A/N… I hope everyone had a good Christmas or Kwanzaa or Hanukkah or Festivus or at the very least a good week. ;) I'll let you get to it…

~o~H&E~o~

Chapter 11

BELLA

Somewhere beyond the ringing in my ears, I could hear yelling and arguing. Edward's voice soothing me over the guard I'd killed had only lasted a minute. The second his voice disappeared, I'd started to shake.

The guard from the door was losing it. He was in Kim's face, gesturing with his weapon, but the only thing I could focus on was Carlisle's voice.

"Easy, sweetheart. You didn't do anything wrong. Listen to my voice. Focus on me."

My face was in his hands, his lips at my forehead. He couldn't give a damn about the fighting or the upset guard. He was intent on keeping me grounded.

"You're stronger than all of us put together, so don't let them get to you. This is nothing, Bella."

My breathing started to even out, the spots in my vision clearing a little. When I could see beyond Carlisle, my eyes widened. Dean was nose-to-nose with the upset guard, speaking threateningly in Korean, wearing a menacing smile.

Dean caught my gaze, smirking a little. "Apparently the guy you just sent down seventy stories was this guy's baby brother. I told him he should've taught his brother better manners…or better fighting skills."

Mickey barked a laugh. "Oh, my damn… Well, that must suck. Now just what you gonna tell Mom?"

Even Carlisle cracked a small smile on that one, but our amusement was short-lived. The older brother rammed the butt of his rifle into Dean's stomach, and he would've done it again had Kim not intervened and sent him back to the door.

Dean groaned, hissing a few curses, but seemed to be okay when Kim roughly put him back into his chair.

Kim walked back to the desk, picked up his radio, and his instructions made Dean grimace.

"He's sending for more guards."

Carlisle sighed in frustration but said nothing. Over my earpiece, I could hear that Alice was leading the proverbial wild goose chase on the computer for these guys. She was blocking them, leading them to where she wanted them, which meant she wasn't exactly doing what Carlisle asked. She was stalling.

Before I could give that much more thought, Jacob's patience and silence evaporated.

"Between you and that fucking asshole you're married to, you're gonna get us all killed," he sneered.

I knew my ex well enough to know he was scared, which I understood, but I'd never had much willpower when it came to my temper and Jacob fucking Black. I'd known him too long.

"You'll keep your mouth shut, Jake, or I'll knock every fucking tooth you've got down your throat," I warned him. "A damn shame, considering how long you wore braces."

"He's the one out there, isn't he?" he asked in a hiss, sitting forward.

"Hey, Black?" Mickey said slowly and threateningly. "Unless you feel you could do something useful, you might want to sit back and let the grownups get you out of trouble, huh?"

"Fuck you," Jake sneered, his dark eyes flashing with his temper.

"Jacob, you'll do well to remember who you're talking to and about," Carlisle threatened him in a low tone.

My ex glared at Carlisle, and I knew he was weighing out his options – which weren't very many – but when he muttered the words, "I don't give a fuck who he is; he's gonna get us killed," I was out of my seat and landing on him in rage.

With a rough knee to his groin, I swung hard with my bound hands across his already sore face.

Gripping his throat as best I could, I leaned to his face. "You'll shut the fuck up, Jacob," I hissed at him. "He's the only goddamn hope you've got, so you might want to remember that. If you want to see JW again, you'll keep your mouth closed."

The mention of his son caught his attention more than the fact that I was threatening his life. My ex was a jealous idiot who could negotiate million-dollar deals but couldn't seem to wrap his head around the fact that the guards in this room would kill him just as soon as blink, especially if they received some sort of information from him.

Carlisle's office doors opened, and in rushed three more guards, two of whom pointed their weapons my way. The numbers had gone from three to six. However, as I was shoved back down into my seat next to Carlisle, I noticed things were changing. The guy at the desk was still typing away, but Kim faced us all with a smile as he walked to Jacob.

"You, on your feet," he told him, and Jacob stood on shaky legs. Kim glanced from my ex to me and then back. "I don't think she likes you much."

Mickey snorted. "Master of the obvious, over here."

Kim even cracked a smile on that one, turning to Jake. "What did you do?"

Jacob rolled his eyes and shook his head, opting to now stay quiet. Fuckwit.

"I suppose it doesn't really matter, anyway," he said offhandedly, but he turned to Carlisle, pointing to me. "Who is she to you?"

"My goddaughter."

In one word, Carlisle kept his son still secret, still unnoted. The term father-in-law would've meant someone out there was angry, possibly working against him. He'd also just ensured that I wouldn't leave his side, even if they tried to use me against him.

"She stays, then," Kim said, snapping his fingers. "You two, on your feet." He snapped his fingers at Mickey and Dean, and they did as he said. "And you." His final pointed finger was at Angela, who stood up and started to shake. Looking to his guards, he said, "Take these four downstairs to the auditorium. Put them with the head of security and then kill them. We're late on the next five."

When Carlisle started to argue, several weapons engaged. Seong cried out, holding on to her father, because the rifles were aimed at the four of us who would be left behind. I locked gazes with Mickey before the new guards marched her and the rest of them out of Carlisle's office.

"Cullen, I'm done fucking around with you. I need you to cooperate. I need you to call whoever you know down there, and you'll tell them to start meeting my demands." He leaned in closer. "You may have killed George Stefan, Carlisle, but you weren't alone. You had help…US government help, and you're going to use that to get me what I want."

He waved us forward, guiding Carlisle by a firm grip on his shoulder. At the window, he pointed down to the park below, where military units were already set up and functioning. The standoff at the barricades was palpable, even from this far up. Off to the side of the building a helicopter hovered, side bay doors open, showing men armed and ready. Glaring hard back down below, I looked for any sign of someone I knew, but every moving body down there was too small to recognize.

Kim turned us back around to face the room while handing Carlisle his phone. "Call them. Call them now."

Carlisle scrolled through his phone, purposefully skipping his son's name and landing on Eleazar. He hit Send, and at the same time, I reached up to rub my temple, carefully pressing the commlink in my ear because my crew needed to hear this as it happened, whether they were with Eleazar or not.

"El, it's Carlisle. I need you to listen to me."

~o~H&E~o~

EDWARD

The sound of Velcro ripping open, of weapons being checked, and of Jasper's humming as he babied that sniper of his were all that could be heard in the tent filled with supplies, weapons, and ammo.

There was the occasional shift of footing from a few young, rather nervous soldiers. Most of the boys were Air Force from McChord, though there were some Navy boys thrown in, not to mention a few others. The Seattle-Tacoma area had military processing centers, Air Force bases, Naval bases, and Army Reserves. They were all mixed in here. And they were all answering to Eleazar Platt, but from the looks on their faces, they weren't quite sure why we were gearing up and they weren't. Well, most of them weren't. El had handpicked a few men to take the building with us, including himself.

One particular kid was a little miffed about it, but I swear to fucking God, he hadn't even shaved yet. However, he caught Emmett's attention.

"Settle down, Airman. You'll have plenty of chances to fuck shit up. Just not today," Emmett stated without emotion as he strapped himself down with more firepower than a normal man should carry.

The young guy caught sight of Emmett's Air Force tattoo – one very similar to mine – on his arm, and his eyes widened.

"Who are you guys?" he asked, and I smirked over to Jasper and then Alec.

When I looked back at the kid, I caught his name. "Sweeney, there are times when rules need to be broken, off-limits places need to be breeched, and when experience beats out eagerness." I raised an eyebrow his way. "We're the ones called when you aren't allowed to go."

Jasper grinned, nodding a little as he reassembled his weapon. "We put the word black in Black Ops. We are the assholes who do the things that don't exist on paper. Got me?"

"Oh." He nodded, cracking a small smile. "Why here? This is a legit attack."

"Because the man who invented this crew owns and is trapped inside that building," Alec stated, pointing toward Twi Tech. "And he's Ed's dad…and Ed's wife is up there too, not to mention two members of our crew. So forgive us for stepping on toes, but this shit has now become personal."

"Cullen?"

"Yeah," I grunted, strapping on a black tactical vest and pulling my cap back on.

"Apache pilot."

"I was," I answered, loading up a bag with equipment, my cargos with clips, and slipping knives into my boots. "Until I fucked my knee up. Now I'm this."

That was a lie, but the kid didn't need to know my life's fucking story. I wasn't this anymore. I'd stopped being a mercenary the second I lifted Bella up off a metal table in a dungeon of terror. I stopped being the cold, angry soldier for hire the second I realized my life belonged to her. However, I couldn't ever seem to let it go for long before I had to bring it back. Shaking my head, I could hear my girl now, and she'd tell me I was just doing what I had to do, trained to do, but deep down, I'd always be the stuttering teenage boy she'd met in her treehouse that day so long ago.

Fuck, I needed my wife. I wasn't sure how much longer she could handle being restrained up there. Time was fucking ticking, and these assholes were getting closer and closer to what they wanted, and soon they would no longer need their hostages.

I let out a deep sigh, looking to Alec. "Be ready in five. I need to see my kids and Esme."

"Roger that," Alec replied. "Be there in a moment."

"Hold up, Ed," Emmett called, grabbing his own gear. "I'll come with you. Rosie wants to talk to Caleb."

I pulled my bag and sig across my shoulder, and we stepped out and walked over to the small mess tent.

Eleazar and Esme were sitting at a table. The kids were at another table, but Bethy and Sammy rushed to me. I sat down on a bench, setting them each on a leg and hugging them.

"Are you taking Lock and Load with you?" Sammy asked me, pointing to the pile of gray, black, and white fur in the corner of the tent. They'd eaten, and the kids had removed their vests, so they were passed the hell out for the moment.

"Nah, they're gonna watch over you guys," I told him.

"Dad, we're sitting in the middle of a bunch of soldiers," Bethy drawled, rolling her eyes. "I'm pretty sure we're okay. They should watch over you."

Smiling her way, I chuckled when I kissed her temple. "You sound like your mother, little sweetness."

Bethy giggled, and she grabbed either side of my face. "Well, she is the boss, you know."

Laughing, I nodded, and some of my pent-up stress evaporated for a minute. "Fine, I'll take them. I'll need to get those vests back on them."

"I'll do it," Sammy said quietly, getting up from my lap. Both dogs sat up when he got to them, waiting patiently as he strapped them back down.

"Dad, are you going to get her?" Bethy asked worriedly, glancing down at her hands as she played with my fingers.

"We're planning to, but we have to stop them from killing the hostages first."

Her eyes snapped up to mine. "Okay. And then you'll go?"

Tilting my head at her, I asked, "Are you still wearing the commlink?"

She covered her ear like I'd take it from her. "Yes."

"Good, then you can hear me. Hear your uncles. Even your mom if she can talk. Mm'kay?" I smirked a little, adding, "Just don't tally up the swear jar today. We'll all file bankruptcy."

Bethy giggled, biting her bottom lip. "Didn't you say all the rules were kinda broken today?"

"I did."

"Well, there you go."

"I love you, little sweetness," I told her honestly, hugging her tightly.

"Love you, too, Daddy. Be safe."

Sammy walked back to us. "They're ready for you, Dad."

Bethy got down from my lap, and Sammy took her place, fiddling with the vest I was wearing. "You want the drone?" he asked, looking up at me with eyes so much like Bella's I couldn't help but squeeze him closer. "Maybe it'll help."

"I'm not as good with that thing as you are, pal," I told him with a laugh.

"Uncle Em is, and it's charged up." My son jerked a thumb behind him toward his drone at the table.

With that said, Emmett's head snapped up from his video call with Rose and Caleb. "You know what, Sam, I'll take it. If something happens to it, you can have the one at the office. Okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Sammy agreed with a nod and a shrug of his shoulders. "Whatever helps you get Mom and Poppy."

"Hey, hey…" I whispered, making him look my way. "Buddy, look at me." When Sammy's sad, dark eyes met mine, I brushed his hair from his forehead. "You guys have been amazing. Okay? You've been brave and strong and so smart. I am beyond proud of you. You have already helped. You need to know that before we do this. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have gotten this far. Got me, little soldiers?"

"Yes, sir," both my kids answered.

We looked up when the tent opened, and Alec and Airman Sweeney walked in. The latter still looked like he'd fight tigers, and I shot a quick look to Eleazar.

"El, I'm gonna put your guys to work."

"Whatever you need, Ed," he said offhandedly.

"Sweeney," I called him, and the kid walked to me. "You want in?" I asked him, and he nodded vehemently. "Good. You'll guard these kids and that woman over there with your life. Know someone you can trust?"

"Yeah, Hobbs."

"Go get Hobbs, and then these five lives are in your hands. Nothing touches them. You keep them safe, away from the fighting, and hidden. Copy?" I asked, standing up in front of him after setting Sammy on his feet. "If something happens, Sweeney…"

"It won't, sir," he answered. "I swear on my life."

"Then go get Hobbs. Double-time."

I looked to Bethy. "Do what they tell you. If something happens, Gamma's got her phone. Worst case, get yourselves to Aunt Mickey's place." I looked to Esme, who was walking to us and nodding.

"Okay, Daddy."

Esme cupped my face. "You be careful. Use your head, not your temper."

"Yeah, Mom," I told her, sounding an awful lot like my son, which made her laugh softly.

"I think your dad is keeping Bella close for a reason. With him, she's safe, even if she could get away."

Nodding, I opened my mouth to say something, but El's phone started to ring. "Ed, it's your dad. C'mon, we'll take this in the communications tent. I want Boris to listen in."

I hugged Esme and kissed my kids quickly, following him out and to the tent next over.

Eleazar set his phone down and answered it on speaker. "Platt."

"El, it's Carlisle. I need you to listen to me."

At the same time, the commlink clicked on, and Alec and I locked gazes when we could hear all the sides to the conversation, which meant Bella needed us all in on whatever this conversation would reveal. I snapped a finger, pointing to my ear, and Boris spun around in his seat facing the multiple computer screens, one of which was filled with my info team in Forks. They all started typing and working at the same time my dad started to speak.

"Carlisle, you okay?"

"I'm fine, but the next five in the auditorium won't be, so I need you guys to do what I tell you."

I shot a look over to Boris, who whispered, "Kim's sent Mickey, Dean, Jacob Black, and Angela Cheney out of Carlisle's office. Another member of Twi Tech Security is already on the stage." He pointed to the live feed from the auditorium, where Darren was standing alone. "The rest are having to take the stairs. Time is ticking."

Nodding, I went back to Eleazar and his phone, but I also caught Ben before he could say anything. I gave one shake of my head.

"Kim Min-Jun needs all troops removed from the Korean DMZ, the Navy fleets pulled away into Intercoastal waters, and you to remove yourselves from your location across the street in the park. He also needs an airplane fueled and at the ready on the tarmac, and if you can't provide that, then I will have my own personal plane and pilot at his disposal."

My eyes narrowed. My dad never did anything without thinking it through, and I also knew his current pilot wasn't even in the city. The old man who used to fly for Charlie was currently across the country attending his grandson's wedding. Which meant…

I was his personal pilot.

"Well, fuck me," I said under my breath. "He's all sorts of up to something."

"Carlisle, you know as well as I do that only the US president can make that call. And it would take days to remove our troops from a place we've occupied since the fifties."

That was an outright lie because all occupied locations were made and trained to evacuate at a moment's notice. It was the same in the desert, so I knew Korea would be no different.

"I'm aware that you can make things happen, Eleazar," my dad urged, and he leaned on the one word my info team caught more than anyone.

"Oh, oh, oh!" Alice squeaked, typing like a maniac. "Smoke and mirrors. Is that what he wants? He wants us to fake it? Aw hell, Bella… Someone… One of you people need to give me a clue. If you want a made-up removal of troops, I've got to know! That kind of shit takes time, hacking into media, and major fuckery, especially if I'm going to make it look real. Which means I also have to cut off his communication back home. And someone needs to tell me when to let that little weasel upstairs through to the servers. He thinks he's in, but not a chance in hell, so you guys let me know."

Boris grinned her way and nodded, but we all waited for my dad's commands.

"Apparently, we've got to make up for our past deeds, Eleazar. Kim needs a clean exit, and he'll use the four of us to assure that happens."

Sneering, I glared at Eleazar, tapping my wrist.

"I need time, Carlisle. You've got to buy me time. It'll take two hours at least to even speak to someone in DC, if they aren't aware of this shit already."

There was shuffling over the phone, but through the commlink, I could hear Kim ask for the phone.

"You have thirty minutes," Kim stated, and the phone call ended.

"Edward, Edward, Edward," Alice called. "The security feed in Carlisle's office. Look!"

I rushed to look over Boris's shoulder. My Bella's eyes were locked on to the camera in the corner of the room, and she was giving silent signals as best she could with bound hands.

"Sweetness, we see you. Stop signaling before someone catches on. I'll ask questions. One finger for yes. Two fingers for no. Got me?" I asked, and she pointed one finger to the floor as she pretended to listen to Kim. "Good girl," I praised.

"Okay, first thing… Are you okay?"

One finger.

"Do we need to buy time? Keep Kim out of the server?"

One finger.

Nodding to Alice, she grinned. "Sweet. Keep going."

"Do we need to fake the news, baby?"

One finger, then two.

"Which is it, love?"

She locked those sweet eyes back on to the camera and shrugged.

"You don't know. Okay, okay. Fair enough. Does Dad still want us to take the first floor?"

One finger.

"Good, but know this… Once I'm inside, sweetness, I'm coming for you."

She made a fist, but then one finger pointed.

"Good girl. You know I love you, right?" I asked with a smirk.

One finger, and then her fingers shifted into the sign language signal for I love you as she took her seat back on the sofa next to my dad.

"One last question, my Bella… If I created enough diversion, do you think you could get away? Wanna play hide and seek?"

One finger and, with it, a small, mischievous smile.

"Excellent, baby. Last time was really fun, you know?" I teased her because I damn well couldn't help myself.

Bella had to hide her smile behind a bottle of almost empty water, but her cheeks flamed pink. I had to talk to her this way. I couldn't do this any other fucking way. I needed her smiling, not panicking and tossing fuckers out a seventy-story building, because she may be the strongest person I knew, but she was outnumbered almost twenty to one inside that goddamn building. For every man she removed, he'd be replaced. Eventually, her luck would run out.

Jasper chuckled, as did Alec, who squeezed my shoulder.

I stood up straight and faced the room. "Everyone, on me," I said, and the room got quiet. "The plan to take the auditorium still stands. We'll go on my say in two locations – the grate to the basement and the garage to the second floor. Two teams. Eleazar, you'll take the garage, come down to the auditorium via the stairs on the west side of the building. My team will come up from the basement and clear the lobby. We'll take the auditorium from the main doors and the backstage area. Once we clear that, we'll remove the remaining hostages and regroup, but I'll need another team to take to the top."

"Hooah!" they called back.

I turned to the computers. "Alice, I need that server to stay blocked until my say. That may be our diversion. Once he's got the locations of the weapons he wants, he's gonna want to move. At that point, he's still gonna need hostages to work his way out. He's also gonna need a landing pad for that helicopter of his. And he can't have mine." I raised my eyebrow at her.

Alice giggled, nodding. "Got it, Edward."

"Which means he'll need to get to the top of the parking garage," Alec pointed out. "And that exit from the building is…no more." He grinned, shooting a wink at Alice. "He'll have to go down to come back up, unless he has the chopper hover somewhere up top."

"I don't plan on his ass leaving this building alive," I stated, glancing over at the time. "We've got twenty-seven minutes before he thinks we should be pulling out of the DMZ. We probably have less than that before members of my crew are on the fucking chopping block in the auditorium. So…everyone into their teams and into position. We go in on my say – and go in dark and silent."

I walked out of the tent, and everyone followed. "Lock and Load, front and center!" I called, and both dogs darted out of the mess tent, with my kids behind them. "Love you," I told them both, and Sammy and Bethy waved nervously before replying back together.

"Be safe, Dad."

~o~H&E~o~

A/N… So Mickey, Dean, Angela, and Jacob are all on the chopping block next, with very little window of opportunity. And two teams are going in on the ground… I will tell you guys this… The next chapter is all Edward. He took control, which is his usual MO, so take that however you'd like.

Everyone please be safe for New Years. No drinking and driving. No unnecessary fuckery. But I hope 2018 is a good year for all of you.

I'll see you next week with teasers on Thursday or Friday and the update Sunday. Until then… Mooches, Deb ;)