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.

"Okay, I'm turning it off now." She said and did turn her phone off just as it appeared that a text message was coming in. She didn't open the text app to see who the message was from.

"Good. I will continue to keep you updated as things progress." And, with that said he hung up.

CHAPTER 18: MOVING TO A JOINT ADVENTURE

Aro arrived back home in such a temper that just for one look everyone knew to stay out of his way. Anything that was in his way was tossed, smashed, or shot to pieces. He stormed through to his office calling for his brother, Caius, who happened to still be there.

Once Caius appeared in the office doorway, he asked, "What the hell has got your ass in such a vice grip?"

"I just returned from trying to talk with Marcus. I confronted him demanding to know why he wasn't here helping with locating and getting a hold of the Cullen brats.

"He had the audacity to tell me that he refused to help with this situation. Even reminded me that he had told me that when I first started making the effort to verify the truth about those brats.

"So, in other words, he has flatly refused to help in any way or to even make any suggestions that might bring about our getting our hands on those brats." Aro raged to his brother as he paced about his office.

"Aro, Marcus has done this before but has always come through at the last moment. However, I think this time with kids being involved is hitting a lot closer to home because of Victoria. You have to remember what happened when he was faced with a similar situation where his wife and daughter were involved and Didyme was killed, and he had damn near lost Victoria as well.

"So, that is why I do believe that he has withdrawn from this whole thing. It's something that is making him very uncomfortable and hitting too close to home by bringing certain memories to the surface." Caius took the time to remind his brother of the possible reason why Marcus wasn't standing with them at the moment. "Marcus has to find a comfort spot that will enable him to be able to work with us in this matter. Give him the time and hopefully you won't be disappointed."

After saying all of that Caius turned and left a still fuming Aro. Caius, like Aro, was a hardened criminal but even that particular incident still had the power to twist his guts when he remembers the shape his sister-in-law, Didyme, and niece, Victoria, had been found in.

Shaking his head to try to get rid of the images that were flashing through his mind about that time, Caius forced himself to concentrate on other matters that were more important at the moment.

XXXXXX

Both Edward and Carlisle became frustrated that they hadn't been able to get any sort of response from Bella. For some reason her phone was now turned off. That fact made it even more difficult for Carlisle to make a comfortable decision about how to respond to the request to talk with a total stranger that had suddenly put himself into a family matter. A matter that really didn't concern anyone else but the family and the fools that had dared to touch untouchables; they were untouchable because of the position the children held in the Cullen family.

Carlisle had agreed to meet this stranger, but he was still uncomfortable walking blind into a situation. He felt like control had been taken out of his hands and that fact of itself pissed him off even further.

It was about that time that Carlisle's phone rang with an unrecognizable phone number. He cautiously answered with only one word, "Yes."

"Mr. Cullen, you don't know me yet, but young Mrs. Cullen has a problem that needs both of our help to get it safely resolved for the sake of her babies and your grandchildren.

"I have faced a situation such as this in the past and was so arrogant as to think that my family and I could handle everything only to be proven wrong in the end.

"I'm willing to meet with you and you only in a place of your choosing but neither of us will have guards or guns for our discussion to take place.

"Also, I want you to understand that I do have more information concerning this matter than what you or anyone else may have. And, I would like to add that I have a feeling that there is more to this situation than there appears to be at the moment.

"So, with that being said, I will leave the arrangements in your hands and will call back in twenty-four hours to know where to meet you." And so the caller disconnected the call.

Carlisle hadn't had a chance to put the call on speaker for everyone to hear as the man hadn't given him time during his speech to be able to do so. But with the call being disconnected all he did for a couple of minutes was to stare at the phone that he was still holding in his hand.

After collecting himself, Carlisle proceeded to tell the family what the caller had to say. The last part of the conversation is what snapped Edward's, Emmett's and Jasper's attention to look more closely at what Carlisle had told them. "Did he give any sort of indication as to what more might be going on than what it appears to be?" Edward asked, feeling very perplexed about all of it.

"Are you going to meet this person in the manner that he wants?" Emmett was quick to pick up on that part of the conversation and ask.

"Right now, I'm inclined to say no but then if I refuse, I wonder what sort of information we might be losing that could cause more harm by being totally unprepared and uninformed." Carlisle replied as he was still a bit shell-shocked by the whole conversation.

"Dad, do you believe him when he said he felt there was more to this than what it appears to be?" Edward asked with a touch of fearfulness in his voice but also with a whole hell of a lot of frustration overriding all other emotions that were threatening to come through.

"Son," Carlisle replied and then paused to look at everyone else before continuing, "yes, yes, I do think there might be more than what is known. He had mentioned that he had faced a situation similar to this but apparently things had gone wrong.

"I'm not willing to take that chance with your children and my grandbabies, with the future of this family. So, because of that I will go through with this meeting to see what information this person might be able to give us and what advice, if any, that he can offer."

Esme rose from where she had been seated and as she approached her husband, she looked at her son and nephews, "You heard what was needed, go get it done." Then she turned back to Carlisle and wrapped him up in her arms while whispering encouragement to him that couldn't be heard by anyone else in the room.

The boys hurdled off into a corner to discuss where, what and when the meeting needed to take place. They also discussed how they might be able to control Carlisle's safety.

Once that was done, they left to investigate their possible choice and then to get everything set in place and then they would tell Carlisle all of the details of what they had done so everything could be fine-tuned after that.

XXXXXX

"Are you sure of what you're telling me?" Mario questioned his inside source.

"I saw it and overheard everything without him knowing that I was even that close."

"Okay. Thanks for the heads up. Stay safe otherwise your wife will kick my ass if something were to happen to you."

XXXXXX

"Don't worry. I have a situation set up that will catch both the Volturi family and the Cullen family all at the same time. After that you can have a field day with them." James told the person he had been talking to on the phone.

This was a conversation that he had to have while Victoria was out getting food for everyone. If she even had any idea what he was truly doing she would first freak out and then probably go to her father. One thing is for sure, she would no longer aid him in his plans since it meant the total destruction of her whole family and herself as well.

"You're sure that everything is strictly on the up and up? No one is going to be able to get away?"

"I'm positive. I'm giving us everything tied up in a nice, neat bow. No strings to fall between the cracks." James assured the person he was talking to. Then he continued, "After this is done then I should be able to be in a position to get in good with another one of the families that is closely located to me."

"All right. I'll look forward to hearing from you soon."

XXXXXX

Mario left his source quickly but quietly so he could rush back to the boss about the information he had just received.

XXXXXX

Marcus called Bella to let her know that he had spoken with Carlisle and that a meeting had been agreed to. "I left the arrangements in Cullen's hands so he would feel more comfortable meeting with me. However, I stipulated that we would meet as one on one with no guards or guns."

"That will make Carlisle very uncomfortable since he never goes anywhere without a guard and a gun. He always has at least two on his person no matter what. So, be careful to check it out before beginning your meeting." Bella warned her friendly stranger.

"Mrs. Cullen, I am going to be planning for you to receive all of the information that I know just in case something goes wrong. With that information you'll be able to go to the authorities to have the ones that are holding your children hostage brought to justice.

"Understand that this is as a last resort in case I and the Cullen's fail to get to the children." He told her before hanging up not to give Bella a chance to say a single word in response to what he had just said.

XXXXXX

Edward, Emmett and Jasper had checked out the restaurant in the hotel along with a few other restaurants that were close in the area to see how any might be of a viable use that would give safety to Carlisle and to the meeting. The boys were determined to be close but out of sight just in case things started going downhill.

The final choice was the hotel restaurant since it was within the hotel and negated Carlisle having to go somewhere else unarmed and unguarded. Also, since the hotel was owned by the family the boys would be able to keep an eye on everything taking place by watching the surveillance cameras from the security office in the hotel.

Satisfied with their decision they returned to their suite and told Carlisle how they thought everything should be handled. Their suggestions met with approval from everyone.

XXXXXX

Marcus was about to set down to dinner when Mario came rushing into the dining room panting from being out of breath. He felt that the information he had needed to be related to the boss as quickly as possible, so he drove like mad and then ran from his car into the house to get to Marcus.

Marcus looks at the sudden appearance of Mario and asked, "Is there a problem?"

"Yes sir, a big one."

"Mario, have you had dinner yet?"

Mario shook his head and told his boss, "No, but I'll get something later. I've just learned something from my inside source that I felt you needed to know immediately.

AN: The meeting is moving forward, and the guys did a complete investigation in selecting a place that would help to ensure Carlisle's safety. Mario has important information for Marcus, so how could the information help to get the twins back? What the hell is James up to?

Thanks for reading and looking forward to your comments.