DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR ANY OF S. MEYER'S CHARACTERS… UNFORTUNATELY.

I JUST PLAY WITH THEM.

Blood In The Snow Chapter 31

Previously:

Looks like I'm going to have to tell him… "Sit down, Charlie…" I start.

CPOV

Charlie is silent for a minute. "O… kay… What's going on, Carlisle?"

"Right after you left, a 'Code Blue' was called on Hunter."

"Code Blue? That means something is very wrong… right?"

"Yes. Usually, it indicates a cardiac arrest, either in progress or imminent."

"A heart attack?" Charlie's voice rose. "He was fine when I was there. Talking about getting out in a day or so. What the hell happened? Is he going to be all right?"

"Charlie… I'm sorry. He didn't make it." I could hear him gasp for breath. "We worked on him for over an hour, but nothing helped."

"What happened?"

"We don't know yet what caused it, but there will be a post mortem and hopefully we will get some answers." I hesitated for a minute. I should tell him about the syringe. "Charlie… I'm not positive that it was from natural causes."

"What do you mean?" Charlie's voice gets very quiet… low… almost menacing. "Tell me." He demands.

"There was a syringe dangling from his IV line. Still had some liquid in it."

"Did you get it?" Charlie interrupts.

"Yes. I also had one of the nurses draw a vial of blood for testing." I hesitate. "Charlie, I think he was killed. There is no reason I can think of for him to die from the injury he had. None."

"I'm coming down there."

"I think that's a good idea. Come directly to my office."

"Seal off his room. Don't let anyone in there to clean up or anything else."

"You got it." We disconnect and I head up to the nurse's station. "Ladies… by order of Det. Swan, Hunter's room is to be closed up and sealed off. No one goes in or out until he arrives. Clear?" They all indicate they understand. I can tell that the gossip is going to be flying around the hospital.

Walking back to my office, I realize, because of all the uproar surrounding Hunter's death, I haven't called the boys to update them yet. I need to do that right away. I close my door and settle into my chair, just looking at the telephone for a few minutes… gathering my thoughts. Sighing, I reach for the telephone. Putting it off won't make this any easier. Leaning back, I rest my eyes as I wait for Edward to answer.

EPOV

While waiting for the fresh pot of coffee to finish brewing, I watch Jasper and Alec playing out in the snow. I can't help but laugh at them. Jasper makes snowballs and throws them for Alec, who chases after them, but can't find the white snowball after it lands in the glittering white snow. The look on the dog's face is priceless. He knows that ball was thrown, he saw it… but where did it go? I hear my phone ringing over on the counter beside the coffee pot. Reluctantly, I pry myself away from watching the fun outside and pick it up, looking to see who is calling. Dad.

"Hi Dad."

"Edward. How are you?"

"Doing just fine. Watching Jasper and Alec playing in the snow."

"Listen, I have some news for you boys. It's important."

I can tell from his tone of voice that this is serious. "What's happened, dad?"

"A couple of things. First of all… Det. Swan knows where you boys are. He found you through public records, looking for properties owned by me."

"Damn. Should we expect visitors? The cops? The Volturi?" I know my dad can hear the panic starting to build in my voice. What the hell are we going to do?

"Edward. Son. Breathe. Deep breaths… breathe with me, son." I listened to him and try to match my breaths with his and slowly calm down.

"Thanks, Dad. I'm okay."

"Good. Now… the second piece of news. You remember that cop that was shot… James Hunter? He was Det. Swan's partner…"

"Yeah."

"He's dead."

"Oh… what happened?"

"The preliminary cause of death was listed as cardiac arrest. We're waiting on the post mortem to see what really happened."

"I thought he was just shot in the leg."

"He was. The weird thing is, I found a syringe dangling from his IV line. I didn't order any medication and as far as I can find out, neither did anyone else."

"You think he was killed." I slump down on to one of the bar stools, glancing out at the love of my life, still playing with the dog. Oh god… what if…

"Dad… Hunter was the mole, wasn't he? Somehow he found out where we are, told the Volturi and they killed him."

"That's my thinking exactly. Det. Swan told me about how he found you right outside Hunter's room. I think we should assume that the Volturi now know, too."

"I think you're right. What do we do now? I checked the snowmobiles the other day and we don't have any fuel for them and their batteries are all dead. We have no way, other than walking, to get out of here." I am fighting back the panic once again.

"Do you remember that island I bought for your mother a few years back? The one off Brazil?"

"Yeah."

"You and Jasper could go there. No one could find you there… it's not in my name. I can get you boys out of there, if you want to go."

I think about it. It sounds like the perfect solution. However… if we run, we could be running for the rest of our lives. That's no life. "We can't run, dad. When would it ever end?"

"Somehow I knew that would be your answer." He heaves a heavy sigh before going on. "Okay. You know where the gun safe is, right?"

"Yes"

"The combination for it is in the right, top drawer of my desk. There are two 30/30s in there along with a double-barreled shotgun. The drawer at the bottom of the gun safe should have plenty of ammunition."

"Sounds like you're expecting an all out war."

"I hope it won't be, but you boys need to be able to defend yourselves. Now, I know you're a good shot, but do you know if Jasper is?"

"No idea. But if not, he can use the shotgun. All he'll have to do is point it in their direction."

"Son, did you take down all the storm shutters when you opened up the house?"

"Just the ones downstairs, in my bedroom and my study. The rest are still up. Why?"

"I think it might be a good idea to put them all back up. It would give you a bit more protection and also not allow anyone to be able to see into the house."

"You're right. We'll get on that this afternoon. I stored them all in the garage."

We speak about other ideas for protection for a while longer. Dad promises to call the instant he hears anything new. I tell him that we will probably be calling Jacob to see if we can get some help from his end.

After we hang up, I sit and try to get my thoughts organized. So many things we need to get done. I pull on my coat, grab a mug of coffee for each of us and head out the door to talk with Jasper.

I sit and watch Jasper, hunched over his mug of coffee that sits on the table between us. He's trying to absorb the information I've passed on to him from my dad.

Looking up at me, he sighs quietly. "What are we going to do?" The concern shows in his beautiful blue eyes. I want to take the concern from him… protect him from the world. "I don't want to run. Can we protect ourselves here?"

"We have guns… we put the shutters back up so they can't see into the house… dad is going to call in some favors. I think maybe we should call Det. Black and get his help, too." Jaspers nods at the suggestion to call Black. "Let's go ahead and get the shutters up first."

"Okay."

We head out to the garage, leaving the coffee mugs on the table.

Just as the sun sinks below the horizon, we finally get the last shutter in place. "Just bring the tools into the house, Jasper. It's too cold to stay out anymore." Shivering, he nods and we go into the house. "Coffee?"

"Please." Jasper lays the tools on the counter next to the window, moves to the table and sits down. I rinse the dregs of the old coffee out of the pot and set it up for a fresh pot. He pulls out his cell phone, laying it on the table. "I think it's time to call Jacob, don't you?"

"Yeah, I think so."

Jasper keys in Jacob's number… waits for it to ring… then puts it on speaker, positioning the phone between us.

"Black."

"Jake. Jasper."

"Jasper! Man, are you all right? I've been going out of my mind trying to figure out where you are and how to help you… to protect you."

"Jake. Jake." Jasper tried to get Jacob to calm down. "Listen man, I have a lot to tell you. Just listen."

"I'm listening."

"Edward's dad, Carlisle, called. Det. Swan knows where we are. Exactly. His partner shot one cop they think was the mole and got himself shot in the process. Carlisle was Hunter's doctor. Hunter was shot in the leg and was getting ready to be released from the hospital. Swan told Carlisle that he knew where we are… right outside of Hunter's door. Then suddenly Hunter dies and Carlisle finds a syringe hanging from his IV line."

"Damn!" Jacob interrupts. "Is that man an idiot? Do they know who killed Hunter?"

"Not for sure, but Carlisle thinks the Volturi must be behind it. He thinks that Hunter was the real mole and once he told them what they wanted, they killed him."

"Jacob… Edward here. My dad thinks they will come for us… possibly on snowmobiles since we are snowed in. He wants us to try to get out of here and hide out somewhere else."

"Hey Edward. Your dad is right. You two need to get out of there as soon as possible."

"No. I do NOT want to spend the rest of my life running and hiding." Jasper huffs, shaking his head.

I wrap my arm around his shoulder, pulling him close as he buries his face in my chest. "Not going to happen, Jacob. Jasper is right. This needs to end… now. Jasper has already lost too much."

"Okay. Okay." Jacob mutters something quietly under his breath. "Look, let me get in touch with Swan. We'll work out a plan."

"I don't think you should tell Swan anything until you can tell him face to face and be sure he doesn't let it slip out to anyone."

"Yeah, Edward, I think maybe you're right." We can hear papers shuffling around on Jake's end. "Okay. I'll catch the next flight out." He pauses for a minute. "Listen, Jasper… can I get your number? I need to be able to keep you in the loop."

Jasper looks at me, raising an eyebrow in question. I nod at him. Jacob will need a way to contact us so he can keep us up on what is happening.

"Jasper, I won't give it to anyone. You know this."

"I know, Jake. And you're right. We need you to be able to contact us. The number is the same one I had in Chicago… same phone actually."

"Damn. You mean I could've called you anytime?"

"Yeah."

"I figured you probably got a disposable phone when you first got to Seattle."

"Must be what everyone thinks."

"Smart. Okay… I need to get off of here and get my flight booked. I'll call you when I arrive."

"Safe trip, Jake."

"Yeah. You and Edward be careful. See you soon." Jacob disconnects the connection.

Jasper puts the phone in his pocket, sitting back and sipping his coffee. I can see the crease between his eyebrows deepening as he worries over our situation. Reaching across the table, my fingers gently smooth over the furrowed skin. His eyes close as he leans in to my caress, sighing softly.

"We're going to be okay, baby." My fingers trail gently across his forehead and down his cheek. "We can hole up here… the house looks deserted with the shutters up… we have rifles downstairs and plenty of ammunition to protect ourselves… dad is calling n favors to help… Jacob is flying in to get with Swan to bring in the cavalry…" Jasper peers up at me through his long eyelashes, a small smirk gracing his lips. "And best of all…" I grin. "We have Alec!" We burst out laughing, looking down at that silly animal, sound asleep on his back with his legs splayed out.

Extending my hand to him, I curl my fingers around his as he places his hand in mine. "Come, love, let's go down and see what kind of arsenal we have." Jasper pulls me in for a tight hug, his lips ghosting along my neck, causing a shiver of delight to run down my spine. "Ahhh… love. Not fair." He grins at me. "Guns first… then… " Wiggling my eyebrows at him, we both chuckle.

"Okay." He pulls away. Let's go play army. Lead the way, mon Capitan!"

Flipping on the lights, we make our way down the stairs. "It's been years since I've been down here."

The basement is huge. It extends for the entire length of the house, the far corners fading into shadow. Off to the left side of the room, the glow from the heating system casts a soft orange glow. On the opposite wall stands the big vault my dad uses for our gun safe. Striding over to it, I turn the combination lock to the proper numbers and griping the heavy handle, I pull it open. Inside is a varied collection of firearms, along with copious amounts of ammunition for each weapon.

"Damn, Edward. Your family expecting a war?" Jasper leaned in a bit closer to get a better look. Reaching out to lightly stroke one, he turns to me with a shocked expression. "Tell me this is not a rocket launcher, Edward."

Laughing, I reach in and pick up the weapon in question. "No. Emmett bought it because it looks like one, but it's just a fancy flare gun." I reach down, pulling a flare out of a box and show Jasper how it fits in. "But, you know… if you were to point and shoot it at someone…"

Jasper shudders, but has a wicked glint in his eyes. "…you'd light them up!"

I couldn't suppress my laugh at the mental image of a 'rambo' Jasper, complete with camos, the headband and belts of ammo strung across his chest, running around from tree to tree, 'lighting up' the bad guys. What I wouldn't give to see that!

"One thing you need to remember, babe… I'm a city boy. I've never shot a real gun in my life. I've done the target games at the carnivals, but that's the closest I've come to them. I'm not going to be much help, I'm afraid." Jasper hung his head.

Reaching out, I pull him into my arms, bushing my lips against his. I swipe my tongue across his bottom lip and he relaxes his lips, slightly parting them, giving me access. Deepening the kiss, I press his body to mine. I need to feel him close. Needing air, I raise my head, looking into his beautiful blue eyes. "My love, I wouldn't care if you wanted to hide down here for the duration… " He makes a soft sound of protest. "… no… I'm not saying that I think that's what you want. I'm just saying that it would NOT make a difference to me… I love you no matter what." Stepping back, I reach into the gun safe and pull out the double-barreled shotgun. "With this baby, you don't have to know how to shoot or aim." I hand it to him. "All you have to do is point it in their general direction and pull the trigger. This thing will spray shot in a big enough spread that you'll hit someone."

"Really?" He looks it over more carefully. I hand him a couple of the shells for it. "Jeez… these are huge."

"Yeah… They hold a lot of shot." I take the gun from him and show him how to load it. We spend a while down here, going through the various guns. I pick out the two 30/30s, the ammunition for them, the shotgun, the flare gun, several boxes of the shotgun shells, several boxes of flares and we head back upstairs.

AN: Hopefully, I will post the next chapter a little faster. I'm sure going to try! Thank you all so much for being patient with me! Did anyone notice the "Cosmopolis" line in this chapter? *grin*

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