TW: Violence.

Dame Fortuna

Chapter 20: Hounds

"Fuck, shit, fuck, shit––"

Garrett's patience with the Bluewave ex-council member he'd been assigned to was running thin. "I swear to God, Banks, don't you have any other words in your vocabulary? I'm losing my mind here."

Colton began palpitating next to him in their shared van, tightening his grasp around the machine gun. For fuck's sake, the man didn't even look like he'd ever held one of the things. "I fucking hate Carlisle for this. Don't tell him that, though. But I am a lover, man, not a––"

The rest of the Four Fingers––that was what the turned traitors in narcotics had been endearingly dubbed by the rest of Bluewave now––in the van began to laugh at that.

"He did say you're front-lining this last mission because you had the most debt out of all of us," one of the McKay's said. He pointed towards Colton's hands. "You still got all your digits, despite betraying his beloved son."

"But he stabbed me!"

Another round of genuine laughter, just as the van passed through a rocky tunnel.

"How many times have you been stabbed, Garrett?" another Finger asked.

Garrett shrugged. "I lost count. No less than twenty."

"Twenty…" Colton blanched. He looked like he was about to hurl.

Garrett sighed, putting an arm around the man's shoulders. "Get your shit together. You'll be fine. Carlisle assigned you to me. Remember, I'm to take your place in his new council, but only if I make you survive this. That's enough incentive for me to keep you alive."

"Why even throw me in the discussion then?" Colton cried incredulously. "He could've just told me to fuck off and let me stay home. I would've graciously taken that."

"You know how he is," Garrett sighed. "The man's always trying to hit two birds with one stone. To teach you a lesson on the consequences of betrayal, and to teach me a lesson on thinking of anyone other than myself."

While the passengers couldn't quite see where they were due to the lack of windows, they knew they'd reached their destination since the van had skidded to a full stop. Immediately, all whispers and conversations ceased.

Garrett signaled to be ready in five seconds as he held the door. Once he reached the end of the count, he swiftly opened it, and just as they'd prepared to do and done for the past enemy bases they'd destroyed in the east, the men distributed themselves around the grassy lot and began to shoot strategically at the windows and doors.

There were more opposing men in this base than there were in their previous missions. They had better guns and outnumbered the Bluewave group. But Garrett remained calm and confident, because the only man he looked up to was counting on him.

Once the first waves of enemy forces were taken down––he'd taken a momentary glance at his own side, and saw that two of the Lester boys had fallen––he signaled for the remaining Fingers to follow him to rotate around the three-story establishment. To Colton, he signaled to stay right behind him.

"Keep your gun pointed at head level as close to the wall every time you turn a corner," he advised him. "And please don't fucking shoot me."

"O-Okay."

Garrett then yelled a battle cry before climbing through the broken windows and shooting everyone inside. He kept himself in front of his main responsibility, but didn't bother keeping track of the other Fingers being shot down. They massacred the first floor and headed up the stairs to clear those that hid in the several bedrooms as well.

Eventually, they reached the master's. It was locked.

"Open up, Primus!" Garrett yelled, banging on the door with the handle of his gun. "We know you're in there! It's all over––"

Bang.

Garrett closed his eyes slowly. "Fucking coward," he swore before kicking down the door.

Just as he'd expected, Wynona's last remaining partner apart from Laurent in the east, was now sitting motionless against the chair of his desk, his head hanging back limply. Bleeding. The pistol he'd used to shoot himself had clattered to the floor.

One of the McKay's stepped forward to survey the room. Once it was cleared, he went over to the desk to pick up a piece of paper and sighed deeply. "Another one, Garrett."

Garrett slowly went forward to take the sheet from him. Beneath the specks of blood, a hastily scribbled note was written. He'd seen too many of these at this point. It was…sickening.

"What is it?" Colton asked, reaching Garrett's side.

"Carlisle seriously needs to take that bitch down now," Garrett said in a low voice, storming out of the room with the rest of the Fingers.

Banks, despite shaking from his first front line encounter, remained a little while longer to read the note that the dead partner had left behind.

Wife - Jordan

Kids - Ember (12), Patrice (6)

Save them

Carlisle casually lit a cigarette in the Bluewave conference room as Atticus wordlessly laid out the several blueprints on the glass table for him. Before he could take a look at the plans, his phone buzzed in his pocket.

Heading home. East is clear. CB shaking but safe as promised

"Nicely done," he mumbled to himself before shoving the cell back in his pocket. To Atticus, he said, "Any initial thoughts on how to move in?"

"It's a very large plot of land," Atticus replied gravely. "Twenty acres. And it's not just her home base. It's where she keeps her hostages, too. Even if we could storm and bomb the place without being taken down by her men, she knows we wouldn't dare with the innocents."

Carlisle's gaze was pensive as he turned to his son at the other end of the table. Edward's brows were furrowed as he took in the information. "What do you think?"

"Is there a way to communicate with Tanya?" he asked.

Carlisle shook his head. "The ring's a tracker. Nothing more." He paused. "I have no choice to trust Bella. And so do you."

His son buried his face in his hands. "And you're sure she can handle it? That it's not going to be a trap?"

Carlisle pursed his lips momentarily. "She can handle it. At the very least, she's not alone."

Zafrina, who had been silent every time Carlisle had called for her presence in Bluewave meetings, had chosen to speak for the first time from her place at the opposite side of the room. "Carlisle, you have to know even I can't protect her. She's going in there blind and practically weaponless."

"I trust her," he repeated, his cerulean eyes fixed on the table. "She's more formidable than any of you think. She can handle it."

Edward came home by himself that night. Carlisle had not followed him back to the house. Perhaps his old man wanted to grant them some privacy, since this would be the last night they would be together before Bella goes on her own assigned mission.

The most dangerous one yet.

But through the years, Carlisle had proven himself trustworthy. He had also been personally training the girl for several months with the legal Bluewave missions. The man would never put her in direct harm's way if he didn't trust she'd make it. She was important to him, too. The only woman in that had turned him this soft, apart from his late wife.

Edward needed to hold on to that. To stay sane. Bella will come home.

He heard her humming their song in the bedroom before he even stepped in. Once he did, his breath hitched in his throat at the sight of her.

She was standing in front of the full-length mirror, zipping up the dress she would be wearing for the mission the next day. She had picked it out herself a couple of weeks ago. It was a gorgeous sea green vintage dress. While it was modest––Victorian––it accentuated her curves flatteringly.

Bella met his eyes through the mirror and smiled sweetly. "What do you think?"

Edward exhaled slowly as he approached her from behind, wrapping his hands around her waist. "Absolutely beautiful. You'll be bewitching, I'm sure."

There was a strange, sad expression in her wide brown eyes for a moment. She quickly waved it off, however, when she turned around to face him. "Hair up or down?"

"Down," he suggested, kissing the tip of her nose. "I hope you'll be armed under there."

"I'll bring a couple of knives," she assured him. "But I'm pretty sure they'll be checking before I come into Laurent's estate. The place is a paranoid fortress."

Edward's eyes darkened. "I'm…scared, Bella."

She merely tilted her head.

"It's not that I don't think you can handle yourself," he said slowly, his hands tightening around her. "I just really can't stand the thought of losing you. Or seeing you get hurt. I––I wish I had some kind of insurance."

Bella's gaze turned downcast. She was silent for a long while, her hands wandering up to his shoulders. Eventually, her eyes lit up and she faced him again. "Do you love me, Edward?"

"Of course."

"Always? No matter what happens?"

Edward smiled at her softly before nodding in earnest. "Forever."

Bella released a satisfied sigh. "Then let's get married. As soon as I get back."

Immediately, sea green orbs widened with both surprise and elation. "I––Bella, are you––Sweetheart, I––"

"I'm sure there's a proper way to do this," she said slowly, her lips curving up to a smirk.

Edward didn't have to hear any more. He let go of her waist and knelt before her, taking her small hands in his. He looked up at her ardently, his brows twitching with the love he could barely contain for her, and pressed a kiss to each knuckle. "You already have my heart and soul. Marry me, Isabella Swan."

Her smile was peaceful and kind. Content. "Yes."

He stood up swiftly and lifted her by the hips, twirling her in the air several times as she giggled with glee. This…was the happiest moment of his life so far. To have the one and only woman of his dreams. In the end, she, too, would have him, just as he was. Despite the cruelty of the world he'd pulled her into.

"That's enough insurance for me to come home, don't you think?" Bella murmured once he put her down and began to kiss her in earnest. "We have forever to go."

"I promise to have the ring ready by then," he assured her, leading her to their bed and laying her down gently in that gorgeous green dress. "The most beautiful ring I can find. I'll spare no expense."

Bella chuckled softly at that, pulling up the skirt of her dress as he settled between her legs. "Make love to me, Edward," she requested.

And he obliged. He was softer––gentler––and more passionate than he'd ever been before. Bella Swan was going to be his wife. She was his just as he was hers. His hopeless daydream had come true, the one that he'd secretly wished with all his heart ever since she'd returned to his life.

He had been so caught up with elation and the promise of the future as he made love to her, with his head nestled against the crook of her neck, that he'd failed to notice that her nails were digging into his skin a little too painfully, her moans were a little too wretched, and the corners of Bella's eyes had quietly filled with tears. And her tears were…sad.

Edward awoke impossibly long afterwards. It looked to be past noon, based on the bright sunlight outside the bedroom window. He instinctively reached towards her the side of the bed––

––And found one of his wrists trapped within handcuffs against his headboard.

"What the––"

The other side of the bed was empty, too. But that didn't mean he was alone in the room.

Carlisle wasn't looking at him. He was sitting cross-legged on the chair by the desk, one hand holding a lit cigarette, and the other holding his face up by the temple. His fingers hovered over his forehead that Edward couldn't fully see his face.

He struggled against the handcuffs again. "Carlisle. What the hell is going on?"

The blond remained mute and motionless for a long while. However, he soon surprised Edward by suddenly releasing a frustrated, sharp cry as he leaned his head back. And that's when he noticed it. And his blood turned cold.

Carlisle was…crying. He'd never done that in front of his son. Ever.

"I'm so sorry," the man whispered as his whole chest shook, tears streaming down his cheeks as he still faced the ceiling. What? Edward had never heard an apology from his father before, either. "I'm so fucking sorry, Edward."

Edward swallowed and his breathing turned anxious. "What the fuck are you––"

Then it sunk in.

"And you're sure she can handle it? That it's not going to be a trap?"

"She can handle it."

His eyes sharpened immediately and narrowed accusingly––with pure, unadulterated rage––towards his father. "What did you do? Where did you send her?"

Carlisle finally faced him then. He didn't bother wiping his moist cheeks and took a shaky drag from the cigarette before responding. "I let them take her. It's the only way."

His heart sank to the ground and he immediately writhed from his place in the bed. "What the hell did you––Get me out of this!"

"She knows it," Carlisle said in almost a whisper. "I told her all of it before I even began to train her several months ago. The whole plan. And she agreed to do it. I––sent her off to suffer for us. Instead of us."

Oh, God. His eyes were brimming with tears now. "Suffer…?"

He's the last person who'd hurt you right now. Why did he always have to be so wrong? So fucking hopeful that his father would ever want to be redeemed?

"You would never have given your favor," he said, shaking his head. "That's why I had to take the helm back from you. At this point, I––I don't even know if I care for it anymore, Edward. But this is the only way for us to get out of this."

Edward gritted his teeth. "Tell me everything, Carlisle. Tell me what the fuck is going to happen to her."

Carlisle hung his head.

Bella leaned back in her seat at the back of the sedan, adjusting her dress as she did. Her expression was blank. Determined. After all, this was it. The beginning of the end.

Next to her was her companion for the mission. Kate was also dressed in a similar Victorian fashion. She was assigned by Carlisle to head up to Laurent's estate with her, and both of them were disguised to be his invited guests for one of his strange parties down in Florida.

Kate looked a lot like Tanya. Edward had mentioned she wasn't a particular favorite. But the girl seemed nice, regardless. She'd struck up a conversation with Bella as soon as she and the chauffeur picked her up. It was how she learned that Kate had been around for five years, and had always been based in the Oregon branch. She'd also told the story of how she'd managed to get out of the war zone upon Edward's request and with his help.

Sometime after that conversation, Bella couldn't help it anymore. While still pensively looking out the window, she asked, "How well do you know Tanya?"

"Well…We're not necessarily close," Kate said. "We'd never worked at the same club before. But as managers, we did reach out to each other from time to time."

"I see," Bella hummed. "Edward mentioned you met her at the Oregon club when she arrived there with Wynona. Tell me, when was the last time you connected with her prior to that?"

Silence, for a few long seconds. "I don't recall."

"Lie better, if you're going to lie at all."

Kate's eyes flashed towards her seatmate. "What are you––"

"I love Edward," Bella sighed, closing her eyes momentarily. "Just as he is. I'll do anything for him. Regardless, if there's one thing I would change about him, it would be just how blind and weak he is when it comes to protecting his Bluewave girls."

Kate's hands tightened into fists on her lap.

"Tanya reached out to you when she decided to betray the Cullens," Bella said calmly. "It wasn't hard for Carlisle and me to figure that out. Especially since it would've been practically impossible for you to have been able to fly out of there unscathed without Wynona's go-ahead, even with Edward's help. And the woman sticks to a pattern of sending out spies. God, she really thinks she's so smart."

Kate released a shuddering breath. "Are you…going to kill me?"

The brunette turned to her, smiling wistfully. "Who does she have?"

"The girls," she sighed, burying her face in her hands. "I told him, I––I couldn't handle Wynona's men anymore. They're constantly…hurting them. Dying might even be a kindness for them at this point. It's all too much. Wynona promised to keep her men off the Oregon branch if I…"

"If you kill me?"

Kate finally gained the courage to look up at her. "No. I––told them about your plan to head to Laurent. They're…ready for you. I'm supposed to make sure you make it there. Fuck, I'm––really sorry, Bella."

"Hmm." Bella didn't look surprised, but she did look dejected. "Okay. Are they going to kill me as soon as we get there?"

"Bella––"

"Yes or no, Kate."

"No," Kate breathed. "They'll take you back to base in Oregon. And keep you there as hostage, h-hurt you there, until––until either Carlisle or Edward gives up. That's always been her wet dream, you know. To be able to control the Cullens the way she's able to control everyone else. If all else fails and they won't budge, that's the only time she'll let Tanya take care of you."

"Okay." Bella leaned back in her seat, heaving a deep sigh. "Then we better make it believable, then."

Kate's eyes widened. "What?"

Bella suddenly leaned in towards the chauffeur. "Sorry. It's time."

The man hesitated before pulling up at the side of the road. "Only the leg, right?"

"I promise," the brunette said simply, before taking out the man's own revolver from his belt and shooting him promptly on the thigh.

Bang!

Kate screamed immediately. "Fuck––Bella––!"

The chauffeur groaned as he opened his car door and rolled out of his seat and onto the pavement. He lay there for a while, clutching his injured leg, before saying, "How long before I call him to come get me?"

"Give us twenty minutes." Bella hopped between the two front seats until she settled in the passenger's. From there, she turned to Kate and ordered, "Drive us to Laurent's. Now."

"I––"

"Now, Kate!"

Kate eventually found herself rushing towards the front seat and stepped on the gas promptly. She inhaled sharply when Bella handed over the chauffeur's pistol on her lap.

"Let's do it," Bella said firmly. "For your girls. For Bluewave. Make sure I get there exactly the way they want me. Let them take me to Oregon, let them––do whatever it is they want to do to me. I can take it, as long as they don't kill me. And aside from keeping your trap shut about my awareness of their plan, I only ask for one thing."

The blonde's expression contorted to that of pain and guilt. "Anything, Bella."

Bella closed her eyes, her determined mask finally falling. She was…scared. Crestfallen. Tears were already beginning to form at the corners of her wide eyes. "Make sure they see everything they do to me. Carlisle and––Edward too. Suggest a live feed."

"I…don't understand." Kate's breathing had turned heavy. "That's––It'll crush him, Bella. Is your plan is to force Edward to save you? To destroy the whole compound full of innocents for you?"

"No," Bella sighed, a tear finally escaping and rolling down her cheek. "Please, I just really need them to watch."

A/N: We're getting very close to the endgame. It will only get tougher from here, so I apologize in advance. Thank you for reading!