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

I JUST PLAY WITH THEM.

Blood In The Snow Chapter 33

DPOV

Sitting at my desk, I make notes as I listen to Felix detailing the preparations that have been made for tomorrow night's assault on the lodge. "Okay. We have six snowmobiles, two guys each on four of them and you and me on the other two… correct?"

I listen as he gives me the details on the eight men he's got to go with us. All of them have been loyal members of the family for a long time. Good. "What weapons have you got?" Again I listen as Felix extols the virtues of his favorite gun… the AK47 assault rifle. "Yes, Felix… I know they are the best. Surely that's not the only weapon, though. I'm going to have my Glock with me, of course." Getting up from my chair, I pace around the room. Damn. That man could talk a person to death. "Felix. Felix!" Finally, he shuts up. "Have everyone and the equipment at the warehouse by 2pm tomorrow. I want to be at the edge of the park and ready to head out by 6 pm tomorrow. You do have the truck ready to haul everything, right? It will take about an hour to reach the stopping point. We'll go in on skis from that point. You do have the skis for everyone… right?" He assures me that everything is taken care of. "Okay. Don't go out and get wasted tonight. I need you clear headed tomorrow. We are not going to fuck this up. Aro will kill us if we don't get him this time."

The door to my office slammed open, causing me to jump, grab my gun and point it at the intruder. "Aro!" I gasp, lowering my gun immediately as Aro Marcus and Caius saunter into the room. "Felix… gotta go." I disconnect the call, turning to Aro.

"Boss. I didn't know you were coming or I'd have picked you up at the airport."

He motions for me to sit as he takes my chair behind my desk. I sit in one of the uncomfortable chairs in front of it. Caius and Marcus move to stand behind Aro… just staring at me. After a few minutes of silent staring, I begin to get uncomfortable. "So… what brings you to Seattle?"

Aro chuckles. "Are we making you nervous, Demetri?" Caius and Marcus wear matching smirks.

"No, just surprised." I manage to grind out.

The smile drops from his face and a predatory expression replaces it. "After the mess you made of the house fire and disposing of Whitlock, we decided to come out and supervise this time. Make sure it gets done right this time."

"I was just on the phone with Felix making sure everything is ready…"

"We heard. You do have the GPS co-ordinates for the lodge, correct?"

"Yes", pointing to the papers on my desk, "Its all right there."

Aro picks up the papers, perusing them, nodding. "Excellent. We will join you. But by helicopter. After you have begun the assault on the lodge. Don't want to give away the surprise." He giggles. Caius and Marcus join him. "Exactly how far out is your stopping point, where you will switch to skis?"

'It's a mile out. Far enough that they shouldn't hear the engines, but not so far that it will be too difficult to get in to them quickly."

"You will notify me when you have the lodge surrounded. We will fly in. I want to witness the death of Whitlock and his lover. There will be no mistakes this time. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Boss. Crystal clear."

"Good" He rises from my chair, stalking around the desk. "Now, it has been a long and tiring journey. We will retire to our hotel and see you and your men at the lodge tomorrow night."

I stand, respectfully, as they make their way to the door. Aro turns, smiling at me. "Demetri… you should be sure to follow your advise to Felix… don't celebrate New Year's Eve too much."

"Yes, Boss. I plan to stay in and go over the plan to be sure everything is perfect."

"Good choice." With that, the brothers leave, closing the door behind them. I collapse into my chair, running my hands over my face. If anything goes wrong, I am a dead man. I know this. Reaching into the right hand bottom drawer of my desk, I drag out the bottle of whiskey I keep stashed there. Removing the cap, I take a long, hard pull.

Setting the bottle on my desk, I grab the phone and call Felix. After two rings he answers. "Yeah."

"Man… the brothers are here."

"What? Why?"

"They are going along on this hit. Say they want to be sure it gets done right this time."

"Shit."

"Yeah. Listen… you better be sure you've got everything set up perfectly. I will blow your head off myself if you fuck this up. Clear?"

"Yeah man. Everything is perfect. I swear."

"You better be sure." Slapping the phone shut, I cut him off. Grabbing the whiskey bottle, I take another long pull. What a lousy way to spend New Year's Eve. I had plans with a pretty little thing. Guess she'll just have to wait.

New Year's Day dawned overcast with heavy ground fog. More snow is being forecast. Perfect. Rolling over in the bed, I look at the clock. Damn. It's after 1. Sliding out of bed, I hit the shower. I need to go over to the warehouse and double check Felix and the equipment, get it loaded on the truck and hauled out to the starting point.

As I dress, I call Felix.

"Yeah."

"Felix. I'm heading to the warehouse. Where are you?"

"I'm already here. Checking over the snowmobiles, making sure the tanks are full."

"Good. The men there yet?"

"Just Bobby, but the others should be here about the time you get here."

"Listen, I don't know if the brothers will be at the warehouse today or not… just in case… be SURE everything is running smoothly."

"No problem. Demetri… all three of them are here?" He sounds worried.

"Yeah."

"They're not happy, are they?"

"No, they are not happy. This goes wrong… "

"Yeah… I know."

"I'll be there in a few."

"Okay."

I close the phone, stick it in my pocket, grab my coat and head out the door. Gotta stop by Starbucks, forgot to set up the coffee maker last night.

CHPOV

Standing at the podium in the briefing room, I watch as the team assembles, settling into their seats. An intriguing mixture… uniforms, detectives and FBI. I hated to call them in, but with the lodge right smack in the middle of a National Park, we needed someone with jurisdiction. As soon as everyone is here and settled down, I will give my part of the briefing and then Agent Stockwell will give his. Carlisle is waiting down the hall in my office. I'll fill him in afterwards. I knew there was no way to keep him out of this when I called him last night…

Flashback

"Dr. Cullen."

"Carlisle. Charlie."

"Have you heard something?"

"Yeah. My sources tell me that Felix has acquired six snowmobiles and a large number of AK47s. He's got a crew gathering at their warehouse tomorrow. I figure they are gonna go in right at dusk and try to get to the lodge just at full nightfall."

"How many?"

"The way I hear it, at least ten."

"Damn. I have to warn the boys."

"I think so. I'm gathering a team. We'll meet in the morning and hash out a plan of action. I'm gonna call in the FBI for some more help."

"Why don't you just go to the warehouse and stop them before they can do any harm."

"As of right now, they haven't broken any laws."

"But the snowmobiles, the guns…"

"They can claim to be setting up a hunting trip and be perfectly legal."

"But the AK47s?"

"You can bet those are not out in plain sight. I'm sorry, but we have to wait until they actually show up at the lodge."

"I'm going with you."

"No."

"I'm a doctor. You may need me. I'm going… either with you or on my own."

"Alright, alright. Be in my office at 10 am. We have a briefing at 10:15. You can't attend it, but I'll give you all the details right after."

"Thanks, Charlie. I'll be there."

"Oh… and doc… bring your bag."

End Flashback

The briefing took longer than I expected. But, in a way I guess that's a good thing. Better to be thorough than miss an important detail. When we finally dismissed, it was nearly1pm. But… we had a definite plan. Some how the FBI managed to come up with ten snowmobiles. We will have two men on most of them along with their weapons. Everyone will have their radios set to our group so we can communicate. The best we can hope for is to get there first and be waiting for them, but I have a sinking feeling that that will not happen. They have a head start on us. But if we can get there shortly after they do, the boys should be able to hold them off. At least we hope so.

As I walked down to my office, I could hear Carlisle talking. Sounds like he's talking to the boys. I hurry in. I want to give them a heads up on the plan.

Carlisle looks up, phone in hand, startled when I rush through the door. "Is that the boys?"

"Yes."

"Good. Can you put them on speaker?"

Carlisle presses a button, then places the phone on my desk.

"Jasper… Edward… can you both hear me alright?"

"Yes, Charlie, we can."

"Okay. I just got out of a briefing with my team and the FBI."

"Yeah, Dad told us. You think they're heading our way tonight."

"My sources tell me that it's on for tonight. They're coming in most of the way on snowmobiles and the last mile or so on skis." I pause for a minute. "Boys… I don't know that we can get there before they do. You may have to hold them off until we can get there."

"Shit." Edward swore. "Charlie… how many?"

"Best we can figure between 10 and 12. They are heavily armed. Is there some place you can bunker down?"

"The basement. But if they get in the house, we'll be trapped down there with no way out." Jasper spoke up.

"Carlisle, is there more than one way in or out of the basement?"

"No, just the door in the kitchen. Jasper is right, they'd be trapped down there." Carlisle thought for a minute. "Edward?"

"Yeah, dad."

"Make sure all the blinds are down over the windows and patio doors. It will make it difficult for them to tell where you are in the house."

"Already done. We got all the shutters up and the glass doors have the shades and blinds pulled. We thought since there are only three doors… the front door, the kitchen door and the sliding glass doors in the living room… we'll set up where we can see all three doors and shoot anyone who comes through them."

"Good idea." I nod at Carlisle. "Hey… pull some of the furniture and use it like a fort… like you did as kids." I hear them both laugh.

"Already did it, Charlie." "Best fort ever!"

"Okay. Listen up… all of you." I looked over at Carlisle. He nods at me, leaning forward slightly. "The Volturi are coming in quietly on skis. Watch for them, but do not turn on any lights. We are coming in on snowmobiles, making lots of noise. Hate to let them know we're coming, but it's the fastest way in. So… don't shoot us. We'll have high-powered floodlights, too. You'll know when we get there. Whatever you do… DO NOT come out unless you hear either my voice or your dad's."

"Edward, son… be careful." The anguish in Carlisle's voice was almost palpable. "Jasper… you two watch out for each other."

"We will, Dad."

"I'll text you when we get close enough to see the house." A knock on the door interrupted us. Carlisle picked up the phone, taking it off speaker and said quiet goodbyes to the boys while I walked over and opened the door. Agent Stockwell stood there. I motioned him in. He looked at Carlisle, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Agent Stockwell, this is Dr. Carlisle Cullen. His son Edward is with Whitlock at the lodge." The two men shook hands, sizing up one another. "Carlisle will be coming with us."

Stockwell looked shocked. "I don't think that's a good idea Swan. Civilian and all… I mean he's related…"

"He knows all the different ways in to the property… he's also a doctor... and yeah, that's his son out there. He's coming. End of discussion." I stand there staring at Stockwell. The tension was palpable.

"Then you are responsible for him." He finally conceded, shaking his head like he thought we'd lost our minds.

"Not a problem." Stockwell stomped out of the room. I just shook my head at him. "Carlisle, we need to get ready. I've got a vest for you. Hopefully you won't need it, but better to be safe." I pulled two vests out of my small closet, handing one to him and putting the other one on. I watch to make sure Carlisle gets his on correctly. "Worn one of those before?"

"No… why?"

"Most people get it on wrong the first time." Another knock on the door interrupts us. "Yeah." I grab my spare weapon from my bottom drawer and hold it out to Carlisle. He looks at it for a minute, then reluctantly accepts it, sliding it into his coat pocket, along with an extra clip.

Embry sticks his head in. "Charlie… ready to head out?"

"Yeah. Embry… this is Dr. Cullen. He's coming with us."

"Hey, doc." Embry grins at him.

"Embry." Carlisle extends his hand to shake Embry's.

"Grab your bag and let's get this show on the road." Opening the door, I let the doc and Embry go out first, then close it behind us. We head toward the elevator where the rest of the team is gathering. When the elevator door opens, Jacob Black steps out, looking surprised at the large group standing there.

"Jacob. What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Charlie. I figured if I wanted to be in on this, I'd better get my butt to Seattle." He grinned at Charlie. "So… this the team?" He looked at the men, noticing the FBI logo on several of the men's vests.

"Yeah, we had to call in the feds to get someone with jurisdiction because of the location." They stand back and let the majority of the combined team load into the elevator. It is obvious that it will take more than one trip to get them all downstairs.

Agent Stockwell stays behind along with Charlie, Carlisle Embry and Jacob. He reaches out to shake Jacob's hand. "Agent Stockwell."

"Det. Jacob Black, Chicago Organized Crime Unit."

"I take it you've been involved in this case as well, Det. Black."

"Yeah, I'm the one that Whitlock initially contacted with the evidence. I brought him to Seattle, to a safe house, which he left to go and stay with his parents."

"That's the location that was burned with the two victims inside?" Stockwell inquired.

"Yeah." Jacob looks pained. "Jasper Whitlock's parents."

Charlie punched the 'down' button for the elevator. "Well, Jacob, we're not gonna let them get Jasper." Impatiently, he stabs at the button again, as if it will hurry the elevator along. "Hopefully, we'll beat the Volturis there… but if not, then we'll just have to hope that the boys can hold them off for a short time."

Just then, the elevator arrived, they all loaded in for the ride down to the garage… each man quietly contemplating the upcoming fight and hoping for the best.

DPOV

As I pull up to the big bay doors of the decrepit looking warehouse, the door slowly climbs its way upward, allowing me to drive my car right into the warehouse and out of sight. I park next to Felix's car and glance down the line of vehicles parked in here. Good, it looks like everyone has shown up. I see Felix across the warehouse, next to a large box truck. He' s supervising the loading of the snowmobiles.

I finish off my coffee and get out of the car, locking it behind me. I look around the warehouse as I walk over to the truck and look inside it.

"Hey, Demetri. Loading the last one right now." Felix grins at me.

I can see that there is still plenty of room for the men to ride back here with the snowmobiles. Good. "Where are the skis? And these guys can ski, right?"

The skis are at the front of the truck, and yes, they can all ski… I'm not stupid, ya know." Felix looks insulted.

I hold my hands up. "Sorry, man. Just with the brothers here… well, it makes me a bit jumpy."

"Yeah, I can understand that." Felix looks over his shoulder. "Think they'll show up here?"

"No idea. We about ready to go?"

"Everything is loaded… the skis, the weapons, the snowmobiles… just need the men." He turns away from the truck. "Load up!" He yells across the warehouse and the men head for the truck.

"You driving this thing, Felix?"

"Yeah. You gonna ride up front with me?"

"No. Think I'll take my car. Give us an extra vehicle, just in case."

Felix waves a hand in agreement, climbing up into the truck, starting it and slowly moving toward the rising door. I watch him pull out on to the street as I climb into my car and follow. It'll take a couple of hours to get to the start point.

I find myself going over the attack plan in my mind as I drive. I can't afford for anything to go wrong. Not with the brothers here. Aro, alone, is one to be careful with, but all three are a nightmare. Caius, in particular, is extremely unstable and you never know what he's going to do from minute to minute. I just hope Aro and Marcus can keep him under control. Quite frankly, I hope we can finish the job before they even get there. I know Aro wants to be there for the kill… but I'd love to be able to have both bodies laid out in the snow to show them when they land in their helicopter… preferably with the house going up in flames behind us.

Just before we pull off the highway, into the park, my phone rings. Aro. "Yes, Boss?"

"Where are you?"

"Just pulling off the highway at the park entrance."

"How much longer before you reach the start point?"

"About thirty minutes. It'll give us cover to hide the truck and far enough away from the main road so we shouldn't attract any attention when we fire up the snowmobiles."

"Good. And it should take you about an hour to reach the lodge?"

"Correct."

"Alright. We're heading for the helipad and should arrive at the lodge co-ordinates in about an hour and a half to an hour and forty-five."

"Sounds perfect. We may even be done by the time you get there."

"Make sure I see bodies, Demetri. I want to be absolutely sure, this time."

"Yes, Boss." The line went dead. Damn him. Will he ever get off my back? I'm so sick of his 'this time'. I may just shoot Felix myself. It was his stupid idea to dump Whitlock before he was dead. Granted, who would have thought anyone would find him out there? I knew better than to listen to that idiot. I should have known his 'brilliant' idea would come back and bite me in the ass.

I follow the truck as it pulls off the road into a thick copse of evergreen trees. Perfect. Lots of cover. I park next to the truck. Felix jumps down from the cab, walking around to the back of the truck, opening the roll-up door. The men pile out and start unloading the snowmobiles. Felix climbs up into the back of the truck.

"Hey… Demetri!'

I walk over to the truck. "What?" He starts handing the weapons out to me. I lean them up against the truck. After handing me the last one, he hops down out of the truck. The men have the rest of the snowmobiles unloaded and are getting the skis out. One of the men tosses out a bundle of boxed ammunition for the AK47s. Pulling out my pocketknife, I cut the twine holding the boxes together and start handing out a box to each man, saving one each for Felix and myself.

Obviously Felix has briefed the men well. Without being told, they all grab their skis and attach them to their snowmobiles, get their weapon and ammunition and gather around us for the GPS co-ordinates.

Once everyone has their GPS co-ordinates plugged in, the silence of the small clearing is shattered by the roaring of the six snowmobiles. Felix and I take the lead through the snowy forest. A light snow begins to fall. Good, hopefully it will help to muffle a small portion to the noise.

I keep a close eye on the GPS. I want to be sure we don't get close enough for them to hear our engines. I want this to be a complete surprise and therefore easy. I would love to finish before the brothers get here.

As we ride along, we see nothing but trees, hills and small valleys. One day, I have to come back out here to just enjoy the quiet… but not today. The snow is getting heavier and it's already getting dusky. We should be getting close to our final stopping point before the lodge. The GPS indicates we're just a bit over a mile away. Raising my fist in the air, we all come to a stop, shutting down the engines. The quiet is profound.

"Felix. Quietly, have the men gather round." He nods and motions for them to come over to us.

"Okay… we are just about a mile from the lodge. It's due east from here. Check your weapons and ammunition, get your skis on and get ready to move out. When we arrive, I want you to fan out. Surround the lodge. Locate every door and make sure no one gets past you. There should only be two men inside and I want both of them dead, the bodies dragged out into the yard for the brothers to inspect." I spoke quietly, looking at each and every man. "Clear?" Heads nodded and a few 'yes, boss's could be heard. "Good. Five minutes."

While the men got ready, Felix and I checked our weapons, including our personal weapons, got our skis on and I made sure I had my portable GPS in my pocket.

Looking around, I see that everyone is ready. "Let's go." We head out through the silent forest toward the lodge.

AN: Here we go! As I'm sure you're aware…. I am NOT a weapons specialist, so if I get something wrong… please bear with me. Thanks!

If this story should disappear, you can find it over on The Writers Coffee Shop. .com (slash) library I am shewoolf over there, too.