It was the Friday evening before Memorial Day weekend and most of Cullen Consulting had already left the office yesterday to begin their long weekend. Carlisle offered the Friday of the weekend as part of their Paid Time Off package and the employees adored him for it. A few of them had stuck around for half the day, tying up some loose ends before taking off the next few days, having earned their much needed break.

Bella was in Emmett's office, finishing up some paperwork for some of the new hires in his department. The incident with Edward Masen had passed by without further harm and the two of them were finishing their work while singing along to some of Journey and Scorpions greatest hits.

Emmett was trying to probe her for information about Rosalie while she attempted to finish her work.

The two of them had been on several dates now and they seemed equally smitten with one another. Emmett had spent more time than usual near Bella's office, making her assistant giggle. Rosalie had told Bella that "He's just a really, really good guy," and Bella had caught Emmett walking through the hallways whistling with an extra spring in his step.

"Is she the kind of girl who would think roses are cheesy?" he wondered, twirling a pencil between his fingers. "Or does she expect them?" He stopped twirling. "Shit, should I already have sent them? Was she expecting them?"

Bella rolled her eyes. "I think she wouldn't mind them but I doubt that she has a checklist."

"Are you sure?" he asked nervously. They'd been on a few dates now and Bella was sure they loved each other.

"Would you be dating her if she was like that?" Bella returned.

"We're dating?" Emmett asked in delight. "Did she say that we were dating? I haven't actually asked her to go steady because I thought it might be cheesy. Do people still do that after high school? Is she expecting that?" And he was nervous again.

"She'd love flowers, Emmett."

"Are you positive?" he asked again, twirling his pencil once more.

"Yes, send her flowers," Bella said, shaking her head to herself as she scribbled down some notes.

"Wait do I send her them or give them to her when I pick her up tomorrow night?"

Bella opened her mouth to reply but he continued. "Oh, should I bring them tonight when I pick you guys up from the party? Or will she be too drunk to care? How drunk do you think she gets at these things? Do I need to bring bags in my car?"

"You're exhausting."

Emmett glared playfully. "Be nice to your sober cab; that's the first thing you should learn in college."

"Send them to her, and she no doesn't get blackout drunk, and I won't throw up in your car."

"You say that now, but do you remember tha-"

"I told you not to give me tequila shots, Em," she interrupted with a glare.

"You were no fun in college, were you?" he teased.

Bella rolled her eyes. "I was incredibly fun. I just went from 22 to middle aged overnight."

"I'm just saying, I can bring bags."

"I will not throw up in your car as long as your driving does not make me," she edited.

Emmett was about to respond but then he perked up and looked over behind Bella. "Hey boss man, how's it going?"

Carlisle was standing in the doorway to Bella's office, nodding his head along to "No One Like You" which was currently on shuffle. He grinned at Emmett. "Just about ready to get out of here. What are you two still doing here?"

"One of us is working," Bella muttered under her breath, shifting her papers around.

"The other one of us is harassing her for information," Emmett supplied helpfully.

"Well, at least you admit that's what you're doing," Bella said with a chuckle.

"All complaints of harassment should be directed to HR," Carlisle said with a laugh of his own. Bella rolled her eyes as Emmett smirked. "Can I borrow you, Bella? Or do you have to get going to Alice's party?"

Bella glanced down at her watch. "I've got a little bit of time. Emmett can survive without me."

"Don't be bitter that I'm off the market, Bells."

"Can't help it," Bella said with a wink as she stood up out of her chair and went to join Carlisle.

"See you at bar close!" Emmett called as they started walking.

"Can't wait!" she called back.

Carlisle gestured in the direction of his office and Bella followed. They chatted cordially about Alice's bachelorette party that was starting in a few hours. Alice figured it needed to be on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend so that people could "have three days to recover." Carlisle perched on top of his desk while Bella plopped down relatively ungracefully onto the couch.

"So what's up?" Bella finally asked when Carlisle didn't delve into why he needed to talk to her.

"How pissed at me are you?" he asked bluntly, jumping right in.

Bella immediately felt her guard, that had slipped while they were chatting, go back up. "Still mad as hell," she said honestly. "And no, I'm really not ready to make nice, I'm not ready to back down."

Carlisle raised an eyebrow. "Bella, you can't just quote the Dixie Chicks at me."

Bella let out a sigh. "Corporate America is no fun."

Carlisle chuckled. "But are you still ma-"

"Mad as hell? Yeah, Carlisle. I am."

The humor slowly faded away from Carlisle's face as he let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Bella. I really am. I'm sorry that you got caught up in this."

"Are you sorry for putting Edward in this position?" she asked lowly.

"No."

"See that's the part that just completely infuriates me off the most!" she exclaimed, not bothering to filter her anger. "I don't get how you can treat all of your employees like family and then throw him into the middle of the mafia with no remorse and no regret and no concern!"

"Bella," he said lowly, his tone hardening with seriousness. "That family kills for sport. They think they run this city and hundreds and hundreds of innocent people have lost their lives in the crossfire. They trade every illegal substance and drug under the sun, they supply criminals and armies with guns and bombs, they run global rings of sex slaves; they run a lucrative human trafficking business that includes babies, kids, teenagers and young men and women. They torture people and kill people and they thrive on being feared."

The young woman stared at him, speechless.

Carlisle met her gaze, sadness in his eyes as he looked at her. "And I do have concern for him, Bella. Of course I do. It keeps me up at night."

Finally, Bella was able to form her thoughts into a coherent sentence.

"I just don't understand why this is what you have to personally do," she finally said, some of the fire from earlier gone. "Why is it Cullen Consulting's job to bring down the mafia, Carlisle? We weren't meant for this! We work with Fortune 500's, not the FBI's Most Wanted!"

"Someone has to do it." he said.

Bella stared.

"For the greater good, someone has to do it and we have the resources available to actually stop them."

"And that someone is Edward," she said flatly.

Carlisle opened his mouth to speak but Bella cut him off. "Edward who you selected knowing full well that he doesn't have any ties. You took advantage of his vulnerability."

"I know you've been spending a fair amount of time with him lately, and are you telling me that I could convince that man to do something he didn't want to do?" Carlisle challenged quietly, raising an eyebrow.

That silenced Bella.

"Bella, I need your help with him," Carlisle continued gently, softening his face. "Only the three of us know about this, and there's only so much I can do without arising suspicion. He's being called on more and more as they trust him more, and he's being more endangered by the day. His information is invaluable and the police have already been able to save some of the victims of their human trafficking because of him."

"When will he be able to get out of it?" she asked.

Carlisle's mouth set into a hard line. For a moment he stared at her with conviction that was so interestingly laced sadness; she felt her stomach drop to the floor.

"If they ever find out that he's crossed them, they'll kill him."

Bella gasped. "Carlisle!"

He grimaced. "From everything we know about this family, if they no longer see any use in him, they'll get rid of him because he's seen so much. He's either with them or he's dead."

Bella rested her face in her hands, feeling an overwhelming urge to go and find that man and protect him from all of the shit that he'd gotten into.

"That is, until we get them," Carlisle added with determination.

That would be the only other way Edward was free of them; either they were gone or he was gone.

There was no ending in which he could simply walk away.

"They will come to an end. Not Edward."

"Carlisle, why the hell did you get our firm wrapped into this?" she finally asked, angst riddling her voice.

"Thousands of people have been victims of this because of the Brigados. People have been violated, tortured, and killed for years. The police and the FBI have been trying for decades to put an end to all of it, but their money talks and they're good at what they do; no one has ever gotten close to putting them away. Edward is their only shot. All of those people, the safety of this city…he's the best chance they have."

"No one lives," Roman was commanding in a low hiss. "Secure the shipment and everyone else dies."

Edward was sitting in the back seat of a black Escalade with tinted windows. He was slightly squished on the nice leather, seated next to both Luca and Giovanni Brigado. They were crammed in the back seat like teenagers, but none of them had said a word when Roman had entered the passenger seat. Edward was behind the driver and was eyeing him, but he kept his eyes straight on the road.

"Why is he here again?" Giovanni asked his father with a snarl from the other side of Luca.

"Watch your tone, son," Roman snapped back harshly.

Edward figured they probably were not talking about Luca.

"We need backup. This could get ugly, and young Edward is a good shot," Roman said with a proud smirk. "Let us give him the chance to continue to prove his worth."

"Since when did he come with as backup?" Giovanni grumbled, ignoring his father's previous warning.

"What if the police see him?" Luca asked over him, albeit with a little bit more respect.

"We'll be long gone before the police arrive," Roman replied icily. From his tones, it was clear that no more questions would be welcomed for the duration of their ride.

Edward remained silent. It was slightly before midnight on the Friday night of Memorial Day weekend, and the city was alive. Every club and every bar had its doors open with lines spilling out into the streets. Beyoncé was also in town and the concert seemed to have just let out, making traffic hellish. People were excited about the long weekend and the alcohol was spilling over into the streets.

There was so much hustle that no one would notice the gun shots.

Edward had been surprised to receive a call requesting his presence this evening. It had been a rare occurrence that he was called on any assignments as he was largely used for information purposes. However, it seems that since he had demonstrated competence in defense, he was being tasked with more "hands on work" as Roman had put it with a laugh.

It was risky in his opinion. The police all knew who the Brigados were and were hardly surprised if they ever caught them at a crime scene, but there was rarely anything they could or would do with them. Edward had not been born into that same immunity and was living a double life; he was supposed to be an exec at a Fortune 500, he was not expected to be wielding a gun at a crime scene.

His musings were interrupted when he felt the car shift into park. Edward looked out through the dark windows into the night to see that they were once again in the warehouse district. They were in between two particularly shady looking ones.

The men around him shifted into motion.

Luca pulled out a large semi-automatic weapon from the trunk area while Giovanni pulled a gun out of the holster that was hidden under his suit coat. Edward could see he had three more. Roman pulled out a large Eagle and then much to Edward's surprise, turned to the back seat.

"You'll need more than the Browning," Roman said with a twisted smirk, handing the large and heavy gun to Edward.

Giovanni glared but Luca gave him a similar smirk and chuckle. "You're basically a Brigado, now."

"Thank you, sir," Edward said, honored, taking the weapon and swiftly checking the magazine to ensure that it was full.

"And there is the rest of them," Roman muttered, noticing the other black Escalade that had parked behind them. Men pooled out of that vehicle and even through the dark Edward recognized most of them as cousins of the Luca and Giovanni. He also spotted the third brother, Nicola, holding a semi automatic similar to Luca.

"No one lives," Roman repeated.

The four of them all exited the vehicle and went to join the other four men who were waiting by an entrance that had about eight different locks on it.

Edward knew that whoever was inside the warehouse had fucked up big time. From what he understood, it was a shady drug trading ring that called this place home. Roman provided them with the cocaine and expected a percentage of their profits in return, and had lately not been receiving that percentage.

"Well then," Roman said with a sick grin, "Let's get on with it."

Luca blasted at the closed door and then gave it a swift kick before they all pooled in. Edward brought up the flank of the group, keeping his Eagle low and ready to shoot if the need arose. He was all business now - totally immersed in his alter ego of ruthless mobster.

Once they were all inside the poorly lit warehouse and Edward's eyes adjusted more so to the lack of light, he recognized the commotion. He could hear people scrambling and running, and the clicking sound of guns echoed through the large space. He even heard the growls of what sounded like dogs. There were giant storage containers scattered around and Edward guessed they were merely props and likely did not hold the coke they were after.

"Gregory, I know you're here," Roman said loud enough to be heard over the shuffling but not shouting. His voice remained deadly calm.

"I have your money," a voice replied gruffly, echoing through the space.

"Doesn't even show his face," Luca grumbled lowly as he positioned his weapon. "This is why I hate dealing with these thugs. So uncivilized."

Edward nodded but did not dare reply.

"The time for payment has passed months ago," Roman replied coldly. He then gave a nod to the men around him. "Now is the time for blood."

Gun shots ripped through the space as Edward spotted over a dozen men approaching them from all angles, thinking they had the upper hand on am ambush in their home turf. "Shoot to kill," Roman reminded, raising his weapon and firing. Edward's saw a body crumple in that general direction but he then snapped his attention back to what was in front of him.

Luca and Giovanni and split up and were going in opposite directions, their weapons firing loudly and in rapid succession as they shot at anything that dared to moved. A cousin trailed behind each of them, watching their flank. The third son went off with Roman who had explicitly ordered them to leave Gregory to him.

Edward quickly located a hiding spot behind one of the large metal storage containers. He pressed his back against the metal and held the Eagle securely, his finger on the trigger and ready to press it without any hesitation. When he saw one of them men who was not wearing a suit get a little too close to Luca, Edward took aim and fired and watched a bullet ripped through his leg, crumpling him him to the ground in the process.

That shot gave away his hiding spot and two other guards noticed him and began to stalk towards him, firing their weapons in his direction.

"God damnit," Edward muttered to himself as he shot back and then darted out of the way. As he was running, his foot got caught on the ground where there was a chunk of cement missing and he stumbled, feeling an immediate sharp pain shoot through his ankle at the awkward impact.

The next half an hour was nothing short of a blood bath.

Either the drug dealers had never been gifted in the art or weaponry or they were too strung up on coke to having a decent aim, but they dropped like flies. Some of them, however, were experts with guns and were holding their own against the mobsters.

Edward had found another hiding spot out of the line of fire and was creeping through the maze of bins looking to find any stranglers who had managed to hide when he simultaneously heard a noise and felt an agonizing pain shoot through his thigh, the opposite leg than the sprained ankle he definitely had.

As he whipped his head around, he saw his attacker standing not far behind him. Edward stumbled back from the pain as he felt blood immediately begin to pool from his leg. He raised his Eagle up to the shoot but the man was plummeting towards him. Edward braised himself before the large man lunged at him, throwing them both to the concrete and leaving Edward to break both of their falls. Edward's head snapped back against the hard floor in a loud thud and he winced at the blinding pain.

The bodyguard on top of him begin to use his fists as he punched Edward in the face. Filled with adrenaline, Edward rolled the two of them over with all of his strength so that he had the upperhand as he got in several good punches. It did not last long, as the unnamed man let out a loud yell and then rolled once again, slamming Edward back to the ground and grabbing his collar to hold him still while we got in a couple more good punches.

Edward's Eagle had fallen to the ground upon being leapt on, so he resorted to quickly snaking his hand around the man's waist as he dodged the punches. His hands found the gun that he had hoped was there and he pulled it away from his assailant and cocked it against the man's back and pulled the trigger.

Edward breathed a sigh of relief as the man immediately slumped down. He felt a spattering of blood rain down over him and was just thankful it was not his own.

He rolled out from the under the man, his entire body in pain at the movement and his head spinning as he moved to sit up and grab his gun away. The bodyguard next to him had slumped down on the ground as blood poured out of his chest. Edward didn't know if he has dead but he felt a certain amount of anger as he felt the pain searing through his leg.

"Masen!"

Edward's head snapped up to see Luca darting near one of the bins. "Get out of here, the cops are arriving!"

"Fuck," Edward cursed, hurriedly moving to stand with incredible difficulty.

"Take one of the cars," he ordered. Edward began to limp out in the direction he had nodded, noticing that the young Italian was hurriedly dousing the floor with some type of liquid. In the back of his mind, Edward registered that the place would be up in flames in minutes.

The adrenaline pumping through his system was the only thing that allowed Edward to stumble quickly through the warehouse and bust through the doors out into the night. As soon as he was outside, a black Mercedes appeared in front of him and Edward hurriedly limped into the back seat, registering police sirens sounding in the distance.

Edward fell into the back seat and gritted his teeth as the car immediately flew into the drive; the driver did not say a word as he darted out of the area.

The sharp pain in his head was spreading and Edward vaguely recognized how much blood he was losing from the wound on his leg. He felt himself begin to go in and out of consciousness as the driver made it to the back, private entrance to Edward's apartment building.

Through some miracle Edward was able to stumble out of the car and cross the distance to the entrance, punching in his code with bloodied hands. He was the only person who used the elevator that went to the penthouse and he had explicitly ordered there to be no cameras. Edward limped into the elevator, attempting to prevent too much blood from spreading on the surfaces. The elevator dinged as Edward began to fall over and he stumbled out to the penthouse.

Once he was in the room, he squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself to be able to focus just a little bit longer before he passed out. Edward pulled out his phone from where it still was in his pocket. He worked as quickly as his shaking hands would allow, knowing he would fall out of consciousness any moment.

The phone rang, sounding as loud as a tornado siren against his ear.

"Swan," he rasped out. "Please come…I need you."

And with a gasp, he slumped onto the ground.

Old habits die hard and I'm continuing my fanfiction tradition of posting a chapter on my birthday. Your readership and your reviews are the best kind of presents for a gal.

What do we think is going to happen? Isn't Bella in the middle of a bachelorette party? And is Carlisle a good guy or a bad guy? That's a central question in this story as his character addresses the discussion of utilitarianism and the greater good vs Kantian respect for all persons right. Drop me your thoughts. Cheers!