Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns all.
Rated M for a reason.
Chpt 7 You Shall go to the Ball
BPOV
The next day we familiarised ourselves with the house an' grounds and then at Pete's urging gathered in the sun room for a family meeting.
Jasper was as cool as a cucumber about our visit with the Cullens, apparently he was neither surprised nor annoyed by Carlisle's lack of sorrow at his death. Predictably this made Pete and I swell with anger on his behalf.
Our second family conversation about Jenks however had an entirely different effect, we didn't need to feel his emotions to know how mad he was. As soon as possible he was heading to Seattle to discuss our concerns with the poor man in question. In the meantime Char was instructed to start squirreling away all our money.
The biggest deliberations were over Rutilio.
"I haven't found out where he's livin' yet." Pete informs us. "I'm guessin' somewhere outta the city like us. But I have managed to find out that he's goin' to a Charity Ball tomorrow night at The Plaza."
"Oh, The Plaza." Char's eyes glaze over a little. "Can you get us tickets Pete? I love The Plaza, we haven't been for years."
"Char baby, as much as I'd like to take ya somewhere posh I'm not sure crashin' a party Rutilio an' his goons are gonna be at is a smart idea."
"I agree." I interrupt. "But I think maybe I should go. It's a perfect opportunity to let him see me."
"No." Jasper says firmly. "Too dangerous."
"It's not a bad idea J." Pete muses. "It's a very public place, Bella'd be quite safe."
Jasper sighs heavily. "Pete, I thought we agreed that the Whitlocks are just gonna disappear? That's not gonna happen if we go rubbin' our presence under Rutilio's nose."
"Yeah." Pete agrees. "But we also didn't finish our discussion about what to do about Rutilio. He's a threat to us J, as long as he's alive, he knows who we are. He might think you're dead but he knows the rest of us ain't. He's no fool, he musta considered whether or not we'd come after him at some point. As far as he's concerned we blame him for your death, Bella's right, if we don't do somethin' interested parties might start to wonder. For all we know it's him that's bein' payin' Jenks to rat us out."
Jasper nods. "If he's paying Jenks he already knows I ain't dead."
That shuts us all up for a minute.
"What if it's someone else Jenk's is leakin' information to?" I ask.
"Like who?"
"The Cullens?" Char offers.
"Could be, but he's always been loyal to us over them in the past." Jasper answers.
"Well who else is there?" Char questions
We all exchange uneasy glances. Who else might be lookin' for Jasper or the Whitlocks? Like the good little soldiers we are we wait patiently while the cogs in Jasper's mind do their thing.
Eventually he exhales a long breath. "Alright. Since someone is clearly keepin' tabs on us I guess it's a mistake to go to ground, we need to make an effort to flush 'em out an' find out what's goin' on. But we're not takin' any chances, nobody knows where we are for now an' we should take care to keep it that way. Bella, you can go to the ball an' rattle Rutilio's chain, he at least will know you're in New York. The rest of us will come with you to the hotel but we'll stay outta sight an' outta scent. Char, its time to unveil the disguise."
Gigglin' Char flits out an' returns with a round box. With great ceremony she lifts the lid an' reveals a medium length dark brown wig of slightly curly hair. She lifts it out an' settles it carefully on Jasper's head bein' careful to tuck away his own blonde locks.
Pete and I regard him silence for a moment.
"You know you could look quite hot with dark hair." I tell him crackin' up with laughter.
"Darlin' I'm pretty sure me lookin' hot is not supposed to make you laugh."
"Sorry." I snort. "Look in the mirror."
He moves across to the wall mirror an' then chuckles. "I guess it does look kinda weird with blonde eyebrows."
Char flits to her room an' comes back with an eyebrow pencil and some mascara which she uses on him expertly.
"That's better." She says, steppin' back.
"Now you look hot." I murmur.
"Then it's a shame collar an' cuffs don't match darlin." An' he winks at me.
"Don't get to carried away J." Pete laughs. "You still look suspiciously like you."
"Aha." Char says rummaging in the box. "That's why we went for somethin' a little bit extra. Turn round J while I put it on otherwise they won't get the full affect."
After a few minutes of mutual gigglin' Char turns him back to us an' now he's sporting a very light, very sexy soul patch an' a small pair of wire rimmed glasses over blue contacts.
"Wow." Is all I can manage.
"Well that's a bit better." Pete chuckles. "Add some crisp threads an' look like the world's deadliest nerd."
"Or the world's nerdiest bodyguard." Jasper mutters, checking himself out. "I was hopin' I could go in the Ballroom with Bella, they'll be plenty of other heavies there so as I long as I stay outta the way no one should notice me."
Pete is silent for a moment, eyes screwed up as if he's consultin' his gift. "That should work J, just don't go all over protective an' muscle in on sweet thing. You gotta trust her to take care of herself. Anyone who's seen the two of you together before would probably catch on to who you are pretty quick, you sorta look like you should be joined at the hip. So lil sis, what are you gonna say to our nasty little friend?"
"I think I'll ask him why the fuck, after he's killed my mate, his goons are still followin' me around an' turnin' up at my house lookin' for The Major."
"That's as good a place to start as any darlin'." Jasper nods. "I doubt he'll say much but we might be able to tell somethin' from his reaction an' certainly from anythin' that happens afterwards."
"Great, we have the nucleus of a plan." Pete claps his hands together. "Now what are we gonna do about Jenks?"
"Well." Jasper says, a sadistic grin formin' on his lips. "I need to go have a little chat with our Mister Jenks. It'd be best to do it before Bella makes an appearance tomorrow but there ain't enough time now. I'll take a trip to Seattle at the end of the week, Char we'll need all our assets sorted out before then."
"No problem J." She answers briskly. "I'll start on it tomorrow, in the meantime, since I'm guessin' you've got a tux Bella an' I are goin' shoppin' because sug you need to buy your first ball gown."
I roll my eyes but she just laughs an' winks at me.
It turns out that ball gown shopping doesn't take long at all but that even I've got plenty of enthusiasm for the other type of shopping she's got in mind.
It's already dark by the time we return, findin' the house lights blazing an' the guys loungin' around the heated outdoor pool doing their pretending to drink beer thing.
I plop down in the sun lounger next to Jasper an' he leans over to give me a lazy kiss on the cheek. "How was it darlin'."
"It was amazin'." I sigh happily. "There's so much to see, will you take me sight seein' when we get back from Seattle?"
"I'd love to." He chuckles. "I take it you didn't do any today?"
"Nope." I smile at Char as she settles onto Pete's lap. "We were too busy shoppin'."
"Was it okay?" He asks, takin' my hand and tracin' patterns on my palm with his thumb.
"Yeah, I'm quite pleased actually. I mean the smell made me so hungry I was practically droolin' but I didn't feel the slightest urge to hunt anyone so I guess I'll be okay. We stopped on the way back an' I grabbed a light snack."
"Speakin' of huntin'." Pete says, sitting up holdin' Char in his lap. "My sweet wife we need to head out tonight an' dispense some social justice."
"Mmm." She moans quietly, standing and offering him her hand. "I am a little hungry now that you come to mention it."
"Looks like you guys have the house to yourselves for the rest of the night. Use your time wisely." An' with a lewd waggle of his eyebrows Pete leads Char back into the house.
"I think I'll take a dip." The pool looks too inviting to ignore, especially as I can't feel the cold in the air.
"Sounds like a plan." Jasper murmurs, liftin' my hand to his lips an' kissin' it lightly. "I'll join you in a bit, I've got some business to take care of first."
In our room I pick out his favourite bikini an' change quickly to head back out to the pool, looking forward to some alone time with my mate. Having a family is great but sometimes I just want Jasper to myself.
x . x . x
Pleased I admire myself in the mirror. The floor length dark green gown shows off my figure an' creamy skin to perfection. Well, the skin is perfect if you've human eyesight, hey ho. The dress is backless with a plunging neckline, fitted bodice an' softly draping skirt. With Char's help I've piled my hair up on the top of my head and fixed it with curls escapin' down my neck. I look good even if I do say so myself.
A tall dark apparition in a perfectly fittin' tux appears in the mirror behind me.
"You look stunnin' darlin'." He whispers, kissin' his scar on my neck softly.
I sigh, leanin' my head back against him.
"Come on." He says suddenly, takin' my hand. "Lets get downstairs before Char assumes the worst, I've been warned."
Pete and Char are waitin' for us in the hallway, Pete in an equally awesome tux an' Char in a black sheath dress that manages to look classy without leavin' much to the imagination. Char insisted they get dressed up too, even though their stayin' away from the ballroom, both she and I are hoping the guys will take us dancin' after.
As I settle back into the sumptuous seat I stifle a laugh at the idea of Bella Swan travellin' to a $10,000 a plate dinner at The Plaza in a stretch limo. You couldn't make it up.
When we reach our destination Jasper hands me out of the limo like a good minion and then falls into step behind me. We've timed our arrival so that dinner will be over and the dancing well under way.
I pause for a moment on the threshold of the room. I don't know why I'm scared, they're only people, just like I used to be, except probably a shit load richer but then perhaps even that's not quite true any more either. Jasper touches my back lightly and squaring my shoulders I sashay into the room like I belong there. Behind me I sense Jasper sliding along the wall an' mergin' into the shadows at the edge of the room.
I make my way to the bar, ordering a glass of champagne and then holdin' it against my lips as I scan the crowd. These are what the media always describe as the beautiful people, with a shiver of excitement I spot a famous actress and at least two leading men, not to mention various bankers and politicians I recognise from the news.
Mentally shaking myself I resume my scan of the room. The vampires aren't hard to find, of all the beautiful people here they are easily the most memorable. There are four vampires at the table with several humans. Rutilio, a man and woman I do not recognise, both tall and blonde and a dark woman with her back to me who I assume is his new wife from the way his arm is draped proprietarily over her shoulder.
Slowly I circle the room looking for other vampires. I spot Jasper still shadowing me carefully and across the room from him two others, both large an' hoverin' at the edge of things in the same manner, their eyes trained either on Rutilio's table or the crowd. The next time Jasper looks at me I nod towards them and with an' answering nod he heads slowly in their direction.
When he comes to a stop, close enough to be able to act if required I start across the room heading for the table.
Rutilio is bent over talking to the woman I assume is his new wife.
As I edge nearer he kisses her hand grandly and turns to walk away, quickly I sink down into a chair at another table and focus on my drink. Riskin' a glance as he moves to the main doors I almost gasp in shock at the sight of his liquid gold eyes scanning the room for his guards.
Instinctively my eyes snap to the table he has vacated.
Shocked to the core I rise to my feet almost too quickly for a human and dash out onto the nearest balcony.