Chapter Ten: Unlikely Help
When we arrived back at the house, Ana didn't bother filling the others in on what we found; instead she spoke to Will. "Call our contact and have him run a check on the airports: all aliases that we know of for Demetri or Trevor."
"You can trust this contact?" Edward asked.
"Yes," Ana answered curtly.
Will took out his cell phone and spoke in a quick, hushed tone in the corner. While he did, Edward filled the others in. Ana was also among the group, but stood off to the side. She leaned against a table, seeming to study the floor—appearing deep in thought.
"Why would Demetri use an alias that you know about?" Rosalie suddenly asked. I could tell she didn't like Ana. I didn't like her much either—we didn't know anything about her—but I was desperate for help to find Renesme. Though, I still couldn't get rid of a sinking feeling that something about this wasn't right.
"It's worth a try," Ana answered like she was talking about a new brand of soap, and not my daughter's kidnapper. "It's the only lead we have right now."
As if on cue, Will snapped his phone shut and walked over to us. He turned to Ana as he spoke. "We got lucky," he said. "Both of them used one of their usual aliases. They booked plane tickets, out of Seatac Airport, going to Houston and Kennedy Airports.
"They split up?" Carlisle wondered.
"Then which one of them has Renesme?" I asked.
"That's easy," Jacob said. "Which one of them booked two tickets on the same flight?"
"Each ticket was one-way; one ticket each to New York and Houston," Will replied.
"How's that possible?" Jacob asked.
I looked to Ana and saw understanding fill her expression. "It wasn't luck," she said, more to herself. The she looked at me. "This could mean one of two things. First, that they don't want us to know which one of them has Renesme."
"You can't forge a passenger manifest or ticket records," Rosalie retorted.
"You can if you have contacts in the TSA," Will said. So, was just about every organization infiltrated by the Volturi?
"What's the other possibility?" I asked.
Ana looked at me with no feeling in her eyes. "The other possibility is that Renesme is already dead."
"That can't be," I said as I sunk into the chair behind me. If my heart wasn't already still, it would have frozen in my chest right then.
"This is just like Demetri," Ana said quietly, lost again in her own thoughts.
"Would you like to share with the class?" Jacob asked testily.
Ana looked at him as if it was a bother to keep us apprised of her thoughts. "He used aliases that I'm familiar with," she said like it was obvious. Then she chuckled without humor. "He's goading me," she finally said. "He's leaving an obvious trail. He wants me to come after him." Ana pushed off of the table, stood up straight, and continued. "Houston and New York City are just jumping off points on the way to Italy. The plan is to split us up—divide and conquer—and end it here in the states. Aro doesn't want the fight on his doorstep if he can help it; though, I'm sure they'll finish you off in Volterra if that doesn't work."
"You mean that the Volturi are still trying to kill us?" Alice asked.
Ana nodded. "Plan B," she said.
"Did you know about this?" Jasper asked Ana.
"Of course not," Ana spat. "I just know Demetri and Aro well enough to figure it out."
"That's convenient," Jasper retorted.
"You're right, it is convenient," Ana answered. "It's convenient for you, is what it is; because, right now, I'm the only one that can help you find Renesme."
It was quiet as Ana and Jasper stared down each other. I half expected a fight to break out. Then I found my voice. "I'll ask Aro to take me instead, and let Renesme go," I said, breaking through the emotionally charged atmosphere.
As I said this, Ana shifted her gaze to me; her expression was condescending. "You're being stupid," she said bluntly.
"Why is that stupid?" I snapped at her. "This isn't your daughter we're talking about. And, besides, we're wasting time here."
"I agree," Jacob said hotly.
Ana's expression didn't change as she spoke to me. "It's stupid," she said, "because you fail to see the beauty of Aro's plan."
"Would you care to enlighten us?" Rosalie questioned sarcastically.
Now Ana's expression shifted to amusement, and a smile crept into her lips. "Aro is no longer interested in you or any of your other family members. He knows none of you will ever be loyal to the Volturi—he's not going to agree to a trade. He had Demetri take Renesme because he knew you would go after her. And while you're running after her, Demetri and Trevor will be sure to pick up reinforcements on the way to make killing your family easier."
"Then he won't hurt Renesme," I said. "He just wants the rest of us."
Ana stepped closer to me and continued. "If Aro kills Renesme, you'll still go to Volterra. You see—he accomplishes his task either way. Aro is not going to bargain, because he already holds all of the cards. " Ana smirked. "Aro enjoys his little mind games; and everyone goes along with them because they have no other alternative."
Edward put his hand on my as a gesture of comfort. "What is our best plan then?" he asked Ana.
"Your best plan would be to let Renesme go," Ana replied coldly. "Quit while you're ahead, and don't walk into Aro's trap."
"I'm not going to do that!" I cried. "We can't just not try!"
"So then we follow them," Jacob interjected. He turned to Ana. "You say you know the aliases they're traveling under. So, we figure out when their planes land and meet them at the gates."
"Again," Ana said, "stupid." Jacob looked at her as if challenging her to explain what could possibly be wrong with his idea. "Your plan has two flaws," Ana continued, unruffled by Jacob's anger. "First flaw is that the plan involves you," she pointed to Jacob with a sarcastic sneer. "Second, the tickets they booked had to be fakes: giving us enough information to allow us to follow, but not enough to pinpoint arrival times—I'm sure in order to prevent exactly what you suggested."
"But if that's true," Jasper said, "they may not even be headed to New York or Houston."
"I don't think so," Ana countered. "Remember their objective: to split your forces, gather their own reinforcements, and destroy you before leaving the states." Ana paused and then glanced at Will. "After what happened in the woods, Demetri probably guessed I would help the Cullens, so he left clues that I would pick up on—like the aliases."
"Then what do we do?" Edward asked.
"Well," Ana answered. "Since you insist on going after Renesme, I say that we split up and follow them."
"Wouldn't that be doing exactly what they wanted?" Emmett pointed out. "We'd be walking right into their trap."
"We don't have another option," Ana rebuffed. "We follow them to New York and Texas, and try and find them and Renesme before they find us. We'll also need to find them and stop them before they head back to Italy as their alternative."
"Why?" I asked, sensing the finality in her tone.
"Because," she said, "if they haven't killed your daughter already, once they get back to Italy they will—she having served her purpose. Plus, we'll be facing the Volturi guard, and we'll be severely outnumbered. We have a better chance here; I have access to a few reinforcements of my own."
"How do we know that you're telling the truth?" Rosalie asked loudly. "How do we know you'll help us and not double-cross us?" Her words hung in the air, and all eyes focused on her expression: skeptical and defiant. I agreed with Rosalie, but I was too numb to argue; though my subconscious told me that I should.
"You don't," Ana answered flatly.
"For all we know, you could be leading us into the very trap that you speak of," Rosalie pressed. "Why should we accept your help?"
Ana's smile grew larger. "Because I am your only hope of getting Renesme back alive. You see…well, you see, you have no other alternative." She finished with a grin. I flashed back to what she had told us about Aro's mind games. It seemed the apple didn't fall far from the tree; like father, like daughter.