey into the tent with her. She then sat in the chair across from a still unconscious Albert and read, three pages in; she cut off the first of 8 fingers that woke him up in screaming agony. As she read her book she would cut off a finger at the oddest times in a flash of movement that didn't allow for Albert to prepare himself. He held strong until Bella brandished a rag soaked in antifreeze, he knew that if she stuffed it down his throat that it would tear out the lining of his stomach and he'd die a slow and painful death burning and drowning in his own blood as his stomach acid ate through his organs and the antifreeze would only make it worse so he folded and begged for a quick death which she granted with a speedy decapitation.
"Chopper is on its way" Shemar informed her
"Here" Bella informed him as she handed over a list she quickly wrote down
"He gave them up?" Shemar smirked as he eyed the list of locations
"Yeah, hose me off"
"Sponge baths are better"
"Later, hose me off" Bella smirked as she stripped out of her outfit
"Yes ma'am" Shemar grinned as he brandished the hose
"I'm beginning to not like this guy" Emmett glowered
"Yeah well, I can say the same about you right now, so where does that leave us?" Jasper questioned
"Okay I fucked up, I get it" Emmett snapped
"You're damn right and hopefully she's as good as they think she is because her ride is almost here" Peter noted
"Good luck, girl I need you to come back so we can recreate Japan again" Shemar shouted as the rope fell from the hovering chopper
"Maybe Shemar" Bella chuckled with a wave before tugging on the rope to signal to the operators to reel her in
"You're one fucking majestic bitch, Bella" Shemar mused as he watched her enter the chopper and take off
"I don't know Em, I kind of like this guy" Rosalie mused
"I fucking get it" Emmett growled out, he'd fucked up and now his mate was off to disappear somewhere on the other side of the world….with a broken heart, he'd done that and fucking Peter had called it.