WHY?
Disclaimer: The Cullens, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she did bring them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.
All of the chapters of this story has been beta'd by the lovely dowlingnana and the chapters with mistakes are being replaced.
As Matt got to the office, he saw that the voicemail had several messages. While he was booting the computer he listened to the messages. The one that got his attention was from Tanya Stevens. She said her friend had agreed to meet with them, but, they would call back with the location later in the morning.
Matt, immediately, got on the phone and called Jenkins to let him know. It was going to be an eventful day, it seemed.
CHAPTER 11: THE FAMILY THAT WORKS TOGETHER
Jenkins answers his phone and Matt tells him about the voicemail left by Tanya Stevens. He tells Matt to let him know immediately when she calls. Continuing, he gets updates on the other cases that are coming to a conclusion. In just a few more days everyone should be back and plans were to concentrate all efforts to end the Cullen case.
He thinks back to the twist that got handed to them last night; the return of the children. Things must really be getting bad for her to make a move like that. Peter Jenkins shakes his head and knows that she has been one daring individual to have lasted this long, especially with two small children. God has to be on her side in this matter. But, things could and do turn quickly on just a small piece of nothing. Where you were doing good all of sudden you can be doing wrong. They needed to get to her before whoever else was looking for her did.
It will be helpful to know more about what Mrs. Cullen had possibly gotten that sent her off on this path to begin with. He firmly believed that the friend of Ms Stevens was part of that answer. Thank God she was able to talk him into meeting with them. And from all of the stealth actions of them both, it is something that is really bad.
That thought brings him to Mrs. Cullen's letter about not letting the FBI and the Seattle Police Department know about the return of the children. Someone that leaks information from both agencies is not good. He needs to work a way to handle that piece of information, but, it got even further out of hand. Who could he go to that he can trust? Is it possible that there were plants in other agencies involved that were waiting for something to turn up concerning her whereabouts for the strike against her to be made? Everyone needed to sit down and see what solution they can come up with for this problem.
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As the sun rises higher into the sky, the woman lying on the bed begins to move. She reaches up to cover her eyes when the realization hits her of what happened the day before. At least, she thinks it is the day before. She looks over to see her two children still sleeping peacefully, for which she is thankful. She listens to see if she can hear any voices, but, all she can hear is nothing; just silence.
She stays still for a while longer, too wary to move even an inch. Not sure of what to expect under the current circumstances. All of a sudden, the realization that she is not still tied down penetrates into her senses. Slowly getting up off of the bed, she decides to explore and see if she can get a clue as to what is going on. Listening closely, no voices can be heard, no movement detected, no presence of anyone can be seen. What happened after they drugged her and the children?
As she moves further towards the stairs, she is still being cautious just in case. Everything and everywhere there is nothing but silence. The whole atmosphere makes her very edgy and nervous, but, she continues to creep forward, one step at a time.
Finally coming to the top of the staircase, she begins to descend still going slowly down, one step at a time. All senses alert to any unexpected sound or movement. And as she reaches the bottom she sees a note on a side table with a set of keys. The note says:
A car is waiting for you a short distance down the road. Here are the keys for that car and the gas tank is full. You and the children take it and get the hell out of here quickly before anyone decides to come back to check up on you. No time to lose. Move immediately for I have no idea when the tide might turn.
Upon reading this a second and third time, she moves. Checking all of the rooms downstairs to make sure they are all empty, she races out the door to get the car and bring it back to the villa. She can load the children into the backseat, even if she has to carry them, and get the hell away from this hellish nightmare.
Just as she gets all of this done and begins to wonder about going to the authorities, another thought hits her. Where are they at? In what town? Is she likely to run into them? What if someone in the authorities is working with them, she could end up back in their clutches again. No, best to head to the nearest large town and get all of them on a flight back home immediately. To hell with letting anyone know anything at this point. She wanted to have them as safely away from here as possible before making that final decision.
So, she drives away. At first, when she had reached the car, she had checked out the glove box to discover a stack of currency. There was enough to provide for the necessities of getting out of there.
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I drove until I couldn't drive safely anymore. I was in Pensacola and found a motel a little ways off of the interstate. I felt safe enough for the present to stop and get a few hours sleep. As much as I kept a close watch, there were no noticeable vehicles following me in particular.
I plan to get to Mobile to book out on the cruise. From there at one of the ports I can get lost again and move a little more freely. Just leave the car in long term parking and not come back for it. No one will be the wiser.
Waking up, getting a bit to eat, I was back on the road in no time. The trip into Mobile was about forty five minutes, then another hour to book my cruise, park and take my luggage to my state room. Of course, I was still using fake identification that I had bought, so, I felt it would take a little time for someone to trace me. By then I should be out to sea.
Once I get to Cozumel, I can go ashore for the day. No one will suspect a thing. From there destroy the current passport and driver's license, switching to the next set to leave and go to my next destination, Brazil. I can make my way by bus to Rio, buy a small boat and head to the island. The Isle Esme is private and no one would look for me there. The family doesn't use it all that much, either. I should be safe, at last, until I can figure out what my next moves should be.
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The phone rings and Matt reaches across his desk to answer it. Once he hears the voice of the person on the other end of the phone he jerks to attention. Once a question is asked he answers it in the affirmative and hangs up.
He immediately dials a number and waits for an answer, "Pete, we have just heard from Tanya Stevens."
He listens a moment and then responds with, "Yes, and we don't have much time."
After a few more minutes of discussion he hangs up and starts shutting everything down. Locking file cabinets, shutting down computers, and locking the office to head down to his car. He is going to pick Jenkins up and both head to the appointed location to meet with Tanya and her friend. The clock is ticking.
She had given specific time and location and they only had an hour and half to get there. It was going to be close. They had to be on the steps to the capitol building in Olympia at exactly noon. It was now ten twenty.
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Jenkins is delighted with the news to finally be meeting with said friend. Now, things could start making sense, he hoped. He was ready to go and waiting outside for when Matt pulled up. Jumping into the car without hesitation, Matt pulled out and they were on the way with minimum time lost. They would make it on time.
Deep in his gut he had a feeling that the information they would be getting from this friend was the turning point. Reason would start coming to light for this hide and seek that is going on.
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"Edward, Charlie called and said he would not be able to make it back this morning. He asked if we could setup Skype for him at the same time as we do with Renee. I told him that that would be no problem. He also said that Black will not be in attendance today as he was not feeling very well; something about developing a few aches and pains shortly after getting back to Forks last night."
"Okay, thanks, Rose."
"No problem. Esme and Carlisle should be here shortly. Have you made a decision in regards to the twins and their safety?"
"Yes, but, I want to wait and tell everyone at one time. We are going to need a lot of planning and help amongst ourselves to pull this one off."
Just as they finish speaking, knocks sound on the door and the phone rings at the same time. Edward moves to answer the door while Rosalie answers the phone. She could be heard yelling, "Hell, yeah!" just as he opens the door to admit the family. Everyone moves into the family room and waits for Rosalie and Emmett to come in.
"Edward, how are the children? Are they awake?"
"Mom, are you in for a surprise," he answers smiling.
About that time Rosalie comes in and starts getting the computers booted and Skype loaded. Contact is made with Charlie and Renee and they hear Edward's comment to Esme. Suddenly everyone can hear laughter and giggling in the background. And then there's a loud crash.
Next, there's a flash of two small bodies coming flying into the room with a larger one not far behind. "Daddy! Daddy! Unc Memhit wanna eat us." They are laughing.
They are hollering as they run behind Edward and peak from around his legs. Everyone gasps with surprise and look up at Edward. "They know you?"
He smiles and nods his head. "They know Emmett and Rosalie as well."
He reaches behind and pulls the children out from behind him asking at the same time, "Do you know who these people are?" They shyly nod yes. "Can you tell me their names?" Again they nod yes.
They point to each person in turn as they call them by name. "Unc Memhit. Ant Rosleaf. Unc Asp'r. Ant Lice. Papaw Car and Gammy May. Papaw Arlie and Gammy Nay." They say pointing to the computer screens.
"But, how?" Esme asks with tears in her eyes.
"Gammy May, no cry. We kay. See."
"But, little one, how do you know who we are?" Alice asks them.
"Moma, ictures."
"Moma showed you pictures of us?" They nod yes.
"Amazing."
"Yeah, and this big kid has been playing with them since they woke up." Rosalie informs them about Emmett.
"Okay, young one, the grownups need to talk for a few minutes. Would you mind playing in the other room?"
Most of the family, including Charlie and Renee are suspended in a stunned silence. The children know who they are.
When the children have gone into the other room, Edward explains that he has devised a plan that will get the children to safety until all of this mess has been resolved. He explains that during the night while he was watching the children sleep that he had booked reservations for each member of the family going in a different location. All of them will be leaving at the same time, but, the children will be going with him in the beginning. That at a chosen destination he would meet up with the person he has prechosen to hand the children over to and they will continue on the finally destination with them and will remain there until everything has been concluded.
"As each of you pick up your tickets, you will go to the information counter to receive an envelope with your name on it and further instructions." Edward explains. "No one will know who ends up with the children until we are all back home. By then the one person and the children will arrive safely to where they are going to stay.
"In the end, we will know who has them, but, not the where. So, Bella's request has been honored. Any questions?"
After the children's safety has been decided, Rosalie informs them about the phone call and that it was from Jenkins. Tanya had called with a meeting place and time with her friend and Jenkins was on his way there now.
"Edward, are we going home to pack. Or, how did you have that covered."
"No, Alice, and you are the only one not flying. You are driving."
"Why?"
"Because you are too far along in your pregnancy to be able to fly." Explains Carlisle.
"The person that ends up with the twins will have time to buy what all they will need when they get to their final place. The rest of us will be back home within twenty four hours." Edward explains.
And as everyone makes a move to get ready to leave, Edward very quietly slips something to his mother. He goes over to the computer and explains to Charlie and Renee that their tickets are waiting for them at the airport. They sign off and the move begins in earnest.
A/N: Hope you are enjoying the story so far. Did you catch the next clue into the mystery? Well, now you know what plan Edward has come up with for protecting the twins, but, who will end up with them and where will they go? Where will Aro and company catch up with Bella, or, will they? Who is Tanya's friend and what information can he provide that might help?
I would like to thank all of you who have read my story so far, as there have been a good number of hits and alerts, even though, I have not received many reviews as yet. I welcome your comments of both good and bad as they show an interest.
I will try to update again next week. Please review the story and let me know what you think and I will answer back.