A/N… Some of your reviews last chapter made me truly laugh out loud, so thank you for that! I want to mooch you all. I'll let you get to it…

~o~H&E~o~

Chapter 9

BELLA

"Not everyone follows the fucking rules."

The cold, unforgiving metal of the rifle pressed harder into my temple, but I still held his gaze. If he thought I'd expose my crew, my husband, he could go fuck himself. I could hear the shift of things over the earpiece along with chopper blades, explosions, and rapid gunfire.

Eleazar was now involved, which I'd predicted from the beginning. Eleazar meant the CIA, Homeland Security, military, and that would completely put a spin on everything outside the room in which we were standing.

"Put the gun down, Kim," Carlisle stated as he stood up at my side. "That's enough. We know nothing outside of this goddamn room. Threatening her won't change that shit."

Carlisle was fucking done. He was every bit my godfather at the moment. Even more he was the mercenary he'd been for decades, the no-nonsense man who had helped Edward remove me from Miller's basement. It was that Carlisle I was looking at right then, the Carlisle who called in a hit for every life that had any part of my kidnapping.

His usual kind blue eyes were now dark and hate-filled. His hands, despite being bound in front of him, were twitching into claws as if it was taking all he had not to rip this guy's throat out.

Kim smirked, shaking his head. "Ah, see… I think you do know something." He lowered the rifle, though, taking a step back. "And I think I can get you to tell me what that thing is…"

His gaze drifted around the room, meeting the harsh glares of Mickey, Dean, and myself, not to mention Carlisle, but when a menacing smile shifted behind the ski mask, I saw who he'd found.

Seong.

Kim pulled out a pistol, letting his rifle spin to his back. He spoke to Seong in Korean, but her father, despite his fear, his shaky hands, stood up and started to yell.

I knew what was coming, and I still flinched when Kim swung the .45 full-force across Cho's face. He crumpled back to the sofa, and Kim pointed the gun to the middle of Seong's face, grabbing her arm at the same time tugging her to her feet.

"Someone in this room will tell me what you know. Who the fuck is out there?" he said, pulling back the hammer on the gun.

"I already told you, asshole," I said, my gaze flickering from a sobbing Seong to Kim's anger-filled face. "By now, it's most likely military out there. Homeland Security will use the closest military base, all first responders, and the FBI. They will have started to close in on this building."

"No!" he snapped, gripping Seong's hair and jerking her back as he pointed the muzzle beneath her chin. "Try again. You aren't scared. You're pissed off. You know who is undermining my mission."

"Kim, I have my own security," Carlisle stated through gritted teeth, but his patience was wearing thin. He gestured toward Dean, Mickey, and me. "They were stationed throughout the building. It is quite possible that they weren't killed or captured when you attacked. However, they, too, would be recruited by Homeland Security to help out by this point." Carlisle stated that carefully.

Seong's crying was breaking my heart. She was scared. She was young, sweet, and not used to being threatened. A part of me needed her to stop crying. Another part of me, the one whose job it was to protect her, wanted to step between her and Kim. However, it was the pissed-off part of me that won. It was the part of me that wasn't scared, the one that had seen way worse men, sadistic men, disgusting men. Nothing that Kim could do would ever come close to what I'd already experienced.

"That's enough. You got your answer. Let her go," I said, almost stepping forward, but he rounded that gun toward me.

All the training I'd had over the years almost kicked in on instinct. Had it only been Kim and me and that gun, I would've taken it from him. However, there were still three other armed men in the room. While I had faith in my crew and Carlisle, I had four people who couldn't fight. I couldn't risk it. I couldn't risk innocent lives.

My mind drifted just a bit, and I knew Edward was out there, knew he was busting his ass to get to us. I also knew my children were in his strong arms. I'd heard his call over the radio. I also knew if he were here, he'd be taunting this motherfucker with a cocky grin and a simple "Go fuck yourself." He definitely would've already sent the twitchy guard with wandering eyes at the cracked window down seventy stories to the front steps of Twi Tech. That last thing was high on my list of things to do.

I glared his way but didn't move, holding my stance firm when he pushed that gun into the middle of my forehead.

"You aren't afraid to die?" he asked me.

"Of course," I replied instantly. "I'm just not afraid of you. All you are is a common thief who has bitten off more than he can chew. You have an overblown sense of self-worth, when really you are just a thug, stealing something that doesn't belong to you." I smirked at the hissed curses coming from the desk. "Or should I rephrase? Trying to steal something that doesn't belong to you."

Tilting my head at him, I waited, but Carlisle finally lost his patience with the whole thing. He pulled at my sleeve to tug me away from the pistol.

Kim looked at the clock on the wall, smiling evilly and tucking the .45 away in the waistband of his pants. "I think we've got about thirty more minutes. Maybe if we double the number of Twilight employees next time, it'll loosen your tongue. Hmm?"

He walked away from us and back to the desk.

Carlisle's temper rounded on me, his voice barely above a whisper but no less angry. "Sweetheart, while I understand he's nowhere near anything you've dealt with, he will still pull that fucking trigger. And I may not be able to intervene."

My nostrils flared in anger, but I nodded that I'd heard him, leaning into his kisses to the side of my head.

"Maybe we need to change things," he whispered in my ear. "Maybe if he 'breaks in' to my system, he'll release some if not all of his hostages. He might leave this office – with or without us. But while there are four armed meninside this room, starting shit is goddamn dangerous. Got me?"

I nodded again, and he sighed deeply.

"Where's my son?" he asked me, still whispering, but his physical actions to everyone else in the room were as if he were comforting me.

"He's with Momma Bear and the baby bears," I muttered softly. "Like rats in the walls waiting for Eleazar to 'exterminate' them." It was cryptic, but he understood it. He also reached up to my earpiece carefully, pressing it.

"When those rats in the walls are exterminated, IGOR needs to relent but only allow specific weapon cache locations to be seen. I believe Alice can handle that. Hmm?"

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit." Alice's shocked chant came over, and I nodded to Carlisle that she'd heard him.

"Copy that, Dad," Edward stated wearily. "And sweetness, you stay safe up there. Am I fucking clear?"

"Ten-four. Love you," I said, the words catching around the lump in my throat, because just the sound of his voice made me want him in the room. It made me need his strength and bravery, but our kids needed him more at the moment.

"Oh, baby… I love you, too. I am coming for you. I-I s-swear t-to f-fucking G-God. I just have to take care of a few small things. Okay, love?"

"Yeah," I sighed through my answer, sounding a lot like Sammy, but his stutter told me everything. He was worried, but he was determined. It was such a beautiful sound that I had to swallow thickly around the lump in my throat again.

"Good. When that's done, this whole building will come down in order for me to get to you."

Eleazar's voice came on the line next. "Edward, you sit tight. ETA is looking at about fifteen."

"Roger that."

I sighed deeply, sitting back in the sofa, and Carlisle joined me. If we allowed Kim access to Twi Tech's weapons, I wondered if it would change the dynamics of this entire situation, but nothing would change until Edward got those kids out of this building.

~o~H&E~o~

EDWARD

The gymnasium was quiet except for the ticking of the clock on the wall and a whispered conversation between Alec and Esme. Sammy, Abby, and Caleb were with Lock and Load, who were exhausted, but they'd taken their fill of water from one of the sinks.

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees and gripping my hair. After hearing my dad's command and my wife's voice, I just wanted to set this whole place on fire. I wanted every motherfucker who had a hand in this shit dead and buried.

Green Chucks appeared in my glare to the floor, and I smirked at my daughter, who was standing in front of me with a backpack I hadn't noticed she was carrying. Bethy's face was worry and strength all at one time.

"Mom sounds okay," she stated but grimaced. "Frustrated more than scared."

I nodded, pulling her between my legs. "I think so, too."

It wasn't a secret that Bella had panic attacks. Sometimes it was unavoidable, and the kids knew about them. They'd witnessed one or two, but my wife never wanted them to know the details of why she had them. She thought it was too dark, too ugly for Sammy and Bethy, and I agreed with her. But Bethy would always be smarter than we expected, and I could see she was concerned for her mother, not because of the bad guys but the issues those bad guys could bring on her mother.

"Here, Daddy," she said softly through a weary sigh. "I thought you could use this."

My brow furrowed as I took the bag from her, and I tilted my head a little. I pulled the backpack open, unable to stop the soft laugh.

"Yeah? You think so?" I asked her teasingly as I pulled out one of my black baseball caps.

She nodded fervently, reaching for it and putting it on me. Backwards, of course. "You always say they help you keep sweat out of your eyes and they hide your hair."

Cupping her face, I kissed her nose and then her forehead. "Thank you, little sweetness."

"Mmhmm," she hummed, nodding again, but she pointed to the bag. "There's more in there for you."

Inside, she'd stashed ammo clips, a first-aid kit, bottles of water, and snacks she had to have snagged from Esme's kitchen. It was easily grabbable things – chips, cookies, Pop Tarts, crackers. At the very bottom of the bag were two sets of NVGs and some more flash disks.

"Bethy, where—" I started, but she quickly interrupted me.

"I know I'm not supposed to go into Poppy's cabinet, but… But…" She sighed roughly through her nose. "I know you needed them. I took everything I could fit."

"Pretty girl, you're not in trouble," I vowed, pulling her to sit with me. Wrapping my arms around her, I hugged her tightly from behind, whispering in her ear. "Thank you."

"I just wanted to help you."

"I know, baby."

"You're not mad?"

Grinning, I blew a raspberry into the crook of her neck and reveled in the squeak and giggle. "No, little sweetness. I can't be mad. All the rules are kinda broken right this second."

Bethy turned a little to look me in the eye. "This is because of those people you're guarding, isn't it? Aunt Alice said they're from Korea, but there are two parts of Korea. North and South, like the Civil War here."

My eyebrows shot up again. "What is Aunt Alice teaching you guys these days?"

"You said to always look for the truth," Bethy replied, looking over her shoulder at me.

"I did say that. And you're right. It does have something to do with the Chos."

"And you're going to get them, right?" she asked, and it was the same question Sammy had posed when we'd finally gotten to the gym. "You're gonna get all these bad guys. You have to."

"I am, but little sweetness, I have to get you guys and Gamma some place safe. I need to get you guys out of this building first." I pointed to Esme, who was listening along with everyone else.

"But the longer this takes, the more people they're hurting!" she argued, and she sounded identical to Bella. It was that urge to take care of everyone, to save the whole world from the wrongs life threw at it. Bethy and Bella could argue me senseless when they put their minds to it.

"How long have you been listening, Bethy?" I asked her, tapping the ear with the commlink in it. She'd refused to give it up, but I think she just needed to be connected to us all in some way.

"Long enough to know they're shooting hostages downstairs."

Bella and I tried our damnedest to shelter our children from the bullshit of life and the ugly hate of the world, but in reality, it was everywhere. They saw it in school, on TV, in the movies, and hell, the news and Internet was one disaster after the other. They were growing up in wretchedly violent times, though if I thought about it long enough, every era had its ugliness. Bethy and Sammy knew what we did, what we used to do, and what we could do. Bella used to joke that I was their superhero, that I could fix everything in their eyes. And I hoped they always thought of me that way. However, this involved way more than a Godfather wannabe like the man who'd kidnapped Bella or a psycho woman set on revenge like the fuckers who'd dared touch my little girl. This was political and military. This was an army set to take and destroy. The odds and numbers were stacked against us.

The only thing we had on our side was the fact that they had no idea what we were capable of, what we were willing to do.

"We should fly off the roof, Dad," she suggested. "Get us out that way."

"They have their own chopper, Bethy. It's armed, and it's guarding the rooftops. I can't risk it, baby. My chopper has no weapons. We'd be sitting ducks. That's not a chance I'm willing to take." I shook my head slowly.

She hadn't seen the side of the building crumble when they were shooting at Jasper. If their air support was removed from the equation, I'd consider it, but I couldn't fly unarmed off that roof with four kids and Esme, with only Alec and his sig as protection. It just couldn't happen. At one point in my life, I might have done it, but not now. Not when so much was at stake.

When she started to argue some more, I grinned, grabbing her sweet face gently. "You are as tough as your mother, I know! But please trust me on this. Okay? Flying isn't safe." I chuckled when her mouth tried to open again, so I squished her face. "And as awesome as you fly, Bethy, this isn't the time to test it. I'm not budging on this one. We'll find another way to get you out." I kissed her forehead. "You have to learn to trust the people you're working with, and right now, my faith is in Eleazar and Alice. My faith is also in your mom and Poppy. I know your mom is doing everything she can upstairs to fight, to stay safe. She's got Aunt Mickey and Mr. Dean, too."

"My dad and Uncle Jasper…" Caleb added.

"Yes," I agreed, nodding his way, but I had everyone's attention. "They're out there, too. Listen, guys, we have to work as a team, which means we each have parts to play. Each part makes up a bigger picture, and it's the big picture we need. But we can't have one without the other. We have to know that the other team members are doing their part. We trust that they'll do what's needed, and we do what we have to do, and then we can move forward. Understand?"

Bethy looked a little disappointed when I looked back down at her.

"Little sweetness, this is like soccer. You had plays you needed to follow and execute. Same thing here. We do this, and then our teammates can score. Offense/defense. Many players working together for one goal."

Her eyebrows raised when she understood, and I kissed the top of her head when I stood up to stretch. I reached into the backpack she'd given me, taking a bottle of water, a few clips of ammo, and a pack of Pop Tarts. The latter I ripped open and practically ate them in two bites.

"Thank you for this," I said, giving her a wink before setting the bag in Alec's hands.

He glanced inside, giving Bethy a grin as he pulled out everything to store in his own bag. "Nice, Bambina." His praise made her blush a little, but she nodded.

I started to pace, pausing at the door out to the hallway long enough to make sure I heard no movement, no company. When I turned to walk the other way, Esme was in front of me.

"She wants to help you so badly," she whispered with a smile, but tears welled up.

"I know. She does help me; she always has."

"She saw me go into your father's storage cabinet, and she grabbed the bag and just filled it up. I didn't even bother to stop her."

Huffing a laugh, I nodded. "She's… I'm so proud of them both."

"It's all over your face, sweetheart."

I tugged my hat off, raking my hands through my hair, and then I pulled it back on. "I bet. But I meant what I said. I can't risk flying. Maybe when I get up there to Bella, but not with you guys. I can't do it."

"If it's not safe, then it's not safe. I trust you," she agreed, cupping my face. "My brother will come up with something."

"Alice, too."

We were quiet for a moment, but then I heard it – a radio call in Korean, the mutters of someone just outside, and the footsteps.

Spinning, I snapped my fingers to Alec. He was immediately alert and on his feet. We both pressed our ears to the door. Whoever was on the other side faded away, but I wouldn't feel comfortable until the floor was empty.

Meeting my gaze, Alec whispered, "We should clear them out."

"They don't report in, we may get more company."

"By then, we may be clear of this room."

His argument was valid, but I wasn't sure I felt comfortable clearing the floor alone, and I didn't feel right leaving the kids and Esme alone either.

I felt a tap to my leg, and I glanced down at Sammy. He patted his drone and then held up the phone that controlled it, staying perfectly silent the entire time.

Alec snorted, whispering, "It's official. Your kids are you and Bellisima made over. Like mini-mercenaries."

Rolling my eyes at him, I knelt in front of Sammy, who whispered, "This will show you where they are without being seen."

Nodding, I put a finger to my lips. I turned the lock slowly and silently on the door, cracking it just enough to set that drone out into the hallway. I closed the door back and looked to my son. He offered me the control, which I knew nothing about, and neither did Alec.

"Go ahead, Sammy," I told him, turning him so I could watch his screen over his shoulder.

The camera Alice had installed was definitely of a higher quality than would normally be found in a kids' toy, but I expected no less from the pixie. The drone rolled silently down the hallway to a T juncture, and Sammy turned right first and stopped, and then he spun it left. He chose the left hall. He rolled it a little farther, stopping just shy of a corner, and he then edged it just a little. It was the elevators and the doorway to the main stairs.

Two guards stood facing one another. Both seemed to be listening to their walkie talkie. And they both spoke quickly to each other.

I looked to Alec, holding up two fingers, and then gave silent directions as to where they were. Alec nodded, taking his gun out and spinning a silencer onto the end of it. He also took one of the flash disks that Bethy had brought us.

"I got this," he stated, carefully opening the door and stepping out into the hallway.

Sammy had backed the drone up a little, away from the elevator bank, so we saw Alec press himself against the corner before he clicked the flash disk and sent it racing along the tile floor. The whole screen lit up for a brief second, and then Alec stepped around the corner. The thump-thump of his weapon firing sounded over the phone's speaker. Before Sammy could roll it toward the elevators again, Alec was back around the corner and picking up the drone, saving me the trouble of stopping my son from seeing the aftermath. He'd also stripped the guards of weapons, bags, and radios.

"Well done, Sammy!" Alec praised through the camera with a silly grin.

"That was awesome! You've gotten really good with that thing, pal," I added, ruffling his hair and kissing the top of his head.

Sammy's shy, crooked smile was pride-filled. "Yeah," he said in his slow usual way. "I just wanted to help, Dad."

"Huge help, buddy," I vowed to him, nodding a bit. "Both of you. Got me?" I said, looking up at Bethy too. When they both smiled and nodded, I stood up straight to let Alec back into the gym, locking the door back behind him.

"Here, Sam," Alec panted, handing the drone to my son, but he looked to me. "The neighbor to the west is having a bad day. I could see it through the windows."

"Bad day as in… They've met Emmett?" I asked with a chuckle.

"And Jasper."

"Good."

I was just about to sit down to wait for Eleazar to call his next move, but Alice's voice came over the earpiece.

"Edward, Edward, Edward! Come in," she chanted, practically panting in exhaustion.

"I'm here."

"Okay, so I know you asked El for a solution to your exit problem, but IGOR has one should you need it," she offered, and her fingers seemed to never stop over the keyboard. "Eleazar is still working the building on your west. You've still got air coverage circling above. And we're closing in on another hour, so time is ticking."

"Talk to me."

"Even better, I'm sending it to your phone."

"Roger that." I reached into one of the pockets of my cargo pants and pulled out my cell. She'd sent me several screenshots of the building's layout. I enlarged it, scrolled over it, and nodded. "Okay, and this is a true thing?"

"Yes, yes, yes! The second floor of Twi Tech is the cleaning room. The cleaning room has two chutes – one laundry and one garbage. Both chutes lead to the basement. The basement has a ventilation shaft with a grate just outside on the sidewalk by the garage. You asked for a sewer, but I found you a softer landing…and not as disgusting."

I grinned. "You're beautiful, Alice. Have I told you lately?"

"As a matter of fact, you haven't. I was beginning to think I was losing my womanly wiles or that the beauty app thing was true."

I scoffed, shaking my head. "I hate that app, Alice. I've hated that app since the moment you mentioned it."

"I know." She giggled, and it was a good sound.

"Okay, so how's my path to the second floor?"

"Not without its troubles, but if you take it slow and silent, you'll be fine. In fact, that drone was used exactly the way it should. Go back into the walls, my little rats, and take the second-floor exit. You'll find the housekeeping room on your right at the end of the hallway."

"Roger that," I said, picking up my bag, stowing all the ammo Bethy had given me, and gesturing for everyone to head back to the towel room where the hidden stairway was.

"Edward," Eleazar called. "Let me know when you get to that grate, and I'll cover your exit. The westerly neighbors have been evicted."

"Ten-four." I turned to face the kids and Esme. "Okay, we're heading out. I need you guys quiet and to do what Alec and I tell you. Got me?"

"Yeah," the all answered, nodding. They didn't look scared, for which I was glad.

Esme pulled her own gun out, and I called for Lock and Load. We piled into the secret stairwell much like we had before – I led the way with Load, while Alec took the back with Lock. Everyone else was in between.

On the second floor, I stopped and pressed my ear to the door, finally opening it up into an office from behind another bookcase. I listened again at that door, waving Sammy forward with that drone. We used it exactly as the same before, and Alec cleared the way.

We stayed quiet all the way to the housekeeping storage, locking the door behind us. The laundry chute was the one on the right, the garbage on the left. It would be a two-story slide down, through a metal tunnel with no lighting.

Sammy didn't even bat an eye. He opened the pull-down door and set the drone in. He changed the camera to night vision, and Alec simply threw his hands up with a laugh.

"Go ahead, Sammy," I told him.

We all gathered around him, watching the screen as he barely had to control the drone. It just rolled down, gathering some speed along the way, and it landed with a soft tumble into a pile of what looked like towels. We waited for someone to investigate, but nothing moved in the camera's eye, even when Sammy lifted it up out of the bin and kept it hovering for a moment. He turned it every direction, and it seemed the basement was empty.

"I'll take lead," I told them. "Alec, you watch our six. I'll catch the kids, the dogs, and Esme."

The chute was big enough for large bags, so it wasn't too tight of a fit for me. The drop was longer than I expected and steeper too, but I landed just fine in the bin. I stood up, pulling my weapon, but the area was still clear.

"Clear. Send them down."

One by one everyone fell into the pile of towels from the gym, tablecloths from the employee break area, and what looked like some uniforms of security and cleaning crew. Either way, it made for a hell of a nice landing for us.

When Alec made it down, I called for Alice.

"Okay, Edward. Far back corner. You'll see some equipment – furnace, exhaust shit, the washers and dryers. All that air gets sent up via a vent. It probably gets wicked hot down there, so if you look at the ceiling, there should be a grate to let some of the heat out."

We followed her directions, and the red brick walls, though older than I'd expected, did indeed lead up to the street level.

"Dad, here," Bethy called, pointing to the light coming in just above the furnace.

"Eleazar, I need out of this forest," I called over the radio. "On your mark."

"Edward, you're clear."

"Roger that," I stated, reaching for Bethy and lifting her up, and she scrambled to her feet. I did the same with the rest of the kids, the dogs, and Esme. Linking my fingers together, I provided a step and lift for Alec, and finally, I jumped, grasped the edge, and pulled myself up. Alec grabbed my wrist to help me the rest of the way.

The grate was right above my head, and as soon as I lifted it a little, it was yanked away. I just about shot a motherfucker, but I sighed in relief.

"Benny," I greeted, smirking up at him, and Emmett came to stand beside him. "I'll lift everyone out."

"We're good on the east and west now. The north is still theirs."

I nodded that I heard him and started with Caleb, because he and Emmett needed to set eyes on each other. Once we were all free of the building, we were guided to an SUV. The driver was Eleazar himself.

"'Bout damn time," he teased me, gripping my shoulder. "I've got a tent set up, and I'm synced up with Alice. We need to plan, Cullen. This shit is way bigger than we thought."

I nodded, gazing up at the building. My eyes raked all the way up to the top. I sighed at how close yet so far away I was from my Bella.

"We'll get 'em, Ed," Emmett vowed.

I hummed that I heard him, but I touched my earpiece. "Sweetness, the baby bears are free of the forest."

The softest, sweetest voice came over the radio. "Thank you, Edward."

"Don't thank me. Just hang in there, Bella."

"Ten-four."

~o~H&E~o~

A/N… I think some of you will take a deep breath now that the kids and Esme are out of the building. And most of you have already guessed that Carlisle has flipped the mercenary switch, so he's working on some shit.

I'd say relax, but it would be a lie. I need you to keep all hands inside the vehicle until it comes to a complete stop. This is nowhere near being over.

Okay… All the pic teasers are still on FB and Twitter. IF YOU MISS IT… The pics post on my blog when the chapters go up. Just so you know… Until next week… Mooches, Deb ;)