Chapter Forty Eight

Aro

There was something going on in Volterra that I didn't know about and that disturbed me. There were tiny whispers of treachery but nothing concrete, nothing I could follow up on. I asked Felix to delve deeper but he came up blank too, his informants didn't know any more than I did. It was connected to Bella and her son, I was sure of that, so when I found out that Alice's new friend was now specializing in computer programming I invited them to Volterra, Alice of course couldn't refuse, she still owed me her life. Her vindictive words about my brother Caius had concerned me but when she mentioned Felix too I knew she was telling me a story, I trusted him above everyone in the city. I wanted to know if Bella were related to us, to the Volturi and I wanted her son here where I could study him. Esmes disappearance after getting to Italy with him concerned me too. Someone seemed to be one step ahead at every turn. Felix had disposed of a couple of guard he said were passing information outside and things had settled down so I knew he'd been right but there was someone in a position of power behind it all and my suspicions rested firmly on Marcus. I wondered if Chelsea's influence over him was weakening over the years, if he'd found out I killed his wife and was trying to bring me down. All I needed was one hard fact and I would have him disposed of, just one, but there were none, all was smoke in the wind, dissipating at the slightest touch.

Alice

My heart sank when we received the invitation from Aro, I really didn't want to go back there especially as I couldn't see what would happen but Stefan was flattered. Aro was so good at that, preying on men's weaknesses but I couldn't tell him that. He was a proud man and very sensitive so the thought of becoming Aro's computer expert appealed. I just hoped this wasn't tied up with the Cullens or Whitlocks, I'd had my fill of them and Caius too, although Aro laughed when I tried to tell him about Caius involvement in Bella's escape. He just wouldn't see where his biggest threat really lay. We were welcomed back with great warmth which Stefan lapped up but it made me more nervous.

"Alice my dear, so good to see you again and with your new friend Stefan. I've heard great things about you, I hope they haven't been exaggerated because I have a small problem I think you could help me with."

He put his arm around Stefan and led him out of the room leaving me with Felix of all people

"Can I show you to your room Alice"

"Go to hell Felix"

"Oh I'm already there Alice. Follow me please."

With great reluctance I followed him down the corridors and my heart sank further when I saw where we were headed,

"I thought you were taking me to our rooms?"

"I am, but Caius was eager to greet you first"

"I'll bet"

He was sitting at his desk but looked up as soon as I entered and smiled rather like a tiger on seeing the Zoo Keeper open the door of his cage.

"Alice, back so soon? I hear your friend is with you. Lets hope he's able to help Brother Aro with his problem. It would be such a shame if he was unable to"

"What do you want Caius?"

"Nothing Alice, just to say hello and make sure you remember me and our last meeting"

It was an unspoken threat but I nodded understanding,

"I haven't forgotten but I can't help you. Stefan is his own man and he's very good at what he does or so I'm told."

"Oh good, good. Then Aro will have his problem solved quickly and you can get out of Volterra that much sooner. Probably a good idea in any case. I understand there may be more visitors soon, I think you know them."

Jazz was coming to Volterra, was that what he was telling me? I wanted no part of that meeting."

"Well Alice, nice to see you again. Do let me know when Stefan has cracked the problem for Aro and in return I'll let you know when it would be advisable for you to leave."

Caius

So Aro had the big guns out now, Felix had warned me that he was getting too close for comfort.

"Get a Message to the Whitlocks. They should know what's happening, we may need to act decisively sooner than I thought."

Felix bowed his head and left, what would I do without him? Loyal to the very end and working constantly under the threat of exposure he had been a great find, and it was so easy to persuade Aro that he would be a great spy for us. It was only when Aro turned the US to ME that I activated Felix as my spy and he had been faithful for a very long time now. I wondered how long we had before Aro found out about the Whitlocks and how quickly he would act on the information. Once he knew, the finger of suspicion would point firmly in my direction. Deciding to be prudent I deleted all my files from the computer and infected the hard drive with an information shredding virus, that would slow Stefan down a little. The program I'd put on the main computer system for Volterra would lead him in circles for a while. How long depended on how good he was and that I had no way of knowing.

Aro

I watched as Stefan's fingers flew across the keys as he questioned me about what exactly had happened when the computers went down. I told him what I could but got Felix in to explain more fully, he was surprisingly good with computers, obviously a hobby of his, although when he found the time I wasn't sure. He was always working on our behalf somewhere in the city.

"So how long Stefan my friend? I'm eager to see the files I lost."

"I don't know yet. It depends what happened, if it was an intentional crash or an accidental one."

"What's the difference?"

"If its intentional then it will be harder to sort out and take longer depending on the skill of the computer programmer who did it."

"Can you give me any indication at all?"

"An hour, a day, a week, there's no way of knowing."

That wasn't what I wanted to hear but there was no way of speeding him up so I had to wait impatiently for progress. Felix was watching him keenly, I trusted no one and if he was doing anything other than that which I'd asked him Felix would know, which meant in turn that I would know.