A Dish Best Served Cold

Chapter One

Jasper stepped out onto the flight line of the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank in a khaki linen suit with a dark collared button up. He was holding a Starbuck's mocha latte in his right hand and had a brown leather duffle bag slung over his left shoulder.

It took him only an hour to get home, get changed, packed, and boarded on the private jet that sat waiting for him. Jasper ducked his head as he entered the portal of the small jet and tossed his bag into an empty seat to his right.

He plopped down immediately across from where Edward sat. Hiking his pant leg and crossing it, he exhaled loudly.

The light colored leather seats were wide and comfortable and the oak paneling of the interior was well lit, very sleek and glossy. It smelled like a new car.

He examined Edwards' face for a moment. It looked worn and tired. It was etched with worry. His dark suit and light blue dress shirt looked a little wrinkled, which was very much out of character for Edward.

Jasper didn't even bother with pleasantries. He just wanted to know, "What's the latest?"

Edward sighed heavily, "Nothing. They say the first 24 hours..." He turned his head to look out the small rounded window into the night not finishing his sentence.

"Right. Right." Jasper nodded in understanding. "I sent Alice to stay with Bella for a while."

Edward nodded, looking back at Jasper.

Jasper unfastened the button on his jacket, "Is Bella going to be understanding?"

Edwards lip drew into a tight line and he shook his head no. "It's not her fight."

Jasper smirked and lifted his coffee to his lips. He agreed. "It's not their fight."

~0~

The sun had just risen when the plane began its' descent to land at the North Las Vegas Airport. Jasper and Edward peered out their windows and caught a grand site of the Las Vegas strip. They looked at each other and a knowing grin swept across their faces.

When they had landed, the door hatch opened and the stairs let down. Seth had arrived earlier on another flight, and he rented a silver Cadillac CTS which was waiting for them.

Jasper and Edward disembarked and Seth was standing at the base of the steps. Jasper was first off and he breezed right by Seth. He was heading straight for the car.

Just as Edward reached the bottom step, Seth hollered at Jasper, "Hey."

Jasper turned to look over his shoulder, "Hey Seth." He kept on walking.

Seth trotted next to Edward, "So, where's Alice and Bella?"

Edward abruptly stopped and looked pointedly at Seth as he barked, "It's not their fight!"

"Whoa man!" Seth threw his hands up in defense. "Chill."

"Any change?" Jasper asked as Seth as he threw his bag in the trunk.

"He's in critical condition, but he's still alive. You know - if he doesn't..." Seth didn't finish that sentence.

Edward slung his bag in the trunk with Jaspers and slammed it shut. "Is Coop there?"

"Yeah, Dr. Cooper's been there for about an hour." Seth slid in behind the wheel and cranked the car.

Edward shook his head in approval, "Coop'll tell us what's going on."

~0~

When they arrived at the hospital, most of their friends were already there. They silently filed into the private room. What they saw was a bleak picture.

Edward's uncle, Carlisle Cullen, lie prone in a hospital bed. There were tubes connected to monitor his oxygen level, an intravenous tube feeding him fluids, and tubes feeding him oxygen. Monitors whirled and beeped while a great man's life hung in the balance.

Everyone stood in place, surrounding the bed. Carlisle had been their mentor and friend, as well as their partner in crime too.

Edward looked at Coop, "What can you tell us?"

"Myocardial infarction." The doctor looked at the group and continued. "He's endured an incredible shock to his system."

Edward asked, "Can he recover?"

Coop shook his head. "Yes."

Jasper asked softly, "Will he recover?"

Coop's lips stretched into a tight line. "It helps if he has something to live for."

Seth inquired stuffing his hands into his pockets as he spoke, "Like family?"

Edwards' eyes began to glisten. "Family, friends; he has us."

Coop looked down at Carlisle, who showed no signs of waking. "Maybe that'll be enough."

~0~

Edward sat in a chair and put his face in his hands. He remembered his last conversation with Carlisle.

Four Weeks Earlier…

Edward was visiting with Carlisle at his personal estate in the Ridges of Summerlin. They were discussing his uncle's latest business venture while they both paced the living room area.

"Carlisle, when it comes to Aro Volturi, you can't rely on contracts." Edward argued.

"My lawyers say they're ironclad." Carlisle tried to dissuade his nephews concerns. "Give me some credit for my business sechel."

Raking a hand through his gingered locks, "All I'm say' in is that I don't think it's a good idea and neither does Jasper."

"Well, I'm doing it. It's already done." Carlisle raised his voice in defiance. Then he added, "And you tell Jasper that I won't have to pull jobs to keep my hotel solvent."

Edward walked over to Carlisle and put a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, Carlisle. Look, we just care about you. That's all."

Carlisle took Edwards hand off his shoulder and patted it with affection. "Listen my boy, you fellas are young. You don't understand. Do you know that the Inuit people put their elders out on an ice float to die when they're too old to hunt?"

Carlisle sat down. Edward poured him a drink and handed it to him.

"Thanks." He gladly took the glass and sipped.

"You know, that's just a myth." Edward chuckled.

"Well, that ain't gonna happen to me. I can still hunt. This is it. It's my chance.

I used to mean something in this town. I would walk into a restaurant and if it was full they'd snap out a new table for me just like that!" He snapped his finger.

Edward grinned, "If you're worried about your place in history, let us get a street named after you, or a boulevard."

Carlisle shook his head, "We can talk about that when I'm dead. Edward, I appreciate you coming this far to see me, but I gotta do this."

~0~

Then – just two days ago…

Carlisle had a meeting with Aro Volturi. They met on the top floor of their joint hotel venture that was still under construction.

As Carlisle got off the freight elevator wearing his construction hat and a new Armani suit, he spotted Aro talking to one of his "advisors."

Aro looked up from his conversation, "Carlisle!"

Carlisle was pleased and in his element. "Aro, my partner!"

Aro extended a hand to shake, "Carlisle, it is oh, so good of you to come."

Carlisle nodded, "Of course. Of course."

"Are there more items for my punch list?" Aro smiled expectantly.

"I gotta tell you friend, I've got so much energy lately. I can hardly sleep from the excitement!" Carlisle gushed.

Aro got down to business, "Where are you at on the H1B visas for the chefs?"

Carlisle grinned, "My man in Washington says they'll be stamped by the time we open."

"No, no, no. Not good enough." Aro retorted.

Just as Aro was protesting, Carlisle reached into his pocket to produce the Visa's that he pushed through the red tape. He held them out for Aro to take. "That's what I said."

Aro looked very pleased and he took the documents and handed them to his advisor. "Oh, that's very good. And the chandeliers?"

"My ex-wife Esme's new brother-in-law… well, you don't need the details. It's done! Half price. They're already at the warehouse."

Aro beamed and marveled at how Carlisle moved mountains out of his way.

"And because I know it mattered to you ...I appeared before the city council. The one-way street leading away from the rear entrance… now leads toward the rear entrance. All roads lead to the Midas!" Carlisle had outdone himself.

Aro clapped his hands together and raised them to steeple his chin. "Oh, this is perfect!"

Carlisle nodded and began to take in his surroundings. "Great views up here. Where's the partners' desk gonna be?"

"Oh, there's no partners' desk." Aro's expression turned to a deadly glare with a smug grin.

"Two desks?"

"No two desks. Only one desk." Aro supplied coldly. "There will be only one chairman's desk. Only one. You see Carlisle, the arrangement is changing." He stepped closer to Carlisle and spoke very precisely. "Or rather it was changed. As a matter of fact, there is NO arrangement."

Carlisle blanched and shook his finger in Aro's face. "Everybody said that

you would try to screw me. That you've done it to every one of your partners.

But I defended you. I said, "No! Me and Aro Volturi, we've been around long enough that we both shook Sinatra's hand. And there's a code among guys

that shook Sinatra's hand." Carlisle leaned in getting all up in Aro's grill.

Aro scoffed. "Screw Sinatra's hand."

Carlisle was taken back as if his face had been slapped. "Screw...?"

Aro chuckled, "You're dead weight. You think I'm gonna carry you, and pay you at the same time? Carlisle, you're out!"

Carlisle's face flamed red, "Never! This is MY land."

Aro corrected, "Was. Was your land. You signed it over to the corporation. For 50-percent interest! Which I'm gonna ask you to sign over to me, for a small cash payment." He motioned to his rather muscular advisor who produced a contract and a pen.

"I'm not signing that." Carlisle stated as he shook his head no.

Aro's guy shoved the document in Carlisle face.

"Get out of here. I'm not signing that!" He yelled at the guy as he was being backed toward the edge of the floor they were standing on.

"What the hell Aro. You gonna throw me off the roof?" Carlisle's face looked terrified.

Aro chuckled, putting his hands in his pockets, "Well, I don't want to."

Carlisle snatched the papers from the guys' hands, "This is wrong. This is all wrong. You're leaving me with nothing you bastard."

"You know, you're right. And it's rude, so here." He tossed a casino chip at Carlisle and Carlisle caught it. "It's the first batch. Just got made."

Carlisle looked at the 20,000 dollar chip bearing the name The Volturi Casino. "You changed the name."

There was a deep chuckle as Aro and his sidekick turned to walk away, "I like it better! Don't you?"

After they left, Carlisle was left standing there. Alone on the roof top of that building. Sweat began pouring off his forehead; he felt excruciating pains in his arms and chest. He collapsed on the floor until workers found him there the next morning. They called 911. They thought he was dead.

~0~

Back to the present

The entire group converged on Carlisle's home. They had to discuss what they were going to do.

Edward, Jasper, Emmett, Laurent, Seth, Eric, Quil, Embry, Marcus, and Ben all sat around the pool out behind Carlisle's main house.

Marcus spoke, "Carlisle was always too trusting."

Edward corrected, "Is, Marcus. Is."

Marcus nodded, "Of course. Is. You will try and talk him out of doing anything like this ever again right?"

"Yes, even if I have to handcuff him and drag him off to a deserted island." Edward said softly.

"Look, Aro hurt Carlisle. I know how that makes me feel. I know what that makes me wanna do." Emmett balled up his hand in a fist and pounded it in his other hand. He turned his head and spewed a wad of spit. "I'm gonna get close to Aro, and I don't care if it gets messy."

"Let's go, I'll drive you." Quil stood and pulled out a set of car keys from his pant pocket.

"I think we should get him as he's leaving his barber." Embry announced putting his beer down on the glass patio table. "Then I'll inject him with some lethal shit. I'll find a spot to get rid of the body."

Everyone was nodding.

Jasper shook his head no. "Guys, those are all valid ideas. Truly, great initiative. But..."

Edward interrupted him, "But even though Aro stepped over the line... we have to do what's best for Carlisle."

Jasper interjected, "Which means, we offer Aro a Billy Martin."

Seth pipes up, "What in the hell is a Billy Martin?"

Laurent furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Seth, "Seriously kid, you don't know what a Billy Martin is?"

Seth looked indignant, "No, and don't call me kid!"

Marcus chimed in the conversation, "Billy Martin was the manager for the New York Yankees and was fired in 1978. He was given a second chance when he was rehired in 1980."

Eric looked outraged, "What? So let's say he goes for it, he does right by Carlisle and that's it? He just gets off?"

Emmett looked at Eric, "Yeah, that's the rule."

Laurent folded his arms across his chest, "Maybe for someone who understands

the rules, which Aro clearly don't understand shit."

Embry chucked his empty beer bottle in the trash can. "He already broke them.

So the asshole doesn't get the chance."

Edward stood up and walked in the center of everyone. He stuffed his hands deep in his pockets, "For Carlisle's sake, I think we give him the chance."

~0~

A/N: So… what do you think? Should Aro be given a second chance to do the right thing? I would love it if you would take just a moment to hit the review button and let me know what you think. Go ahead… just do it.. it'll only take a second and it will make me sooooo happy…

I'll be trying to post several chapters per week… at least that is the plan right now. Laters lovelies…