A/N: Hello all! I am still here! The 3rd Trimester has been absolutely exhausting and any day my little one should arrive. Anyways, I have had this finished for a while with the exception of a couple of lines, so I apologize for the delay. Thank you for all your reviews you are still showering me with and when I finally have my little girl, I fully intend to get right back into this and finish this story asap for you all!

Chapter 28

Jasper watched his Bella begin to duck into a black sedan driven by Dimitri, frowning when he finally turned away from the now retreating vehicle. He was not sure if he should be grateful to know that the guards that were accompanying her did not have special abilities and that she would have the advantage, or if he should be worried about that very fact.

It was hard to know the Volturi's intent exactly. It bothered Jasper to no end that he was not surrounded by known allies. He was going to need to go off of his instincts to determine who to trust in this escapade he now found himself trapped in.

Alec did not say a word, just simply tapped his finger to his watch, looking at Jasper pointedly. Jasper rolled his eyes lightly and nodded, following Alec as he turned his heels in the opposite direction of where Bella had been going.

"No car for us?"

Alec quickened his pace slightly. "The car is around the block. Jane is likely waiting and I don't want a reason to hear her complain, so we better get going."

"Are we driving to France?"

"No, we are taking a train to France."

Jasper raised his eyebrows even though Alec couldn't see that. "Don't trains have a lot of windows? It is looking like it might be a bit sunny later today."

Alec paused as they turned the corner, the waiting car in view. "The Volturi are involved in a number of financial ventures that may prove to be helpful, financing and ensuring that certain contracts are procured. Most European trains are now outfitted with special glass windows that should prevent us from exposing ourselves for who we truly are. It makes it easier than flying in many instances."

Jane looked as sour as ever. "Decided to take a leisurely stroll, brother?"

The irritation from Alec was prevalent. "Just get in the car, Jane. I'll drive. Jasper, you can join me in the passenger side if you want."

Jasper could sense that this was Alec's way of trying to apologize for his sisters behavior. "Thanks."

Jasper ducked into the passenger side, Alec quickly driving through the narrow roads of Volterra. There was a loud sigh from the back. "Are you ever going to open that envelope?"

The blond vampire took a deep breath. He was sure that he could accomplish his mission, but he was not sure if Aro and the others would be pleased at him killing their prize guard in the process. Jasper could feel Alec eying him out of the corner of his eye. Jasper bit his lip hard and then turned around roughly. "Listen, Jane. If you wish to survive this little… trip we are on, I would suggest that you bit your tongue. You will find that I am not intimidated by you or your remarks, nor do I care about your preference in this guard. I have killed others more talented than you for far less, make no doubt about it. If I hear another complaint out of that mouth, I will shut it for you. Do I make myself clear?"

Jane's eyes darkened and a small smirk appeared at her lips. "Is that so?"

Jane began to unleash her fury on Jasper, the pain enveloping him everywhere, his head, his body, and his questionable soul. With every ounce of his concentration, he advised Alec, "Pull over now. Now!"

Alec did as he was told on the country road, and Jasper then unleashed all the pain he felt towards them, enveloping the both of them in the same anguish he felt. Jane screamed, her body crumpling sideways on the back seat, Alec slumped over the drivers wheel, begging Jane to stop immediately. The pain quickly ceased with Jane being incapacitated.

Jasper sat straight up, quicker to recover than the other two. "Don't ever do that again. I was holding back what I can unleash to you, and trust me when I say that I do not need a trigger. Alec, I do apologize that you were involved in the crossfire, so to speak."

Alex, still shaking slightly, put his hands at the wheel. Jasper reached out to see how angered he made him, but he felt none. "It's okay." He turned to his sister, who was still curled up, his voice harsher than what Jasper thought the boy was capable of. "We were given explicit instructions NOT to touch him. Understand? If you do this again, what we just experienced will be nothing compared to what Aro will do to both of us. Dear sister, I am not going to incur the wrath of the brothers just so you can satisfy your God complex. Do we have an understanding?"

Jane shot him a death glare but weekly moved her head in agreement. Satisfied, Alec then turned back to Jasper. "My sister will behave herself the rest of this trip. You have my word."

Jasper wished he knew how good that word was, but it would have to do for now. Jasper was surprised that the brothers gave orders not to touch him and hoped that Felix and Dimitri were given similar orders.

Without saying another word, Jasper opened the Manila envelope to reveal the contents inside.

Location:

Paris, France

Mission:

It has been reported that a male vampire named Christoph has been creating a newborn army in France and have been slowly attacking various nomads and covens throughout the region as well as beginning to become careless when involving the human population as well.

It is our belief that that these attacks are not random. We have intelligence that indicates that Christoph is being instructed on where and who to take out, and that they are being rewarded financially and through other means as well.

It is your mission to destroy this newborn army and capture Christoph. You are advised to use any means necessary to discover who he is receiving orders from and why. Once that is discovered, should the opportunity present itself, you will take out said leaders and those that are involved. If you should encounter anyone who attempts to prevent you from completing your mission, you are hereby ordered to kill them on the spot, regardless of affiliation.

Timeframe: Upon arrival, you will rendezvous with a contact in two days time on the outskirts of Paris, near the bois de Boulogne. This contact will then assist you in completing your mission.

It is expected that you report back to Italy no later than 5 days after the new moon.

Jasper had read the contents out loud and shown a picture that was provided of the vampire in question, pausing for any reaction from Jane or Alec. When there was none, he spoke. "I am assuming the both of you are familiar with the area described?"

Jane snorted lightly. "Of course. You don't spend centuries in Europe without ever visiting Paris. We don't expect you to know the area, of course. We will provide you with maps so you can learn the area sufficiently to complete our task."

Jasper smirked. "Au contraire. Alice Cullen has dragged me every year we were together to Paris to attend the spring and fall fashion shows. I am probably more familiar with the area than you are. I needed something to do while she sat through show after show. Just because I may still hold my southern accent, it would not be wise to mistake me for someone who is uncultured."

He was pleased to note that Jane's mouth opened and closed several times to retort, and then finally shut for good without another comment being said. The rest of the ride to the station was in complete silence, and they loaded onto the train without any further incident.

The train car was nice, and they as Alec indicated they could move freely about the train without worrying about the sun that was now shining brightly outside. Jasper found a secluded spot near the dining car and pulled out the mission yet again, to contemplate who this Christoph was that they were now effectively hunting.

He stared down at the color picture of the brown haired vampire that was provided. There were a few things that he could gleam off of the picture, which would hopefully make things easier. Christoph was thin, almost gaunt in nature, his cheekbones protruding from his face almost comically. Jasper could tell that Christoph was most likely Eastern European in his human life, although he could not be one hundred percent positive.

But it wasn't the physical face that told him a lot. Instead, it was the facial expression in the picture that he wore that told him a lot. Christoph gave off an air of superiority and confidence in that one pose strikingly similar to the one that Maria always wore. While most vampires had an ego, not even Jane wore this expression. It was on the verge of madness in Jasper's opinion and it would make Christoph dangerous and unpredictable.

Jasper next pondered what kind of financial funding he was receiving? The picture revealed that too. His clothes were well tailored in this picture; clearly he was not just simply stealing clothing from his victims once he was done with their bodies. The shoes were fine leather, the kind that Edward often preferred to wear. Someone was funding this vampire very well. Jasper was guessing that the newborns were not simply staying at some compound on the farm, similar to how Maria had them in the mid-nineteenth century. Instead, he pictured that this vampire was used to the finer things, and would not willingly hide in squalor, choosing instead to live the high life, at the very least with himself and some his upper attendants in the ranks.

Jasper just was still stuck on the motives behind it all. It could simply be money for the vampire, but Jasper was not completely positive that was the case. Greed, power, a love for violence could all be viable options as well.

Jasper finally grew bored and made his way back to the train cabin that was set aside for them. Alec and Jane both lay stretched out on opposite beds, each reading a book. Alec sat up at Jaspers entrance. "Come up with a plan yet?"

"When we there, we will do a quick perimeter check of the area, then I would like us to check into a hotel where we can research where the killings have specifically taken place, making sure there is not some sort of patterns to the human kills. Once we do that, we can meet up with our point of contact. Any idea who that might be?"

Jane shook her head. "No. The Volturi have a very extensive network."

Jasper rubbed his temple. "So how does the Volturi identify this point of contact?"

Alec chimed in. "In the debriefing, there should be a word in bold italics. That vampire will use that word in conversation with us. It is set at their time table, not ours."

Jasper hid his scowl. It was well known that he did not like variables nor did he like being subject to others whims He had enough of that for one existence with Maria. It was true that in his military life and during the vampire wars he had become accustomed to them, but he did his best to eliminate them.

The next day was spent doing just what Jasper suggested. With the exception of a slipped snide comment here and there, Jane was almost bearable. Jasper found that Alec was the most helpful in their research. Alec apparently spent quite a bit of time around computers and effective research techniques.

He received a text from Peter letting him know that everything was normal in Italy, and now he was waiting to hear from Bella. Over a full day had passed, and he was trying not to be anxious. When he finally did receive her text, it was with great relief that she responded that all was well.

Now he just needed to wait for their POC so they could complete this mission.