Twenty-Nine (Part One)


"There's been a change of venue," Paul announced to the Voldemort Taskforce on a Monday morning. It was August, the month when things were expected to go down, including the raid. "The meeting will no longer be taking place on the night of August 15th at the Union Stock Yards."

Everyone groaned.

The change was, of course, a last-minute one.

"According to our sources, the meeting will now be held on the following Sunday, August, 19th inside the freight tunnels," Paul continued, nodding along with the sounds of surprised curses and gasps. "And I don't know how the hell they manage to get access down there, but they did."

Completed in the early twentieth century, the Chicago freight tunnels were a vast network of tunnels located under downtown Chicago. They were designed to haul cargo, such as merchandise and coal, underneath the city to various buildings, including the City Hall and the Merchandise Mart and house telephone and telegram cables. The tunnels had been out of use since the late 1950s and had been completely closed off in 1992 following a massive flood.

Like Paul had alluded to, no one should have been able to secure a space for a meeting down there unless they went through City Hall and that was generally reserved for inspectors.

But the actual change does make sense, Leah realized. The stockyards were already too hot because of the slaughterhouse murders. Plus, it was mostly open land; many of the yards' buildings had been leveled throughout the years. At least in the tunnels, space was confined, and most importantly, it was underground.


"Well, there goes our extremely well-thought-out, comprehensive strategy," Jacob grumbled hours later, tossing the plans aside.

Leah was frustrated as well. There was a considerable difference between doing a raid above ground in an open area and underground tunnels. Leah and the team had been tasked with surveillance and serving as a back-up if needed; the change made things complicated.

"We're gonna need more light," Embry said.

"No," Leah contested. "It'll attract too much attention. We could have gotten away with it at the Stockyards because of the street lights and the building lights, but tunnels are supposed to be dark."

"There has to be a light somewhere," Jacob said. "The city still inspects the tunnels."

"When's the next inspection?"

"Last week," Jacob said. "Paul had contacted the Mayor's Office about the change of plans. Hopefully, everything went well."

Leah looked across the room where Paul's office stood. The captain was inside, chatting with one of his sergeants. He wasn't currently in a terrible mood, so the call with the mayor couldn't have been that bad.

She turned her attention to the discarded plans. Weeks of work, down the drain. It was a disappointment but not a rarity. Shit happens, and it was their responsibility to adapt to it.

When she reminded Jacob such the following evening, he responded with, grimacing at the new set of plans before handing them back to Leah. "I know it's not a big deal, but I don't like working in confined spaces."

They were at her place, for the first time in months, reviewing the new plans they had devised earlier with Embry's assistance. They were technically off the clock— as Embry had reminded them ever so eloquently at the end of their shift—but they were detectives. Leah insisted that her work wasn't done until she stopped thinking about it; and Jacob just went along for the ride, offering to buy dinner. Which, as usual, wasn't anything in the vicinity of salad.

The dinner choice was fine. This meet up was fine. It was the least stressed out Leah had ever been reviewing notes for an upcoming raid. Jacob was sitting at the small dining table across from her with a plate of hot wings and stuffed pizza from Giordano's between them.

She reached over for a slice of the mushroom-spinach filled goodness and took a bite. "Not many do," she remarked, taking another bite. She set the pizza aside and started skimming through the pages. The change in venue was inconvenient, but not impossible. Although they would be forty feet underground and inside actual tunnels, the entire network spanned for sixty miles. Sixty miles-worth of windy tunnels could give them an advantage. "We're gonna start at the basement of the Martin Building."

The Martin Building was an old commercial building that didn't have as much value as, for instance, Merchandise Mart or City Hall. They could hold operations down there without causing much fuss. Currently, its space was rented out by a coffee shop, a yoga studio, and a freelance online news company on the upper floors.

"The sub-basement," Jacob corrected. "A new addition when the tunnels were formed. The original basement wasn't deep enough."

"Ah, right."

Jacob swallowed down a piece of pizza before leaning back in his seat, rubbing his stomach. "That's some good pizza," he commented, and then sat back up. He took some time to look around at his surroundings; the "dining room" was technically the right section of the living feet away from the kitchen. "You're thinking about moving… when everything gets settled?"

Leah glanced up from the plans. "What makes you ask that?"

"It feels like you haven't been here in a while," Jacob said, eyebrows drawn together. He took one long whiff and exhaled. "I dunno; it feels, smell... stale."

Leah's eyes roamed around the room. It did feel impersonal. Like a hotel room, of some sort. Or an Airbnb. She had spent more nights at her mother's than here; a point where she had to decide to return to her apartment at least, three nights a week.

"Some days, it drives me up the wall, especially after a long shift. And then, ever since the Dahlia case and slaughterhouse murders..." she quietly admitted, slightly frowning. "I don't know; it's like I've been hearing voices in my head—" She stopped. "I'm not crazy."

Maybe she was. A little bit, but that wasn't a problem. Because everyone had a little crazy in them.

"We're all crazy, really..." Jacob pointed out, chuckling lightly, and then, more serious. "I know what you mean. The voices or maybe it's us overthinking things. We're detectives after all. All I know is that I've been itching to phase and go on more late-night run's, especially after last time..."

Last time. Leah sighed as she turned to the next page. The incident might have been a couple of weeks old, but she still felt terrible about compelling Jacob to shift in the middle of his apartment.

She bit her lip. "Sorry about that."

Jacob let out a frustrated noise. "I should've kept my mouth shut..." he said under his breath, shaking his head, and then, "Stop apologizing."

"I am sorry."

Jacob leaned back in his seat once again. "Are you always like this, apologizing every five seconds?"

"Only around you, it seems," Leah admitted quietly, staring down at the pages.

She could feel Jacob's eyes on her, but she refused to meet his.


"I heard from a source that you will be participating in some... action at work," Sue said nonchalantly one night as she cut up some vegetables for dinner. She didn't wait for a response. "And before you ask, yes, I still keep in touch with some of your father's colleagues."

Leah snorted and shook her head as she poured the proper amount of rice into the rice cooker— the best kitchen appliance in history, in her honest, humble opinion. Burnt rice, no more. "I'm a detective."

"Since when do you participate in raids?" Sue asked, "You investigate murders."

"I told you I was temporarily transferred to another unit."

"Whose purpose you still haven't told me."

"Oh, come on, mom, you know I can't tell you everything," Leah said, turning around to check on the pan-fried chicken on the shove. It was almost done.

"All I want to know if you'll be fine," Sue said, shrugging. "This family doesn't need another work-related death."

Leah froze and then looked away, not wanting to meet her mother's concerned eyes— She knew that Sue was referring to, and Leah didn't want to have another discussion about it. She never had.

"Look at you being pessimistic," Leah said, trying to lighten the conversation. "I'll be fine."

"You better."


The days leading up to the raid were relatively uneventful. Sure, work still had to be one, plans had yet to be finalized, but Paul made sure that nothing of note, no mass arrest, and whatnot, would happen until after the raid.

It made everyone feel better.

"It is bad that I haven't been this relaxed in months?" Jacob asked Leah before downing his beer and reaching over for more hot wings.

Leah nodded before washing down her food with lemon-water; she was sticking to diet plan, damn it. "Nothing to feel bad about," she said. "I'm in the same boat."

Oh, how much she missed lazy, drama-free nights.

It was Thursday night, an off day. Three days before the craziness would begin. Leah had invited Jacob to watch a football game at her apartment. It wasn't anything significant, just something she wanted to do to get her mind off of work. Jacob appreciated the gesture and had brought along hot wings, beer (and a chicken-less Caesar salad to appease Leah).

Leah would have invited the others, but Aisha was attending a family wedding, Martinez had to entertain his children while his wife worked late hours, and Embry was on a date.

The game playing on the television was only a preseason one, but the detectives didn't mind. Jacob was an avid Chicago Bears fan, and so was Leah—she had loved football all of her life, thanks to her father and his love for the Seattle Seahawks; he might have had lived in Chicago for most of his life, but his heart had always belonged to the state of Washington.

Leah's smile was bittersweet as she flashed back to her childhood when Harry would teach her the mechanics of the sport, whether they had been watching the game at home or in person at Soldier Field.

"You think they're gonna make it this year?" Jacob asked, reaching for his beer.

"I'm going to go a playoff game when they make it to the post-season," Leah declared. "Ticket prices, be damned."

"That's the spirit."

Leah grinned.


"I'd like to remind everyone that tonight will not be the time to play a goddamn action hero," Paul reminded everyone in a booming voice. He had his game-face on. Everyone pretty much did. "Listen to the commands. Follow the goddamn rules, and for the love of everything holy, don't fuck this up."

"Or hit bystanders," Leah whispered to Jacob.

"Especially that," Jacob whispered back. "But I think we're gonna be okay since, you know, we're gonna be below ground."

Paul's advice, about not playing hero, was sound, not that everyone would actually listen to it. She looked around; everyone was adequately dressed, adequately prepared with their weapons and bullet-proof vests. Some were carrying rifles; some donned masks. It was like she was in an action movie.

"Oh, this is much worse," Martinez said, fulfilling Leah's request for a piece of gum. He was one of the only people dressed in street clothes. He wasn't going to be in the action; a sprained ankle caused by a tumble down the stairs had put an end to that.

"I appreciate your optimism," Jacob said, giving the other detective the finger.

Martinez let out a short laugh. "Just being realistic. Don't pay attention to the movies. They aren't real, especially the action ones. They make shooting a gun with one hand so easy."

"Point," Leah said before tossing the gum into her mouth. After a few chews, she asked, "You sure you're going to be right over here?"

"Not my first rodeo," Martinez said. "And anyway, someone has to hold the fort while you guys hunt down the bad guys. Don't worry, Aisha will keep me on my toes."

Leah gave a half-smile. She looked past Martinez where Aisha was standing, reviewing some plans with another cop. She would be staying behind as well. "A blessing in disguise," she had told Leah.

"I have a bad feeling about all of this," Embry admitted, nervously re-adjusting the straps to his vest. "I mean, we're going underground. Underground. Forty-feet underground. Fuck, we're gonna be deeper than the L trains."

Leah stopped chewing and exchanged curious looks with Martinez and Jacob. It wasn't like Embry, expressing something like this. He was usually the one jumping into trouble, much to his supervisor's chagrin. "I'll be fine," she ended up reassuring him. "After all, we're not on the front lines."

"We're not," Jacob confirmed. "No, we're not."

"All I know that you guys need do this city a favor, all of you," Martinez said, attempting to lighten the mood. "Try not to get killed."

Try not to get killed.

Leah was sure that Martinez had said it as a joke. It was like the "break the leg" saying before heading off to a raid or a mass arrest. Usually, she would have brushed it off and return with a snarky comment. But now, all she could do was deliver a half-smile, reserved, and apprehensive.


Jacob pulled Leah aside about twenty minutes before the task force was scheduled to depart. Not that anyone was paying them any mind; the focus was solely on the preparation for the upcoming raid.

"Here," he said, pulling out an insulated box from his pants pocket and handed it to Leah; it contained six UV's. "Just in case," he told her.

Leah nodded and thanked Jacob. She loaded the magazine with the UV's, replacing her standard bullets. "Think we're going to use them?" she asked.

Or any bullets, for that matter. The task force had been advised not to use their guns unless necessary. Though effective, bullets traveling through a barrel at rapid speed created sound. Loud sounds. Loud bangs that would echo off the tunnel walls. It attracted attention and therefore, tossed the whole notion of a surprise attack out the window.

"I don't know..." Jacob admitted. "Don't worry about a thing, though. We'll be fine. You'll be fine."

"Embry suggests otherwise," Leah pointed out. "Which is completely unlike him."

"He's never done anything like this before," Jacob explained. "Remember, he hadn't received much action until becoming Sam's unofficial partner."


Leah and the team were stationed inside the basement of the Martin Building. It had been previously used as a speakeasy, a short-lived brothel and a scene of an unremarkable mob movie, Jacob told the others as they inspected the area. The basement hadn't been in use for years, and it certainly smelled and looked like it. Leah was worried that every step she took increased her chances of falling through the wooden floor.

"There's only Earth underneath," Embry reminded her, before checking with Jacob, "Right?"

"You never know."

Leah rolled her eyes and continued to follow Jacob down to the sub-basement of the building. The elevator, leading to the deepest point of the structure, still worked after all these years.

The sub-basement was anti-climactic; just a space full of old machines, an abandoned freight cart still on the eroding tracks. The floor near the elevator was dry, increasing becoming wet as the detectives approached the tracks. Looking down at the dark tunnel, Leah could tell by the little light she had was that the area was slightly flooded with brown water.

Deciding there was nothing else to see, the detectives set up their post. As promised, they weren't near the action. The confined and dark spaces of the windy tunnels wouldn't allow them to. Paul had ordered them to stand guard at the entrance.

Leah pulled out a camera from her backpack and set it up between the top of an abandoned machine and the concrete wall. She wouldn't be taking photos with this device, only monitoring what the smaller previously-installed cameras picked up throughout the tunnels, in particular, the assailant meeting place.


"Looks like almost everyone is here…" Jacob announced sometime later, leaning against an old metal appliance. Occasionally, he would look down the tunnel, leading away from the basement of the Martin Building. Just in case, but so far, it was quiet.

The targets were congregating in an area when a few tunnels intercepted. All seemed to be at ease, taking time to greet each other and reminisce about old times. No one had a frown; no one was reaching for their weapons. The only ones who were on guard were a group of soldiers, guarding the opening of each tunnel.

Leah learned from Jacob and the Embry that they only picked up the scents of the Volturi and Victoria's gang; the Cullen's, the Velazquez cartel and their allies weren't underground. The ATF and their friends were nowhere near the gathering, which was expected. Benjamin and Paul had mentioned a few days back that their people would make an appearance at the right time.

For the next twenty minutes, the vampires only discussed matters, using a language strongly resembling Latin. Occasionally someone would gesture the cargo around them, but besides that, nothing was going on. Leah was bored but determined. Jacob was the same, but Embry was starting to get antsy.

"I thought we were gonna participate in some action-pack raid. You know, with guns blazing and shit," Embry complained, pacing around the basement, pulling on his jacket sleeves, impatient. "If all we were gonna do is surveillance, we could've stayed above ground."

Leah wanted to remind the cop that he nearly had a nervous breakdown back at Paul's station about this very raid—which he had seemingly forgotten about. She also wanted to remind Embry, once again, that they were also serving as a back-up, but Jacob beat her to the punch, "Just keep your eye and ear out for any movement," he ordered. "And wait for Paul's instructions."

"I'm just saying..."

Leah shook her head, but Embry did have a point about the action. She couldn't understand why the rest of the task force were sitting ducks inside the tunnels. Based on their conversations, the mobsters weren't expecting a damn thing. But she wasn't the one making the rules. Paul had ordered them to keep watch, and damn it, that was what they were going to do. She kept her eyes on cameras as Embry stood guard near the basement entrance and Jacob, the entrance to the tunnel.

Nothing was out of the ordinary; everything the mobsters were discussing was everything Leah had known about. And—

"Hey, guys, I think we got something," Leah quietly announced. She had to remember that she couldn't yell because sound traveled and one of those damn supernatural beings was going to pick up on her voice and follow it. When Jacob and Embry reached her side, she explained, pointing at the screen. "Evidence."

On the screen, a series of cargo appeared onto to the screen, dragged along rusty tracks by some soldiers. After some words exchanged, the bosses ordered their minions to open the pallets, revealing a stockpile of human blood, and a dozen barrels of ultra-violets and pure silver bullets.

Marcus of the Volturi mentioned that there were more where that came from, sitting along the tracks in the distance.

The cops all gasped at the sight, realizing that Benjamin hadn't been bullshitting with them after all. Leah could imagine Paul practically preening at the sight. "That's a lot of evidence. I can't believe they've managed to bring everything down here," Leah said. "How many years you think those will bring?"

"Gotta be, at least, twenty-five to life," Jacob said. "That's a shit ton of illegal weapons. That gotta be worth five hundred large on the market."

"I'm leaning more to seven," Embry remarked. "What do you think, Leah?"

"Maybe six?"

"C'mon, Leah, that's cheating," Embry whined, and then, "Wanna bet?"

"Only you would ask for a bet during a raid," Leah mumbled, good-naturedly though. She wished Jenks could be here; he would be crying tears of joy right now. "Well, fuck," she said, watching Victoria inspect the packets of blood. Her partner-in-crime, Laurent, was doing the same.

"Benjamin was telling the truth, after all."

"Look, I can't—" Embry stopped and deeply inhaled. His eyes widened as he asked Jacob, cautious. "You smell that?"

"Children of the Moon…" Jacob finished, eyes flashing. "Those fuckers brought them along?"

Leah blinked and looked down at the device. Long behold, there they were. The children of the moon, five of them, struggling against their chains. Never seeing beasts before this moment, she shuddered at the sight, hoping she would never have to encounter them.

"You know, there's a movie about this," Embry said. He was still on high-alert, but he wasn't as alarmed as Jacob. Or Leah. "It's called Underworld."

Jacob growled. "Not the time, Embry."

"No, seriously," Embry insisted a little louder than he should have. He paused, covering his mouth, apologetic. "Sorry, but watch the third one. The vampires, they made the lycans slaves and shit. With chains and all. The wolves were the protectors, and then one decided to fall in love with the vampire leader's daughter, and then everything went to hell..."

Jacob blinked, looking visibly confused about the point of the conversation. Leah didn't blame him.

"What goes on in that brain of yours?" she asked, leaning closer to the camera. Victoria was now inspecting the blood packets of blood. "Seriously."

"Hey, I know what I'm talking about," Embry argued and then froze. "Did you hear that?"

Jacob pulled out his gun.

Leah quickly checked out the scene on the camera and gasped. They had gotten one—Santiago, one of the Volturi's hitmen—in the neck. The vampire immediately went and was deteriorating fast. Actually decomposing. An enhanced ultraviolet must have hit him.

"Shit, someone brought along a sniper?" Embry asked. "Wait, is that a part of the plan?"

"No." Jacob gritted out, and then, "They got anyone?"

Leah's eyes remained on the camera despite the many urgent commands and comments overheard on the radio. They weren't the only ones who heard the shots. "Got one right in the neck. My guess, a UV," she said as he watched the group of vampires pull out their weapons, aiming at one another. "This can't be us. We wanted a raid, not a shootout."

Jacob nodded in agreement. Raids usually involved popping out of nowhere and arresting numerous surprised people, not killing them from far away.

"Cullen's?" Embry offered.

"Shit, they may just be," Jacob said. "Retaliation."

"For what happened at Mike's," Leah whispered, looking down at the scene again. No one was checking on Santiago as Sulpicia started shouting out orders, and the soldiers proceeded to shoot in the direction that the bullet had seemingly come from. The detectives didn't pay much attention to the shooting; they were more interested in determining when the Cullen's and their allies would finally come out of hiding.

They didn't have to wait long.

"Why the hell would they come out now?" Embry asked incredulously. "If they were always going to do that, they should have never used a sniper."

The only ones speaking were Maria, Sulpicia and Victoria, and it wasn't in English. Or even Latin, this time around. But it didn't matter what they were saying, though; from the way they looked at each other and pointed at the others and the goods with their guns, it was evident that they weren't there to talk.

"Maybe they had nothing to do with that?" Leah offered.

The shouting increased. Victoria was the most hostile, followed by Felix, who looked like he wanted to attack but was restraining himself from doing so. Jasper wasn't far from Maria and Irina, but he didn't seem to have any intention of getting involved in the argument. He just stood there with his hands crossed and a deep frown on his face.

More threats and insults were tossed around. Irina, of the Denali's, had her gun aimed at Sulpicia and then at Alec, who, as usual, was standing by his sister, both silent. No one was alarmed by Irina's threats; Sulpicia even called her bluff, which wasn't appreciated by the other woman. She waved her gun erratically while Jasper tried, and failed, to calm her down. Sulpicia motioned for Felix to handle Irina himself, but before he could attack her, she pulled the trigger.

The detectives jumped at the sound of the gunshot, echoing through the tunnels. Leah watched, stunned, as Alec slumped to the ground, Jane rushing his side.

Felix charged at Irina. Jasper intercepted him. The rest of the Cullen alliance attacked the Volturi and Victoria's army, and as expected, not before long, the interrupted meeting turned into a massive shootout.

"Fuck!" Jacob ripped his radio from his shoulder strapped and immediately starting shouting over it. Embry did the same.

Leah froze, tightly holding onto the camera. None of the bullets were even heading their way, but that didn't calm her nerves. After eventually snapping out of her trance, she pulled out her gun, checked once again to see if it was fully loaded and held it at his side. "Where the fuck is the ATF?"

Jacob winced at the sound of increasing gunfire.

Paul ordered everyone to stay put.

The Cullen's and the Denali's were here.

Leah lifted the camera for everyone to see. They noticed the horde of agents at the moment they arrived, but the vampires were too occupied with trying to kill each other or escape to realize that the feds were lurking around. By the time the agents revealed themselves, their guns blazing and badges flashing, the crowd had started to disperse. When they noticed the newcomers, some were able to flee without detection.

"ATF! Drop the guns! Hands up!"

No dropped their weapons, not even with the gun's aimed that. Leah was worried that the vampires would attack, but then Jasper signaled the Cullen's and the Denali's to lower their arms. Sulpicia did the same for the Volturi, followed by Victoria who literally flung her gun against the tunnel wall.

Twenty-three vampires. That was how many people Leah counted who were left behind and subjected to arrest. The agents closed in around them when it was apparent that the mobsters were waving a white flag and read them their rights—You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney—before arresting each and every one of them.

No one resisted, save for Irina, who, in a fit of rage, head-butted one of the agents behind her before getting slammed to the ground and forcibly put in handcuffs. No one else put up a fight; they probably figured out that talking someone out of a charged them with numerous violent and trafficking crimes in court would be easier than being on the run for killing federal agents.

It was too easy; the detectives thought as they watched the agents lead everyone into the back of the van.

Far too easy.