A Twisted Tale Chapter 3: 303 Lifeline, a twilight fanfic

AN: this is a shorten one, but an update none the less

Chapter 3 - #303 - Lifeline

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Text message #303

I know indeed what evil I intend to do,

but stronger than all my afterthoughts is my fury,

fury that brings upon mortals the greatest evils.*

*Euripides, Medea

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FBI's field office in New York City

"Hi Heidi." Bella smiled politely at the person behind the front desk as she hurried through the lobby. "Do you have any messages for me?"

The receptionist smiled and nodded. "Just one and you are not going to like it. Jenks wants to see you ASAP."

"What? Why? I'm not that late am I?," Bella asked with a quick glance at her watch. "Damn, it's the second time this week...," she started but trailed off quickly as a door flung open and FBI Chief Inspector Jason Scott Jenks appeared in the doorway.

"Agent Swan. We need to have a little talk." His deep commanding voice made his form all the more impressive.

Nodding weakly, Bella felt her heart sink to her stomach.

"Let's step into my office," moved away from the door, holding it open, and motioned her in. "Please take a seat. I'd like to ask you some questions."

She nodded again, not trusting herself to speak. Jason Jenks, the Chief Inspector of Operations in the Protective Services Unit (PSU), was an intimidating man, intimidating in size, tall and dark, but even more intimidating in his direct approach. He was the type of man that would look you straight in the eye and know exactly what you were thinking.

"Now, tell me agent Swan, how long has it been since you started working here?"

"It's been..," she broke off and cleared her throat then started again. "Twelve weeks, sir."

As she spoke she kept her eyes fixed on the man that was her boss. Hs appearance was precise and professional. The creases in his suit were crisp. Every strand of hair was neatly in its place and his finger nails were carefully manicured into perfection. Bella had never felt more rumpled before in her life.

"I see, and before that you took some time off for personal reasons, is that correct?," Jenks asked and started rummaging through some papers that were spread out on his wooden desk.

"Uhm, yes, I took about four months off after I finished my training. I…uhm… There was an accident; I lost someone close to me in a… uhm… motorcycle crash. "

Bella felt herself stutter as she racked her brain to come up with a suitable answer. His questions confused her. Wasn't this covered in her personnel file?! What was the purpose of this conversation?!

"Do you enjoy working for the bureau?"

She considered her answer carefully. "There are times when it's frustrating, but for the most part, yes," she said tactfully still not sure where his questions were leading.

He laughed. "Nice answer, Swan. Now, I have been told you have the potential of becoming a damn fine agent. Time to live up to that claim, don't you think?"

It was not a question. It was an unmistakable order.

"Someone has been calling here asking for you... some old friend of yours. It's nothing too exciting, some spoiled rich kid that needs babysitting, but the assignment is yours if you want it."

Bella sucked in a breath quickly as realization hit her. This meeting had nothing to do with her inability to clock in on time in the mornings, but everything to do with her future career within the bureau. No more desk duty and limited assignments. The time had finally come for her to do some actual field work.

"What do you say Swan?! The assignment is yours if you want it?"

"I'm all in, sir…. I mean, chief… I mean, when do I start, chief? "

"How about right now," Chief Inspector Jason Jenks suggested, turning to his computer and punching in some keys. "I've got the case file ready and waiting for you."

He spun the screen around for Bella to see.

"I believe you're already familiar with the Cullen Medical Cooperation and the Voltera Biotech Inc."

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#104

You are MINE, You belong to me! Your need to belong will be fulfilled only through me. You are my own dear possession, and with me you will find true love and care.

Note #104, yet another bible inspired quote, was written on the backside on the underside of the content tag from the dry cleaners.

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Edward was running late for his lunch date with Alice, but to his defense she hadn't given him much time to work with. She had called him measly 45 minutes ago ordering (not asking) him to join her for lunch. Alice had someone she wanted him to meet and she was not taking no for an answer.

Hands in pockets and hoodie pulled low over his face Edward paid for his cab and briskly walked across the street towards the entrance of the casual but somewhat upscale restaurant. The feeling of being watched was immensely strong, and gave him goose bumps.

Once inside he was led upstairs to a private room with a magnificent view of the busy city below.

His sister was already seated at a table by the dark tinted panorama window and she wasn't alone. Edward gave the stranger a quick once over as stepped inside the room.

It was a woman, a young, fresh-faced looking one at that…

"Dammit Alice!," he swore under his breath. This was so not a good time to be playing matchmaker, surely even his hopelessly romantic sister must realize that.

His life was complicated enough as it was, without adding some girl into the mix. Not that the girl looked unattractive or anything, quite the opposite actually… She appeared to be quite a stunner, in a sharp, edgy sort of way; a pale beauty with delicate features and unruly jet black hair that fell just below her chin in choppy strands. Alice knew how to pick them, he had to give her credit for that, but he had no plans to re-enter the dating scene anytime soon.

The last woman he had 'dated' had fled the field after finding a blood stained voodoo doll, complete strategically placed needles, in her mailbox. The Voodoo doll incident had happened after weeks of harassment and threats so he didn't blame her. He would have done the same if the situation had been reversed. Besides stalker or no stalker, his strange work hours and heavy workload alone were reasons enough to send any girl running screaming in the opposite direction.

He must have zoned out for a second or two, because when he became aware of his surroundings again, his sister was waving her hands over her head in a not-so-subtle way to get his attention.

Edward heaved a great mental sigh. Dwelling upon memories of the past was not going to help him out of his present dilemma.

"I'm sorry!," he apologized as he neared the table. "I'm beyond late, I know. The cab got stuck. Apparently I have terrible traffic karma."

"Don't worry about it, brother dearest," Alice said, pulling him down in the empty chair beside her. "You just gave us more time to talk about you behind your back, that's all," she added, sharing a conspiratorial smile with the woman across the table.

Edward groaned inwardly but kept his expression neutral. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend, Alice?," he suggested with a quick glance at the stranger.

A pair of dark sunglasses hid her eyes, but what part of her face the glasses didn't conceal was appealing and so utterly familiar that he couldn't help staring at her.

"Edward, I want you to meet the latest addition to our extended family, Arizona Belle Hawkins, B for short. She is going to be your shadow from now on. B meet Edward, your new ... uhm... client… assignment... work case or whatever you want you call him. "

"Oooh, I'm sure I can think of something," the brunette replied with a dry, rasping little laugh. "It's good to see you again, Edward, though I wish it was under better circumstances."

"Better circumstances?!," he repeated her words dumbly. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I remember… "

"Would it trig your memory if I put you in handcuffs and escort you out of here under gunpoint?," she asked, lifting her hand to remove her sunglasses.

"Bella?!," he spat in recognition. "Officer Black? Oh my gosh, your hair… I didn't recognize you! "

Disclaimer

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

I do not in any way profit from this story and that all creative rights to the Twilight characters belong to their original creator, Stephenie Meyer.

The plot line though is my own brainchild, so please don't steal it. I worked hard to come up with it! (Really, I did.)