TW: Violence, death.


Dame Fortuna

Chapter 18: Godforsaken


Bella awoke to what sounded like a slightly heated, but purposely muted conversation from the living room.

Her new home for the indeterminate future was in one of Bluewave's many properties located several hundred miles away from the main club branch. Now that Carlisle's estate was in pieces, it had also been decided that he, too, would stay with his son for now. That also meant there was increased protection for the couple, since the patriarch's personal security had greatly increased since the massacres.

The house, while isolated, was lavish and very unlike the safehouse that served as the setting for Bella's…tantrum. Despite being on the second floor, Bella heard the humming of a verbal discussion coming from downstairs. She decided to dress herself up into a silk robe before stepping outside the open teak door, looking down from the terrace that overlooked the first floor.

She was sure she'd been silent in her movements, but the two Cullens must have the ears of wolves. They simultaneously looked up as soon as she leaned on the metal balustrade.

Carlisle was dressed to leave, and was seated casually on a stool next to the minibar. Despite it being only half past seven in the morning, he already had a recently filled wine glass in hand. Edward looked slightly more agitated standing next to him, and was still in the clothes he'd slept in the previous night.

"Morning, sweetheart," Carlisle greeted in a neutral tone.

She sucked in a deep breath before slowly heading down the stairs. Edward's gaze looked strangely apologetic as he regarded her until she reached the minibar.

"How'd you sleep?" Edward asked.

"I'm fine." She turned to Carlisle. "Are you heading out?"

The elder Cullen looked reluctant then, his cerulean orbs darting momentarily towards his son. "Your call," he murmured before taking another sip of wine.

Bella narrowed her eyes. "What's going on?"

Edward began to pace slowly, running a hand through his messy bronze hair. Eventually, he turned around to face the girl, his jaw clenched and gaze fixed on the ground. "Bella, I need you to accompany my father today. If that's alright with you."

She widened her eyes. Carlisle continued to face away from them, drinking quietly. "Um…Okay. Where?"

Carlisle stood up swiftly, downing the rest of his glass in one gulp. "I'll wait in the car," he said casually before walking away.

Edward waited until the front doors shut before he spoke again. "Remember what I told you, baby? About how I should've trained you before putting you in a dangerous situation?"

Bella nodded slowly.

He sighed, stepping forward to take her hands in his. "Let's start that today."

"Okay." She paused. "But why Carlisle, and not you?"

He smiled bitterly at that. "He's right. He would be better suited for the job, despite––You'll understand, eventually. And I trust him, at least for this."

"You trust him."

Edward met her gaze. They were determined. "He's the last person who'd hurt you right now. Apart from me."

Bella rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant. I just thought that he'd also be the last person you'd want me to learn from, based on his…history."

He nodded, his expression turning pensive. "I thought about what you said several days ago, after the––At the diner."

She tilted her head.

"You asked me whether or not I still believe my father is out of control," Edward reminded her. "I…still don't know. I do have hopes for him, though. But what I also realize is that he's the only person who'd fully understand what you're going through right now. After what you'd just done."

Bella shut her eyes momentarily and she saw the scene again. Of her hands uncontrollably stabbing complete strangers on the face and chest. The absolute red she saw. And of course, she could see her too. Sweet Rosalie with her beautiful, but dead eyes. The price she paid.

"He paid the price for his own sprees," Edward murmured, as if he could read her mind. "He knows keeping it together is the only way to earn it all back. Bluewave. His…pride and joy. It's why I constantly wave returning the seat to his face. As motivation."

She opened her eyes slowly, her gaze slightly hazy. "I see now."

"I am a little hesitant, though," Edward admitted with a sad smile. "He's not at his best right now. He's––at his lowest, after a long time. He just lost his estate, his staff. Alessia, my…And even Tanya. Whether or not he admits it, he's upset and angry that she ever turned on him."

"I understand." She smiled back at him reassuringly. "I know what you're asking."

"I love you," Edward sighed, kissing her on the forehead. "I'll be out too, in a while. The war is far from over, after all."


The car ride was mildly tense. Awkward, even. She supposed it was because she'd never sat so near to someone as intimidating as Carlisle Cullen before. While he kept a fair distance away from her on the leather seats, it was still closer than she'd ever been previously.

It was during the first silent several minutes that she noticed more things about him. Edward had mentioned his father's true age to her––fifty-two. But he didn't look anything past forty. A fucking immortal vampire, she mindlessly thought. His skin was practically flawless, his slicked back locks still vibrantly yellow, and his general stature was robustly built. Even his posture was still perfect. But the more she stared at his deep cerulean eyes, she supposed she could see it.

He'd seen and survived through so much. More than anyone his age probably did.

"Are you really not going to ask?" he suddenly murmured, his gaze still fixed ahead of him.

Bella cleared her throat. "Where are we going?"

"We're making a few stops." He turned to face her, his expression vague. "First is the range."

"Range. As in a shooting range?"

He nodded once. "I assessed the mess you made. Not bad, but still sloppy. I am impressed by one particular headshot though, on your victim outside the door. How'd you manage that?"

She winced at the memory. "He…was the one who shot Rosalie. The last one I killed."

"I see." His eyes narrowed slightly. "What was the weapon you used?"

"A pistol. I just––picked it up. It wasn't mine."

"Why?"

"I––" Bella stammered. "Sorry, I don't know what you're asking."

"Why did you pick it up?" he asked. "Let me paint the picture for you again, sweetheart. You're hunched over, I'm guessing savagely skewering another victim with blind rage––"

Again, she winced, but Carlisle kept going.

"––then the next thing you know, the only other important person in the room is gunned down." His eyes had a curious glint in them. "Mind you, this is all happening within milliseconds. And yet your first instinct isn't to check on or even look at the girl. No, the first thing you did was to arm yourself and shoot towards the source of the gunshot. Why?"

She began to breathe heavily. "I wasn't thinking."

Bella instinctively flinched when the man leaned slightly closer, his cerulean orbs studying her expression. "Hmm. You really believe that?"

She nodded once.

"Well, it might be true," he sighed. "Either way, it's a positive thing. Your instinct for self-preservation prevails all else, anyone else. Just like me."

What?

"It's a good thing," he repeated, but his tone was grim. "It'll make you a survivor, even in the worst situations."

"I see," she finally managed to say. Reluctantly, she said slowly, "Just like you…You mean this situation happened to you before? But when you…er––"

Carlisle rolled his eyes impatiently. "If you're going to ask stupid questions, just ask them directly. Stop beating around it."

"Okay." She exhaled. "Your sprees in Jacksonville. I want to know all about them."

"All about them…" Carlisle repeated slowly, leaning back in his seat and relaxing slightly. "Well, I don't know what to tell you, except that they're exactly what Edward probably described them. One of the unbreakable rules of Bluewave is neutrality. Once you're in one our properties, you can't kill each other. It's the basis of organization for organized crime. I made the rule, and I'm also the first and only one to break it so far."

"Why?"

"I lost my temper. Multiple times."

Bella turned in her seat, tilting her head with curiosity. "Come on, Carlisle. That can't be all there is."

He narrowed his eyes slightly before mirroring her position across from her. "Okay. I want to hear your theories."

She bit her lip, hesitating. "For a split-second, something else prevailed over your self-preservation."

To her surprise, Carlisle's expression remained relaxed. Calm. "Maybe."

"You miss her," she said softly. "You were just looking for a reason. Any reason."

He looked away, his brows furrowed. After a long while, he finally said, "Yes."

Bella couldn't help but smile wistfully, still mildly in awe that the man was allowing himself to be vulnerable for once. He's at his lowest, his son had warned her. "And now?"

Carlisle's eyes looked up to her again, and for the first time towards her, they looked…soft. Even sad. "Sweetheart, I'm always going to miss her."

"I know," Bella murmured. "But what prevails now?"

"Hmm." He took his time in adjusting himself back into his seat until he fully faced forward again. "Are you going to tell Edward?"

"I––What?"

"If I admit it to you––something I've never told anyone before––are you going to tell him?"

She swallowed. Deciding to be honest, she said, "I will, if I think he needs to know."

To that, Carlisle smiled.


Zafrina raised a brow once she processed the sight of just who her favorite client had brought with him to this important meeting. God, he's really playing a dangerous game, she thought as she recognized the infamous Isabella Swan being guided by the small of her back from Carlisle's dark sedan.

"Interesting," she murmured as the two reached her position by the deserted underground parking entrance. Turning to the blond, she said, "You told me you were bringing Edward."

"No, I said I'll be introducing you to someone who can do the job," Carlisle corrected, a smirk playing on his lips. "You just assumed."

"Obviously," she sighed. Regardless, she stretched out a slender arm towards the lovely––but cold and vicious, apparently––brunette. With a tight smile, she greeted, "You must be Bella Swan. I'm Zafrina. Carlisle's, er…"

"Lawyer," Carlisle decided to continue for her. "Government liaison. Janitor."

Bella smiled sweetly before taking the woman's hand. Her grip was tight. "He briefed me about the situation on the ride here."

"Did he now?" Zafrina said, narrowing her eyes.

"I apologize for the inconvenience I've caused," Bella said cordially, bowing slightly. "Let me prove my sincerity to you. And earn your trust."

"I see," the woman said slowly, puckering her lips. To the man, she said, "She's cute. You know what, she might actually be just what we need. Come."

Zafrina led the two to the only other car in the lot––a white van at the far other side of the space. Once they reached the back, she tapped the door three times.

Two men in full black attire with ski masks opened the door for her. Between them lay a middle-aged fully-naked man writhing within ropes and duct tape on his mouth. His dark eyes darted towards Bella––perhaps because she looked the most surprised and innocent among the group––and began to groan helplessly against the tape.

"This is…messier than usual," Zafrina admitted, smiling apologetically towards her two other companions. "He's a squirmy one. Regardless, meet Senator Grady. Senator, these are my friends. They will be deciding what to do with you."

Carlisle chuckled softly at the sight. "Ah. I feel twenty again."

This is how Bluewave began, Bella remembered Carlisle telling her earlier. There's no such thing as a natural, willing banding of depraved misfits in the drug, sex, and murder businesses. I created it with the underhand license from the godforsaken US government itself.

Bella put her index finger to her lips, smiling softly at the prisoner. "You'll be quiet, won't you?"

The man whimpered, but nodded once.


Their last stop was the pier. It was almost midnight, and the place was practically deserted.

There were three people in the backseat now. The senator––now allowed to be fully clothed, of course, after he had been fully initiated into the legal sponsors fold––sat awkwardly between the two Bluewave members, sweating nervously as the chauffeur pulled in the lot.

"This is the place," Grady said slowly after he cleared his throat. "But I––I need to make sure this doesn't tie back to me. For the reelection, you understand."

"We understand completely," Bella assured him, placing a hand on the man's thigh. "Although our understanding comes at a standard price, of course."

Carlisle stifled a smirk.

"O-Of course," Grady stammered. "Believe me, I thought I was done for. But when I asked around and was told…people like you existed––Well. I'm paying my dues. Your organization has my full support."

"How lovely," Carlisle chuckled. "Let's go, sweetheart."

Bella shot one last charming smile to the senator before stepping out of the vehicle.

"Remember what I taught you earlier?" Carlisle asked casually as they walked side by side towards the warehouse at the corner of the lot.

Bella nodded once, adjusting her bulletproof vest and pulling out her brand new customized Colt revolver from the back of her pants. Carlisle had looked flattered when she picked it out herself earlier that morning at the range. She'd also performed best with it during their four-hour long practice.

The two eventually reached the entrance. Carlisle gestured for her to stay behind him as they crouched and stepped inside. Just as Zafrina and the senator had hypothesized, there were only a handful of hostage takers in the space. Said hostage––the senator's male friend––was kept in the middle of the warehouse, tied to a wooden chair.

The blond looked back at her, nodding towards two out of the four armed men at the west side of the space.

Ready? he mouthed.

Bella merely smiled in response, positioning to aim towards the men he'd pointed out. She sucked in a deep breath––

Forget whatever my son told you, he had advised her solemnly. He never cared to master it. The trick to controlling bloodlust isn't to consciously pull back. It's to focus on your breathing.

––then exhaled.

Bang! Bang!

Simultaneously, her partner-in-crime––literally––also shot twice towards the two other kidnappers. Carlisle strode forwards confidently to check on their vitals.

"I'm getting rusty," he sighed, when he noticed he missed the heart on one of his targets. He shot the writhing man once more, this time on the head. "Yours were perfect, sweetheart."

Bella didn't respond, but instead skipped towards the hostage at the center of the room. He was conscious and had seen the whole thing. She gently pulled off the tape on his mouth.

"Oh, God," the man sighed. "Thank God. I knew he'd come save me."

The girl's face remained cold, though. "We know."

"W-What?"

Carlisle managed to reach them at this point, and wrapped an arm around Bella's shoulders. "How are you feeling?" he asked her softly.

"More than fine," she responded calmly before pressing the tip of the revolver on the man's forehead.

"What the––"

"Stop pretending," she snapped, narrowing her brown eyes. "We know you set your own kidnapping. You have a cut to your own ransom demand. It's amateur. If we let you go, you're only going to pull something even more pathetic and scandalous."

"That's not true!" the man tried, his voice cracking. "Why––I would never––"

Carlisle noticed when his companion's eyes grew wide and manic, and her finger tremble around the trigger. His hand tightened around her shoulder. "Bella. Breathe."

She shut her eyes, inhaling a shaky breath and keeping it in for a few seconds. Her exhale was smooth this time. And her hand was steady.

"Good girl."

Bella's eyes opened. "Are those your last words?"

"I––" The man eventually swallowed and hung his head in defeat. "I'm so fucked."

Bang.


Edward pulled out his phone as soon as he felt it buzz in his pocket.

Pulled a new major legal sponsor. We'll start another job tomorrow. She's a natural.

He sighed. Of course she was. Both Cullens had predicted it, as soon as they'd step foot inside that safehouse and took in the mess she'd made.

"Tell me, sweetheart. Do you want to make that choice?"

"Yes. I…don't want this to happen again."

It was a lie, and he knew it. He'd just decided not to call her out on it. Her appetite for their world was more than Edward had ever imagined, and he knew even he wouldn't be able to tame it. And controlling it was the only way this side of her could ever become an advantage, and not a liability. Especially in this war.

Edward had reluctantly taken a gamble––and put in his full trust––that his father would be able to do the job just as he'd volunteered to do.

He leaned back into the restaurant booth and closed his eyes. In the end, he realized he probably just hit multiple birds with one stone. They both needed this. For Bella to learn how to control her bloodlust, and for his father to remember why it was necessary to have constraint in the first place. A refresher, if you will.

Moreover, Bella was more suitable than he was to be initiated to clean up the government's messes and collect more favors. It might even get her on the good side of Carlisle's legal team, after the havoc she'd been wreaking since the Jasper Hale affair. After all, as much as possible, non-Bluewave civilians were not supposed to be hurt and involved; that was the deal Carlisle had made when he built the place with the government's covert consent.

And whether or not his old man admitted it, he knew Carlisle needed a pick-me-up after the tragic events that had just occurred in his estate. Perhaps a few old-school Bluewave missions with the one person who closely shared his disposition would be perfect.

Edward kept his eyes shut as he convinced himself of the advantages of his recent decisions, even as he heard someone slide into the cushioned seat across from him.

"You're late," he said coolly. "I've been waiting all night."

"Do you have any idea how difficult it was to sneak out and fly out of there on short notice? Even with your help, the Oregon branch is a fucking war zone. They've infiltrated the place completely. I thought I was going to die. Multiple times."

He opened his eyes and regarded her. He hadn't seen the blonde in a long while. She wasn't a particular favorite employee of his either, as he'd always thought the girl a bit slow. Not like… "Tell me everything you know."

Kate pursed her lips. "I saw her. Tanya."

Edward widened his eyes.

"She's injured, but she came to the club a couple of days ago," she sighed, scratching the side of her head. "With Wynona's men. So yes, to confirm, she did betray you."

He leaned on the table with his elbows, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "Fuck."

"At the very least, Wynona still honors the code of civility on Bluewave grounds," she said slowly. "That's why I never leave. Neither do my girls. I think it's to make a point, since Carlisle was only ever the one––Anyway, she's swayed everyone else with major stakes out west to come to her side."

"All of them?"

Kate shot him a small smile. "The Bluewave staff, Atticus' remaining guards, the girls––I know we don't matter much, but we remain loyal to you. Despite…everything."

He closed his eyes, his chest tightening. "Of course you all matter. How are they?"

"Like I said, they can't leave," Kate said sadly. "And I––I couldn't control the patrons anymore. Wynona may not allow them to shoot or kill, but she doesn't care if they…"

Edward's hands tightened into painful fists. "Shit. Fuck. I'm––I'll get them out of there."

"Getting me out was already an extremely lucky shot," she reminded him grimly. "Edward, they'll be fine. Just––tell me you have a plan to take Wynona down."

He released a slow breath. "Did you get to talk to her? To Tanya?"

Kate hesitated. "Yes." She cleared her throat before saying, "Edward, she's not okay. I think she's…snapped. Whatever happened here––I asked her what she's getting out of this, and all she said was she's not cooperating with Wynona's men until they give her what she wants."

"What the hell could she possibly want?"

Kate looked down. "Your girl's head, apparently."

Edward's expression darkened. "Are you kidding me? So she's really done all of this just because of her? After all we've done for her sake and safety?"

"Like I said, she's snapped," Kate sighed. "Maybe it was just the final straw. After all, she's one of those who stuck out the longest with you. And with…Carlisle."

He clenched his jaw. "Well, she's never going to get what she wants. Bella's always going to be secure. She can even handle herself. Let Tanya shut her trap forever and suffer for it. Even die for it."

Kate pursed her lips. "And the rest of us?"

At that, Edward's gaze turned downcast. "Let me figure it out. Just…a little bit of time."

"Of course," the blonde said, sighing softly. "Just not too much time, Edward. Please."