The Bear
Chapter 22 New Horizons
William Black sat on his covered porch and frowned at the rain that was pouring out of the skies. The weather matched his mood. He was filled with fury about the vote the night before. He simply couldn't believe the Quileute had chosen Isabella Cullen to become their new Walalo. He was shocked to discover the wolf-pack, including his son, unanimously voted in her favor. It seemed they would rather kowtow to a vampire than lose their precious ability. He felt as though he had been stabbed through the heart by the very people he had loved and worked for his entire life—his tribe. He didn't know how they were going to deal with a vampire in their midst—but not just in their midst—as their guide! And how could they trust, not just one vampire, but two when you counted her mate? It was enough to make him pack up and leave the reservation, never to return. But that thought brought a lump to his throat and made it hard to swallow.
What in hell was he going to do? He did not know. Like the rain pouring outside, a wave of despair washed over him.
A huge russet-brown wolf loped into the yard and burst into human form between one stride and the next. It was his son, Jacob.
"Dad!" he cried as he ran up the pathway that led to his family's home. "You will never believe what we saw!" In one bound, he jumped over the porch railing to land at Billy's feet.
Billy asked disinterestedly, "What did you see?"
"We were keeping Bella and Edward under watch, just as you suggested, when—Dad, you won't believe this—Sister and Brother Orca came to them!"
Billy's eyes widened in shock. The Orcas were a sacred tribal talisman that only appeared to the deserving and rarely, even then. "Impossible!" he exclaimed.
"No, Dad, honestly. It had to be them. I saw it with my own eyes. Bella was sitting on the dock when Sister Orca appeared right in front of her. Then Edward came down the path and Brother Orca arrived. I saw Bella step onto Sister's back, and Edward did the same with Brother. They swam northward. We tried to follow from the shore, but we couldn't keep up with them.
"Dad, Bella must be our new Walalo. Brother and Sister wouldn't have come to them otherwise. They must have been summoned!"
"Have you seen Bella and Edward since?"
"They hadn't returned before I left to come to tell you. Sam and a few others stayed on the beach to watch for them."
Billy sat for a moment, his thoughts wild, trying to make sense of this amazing information. Something occurred to him that would seem more sensible, and he said, "Maybe Sister and Brother were taking those vermin off to be destroyed!"
Jake blinked in disbelief. "Would they do that?"
"Maybe The Creator knows that vampires are a danger to the tribe."
Glumly, Jake sat down on a bench. "I had thought this would be the answer to all of our doubts."
Billy slapped his hand on the arm of his wheelchair and said, "What doubts? That the vampires, and that includes Isabella and Edward Cullen, are bound to destroy us?"
"Or, that this was proof that Isabella Cullen was chosen by The Creator to be our Walalo." Jake was getting impatient with his dad's pig-headedness. Sometimes he felt the message was clear.
But Billy shook his head and snorted in disdain.
Jake stood and firmly said, "I suppose we'll know for sure tomorrow at the Council."
Billy narrowed his eyes at his only son. "Why do you say so?"
"That's when Bella is supposed to give her answer, isn't it? If she was destroyed by Sister Orca, she won't be there. If Bella arrives tomorrow, that will be proof enough for me. I refuse to doubt what The Creator must have ordained."
He nodded at his shocked father and dashed back into the pouring rain transforming back into his warrior-wolf form not three steps down the path. Jake was beginning to believe that his Dad was jealous of the wolves' ability—something the older man had never had—so taking away their Walalo and, thus their precious gift, satisfied him in some spiteful way. For the first time, Jake realized just how embittered his dad was.
There was nothing Jake could do for the old man now, except to let him stew. Jake had work to do. He ran back down to the jetty to join his pack and continue to keep a lookout for the Cullens. He hoped it wouldn't be long before they were seen again. He quite liked being a wolf.
Jasper and Emmett returned to Forks in the middle of the night. Alice and Rosalie were glad to see them. It was never comfortable being away from their mates for long.
"Hello, handsome," Rosalie said as Emmett climbed off his motorcycle. She held her arms out for his embrace, but immediately stepped back and said, "Phew, you smell like a gas station."
Emmett grinned and grabbed her anyway. He loved to tease.
Jasper put his arm around Alice and said, "You'll understand why when we tell you what this idiot did."
Emmett huffed. "Idiot? I'm a genius. I took care of that mess in Seattle, didn't I?"
Jasper shook his head. "Yeah, you did. You're still an idiot. Let's go in and eat. I'm starving."
"Carlisle, I just heard the boys pulling up. I'll put some dinner on, and we'll sit together in the dining room to hear what they have to say." Since the beginning of Sanctuary, Esme had taken great delight in family meals. It brought back happy memories of her childhood from more than a hundred years ago and the spreads she would share with her human family. In her opinion, it certainly beat running through the forest chasing down deer.
She quickly set the table and arranged the centerpiece. All was ready just as her foster children came into the dining room. Then, she got a good whiff.
"Emmett dear, have you changed your cologne?"
Jasper, Alice, and Rosalie burst out laughing.
Jasper said, "No, but I'm thinking Emmett needs to clean up before we sit down together, else we're going to have to fumigate the place."
"He's right, Em," Rosalie said. "Go on up to our room and take a quick shower. We may have to burn your clothes."
Jasper said, "You'll have to be careful if you do. They'll probably go off like a bomb once you take a match to them."
Shrugging with his typical good humor, Emmett headed upstairs but not before saying, "Jasper, don't tell them what happened until I get back."
It didn't take him long to return to the dining-room. He was eager to tell his story.
"Well, gentlemen, how did it go?" Carlisle asked, putting down his half-finished mug of the surprisingly refreshing Coca-Cola flavored SdL.
Leaning back in his chair, Jasper said, "We easily got into the hangar where the jet was stowed. There was no one nearby."
"How did you know which hangar was the right one?" Alice asked.
"A matter of deduction. We started with the most secluded building and worked our way forward. Before we got too far, we could detect the scent of death. The Volturi tidied up well there, I'll have to give them credit. There were three victims. The pilot, co-pilot, and someone who must have been ground crew."
Sighing with regret, Carlisle nodded to indicate Jasper should continue.
Jasper cut his eyes at his brother, and said, "Emmett came up with a plan—a crazy plan. He did the physical stuff and I did the technical stuff. First, I had to hack into their surveillance system to insert a video of an ambulance arriving to cart Bree Tanner off to the hospital—the timestamp reflecting soon after they originally touched down. I also had to erase any appearances of Emmett and me, as well as the Volturi, from their tapes. Those Italian idiots were on the security tapes as bold as brass. I wonder they didn't think to erase them, but I guess now it doesn't matter. I left everything clean. I even recorded a written log of the ambulance coming and going. I am sure I covered all our bases."
Then, Emmett said, "While he was doing that, I took the ground crew's body from the jet to the hangar floor. I made it look like he had been putting chocks on the wheels when he apparently passed out. Then, I sabotaged the plane."
Carlisle said, "I hope you were careful because the FAA is good at determining exactly the cause of these sorts of accidents."
"I was incredibly careful. I had to make it seem that something had incapacitated the crew after they rolled the jet into the small hangar, right? It had to knock out the groundling, as well, after he rolled the door shut. So, it had to be a noxious gas. Perhaps it also could have been what caused Bree to 'pass out' as soon as they landed."
Carlisle nodded. "That sounds plausible, but what could have done it?"
"Carbon monoxide from the jet exhaust. I created a fault so that it looked like it had gotten into the jet's cabin, as well as flooded the hangar to suffocation levels when the door was shut, especially since the building's air conditioning was shut down. Then, I made a pinhole in the fuel lines caused by friction—I supplied the friction, by the way." He flexed his arms as if to demonstrate.
"I had to figure a time lag between the hangar door being shut and the fireworks to account for the time between the Volturi's arrival and the explosion I manufactured. With my incredible talent it looked as though hours had gone by, rather than a few minutes." He preened, happy that his plan worked out.
"I fired up the engines and made sure the aerosol from the fuel exploded—with a little more help of my frictioning skills, and BAM! It was fucking awesome!"
"Emmett!" Esme scolded. She had a low tolerance for bad language.
"Sorry, Esme," Emmett said, but he didn't look at all sheepish.
Jasper was laughing outright now. "I was waiting outside the fence with our bikes when the hangar went up like the Battle of Petersburg. Then, there was an Emmett-sized ball of fire shooting up into the sky like a rocket and crash landing nearby. I ran over to help and there he was, naked as a jaybird and laughing his ass off."
Esme shot a hard eye at Jasper. Such language at her table!
"Naked?" Carlisle asked in surprise.
Chuckling, Emmett said, "I had left my clothes with my bike when Jasper went to fiddle with the computers. I knew they wouldn't make it through the explosion, and I couldn't be riding back to Forks in the nude."
Rosalie giggled. "That would have been a fine sight, honey."
"Maybe for you, but not for the rest of us," Jasper said, as Emmett reached over and punched him in the arm in jest.
Just then Alice, who had been gazing into the distance, said, "They're here."
Without a word, Carlisle and Esme rose and left the room.
"Who's here?" Jasper asked, as he picked up the pitcher of SdL to have seconds. This carbonated Coke flavor was addictive.
Alice answered, "Demetri, Felix, and Sulpicia. The Volturi boys want to make up for the trouble they've caused."
"What about Sulpicia?" Emmett asked.
"I don't know for sure. She hasn't made up her mind, but I do see her using Esme's bathtub."
"What is this place?" For the first time since leaving Aro's pyre, Sulpicia became aware of her surroundings. Demetri had carried her most of the way as she sobbed her grief for her dead mate.
Felix studied her for a moment, not sure if he should tell her baldly where they were or try to finesse a bit. "It's a place where you can see to your needs—get some new clothes, your hair fixed, that sort of thing."
"Yes, but where are we? This looks familiar." She was turning her head from side to side trying to figure out their location. Demetri and Felix had purposely brought her to the Cullen property from the river side, hoping she wouldn't immediately recognize it. They were afraid she'd become difficult if she knew of their destination.
The house on the hillside looked lovely and inviting. It was lit from within with a myriad of lamps shining through the large glass windows that covered most of that side of the house. The stone patio had masses of sweet-scented flowers bordering it and the path that led to the door. Just then, two people appeared on the terrace, awaiting their guests.
"You!" Sulpicia snarled as she recognized Carlisle.
Demetri and Felix stood on either side of Sulpicia and held her arms, so she couldn't attack or run away.
Stepping forward, Carlisle said, "Yes, Sulpicia, old friend. It is me. This is my wife, Esme. We want to help you."
"Help me? How can you help? My mate is gone. Aro is dead." And she would have collapsed upon the terrace except that Demetri and Felix had been supporting her.
Esme, ever tender-hearted, ran to the wailing vampire and said, "You poor thing. Come now, come inside. We can at least make you comfortable." She slipped her arm around Sulpicia's waist and with a lot of murmuring and there-there-ing, she convinced Sulpicia to come inside.
Esme nodded her head at the two remaining vampires and left them to the care of Carlisle and the comforting of Sulpicia began.
"What did you do?" Corin asked as the remainder of the Volturi guard stood in stunned silence in the grand hall of Volturi Castle. The stone walls had been whitewashed. The floors had been covered with ceramic tile that mimicked grey hardwood floors. The windows where swathed with sheer gauze curtains. Sunlight shone down on them everywhere, causing them all to glitter like Dolly Parton's bustier. There were overstuffed couches and chairs casually arranged along the walls and in front of the newly marble-refaced fireplace. Pillows and wall art provided splashes of color. In bemusement, Santiago stared at the italicized words "Live, Laugh, Love" that hung above the mantel.
As one they turned to Heidi with dumbfounded expressions and Corin again repeated, "What did you do?"
"I, er, I redecorated a little? Do you like it?"
Renata sat down in one of the armchairs, bounced a little, and said, "Well, it's different."
Chelsea ran a hand along a marble console table and said, "You were brave to do this without thinking to get Aro's approval first. It's a good thing he's dead. I can see him having fits over this."
Afton, Santiago and Leonard, the Volturi Guard that had been left at the SdL farm in New Mexico, had been joined by their mates soon after the final show down with the Cullens. Their world had turned upside down in just a matter of moments, it seemed. They didn't know what to do. So, after they reunited and commiserated, Leonard said, "Maybe there's a man that we need to see…" and looked toward the farmhouse where Garrett and his Sanctuary comrades were. This being exactly what Garrett had hoped for, they were welcomed with open arms. Following an in depth discussion—and some sampling of SdL—the Old Guard decided to return to Voltura bringing SdL with them and to see if they could start their own manufacturing plant in Europe. Without the domination of Aro, Caius and Marcus, perhaps they could have a hopeful, new life ahead. To get them started, Sanctuary offered to supply them the needed SdL and assistance to begin their own production.
It was at this point that they had contacted Heidi in Voltura, explained their current situation, and after she recovered from her shocked reaction, had her wire them the necessary funds so that they could return home. At the time, she didn't think to tell them about what she had been doing while they were gone. It gave her the beginnings of a grand scheme. Better it be a surprise.
And boy, were they surprised.
Heidi hurriedly began to explain after Corin's baffled question, "You see, I was thinking—since Aro and the rest are gone, we need to decide what we can do so that we can continue to live in comfort we are used to. What do we already have? Real estate! Look around you! Castle Voltura is a Tuscan wonder. People would pay big money to visit here."
"You want to turn our lair into a museum?" Chelsea inquired.
"It isn't a lair any longer, Chelsea, it's our home," Heidi declared.
She went on, "And we aren't going to turn it into a museum. We're going to do even better—we're going to create an upscale boutique hotel and restaurant. See, I have the plans already drawn up." She unfurled a blueprint across the waterfall island she had just installed and gestured for all to gather round. Now, Heidi's vampiric talent was to be able to sway people, vampires included, to her point of view and so it wasn't long before she had convinced her companions that not only was this something they could do, it was something they absolutely had to do.
And so, the Volturi Guard were on their way to becoming the most popular hotelier in Europe.
AN: The Battle of Petersburg, during the American Civil War, was also known as the Battle of the Crater because of an enormous explosion that occurred when the Union forces dug a mine they under the Confederate defenses, loading it with gun powder and blowing a huge crater and breaching the Confederate lines. You can see the remnants of it today at the Petersburg National Battlefield Park, just south of Richmond, Virginia. Jasper would know about this because—of course—the Civil War was his war.
I know there's probably a million real reasons why Jasper and Emmett couldn't have pulled off their airport cover up. I ask you to suspend your belief for a bit and pretend that Airport Security can be easily breached by two clever vampires.