Seventeen

"Are you positive that this is happening?" Leah asked, wincing at the cramps plaguing her legs. Along with Jacob and Embry, she spent the past hour crouching inside a van, parked several blocks away from Mike's Lounge. "'Cause, you know, Mike has a history of screwing us over."

It was the night of May 26th, the Saturday before Memorial Day, the three cops were all on the left side of the vehicle, looking through dark, tinted windows. Avoiding detection by their target or by party-goers (mostly drunk) rushing to and from the numerous bars in the area was a priority. The only things powered up in the van were their phones (in their pockets with the flash off) and Leah's surveillance equipment.

"Hey, man, Leah does have a point."

"Usually, I'd agree with you. But I think Paul's previous visit had scared him enough to cooperate," Jacob insisted. "Plus, if we find out he's been pulling our tails, we'll simply show up at his place with an arrest warrant. I'm sure Jenks would love seeing him in a holding cell."

Ain't that the truth, Leah thought. Jenks would probably find a way to demand promotions for the three detectives. The prosecutor had been after that man for years, but the club owner always found a way to have his case dismissed. Leah was pretty sure Jenks kept a master list of all of the charges he wanted to slap on him.

In a shocking turn of events, Mike had reached out to the detectives the night prior, claiming he had some information that they would find interesting. It was an odd move; the lounge owner usually did everything in his power to avoid speaking with the cops.

Leah still found it hard to believe him.

But Paul, surprisingly, had taken the lounge owner's word for it and sanctioned the cops to survey the area with that they were not to engage in any "action" unless it was an emergency, Paul had told them. Just identify every single person who was walking in and out of that lounge— it sounded easy enough.

"There are Maria's people," Leah announced at 9:45 pm. She knew most of the names of Maria's henchmen; she wanted to match the name with the person by taking a photo, but she was paranoid about being caught. Vampires could be extremely observant when they wanted to be.

"Truck pulling in at ten o'clock," Jacob confirmed. Soon, the detectives looked on together as the vehicle stopped at the side of the bar, and its crew started unloading the goods that suspiciously smelled like fresh blood. "That must be their stash. Quality human blood."

"Yum," Embry remarked sarcastically.

Still not used to the fact that the only thing vampires consumed was blood, Leah scrunched up her nose in disgust. She watched as the crew pulled out three barrels and rolled them into the bar. "Where did they get so much blood? That had to belong to at least a hundred people. From the hospital?"

Jacob and Embry glanced at each other and shrugged. "I wouldn't trust any blood from the hospital," Jacob told his partner. "You don't know if it's tainted with hepatitis or some other shit."

Embry looked he was about to say a joke, perhaps a distasteful one, but he contained himself by choosing a different route. "They got the blood from Maria's people. They have this whole underground business just for shipping large quantities of human blood. It's fucked up."

"Why blood from humans?" Leah asked, watching as the Cullens arrived at Mike's, all in separate cars, just like Mike had described. "Why not animals? Wouldn't that be easier? They could get away with it. I mean, PETA will be pissed off, but still…"

"They're already getting away with it, so why downgrade?" Jacob said. "Human blood is a delicacy—Wait," he leaned closer to the window, squinting his eyes. "Yo, Leah," he called out. "Ain't that Lauren?"

"Lauren, who?" Embry asked.

"Mallory?" Leah moved her binoculars to the direction her partner was pointing at. It was her alright, strutting inside the building in a black sequin party dress and heels, an outfit similar to Jessica's when she had died. Weird. "What the hell is she...?"

"Should we be concerned?" Embry wondered. "Who is she?"

"She's the roommate of Jessica Stanley," Leah said. "I don't understand. How on earth does she know about them?"

"Maybe Jessica mentioned something to her after all," Jacob suggested. "Make a note about this. We're gonna have to little chat with her tomorrow."

"Noted," Leah said. "If I knew she was going to be here, doing that, I would've made her a CI."

Jacob soon retrieved a small, white, unmarked spray bottle from his backpack and tossed it to Embry, who sprayed it all over himself before throwing it back to the detective. Once Jacob doused himself, he handed over the bottle to his partner. "Hey, spray this all over you."

Leah looked down at it. "What is it?"

"It masks your scent," Embry said. "It's a pain in the ass to get, but it works."

"Is this... legal?"

"I mean, it's not sold wholesale, if that's what you're wondering," Jacob said, and then, "Don't worry. We ain't gonna get in trouble for possession or anything."

"Oh, thanks," Leah said, deadpanned, staring at the white bottle. She didn't entirely trust it, but the other two men seemed perfectly fine. She took a sigh and began to spray the unscented substance all over her. Once done, she handed it back to her partner. "Why didn't we do this earlier?" she asked.

"We're gonna move closer," Embry replied. "Wanna see what's exactly going on in that party, and why the roommate of the Dahlia is in there."

"Exactly," Jacob confirmed. "Exactly. We're gonna be two buildings away; it'll be close enough for us to spy through the club windows," and then, "Okay, so here's the deal: we have to be quiet. Only speaking in whispers," he ordered. "If we have to communicate, we do it through text and make sure your phones on silent. Those leeches have good hearing."

Leah and Embry nodded.

"Em, I'm gonna need you to monitor the wire exclusively. We, thanks to the generosity of Jenks, have installed three main points inside the lounge," Jacob said. "You know what to do, right?"

Embry put two thumbs up. "Gotcha."

"And Leah," Jacob handed his partner a pair of headphones. "You've done surveillance before. Just keep an eye on out for everyone, especially Lauren Mallory, because she has no business attending that party."

Leah nodded. "And what are you going to do?"

"Make sure no one finds us."

The party inside Mike's Lounge was relatively uneventful. It was a standard suit-and-tie affair with a live band. Leah's focus was primarily on Mike Newton, who was near the bar, pacing around, keeping a careful eye out like a good lounge owner who needed to remain in the good graces of his guests.

Leah shifted her focus to Lauren. In terms of this investigation, the young woman was a non-factor, just a roommate of a murdered woman who also didn't have a criminal record. But the fact that Lauren was attending an invite-only party full of people who were connected to this coven-mob mess made Leah realize that perhaps this young lady should be on the police's radar.

Lauren was currently around the room, occasionally striking a conversation with some of the guests. She had managed to catch Mike's eye, and based on his expression, he was watching Lauren for the reason why Leah was; she didn't belong there.

"Dude, they're practically five seconds away from draining her," Embry remarked, and then asked, "Jacob, can't we just pull her out of there?"

"We can, but then you're gonna have to explain to Paul why we started an incident without his approval," Jacob said, leaning over to check out what the other two were seeing. He sighed, shook his head, and returned his attention to the other side of the street. "Just keep an eye on her."

"Will do," Leah said, watching the interaction between Mike and Lauren. He just waved. She waved back, then went on her way. Towards Carlisle, who, for the first time tonight, was sitting at the table. Alone.

Mike sighed.

Leah did the same.

She might not be a shapeshifter with heightened senses, but she could feel Lauren's uneasiness from the van. As the young woman walked past by a table full of guests, she cringed at the sight of a couple of them licking their lips, watching her every move. Like they wanted to eat her, and they weren't the only ones.

"Why is that?" Leah asked. "Is it because of her blood?"

"Like I said, human blood is a hot commodity." Jacob glanced at the screen and mumbled, "I don't know why she thought it was a good idea…"

"Maybe she wanted some excitement?" Embry offered. "I hear people are into that. Like they have some vampire-fetish."

"Do you think she knows?" Leah asked.

Embry and Jacob shrugged.

Sometime later, Leah picked up Carlisle speaking in a smooth voice. He was leaning back in a chair with a cigar in his hand, eyeing Lauren. The young woman stopped, turned around, and deeply blushed. "Bonsoir," she quietly greeted back.

"Parlez-vous français?"

"Un peu," Lauren stammered. She glanced at the seat next to her. "Est ce-que quelque personne utilize cette chaise?" she asked. The man shook his head "Puis-je m'asseoir?"

The man grinned. "Bien sûr."

"Merci beaucoup, Monsieur…"

"Cullen," Carlisle replied, leaning forward.

Carlisle smirked upon realizing that the woman seemed to appreciate his multilingual skills. "Comment t'appelles-tu, mon sucre d'orge?"

Leah adjusted her headphones over her ears and then the volume. He has a Parisian accent," Leah remarked. "He just referred to Lauren as his 'sugarplum'."

"What about her?" Embry asked.

"She was asking if the chair next to Carlisle was free," Leah commented, cringing at every word Lauren's made. She knew this was not the place to be criticizing someone's linguistic skills, but it made her sad the way Lauren pronounced simple words like "un peu" and "merci." She scoffed. "Her accent is atrocious."

"Snob," Embry remarked, grinning.

Leah rolled her eyes. "Shut up."

"Lauren..." Carlisle drawled out, nodding.

Lauren swallowed as the man leaned in closer. She looked around to see if anyone was watching them; thankfully, no one was—except for, of course, the cops, unbeknownst to Lauren and the rest of the guests.

"Lauren, what do you do for a living?"

"Nothing, really. I'm at school. Had a couple of retail jobs here and there..."

"Oh, retail? You're good at selling things?"

"Under the right motivation."

Carlisle laughed. "Oh, I'm going to like you."

"What do you do for a living, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I'm a businessman."

"Is she trying to take Jessica's place as vampire mobster's girlfriend?" Embry asked. "Uh, that shouldn't happen for obvious reasons. We should—"

"She's a grown woman," Leah said. She then from the sound of the man's voice over her headphones. He sounded so... predatory. It made her skin crawl. "She could do whatever the hell she wants."

"She's an idiot," Jacob mumbled under his breath.

Leah couldn't argue against that. Her focus remained on the "love birds" for another minute before turning to another interesting target: Edward Masen and Esme Cullen, who were both standing off to the side, engaging in a quiet conversation while keeping an eye on Carlisle and Lauren. "That man has some balls," she commented. "His wife is right there, and he's flirting with another woman."

The man could have at least respected his wife enough to do this in one of the back rooms.

"This isn't going to end well," Jacob said.

"He certainly has a type..." Edward told Esme as he handed her a glass of blood provided by a waiter passing by; she looked like she needed one or three. After Esme thanked him, he turned around and frowned at the sight of his boss, whispering sweet nothings into a young woman's ear.

"Edward, dear, you don't want to waste on good quality blood on your clothes, do you?"

Edward looked down and was a bit shocked at the sight of the broken wine glass in his hand; he hadn't even realized he was holding it. "Apologies," he whispered, embarrassed that he'd let his emotions get the best of him.

"Oh, there's no need to apologize," Esme said, giving Edward a soft smile. She grabbed a napkin from the table next to them and carefully helped Edward dispose of the mess. "I appreciate the sentiment. It's nice to know that there's someone here who…" she let out a sigh. "They can at least get a room."

Edward turned and shook his head at the couple. The young lady was now running her hand up and down Carlisle's thigh. "Do you want to leave?" he quietly offered. "You don't have to see this..."

"You are a doll, Edward," Esme said, wiping the rest of the blood off of Edward's palms. "Tanya will be glad to call you her husband."

"Wow, Edward's engaged to Tanya?" Embry glanced at Leah. "You got that down?"

"Yep," Leah confirmed.

"Wonderful," Jacob said.

"Good evening."

Mike nearly dropped the glass as he looked up to see Lauren pulling out a stool and sitting in front of him. She looked tired, but she tried to hide it with a broad smile.

"Evening," Mike replied. "Enjoying yourself?"

"I guess..." Lauren said with a shrug. She turned around and watched as everyone was poured another glass of red liquid. She quickly turned around, probably realizing what it truly was. "I don't want to sound, but…Are they... drinking blood?"

"Careful, dearie, they can hear you," Mike said. And to prove his point, a couple of guests glanced at Lauren, judging her. "With all due respect, what are you doing at a party like this?"

"I needed to go somewhere. Tired of being home," Lauren quietly replied. She looked at the row of bottles behind Mike. "I need a shot of tonic."

Mike laughed and shook his head. "Not around these people, you don't." He further explained when he was met with confused eyes. "How did you get an invite, anyway?"

"My friend."

"Friend?"

Lauren nodded. "Yeah, my friend, Jessica, invited me as a guest. She used to, um... work with, uh... them." She nudged her head in the Cullen's direction.

Mike looked at the family then back at Lauren, absolutely stunned. "Holy shit. You mean that dead girl?"

Lauren nodded again.

"That man whose lap you were sitting on, your friend worked for him. In many ways," Mike said then added, "He seems interested in you."

"Is that bad?" Lauren asked.

"Messing with married men generally is," Mike replied, but then felt bad for making the poor girl so nervous. She honestly had no idea what she was doing. "But he'll pay you well... enough."

Lauren gulped and began to sweat, realizing that perhaps she should have stayed home after all. "I'm not interested."

"You sure?" Mike asked. He chuckled when he received a heated glare. "I don't think he took it that way. He's interested in you, and given that he's, well... him, he's gonna get what he wants."

Leah could only shake her head as she listened to the conversation. She was beginning to dislike this Carlisle, even more than Edward; he was a far cry from the gentlemen the others described him to be. "That man is even a bigger douchebag than Ed—"

"Oh shit, we have some movement!" Embry announced, ripping off his headphones and rushing to the front of the van, crouching. "Four at five o'clock!"

Leah heard Jacob curse as he headed to the back of the van. "Three moving in at two and fast!" he called out and then mumbled a string of "fucks" under his breath.

"Wait. What?" Leah peered out of the window. She couldn't pick up a single damn thing. Nothing but streetlight-lit streets, people partying it up in a bar across the street. Cars honking and driving across the road. The occasional loud fireworks exploded in the starry night sky above.

She glanced at the camera. Nothing much had changed. Edward was leading Esme by the hand to the middle of the room for a dance. Carlisle was roaming around with a drink in his hand. Lauren was still conversing with Mike—

"Get down!"

Leah groaned as she slowly opened her eyes.

She was laying, face flat, onto the van's flooring with a few fallen equipment on her back. She remained there, clearing her throat as she tried to comprehend what the fuck just happened. She listened out for any sounds—the blast was gone, but it was replaced by screeching cars, blaring alarms wails and shouts from outside. Heavy breathing from within the van. Jacob spouting out every expletive under the sun.

And shots firing.

Fuck.

Leah felt Embry climbing over her, removing some of the equipment off of her before reaching out for the police radio in the front of the van. "We got a 10-1 at Chicago and Ashland," he shouted into the device. "Ambush underway at Mike's. Reports of an explosion and multiple shots fired…"

"You alright?" she heard Jacob ask as he helped her off the ground, seemingly unfazed by the blast. That bastard.

"Yeah," Leah mumbled. Once the dust settled, she slowly lifted her body and moved towards the left side of the van to check on the last surviving surveillance video. She watched in stunned silence while a masked army stormed Mike's Lounge, about twenty-strong, dressed in black, guns blazing and aimed at the guests. An unfamiliar voice from behind the army ordered everyone to stand down. But the order was ignored as the guests started drawing their weapons, bearing their fangs—the hell?

"What the fuck is going—"

A second explosion rocked the van.

"Yo, we gotta get outta here!" Embry shouted. "They're not finished!"

Leah jumped into the driver's seat, jammed the key into the ignition. When the engine failed to roar, she cursed loudly and turned the key again. Nothing. "Oh, you have to go be fucking kidding me!" She shouted, slamming a hand against the steering wheel.

"Leah," Jacob called out from behind. "Get the goddamn car going!"

"It won't turn on!"

Leah tried the engine again. Nothing. It was like she was in some fucked-up horror movie with the action happening only two blocks away. She quickly peered out the passenger window—nothing but shots, shouts could be heard. Nothing but flashes and smoke could be seen.

It wasn't over.

"Fuck, we can't leave it," Embry told Jacob the obvious. "Paul will have our heads. We have too much evidence—" He flinched at the sound of another, smaller blast. "So, plan?"

Leah turned around, waiting for any direction. Jacob stared at the van floor, pensive and annoyed as Hell. He cursed under his breath once again and snapped his head up. "Okay, this is what we're gonna do. Embry, move this car behind that building. A bunch of trees is blocking it. No one'll find it. Leah stay in—"

"You are not leaving me behind!"

Jacob sighed. I wasn't. Just compile all the equipment together and jam it into that bag." He pointed at the large black duffel behind the driver's seat. "I'm gonna be on the lookout and make sure no Cullen's or Denali's or others attack us. Deal?"

"Yeah, but," Leah stopped as she watched Embry jump out of the van. "Shouldn't you help him with moving this thing? This ain't a small car."

"He'll be fine… He's stronger than he looks."

Jacob wasn't kidding.

"Do you mind explaining to me what the hell is going on?" She asked her partner in a quiet voice as they ducked behind the van. Jacob made sure to record the ambush on his phone as the event on. He wouldn't have to do for long. Not with the shots finally dying out and the sound of police sirens in the distance.

"Ambush."

Leah rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Captain Obvious."

"Get out!" a voice ordered from the outside.

Leah immediately did so. Jacob closed his eyes, sigh, and followed Leah out of the vehicle, more annoyed than scared. Embry shared his sentiments— What the hell's wrong with them? Leah couldn't help but wonder as the detectives stood next to each other, hands up, with an armed man in front of them.

Don't engage, Leah thought to herself, hoping, somehow, someway, Jacob could hear her. Her partner was usually a laid-back person. But in front of vampires, impulsiveness tended to cloud his judgment. We may need him.

"Don't make a move," the soldier growled and placed a finger on the trigger of his gun. His attention was solely on Jacob, the biggest of the three. He glanced at the man's waist, at the badge, and narrowed his eyes. "You're cops," he said, not fazed by the revelation at all. "You're cops," he repeated, grinning maniacally. "You can't do anything to me. We're untouchable. The Deal says so."

At the corner of her eye, Leah could see Jacob occasionally glancing at a thick rope of chain near the street gutter.

"Only if you keep your business out of the public eye," Leah reminded the vampire, eyeing the soldier's gun, waiting for him to attack. She could sense the determination from him, underneath the fear. "Which, judging from what's been going on the past few months, you and your people have been doing a really shitty job."

Embry snorted behind her.

"So, what're you gonna do?" The vampire taunted. "Arrest me?"

Embry moved his hand to his gun. "Or kill you," he suggested. "It doesn't matter to me. The fewer vampires we have running around, the better the world will be."

The vampire took a step forward. "Do you want to say that to my face?"

"I believe I just did," Embry said, deadpanned. He took a step towards him. "Whom do you work for?"

"The Volturi," the soldier confirmed, smirking. "And when they find you, they're gonna rip you limb from limb and drain you dry. All of you."

"I don't think they would be interested in our blood." Jacob pointed out. "At all."

"You're all humans," The soldier said before licking his lips as his amber eyes turned blood-red. "My favorite."

Leah blinked, deciding now it would be an excellent time to buy some time until backup (or Paul) arrived. "Humans? I don't understand. You work for the Volturi, right? Every vampire knows—" Then it dawned on to her. "Ah, you must be a newborn. A very new newborn." She glanced back at the other detectives. "He's a newborn."

Embry and Jacob exchanged smirks.

The soldier growled. "I don't know why you're saying that like I'm a joke."

Leah let out an honest laugh. It was very uncharacteristic of her, especially in front of perps, but these past five months had been so crazy that she couldn't help it. "Honey, in the vampire world, you kinda are."

"And what do you know about vampires?"

"A lot more than you think," Leah replied, realizing that the man must still think that she and the other detectives were human. She took a couple of steps forward. "We need to talk."

"You better step away, human, before you regret it," the soldier spat out.

"Excuse me?"

The soldier quickly pulled out another gun, a pistol, from his holster, but before he could put it to use, he was jerked back and nearly pulled off his feet. He gasped and choked as he tried to claw off the chains around his neck. Jacob was behind him, staring him down as he arranged the chains tightly around the soldier's throat. The soldier tried to fight back, but he was no match for Jacob's strength.

"This is p-police brutality!" the soldier shouted, wheezing during a brief period of relief. But then Jacob pulled on the chains even harder. The soldier began to choke even more as he tried to get a hold on the chain around his neck; it was no use. He couldn't loosen it. Leah cringed at the sound of the breaking bones of the soldier's neck.

"You want to report to us?" Jacob asked in his ear, taunting him. "Are you sure?"

"Jacob, let him go," Leah ordered. "I think he got the point, and if you haven't noticed, we kinda need him as a source."

Embry remained silent.

"What's going on over there?"

The detectives turned around and watched as another vampire—another soldier—emerged from behind a building, holding his rifle standing up. He didn't acknowledge the detectives, even though Sam had his hands wrapped around chains in an attempt to rid his partner of any oxygen. His attention was all on his partner.

It if wasn't for the fact that the detectives knew that the Volturi would never use humans as soldiers, they would have thought that the newcomer was human. He wasn't as pale as the others. His tan skin didn't shine under the streetlight like the others.

Leah surmised that he must have been a newborn as well, but perhaps from a higher rank, judging from the way Jacob's victim was reacting to him.

"That's how you keep guard, Vince?" he asked, disgusted. His partner couldn't exactly make a coherent response due to his airways being blocked. It didn't even look like he was looking for an answer; he just let out a sigh and shook his head. "Of course." He turned to Jacob. "Good evening."

Jacob growled and tightened the chains around the soldier's neck. If he kept it up, the detective might decapitate the man.

"Benjamin..." Vince choked as he continued to gasp for air. For a moment, he seemed confused about his coworker's actions; the man should at least try to save him, but Benjamin wasn't moving a muscle. He was just engaging in an intense staring contest with Jacob.

To everyone's surprise, after several seconds, Jacob began to loosen his grip.

"Let him go," Leah ordered Jacob for the second time. It wasn't even worth killing the man. The Volturi would probably do the job themselves soon enough. That was how they usually were with newborns: they use them for a short while and then kill them when they were no longer needed.

Jacob finally listened.

"Ben…" Vince repeated as he tried to soothe his neck, eyes conveying nothing but pure confusion. He leaned over, hands on his knees as he took a series of labored breaths. With rage in his eyes, he glanced up at Jacob—he looked distracted, perfect—and quickly reached for the dagger in his holster handing off his belt.

But before he could attack, Embry got a hold of him from behind. Jacob snatched the weapon from Vince and jammed it into his heart. It was only after Jacob pulled the weapon out did Vince's lifeless body fall onto the ground. Everyone stared at the body in silence, except for Leah, who was looking at Jacob in disbelief—partly because she couldn't believe the "stake to the heart" technique actually worked, somewhat because Vince was gone. This was not a part of the plan, at all.

"You let him die," Leah accused after a few moments, glaring at Benjamin. She didn't care about Vince's death, but co-workers generally didn't just let coworkers die like that.

Benjamin didn't dispute it, and he didn't show an ounce of regret for his inaction. He bent down to retrieve his fallen comrade's weapon and a bag of spare blood—for emergency purposes. It wasn't even the good stuff, but human blood was human blood, and he would be a fool to let it go to waste. "He wouldn't have lasted long anyway. He got what he deserved,"

Benjamin straightened back up. He ripped open the bag and downed the blood; he had been feeling weaker lately. He wiped off the excess around his mouth with the back of his hand. When he noticed the detectives' expressions, he added, "What?"

"I just thought you guys would have each other's backs," Leah said. "Working for the same people and all."

Benjamin snorted. He started to walk to the other side of the van, but he was stopped in his tracks by the sight of Leah aiming her gun at him. He raised an eyebrow, and she narrowed her suspicious eyes.

Before Benjamin could speak up again, she took a step towards him with the gun still aimed at him and said, "You're a double agent."

"And you're detectives," Benjamin quickly replied, impassive. "Homicide? No offense, but you guys don't seem like you're from the Gang Unit. They usually show up at a place with guns blazing, like they're SWAT." He continued when the detectives, sans Leah, gave him a questioning look. "The police badges gave it away, and I've seen you all at various crime scenes."

"Splendid," Leah muttered under his breath.

"It's all good," Benjamin insisted. "I won't say anything. So, what are you guys? I know you're not humans, except for you, Miss, and I definitely know you're not vampires. Werewolves, then?"

"Shapeshifters," Embry said.

Benjamin slowly nodded. "Children of the Moon?

"Similar, but less rabid," Jacob said. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Benjamin al Fadhil."

Leah eyed the man, having a strong feeling that the name was a false one, but she wouldn't hold it against him. After all, he was an undercover agent. It didn't matter what team they were on; the revelation of his true identity was a matter of life and death. Not only for him but also for his loved ones.

"So, I was right," Leah said. "You are a double agent."

Benjamin chuckled. "You can see right through people, can't you?"

"You have no idea…" Jacob mumbled.

"Double? Oh. I guess there's no point in lying…" Benjamin said, smirking. Probably feeling proud of himself because he wasn't dead-dead was nothing short of a miracle.

"So, who do you work for, exactly?" Embry asked.

"Officially or unofficially?"

"Officially."

"Officially, I'm with the ATF," Benjamin confessed, studying the detectives, particularly Leah, who still had her gun out. He carefully discharged the bullets from his weapon and was relieved when the detectives followed suit.

"They know about your... state?" Leah had to ask.

"What? About me being a…? No, and I would appreciate it if it's kept that way," Benjamin said. "They know about the covens, sort of. Most of them think that the members of the covens are a part of some fetishized, creepy movement that just happened to be involved in the illegal arms market. They only know part of the truth."

"So, you work for the ATF, the Volturi, and, I assume, someone else?" Leah asked. "Another coven?"

Benjamin wouldn't confirm anything.

"What's the ATF doing assigning undercover agents to covens?" Embry asked.

Benjamin hesitated, and Leah couldn't blame him. He was undercover; he technically wasn't supposed to exist to him, and he could risk compromising his assignment for just speaking to them. But he seemed like he was willing to break protocol only this once. "You already know," he replied. "It's the subject of all of your recent investigations."

The detectives exchanged looks.

Leah took a moment to think. The ATF generally dealt with the illegal transport of arms, so that must mean that—no wonder Benjamin was assigned to this case. "You're talking about the bullets? The ones made of light?"

"Ultraviolet bullets. They're like light bulbs, except they're self-suppliant and were specifically designed to kill my kind. Of course, as you can imagine, they were imported into this country illegally, and since we're the ATF, we've got to track them down."

Leah nodded. "Do your people know about the significance of the light?"

Benjamin shook his head. "As far as I know, CPD is the only law enforcement agency that knows about and believes in our existence, and the FBI, of course. But that's nothing new; they're always on some X-Files mess."

"They're working with us," Jacob revealed, perhaps his better judgment. "The feds. They didn't say anything much to us, you know how they are, but they're interested in the coven operations around Chicago."

Benjamin nodded. "Can't say I'm too surprised. They must have found out about the potential merger between the Cullen's and the Denali's. Everyone's worried about that. As they should be."

"Yeah, that merger's going to be a problem," Jacob said. "How much time do you have until someone else comes down here?"

Benjamin glanced at his watch. "A couple of minutes. Everyone's scouting around the area for any Cullen-stragglers, but they'll be coming down as soon as they're back."

Leah pulled her work phone from her pocket and finally turned it back on. She cringed at the hordes of texts, missed calls, and voicemails. They were almost all from Paul; the rest was from Bella and Eric. She could check on them later.

"We should keep in touch. And we won't reveal your identity," Leah promised. "We could use your help. As you can see, our investigations are at a standstill because of certain technicalities, but war is underway, and I would rather not sit through another long one."

"I hear ya." Benjamin glanced on both sides. "I can use your help, too—more like it would be nice if you people stayed off my back. I'm not trying to become another Mike Newton."

"You know about Mike?" Jacob asked.

Benjamin scoffed. "Who doesn't know about Mike? Point is: I can't become an official informant for you guys since I'm, you know, undercover."

"We understand," Embry said.

"Don't worry. You'll definitely be seeing me around," Benjamin assured them as he checked his watch. He was going to have to leave soon. "It looks like some shit is going to go down. You know, and I know that they're going to retaliate soon."

"What about your friend?" Embry asked.

Benjamin looked down at the deceased vampire, void of emotion. "He wasn't my friend. Don't worry about him," he insisted, confident. "I'll deal with the body, but you gotta leave. If I know the Volturi and their friends, they'll be spending someone here in a few minutes to interrogate you guys. And for the record, we never had this conversation. We never met. I came here after you escaped. Sounds like a plan?"

None of the detectives protested.