"Shut the fuck up," Bella snaps in response to Edward's question, kneeling over the prone Alice. She holds her phone near Alice's mouth, checking that it's recording by tilting it to see the familiar red circle. Her stomach still boils over the car that sped off and Edward's willingness to ignore it. The stress of the day must have gotten to Alice and brought a vision when she wasn't prepared for it.
Edward stands in the doorway, awkwardly watching, feeling out of place. The need to do something climbs into his chest the longer he watches, but Bella's harshness signals its best for him to stay aside.
Alice lays unnaturally stiff in the middle of the living room, her clothes and hair shifting and floating over her skin as if she's submerged in water. She mutters gibberish, an occasional word recognizable over the noise. He hears colors, 'life,' 'death.' Jacob lays beside her, his hand gingerly over hers, helplessly gazing into her vacant eyes.
Time stops and for the first time in a long time Edward feels completely separated from the team. The people, creatures, in his living room ignore him. It's only after the initial shock of seeing Alice that way wears off that Edward remembers Emmett is gone.
Wordlessly, he goes out to his front porch and sits on the steps. He rubs his neck, the warmth of the sun digging deep into his skin, and considers radioing Emmett. He doesn't, conscious that the transmission would be heard by the entire team, including Bella. It doesn't want to interrupt her further, distract them. Failure weighs on him, like his flesh and muscles are being pulled from his bones.
He doesn't check his watch. He waits. Tries not to think.
He doesn't notice that the sun has moved until he hears voices inside the house. Jacob, Bella, eventually a weakened Alice. Bella's voice disappears into the back. Alice yells at Jacob. The front door slams and Alice joins him on the steps. They sit in silence.
"You okay?" Edward finally ask.
"I guess," Alice says. Her arms wrap her legs tight into her chest. Her chin rests in the small crevice between her knees. "The vision was fine. Fucking Jacob..."
"He was really scared for you."
"He's a fucking idiot." Her voice is drained and distant. "A panther..." she adds in disbelief.
The sight of a panther playing football comes back and Edward can't help from chuckle. "It was really stupid."
"Where's Emmett?" Alice asks after a moment.
"Gone. Gone after whoever saw us."
"You really let him go after them?" The tinge of pride in Alice's voice makes Edward's stomach sink.
Edward shakes his head. "I couldn't stop him."
"Why would you?" Alice straightens up, facing Edward.
"He wanted to kill them." Edward doesn't look at her but continues gazing absently ahead.
They turn at the sound of the front door. Jacob walks out and hands Alice a bottle of water. She takes it, touching his leg as he turns away. He stops, leans over and kisses her forehead before heading back inside.
"The Kill Switch is on my nightstand," Edward says once he hears the door close again.
"Edward," Alice's voice turns serious, "Why would you even consider that?" She looks ahead. "Our secrecy is everything."
"Killing someone keeps the secret?"
"It's broad daylight. Bigfoot is well-known because he was videotaped in broad daylight."
"We don't know if Jacob was videotaped."
"Really?" Alice asks. The short temper Bella had after Alice woke from her vision suddenly makes sense. Edward was being willfully dense. She allows the quiet to settle. "If you're not willing to do whatever possible to keep Lilim's existence a secret, then you're not really looking out for us."
"I should apologize to Bella."
"She's working. Deciphering the vision."
"You don't do it?"
"I will." She stands, running her fingers through her hair. "Didn't want to yet." She nudges him with her foot. "Edward?"
He looks up at her.
She smiles. "Remember, we're monsters." She opens the front door. "You should apologize, though." It swings close behind her, clicking loudly.
He walks down his driveway, running his hand along the side of the government minivan he used to shuttle the team to his house from the facility. They are monsters. Inhuman creatures that must be protected at all cost. He walks to the road, wrapping his hands inside the front of his shirt, and looks in the direction of where Emmett disappeared.
No matter what, he thinks, don't let Emmett tell you what he did.
Walking outside, Jacob lifts his chin in greetings as Edward looks his way. He joins Edward's side, plunging his hands deep in his pockets.
"Sorry, sir. About earlier."
"You made a mistake." It feels like so long ago.
"It was stupid," Jacob says, his typically full voice weak.
Edward pats him on the shoulder. "Everyone gets to be stupid on their birthday."
"Thanks."
Edward purses his lips. His eyes narrow, dark slits in the bright sun. Could Emmett catch a car? He's faster than a human, but a speeding car feels far beyond even his impressive capabilities.
"What time is it?" he asks.
"Just after three," Jacob says, "I think."
Edward bites his lower lip and tilts his face skyward. Two hours until the Colonel expects them back.
"Let's go inside." Their steps synch as they walk up the driveway. "Quick question," Edward says, Jacob following him up the stairs.
"Sir?"
"Could you track Emmett?" He speaks with a hushed urgency he wasn't fully intending.
"Depends," Jacob says, matching the tone, "What can I turn in to?"
Edward scans the living room, checking that the girls aren't nearby. "Did you bring your pills? I don't want to make you do something you're not physically up for."
Jacob shakes his head and frowns. "I wasn't planning on using my powers."
"Would you need something?"
"Um..." Eyes furrowed, Jacob massages the back of his neck before cracking a half-smile. "How much aspirin do you have?"
Leading him in to the kitchen, Edward pulls a half-full bottle of Tylenol from the drawer. "How well could a mutt track him?" He hands the medicine over.
Jacob sucks his teeth while staring at the bottle in his hand. "Sir, I think it's great you're willing to do this, but I think Emmett is fine."
"I'm sure he is," Edward says. The desire to do something productive, positive, creeps deep in to his chest.
"Why don't you just radio him?"
Bella's cold eyes flashes in his mind, accompanied with the aching desire to avoid interrupting her work on the vision. But he's team leader. He's in charge. His face tightens and he turns, stepping away from Jacob. Clearing his throat, he activates his radio.
"Vejo. Come in, over." It's an order and it resets Edward's mind. They're his soldiers.
Bella's unintelligible voice comes from the bedroom in the following silence.
Edward repeats the transmission.
Jacob slides the pills back in to the kitchen drawer at the sound of angry steps.
"Can we get radio silence?" Bella says, harshly. Frustration and weariness is obvious on her face.
Edward keeps his back to her and holds up a finger. He feels Bella's glare boring into him. "Vejo. Now."
"Sir?" Emmett's annoyed voice cracks into their ears.
"ETA."
"Thirty, over."
"Need Griefs?" Edward turns and meets Jacob's eyes with a direct, confident gaze. The soldier nods in response.
"You'll send him?" The legitimate surprise in Emmett's voice sounds odd.
"Do you need Griefs?" Edward reiterates, sharpening his tone.
"No," Emmett answers.
"He's coming if you're not back in thirty. Copy?"
"Roger."
"Out." His pulse slows as Edward deactivates his radio. The sense of control and productivity calms him. The curiosity about what Emmett's doing is dwarfed by the desire to not know details. He glances at the clock on the microwave. "Jacob, get with me in twenty-five minutes."
"Roger that, sir," Jacob says through an assured smile before walking in to the living room.
Biting the inside of his lip, he focuses on Bella. "Do you have something for me, Eliz?"
The use of her code name throws Bella. Alice told her she and the Captain had talked, but she didn't expect his sudden use of authority. She appreciates it, but not at the expense of her pride. She presses her thumb nail in to the tip of her index finger, rediscovering her anger.
"Thank you for shutting up," she breathlessly challenges.
"Eliz," Edward orders as she turns, careful to keep his voice down.
She stops and cocks her head to the side as she stares at him, fighting the instinctive urge to smile. "Yes."
Edward steps to her, uncertain if it's meant to be flirtatious or intimidating. Leaning close, he feels the loose hair around her ear grazing his lips. "I know you're working."
The feel of his breath on her skin is chilling. Her attention is rapt.
"I realize how important your secret is," he continues. "And you, the team, are the only thing I care about. But you will not disrespect me in front of other team members. Got that?"
The anger in Bella fades. It's the best apology he can give with the team around and it's the only apology she deserves. He's the team leader. She can't help but smile. "Yes, sir," she says, appreciatively.
Edward steps back, the tension gone between then, and returns her smile. "Can you update me on the vision?"
"Yeah." Bella leads him out of the kitchen and stops at the edge of the couch. "Hey, Jacob. Did Alice say anything before I started recording her?"
"Oh, yeah," Jacob says, putting down his phone. He sits forward on the couch as he works to remember. "I heard two words. The first was, like, 'tins' or 'twins.' The second was 'rise.'"
"You sure?" Bella asks. She pulls out a scrap of paper and pen from her pocket and writes them down, using her thigh as a surface.
"Yeah."
"Thanks." Bella runs a hand through Jacob's hair as he leans back on the couch. "You heard what Alice sounds like during a vision," she tells Edward as he follows her in to the bedroom. "It's mostly noise with words thrown in."
"Hey," Alice says, seeing Edward as they enter. She sits on the foot of Edward's bed with a page of notes around her and Bella's phone in her lap. "Bella, I think we have everything."
"I missed a couple," Bella says, handing the words from Jacob over. "We pick out the actual words," she continues explaining to Edward. "It forms a loose description of what Alice sees for us to use."
"I can't really remember my visions," Alice says, adding Jacob's words to the top of a page. She doesn't look up as she reviews the various pages of notes, individual words, and consolidates them on to a single page. "I can sense what the words are suppose to be when they get confusing or muddy."
Edward nods. It makes sense and explains the use of vague information for their training exercises.
"It can take a while," Bella says. "We listen to the recordings over and over to make sure we're hearing them correctly." She knows she doesn't need to explain her need for radio silence any further.
"What will we do with it now?" Edward asks.
"Once Emmett gets back we need to head to Lilim," Bella says. "We'll start trying to figure out what it means there."
"The Colonel will help," Alice says, reviewing the final copy.
"You may want to give him a heads up," Bella offers.
Edward frowns at the thought of calling Colonel Cullen. After everything today, Carlisle is the last person he wants to speak to. "Yeah."
"Here," Alice says, handing the paper out to him. Her broad smile immediately makes Edward feel better. "Your first vision."