WRONG DECISIONS

Disclaimer: The Cullen's, the Swans, and most of the characters mentioned in the story that are known from Stephanie Meyer's beloved Twilight Saga, are all hers and hers alone. I neither have nor wish to pass them off as mine. I do appreciate the fact that she brought them to life and allows us to play with them in our imaginations. The only thing I will claim is the current storyline.

The awesome and talented dowlingnana searched out my errors and corrected them.

So, Caius left to find someone that would be able to get the necessary information they needed to be able to act if they had to. There was no other reason why the Cullen's were in town other than to try to find the kids and to accuse the Volturi family of taking them. That meant they needed to be prepared to defend themselves.

CHAPTER 22: CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR YET

Jasper opened his laptop and pulled up a map of the neighborhood where Marcus had told them the house was located. Everyone wanted to have a clear idea of the area they were about to invade to rescue the children and Victoria, and if luck was on their side get a hold of James Hunter. That bastard would be knowing the meaning of the consequences for daring to lay hands on 'untouchables.' And if they didn't get James at the house, his days were still number as they would deal with him before leaving Seattle.

As the area map was enlarged Marcus and Mario took the time to explain the layout of everything and then the house itself was brought into view. Marcus even told them about the entire layout of the inside and the outside of the house.

"Is there any place that anyone might hide that would give them the advantage of being a sniper, or that would be able to hide from us, anywhere outside or inside the house?" Carlisle asked as he and his family absorbed all the information they could see and hear about the entire area.

"No, except in the basement, there is a safe room there that someone can hole up in. However, I don't believe anyone, not even Tori, knows about it. That doesn't mean that James hasn't discovered it, even though I do believe that to be very unlikely, so, with that in mind, I would caution whoever might venture down there to be fully alert." Marcus was quick to warn the Cullen's.

After a bit more discussion everyone dispersed to get ready for the upcoming rescue and hopefully grab action.

XXXXXX

Bella was starting to get extremely nervous about what was going on to get her children back. She hadn't heard from her helpful stranger in quite a while. The silence was about to drive her crazy. She was once again worried about if she was placing too much trust in a total stranger.

Also, the constant worry about Carlisle and Edward getting a hold of her babies and not giving them back to her. What would they do if they got to the twins before her stranger friend did? That one question made her more anxious and gave her more concern that equaled the worry she had for her children's safety. However, their safe return to her was the top priority.

Time passed and the worry grew as the time stretched.

Suddenly, Bella heard a noise outside of the cabin and she quickly extinguished the lights while searching for some kind of weapon.

XXXXXX

As James was going through the house trashing it his phone rang jarring him back to reality. He answered it without checking to see who was calling and asked, "Yeah, who the hell is calling and what the shit do you want?"

"You don't know me, but my brother is on your current payroll."

"So?" James snipped without giving the guy a chance to explain himself.

"Well, Mr. Hunter, my brother and I met up for a bit a little earlier today and he mentioned that you seem to be missing some property. But, anyway, we continued to talk about this and that and I told him about an odd fare that I picked up today."

"So? Get on with what the hell you have to say."

"John became interested in what I mentioned and asked me more about why the fare was so odd, so I told him. He then suggested that I call you after hearing what I told him. That is how I got your number before you ask."

"Okay, I'll bite. What was so odd about this fare that your brother thought you should call me direct?"

"It was a woman and two small children, and she was acting really strange, if you know what I mean. You know like looking over her shoulder and giving off the vibes like she was scared or running away from something.

"Also, she didn't have me pick up her at a given address but in the middle of a neighborhood block. Then she told me to get the hell out of there quickly."

"Can you describe this woman to me?"

"Yeah, she was tall, maybe 5' 10" or 11", reddish hair, fair skin, really a looker, if you know what I mean. The kids didn't look anything like her, but they were very quiet during the entire ride."

"Where did you take them?"

"To a motel on the outskirts of Seattle."

"What's the name of the motel?"

"The Hunter's Retreat."

"Did John tell you why I would be interested in knowing about this?"

"He only said that you had lost some property as I mentioned earlier and then when I questioned him further, he said that it was your longtime girlfriend and kids.

"He told me that you had had an argument and she left after I had questioned him some more and that you were worried about them and wanted to make amends to try to get back together."

"Thanks for the information; I'll send a reward to you through John." Then James hung up and was getting ready to leave when there was a knock at the door.

He saw that it was some of his men whom he had told to meet him at the house so they could go over some final planning.

He answered the door and let everyone in then told them to wait there until he returned since they had some final planning to do. One man had the audacity to ask James where he was going and then cringed because of the death stare he received from James. "You know better than to ask me any questions. Do I need to have you taught a lesson that will be a reminder for the future that will be sure to last a lifetime?"

"No, sir."

So, with that answer James looked at everyone else present but all remained silent. "Okay, make yourselves at home until I get back which I don't think will take me long to take care of the business that just came to my attention." So, without another word being said he turned and left.

James was heading to the motel where he had been told that Victoria and the brats had gone. It looked like he was going to have to take care of some loose ends before time. He had truly wanted to keep the brats alive a bit longer just for insurance and V was handy to take care of them. However, it seems that for some reason she had changed her mind about her position with him before he was ready to get rid of her.

Arriving at the Hunter's Retreat Motel James got out of the car and walked into the office to find out what room V and the brats were using.

As he was entering the office, Victoria happened to see him as she and the twins were returning from the diner down the road from the motel. Recognizing him immediately she knew not to return to their room, so she turned the children towards the woods that was behind the motel. They quickly entered the woods in just the nick of time as James came out of the office heading to the room where she and the twins had been.

James saw some movement ahead of him off to the side, but he paid no attention to it at that time as he approached the room. He didn't take the time to knock but just twisted the doorknob and entered the room. No one was there!

He walked back outside and looked around and it was at that moment he remembered seeing movement as he was approaching the room. He wondered if it could have been V and the brats, and they had seen him? At that point he decided to wander into the woods to see if he could find out if it was really them or not.

Every so often up ahead he would hear some movement and the breaking of a twig but no sighting of the three he sought. Finally, in an opening up ahead of him he sees a cabin and decides to check it out thinking that they may be in there, if indeed it was the threesome he sought.

He cautiously approaches the cabin while on the lookout for any sort of movement within or surrounding the outside of the cabin. Slowly opening the door as he looks around, he becomes convinced that no one is there now. However, he is sure V and the brats are heading in this direction, if it was them that he thought he saw turning towards the woods, and that being the case he decides….

XXXXXX

Bella grabs the only thing she can think of that could be used as a weapon if she could hopefully take the intruder by surprise. She quickly hides behind the door as she hears someone coming closer and then sees the door slowly opening.

As the figure comes further inside, she sees that it's a man and she waits until he's almost completely inside before swinging the skillet up the side of his head and knocking him unconscious.

Turning the lights back on, Bella was quick to make sure he wasn't faking it and then started looking for something to tie him up. All she could find were cable ties and decided that they would work nicely.

She tugged him away from the door and from the center of the room then rolled him back over onto his stomach once more then pulled his hands behind his back and tied them. Next, she pulled his legs together and tied them together at the ankles and just as a precaution also just below his knees.

It was then that she felt secure enough to start looking through his pockets. She finds a knife, some change, car keys and then a gun that was covered up by his shirt tucked in his pants on his back.

Searching further down his legs she came across another knife and a smaller gun both strapped just above each ankle.

Once her initial search was completed, she decided to search once again just to make sure she hadn't missed anything that he could use to get loose.

Being satisfied that she had found everything that could have been used against her in one manner or another, Bella made herself comfortable on the couch until she was able to get a hold of her stranger friend to let him know about being invaded.

Bella had made up her mind as to what her next action would be if the intruder started regaining consciousness. And after a time, he did begin to moan, so Bella followed through with what she felt she needed to do for her protection: she rapped him up the side of the head again with the skillet.

The man became silent once again.

XXXXXX

The Cullen's with Marcus and Mario had met a couple of blocks away from the house. They had planned the group would split into two groups. One group would approach from the front and the other group would come in from the back to make sure no one would escape from that direction.

Suddenly both the front and back doors were thrown open with strangers rushing in with guns drawn. Not one person already inside before the intrusion was able to pull a weapon or get into a position to defend themselves. The attack came as a complete surprise.

"Do you see James Hunter?" Carlisle asked Marcus who shook his head no.

"Where is James Hunter?" Carlisle demanded of the prisoners.

"We don't know. He told us to remain here until he returned. Said he had some unexpected business that he had to take care of." Lorenzo, the man who had asked James earlier where he was going answered Carlisle's question.

The sound of movement behind Carlisle caused him to turn quickly to see that Mario had stepped up to whisper something to Marcus. Marcus nodded as he noticed that he had Carlisle's as well as everyone else's attention, so he quickly explained what Mario had told him.

"Lorenzo, the man that answered your question, Carlisle, is related to Mario and has been his inside source that has kept us updated as to what James has been planning."

Carlisle nodded his head and then looked to his wife asking, "Have you, Alice and Rosalie searched the house for the children and Ms. Volturi?"

"Yes, but they're not here unless they are down in the basement." Esme answered.

Before anyone could speculate any further about where the three could be Lorenzo spoke once more, "It is rumored that they left before Hunter had returned from his outing earlier today. No one has seen or heard from them since."

Another man stepped forward to say, "My brother drives for Uber and told me about a weird fare he had picked up not far from here earlier. I gave him Mr. Hunter's number and told him to call to tell Mr. Hunter about it since that might be Mr. Hunter's girlfriend and children."

"Did your brother say where he had dropped this fare?" Carlisle questioned the man.

"Yes, at the Hunter's Retreat Motel."

Esme spoke up then and suggested, "Why don't I and Mr. Volturi go to this motel and see if it is indeed the children and his daughter. That way he would be a familiar face to the woman and not scare her and I can take control of the children."

"Do it while the rest of us clear up here." Carlisle told her.

AN: Once again Victoria has kept the children and herself safe from James. Of course, James isn't faring too well in his current situation. What will Marcus and Esme find once they get to the motel? Will Victoria and the children still be there after the near run-in with James earlier?

Thanks for reading and looking forward to your comments.