Chapter Fifty One

Darius

Getting the satellite back on line hadn't been too difficult but it was being used by the weather people who wanted to know why it had decided to take a side trip and I needed to be very sneaky to get what I needed from the hard drive before it was wiped and the satellite reprogrammed. It was close but I got what I needed downloaded to my laptop just in time and sat back to watch the surveillance footage that had been taken of Maria's compound. There was a chunk of time missing but it came back just in time to see the tail end of a vehicle leaving, a dark SUV and I zoomed in to get the license plate. It was a rental car from Hertz and taking a calculated guess I hacked into the rental computer at the Hertz desk at Nogales airport. Seeing the name on the rental agreement I whistled, now this was interesting and it was also bad news.

I was about to phone Carlisle when he phoned me instead with news that he'd heard from The Major and knew where he was and not only that but Bella had gone too."

"Then my news is old because I caught an SUV leaving the derelict compound."The vehicle was rented by one Felix Volturi. It would seem The Major is a guest of Aro and his brothers which means beyond our reach. If he's there then maybe Bella is too. If Aro knows she's his mate he will have her brought over, he won't separate mates, that would break his own law."

Carlisle

Things just seemed to be getting more and more complicated and more and more dangerous, especially for Bella because the Volturi would insist on her becoming a vampire or die and Jasper would do all in his power to save her from that. Also the two of them were now lost to us forever in all probability but we had to do something. What I didn't understand was why Aro was so interested in Bella, why he hadn't just had her killed as a law breaker and Jasper too if he refused to cooperate.. Aro would certainly try to blackmail Jasper into working for him but he wouldn't let Bella leave, she would have to become a vampire and that meant she could never go home to her father which brought with it more problems.

What I didn't understand was why the Volturi were in Mexico in the first place and why they had destroyed Maria's army and compound, unless of course she had been extremely stupid and allowed her men to run amok but that's why she wanted The Major back surely? We were missing something but while I pondered on the possibilities I decided to ring Esme with the bad news. Then I would tell the others that our rescue mission was over. it was impossible to fight the Volturi they were far too strong, no all we could do was try to weather the storm in Forks or leave as quickly as we could and hide ourselves from Chief Swan. He would be certain we had been responsible for Bella's disappearance but there was nothing we could do about that. I felt guilty at the thought we would be responsible for snatching Charlie's daughter from him just when he got her back but I saw no alternative.

When Esme answered she told me that Chief Swan was there so I decided the news might be better coming from me.

"Dr. Cullen I hope you have good news about my daughter."

"I do, at least some good news. She is as far as I can tell alive and may well be on her way to Italy to be reunited with Jasper."

"Italy? What the hell is she doing in Italy? Why haven't I heard anything and just what is going on?"

"I understand Esme has filled you in on what's been happening?"

"Yeah after the Quileutes filled me in on exactly what you and your family are. I want Bella back home and soon. I want her unharmed and I want your family out of her life and away from Forks."

"I understand how you must be feeling Chief Swan."

"No you don't, you have no idea how I'm feeling. I find our doctor is a vampire, so is my daughter's boyfriend and my best friends are werewolves. Now my daughter is missing, you haven't the faintest idea how I feel but I'm telling you this. If my daughter isn't back in Forks within forty eight hours the wolves can track down the lot of you. In the meantime I'm staying right here with your wife and daughter or whatever the hell they are and the wolves will make sure they don t leave. If Bella doesn't come home safe then I guess you can say goodbye to your family. Fairs, fair, after all."

He cut me off at that and I knew he would make good on his threat. With the wolves watching the house there was no safe way out for Esme or Alice but I had no way of getting Bella back in forty eight hours, I didn't know if there were any chance of getting her back to Forks at all and that worried me. I could send the others back to help Esme and Alice but even then the chances were that someone might be killed. I had forty eight hours and all I could do was travel to Italy and try to persuade Aro to allow Bella to leave, if he had her that was. Darius made the arrangements for me while I told the others what was going on. Of course he was determined to accompany me and both Emmett and Rose were upset at the thought of going home but I couldn't risk leaving Esme and Alice alone, especially with Chief Swan in such a volatile mood.

"It would be far more sensible for you to go back Carlisle. You can talk to the chief and speak to Aro by phone. "

"Neither you nor Edward are safe going to Volterra. Aro would be only too pleased to have Edwards gift served up on a platter."

"What if we stayed out of Volterra Darius? Acted as backup for you."

He shook his head firmly and although I couldn't bear the thought of leaving my family, even though Esme and Alice could do with help, of course Darius was right. Edward and I were more useful away from Volterra but it meant Rose and Emmett going in with him. I knew they would do everything in their power to save their brother's mate so reluctantly I agreed to return home.

"If Bella is there perhaps you can find a way to get a message out to her father, it might help calm him somewhat."

"We'll try. Our main concern is finding out if Bella is actually there. Then we can try to find a way to get her out but she's not going to want to leave without The Major and getting him out is going to be even more difficult, especially if he's with the guard. And even if we can get her out it leaves the rather clever trick of keeping her hidden from Aro."

I nodded, of course Darius was right but I knew he would do his best if only because Bella was Jasper's mate. When I rang back to tell Esme my plans Charlie answered the phone, so he was making good on his threat but he was happier to hear I was on my way back, I think he felt better at the thought of speaking to me personally. I couldn't give him any better news but perhaps I could put things in a better light, at least I hoped so, I didn't need the local law enforcement agency on my back right now.