Bullet Proof – Chapter 13 - Edward

I apologise for the long break, it was not planned or particularly welcome on my part, it was however unavoidable. I posted a whim of a chapter last month just to clear my head, however some nasty trolling mean that I am removing it and will only post Bullet Proof from now on Fanfiction.

Due to some of the reviews and comments on the last chapter, I have decided to continue with Edward pov, to show how he progresses in the Volturi court.

Reviews would be most appreciated. I really need to get an idea of how this is translating outside of my head.

Enjoy!

Edward straightened the papers on his desk. He had everything he needed for his appointment and was making sure his desk was spotless before leaving for it.

His meticulous nature was a cause of some teasing by the other staff however no one could fault Edwards ability to put his hands on the required information as needed, as a result of his OCD tendencies.

Glancing up at the large grandfather clock in the opulent room that made up the front of the business suites, he saw that he still had time, he rose and walked to the side table need the entrance and poured himself a glass of water from the carafe provided for visitors. As he slowly sipped the water he allowed himself to dwell on the last couple of months.

Even with the pre-warning that his eavesdropping had provided, he was not prepared for his first meeting with Caius Volturi. His oldest cousin had a reputation of callousness, intensity and ambition.

He was also fiercely loyal to the family and protective of the family business. Despite all of the stories he had been told, Caius had been friendly, even warm, toward Edward.

He suspected that this was due in part to what had happened to Edward while under Aro's care, and while it was clear that Edward Snr and Caius had had their differences, Caius had been equally as clear that as family Edward himself deserved respect.

Many things changed after that first day. His rooms were moved to Caius's wing of the estate and he was given a real position. His role was formally as an intern, however Caius made no secret of the fact that he expected Edward to learn the family business and serve in his role as a member of the family.

A desk was provided for him in the administrative offices next to Caius's Executive Assistant Michael, who was a friendly young man who, much to Caius's exasperation, was dating one of the upstairs maids. Michael had worked for Caius for years after being plucked from business school. Edward suspected that there was more to the story than he had been told, but did not enquire. This lack of inquisitiveness was appreciated by Michael and received silent nod of approval from Caius.

Edward would read materials that were provided to him and often sit in on meetings with business partners and other clients, taking minutes and seeing how Caius worked. As such he became as much Michael's assistant as Caius's intern. Not that he minded, he found the business very interesting and would request for more and more tasks.

Edward's ability to read and absorb information amazed Caius and in the end the man provided Edward with restricted access to the business records system, in addition he started meeting with Edward three times a week, often at breakfast and dinner time, to talk and discuss the business and Edward's reading, eventually his keen interest in learning the history of the family encouraged Caius to speak more of his own life and childhood and what he knew of their forefathers.

Despite his apparent freedom, Edward was aware that there were things that he was not privy to. While he was curious, he was not really interested in investigating, he had enough to keep him occupied without looking for things that may get him in trouble.

The one thing he had noticed since he had more regular access to Caius was that Michael slowly changed in his approach to Edward, he was not cold or rude, it was just a feeling of distance between them. He suspected it had as much to do with Edward taking on the role as minutes secretary for a lot of the time and that the other man was protective of his position as Caius's right hand and was not keen to give up even the most menial of his tasks.

Often Michael would go over the files that Edward had been working on during the day, in line with a Caius's standing order that all work be audited regular. He made it clear at the time that Edward was free to follow-up with Caius and Edward planned to do so, however the fire alarm went off at that time and it slipped his mind.

The fire alarms were something else Edward needed to get used to. While he had been living in Aro's part of the estate he had heard the alarms go off intermittently. He had asked Tanya about them, wondering in the main if he was supposed to do anything when they went off, she advised that it was for Caius's staff only. As a result of a large fire in the estate many years before, Caius ran fire drills at random intervals; all staff to follow the drills on pain of termination. Once when he had been in Aro's council chamber and a particularly still day allowed the sound of the fire alarm wash over the estate, Aro had sighed and shook his head clearly saddened by the memories revived each time the alarm sounded.

Edward had forgotten about the fire alarms, blocking them out as background noise as did most others in Aro's wing. However on his relocation to Caius's domain he was given a firm and thorough briefing on the fire alarm system, the fire escape routes and his evacuation location. It was only then that he realized the extent of Caius's pain from the memory of the fire. It had been made very clear to Edward of the warning system for failing to adhere to the fire alarms and he was tested by, and was to test, others in their roles and requirements.

By the time he had his first drill his tasks and evacuation plan was so drilled in his head that he followed it automatically. One thing that had caught his notice from the very start was that neither Michael nor Caius was allotted to his evacuation site. When asked, Caius explained that he did not want key people or family members, located in the same place should the worse occur and there was loss of life. He continued to state that this of course was to ensure the continuation of the business and was purely from practical reasons; however there was something in his eye, a sad, but slightly of balanced look, that caused Edward to not enquire further.

The fire drills could often impact work or a meeting in progress, so it was not unusual for minor matters to be pushed aside; Michael's seemingly official prod nosing was one of those things.

However it came back to his attention one night. He had finished for the day and after saying goodnight to Caius and Michael he had headed towards his suite. Halfway there, the solution to a problem he had been battling with all day finally hit him. His OCD nature wouldn't let the matter lie until the next day, it would drive him crazy all night if he didn't make the correction.

Unlocking the office he padded into the gloomy office, only the exterior lights from the gardens lighting the way through the large windows. Turning on his desk lap he fired up his terminal and opened the list of his current files. Checking that he had the right file, noting that the files metadata had not been changed since he closed it earlier, he opened the document and swiftly moved to the section that he needed to modify and stopped. Something was different in the file; there had been changed made since he had shut the file down. Returning to the file list he checked again that it was the correct file. The list confirmed that this was the correct file and that according to the system there had been no changes. He was confused; he knew what he had entered less than an hour ago, particularly since this issue had been causing him a headache all day.

Making the additions he had come back to make, Edward shut the file down and turning off the light, left the office. He would need to think about this. Why would someone make changes to a file but not want it recorded? How would they even do that? He knew the system very well and the security was top notch. Instead of going to the dining room or kitchen for a meal, he headed straight for his piano, which Caius had included in the move between suites. Sitting he played and played, trying to think the matter through. As he played he realized he needed more information. Was it just this file that had been altered? Was it a system glitch that needed to be reported? Or was it a wide spread system issue, which then needed urgent attention?

He knew that he was obligated to report any system issue, but didn't want to be seen to cry wolf, because he was lacking some knowledge or misunderstood some common practice.

His thoughts returned to that particular file. Was it a coincidence or was there something about it that was unique? It was a basic lone agreement with an external client; he dealt with a number each week. The difficultly he had had with the document had to do with the interest rates due to currency conversions, nothing really critical. The changes had been made to particular rates and currencies as well as very unusual looking terms buried in sub-clauses, clauses that were standard and would not normally be checked for accuracy as they were populated from standard templates.

So the question was why that file? Were there others? Were they just from his terminal? Were the templates corrupted? His thoughts were leaning back to the idea of a technical issue.

The stray thought that kept sliding into his consciousness was could he have done anything wrong to cause the problem? He knew that he could not. Despite Caius's confidence and trust, Edwards's access was limited and he had no ability to affect system parameters or access. But even so he was concerned.

So he thought, if someone is doing this on purpose, why were they doing it? What was the goal, he had not looked in detail at the text in the changed file, maybe doing a forensic review of that file he could identify the type of information that was being changed. Then he could develop some searches to identify if similar changes in metadata, content or templates had been performed on other files.

Deciding to risk reprimand he decided to keep his concerns to himself until he could provide Caius with the solution in addition to the problem.

Three weeks on and the in numeral hours spent working at his terminal, and in the compactus with the hardcopy files had lead him to this moment; waiting for a meeting with Caius. His presonal project had been masked as a review of the filing system, something that both Caius and Michael had moaned about regularly.

The current system had been very professional and represented the business as it had been but it had not evolved with the company and when Edward had made some suggestions that had peaked Caius's interest, he had given permission to write up a proposal for an update to the system.

Edward had done so, and in doing so had found that the number of his questions had increased, rather than reduced.

Edward was staring out the large windows when the door to Caius's office opened. Michael stood in the threshold, with Caius standing in the room. Entering Edward when to the chair as indicated and sat down. His presentation on the review of the filing system took 20 minutes as he went into detail on what he had done and what he proposed. The two men were impressed, however Michael did moan about how much the change would affect his workload, but Caius brushed it aside. He was proud that Edward was in his own way looking out for the family business.

So with his cousin's support Edward left with the authority to make the changes he had recommended. With Caius written authority to proceed he took it as read that he could do what he needed to make it happen. The next day he had rung ICT and after providing the system administrator with Caius's authorization, Edward had automatically been provided with the administrative access to those records in the business system.

The result of this access was that he now had the authority to delve deeper into the other problem that he had identified. It took him two weeks to perform the changes to the filing system, two hours to track down the source of the issue, two minutes to identify the culprit, and two nights without sleep to build up the courage to approach Caius with his findings.

Edward decided to wait until his next breakfast meeting with Caius to give his report. This was delayed by his cousin going away for a week accompanied by a small staff, including Michael. In many cases Edward would also come, however Caius told him that he wanted Edward to take some responsibility and manage the office on his behalf.

Edward was proud that Caius trusted him enough to hold down the fort and while this did not involve any high level meetings, he did look after the day to day operations of the office and needed to deal with a number of clients. If it hadn't been for the other issue he would have enjoyed himself, instead each pause in the day, each quiet moment, was haunted by the contents of the folder that he was holding close to his chest.

On the day that Caius returned, he was not in the best of moods. He swept past Edward at his desk ignoring the young man. Michael entered after his boss and gave Edward a small smile before sitting at his own desk.

An hour after their return Caius's office door opened and he called for Edward. The young man entered the office, along with a list of correspondence and related issues that required Caius's attention. He handed the file to Caius, who took it with a quiet thank you and then placed it in his in tray.

Gesturing for Edward to sit, Caius returned to his seat.

"I have had very good feedback on your work while I have been away. You have managed yourself with professionalism and treated our clients with the respect and honour that they are due."

Edward blushed a little, "Thank you Caius. I was honored that you allowed me to, even for a little while, serve in such a valuable role."

Caius smiled, "Well I am pleased that my trust in you was not misplaced, you are certainly growing into your role and as a member of the family."

Caius checked his watch, "I need to get to a meeting with Aro, but I would like you to join me for breakfast."

"I will be there!" confirmed Edward

"Wonderful" Caius gushed. "It will be just you and me tomorrow, Michael has other duties to attend to."

Edward got the feeling that Caius was a bit put out with Michael, but knew better than to ask. Caius watching him intensely almost as if he was daring him to, but when Edward made no comment he simply reached for the file that the young man had brought in. Edward seeing that his audience with his boss was over, stood and left the office. Returning to his desk he smiled at Michael who appeared more flustered than when Edward had gone in to see Caius.

"Was there anything I need to know?" Michael barked.

"No!" replied Edward. "Thank you. I was just briefing him on the call logs from while you were away. That thing was 40 pages long," Edward complained with a laugh.

Michael joined him chuckling, "Well you wanted to hold down the fort."

"I know," said Edward. Next time I should be careful what I wish for."

Michael hummed and then the 'blurp' of his desk phone interrupted their conversation. Edward returned to his work, so deeply engrossed that he was only vaguely aware of Michael finishing his call and returning to his own duties.

The next morning Edward arrived at the breakfast room overlooking the rose garden. He placed the folder he had brought with him at his place setting and then moved to the coffee station where he prepared a cup for both himself and Caius.

As he sat down at the table Caius entered the room. Seeing the coffee waiting for him he smiled at Edward.

"Thank you Edward. I really needed this this morning," he paused taking a sip of the drink. "The trouble with travelling across time zones is the way that even coffee cannot adequately give you back the time you are missing."

Edward smiled at his cousin and indicated to the staff member standing by to serve breakfast. Once served Edward nodded to the servant to leave, this was the norm for these breakfast meeting. Despite the multiple body guards and servants outside the door of the room, when it was just the two of them it gave the illusion of a private setting.

The pair sat quietly enjoying their meal, after 20 minutes Caius spoke.

"I must repeat my comments from earlier Edward, you did a very efficient job managing the office while we were away." The word efficient was some of the highest praise from his cousin and Edward basked in the approval.

Caius continued, "We had an interesting trip, but I did not achieve everything that I had wanted from the journey."

Edward nodded internally; this explained the tension between Michael and Caius. Michael was in charge of the itinerary and ensuring that the meetings held were the most efficient use of Caius's time away. It sounded like they had not been.

Rather than dwelling on whatever the issue had been, Caius spoke of a number of his successful meetings, particularly on those in which Edward had contributed in the preparation. Edward knew that there were a number of meetings of which Caius did not speak of, projects that were only known to a small number of staff within the organisation. It was the ultimate "don't ask, don't tell" as he could only guess at the repercussions should he find out something on a project or client for which he did not have access.

After listening to Caius regale him of a night at the theatre wineing and dining the young wife of an elderly client, the older man then shifted the conversations to the comings and goings of the compound.

Edward updated him with the normal gossip, who had visited and left, who had slept with who and the everyday comings and goings of a large estate like the Volturi household. Caius listened to all with interest. Before Edward coming under his protection, Caius had had little contact or interest with those he considered above stairs. With Edwards arrival and their regular chats he had had a whole new world opened up to him, that of his own estate.

Edward gave him information that he would have never thought important, however he had found the people that worked in the estate loyal and honest. They were able to ferret information about clients that visited and events in the local (and even further reaches) that provided, while not ground breaking information, information that could be added to his more formal sources and provide a more complete picture from which he could work.

Caius laughed at the fate of one of their long term visitors, who had tried to woo Jane by taking her for a boat ride on the lake, and had been left adrift as she flung the oars overboard and swam to shore. It was only after he had been missing for a couple of hours, had she let anyone know of his whereabouts, it turned out that the dolt could not swim and had been trying to paddle by hand. He left that very night, muttering about crazy ladies. Edward had helped clean out this rooms, only to find an alter to his cousin Jane, which Edward found both creepy and hysterically funny. While he never said so to any one aloud, he could not image any one being interested in the off balanced girl. The guy must have been crazy as she was.

As their time came to an end, Edward slid the file he had been leaning on for most of breakfast across to Caius. Caius raised an eyebrow; it was unlike Edward to raise work during this time.

As he made to open the folder Edward stopped him.

"In private, please!"

Closing the folder, his interest peaked, Caius slide the folder into his personal diary. If Edward wanted this to be private then he would keep it so, while young and new to the business, the young man had shown to be competent and trust worthy. He was also family, this fact automatically gained him a right to ask for confidence.

"Thank you, Edward," he murmured and exited the room, leaving the young man shaking slightly as he hoped that he had done the right thing.

Nothing happened for a full twenty four hours.

Exactly a day after Edward had passed the file over to Caius, Tanya turned up at his rooms advising him that Edward would be joining her and the kitchen staff to the village market day to purchase those items that they did not grow themselves on the estate.

I was not unusual for Edward to be a part of this party every now and then, however less often as his duties for Caius had increased. His growing anxiety over the contents of the file and Caius's reaction had made him jumpy and he had to bite his tongue before demanding why he would be leaving at this particular time.

Anyone observing Edward would not have noticed much, however Tanya was very much aware of the nervous tension radiating from her charge, as she too was surprised at his inclusion in the party, but was grateful as the two of them had not had time to just chat in a while.

On their return home, Edward helped unpack the loader trailer into the storerooms and kitchen. The chef had a special dinner ready for the intrepid travelers, ending with Edwards favorite lemon meringue pie.

As they were finishing dessert and the kitchen staff left to get some well-earned rest, Edward and Tanya left the kitchens to retire to their respective rooms when they encountered Felix heading towards them.

Without preamble the bulky man said, "Caius has asked me to retrieve you both. Come this way."

Felix led them to Caius's office. As they walked past his and Michael's desk, Edward could not help to notice that the other man's desk had been cleared of all items, leaving a surface bare of anything including phone or computer.

Felix lead him into Caius's office where Edward was a little surprised to see Caius and Aro seated, each holding a large balloon glass of the a deep burgundy red wine.

"Edward, please join us," Caius encouraged waving towards a nearby chair.

Edward sat watching the two men closely. He did not speak, knowing that one or the other would when they were ready.

Caius leaned forward and asked, "Edward, that material that you prepared for me, did someone tell you to look for that, or suggest that you do?"

Edward looked surprised, "Um..no Caius. As I tried to explain in my notes, I came across the error by accident one night and then when I tried to track it down identified some other issues."

Looking back and forwards to the two men he continued, "I am sorry if I done something improper, rather than bothering anyone with a couple of little issues I thought I would look into it and see if there was a bigger issue, or to be honest check that that I had not made an error."

Aro and Caius looked at each other, before Caius responded, "You have nothing improper I am just amazed that you were able to identify such a detail that would flag a possible issue from it. We are not in any way upset that you found the issue in the system."

Edward released a sigh, his body noticeably relaxing.

"What you have done, my child," Aro picked up "is saved this family and our company a very large amount of money and an even larger amount of embarrassment."

"A system problem could cause all of that?" Edward asked.

"No Edward," Caius smiled ruefully, "An imbedded case of corporate espionage would have caused that. Edward you skillfully, but unwittingly, managed to identify and trace a systematic and deliberate attack on our financial and client business records."

"Really?" Edward was honestly shocked. He knew that the problem was large, but his Uncle indicated a level of potential damage that Edward would not have even considered.

He hoped that he was not coming across too strong, it had been pretty obvious that this had been done deliberately, but he hadn't been able to identify the true scope with his level of access.

Aro placed his glass down and stood with a flourish. He moved to stand in-front of Edward and gestured the young man to stand and then wrapped his arms around Edward in a firm embrace. Stepping back he cupped his hand around Edwards chin.

"You are truly one of the family, you have shown that you are one of us that you serve the family and will protect your own. Caius will speak to you more about your new duties."

Now I will retire, "The cause and his associate have been removed and a top level cyber forensics team have been tasked using your work as a base to scope the depth of Michaels betrayal."

He gestured to Caius, "Your cousin and I agree that you should assume the role of his Executive Assistant, you with become his right hand and be full involved in the family and its business."

~*.*~

It was not until hours later, when he was safely tucked in bed, in the dark, that Edward allowed himself to fully realize what had happened.

He was accepted as one of the family, trusted with access into the family business and had been provided with a new role that he could shape as his own and serve the family further.

Edward face, hidden under the blankets, broke into a grin so large his face might have split.

This was perfect. This was exactly what Eleazar had been waiting for.