Impasse
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
Jenks
Charlie glowered at the self-assured middle aged African American man sitting on the opposite side of the table. His short black hair, dark skin and moustache gave the man an air of gravitas that was normally missing from the slick lawyers from the city he usually encountered. His name was J. Jenks and he was Edward Cullen's legal representative.
The guy had arrived at the station accompanied by Carlisle Cullen not more than five minutes after Charlie began to process Edward through the system. He had slapped his expensive leather briefcase on the front desk and demanded to be taken to see his client straight away. He then proceeded to tie Charlie and his deputies up in legal speak, twisting the narrative to Edward's advantage, reminding Charlie that Edward was a model citizen with an exemplary school record for both academic and behavioral qualities.
"As I understand it your daughter was already in a romantic relationship with my client, was she not?" Jenks pointed out several times.
"Only for a short time." Charlie had corrected him curtly. "They have been broken up for some considerable period, as you well know. And during that time this young man has been making a nuisance of himself by constantly trying to insert himself back into Bella's life when she has made it clear on several occasions that she no longer has any interest in him. But he refused to listen and ignored repeated warnings from both myself and his own family to keep his distance. And today he – "
"Ah, that isn't quite the truth though, is it, Chief Swan?" Jenks interrupted him mid-rant. "Do you not think that your role as Bella's father may have prejudiced your view towards my client's quite reasonable actions?"
"What are you accusing me of here?" Charlie responded through gritted teeth. "Are you trying to imply that I can't separate my familial duties as a father and as an officer of the law. Because I can assure you that I – "
"Ah, but will the judge see it like that?" Jenks interrupted again smoothly. "I have my doubts, Chief Swan. You may have an exemplary record yourself, but anyone presiding over the case will have genuine concerns about your motives in this instance."
"How dare you!" Charlie seethed, losing his cool a little.
"I am merely pointing out the facts." Jenks continued reasonably.
Charlie's steely gaze shifted from Jenk's crafty face to Edward. Edward had remained silent throughout the whole exchange on the advice of his lawyer. He sat ramrod straight in his chair, looking the picture of innocence. Charlie had to fight the urge to reach across the table and grab him by the collar of his blue button-down shirt and punch him in his pasty face. He balled his fists in his lap under the table, hating the fact that Jenks was riding rough shod over him.
"You speak of facts." He continued in the same curt tone to Jenks. "The fact is your client has been harassing Bella Swan for weeks now – a fact that several witnesses will testify."
Jenks remained unmoved by the potential threat of witnesses. "Those witnesses are hardly what we would call impartial, are they, Chief Swan?" He questioned blithely. He glanced down at the list of names in front of him. "Many of those you've listed are family friends."
Charlie's knuckles turned white under the table as his clenched fists stopped the blood flow under the skin. "That is irrelevant."
"Hardly." Jenks raised one eyebrow. "A responsible judge would throw out their statements. You're a learned man, Chief Swan, you don't need me to tell you that." He leaned forward and pressed his hands together, his expression turning congenial, as if he and Charlie were old friends. "Come now, you know the case you have against my client is weak at best. It's your daughter's word against my client's. You have no independent witnesses to clarify your daughter's version of events. My client has stated clearly that the whole thing was an unfortunate misunderstanding. He is prepared to be reasonable in this instance and not pursue a counter claim of defamation. I mean a false arrest under quite dubious circumstances can be quite damaging to a person's reputation. I would hate for you or your daughter's good names to be dragged through the mud once the truth comes out about your consistent harassment of my client. He was merely trying to reason with your daughter today, asking her to get you to back off and stop with the spurious accusations against him. I understand she got in the car quite willingly, but became upset when my client refused to engage with her attempts to flirt with him. He did the gentlemanly thing and brought her straight home, only to find himself accused of the most heinous crimes."
Charlie's self-control had finally reached its limit. He could no longer suppress the fire seed of anger that grew like a volcano in his belly, making his skin as flaming hot as his temper. He lunged across the table and grabbed Jenks by his fancy tie and yanked him forcefully toward him.
Jenks turned a sickly paste color as the tie cut off his air. He gasped, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. No longer looked smug, he looked a little afraid as he recoiled from Charlie's steely glare.
"Lawyers like you make me sick." Charlie seethed. "You know very well that sneaky little shit sitting beside you looking like butter wouldn't melt is guilty. But money talks, right?"
"Let go of me." Jenks rasped, his dark eyes bulging. He looked over at Edward for help, but Edward remained seated, seeming stunned by Charlie's forceful response, or more wisely keeping out of it after everything that had already happened.
"My daughter is telling the truth. You can try and wangle out of it all you want. I will not be dismissing these charges. I'll pursue them as far as I can go within the letter of the law. Even if they eventually get dismissed, the damage will already be done. The little shit's name will be in the system and flagged up wherever he goes. If he so much as steps one toe out of line, he'll be done for. Because I know for a fact that my Bells can't be the first girl he's stalked and harassed."
Charlie paused in his tirade at Jenks, his brown eyes – so like Bella's – shifting toward Edward and boring into his. "You hear me boy!" He threatened Edward directly. "Sue me for defamation all you want; I can assure you it will get you nowhere. And no fancy lawyer with their fancy words will get you off the hook once I'm done with you."
Edward blanched as Charlie finally let go of Jenks' tie, leaving the older man gasping and spluttering.
"You'll regret this, Chief Swan." He cried hoarsely. "You've just committed assault. I'll have your ass for this. We have all this on video." He said, pointing his trembling forefinger up at the camera fixed high on the left side of the interrogation room.
Charlie stood up from the table, the legs of his chair scraping like nails across a chalkboard. He met Jenks' indignant gaze with his own and smiled darkly. "Oh, didn't I tell you this interview was off the record? The cameras aren't turned on. Neither is the tape machine. Then again, if you were as competent a lawyer as you claim, you would have made sure of that before we started. Good day to you."
With his head held high, Charlie swept out of the room without looking back.
As evening cast her dusky glow across the sky, Carlisle and Edward finally returned home. As Carlisle led the way inside, his expression was critical but resigned.
"Let's talk in the other room." He said aloud, knowing the others would hear and begin to gather.
Edward's head was bowed, his hands dug deep in the pockets of his designer jeans, as he followed Carlisle through the bright living room, around the corner to the dining room. The walls were white, the ceilings high, like the living room. In the center of the room, under a low hanging chandelier, was a large polished, oval table surrounded by eight chairs. Carlisle pulled out the one at the head of the table and sat down.
The Cullens never usually used the dining room table – it was just a prop. But this meeting was one of immense importance. The setting seemed fitting. As soon as Edward pulled out his own chair, the others appeared as if by magic. Esme was the first. She took her place next to Carlisle looking sad. Behind her the rest of the family filed in.
Everyone took their seats in silence. Alice's face was grim as she looked over at Edward. His head was still bowed and he didn't raise it to meet her enquiring gaze. Emmet and Jasper looked curious, while Rosalie was wearing a similar resigned expression as Carlisle, as if she knew what was coming.
Carlisle nodded at them all in greeting, before starting the conversation with a deep sigh. "It did not go as well as anticipated."
"I warned you – "Alice began.
"I know." Carlisle cut her off before she could continue. "But I had to try all the same. Charlie Swan is much wilier than I gave him credit for. He ended up tying Jenks in knots. Not an easy feat."
"What happened?" Esme asked quietly.
"Edward's name is in the system – his mugshot, fingerprints, everything. Charlie flatly refused to drop the charges even though, as Alice informed us, they will be dropped eventually due to lack of evidence and independent witnesses. It is Edward's word against Bella's. But that's neither here or there, he has come under scrutiny, and in such a small town we all know what that means."
"Well done, Edward." Rosalie jeered sarcastically.
"Rose." Esme chided her gently.
"No." Rosalie snapped. "I refuse to be quiet. I warned you all this would happen right from the beginning. I said his obsession with Bella Swan would place us in jeopardy, but none of you would listen."
"That didn't stop you interfering, though, did it?" Alice retorted.
"Oh, don't get me started on you!" Rosalie countered bitterly. "You are as much to blame for this mess as that fool sitting over there!"
"Enough!" Carlisle ordered loudly, quietening the bickering in an instant. It was such a rare occurrence for him to raise his voice that it silenced them all at once. "What's done is done. I am as much to blame as anyone. Perhaps I have been too indulgent. I just wanted Edward to be happy." He sighed again, reaching out and putting a comforting hand on his favorite's shoulder.
"You said it." Rosalie muttered under her breath.
Emmet jabbed her in the side and she shot him an irritated glare.
"We'll need to leave immediately." Jasper spoke aloud for the first time, verbalizing what everyone was secretly thinking.
"Yes." Carlisle confirmed. "It will be impossible for us to stay now. We cannot afford the scrutiny. We survive because we exist under the radar. But with the spotlight now on Edward that is impossible. Small town gossip can be dangerous. We wouldn't want that gossip to reach the wrong ears."
"What about the redhead?" Jasper asked. "Do you really still believe she provides no threat?"
"Yes." Carlisle reaffirmed his earlier belief that Victoria had grown a conscience. "We will continue to monitor the situation from afar for a while, but I truly believe she will continue to give this area a wide berth."
Emmet and Jasper looked disbelieving, but neither refuted Carlisle's belief. They just didn't care enough. Alice was the one they all relied on to keep a close eye on Victoria's intentions and she hadn't seen anything worrying so far.
Edward finally raised his head when the talk turned to the subject of Victoria. His mouth was pulled down in a grimace. "I know what you all think of me…."
"You're the mind reader." Rosalie cut in sardonically.
"Rose!" Carlisle cautioned her again.
"Fine." Rosalie demurred as Emmet moved to put his hand over hers. "I was getting tired of this town anyway."
"Where will we go?" Esme asked worriedly.
"I was thinking Denali initially – and then perhaps Alaska."
"Whatever makes you happy." Esme declared with feeling.
Carlisle smiled at his mate lovingly, glad for her support. "I want to leave as soon as possible – perhaps within the next few days. We don't want to disappear too abruptly, that would only make the rumor mill work harder. I'll need to work out my notice out at the hospital. I don't want to leave them in the lurch."
"What will you tell them?" Esme enquired.
"Oh, I'll make up some fake job offer from some L.A or something." Carlisle patted her hand reassuringly.
"That's plausible." Alice agreed as she quickly looked inward. "No one will question that. Not with your exemplary skills. They always wondered why someone of your experience would choose to work in such a small, insignificant hospital."
Carlisle nodded his agreement, but there was an innate sadness in his expression that he couldn't quite hide. He was going to miss working at the hospital. He was upset he had to cut his time there so short. He enjoyed making a difference. He had no idea when he would have the chance to work again. It could take some time to secure another position elsewhere.
Edward's head began to bow again under the weight of his mentor's regrets. Carlisle's thoughts as well as his expression were easy to read. As were the other members of the family. Even Rosalie, despite her protests, didn't want to leave Forks. He had ruined it for all of them. But most of all for himself. He had lost his dignity, his respect, but most of all he had lost the one person who meant the world to him. He had lost Bella. There was no going back now. He could delude himself no longer. Without her he had no future. No life at all. He couldn't survive her loss. Which meant there was only one option open to him, but his decision wasn't fully formed yet, lest Alice might see.
It was close to midnight when Charlie finally got home from the station. He pulled off his hat, shrugged off his jacket, and made sure to hang up his gun belt on its usual hook. All the lights were off in the house except for the living room, which meant that Bella must be still awake and waiting for him to come home.
Moving slower than molasses he made his way there, feeling a bit reluctant to fill her in on the outcome of Edward's arrest, even though something inside him guessed she probably already knew.
As he pushed the door open, the first thing he spotted was Bella, lying fast asleep on the sofa, wrapped up protectively in Jacob's arms. Jacob was still wide awake. His dark eyes looked troubled as they met Charlie's. Charlie just shook his head and Jacob sighed. No words needed to be exchanged. The boy understood.
Without saying one word, Charlie backed out of the room and trudged wearily up the stairs to bed, leaving his precious daughter in the care of his best friend's son.
A/N-thanks for reading!