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.

After the children's safety had 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?"

"It's because of the fact that you are too far along 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.

CHAPTER 12: OH, WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE

"Where in the hell is that bitch and her brats?" he asks aloud. "How can she have eluded us for this long? We have got to get those ledgers back. Good thing we had backups, but, we need to do away with her and the evidence she has."

"My love, we will. We are in the best position to know if any leads turn up concerning her." The woman tells him.

Agent Eleazar Hernandez of the Seattle branch of the FBI and his girlfriend, Detective Carmen Martinez of the Seattle Police Department were assigned over a year ago to work the case concerning the disappearance of Isabella Cullen and her two children. It was sheer luck that they were the two originally assigned to the case. They have followed every clue, every lead, every sighting and bit of information that came to light to try to find this bitch.

It was purely accidental that she had gotten her hands on that information to begin with. The same messenger service had been used for years with never a screw up, and now, the one time they do mess up it has to be of the magnitude. All because of a typo; an 'o' looking like a 'u', so, the package got delivered to the wrong person. Of course, the person that received it would look inside to find out what was being sent to them by unknown individuals.

All efforts were made to try to regain possession of the package and the lady that opened it but it was not accomplished. Then just when it looked as if the move to gain access to it and her she ups and disappears taking any bargaining leverage with her. For sixteen months, all available manpower has been utilized to find them.

Then what are the odds that just as we find out what hotel she and the kids are stay, there would be another of near the same description with twins at the same place at the same time. Hence, Aro and company ended up with the wrong woman and brats. Good thing the mistake was discovered and verified before any further mistakes could be made. Some heads will roll over that shit.

James and Victoria were not happy and have put the pressure on Laurent Morris in the governor's office here to get our end completely cleaned up of all loose ends. This includes the messenger that delivered the package. It seems that some indiscretion had taken place within the messenger's hearing over the error that had occurred. Now, everyone is back stepping to cover all of their asses. But, James Harrison who is an assistant U.S Attorney General and his wife, Victoria Harrison who is secretary to the Chief of Staff in the President's office in Washington, D.C. have the power to bring all of us down and not bat an eye doing it.

They started a pretty good racket several years ago and have made money from the entire operation. Now employed by them are people all around the world and they are associated with some of the highest criminal families known.

Word had gotten to them that the "Handler" was setup for a raid to try to retrieve papers concerning one of the biggest extortion rings going. So, the ledgers containing the names, addresses, amounts due and paid, location of all evidence again each individual being blackmailed for their indiscretions or gambling debts. This bitch got a hold of this information through error and carries it with her.

Carmen and I are in the best positions as she said right now and to know when the bitch has been discovered or if any new information becomes available about her. The family stays in touch and lets us know what is going on. We do know that the family hired an agency that specializes in finding lost loved ones and they have made some discoveries of where she has been in the past.

I know about what is in the ledgers because Carmen and I are listed there. But, then we are in good company considering it covers a couple of governors, state and U.S. Senators and Representatives, some state Attorney Generals, some CEO's and CFO"s, as well as some Hollywood individuals. These people are not involved only in having a mistress or two on the side, oh, no. There is buying, selling, transporting and use of drugs, weapons, or individuals. Even some are down with the BDSM game behind closed doors. Then we do have heavy gambling and large debts. Listed, also, are agents, attorneys, judges and police officers that are on the take.

No, all of that information cannot fall into the wrong hands. Talk about a world shake up of unspeakable portions. And, now all we have to do is wait for Peter Jenkins or the family to update us on the current findings to point our team in the right direction again. We do know that he met with the family a day or two ago, so the information will be arriving in short order.

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Bella exits the ship after it docks and gets herself lost in the crowds of tourist. She gets into a cab and heads for the airport to pick up her ticket for the next stop to her final destination. Keeping a watchful eye for what might appear as someone following her has kept her on edge.

Finally arriving at the airport she has just enough time at the ticket counter, then head through security and go to her gate for boarding. Once on board and glancing around, she breathes a sigh of relief and relaxes for the moment.

Once she gets to her final destination, she will begin to makes decisions to bring all of this to a head so she can safely return home to her family

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Jenkins and Matt arrive at the capitol steps on time and sees Tanya Stevens approaching with a young man. All parties look around to make sure they are not being observed and decide to take the meeting to a more secure area.

They pile into Matt's vehicle and head for a nearby motel. Matt secures the room while the others wait in the car. Finally, Matt comes back out and pulls around to the room and they all enter.

"Mr. Jenkins, Mr. Locke, I would like to introduce my friend, Riley Biers. He was the messenger that delivered the package to Bella Cullen. From this point, I think it would be best if I let him tell you what he knows in his own words."

"Okay, but, Mr. Biers, before we begin let me tell you this. Everything you tell us here will be in strict confidence. It will not be repeated to anyone, not even the family involved, nor will we be taking it to the police or FBI. We have recently come into information about a leak in each of those departments, so, we will not jeopardize your safety." Jenkins informs the young man.

Riley proceeds to tell him about the package that was left at the Cullen office. He had delivered one other package to Mrs. Cullen about Mr. Cullen. And, his boss was getting upset because she hadn't responded back in regards to the delivery like they had expected her to do. He told Jenkins and Matt what he had overheard being said about Mrs. Cullen on the phone and this is what got him curious about the second package.

Of course, it was going to the same address but different name and on a different floor. He had stopped and looked inside to see what that package contained which caused him to think better about delivering it to who it was addressed. He had left it at the Cullen office expecting to get it back at a later date thinking that she would see the name on the package was not hers, but, by then it was too late. Things had managed to move too quickly. All of a sudden, Seattle was in an uproar over Mrs. Cullen and the children missing.

Riley told the men what was in the package and how explosive it was. That information told Jenkins and Matt Locke what they needed to know as why Bella Cullen had up and left without a word to anyone. And, why she was still on the run. It also, confirmed the information she had sent back about the leaks. This just became a whole new ball game.

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Edward sits down with the twins and explained that everyone was going to be playing a game of hide and seek. He asked them if they knew what that was. They nodded, so, he took their hands and headed out to his car. After putting them in the backseat, he gets in and starts for the airport.

All members of the family show up at Sea-Tac, but, at different ticket counters and head off towards their respective flights. No one says a word or even, acknowledge the presence of other members. They are serious and on a mission.

Esme had read the note Edward had slipped to her unbeknownst by the others, asking if she would take the final care of the twins. So, when she sees him at the airport, just before boarding her first flight, she simply nods yes and is gone.

So, Edward smiles and knows that his children are going to be safe until all of this craziness is over. At different points a family member will had the children off to another family member heading towards another location to follow the same pattern until the one destined to care for them has custody and is safely away to the hiding place.

So, now, let the games begin.

A/N: Hope you are enjoying the story so far. Did you catch the next clue into the mystery? Where will Aro and company catch up with Bella, or, will they? Do you know where the final hiding place will be? Does Riley have a bigger place in the story other than messenger? And why left it at the Cullen office when he could have left it any place along the way until a safer time to pick it up?

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.