Chapter 4
Bella's shadow glides over the treetops as she swoops into the dark, leafy branches. Twigs crack and shower the ground below as they grab at her. Long, unnatural fingers grip into the thick trunk, her momentum twirling her around the top of the arboreal tower. She braces herself against a branch and perches, folding her leathery, flesh-colored wings gingerly against her back. She scans the parking lot below.
He drives a Mustang? Bella thinks to herself. She always tries to see the new team leaders as they leave. After decades of routine, it's one of the few glimpses of ignorance she is granted anymore. She checks her watch: 02:37 a.m. She got back later than usual and Captain Masen is here.
She adjusts to a more comfortable position on the branch, the upper tips of her wings casting shadows over her face as they rise above her. From the leather pouch on her thigh, she pulls out a blood-soaked liver. The deep red liquid flows between her fingers as she holds it to her mouth.
She allows her long, prehensile tongue to slip from between her protruding, fang-like teeth. The tongue wraps around the small end of the liver and tightens its grip, holding the organ upright in her hand. A hole opens at the tip of her tongue, which she plunges deep into the meal, sucking the fluid down her throat.
Her dark brown eyes peer intently from under her ridged brow while she drinks. As the mix of blood and bile ends, she unwinds her tongue and then takes a bite into the liver's rubbery surface. A trickle of blood forms at her lips, which she wipes away with the tip of her finger.
What is taking so long? She finishes the liver and checks her watch again. Forty-five minutes have passed. She pulls a dark cloth from another pouch and cleans her hands, pockets it, and stands.
With a single, sharp thump her wings spread and she takes flight. She allows her arms to dangle below her as she flies just above the trees surrounding the clearing.
Before she finishes a lap, she hears the familiar whine of the Lilim facility's main entrance elevator. She drops quickly into the branches and positions herself to see the doors.
Bella can just make out Edward as he exits the solitary building. He walks slowly across the parking lot, lost in thought. He stops at the door to the Mustang, resting his elbows heavily on the car's roof, hiding his face.
As the winds shift, Bella catches the familiar whiff of Emmett's blood.
"The hell?" she whispers aloud.
Edward moves to the back of the car, removing his dress uniform jacket. He tosses the blood-covered garment in the trunk, gets in, and speeds out of the parking lot.
Racked with confusion, Bella watches the taillights as they disappear in the distance.
What happened? she wonders. And why did she smell Emmett's blood? She picks at the bark of the tree with her elongated fingernail as she tries to decipher what could have happened below, to no avail.
It would be easier to think in flight, but she doesn't have enough time. The shadows cast beneath the half moon lengthen as it sinks to morning. After a final check of her watch, she swoops silently down into a thicket of brush below.
She waits, still, in the dark foliage for the pang to fill her chest as it always does. She welcomes its arrival with a grunt. A tingling numbness covers her back and face. The massive wings shrink, disappearing into her shoulder blades through the holes in her black leather tank top. The ridged forehead and wrinkled, thick jowls smooth. Fangs recede.
Shamelessly removing her tank top, she closes the holes on the back that allow her wings to sprout and puts it back on.
As the first light of dawn peaks, Bella begins her long walk across the clearing. The dew covers her bare feet and soaks her jeans. This walk back to the compound is her favorite moment: waking a human after a monstrous nightmare.
She enters the compound, proceeding through the lobby and into the hall. The reek of Emmett's un-human blood hits her like a wave.
"Mornin' Bella!" Jacob's jovial welcome echoes off the cinder walls. Near the broken double doors that lead to the Pen, he holds a mop. His grin beams at her as Bella approaches. As she nears, she sees the red tinge of poorly cleaned blood covering the tile.
"What happened?" she asks
"I was a bear."
"Of course you were." Bella fights the urge to laugh. "But what happened? You knew there was entry brief."
"Yeah… Emmett and I got bored."
"Damn it," Bella says, the pieces coming together. She storms away, "Damn it, Jacob. Where are they?"
"Locker rooms."
The slamming door reverberates as she enters a side hall. This isn't how it happens. How could Emmett be so stupid? She slows as she hears Colonel Cullen's voice from behind a door.
"You could have compromised everything, Vejo."
"And then what?" Emmett asks. "The oracle says he's in."
"A vision doesn't replace standard operating procedure."
"Human standards," Emmett retorts with unconcealed disdain.
"Stow it, Emmett." Bella crashes into the small room.
Emmett stands in a towel, a scowl across his face as he grips a second towel hanging off his shoulders. The Colonel stands nearby, his face red in anger. Alice hides against a far wall.
"Agent Eliz." Colonel Cullen's voice is full of forced temperament.
"You missed a good time, Bella."
"Quit it." Bella stares at her fellow teammate.
"You don't have to be acting team leader, anymore." Emmett says as he rubs a hand through his hair.
"We don't reveal ourselves during entry briefs." Bella says, ignoring his attempted barb, "And you know why."
"I also know we have an oracle the command doesn't trust unless it's only our lives at stake." Emmett responds. "She's a novelty they show off at parties."
"We have a procedure, Vejo," Colonel Cullen says. "There's an order to these things. New recruits need to be eased into the team."
"That's right, sir. We have to protect the fragile human from the monsters under the bed."
Bella recognizes Emmett's tone and sees the flicker of rage on Carlisle's face. "Colonel, I'll take care of this."
"Good," the superior officer says succinctly as he walks out. They allow a moment of silence as the door shuts behind him.
"Alice," Bella says.
"Ma'am?"
"How confident are you about Captain Masen?"
"Very."
"Okay. Would you mind helping Jacob clean up?"
"No, ma'am." As Alice shuffles past Bella, she places a gentle hand on the Sergeant's shoulder. Alice responds with a thankful smile before leaving.
"That's cute," Emmett says.
"Put on some pants."
Emmett reaches into his locker, grabs a pair of khaki cargo pants and pulls them on as Bella sits.
"I hope Jacob made it hurt," Bella mutters.
"It wasn't comfortable."
"Why did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Expose what you are. Expose Jacob."
Emmett shrugs. "I was bored."
"You don't give a fuck about Alice's visions," Bella states. She doesn't buy his show of support for the young Sergeant.
"Not really," Emmett admits to Bella's chagrin. "She's good, but still far from perfect."
"He wasn't ready."
"They're never ready." The truth leaves an uneasy silence in the small room. "Are you going to ground me now?"
"Really?" she scoffs.
"He accepted. He's the team leader. At least now we can avoid part of that childish show-and-tell we do." Emmett always hated that part of welcoming the incoming superiors: the demonstration of abilities. It made him feel like a performing dog.
"I'm going to insist we do it, and I'm going to slit your throat."
Emmett rolls his eyes. "Is that all?"
She wants to say no, to berate him for his selfishness, his superiority complex. She knows it's futile. After sixty-some-odd years of working with him, she recognizes the massive waste of energy that is this discussion. And it angers her. Not because Emmett is stubborn, but because he's right.
"Go," she finally says.
"Carlisle told the Masen to be here at 1500," Emmett informs her as he heads out the room. Three o'clock in the afternoon. Just enough time to sleep off the night.
"Don't call him that," she says. "He still outranks you."
"Yes, ma'am." The response lingers like smog as the door swings closed behind him.
"Fuck you, too."