Ten: Identity

Monday, February 28th
6:36 p.m.

"Oh, by the way, you left your phone on the counter," Edward said. He squeezed her hand, more because of nerves than affection. "Your friend called."

He meant Rosalie; she was the only one with the number besides Edward. "Did you talk to her?"

He made a sound similar to laughter and let go of her hand. "Well, I tried."

They got to his car and he opened Bella's door. She sat down, holding her bag the way a person might hold a toddler in their lap. Edward could tell what kind of mood she was in by how close she kept her backpack, so things were not looking good. Though she said she wouldn't run away again, that didn't mean she wouldn't do something else. He still wasn't entirely sure what kind of risk taker she was - a big one he would venture to guess.

"It was my fault; I should have known she'd have some kind of signal…thing, like the way you called her. I picked up right away -,"

"What happened? Did she lose it?"

"No, well, I don't know. She just hung up. But I tried calling her back – the way you did – to, you know, explain everything and she hasn't called back…," Edward looked over, fighting the urge to start apologizing, which didn't work. "I'm really sorry…I should have just left it alone. I have the phone with me…," he motioned toward the glove compartment.

Bella rubbed two fingertips between her eyebrows. She wasn't mad at Edward like he thought she would be; she was merely exhausted.

Bella checked the phone in case they'd missed a call, or calls, in the time they'd been on the beach. They hadn't. She tried calling Rose, going through the steps, and then sat the phone on top of her bag.

Edward pulled up to the house. "Um…Alice and Jasper are still here."

"It's okay," she said, feeling guilt and embarrassment in equal amounts. "It's your house."

"I just didn't want you to be surprised."

She swung her backpack onto her shoulder and was going to say again that it was okay when her phone rang. "Hello? Rose?"

Edward went up the stairs and unlocked the door before looking back. Bella followed him inside, the phone pressed to her ear while she waited for Rosalie to speak.

"Why the hell was Morrissey answering the phone before?"

"Morrissey?" The question stopped Bella in the space between the kitchen and the living room. She saw Alice and Jasper on the couch and when she smiled in their direction they waved back at the same time. It was the way someone might greet a relative in a mental hospital. No sudden movements.

"Yeah, your boyfriend over there – I work with you only, that's the deal."

She knew it was wholly irrelevant, but her tired mind was stuck on the subject. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that, it's kind of a long story, but…why are you calling him Morrissey?"

Alice spoke quietly, saying, "Oh, yeah, I can see that."

Edward looked between the women, confused.

"I don't know, that's just the first thing that popped into my head when I saw him."

"Saw him?"

"Yeah, you've got to admit, it's a pretty good resemblance." There was a crunching sound, like chips. "You told me his first name and where he was a grad student. It was pretty easy to get the rest. So, does he have the short hair or the long hair? Because I found pictures of both."

"Rosalie -,"

"I was just wondering."

"Short, I guess…well, shorter than it was a couple days ago, I…," she wasn't going to have this conversation and she said so. "And by the way, your ability to find information on people is a little frightening."

Bella looked at Edward and pointed to the bedroom before retreating to have the rest of their talk in private.

"Don't act so surprised."

Bella sat on the bed only long enough to take her boots off and flick on a lamp, afraid that if she got comfortable she'd fall asleep. "So, I take it you've got something for me?"

"Of course I do," more crunching. "Sometimes I'm amazed these people can tie their own shoes, let alone run this country. It's scary, seriously. Anyway, it seems our dear senator left me a nice little money trail to follow."

"Oh?" Now Bella was paying attention.

"Yeah, remember that big huff here a few years ago about government officials making their tax returns public? Transparency and all that."

Bella said that she did.

"Well, Salazar released his for that year, mistake number one. But I'm still working on that." Bella could tell that Rosalie was smiling. "So, I recognized that place they were at, it's the Hotel St. Claire here in Washington. They should really beef up security at that place, getting a hold of their records was almost too easy...," she cleared her throat to get down to business.

"Salazar's been checking into it on his dime for one night about once a month for the last year, give or take. He checked in under the name Demetri Augustine, sound familiar?" Rosalie typed something into a keyboard. "What did you do this past Labor Day?"

"What? Uhh, Demetri and I got a beach house in Ocean City, why?"

"Just checking, he didn't by any chance disappear for – say – a day while you were out there?"

"Definitely not." Bella remembered that weekend well. It was one of the last times things were really good between them.

"That's what I thought. Anyway, the good news is that we know Salazar's been racking up some serious hotel bills with this thing."

"And the bad news?"

"If you still think there's more than this, you're going to have to find that girl. I have a couple more things I can try, but we need to figure out who she is."

Bella was expecting it, but that didn't stop the cold sweat from forming on the back of her neck. Finding this girl wasn't something she could do long distance, even with Rosalie's help. She'd need to see her and talk to her, face to face. She'd need to go back to Washington.

"What about that kid?" Rosalie asked. "The one they beat up that night? You said he might have been the one with the flash drive in the first place, right?"

Bella had speculated with her friend that the boy was in the alley to blackmail the senator with evidence of his affair, but she couldn't be sure. "I didn't recognize him and I don't even know if that's where Demetri got it, anyway."

"Okay, well, don't go anywhere yet. Let me check something out. I'll be in touch." Rosalie hung up before Bella could say thank you. As fast as Rose worked though, she knew she'd get another chance soon. Bella rubbed her eyes with one hand. Her day from hell seemed to be never ending.

In the living room, the others were eating a various array of food spread out on the coffee table. The television was on, some movie was playing that Bella was pretty sure no one was watching. They all turned when she came out and Alice flipped on a light on the side table.

Edward jumped up and met her in the kitchen. "I made you a turkey sandwich." He smiled and offered her the plate, which she took. She still hadn't eaten since the cookie at Starbucks several hours prior.

"Thanks," she smiled back, feeling every inch the shy teenage girl she no longer was.

"Are you thirsty? There's soda, and juice if you want that, or bottled water. And I think there might be wine here too, but you shouldn't have that on an empty stomach."

Bella looked at Edward just long enough to make him reach up and touch his hair. "What?" He asked.

"Nothing, I…how long was I in there?" He was acting like she'd been gone forever.

"Oh, a little while, I'm not sure. Why?"

Bella smiled up at him. "Just wondering."

"Let the woman breathe for a minute," Alice called.

Edward followed Bella back into the living room where he sat down again. Bella took the free chair near him. She bit into her sandwich, wanting to get at least one bite down before she started talking. However reluctantly that might be. She looked at Alice and Jasper, who were both watching her with varying degrees of expectation. Her gaze moved to Edward.

"You can trust them, Bella." He said.

"How much do you both know?" She set her food down.

"Well," Alice spoke up. "I know that you have an incriminating video of that Marcus Salazar guy and that his people are looking for you…and that's why there's that thing in the news about you," she looked contrite. "Sorry again – about that."

Bella waved off the apology. "I would have done the same thing." She inhaled like she was about to say something and looked at Edward, who nodded. "The video is of the senator and a prostitute - well, it's a safe assumption that's what she is, we're not sure. I have a contact back in Washington that figured out which hotel they were filmed at and traced the money back to him."

"Well, that's good. Can you take that to the police or something?" She asked.

Bella said that she could, but that meant Salazar and his aides would remain free, which was something she couldn't live with. "Their reaction is too big. This isn't some Client 9 deal."

Jasper leaned forward, his mind working. "Where do you go from here? Can your contact find that girl?"

"Well, not really. She could find her, potentially, but she wouldn't talk to her. My contact is…she doesn't like strangers. And she doesn't leave her home. Ever, for anything."

"But, this is – huge."

Bella shook her head. "Ever. Trust me."

"So," he continued. "Even if she found this girl, that's as far as she'd take it?"

"Yeah."

Edward realized it at the same time Jasper said it. "Does this mean you'll have to talk to this girl when you find her?"

"You can't go back to Washington, Bella." Edward said, almost over his friend's question.

"There's still some stuff to check out, but…I think I'm going to have to. I don't know yet."

Edward stood up and walked out onto the deck. Bella watched him go, already setting her plate down to go after him.

"He cares about you," Alice said. "We all do."

Bella thought again about how she couldn't love these people. And then she thought about how she already did. She excused herself and walked outside, shutting the door behind her.

Edward was leaning over the railing, his chin near his chest. With the curtains drawn inside, it was difficult to see him. Bella reached forward, coming into contact with his arm. He didn't pull away so she left her hand there.

After a pause, he mumbled, "I feel like I'm always on the verge of losing you."

She wanted to say that he wouldn't, but she didn't want to say something like that unless she was sure. Instead she tugged on his shirt sleeve until he turned around. He wrapped his arms around her and she pressed in closer. It was a small and perfect moment within the eye of the storm. They held on to each other for a long time.

Slowly, like waking up, they relaxed into it. Edward spoke near Bella's ear. "Your hair smells good."

She laughed into his chest and rose up on her toes.

He felt the small slide of her body and inhaled to say the thing he'd been thinking about. "If you're going to Washington, I'm going with you."

She nodded, knowing it was useless to argue with him.

After another minute, they heard the doorknob turn so they let go. Alice poked her head out. "Hey, sorry but, Bella, your phone was ringing. Actually, it just rang twice, and then again…I don't know, it was weird." She walked out all the way and handed her the phone, glancing between the two before walking back inside.

Bella punched in Rosalie's number. She picked up on the first ring. "Tell me I'm a genius."

"What?" Bella asked.

"Our senator has been making wire transfers for the last year to the Volturi Consulting Group."

"What's that?"

"Nothing, it just a shell company for a place called The Elite. Unfortunately though, that's as far as I got. They have shit for an online presence and the financials just take me back to these shell corporations. I'll keep looking." There was nothing Rosalie loved more than a good challenge. "Now will you say it?"

"You're a genius, Rosalie."

"I know."

"Am I allowed to ask how you found all this?"

"Don't ask the question unless you want the answer." She typed something and Bella wondered what else she might find out before the sun came up. The girl didn't sleep. "Bella, I can give you the information, but that's as far as I go. I think you need to come back here."

She glanced at Edward, who had given her space, but was still looking in her direction. "I know."

"I'll call you tomorrow with what I've got, okay?"

"Okay, thanks Rose."

"Yep." She hung up.

"Well," Bella said.

"Washington?" Edward asked, coming closer.

She took his hand. "Washington."

…

"Wait," Edward said. They were all in the living room. Everything had been cleared from the coffee table, which had been pushed to the side. They'd fixed up the couch, which was also a bed, for Alice and Jasper who weren't leaving any time soon. Bella was afraid for them, but a softer part of her was touched at the way they rallied around her.

Alice looked at her brother, eyebrows raised.

"How are you going to get on a plane? The police are looking for you."

"I took a bus to get out here," Bella replied. "I can just do that again."

"I don't think you have that kind of time anymore."

"The cops are looking for her, yeah, but do you really think she'll get spotted in a crowded airport?" Alice asked. "I mean, it's not like there will be police or something standing around waiting for her, right?"

Bella thought about it. "It might work normally, but not with Salazar. My name will be flagged or something; someone there will have my picture." She could see herself getting arrested before she got to the gate. She sat heavily on the arm of the couch, how had that not occurred to her? "How the hell am I going to get out of here? I'll need all new identification."

Jasper cleared his throat. "I think I can help you with that."

Author's Note: Thanks to my pre-readers and to everyone that reads/reviews/recs/and so on.

I added a new picture to the GBG photo gallery on my homepage, which you can get to via my profile here. Someone asked very nicely for a picture of Edward's computer wallpaper, so that's what it is.

Also, I'm so glad you guys like Rosalie, you'll definitely be seeing more of her.