Jasper - Break-ins - Chapter 12
After they left, I felt like I would almost faint, if vampires could do that. I had no memory of that as a possibility.
I had made love to my wife all night almost, after we discussed the plan. We held each other so painfully close, and I couldn't remember the last time we were so loving, so intimate. It could have been the last time. My eyes pricked but I tried to stop. I had cried more in the last 48 hours more than I ever did. I did in the shower, hunting, and in Alice's arms. I didn't want her to see but I wasn't strong enough. There was no point to life without her. But I had to make this one final bid. To save her and destroy the enemy. Edward was right. They would never leave us in peace, until they were dead. The person who needed to die the most in my eyes was Demitri. That way if I died, Alice could still have a chance to run. I know Edward felt the same. I didn't care who I killed as long as someone got Dimitri. I made Alice promise me to live on if I died. She made me promise the same. However, I wasn't about to keep that promise.
We were smart enough to keep the bulk of the plan from them in case Bella's shield did eventually fail. And the plan was insane. It was a good thing we were going to kill them. Because we were attacking in broad daylight, and we were revealing ourselves to some degree. Edward wanted them out within a week. I didn't see how it was possible.
Everyone in Tanya's family was coming but only Benjamin was coming from Egypt and only Zafrina from the rainforest. This was fine with me. They were the ones we needed. Benjamin was to set opponents on fire. Zafrina was to blind everyone she could and stand next to Bella you protect her. I was to find our family in the castle and break them out. Carlisle and Edward were to focus on the ancients and Demitri. Everyone else was a soldier.
I thought about Simon, our newborn. I didn't think it was right bringing a child into battle. But with basic training he could be one of our strongest fighters, albeit, strongest, not the most skilled. I was training with him every night, while his mate watched with a terrified expression. He was to remain behind with Seth on the reservation. Sam was sending a few wolves, splitting them to protect the tribe. He had a baby, and Emily convinced him he needed to stay home. She was right. I was also glad that Seth wasn't going, because he was a really nice kid, and really was too young to do this. He would be a liability that we would need to protect and we couldn't afford any. We were getting Embry, Jared, Paul, Leah, and Brady. And we would have Jacob. He held Quill back. Jared and Paul found it almost impossible to leave their mates, but they did anyway. Everyone knew that if this failed, they would send fighters to kill the tribe next. This had to be done for the sake of everyone's future. Jacob told Leah not to come but she refused to listen. She was his beta, and she was going. They met us at the house the next day just as Tanya's family was arriving. It was really quite a reunion. Rose and Emmett and whoever they managed to bring would be back by the end of the week. Edward and I began training everyone as soon as possible. But in the evenings, we discussed the final part of the plan. Just us and Carlisle.
We were going to a United States Military base. We were stealing fighter jets, and we would crash them into the castle.
And where were we going to break into? The United States military base in Italy of course. Edward had researched all of this in the past day. The air base was called Aviano Air Base, and we determined that the type of planes that were there were F-16 Fighting Falcons. The name seemed right for what we needed. After I pointed out that it would be difficult to figure out how to fly a plane in 5 minutes, even as vampires, Edward hacked several websites with his laptop and pulled up a manual. He read it in an hour. Then he taught the other two of us how to fly it. He was also going to teach Garret and Eleazar.
We needed Emmett on the ground leading the ground team because they could pick up our scent easily in an attack, we had to go in first. Then the ground team had to come up next. The wolves may have had the very most important job. They were to surround the castle and not let anyone escape. We could afford no survivors. Benjamin would drench the castle in flames. Zafrina would blind who she could. Kate would fight with her stinging gift. Bella would hold the shield from inside, but we knew as soon as they realized what was happening they would probably assassinate her first. We needed to get her out.
Benjamin would also cause earthquakes and anything else we needed. I would attempt to subdue them with my gift, but also take out as many as I could; especially Jane and Alec. They were the only ones who seemed to have any power in the guard at all, other than Chelsea, and she wasn't necessary to focus on. Honestly, the ancients weren't special either. Their fighters were.
We also realized we needed to kill the half vampires no matter what. Carlisle suggested sparing them, but Edward had said that they needed to kill them and something in his expression led me to believe that he knew something. He also absolutely wouldn't give it up. I didn't care. As far as I was concerned, they all needed to burn.
If we were careful and our fighters with gifts were protected, we probably wouldn't suffer casualties. We would totally survive the airplane crashes. We just needed them as a humongous distraction. Plus we didn't mind the idea of the human governments dropping bombs. If that happened we would retreat and surround the castle to make sure no one else got away. I just hopped we could get our people out to avoid a hostage situation. I knew that if we assembled all these people to fight, no hostage situation would prevent them from attacking. I felt sickened. My poor Alice. I couldn't. The others felt great sympathy for Edward and I. They treated us like glass. But the two of us did not crumple. We powered through with an almost deadly focus, because that's all we could do now. I didn't think any other vampire in the group was more lethal than us. I felt a constant blinding rage. And tasted metal on my tongue. Edward felt similar. Eventually the others began keeping out of our way because they knew that was the best.
When Emmett and Rose returned we were happy. Benjamin was the same and eager to be there. He loved the plan but wished he could fly the Jets. So did Emmett but honestly he was too big and we needed him to run the ground team. He was exasperated, but understood. Zafrina needed protecting. And she was on the ground. Benjamin did convince us to let him parachute with us from one of the planes but of course that meant not having a parachute at all and just jumping. He claimed he could make a better impact on the weather from the sky. We told him we couldn't have anything to disrupt the planes, he understood.
I worked with the wolves in the evenings to perfect their fighting skills, even though they had trouble accepting advice for me. Embry was the easiest one to work with. Jacob was his best friend. The hardest one to work with was Paul, who was very hot headed and stubborn. The others told him to cool it though, and that sort of helped.
We prepared to ship out on Friday. We already booked the plane tickets essentially buying out a whole plane. We didn't care. The ones stealing the airplanes would fly into Venice and then steal the planes. It wouldn't take long to get to Volterra. The ground team would fly into Florence. Once they saw the planes or got contact from me, they would move in. We would get there first, and then they would right behind us, sealing off every way out.
I felt confident in the plan, as long as we didn't hit our family with the planes. We seriously thought about sending in Simon first to tell them about the planes, because the Volturi had no idea he was a Cullen. We would send him underground. Plus it was nice for us to have someone with thoughts on the inside to communicate with Edward on the outside. We continued to entertain the idea as we flew to Italy. He was all for it, but I didn't want to send him in alone. Unfortunately the Volturi could identify the rest of us so it didn't seem possible. All the wolves included. That's why we were still undecided when we ran. Simon would take a car in, and text us once the others knew to duck and cover from planes crashing into the building. Absolute warfare, that they absolutely deserved. In the end, we decided there were too many cameras for Simon to go. He agreed.
We broke off into teams in Italy and myself, Edward, Benjamin, Garret, Carlisle, and Eleazar left for the air base. It felt incredible, honestly, to be doing something so radical, because I wanted to crush every vampire in the building, save my family, into dust. My bloodlust would not be satisfied until everyone was dead. And the purple fires painted the sky.
We broke in at night and the funny thing was how easy it was too penetrate an Air Force Base as a vampire. No gate, lock, or door stopped us. we avoided tripping the alarm until we actually got into the room with the planes. Oh well. They would find out soon anyway. The world was watching. Good. More attack planes. Even if they shot us out of the sky we would jump first and survive. Then find more planes to steal. Eleazar and Benjamin ripped the hanger open with minimal effort. And we climbed into 5 fighter jets. With Edward's training, it was a cinch. Benjamin rode on my plane. They followed me out. I loved fast cars, and this was incredible. I had never moved so fast in a vehicle. The best part was we were not immediately pursued but eventually I knew we would be.
We came up on Volterra fast. I got a call from the ground team and they confirmed they were in position. Excellent. Emmett also had concentrated and attempted to send Alice a vision. Hopefully it would work. We formed a V, me at the head. Edward called to say that he picked up on their thoughts, and Bella had turned her shield off so he could hear her. She was saying his name. Alice got that message, he couldn't hear Jake or the others and that made him feel anxious but there was nothing we could do. Bella told him the ancients didn't know. Good. When they heard the planes, they assumed it was an exercise. Bella dropped the shield so Edward could see where they were. he gave the coordinates for the rest of us to avoid and that was helpful. But then the shield went back up and I could feel it close over myself. Excellent. By the time they were in sight of the castle, the ancients must have been worried. It was too late. The impact of my plane was stunning. I was smart to throw myself up and out before it hit. Strong or not, it probably would have crushed me to some degree, and slowed me down. Edward circled and slammed into the other side. Right before I hit myself there was an incredible gathering of clouds and a tornado touched down right next to the castle. It was Benjamin. He threw himself off and held his arms wide, creating the tornado. Lightning ripped across the sky. I felt like it was derived from my very soul. I wondered how much fun it would be to electrify an ancient. I should have asked Benjamin to try to do that. Benjamin flew with the wind, away from the impact zone. In a matter of moments I felt the others hit, but not before two of them blew out the windows with fire power.
The castle could not withstand such an attack. It crumbed immediately. I threw myself in through a hole and dropped to the ground. There was dust and debris flying everywhere but I could still see through it. I moved as fast as I could to Alice's beautiful scent. I missed her so much it was like a wound. As I charged I heard Edward come up and Carlisle close behind him. When we burst into the main room we stopped at a scary sight. Felix was holding Alice by the throat and it was clear he would kill her. I froze. Aro had Bella and Caius had Ness.
"Stop or they die!" Shrieked Aro and we stopped. But it was far too late and maybe they knew it. One moment later and I knew they were blind. Zaphrina was here. Winds going almost 200 miles per hour burst through the windows and swept us aside and we slammed into the wall but it also hit the ancients and they lost their hold on our family. Emmett broke through the wall like a Bull elephant, right into Felix. I dashed forward to get to Alice.
"Baby," I moaned. She looked up at me and into my eyes, and I felt the most profound and painful relief I had ever felt.
"I'm fine," she said and swung onto my back. "Go," she snarled. With the shield protecting us I threw myself at Dimitri. He fought and had unerring skill but he wasn't a match for how fast Alice was and how lethal I was. Flames rose up from Benjamin and engulfed every vampire crumpled on the floor. The ancients realized this fight was too much and they tried to flee. I knew the ground team would handle them. Edward had Bella and Ness although they look slightly injured. I knew it would be fine. Our kind healed quite well as long as we weren't burned. As more as our fighters joined us, I was elated to see Garrett taking out one member of the guard after another. He was a soldier. The battle was a mess of limbs and insanity. Flames and screams and the ripping and keening of body parts. Agony ripped through me and I noticed that I lost an arm. I wasn't worried because I had before and it had been reattached. Alice scooped it up and told me she had it. We needed to protect it from the flames. We joined my brothers and left the main room behind trying to penetrate the rest of the castle to find Jake and anyone hiding. Simon caught up with us and told us that he heard Jake shouting from below. Edward took off after Simon to get him. I heard howling and several wolves burst into the remains of the castle. I also heard more airplanes ahead and realized we were about to be bombed. Time to go. Minutes later Edward and Simon returned with Jake who looked haggard but intact. He turned back to find Ness in the great room, in wolf form. We found three of them hiding none of them the ancients. But it was almost ecstasy to find Jane. Edward laughed in delight. She couldn't hurt us with the shield. Zafrina must have been protecting Bella. Suddenly she clutched her eyes and screamed because she probably was blinded or being shown a really bad image by Zafrina. Edward and Emmett caught her but I ripped her head off and it was delightful. we carried of the pieces with us and dumped it on a pile Benjamin was getting to. I heard the first of the bombs explode behind us and we were thrown through the air. Edward gasped because someone we knew must have got hurt,because he was fine, it was a mental tip off. He sprinted off but I rushed Alice and myself to safety. More bombs exploding behind us. People were fleeing and I couldn't tell if they were good or bad but I launched myself out of a window feeling it break and tumbled down the hill with Alice clutching my back. I caught sight, as I tumbled Edward pulling a wolf to safety, slapping the head off of a Volturi soldier. It looked like Leah. Jacob smashed through a crumbling wall after I did with Ness on his back. I didn't see Bella but I assumed she was safe because I still felt the shield. Our fighters raced into the woods as the fire followed, catching the trees. The wolves surrounded us carrying wounded comrades. We fled to a nearby river. Once safely away from the flames we gathered our wounded in the center. Edward and Carlisle moved quickly to treat everyone. Someone, Alice, carefully attached my arm. She ripped cloth to hold it into place. I knew in days it would reform. Esme was hurt bad and Carlisle tended to her, although I could see him crying. I prayed she wouldn't die. Leah apparently was in critical condition. The wolves flew with her to a nearby hospital where they were going to phase back. I didn't know how they would explain the body temperature.
Jake was lying down, covered in cuts, but I could tell he would be fine. Once Carlisle tended to Esme and Rosalie watched over her he moved, to help set the bones of all the injured werewolves. Apparently we lost some Volturi but we would stay in the area to hunt them down. Able bodied fighters had already taken off after them. Thankfully the nomads and Tanya's family killed all the half vampires. They couldn't leave anyone. My niece was safe even though her hair was singed and she had soot on her face. She sat with Jake.
According to Emmett, because of Bella's shield, we hadn't lost any fighters; only had severe injuries and possibly Leah, but she must have already been taken to the hospital by now, they were very fast. As soon as Carlisle he was done he was going to race after them to see what he could do. One of the werewolves called Sam to deliver the good news and also tell him about Leah which couldn't have been easy. Afterward all the wolves that weren't injured out in the hunting teams followed to go to the hospital to see about Leah and Carlisle went with them.
Edward and Bella joined us, sitting on the ground. "I have never been more invigorated or terrified in my life and I can't believe we won," Edward said.
"I knew we would because of our gifts," I said. "Are the ancients dead?" I asked.
"The pack killed Caius, and I killed Aro," he said, eyes stony.
"Where is Marcus?" I asked.
"He wasn't there, but if I remember from last time, the ancients were not pleased with him. It could be they got rid of him on their own. Alice will keep an eye out for him even though he was never really a threat. He didn't care about us at all. He never liked fighting or war," he said.
"Do you think the world has just found out about vampires?" Bella asked.
"I'll watch for it but the castle burned to the ground, including all the remains. We're going to go back to the base today and get all the footage of you guys," she added. I thought that included me. But it was likely she wouldn't let me with my arm. That was fine, I wasn't worried about her anymore, probably never again. I smiled.
"So what now?" Bella asked.
"We won't be able to fly out of the country because they will have closed all the airports thinking this was a terrorist attack. I would say a ship out of Africa," Edward said indifferently. Then he got up and went to sit next to Jake.
I overheard him ask if he was okay, and then Edward looked agonized. He held his head in his hand. Jake must have been in a lot of pain. He reached out a hand to rest on his shoulder. I didn't exactly get it, because he didn't even need treatment. I reached out to taste his mood and was shocked to find almost no emotion; numbness. I'd need to find out later. I'd never felt that in him before. Edward looked at me and I knew he read my thoughts. Then he turned back to Jake and said something quietly. Jake nodded.
"I'm so sorry brother, we will get you home," he said louder. It sounded more serious than what I thought, and so maybe something else was going on. Everyone who was uninjured joined us on the ground in a circle.
"Excellent job Bella you're the best," said Benjamin.
"You saved our lives with those winds. You blew us right out of their hands, thank you," she returned. He overheard Simon talking on the phone to who I assumed was Bram to tell him the good news. About an hour later Carlisle called Edward and told him that they managed to stabilize Leah, which made everyone feel relieved. They didn't even want a single death on their hands. I agreed. We were the luckiest vampires on Earth. But eventually we agreed we had to flee the area before the government moved in. Some of us picked up the injured and began to move through the trees. Alice walked with me, keeping an eye on me.
"I'm fine," I told her even though It was very painful. It took us a full day to reach the Mediterranean. We used several small boats to make it to Egypt, although by the end we needed to swim. Emmett carried me. Apparently this didn't bother the wolves at all. But at least one of them stayed behind with Leah because they couldn't move her yet. Carlisle found a safe house for her where the government wouldn't find them. He estimated they could move in a few days. And some of us would help them.
In Africa we managed to buy a plane using cash. It was small and old, but after a close inspection by Rosalie, it was deemed safe. We flew into California and drove back to Washington. Leaving our conspicuous Egyptian old plane behind. Oh well. Some of us broke off along the journey to go home. Zafrina missed her rainforest and Benjamin stayed in Egypt. The nomads also stayed behind to go to Europe, not crossing the Mediterranean.
Tanya's family stayed behind to go to Forks with us, wanting to spend time together. Bram and Seth drove up from the reservation and Simon rushed to them to yank Bram out of the car and crush him to his chest. I felt their rush of emotion. Almost all the emotions were euphoric but again, strangely, Jake's were not. I gazed at him, confused, when he said he wanted to go back to La Push and Ness went with him, also feeling confused. I looked at Edward because I suddenly felt a stab of remorse. Yes, something was going on, but it would have to wait because it seemed like no one was revealing why.
Garrett was delighted to go hunting with us to experience the game. Kate was very much in love, always touching him. Alice said I wasn't allowed to go until my arm healed. I was perfectly content, lying in her arms in our room and letting her nurse me. She kissed my arm continuously and I didn't feel as much pain, at least I imagined it that way. I never wanted to let her out of my sight again. The relief I felt at having her back was physically painful. And that night we cried again in our profound relief. She stroked my hair back, took off my clothes, and touched every part of my body. She traced my scars on my face. Checking me over, memorizing all of me again. I guided her hand to me and she obligingly gave me incredible blissful relief, only I wasn't allowed to do anything but lie down. That didn't stop her in creative ways to pleasure me. She was very gentle but it felt so good. I couldn't even think. I had to bite back outbursts each time I felt a climax in pleasure. She loved all of me, and it was clear. She didn't stop until daylight came, and I admitted my body was exhausted, possibly because I was healing too. But the sex erased the pain all night. I wished I could sleep. She kissed my abdomen and curled up on my chest, loving me. She told me she had a vision of me healing by the end of the night. Good, I wanted to repay her in pleasure, even though she was able to last night also a few times. I let myself zone out. The closest thing to sleeping. She let me, wanting me to rest.
When we left our room for the day we found out the good news that almost everyone had recovered and I could feel my arm getting better every hour. But I knew something was up with Edward. But there was nothing I could do. He wasn't sharing.
We spent some time in the yard hanging out and trading stories. Simon and Bram wanted to learn more about our histories. I decided not to share the bulk of mine at the current time. Ness was there, but Jake wasn't and I could tell she was stressed too. And I knew that Jake was at the root of this of all the stress that they were feeling. Bella didn't seem to know though, and she was chatting away with Simon and Bram about how Edward used to sneak into her room at night and Charlie had no idea.
Time would tell what was wrong. I only hoped it wasn't too serious.