Apologies for not updating last Thursday.

Hugs to you all, and especially to Lou and Nancy. To SM, too.

WARNING: Someone dies in this chapter.

Chapter 19

Have you had a moment when time stops, and things happen out of reach, out of control, freaking the living shit out of you? You only register the outcome and wonder how it all happened, and why you stayed rooted to your spot, utterly useless?

That's how I feel. The knowledge of a gun pressed to my stomach turns everything into blurred images in slow motion - the door being opened wide, the simple act accompanied by the realization I have stupidly left said door unlocked, again; Alice, Emmett and Rosalie entering; Alice shrieking and gasping in horror; Agent Biers removing the gun and pointing it at her; Alice producing a gun herself. The slow motion comes to a halt when a gunshot echoes in the confines of the small room, and Alice's finger is trembling over the trigger. Everybody is still, rendered immobile by primal fear. Guess none of us is used to this type of noise - it's a horrific blast, resonating in my head for long seconds. Besides, I can swear I've heard the bullet whistle past my ear. Holy freaking shit. She almost killed me.

Oh no, wait, my mind won't stop analyzing, one of us is used to gunshots, and that would be the Agent.

The proof of my insight comes next, the Agent lifts his both hands, using one for leverage and the other to hold the gun which was currently pointed at my stomach. He's not unphased at all - he focuses on Alice's eyes, steps closer to her, and speaks in the calmest possible manner,

"Drop the gun, Alice. It's for your own good."

But she doesn't let go of the gun; her eyes, widely opened, glisten with unshed tears; her nostrils flare sporadically - she's panicking, It shows Riley won't have a chance to try to become a negotiator. She's scared shitless and shoots again, seemingly aiming at her opponent's forehead.

Alice's bullet hits the air-conditioning unit, she's that bad.

The Agent's bullet hits Alice's chest.

Even though I clearly see that the bleeding comes right from the spot where her heart is, it takes me a while to comprehend she's dead. Gone.

Her body drops to the ground in an irregular shape.

Rosalie wails.

Agent Biers puts away his gun, tucking it in place under his belt.

Emmett puffs and averts his gaze. He even forgets to comfort his lady.

"Shit."

Wait, that's my voice. I don't believe my eyes.

I'm only thinking about Jasper, though. I get close to him, take his palm in mine, and squeeze.

"Are you okay, baby?" Why am I only thinking about a stray bullet getting to him? I can see he's absolutely fine, apart from his current injuries, but still my heart misses a beat at the thought he might have been wounded.

"Edward, get off me." He's not even looking in my eyes.

"Won't you call the Police?" Rosalie shrieks.

"I'm the Police, Ma'am," Riley answers quietly. "Won't you all sit down and listen."

Rosalie starts sobbing, and Emmett is finally holding her in his arms. They both find an armchair to sit on, and look hopingly into the Agent's eyes. I sigh and sit on the bed beside Jasper. None of us is looking at the disheveled mess on the floor.

"Let me introduce myself first," Riley says. "I'm Agent Biers. I've been after this lady for a while. In fact, I was after you, Rosalie," he bends in a mock-bow, "you, Jasper," he sways his hand in Jasper's direction, "and her," he points to where Alice's body lies. "But lately, she was my only target."

"Riley. Cut it out. Just take us away and let's get over with this." I'm surprised how loud and clear Jasper's voice is.

"Not happening," Riley cuts him off. "We're gonna stay here, and you're going to listen to me."

Riley is now looking at me, straight in the eye.

"They use a scheme on the internet, advertising easy money. Whenever someone contacts them, they investigate further until they're sure this is the 'correct' person. Then the gears click in, they meet, perform an accident, and that's it, they collect the harvest. Whether it's a workplace accident - like for example the one when Jasper worked in construction for a while and the hoisting machine miraculously broke, but low enough to the ground to leave him with only one broken leg. Or a car accident, similar to what they did in Forks, only this time it didn't work quite well and he was severely injured. There were times when they lacked an ally for a long time and got desperate. In such occurrences they performed a domestic accident, which Jasper has already had a lot. He nearly got electrocuted once." Agent Biers chuckles. My insides turn. "No one knew their real names, mind you, they only used internet alter-egos and a new town each time when they cast their webs. And once a new person was enrolled, and agreed to participate in the fraud, said person kept their mouths shut. They would agree to bend the law, commit a crime, why would they give a statement to the Police? I followed the Hale's traces for years, with no success in pinning them, until my old acquaintance, Chief Swan contacted me. He had sensed something odd about a car accident in the town of Forks, but most importantly, his daughter was injured by the same vehicle which raised his suspicions. It was easy for me to guess that something with their plan got messed up. Such a coincidence should not be wasted, but I still had no proof to nail them, that's why I decided to present myself to the Hales in person. So far I had only traced documentary evidence, but it was time to act. Working undercover, I charmed Alice Brandon, had some real fun with her, and finally, got her to speaking. Why it happened so easy, I have no idea. Maybe she was too drunk, or just needed a soul mate. She opened up to me, and also shared her hatred towards her best friend's brother. She said she wanted to get rid of him... I pitied the poor guy, I'd seen him from a distance and found him attractive. This put me in front of a dilemma - should I nail the three, or maybe I should only nail Alice Brandon, who was actually considering murder? Compared to the other two, she was a real monster, someone who should be really put behind bars. Deciding on the latter, and with a sense of resolve, I introduced myself to Jasper Hale. What I wanted was to comfort him, give him one good memory, nothing more. I really like him, that's all. By the way, I never knew she saw me leaving his room in the morning. It was a good thing, though, 'cause she called me today to face you, Edward, just when I had actually lost track of their whereabouts for a while."

No one interrupted Agent Biers so far. My hiss, though, makes him snap.

"Anyway. I'll call my colleagues to collect the body. We should all be heading to Forks to meet Mr. Crowley. No charges will be pressed against the Hales, I can assure you. But the Chief needs some peace of mind."

A/N: Thank you for reading! Please don't forget I need your thoughts & questions, so please review.