A/N: It's been a really rough week. I have zero faith that I'll have the next Monolith or Mosaic chapters up before Christmas. But you can chew on this for now. :) Thanks for reading!

"There's one other thing that's been bothering me," Bella mused, twisting herself back and forth in the old desk chair, her feet braced against a stack of boxes.

"What's that?" Masen was packing up and getting ready to leave.

"You told that Michael guy you wanted him to find a replacement for Marie. What are you going to do if they actually bring one in?"

"They won't find a match. It's practically impossible. I described a girl who is the exact opposite of every risk category. Educated, well spoken, confident, beautiful, outgoing, excellent social skills. . . They aren't going to find anyone like that in their inventory."

"Of course not, but what if they kidnap somebody?"

"I'll find some basis for rejection. I'll send them back out with stricter criteria. Don't worry. That's just a minor detail at this point."

"Now it is, but when they drag some poor drugged girl in front of you like a cat showing off a dead bird, you're going to have to come up with a pretty convincing lie to keep us all alive and the mission intact."

Masen held his breath for a moment, a far-off look in his eyes. "I'll come up with something."

"Okaaay," Bella said, waiting for him to elaborate.

With his lips pressed tightly together, he double checked his supplies, snapped the briefcase shut again and stood up. "You ready?"

"I guess so."

"Let's do this."

Masen was back in character as Edward Cullen the second he unlocked the door and exited the vacant retail space. Bella wasn't nearly ready for the respite to end, but they were already on their way back to the mansion. She was still stunned and relieved to know that they had an ally nearby. In her excited state, it was much harder to reconnect with Marie's beaten-down personality. She had so many other emotions bubbling inside.

Masen didn't seem to have the same challenge. When they reached the BMW, a few rough words from her partner sent her back to that hopeless place. Bella closed her eyes and immersed herself in Marie's memories as they drove, putting on the girl's personality and feelings as if they were layers of clothing.

The gate was closed when they pulled up to the Volturi property, but it didn't take more than a couple seconds for whoever controlled it to allow them to enter. Bella was simultaneously relieved and anxious. When would they have another opportunity to speak freely?

Masen didn't wait for a valet to meet him at his door. He climbed out of the car immediately, pulled the briefcase out of the trunk and beckoned for Bella to fall in step behind him. He tossed his key at a beige-clad employee as they passed, huffing when the man fumbled and almost dropped it.

"Mr. Cullen!" Aro's voice rang out as they passed through the foyer. "Just in time! We're serving a light lunch out by the pool. Come and join us!"

"I have a couple calls to make before-"

"On the weekend? No, no, no. Is this what you northwesterners do? You need to relax. Unwind a little. Promise me you'll come," Aro pleaded, his lower lip jutting out in a childlike pout.

Edward Cullen's mouth twisted up into a stiff approximation of a smile. "How could I refuse? Thank you for the generous offer. I won't be long."

"Excellent! The water is delightful. I'll give you twenty minutes to make your calls and change into your swim trunks. Not a minute more," Aro admonished, shaking his finger at them. He babbled on, "I'll escort you there myself. Wouldn't want you to take a wrong turn roaming these halls, now would we? A man could get lost and starve before we found him. It's simply wasteful how enormous this place is, if you ask me. But you know these Europeans. Spare no expense, right?"

"Sure seems that way," he responded in a dry tone. "I'll listen for your knock in twenty minutes. Come along, Marie."

Bella didn't think she was being paranoid. Aro was flat out warning her owner not to go snooping around the property without an escort. Evidently, the Volturi were no more inclined to let Edward Cullen into their confidence than he was to trust them. She wondered how long the Volturi's vetting process would take, and just how deep Masen would have to go before he found what he was after.

It was time for another costume change. Bella had already appeared in bikinis, in her underwear and completely nude. It should have been easy to slip on a swimsuit. It should have been, but it wasn't. Her fingers fumbled at her bra clasp and tangled in the complicated straps. Masen looked over, his eyes telling her she was on her own, and she had better get it together quickly.

Masen did don swim trunks before Aro knocked on the door, but he made a show of fastening all except the top button of his shirt and pocketing his sunglasses and keys, then dialing another number on his phone as Aro stood waiting in the passage.

Aro let out a low whistle when Bella stepped into the hallway. "What a delicious treat. Come along, darling. Mr. Cullen is obviously preoccupied. Walk with me. Tell me, how was your day?"

"It was nice, sir," she replied timidly, her eyes darting back to her partner. He was trailing them by a couple yards carrying on a business call as they walked.

"Nice? Is that all? Details, sweetheart. Details! Come now, I love stories. How fares the world outside these dark and dismal walls? My work simply owns me. I miss having the freedom to roam about. Let me live through you, just this once! Did you go shopping? Find a nice spot for breakfast? I've heard that there is a delightful French restaurant on Belvedere Road. That's up by the airport if you aren't familiar with the area."

"Cut it out," Cullen's voice cut in sharply. "Marie may not be very bright, but she's smart enough not to talk about my personal business. If you want to know where I've been, just ask me."

"I'm sure I don't know what-"

"Yes, I went to the airport. I had a meeting with an international client who only had time for a short layover. Did you have me followed?"

"What a preposterous idea! Have you followed," Aro cackled as if that was the most absurd accusation in the world. "I simply don't know where you get these ideas. You're among friends here, Mr. Cullen. Friends watch each other's backs."

"That's what I'm afraid of. Excuse me, I need to make one more call."

Bella was relieved when they left the eerie hallway and entered the centrally located atrium. Her eyes immediately found the door which led to the dayroom where the Volturi's girls spent so much of their time. Aro steered them to the right, around the perimeter of the bright space to another hallway. The short tunnel opened to a wide room with soaring ceilings and windows that filled the entire east-facing wall. The unfiltered sunlight was blinding.

There was a warm sea-breeze and salt in the air. Wide sections of the windows had been rolled back, opening up to a broad flagstone patio. Bella flinched when she heard a scream followed by a loud splash.

"Tch, tch. It's okay, little one. They're just having fun. Let me introduce you to the party." Bella's hand was trapped in the crook of Aro's elbow. He pulled her out into the open and called out to a group of young men.

Bella recognized the rowdy guys from the party the previous evening. Apparently they held a position of some significance with Mr. Volturi since they were staying at the mansion. There were more than a dozen men gathered at the shallow end of the hexagonal swimming pool, and another small group was clustered around an open-air bar.

"Royce, honey, come meet my new friend. Marie, Mr. King is here on a similar mission to your dear patron. He's looking for a long-term companion. Perhaps this is more than a fortuitous coincidence!"

Bella was quaking by the time the handsome, dark-haired man reached her. Royce King was about her own age, six feet tall and built like a tennis player. He clasped Aro's hand familiarly and looked her over with an insolent smirk. She lowered her eyes and found herself staring at his bare, hairless chest.

"Marie. Sounds so pure. Almost virginal," he drawled.

Bella flinched when she heard Mr. Cullen's derisive snort behind her. He slipped one arm around her waist, pulling her tight against his side. he didn't even acknowledge the younger man.

"Aro, you promised me lunch if I agreed to come outside."

"That I did! Come here, come here. Michael is already opening up the buffet. I'll get you a plate."

Bella felt like there were ants crawling beneath her skin as they followed the concierge to the bar area where a long table was loaded down with platters of antipasti and fresh fruit. There was something reptilian about Royce King's eyes. Flat, dark, practically dead.

Masen filled her plate alongside his own, then handed her both plates and directed her to a round, shaded table while he procured a drink. The middle-aged man that Aro had referred to as Michael was the same man who had met Aro and Edward Cullen in the girl's dayroom to discuss Edward's plans to purchase another girl. He sat down across from her, and his companion, a voluptuous girl in a fuchsia bikini and matching sarong, plopped down beside Bella, her enormous implants bouncing long after the rest of her had settled.

"Michael," Mr. Cullen greeted the other man simply.

"Edward, so glad you decided to join us. After a week like this one, it's good to relax and unwind."

"Hmmm." Cullen made a noncommittal sound around the rim of his glass.

"What do you have there? Vodka?"

"Water."

"Oh. Well, it is a hot day. Are you going to take a dip in the pool after lunch? Jessica loves to swim. Especially the backstroke, don't you, baby?" Michael prompted the girl beside him.

"Oh, I love swimming. It feels so good to get wet," she tittered, then sucked provocatively on a whole strawberry. Michael's mouth hung open as he watched her.

Bella set her fork down quietly, her stomach clenching rebelliously.

"Does Marie swim?" Michael asked Edward.

"Well, she doesn't sink."

Jessica snort-giggled and patted Bella on the knee beneath the table. "Don't worry, honey. I'll teach you. We can be friends. Finish your lunch, and I can give you a lesson today!"

Bella smiled hesitantly, then looked to Masen for approval. He rolled his eyes and nodded as if the antics of a bunch of silly girls were beneath his attention. Inside, Bella was rejoicing. Jessica was paired up with one of the Volturi's business managers. The girl probably knew more than most, and her vivacious attitude meant she wasn't likely to be tight-lipped. Bella picked at her food and tried to pick up as much as she could from the conversations around them.

Masen was deftly spinning the conversation around Michael, learning his full name, former occupation and hobbies within the first five minutes. There were several girls and male guests splashing in the pool. Aro was standing over by the bar with his hand near his mouth, talking into his watch again. Bella wondered who he was communicating with. Royce King and his friends were drinking beer and standing around in their swim trunks, occasionally taking turns doing fancy jumps off the diving board. The whole group burst out laughing when the heaviest guy in the group executed a perfect cannon ball, splashing water across the deck, even hitting Michael and Edward's table.

"Frat boys," Michael muttered beneath his breath.

"Tell me about them. They seem pretty comfortable. Are they friends of our host?"

"You've never heard of Teddy King?" Michael asked, looking scandalized.

"The name sounds vaguely familiar. Is he in coal?"

"Steel. Pennsylvania owes half their jobs to the King family. Teddy King has single-handedly revived a flagging industry. His whole life he's worked with engineers to create a culture of integrity and accountability within the industry. He pushed for universal standards for steel beam construction materials, with published minimums in tensile strength and load-bearing capacity for all cold-pressed steel products. With those standards in place, architects and engineers were finally confident enough to commit to steel. Now we're seeing a worldwide boom in the use of steel studs and beams, even in residential construction. The man's a legend. That's his youngest son, Royce."

"Spoilt rich kid," Edward grunted and popped a cube of cheese into his mouth followed by two green olives.

"Well, yeah. I guess so. Teddy doesn't quite know what to do with him. His older brothers all cut their teeth on steel. Royce there has a title within the company, something to do with marketing, I think, but he pretty much flies around the world spending the old man's money."

"Hmm."

"But he's a lot of fun."

"His entourage sure seems to think so," Edward said, doubtfully.

"Friends from school, I believe. The term ended a couple of weeks ago. They're working out the kinks before going back home to their parents."

"So Aro is stuck babysitting them?"

"Uuuuh," Michael got stuck on the sound, not agreeing, but unable to voice a dissenting opinion.

"That's what I thought. He must have the patience of Job."

"Job who?" Michael asked, looking lost.

"Never mind. I doubt you know him. Well, girls, go along and play," Cullen dismissed Jessica and Bella with a wave of his hand.

The girls stood up, and Jessica led Bella over to a lounge chair draped with wide, cotton towels.

"Ooh! Sunscreen! Marie, could you help? I can never seem to reach my whole back," Jessica simpered, arching her back and jutting out her breasts.

Bella balked, instinctively looking to her partner for guidance. When he nodded curtly, she accepted the tube of sunscreen that the other girl handed to her and squirted a small amount in her palm.

"Wait, do my front first. I got a burn a couple weeks ago. Mikey says I have to baby my skin." Jessica winked over at the older man, and he laughed indulgently.

Bella struggled to hide her revulsion. There was something so intimate about putting sunscreen on another person's skin. Michael was leaning back in his chair, seemingly relaxed, but his eyes were intent on Bella's hands, and his thick stomach was rising and falling rapidly with his shallow breaths. It was creepy to imagine applying lotion, or anything really, to somebody else's body with an audience.

"Well, Marie. What are you waiting for?" her master prompted her coldly.

"Nothing, sir," she stuttered.

Bella quelled her body's natural response and smoothed the lotion over both palms before applying it to Jessica's outstretched arms. She worked the thick cream into Jessica's legs next, avoiding the other girl's stomach and chest as long as possible. Jessica untied her top and dropped it on the ground between the two chairs.

With her hands shaking, Bella rushed through the rest of the task. Jessica's implants were so big that the skin was stretched as tight as a balloon, plastic and hard beneath her touch. They felt almost identical to the inflatable rubber balls that Bella was used to seeing on display in giant cages at the department store. Beneath the slave girl's breasts, two thick purple-pink scars marred her otherwise golden skin, marking the points where an amateur plastic surgeon had cut her open on two, possibly three, separate occasions.

"You don't have to be so gentle. They don't hurt. Actually, they don't feel anything at all anymore," Jessica said cheerily, lying back with her eyes closed.

"Oh. Well, that's good, I guess," Bella replied lamely.

Jessica turned over on the lounge chair and Bella finished applying the lotion. She set the tube down, but the other girl snatched it up.

"Come on, sweetie. Your turn. You have such fair skin."

"I really don't think-" Bella started to object.

"Don't be silly, Marie. If you burn, you'll peel all over my bed. Disgusting."

Bella's eyes widened. A niggling voice in the back of her head cried out in rebellion, but Marie was in charge. She stifled her objections and took Jessica's place on the towel. Michael watched hungrily as his girl ran her fingers slowly and sensuously up and down Bella's arms and legs.

"They are beautiful together. Have you ever considered-"

"No," Edward cut him off coldly.

"I'm just saying it would be-"

"No. I don't share. Ever."

"Right. Well, maybe later. After you find a suitable replacement. I've already started looking, but your list of criteria is pretty specific. Such a unique combination. I think that maybe you set me up to dig for that proverbial needle in the haystack."

"Is it so difficult to find a woman who is both bright and beautiful?"

"In our line of work? No. But you want more than that. You asked for a girl who is practically an aristocrat. We don't get that type. Needy, depressed druggies, lost souls searching for someone to take care of them. Then there are the aspiring actresses and models who are starting to realize that every school in the country has a prom queen, and that means a lot of competition once they leave their little ponds. A few disappointments and they are ripe for the picking. But none of them have the confidence or presence you've been describing. Zafrina is proud, but apart from that she is hardly your type."

"The Amazon?"

They both looked across the pool to the place where Zafrina sat, her knees together and her back rigid.

"Yes. That one. Practically unbreakable. The boys pay extra to try. She. . . well, she is something special."

"Teach her to drop the accent. And do something about that hideous mop of hair."

"Well, I don't know if that's even poss-"

"Hmm.

"We'll find someone. I promise," Michael assured the newcomer, eager to prove the Volturi's resourcefulness.

"Let me add one more thing. I want her unharmed. In perfect condition. In fact, I want her to believe she is allying herself with me voluntarily. It will make the moment when she realizes the truth that much sweeter."

"I. . . I don't think I understand," Michael stammered.

"Ooooh, but I do," Aro cut in, sidling up to the pair. "I think I know exactly what you want. But why do you have such narrow criteria? It's almost as if you want us to fail! Are you certain it's a lady you're looking for? We procure more than just girls," he added in a leading tone.

"I know what I like," Mr. Cullen said in a clipped tone.

"Are you sure? We don't have one now, put last year we had the most delicate, beautiful little Ganymede. Are you positive you wouldn't want a sweet-mouthed little boy to help you out around the house when your dark-haired darling is indisposed?"

"Do I look like a fag to you?"

"Oh, no, honey. You certainly don't," Aro purred. With a thoughtful pout he asked Masen, "Do I look like a fag to you?"

"Yes," Masen replied in a bland tone.

"Touche! Ha ha! You are so droll. I would just love to keep you here. What's so important that you are always hurrying and scurrying? You need to relax. Have fun. Enjoy everything that the Palazza Volturi has to offer!"

"I'll relax and have fun once I know I've got a roof over my head and I know that I'm collecting a paycheck next month. I'm not ready to retire yet."

"Well, at least try and have fun today. Mr. Volturi likes to know that his guests are enjoying his hospitality." Aro tilted his head meaningfully and rolled his eyes up toward the top floor of the mansion.

Bella followed the direction of Aro's gesture. The third floor windows were tinted against the sun's glare, but a dark shadow was visible behind the glass, looking down on the poolside party. She shivered despite the heat.

Her partner never looked up. He just put his hands in his pockets and shrugged, "Tell him thank you for lunch. I'm not going to prance about and shout, but I did enjoy it. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sit in the shade and enjoy the view."

Bella allowed Jessica to pull her into the water where she pretended to be unable to swim. Doggy paddling was exhausting. The steel tycoon's youngest son was watching her, no light reflecting off his dilated pupils. Finally she realized what she had been too scared to see before. Royce King and his buddies were high, amped and looking for a new source of entertainment. It seemed as if she was the new challenge.