CH. 2

Eighteen months later, post- Breaking Dawn

Carlisle Cullen looked up from the paperwork spread on his desk. He could hear his receptionist speaking with someone, then heading for his door. He quickly looked down as she opened the door.

"Dr. Cullen? Sir, I am sorry, but there is a Dr. Sinclair here, from Finder Incorporated. She says you have an appointment."

'Dr. Sinclair? Finder, Inc.?' Carlisle froze. It was that woman, the one from the night when Bella …nearly died, the night he received the flash drive with the data…she did say she would be in touch, he thought with a bit of chagrin, but he had hoped that the long months meant that she was truly gone. All these thoughts flowed through his mind at the incredible speed of thought normal to a vampire and his momentary pause was so slight that his human receptionist never even noticed.

"Hhhmmm? Oh, yes, yes, Ms. Freeman, send Dr. Sinclair in. I must have forgotten about our appointment. I am so sorry. You won't need to stay late, I've got this covered." Carlisle smiled slightly at his receptionist and she broke into a big smile.

"Thanks, Dr. C. See you tomorrow."

Ms. Freeman passed to woman coming into Carlisle's office. "He just forgot, you were right, go on in", she babbled as she exited.

"Dr. Cullen, I am so sorry that I forgot to call and confirm our appointment today. I hope it is no inconvenience", said Finder, just loudly enough to ensure that Lucy Freeman heard every word. Carlisle matched her tone. "No, no, not at all. Esme and I had discussed your arrival, but today it simply slipped my mind," said Carlisle as he rose from his desk and crossed to shake her hand, speaking equally loudly enough to ensure that Lucy Freeman's gossip wouldn't be about Dr. Cullen and some mystery woman, but about how hard Dr. Cullen worked, and how he sometimes forgot to mention appointments. And that story wouldn't hurt his masquerade as human any at all.

Sinclair, or Finder, closed the door behind her and draped her coat across the table near the door. She wore a grey suit, long tunic with stand-up collar and wide trousers with some sort of low-heeled boot, and a brooch with an emerald the size of a quarter surrounded by pearls and diamonds in old gold adorned the left side of the collar. She wore an intaglio sapphire ring on one hand, and a heavy gold signet, though Carlisle could not make out the design, on the other. Very expensive antiques, thought Carlisle, very expensive indeed. Finder smiled a little, allowing Carlisle to finish his scrutiny. She carried a shoulder strap leather briefcase and the coat across his table was long, black and cashmere.

'So there is money there,' he thought, 'money and a liking for nice things, and what else? She looks…tired, though, more tired that the last time I saw her.' Carlisle said, "Why are you here?"

"No time for niceties?"

"No", said Carlisle, troubled by rudeness, but not enough to wait for answers.

"How is your research going?"

"My...research is at a dead end. I have studied everything you gave me, and found out a bit more, but working only from archival sources simply isn't enough. I have to have a sample of that virus to get anything done!" He pinched the bridge of his nose with his long fingers and closed his eyes. "The virus is an incredibly nasty one, with a potential mortality rate of 100%. Why, oh why did you come to me with this?"

Finder sat across from Carlisle and placed her briefcase carefully on the floor. "Dr. Carlisle, I am so sorry for this, but believe me, there is no one else in this world with the practical knowledge, the experience, the insight, and the force of character to accomplish the purchase of a chance for this world. If this virus isn't defeated, this world will die, and everyone in it."

"After what happened in Phoenix, I believe that you are something outside my experience, something I cannot begin to understand, but truly, Dr. Sinclair, or Finder, or whatever your name is, I cannot simply continue to take you on faith."

"I know, sir. I came prepared to answer many of your questions. Do you have your bio-containment unit at your estate completed?"

"Dr. Sinclair, no one can privately own a bio-containment unit without proper licensing and regulation. How could I…?" He stopped at the small smile on the woman's face. "Sorry. Dropping the pretenses is harder than it sounds, isn't it? Yes, I have the unit completed. I knew I had to have a sample of that virus to continue, and that made a lab mandatory. Not much equipment yet, because I don't have a clue what I will need until I have a chance to examine a sample of that virus. I was preparing to go to Southeast Asia myself to get it."

"Not necessary, sir," said Finder, opening the briefcase. She pulled out a metal box the size of a hardback book. "I brought a sample for you." At Carlisle's instinctive withdrawal, she smiled again. "This box generates a stasis field, unknown in your world. It holds the virus inert. Additionally, the vial is safety packed. One could transport Ebola this way, at no risk whatsoever. Nothing short of a fusion reactor could break the stasis field. Get the box into a bio-containment unit, tap in the code here, and it will open. Then undo the safety measures until you get to the vial."

"Just what is it you expect me to discover, Dr…whatever your name is?" asked Carlisle brusquely. He was tired of this puzzle and of the memory hanging over him. He could never share, never tell anyone that his daughter Bella, his beloved son's wife, was not the first Bella, was in fact from another world, a world where she would have died until rescued through the actions of this woman. It wearied him. After all they had been through, after all his family had endured, he wanted nothing more than peace for them all. And the puzzle this woman had handed him, the enigma that she was, meant that peace was not at hand. It meant that his family was not safe, that danger still lurked just outside the safe barrier they had built around their lives.

"I told you, Dr. Carlisle, that I believe you can save this entire world. I still believe it." She sat, leaned back into the chair, and waited.

"You think this virus threatens the entire world?" The woman nodded, watching Carlisle closely as he continued. "I need, I must have more information. This virus – it is like nothing I have ever seen before. I can't explore the RNA sequencing; I can't determine the enzymatic coding….If I didn't know better, I would think it was not even native to this world."

"That is because it isn't. From this world, I mean." Finder gazed at the nearly four-hundred year old vampire calmly. "It was transported here by…another like me, working for the Volturi."

"What?!? Impossible!" Carlisle was deeply shocked.

The small woman sighed deeply. "Dr. Carlisle, we cannot reveal that we met in Phoenix nearly two years ago, but there is no reason the rest of this story cannot be shared with your family."

"You want to involve my family in this?" asked Carlisle, slight menace coloring his voice.

"I told you in the beginning that your family is part of this. Without Edward and Bella, and young Reneesmee, there will be no salvation for your world. This evil has already been unleashed in your world. For all intents and purposes, we are nearly out of time. People are already dying, Dr. Carlisle. It is only a matter of time before this juggernaut becomes unstoppable."

Carlisle watched her as she spoke; searching for all the infinitesimal clues humans unknowingly send out, but there was nothing. Nothing in her face, her voice, her body language, her eyes, nothing but weary honesty and determination.

"You told me that Edward would not remember what really happened that night in Phoenix, and neither would Bella. So far, they have not. No one knows about that night but I. No one grieves for Bella but I, and I will not have that change. If they see you, will either of them remember?"

"Not at all. For them, those memories simply do not exist. Their brains were actually altered to the extent that that part of the experience is not merely locked away, but no longer exists for them. They will never be aware of the tiny gap in their memories, in part because the trauma of the experience is strong enough that this minute gap is not cognitively recognized. And the charm I gave you will continue to protect you from young Edward's gift, as well as that of any other person who has the remotest shred of telepathy."

Carlisle thought for a moment, weighing her answer. He wondered if his son Jasper would detect the guilt he still felt over the secrets he had been holding for so long, but decided that he could manage an explanation for Jasper that would satisfy any questions. "Very well. Let us adjourn to my home. I will call them and tell them to expect a visitor."

"No need to call – you daughter Alice is dialing at this moment…" and Carlisle's cell rang. He looked at the ID and saw that it was indeed Alice.

"Yes?"

"Carlisle, who is this woman you are bringing home? Esme is already cooking, since Jacob and Seth are here, and she wants to know if she needs to set up a guest bedroom." Carlisle's eyebrows crept upward as he speculated. Could this woman be …gifted…in some way not readily apparent? She nodded slightly as she said, "Tell her thank you, and yes, I will be glad to accept the hospitality." The woman grinned tiredly. "And no, I am not put off by staying in a house filled with vampires, half-vampires and shape-shifters. I have stayed with far more dangerous people, I assure you."

At Carlisle's look of disbelief, she smiled again. "There are people more dangerous than the Cullen family, Dr. Carlisle. There really are."

Carlisle shook his head and hung up, knowing Alice heard everything, as the woman stood and shrugged into her coat. "Shall I meet you at your home, sir?"

"You no doubt know where we live…" Carlisle began, and she nodded. "It would be unusual if we did not walk to the parking lot together. I customarily walk my visitors back to their vehicles."

Finder smiled and pulled on black gloves from the pocket of the shearling coat she wore. She shrugged into the shoulder strap of the briefcase as Carlisle picked up the box, handling it uncertainly. "Truly, sir, it is totally safe. I will carry it if you have doubts."

Carlisle shook his head and pushed the box into his own briefcase, then grabbed his own unnecessary coat and pulled it on over his lab whites. "No, I can manage it. Come, let us depart." He held the door for her and they headed silently out to the parking lot. It was a small hospital, and a small parking lot, so even though Sinclair or Finder or whomever she was didn't have physician's privileges, it wouldn't be a long walk between the separate parking areas. Carlisle was deep in thought as they walked, and the woman seemed comfortable with silence. He noted his dark blue M-class Mercedes across the lot, and pressed the automatic ignition button to start the car, just as any human wanting a warm vehicle would do. "Where did you park?" he asked and the woman gestured toward a gorgeous car that looked as if it could break the sound barrier. It was a Bugatti Veyron 16.4 concept car, all black, and even Carlisle was briefly stunned. One of the most expensive, fastest and best-designed cars in the world, and it was sitting here, in the parking lot at Forks Memorial Hospital. He couldn't help but grin as he pictured the reactions of some of his children when that car rolled up their driveway.

She pulled out her control switch and started the car as they approached it, and her grin got wider as Carlisle didn't bother to hide his profound automobile envy. "You have some car here," he commented.

"Yes, you could say that, couldn't you?" She all but chuckled aloud as she opened the door and slid inside. "I will see you at your home, Dr. Carlisle." The door sealed shut and the car purred away from Carlisle as he stood there, gaping. He sprinted, at human speed, for his own vehicle, and drove away. 'What have we gotten into now?' he wondered silently. 'And how badly will we be hurt getting out of it?'