Chapter 102

Carlisle

I was surprised when Charlie joined us so quickly, but I applauded his actions and decisions.

"Are you hoping Bella will be driven off the mountain by the weather?"

"Nope, I know Bella and she's stubborn when she makes her mind up about something. I know she'll hang on in there and that's why I made sure Darius sent up plenty of supplies for which I have you to thank and repay somehow. I just want The Major to understand how much Bella is willing to sacrifice for him and I know he'll do it because to fail would be to fail her not me. In his world he didn't stand a chance with all the temptations and the Volturi, up there on a mountain with no humans around he stands a better chance."

"You really thought this through didn't you?"

"I may be a vampire now Carlisle, but that doesn't mean I stop thinking like a cop. He deserves a second chance after what the Volturi did to him and I'm giving him every opportunity to get it right this time. Call it rehab on a vampire scale if you like."

We joined the others Peter opting to come along as the best way to keep in the loop.

"I don't trust the Volturi. Given the slightest opportunity, they swoop on The Major and Bella and haul them off to Volterra."

"Then it's a good job we have eyes on them, Captain."

"Yeah well make sure they don't close or look away. That's my only friend up there."

"Don't worry, it's my daughter too. For now they are both safe, my concern is that two faced little fucker, Edward. I don't suppose he'll run for long, he needs to get money and a safe hideaway and neither are gonna be easy cos they leave a paper trail for Darius to follow."

"It's my turn Charlie, don't forget what he did to my family and me."

"So long as he suffers I don't give a fuck Carlisle. Just don't kill him, he hasn't suffered nearly enough yet."

Edward

I couldn't just keep running, I needed a plan, a safe place to hide but that cost money and getting at my money was going to be very difficult because Darius would be waiting for just such a move. I had to be careful moving about too, especially if there were humans around. A bandage hid the missing fingers of my left hand and a scarf or collar the wound in my neck, but the missing ear was more difficult to disguise.

I dreaded to think what I might lose next time and I had no doubt there would be a next time. Sooner or later I would make a slip or be recognized by someone who was friendly with Carlisle or Darius. I made my way to Portland only because I had a bank account there I hoped no one else knew about, it didn't hold a lot of money, but more importantly it held in a safe deposit box a passport in my grandmother's maiden name.

I could use that and the cash to buy a plane ticket to Europe. Once there it was easier to move across countries or even to Asia or Russia giving me more room to maneuver. Unfortunately as I walked into the airport terminal I saw two figures I recognized, two of the Volturi guard waiting at arrivals.

Carlisle

We settled to wait for word on Edward's whereabouts knowing the longer this went on the more careful he would become, at least for a while. Eventually, he would become careless but it was a little early to expect that. Charlie settled down to life here with us as he was still finding his feet and wanted to quiz me about the Volturi. He wanted to know as much about the "enemy" as possible although I did try to point out that in general they were not the bad guys. A world as violent as ours needed firm government and Aro and the guard provided just that.

"There is corruption, of course, you've seen that, but, in general, all he wants is our kind to be safe, Even The Major was employed to that end."

"Employed? He was forced to become a vampire, turned into a monster and set on anyone Aro didn't like. That's a far cry from being employed unless you have a very different idea of what constitutes employment."

"Perhaps that was an unfortunate choice of words Charlie but Aro did agree to release The Major and the Captain from the guard."

"He had no choice Carlisle, but I still don't trust him to keep his word. Do you?"

"In this case I'm not sure but Darius will be watching so we'll know if he decides to launch an attack."

"If he does you know I'll have to act Carlisle."

"What will you do Charlie? Kill the remaining Volturi? Take over the running of our world personally?"

"Whatever it takes Carlisle, whatever it takes."

I was relieved as weeks went by without any word on movement against The Major and not surprised to hear nothing about Edward, I knew we would hear about him sooner or later and I was a patient man and so, more surprisingly, was Charlie who spent his time talking to the Captain, finding out his history and the little of The Major's he was willing to divulge. If nothing else Peter as he started to call himself after Charlotte refused to use his title Captain any longer, was a loyal friend.

When news did come it was from a most unexpected quarter. My cell phone rang while I was out hunting with Charlie, Peter, and Emmett, although Peter was along only as an observer. He didn't like the idea of drinking animal blood at all although Charlotte was working on him.

"Vampires drink human blood, that's just the way it is. There is nothing natural about chasing after furry critters to drain them besides where's the excitement of the hunt?"

"You should be with me when I hunt bear or cougar, then there's plenty of excitement, pitting your skills against that of another predator. After all humans aren't predators, they're no challenge to a vampire."

"Really? You ever hunted a human through the back alleys of New York? You might change your tune then Cullen."

"Well, how about you try hunting with me then I'll hunt with you."

Peter beamed at him,

"Really? OK, you're on but I don't drink critter blood. You can have my kill."

"No problem, same rules apply in New York."

I wasn't sure Peter realized that he was slowly being drawn into our world and out of his more violent one but Charlotte had noticed and was thankful.

We had been lucky enough to come across the trail of a herd of white tail deer who were being tracked in turn by a pair of wolves which gave the hunt a little more spice. Peter and Emmett took the wolves while the rest of us made do with deer. This hunt had been organized as a bonding exercise and it seemed to be working. I just hoped in the future we would be including The Major and Bella in our expeditions although that day was some way in the future yet.

I was thinking about this when my phone vibrated in my pocket and I was glad we had fed first or the noise might have spooked our quarry. Usually I switched it off while hunting but these were not usual times and I had decided it wouldn't be a good idea to be out of contact for the time being. As I answered and recognized the voice on the other end I almost dropped the phone in shock and as I uttered his name every head turned towards me and silence fell over our little party.