14. Strategy

Thanksgiving had ceased to be a holiday. We spent the rest of the night analyzing every detail of Alice's vision. She had been able to identify when Jane and her contingent would be arriving, two days later. Discussion ranged from separating the family and going different directions to confronting the Volturi together straight away. In the end, Carlisle decided we should stay together in Idaho and wait for Jane's visit and see what would result from it.

I learned that the Cullens usually went on a big family hunt into the remotest parts of the northern Rockies over Thanksgiving, but those plans were now on hold. Hunting was limited to short trips close to home. Everyone made it back well fed the evening before Jane was to arrive. Alice saw her arriving early the next morning, just before dawn.

We were again gathered around the fire in the family room, but no one was relaxing. Alice was concentrating on the future; Edward was engaged with Jasper discussing strategies if we came to blows with Jane and her contingent. Alice saw Jane bringing even more backup with her this time, six cloaked figures followed her in the future. She could see Felix and Demetri under two of the hoods. Edward recognized two of the other figures, with similar talents of strength, but the other two vampires seemed to be new to the guard. Their talents were a mystery.

I was staring at the fire, thinking about facing Jane again. I was remembering Caius' comment about finding out about my talents as I looked up at Carlisle, who was also lost in thought. "Carlisle, can I interrupt you?"

Carlisle looked up and at me. He smiled, but his eyes still held concern. "Bella, your thoughts always intrigue me. I never consider them an interruption." His voice was friendly. "Please…" He invited.

I smiled back, flattered. "I was thinking about when we meet Jane, specifically how much I can hide from her, and what I won't be able to." My memory of Jane's torture of Edward was still very strong, and I wasn't going to let that happen again.

"Definitely a topic of concern." Carlisle's voice was serious. As he waited for me to continue, I heard Edward and Jasper's conversation stop.

"I think that the fact that I can absorb another's talents might be concealed, as long as things don't get out of hand." I paused. Carlisle nodded. I felt Edward's hand on my shoulder. "And I know she will use her ability on me again."

"You aren't worried about that, are you?" Edward gave my shoulder a squeeze as he joined the conversation.

"No, I'm not. I'm worried about what she will do if she thinks that we are concealing information from her. I can't let her torture any of you." I tried to be clinical, but I could tell my emotions were bleeding through my words.

Carlisle turned to the fire again, thinking. "That is one possible scenario. Unless one of her new comrades can sense a lie, though, I can't see how she would be able to tell that there was something special about you, Bella."

"Demetri will be able to tell." My voice was somber.

Edward answered immediately. "Demetri… he's a tracker, Bella. And since he can't sense you, he doesn't know anything about you." He thought he was pointing out the obvious.

"Exactly. Since he can't track me, how do you think they will find us?" I knew that he needed to figure this out himself for it to really sink in.

"He will track you, Edward." Jasper's voice was quiet. He knew where I was going.

I looked up at Edward behind me, and I could see he was trying to see the point. "He'll track you, until I touch you." I turned to stare at Carlisle as I reached up and put my hand on Edward's. Carlisle didn't move, but I could hear his thoughts. And you will not let go of him, will you, so that you can protect him. I would ask you to do nothing less, Bella.

Edward's voice was harsh. "Demetri won't understand what it means, Bella, he is not that smart."

I let go of Edward's hand as he and Carlisle continued to argue in my mind and waved my hand trying to silence them. My voice was even. "If Jane suspects that I can protect others from her talent, then she will try and test that theory. You will be her first target, Edward."

Edward's voice was tight, suspecting that I had a plan in mind that he wouldn't approve of. "That is a reasonable assumption. So she learns that you can protect me. That is not so bad."

"But she won't know how it works, Edward. If you were Jane, what would you do next?" I looked down as I waited for the answer.

Again, Jasper spoke. I could hear fear mixed with anger in his voice. "She'll try to hurt all of us. Starting with…" His voice tailed off. I looked over at Alice, who had been silent, and she was staring at Jasper, her eyes wide.

"Alice." I finished. Jasper moved to sit next to Alice and stare into her eyes. Edward's grip on my shoulder tightened as I turned away from their intimacy.

"What if we just told her the truth about Bella?" Esme found another possibility.

Alice closed her eyes again. I put my hand on Edward's again, listening to her vision. Jane's face appeared again. Anger colored her lovely face. A fight ensued, and body parts were flying everywhere. The image changed to a column of purple smoke. No one was in sight. The vision ended, thankfully. Alice was still frozen, unable to speak.

Edward spoke for her. "Someone dies." His voice was empty.

No one moved for a long time, thinking. Carlisle was coming to the realization that it appeared the situation could only end in a fight. He finally looked at Jasper. "What do you think our chances would be?" His voice was dark.

"Not good." Jasper's eyes didn't leave Alice's as he answered.

Edward's mind was racing so fast I couldn't make sense of his thoughts. "If we can get Bella close enough to touch Jane, the odds would change in our favor…" His voice was calculating.

Jasper was shaking his head. He knew the guard would not allow that. There was another option, but I hesitated. Carlisle was watching me now. "Bella, what is your idea?"

"I have another option, but I need to talk to Edward first. Can you excuse us for a moment?" He nodded, and Edward silently took my arm and led me out the front door. Outside he began to run, and I followed him until we were miles away. When we stopped I looked in his eyes. "Can you still hear them?"

"Not well, and I am not trying." He put his hands on my face. His eyes were steel. Does this plan of yours involve you doing something without me? If so, you can forget it.

"No it doesn't. It is actually the opposite." Edward's face relaxed minutely. "I propose that only you and me go to meet Jane, and that the rest of the family stay away."

I watched Edward closely as the words sunk in. He let go of me and started to pace slowly in front of me, thinking. His expression didn't change. "Please tell me what you are thinking." I asked, wondering what modifications he was making to my idea. He began to think out loud.

"We could not touch each other until Demetri was close enough to find us, probably within sight of us." He walked through the scenario. "He would know then that you could block him. Jane will definitely test that…" Edward's voice turned cold. "But you'll protect me." His voice grew stronger. "I can't think of how they could figure out that you could share my talent. Even if we slipped up they would attribute that to our bond."

"And the only ones in jeopardy would be us." I didn't like putting him in danger, but there was no way that we would be apart.

Edward seemed to be accepting my idea. "If things got bad, we could try and get to Jane. You could fend off any of her strong brutes." He tested that idea in his mind but then shook his head. "No, the better idea would be to run. You can nearly keep up with me, and if we could just get a little ways ahead of them, they wouldn't be able to track us." He turned to me, smiling. "I like it." He put his hands on my face again and kissed me. I pulled him close, not knowing how many more opportunities we would have.

"And if we fail, we die together." I whispered. I wasn't sad. It was the only way I wanted to die. Edward held me tighter, understanding.

Edward looked toward the house. "We should go back. I think Alice has briefed everyone on our decision by now." He smiled and took my hand. I love you, Bella.

Back at the house, the mood had shifted slightly. Alice had informed on us, as we'd suspected, and a heated discussion of the possible outcomes had resulted. As we entered, the room became silent again. I noted that Carlisle now looked much worse. I kept hold of Edward's hand, knowing of Carlisle's habit of thinking his conversation to Edward.

Emmett was upset at being left out of the possible fight, but Rosalie next to him was happy to keep him safe. Jasper, still next to Alice looked calmer, now that his love would be out of danger. Alice was trying to see what would happen, but she had a frown on her face because the outcome was unclear. Esme was nearly distraught. Carlisle did not look much better.

This was my idea, so I started, "So Alice filled you in on the plan." Alice looked at me and slowly nodded. I scanned the room, looking to see if there was any other response. No one moved. I looked at Edward, and he held me close. I turned back to the group, focusing on Carlisle. He was staring at the fire again. His eyes were filled with helplessness, like someone backed into a corner.

"Carlisle, this is the best way. It involves the least risk to our family, and has the highest chance of success. And each of us can protect the one thing that is most important to us." Edward kissed the top of my head as I finished.

Carlisle turned to me, fiercely boring into me with is eyes. "Bella, each and every one of you is most important to me. I don't want to lose any of you."

I couldn't reply; Carlisle's love for his family rendered me speechless. Edward recovered first. "Carlisle, you won't lose us. We plan to meet with Jane and that is all. She will learn something about Bella, hopefully not much, and then report back. She will not be able to hurt either one of us." His voice was gently persuasive.

Carlisle was not convinced. He stared at me, then Edward. She has other ways of coercing the truth out of you. An image formed in Carlisle's mind of us being surrounded by blacked cloaked figures. They approached us, prepared to tear us apart. Edward abruptly dropped my hand before I could see the end of the thought. Then he flinched, the result of Carlisle's imagination. "If that is the case, we will run. Our scent is all over this area, and with Bella blocking their trackers' abilities they'll never find us. We'll have transportation strategically placed ahead of time." Carlisle continued to glare at Edward, arguing.

I looked around the room, and everyone was looking at us. I decided it was time to get more input. I debated on who to ask first. My eyes settled on Jasper. "Jasper, what do you think?"

I knew that Jasper would see the strategic value in our plan, as well as the advantage of keeping Alice out of harm's way, but I also knew he was deeply loyal to Carlisle. "I think that Bella's plan has merit." He had analyzed the information and made his decision.

"I would add one facet, though. In addition to the getaway car, I would suggest that Alice and I man a decoy vehicle. Since Demetri will be able to sense us, it will confuse them. Alice will see who is coming toward us and ensure our safe getaway." It was clear that Jasper would not be separated from Alice.

I picked up Edward's hand again. Carlisle was imagining us running from the black-clad Volturi guards. I turned my focus on Alice. "Alice, can you see anything?"

Alice closed her eyes and became a statue once more. In her mind I could see Edward and me facing Jane, talking. Her face looked angry. The image flashed to Jane and the guard walking away for a moment, then flashed again to us running through the woods. I was falling behind Edward, and we could hear footsteps fast behind us.

Our minds cleared, and she looked up. "I can't see what Jane will decide. It seems she will either let you go or you will have to run. I can't see beyond that." Carlisle's thoughts were starting another argument, but I ignored him.

"Alice, what did you see before we made our decision to pursue this option?" One look and I knew the argument was over.

Alice's face turned even whiter that it normally was. She looked directly at Esme, then Emmett, then Rosalie, then Jasper, staring at each one solemnly for a second. Then she stared at Carlisle and her look got even sadder. She didn't need to add words.

I saw each of the faces she surveyed in her mind frozen and surrounded by flames, including her own. As Carlisle's dead face came into view, I dropped Edward's hand and buried my face in his chest. Edward's hands shook as he pulled me close. No one could speak for a long time.

Finally Edward found his voice. "I think the plan is set then." His voice still had an edge of shock left from Alice's thoughts. He kissed my head again, getting more control.

We turned to Carlisle. His face was frozen. I could guess that he was still absorbing what Alice had intimated. I looked at Esme then. Our eyes met, and we both knew what had to happen. She touched Carlisle's cheek and he turned to her. His voice was resigned.

"You are right, Bella. Godspeed." He closed his eyes as he held his wife tight.