YOU'RE WHAT!

Disclaimer: The Cullen's, 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.

The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.

She had been able, thank goodness, to block out the shooting fire of pain that was threatening to toss her back into unconsciousness once again as she attacked one of her tormentors. But, she knew no was the point of no return, she had to finish freeing herself and make an effort in spite of the pain to get the hell out of here.

CHAPTER 21: THE ESCAPE, THE SEARCH AND THE RESCUE

Bella didn't know how much time she had, but, in her current situation the figure of speech 'no time' definitely applied. All she did know was that she had to get the hell out of there and to do it quickly. She looked around to see if she could find anything that would serve as covering for her body. Something that would hide as much of her current condition from prying eyes once she got out of wherever it was that she was being held and back out into the public.

As she looked and wasn't able to find anything right away, she felt desperation starting to creep in which was starting to distract her enough that the control she has been exerting to block the pain out was starting to slip so that the reality of the pain was beginning to be felt and demand her attention. Bella knew that she had to get complete control of herself again to block the pain, to stop any sort of distraction and to face the reality of getting her ass out of wherever she was.

Trying to be as quiet as possible since she didn't know where the others were, she continued her hunt for something to use as a cover, but, still keeping her mind as alert as she could in case the sound of approaching footsteps were heard coming near her position. Finally, she did find a jacket that was way too big for her, but, it would serve its purpose to cover her bare upper torso and the bloody sight she knew she must be as she made her way out of this shithole.

XXXXXX

It had been decided that Edward, Emmett and Jasper would be housed in Bella's home until such time that another more appropriate place could be decided upon. The three guys weren't happy about that decision and were vocal about it. They wanted to go back to their places until Rosalie was quick to remind them about the bugging that had already taken place which let everyone know who lived where and how easily the guys could be gotten a hold of. After that they fell in, still under protest, with what the girls planned to do with them.

In the meantime, Charlie was busy getting what he needed gathered together and was preparing to leave. He said nothing to anyone about his timetable, or, what his plans might be; to Charlie the less anyone knew the better chance of success. His silence also assured that no one else was trying to add any input that could be distracting to how he felt he might need to do things.

Sam commented that he needed to go home and get some of his things, but, was stopped with doing that by Alice telling him, "I don't think that you need to change your routine at this point."

"Why? I need to be with Edward since Bella isn't here to be able to keep him safe."

"No, Sam, you aren't. We can keep them safe during the day. There's no reason to change the guys routine either since people are in place to watch over them at work. Edward, Emmett and Jasper will still be able to maintain their normal lives which would avoid raising an alarm that could put anyone on the outside on the alert.

"Also, with you keeping to normal appearance at the office you'll still be available for reports being given about the investigations of who might be the mole and leaking information. If you change that now it will definitely throw up alarms where they aren't needed and it might cause us to miss finding the leakage." Rosalie remarked and explained her point of view as a reminder that everyone had to be careful so no alarm bells were ringing that might make things worse for Bella and that would make it harder for Charlie or the police to find and rescue Bella.

"But, who is going to take care of Edward if I return to the office during the day and he continues at work?"

"Sam, I just reminded you that we have staff in place that watches over all three guys while they are at work. That way there is no undue attention drawn to them.

"Then we're with them in the evening. That is the time you will be with Edward. But, until you arrive we'll have everything covered." Rosalie answered him sounding a bit pissed off.

Time moved forward with everyone trying to avoid the elephant that was in the room. Sam had agreed with what Rosalie had told him, so, he left with Felix to return to the office. They both left with regret of not being able to spend more time with Charlie. Sam knew that Charlie was going to be leaving without a big farewell scene; it'd be like one moment he was there and the next he wasn't. Knowing his mentor, his friend and a man that was more like a second father to him, Sam was very much aware that Chief Charlies Swan was a MAN ON A MISSION; a one man army that was about to enter a battle zone against an element that would have wished to have thought twice before bringing forth the wrath of this army.

Charlie was going to do what he does best: resolve the situation in one solid movement.

XXXXXX

Walking over to the door and then pausing to listen for anyone that might be just outside or approaching to check on her and her jailor, Bella drew in a deep breath, but, her concentration slipped for a brief moment and she felt the acute pain that was trying to take control of her mind. Just trying to breathe was enough to cause a pause of action as the fire shot across her back to radiate around to her front. But, with a shake of her head she worked to regain her control and her resolution to continue with her plan to escape.

Not hearing any sound from the other side of the door, Bella quietly, slowly, opened the door inch by inch, for caution's sake, just in case she had been mistaken, before checking to confirm her suspicions. And, as she soon had the door opened wide enough to be able to view beyond it she saw that indeed no one was standing outside of the door, or, was in the process of approaching it. The way seemed clear, so, she quietly crept out into what seemed to be a hallway that led to a set of stairs located on one side, but, advanced beyond the stairs on the other side of the hallway. This bit of information gave Bella the belief that she was down in some sort of basement, or, lower bunker area.

Slowly, but, cautiously, she made her way along the hallway until she reached the stairs where she paused long enough while trying to decide which way would be the best to continue her escape. Numerous footsteps could be heard coming from the floor above her, so, she knew that several people were above her pacing and roaming around in general. With that being the case her course was decided, she had to continue along the hallway until she could find a door that would lead to outside.

No matter how tight of control she tried to maintain, the acute fire of pain still threatened to overwhelm her as she moved. She could feel the wet trickle of blood slowly moving down her back where the skin had been broken from the whippings she had been forced to endure and to be absorbed into the waistband of her pants since it was feeling extremely damp. In other places across her back and front, the skin was raw and felt inflamed enough to where she still felt the pain where just the cloth of the jacket touched those areas on her body. But, she still had to get the hell out of there before they returned to continue with whatever it was they were planning to do.

Moving cautiously along the hallway, Bella finally came to another set of stairs that led upwards, but, the difference with this set compared to the other stairs was the fact that a door was at the top with a window allowing the afternoon light to shine through. This was her way out, but, she still must be careful and be alert in case they discovered she was gone before she could get far enough away from them.

Knowing that she couldn't continue to wait, Bella began to slowly move forwards and climbed the stairs, one step at a time, stopping long enough to listen for anyone that might be approaching from behind her, before taking another hesitant step, while trying to be as quiet as humanly possible, towards freedom.

Finally, she reached the door and took a quick peek out of the glass to see if she could spot anyone that might be standing guard before she reached out to open it just enough to see if anyone was guarding it from the outside that might have been outside of her viewing point. But, seeing no one she slipped through and quietly closed the door behind her, hoping that she wasn't leaving any clues as to her whereabouts behind.

Finding herself in an alleyway, Bella paused to consider what her next best course of action should be. With it being afternoon she couldn't appear on the street in her condition, so, she decided to move towards the back of the alley to hide behind the set of dumpsters she spied. She believed that anyone from that bunch searching for her would assume she made for the street so she could get help and not behind a bunch of smelly trash. So, that's where she took herself to settle for a bit.

As she moved she did stop every so often to look down and behind herself, searching to make sure no blood droplets or anything else would give away which direction she had taken to hide. Upon close inspection, she was satisfied that she wasn't bleeding enough for anything to have trickled further down than her waistband. So, she continued on until she reached the spot she felt was the best place to hide. It was a spot that would let her see what was happening, but, still out of sight of anyone glancing in that direction.

She took the time to make a makeshift bed and gathered enough paper and cardboard to cover herself up from spying eyes that might be looking from a distance. Once that was done she settled down to rest and to wait for darkness. Also, to gather her strength for the next move she was going to have to make.

XXXXXX

While everyone else seemed to be getting settled, Charlie was off to one side viewing all of the information that had been presented that covered the kidnapping of his daughter. That meant that he was even viewing the street shots that had been captured by the city camera that had a clear coverage of the area and the kidnapping.

Charlie looked to see what had been discovered when the license plate had been ran, but, all that was known was that the car had been reported as stolen a day before. However, upon closer inspection of the camera captures Charlie was able to recognize one man; this was someone he had ran into in the past as he worked an undercover case. The guy was nothing more than a two-bit hood, doing a job for the highest dollar. That bit of information was all Charlie needed to begin his search and rescue of Bella. It gave him an idea of the starting point and the people to see.

Looking around to see what everyone else was doing, he quietly gathered all of the paperwork together, signed off the computer and shut it down, before telling his girls and their charges that he was going to get some rest. "It's been a long way getting here and a lot of worrying along the way." Was all he told them.

After that he went to Bella's guest room, shut the door, picked up his shoulder holster and gun, being sure to check that the clip was full, but, adding a few more to make sure he had enough, put on his jacket and quietly slipped out the window to disappear in the late afternoon light.

Charles Swan was now going to get his daughter and anyone getting in his way would have hell to pay. He would make sure the ones that took her paid, also.

AN: Charlie has all of the information he needs to begin his search for Bella and that includes recognizing of the guys that helped to take her. Will Charlie find her? Will Bella remain undiscovered in her hiding spot? How soon will it take before anyone finds out that she's gone?

Hope you will enjoy this story and will let me know your thoughts, ideas and comments as we move forwards