Disclaimer: All things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer

thanks for the reviews last chapter! Let's get this show on the road!

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Chapter 10 - Belligerence

"Coffee?" The waitress asked Edward as he sat in an empty bar stool in front of the tanned, blonde girl who looked no older than seventeen.

"Black, two sugars," he replied and opened the newspaper that had been left on the wooden surface near the till. He skimmed the pages, and after finding nothing interesting, set it down again. By this time, the girl had made his coffee and he took it with a quick 'thanks'. The girl flushed and left him to it.

As he drank the not-too-bad coffee, he got out his phone and to send an email to Tanya Denali. He had to find out how Heidi had known about him, and the first place to start was with the blonde siren who had hired him.

"We need to talk," was all he wrote. He sent the email, finished his coffee and paid, leaving a tip as he left. Back in the Volvo, the buzz of his phone let him know Tanya had replied.

"Two hours. My office." He sent a quick reply stating that he'd be there, and then he drove off to his apartment.

He hit the familiar street and started to drive down it. There was little traffic, which was strange. It was nearly lunch time. He wondered where everyone was and decided to park up outside a dilapidated building. He got out of the confines of the Volvo and stepped out onto the street, nearly running into a girl running down the street. He muttered his apologies and shook his head. His paranoia was getting the better of him. He stepped back into the Volvo and drove to his apartment.

~*~

"Bella, have you got anything on today?" Alice asked as she knocked on Bella's bedroom door. Bella shot out of the bed and rested her fingers on the barrel of a gun before she answered.

"No." She left it at that. Alice was about as involved with Bella's work as she was going to be. It wasn't Alice's place to know anything about the job. Alice wasn't a fighter or a shooter or a killer. She was going to stay that way.

Bella did plan to go out today. She was going to see Aro Volturi, and then meet Jessica.

"Oh good! Well, I think we should go out tonight--Just me and you...and maybe Jasper. I'll ask him if he wants to though...I'll see you later, Bella." Bella groaned. The last thing on her mind was going to a club, but if she wanted to hold back any further suspicions from her best friend, sister and flatmate; she was going to have to go partying.

After Alice had left the apartment, Bella got dressed and armed. Then she set off on her personal mission.

Sat in her car near Central Park and facing a large gothic-style church, she phoned Volturi.

"Hello, Gianna? This is Bella. I would like to see Aro today if that is at all possible?" She used her politest voice.

"Aro is fully booked, but I'll see if I can make room for you somewhere. Hold on a sec." The phone went to some strange music that Bella tried to tune out. Instead, she looked at the church opposite and her thoughts were thrown to vampires. She realised she knew nothing about them. Jessica would know, she thought. Suddenly, Gianna's light voice was back on and speaking.

"He can see you in thirty minutes. If not, you'll have to wait until tomorrow—"

"No, that's fine. Thirty minutes. Okay." Bella hung up and started the car again.

Outside the familiar, expensive-looking building, Bella parked up and picked up her phone. There was just one other thing she needed to do before she went into the building.

"Jessica? I'm going to leave the phone on so you can listen into the conversation. Okay." She tucked the phone into the pocket of her light jacket and got out of the car. The air was harsher today, and colder. Crossing her arms over her chest, she walked into the building she hated so much, but seemed to find herself in more and more often.

Gianna was at the desk. She looked up and smiled at Bella before ushering her towards Aro's office. Bella followed Gianna inside after Aro had shouted them in, and she took the comfortable seat opposite Aro.

"Bella, to what do I owe the pleasure?" his voice was light but mocking.

"I've got a few questions. I'd like to speak to you alone." She let her gaze rest on Gianna for a moment, before returning to Aro.

"Of course, Gianna, go." Gianna let out a huff and left the room.

"So, Bella, what seems to be the problem?" Bella was suddenly at a loss for words and didn't have a clue how to go about starting. She didn't want to let him know that she knew about the vampire genetics, but she wanted to see how much he was willing to tell her. She wanted to know if he was trustworthy.

"Why were the pieces of paper blank in Mike Newton's office? And don't bullshit me this time." Her voice was confident. Aro's lips curved into a delighted smile. Needless to say, it didn't reach his eyes, and probably not his heart.

"And what makes you suddenly adamant on this particular topic, Swan?" She crossed her legs whilst realising Aro's certain avoidance of answering her question.

"I'm wondering how Newton could have possibly known I'd be there, and how his office was deemed empty. There was only one person who knew when I would go in there, and that person is you."

"Maybe, Swan, you should look to think of the other companies and agents who could easily have gathered this information?" His tone was filled with derision which angered Bella.

"As far as I know, there are two such companies in the immediate area. One of them is this one; the other is far more reputable." Her words slipped out before she could control her thoughts. The other company she knew existed was on a par with Volturi, until now—if Aro was jeopardising the safety of the people he hired--beyond the norm. Aro's face hardened, but was replaced quickly by feigned disinterest, although his discomfort with the situation was palpable.

"If you think so, why are you here? Why are you killing people for me? Why, why, why?" Bella couldn't answer that. Some strange part of her had trusted Aro, which is why she worked for him, that and the fact that she believed that Mike Newton was guilty of some particularly immoral deeds—and he was. She sighed and put her hands up, a gesture she used in place of a shrug. The conclusions she had come to about Aro were currently suspicions with no concrete evidence. Saying what she thought and knew could be detrimental for her. Pausing, she realised he still hadn't answered the first question.

"Did you warn Newton though; and the papers--Did you get them?"

"I got the papers," he answered, smiling in a way that made Bella nervous. She realised he had answered both questions by that simple statement, without saying it outright.

"Why did you do it?"

"I wanted to see how good you were." The statement caught Bella. She hesitated and a look of astonishment swept over her features.

"A-and was I good?" she replied, trying to study the expression on his face cynically.

"You were better."

Bella got out of the office as fast as she could. She drove down through the streets until she came to a small cafe where she agreed to meet Jessica. Her cell was still on call. She cancelled it after saying 'bye' to Jessica, and she walked inside the small cafe.

Jessica was already sat at a table. A cup in front of her and toast on a plate.

"You get the whole thing?" Bella asked her.

"Yes. He's up to something. He wants the company...and I think he's found himself a nice little weapon to help him." Jessica looked anxiously back at Bella.

"Me," Bella replied gravely.

"Yes, you." Jessica raised the cup to her mouth, her eyes unreadable as she looked at Bella across the table.

~*~

"Edward, how lovely to see you," Tanya spoke as he walked through the door. He sat in the chair on the other side of her desk with a look of determination etched into his features.

"Tanya, let's cut to the chase." This made Tanya laugh.

"Okay hunny bun, shoot...But not literally. Ha ha!"

"First: don't call me that, and second: I need to know how Heidi knew I was coming for her." Tanya gave him a perplexed look before speaking, her tone indicating her domineering nature.

"Let me start where I want to start, Edward. My office. My terms." She moved the papers from her desk and placed them into a drawer before she continued--, "Heidi is dead, so you'll get your money. The authorities won't get involved because there were no witnesses and her heel had broken. They think she fell when it snapped...nice touch."

"The other girl?" Edward asked, remembering the one who had been shot.

"Other girl? I didn't know about another girl. Did you kill someone else?" she asked bemused.

"No. Heidi shot a girl in the back...her name was...Liss. I didn't know if she was dead or not, but surely there would've been some sort of investigation? Heidi had a gun—"

"There was no gun on the scene, Edward--And no other girl. Someone got there before the authorities, and I think that explains a little bit about the person/persons who knew your purpose last night. I believe the club was recently purchased by a Felix Garroway. This Felix has no known history of existence on any of the files I've pulled up. Although there was a Felix strongly connected to Volturi. Maybe this is the same person? If it is, it would explain last night completely."

"I have another question," Edward asked. "Why are you so intent on destroying Volturi?"

Tanya leaned back in her chair. A sign that she was caught off guard and didn't want to answer the question Edward had posed. He was inquisitive and would find out in his own time, but she needed to tell him some of it. Even if it was in half truths.

"Aro Volturi took one of my sisters five years ago. There has been no sign of the body or anything associated with her possible death or kidnapping. I was trying to find out more, and I have recently discovered he is trying to set up some kind of organisation to fund a personal project." She shifted slightly in her seat.

"The project?"

"Unknown." Tanya's discomfort with the direction of the conversation was blatant, so Edward was obliged to end the discussion.

"Thank you for your time, Tanya." Edward stood up and held out his hand.

"Of course," she replied and shook his hand lightly. She then sat back at her chair and bit her lip, holding back the tears that would flow if she thought about her sister, Irina.

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A/N: R&R