Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Blood And Steel

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 10:

Groom lake Nevada

The Director of Area 51 was extremely annoyed. Not only was one of his prized possessions destroyed, but he was also expecting a visit today from the commander of the team who destroyed it and the President of the United States. Area 51 had never been visited by the President. Any President. Not since Truman signed his executive order.

Now this. He was ordered, ordered, by the executive branch to provide military equipment to a highly unusual team to fight an enemy he now knew were vampires. Had he been told before this would have made a difference. Instead he had to watch the battle unfold from one of his hidden cameras in the Aurora.

He was not a man to be ordered by anyone. He ran this base and kept its secrets with efficiency. The President did not belong here. If he thought a simple politician would tell him what to do he was sorely mistaken. These men were Army but they were loyal to him.

The door to Hanger bay 1 opened and the Presidential limo pulled in joined by two black SUVs, no doubt Secret Service. They would be forced to give up their weapons, whether they liked it or not.

Out of the back of the limo, stepped Jason Connolly and President David Rodriguez. The pair approached the Director.

“I am afraid your men will have to surrender their weapons. No weapons are allowed…”

The Director found himself on the floor with a broken jaw. He never saw Connolly strike. Connolly was in a particularly foul mood. After spending the week making love to Bella, running PT and drills with his team, generally relaxing and showing Bella the sites of the island he was irritated the team had split up. He sent Jack Webb and Ty to recruit the guys he decided he wanted. Vivian, the 18 year old goth hacker with a pierced lip, tongue, belly button and other assorted places Connolly did not want to know about, stayed behind at the base, keeping the team in communication with each other and monitoring satellites and listening devices, including the one on Jenks phone. He also sent Clive, Dante, and Mina to La Push while Winter visited Charlie Swan. Why? He wanted contact established with all potential players in case back up was needed. Charlie also needed to know his daughter was okay. Bella was at Wonderland with Chris learning to use whatever it was she used in Mexico to save Jason and Ty’s asses on a more regular basis and with more control. He missed her badly. He was also very pissed about the failures of the Aurora and the loss of his men.

“You can strike me all you want Connolly. The order stands. Not even you President Rodriguez can supersede it.” The Director said from the ground.

“Truman is dead and I have a new executive order. I want to know every secret this base has.” The President informed him

“I’m afraid that isn’t possible.” The director smiled through the blood leaking from his mouth. “Perhaps if you would have told me you were facing vampires I could have…”

“How the fuck do you know what we faced?” Jason asked.

“You think I don’t have my own cameras on my equipment?”

“That equipment belongs to the United States of America. As its elected Commander in Chief it belongs to me.” The President told him.

“What is your name?” Connolly asked.

“Like you I don’t exist. My name does not matter. I am in complete control of this base.”

“Who replaces you when you die?” Jason asked.

This surprised the director.

“Die?”

“Yes. You are what? Fifty or so? There must be a chain that carries over. Who is in control in the event of your death?”

“I am afraid that I am not at liberty to say.” The Director told him.

“I guess we will find out the old fashioned way. Jason?” The President said.

The gunshot echoed off the walls as a perfect hole formed in the director’s forehead. He fell back on the ground a puddle of blood forming under the back of his head.

“Next.” Connolly spoke.

A man with glasses ran out from a room nobody noticed before. Three Secret Service Agents turned toward the door guns raised. It was a soldier at the other end who pointed his weapon at the President. A shot from the Presidential limo knocked the soldier to the ground. Dan Hawk stepped out of the car, smoking rifle in hand.

“You can’t do this!” The man with glasses and Connolly noticed, the stain of urine on his crotch, screamed at the President.

Connolly raised his .45.

“Are you in control now?” he asked.

“Yes and you…”

The gun blast startled the soldiers who had been drawn down on by Hawk and the Secret Service Agents.

A silver haired man the President did not recognize walked into the hangar from a side door.

“You next?” Connolly asked.

“My name is General Winfield. You will no longer find me on any official military roster. I am… I was third in command. I suppose I am in charge now.”

Connolly walked up and placed the barrel of his sidearm to the General’s head.

“My man Hawk there is going to start putting bodies in a pile. Eventually you will all be dead or one of you will crack. If one of you doesn’t turn over control of this base to us, the entire US military will take control and find out every secret you have. While they are doing that I am going to grab anybody I think knows something and begin cutting. I will cut and cut until I believe I have extracted every piece of information I believe they have. Now my question to you Winfield is are you going to cooperate or join the pile of bodies I am making on the floor?”

“I suppose I will cooperate. Welcome to Area 51 Mr. President.”

President Rodriguez straightened his jacket and adjusted his tie.

“In five seconds every soldier that doesn’t remember who he works for and is still holding a rifle will be shot dead. Understand?” The President asked.

“Drop your weapons men. It appears Truman’s executive order is a thing of the past. You should know sir there are men who…” the General began

“Should be very fucking afraid of me.” Connolly finished for him. The look in his eyes surprised the General. Connolly was not the psychopath the General first thought. He was a killer but he was in absolute control.

“Of course. I will provide a list of names of people you may want to have a talk with.”

“Kill you mean? I got no problem with that. To quote our last President, if you aren’t with me you are against me and trust me I am the thing that goes bump in the night.” Connolly informed him.

“Connolly?” Vivian’s voice cut into his ear piece. She was annoying and young, 18 years old, but according to the President she was the best hacker the NSA had ever run across. She was given the option of a job or a CIA prison for life. She broke into NORAD. Though the NSA would never be able to prove it was her they did not need proof. She and they both knew that. She took the job. Besides since she had been given this assignment for the first time in her life she wasn’t bored.

“Yeah?”

“Someone on the base is trying to make a cell call. Third hanger to the right. I have all communications blocked and the number traced.”

“Sounds good. Hawk?”

“Yes sir?”

“Go get the little shit.”

“Yes sir.”

“Hawk? I just want him scared.”

“Pain is scary.” Hawk said walking away. Connolly couldn’t disagree.

“Okay General. I am guessing this is the Aurora program I have heard so much about. Jason has a list of upgrades he would like to see done immediately. The element you will need for the upgrades will be here this afternoon. Since you were involved in the design of the weapons I am guessing you are familiar with it.”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. I also want body armor that covers the entire chest and abdominal region that blocks out sound, especially heartbeats. You will figure out a cooling system so we don’t overheat. I want the scent blockers perfect. I want longer blades made, machettes even. I want smaller goggles that can be adjusted from night vision to more clearly make out the temperature of vampires. The Aurora needs reflector shields for the day and better camo at night. I’m pissed off that they can be seen that easily in the dark. The defensive systems need work, the guns need to be more responsive and accurate and the glass needs to be able to withstand anything thrown at it. Anything. The UV lights worked great. I want grenades that can do the same for an extended period of time without hurting humans. Minimal blasts. I want all of this in a hurry. Also land mines.” Connolly told him.

“Is that all?” General Winfield laughed and then looked at the two bodies on the floor. The smile was gone from his face.

“Not even close. But it’s a start.” The President told him. “Now show me the underground area.”

“You understand sir what is there may frighten you. Truman… we are talking about…”

“Show me the underground area. I have a place called Wonderland where a five year old girl resides who could knock this base to rubble with her mind. I have children that can see the dead. Yes the dead. Now show me your secrets.” The President ordered.

The two men followed General Winfield through a door followed by six Secret Service agents.

The door led to a set of stairways. The General punched in a code next to the door at the bottom of the stairs and his eyes were scanned. The door opened and another set of stairs appeared. At the bottom a large set of steel doors at least two stories high stood against rock. The General once again punched in a code, looked into an eye scanner and pricked his thumb placing it on a pad for DNA identification.

“You will of course provide us with complete access to this place before we leave today.” The President told the General.

“Of course sir.” The steel doors opened and the President gasped. Inside was a room at least five football fields in length and width.

In the center stood what looked like an advanced large Aurora.

“That is…?” Connolly asked.

“What we have reversed engineered the Stealth Bomber and the Aurora fighters from. The Roswell crash. It is a complete wreck inside, it can’t fly, but we have gotten quite a bit of engineering ideas from it, including antimatter engines to stabilize wormholes. Space travel to any part of the galaxy could be possible… in the next twenty years.”

“I see.” The President whispered. “And this is something you didn’t think I needed to know about?”

“Plausi…”

“Before I was a politician I was a Seal. If you say plausible deniability I will take Jason’s side arm and shoot you in the gut and watch as you bleed out on the floor. Understand?”

“Yes Mr. President. Would you like to see the rest of what we have? The bodies perhaps?”

“Yes. I would definitely like to see the bodies and everything else you have here.”

The three walked, flanked by Secret Service Agents who did not feel at ease in this environment. Not until these army men had all be debriefed and contained and the Marines had taken over the base.

“Is that the Loch Ness Monster?” Jason asked, staring at the huge aquatic tank on one side of the wall. A monster with a neck stretching at least twenty feet long floated inside, obviously dead.

“You could say it is one of them. The reason for the appearances of the creatures over so many years without a trace being found is because they do not live in the loch anymore. Nor do the other similar lake monsters around the world. They are actually dinosaurs from millions of years ago.”

“How did they get here?” Jason asked.

“Time travel apparently. At times we have discovered, picked up magnetic anomalies, much like we pick up in the Bermuda Triangle at times. It appears wormholes can appear at random and can literally bend time. These monsters are from a different time but of course they do not know this. They can be seen in the loch or whatever lake they belong in and swim out. Of course lake beds change and we have found these. Luckily we have procured what we hope are all of them. So far no land dwelling creatures have shown up. We are hopeful these holes are related to high concentrations of Quartz found in lakes. The Triangle we haven’t quite figured out.” He admitted.

“So these creatures are swimming around in their own time and then swimming in ours none the wiser. A passing motorist takes a photo or has a sighting and then the creature is gone.”

“Yes. It is possible most big foot sightings are actually a form of early humans traveling back and forth in time by the same manner. Again we don’t know but we are studying this.”

“Who is we? I see no scientists.” The President observed.

“They… hid the minute they heard shooting. Shall I have them come out?”

“No. One of them might piss me off.” Connolly answered quickly. “What the fuck is that?” he asked pointing to the form in ice. It had the head of a wolf but a very large body.

“We found that buried in a glacier in Greenland. From all indications it appears to be what the Lycan legends were founded on. This one is a thousand or so years old and appears to have fell into a glacial crevice.”

“Lycans?” Connolly asked.

“Yes, the DNA is a mixture of wolf and human.”

“Lycan’s exist?” Jason asked, to make sure.

“We believe them to be wiped out, mostly by some natural enemy. We thought perhaps they were alien experiments until we learned of your vampires. It is entirely possible these vamperic creatures could have wiped out the race.”

“How do you know they are gone?” Jason asked.

“We haven’t found anymore.” The general replied, shrugging his shoulders.

“That could mean they got smarter.” Connolly pointed out. The President agreed with a nod. Best not to assume anything at this point.

“Have you ran tests on it besides DNA?” Rodriguez asked.

“We only know that silver does indeed burn it.”

“These legends, some of them are only hundreds of years old, not thousands. They could very well be alive and thriving somewhere. I want work done on this as well. I want to know everything. Speaking of we have a bag of vampire body parts in one of the SUVs. I expect to know everything about them ASAP. You have a lot of work to do so get your men working.”

“What of the alien threat we have been working on?” The general asked.

“Have aliens done a damn thing beside observe us and crash a ship in the desert?”

“Not that we know of sir.”

“Well vampires have been killing humans for a very long time. I also have other problems I need to go over with Connolly. Let’s concentrate on saving our species from direct threats before we concentrate on indirect ones. Get to work. Get what Connolly needs. Get him more Auroras and get him the armor and scent blocker he wants. Understood?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. C’mon Jason. We have some place to be.”

“Where would that be sir?” Jason asked, still looking at the wonders in the large room. There was so much to take in.

“”Utah. We have a vampire to meet.”

“You mean kill sir?” Jason asked immediately.

“No. I mean meet. We are going to hear him out.” David told him.

“And if it is hostile?”

“Then you kill him. I don’t think he is. He has been friends with a priest I served with for a very long time. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. Can I count on you for that or do I need to go alone?”

“I’ll be by your side Mr. President.” Connolly said through gritted teeth. Vampires? Vampires were not friends they were targets. Of course if this one wanted to provide free intelligence who was he to say no?

Fork’s Washington

Seth Clearwater opened the door. He had been wary at first but heard a heartbeat immediately, causing him to relax. He and Leah had been staying with Charlie since Edward and Alice Cullen had shown back up in Forks. They had not been seen but that did not mean they weren’t around. Leah walked to the door as Seth opened it.

Outside they saw a small girl with short dark hair and a slight frame. She was wearing blue jeans and a black Guns and Roses T shirt. Her eyes looked wary but both could tell she was young. She had a guitar case slung over her back and a suitcase in her hand.

“Hi. I wasn’t expecting… whoever you are. Is Uncle Charlie here?”

“Uncle Charlie?” Seth asked, knowing Charlie was an only child.

“Seth who is it?”

“There is Uncle Charlie.” The girl walked in, pushing past Seth and Leah with a strength that surprised both of them. They immediately went on alert. Only a vampire should be that strong and definitely not in the daytime. Still her heart beat. She was human.

Charlie Swan walked into the living room from the kitchen. Confusion colored his face when he saw Winter.

“It’s your niece Winter! Don’t you recognize me?”

Charlie Swan was in uniform. He reached for his hand gun ever so slightly while glancing at Leah and Seth.

“You really don’t want to do that.” Winter whispered. “Say hi and act like you are happy to see me.”

Charlie’s hand stopped.

“I can take that gun from your hand and have it in pieces in seconds. If you really want to see Bella again you are going to play along.” Winter whispered.

“Hi Winter! Good to see you.” Charlie said doubtfully.

“Is Edward Cullen or any other vampires around?” Winter whispered, turning to Leah and Seth. They both shook their head in the negative.

“You sure?’ Winter whispered.

“We have constant patrols around this residence. Paul is… who the fuck are you?” Leah asked. Winter looked at her, meeting her eyes for the first time.

“I’m… their eyes locked. Leah jumped back as if startled.

No. she thought. Sam… this can’t be happening.

Winter shook herself out of her daze.

“I’m Winter Drake. I work with Bella. Charlie I am assuming since you have two shape shifters here and one guarding the back of your house you know about Bella? About the Cullens? Why she ran?”

“Yes. You work with Bella? Where is she?”

“Not now. She is safe. More than safe. I came to make sure you were and you had an idea of what she… what we were all facing.”

“I… I do. And you say you ‘work’ with Bella?”

“Bella was friends with my sister and I in Phoenix.”

“Phoenix. Where is your sister?” Charlie asked.

All around me was Winter’s first thought.

“Dead. Killed by vampires.”

That brought silence to all three. Winter felt the need to look at Leah. That is exactly why she didn’t. Instead she walked over to her guitar case and opened it. Seth gasped when he saw what was in it. She first pulled out a shotgun and handed it to Charlie.

“If you have to, and only if you have to, use this gun on Cullen. Place the barrel to his head and while he laughs pull the trigger. Do it quickly.”

“What good will it do?” Charlie asked.

“Blow his fucking head off. Trust me.” Winter told him. She grabbed two hand guns from the case and two clips along with what appeared to be holsters of some sort. She strapped them around her tiny thighs.

“Just in case.” She said by way of explanation. Seth reached for the shiny silver katana in the middle of the case. Winter smirked but said nothing. He picked the sword up and stared at it for a few seconds before it hit the ground. He tried to lift it but was unable. Winter reached out to the handle and it flew to her hand.

“What the hell?” Seth asked, shocked.

“We have a lot to talk about and not much time. I will be staying with you as much as possible until I am called away to meet up with Bella again Uncle Charlie. Understand?”

“We are staying with Charlie.” Leah said quietly staring at the strange girl who seemed armed to the teeth and just had a sword fly into her hand.

“Great. One big happy family. As I said a lot to go over. If everything goes well the vampires die and Bella gets her life back. If she wants.”

“What do you mean if she wants? What vampires? The Cullens? Or… the Volturi?”Charlie asked.

“All of them if it works out. Now let’s get started shall we?” Winter said and smiled. She also glanced at Leah who couldn’t take her eyes off of her and was feeling very conflicted about this.

La Push Washington

Emily did not feel good about this. A beautiful woman was at her door wanting to speak to Sam.

“Hi I’m Mina. Is Sam Uley here?”

‘Yes he is. Is there something I can help you with? I’m his wife.”

“I need to speak to him alone or with Jacob if he is around. That is his Rabbit I saw outside correct?”

‘Yes. What business do you have with him?” Emily asked.

“Pack business,” was the answer Mina gave and the last answer Emily expected to hear. She supposed Sam and Jacob heard as well because they were at the door quickly.

“Who are you?” Sam asked, a bit angrily.

“My name is Mina.”

“Mina what?’ Jacob asked. She gave him her seductive smile and worked her charm with the slightest European accent. She was dressed conservatively for her. Designer jeans and a low cut green top that showed the barest hint of breast and made it obvious she wore no bra underneath.

“I’m like Madonna. One name will do. May we talk? I have information you may be interested in. Only information.”

“Of course. Come inside.” Sam stepped aside and waited for her to walk in.

“Actually I think it would be better if you two followed me.”

Mina walked off while Jacob and Sam stared. She stopped after twenty yards.

“Trust me. You will want to hear this.” She told them and began walking away again. “If you are scared turn into big scary wolves the moment we hit the tree line. But I promise I don’t bite. Much.”

Sam looked at Jacob and they both shrugged. Sam kissed Emily on the shoulder while Jake felt a hand on his. He turned and kissed Kacee, the girl he had dated for a month. She was not his imprint but it didn’t matter. She was fun to be around and made him feel better. He supposed ironically she was what he had been for Bella. He had told her about the Pack two weeks ago when he saved her from a nomadic vampire.

“Be careful,” she whispered.

“I will be. Do me a favor and stay here inside till I get back?” he asked.

“Of course.”

The two followed the obviously somewhat European woman into the woods. Both were impressed by her hiking ability. Both being men had difficulty keeping their eyes off her ass. She finally stopped a couple hundred yards in and turned to them. She sat on a fallen tree.

“Forgive me for being so secretive but my commanding officer doesn’t like any of us going anywhere alone.” She told them.

“Us? Alone” There is no one he…” Sam heard the heartbeats and realized his, Jacob and Mina’s were not the only ones present. Both Sam and Jacob looked side to side and saw the foliage come alive. On either side stood two men in amazing camouflage pointing rifles at them.

“This is Clive and Dante. We mean you no harm. The rifles are simply to discourage you from making any sudden moves.”

“Two heat signatures moving in your direction at high speed.” Vivian’s voice rang out in the ear pieces all three wore. Sam and Jake heard as well.

“Tell your dogs to back off or this friendly conversation gets ugly mate.” Clive told Sam.

“Embry, Quil! Back off.” Sam shouted.

“Okay they are not moving. Holding steady two hundred and twenty six yards away.”

“What do you want from us?” Jake asked.

“Nothing. We are here to give you information. We are going to trust you with some highly classified information. We all have our secrets Sam but your pack and mine? We have something in common.” Mina told him.

“What would that be?” Jake asked.

“We both want vampires dead. Specifically the Cullens and Volturi are high at the moment, on our list. Willing to listen? We may need you at some point and thought a get to know each other session may be a good idea.”

Sam looked at Jake and then the two soldiers. Then they both looked to the sky. It was obvious they were being watched by a satellite. Sam nodded his head.

“We are listening.”

Wonderland Cheyenne Wyoming.

“It’s good to see you Bella.”

“You too Chris. I missed you. You wouldn’t believe what I have been through since I left.” Bella told him.

“One look at you and I would believe anything. You grew up on me in a short time. In love with Connolly aren’t you?”

Bella blushed and nodded.

“He loves you. It’s new for him. How are the two of you doing?”

Bella shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t really know. I’m kind of new at this regular relationship stuff.”

“Nothing is regular about him Bella. So I understand you were able to counter a vampire’s gift in Mexico?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t easy. I had to stop fighting. Winter saved my ass.” Bella admitted.

“I suppose we should get to work then?” Chris asked, smiling. It was 6 AM. They had all day.

“No. I need to run five miles, push-ups, sit ups, dive bombers, pull ups and then combat for ten minutes. You wouldn’t happen to have a heavy bag around would you?”

Chris laughed.

“Yes you are definitely different. And here I was worried I didn’t have enough cigarettes for you. Yeah I will have one set up in the barn.”

Two hours later the two began to work. First talking about what Bella was thinking when she used her gift and then what she felt. Chris taught her deep meditation. He taught her breathing techniques. He had Emmy taken off her medication for one day so he could see if Bella could stop her and Chris from visiting the spirit world. Bella was not able and Chris brought Emmy back quickly and had her take her meds. More souls were banging on the gates, if it was at all possible. Definitely more demons.

“What’s wrong Chris?” Bella asked, recognizing something had bothered him greatly as he watched Emmy take her medication.

“Nothing you need to worry about now Bella. I just need information from a priest who is being difficult. Nothing to worry about. Let’s get back to work. I don’t really want to bother the other children so we will see if you can latch onto something in that head of yours.”

The two practiced meditation for a week. Several times Bella thought she had it, only to be distracted by the thought of Jason. He called her nightly but something seemed off.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“Later. You work on what you need to work on. I will be in Galveston when you get back. I love you Bella.”

“I love you. I’m worried about you. You seem strange. Ever since you came back from…” Bella wouldn’t say it over the phone… and then Dug… Utah.”

“Some things have happened. Some things have changed. Maybe. But that will be up to you. You and Winter.”

“Okay. Don’t be mysterious or anything. You aren’t going to do anything dangerous are you?”

“What in our lives isn’t dangerous?” He asked seriously.

At the end of the week Chris was frustrated though he didn’t let it show. He did share one truth with Bella.

“Bella there is absolutely no way we can get a good bearing on your power without testing it in the field.”

“You mean I have to be around gifted vampires?”

“I have felt it. I don’t think it’s a shield as much as a sharing. You can send your gift of blocking powers to others in range of you. I don’t know what that range is and I have no way of knowing how to test it safely.”

Bella picked up her phone and called Jason.

“Hey baby. I was just about to call you.”

During the day? Jason always called at night.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s just… instead of meeting you at our base I need you to go to Utah. You will meet Winter there. We have an offer. Remember the Priest who Chris told you was being difficult? He has a friend. The priest has agreed to help us if we let his friend help us.”

“Why… how could his friend help us?”

“He is a vampire Bella.”

“Oh…” Bella froze. Being around a vampire she couldn’t kill. Oh my God how would Winter take it?

“I’ve been around him for a week. He seems genuine. But he knows of your past with vampires. He knows one killed Summer. He knows the Volturi and hates them. He wants to help. I’m not sure how you or Winter will take it. If either of you say no we will figure something else out.”

“I’m confused. What do we need this Priest for?”

“To break into the secret Vatican archives.”

“Why would we need him?”

“He may have an idea of where they are. We have no idea. But in that archive could be the secret to you and Winter’s swords and why they are needed. Bella I don’t think it has to do with vampires either. Neither does the President. Neither does Chris.”

Bella looked sharply at Chris. She supposed he could guess what the conversation was about.

“Will Chris be coming to this meeting?” she asked bluntly.

“Yes. I am about to call Winter and let her know. She has been hanging out with your Dad. Ty and Jack have had some success getting two new replacements on the team. They will be at the home base getting caught up. Ty and Jack are on their way to this meeting.”

“Let me call Winter. She will take it better coming from me.” Bella sighed. “What is this vampire’s name?”

“Garrett.”

“Okay. Let me see what I can do. Hey cheer up. I love you.”

“I love you. When you get here I am going to show you how much I love you. Had any luck with your gift?”

“No. Unfortunately Chris, who has a lot of explaining to do, believes the only way to know for sure is to field test on a gifted vampire. I don’t suppose this vampire is gifted?”

“No.”

“Damn it.” Bella whispered.

“However Jenks knows where three vampires are and one is gifted. With our weapons and this Garrett guy it is possible to take them captive, and keep them under UV rays to keep them that way. Use his two friends to convince him to cooperate.”

“What kind of gift are we talking about?” Bella asked.

“Empath. Can manipulate other’s emotions. Shouldn’t be able to do any real damage to our men and women. You could practice.”

“Empath? You mean…”

“Yeah. I mean. I know he attacked you once.”

“He is bad news Jason. I told you what he was like in the newborn battle. At least I heard about it. He taught the others to fight. He has never lost a fight.”

“He has never gone against us. He wants Jenks to find us so bad. Maybe it’s time we found him.”

“I want to be there.”

“Ty, Jack, Clive, Mina, Dante and Hawk are already in position. I am going to be there in five minutes.”

“You are going without me!?” Bella shouted.

“Bella you know this is a dangerous life. We also have…”

“You have the vampire Garrett with you, don’t you?” Bella asked, sighing.

“Yeah… But like I said you or Winter say the word and he is gone, figuratively and literally. Just give him a chance to say his peace. I think… my instincts tell me I can trust him.”

“Fine. So you are taking these three to Dugway as well?” Bella asked, not even bothering to hide the base name from the open line.

“Yes.”

“I’ll be leaving with Chris in an hour. Make sure you are there safely when I get back Jason.”

“They are in New Mexico. The house is shut up but we will have them in sunshine. It will be okay. I promise. Love you babe. See you at the Proving Grounds.”

The call ended and Bella looked scornfully at Chris.

“You got some explaining to do.” She told him.

“I wanted you to concentrate on your work. I would have told you. I was going to call Winter and talk to both of you tonight at the same time.”

Bella sighed. She looked around and knew something was bothering Chris. He never would have agreed to this if he didn’t need to know the story of these swords. She looked at the bunk houses holding children who could destroy the world or go insane if he didn’t take care of them. She knew he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

“Sounds good. But we need to call her now. We are leaving in an hour for Utah. Looks like you might get your wish after all.”

“What do you mean? The vampire they have is gifted?” Chris asked.

“No. The idiots are going to try to take three vampires as prisoners.” Bella sighed, tears threatening to break through. All she could think about was the look on Jasper’s face when he attacked her.

“God help them.” She whispered and prepared to call Winter and have a difficult conversation with her.

Albuquerque New Mexico

“So you getting any of your feelings” Jasper asked Peter as he and Charlotte sat around the kitchen table.

“Yeah. But I’m not sure what. It’s not necessarily bad but…”

“Relax Peter. It will be okay.” Jasper smiled.

“Think so huh? Your boy Jenks? He is running pretty slow.” Peter pointed out.

“That’s because they probably got to him.” Jasper pointed out.

“They?” Charlotte asked.

“Yep.” Jasper sighed.

“Then they know we are here?” Peter asked.

“Yep.”

“Then why the fuck are we here?!” Charlotte practically screamed.

At that moment four large harpoons shot into the kitchen catching walls. Grapplers came out the sides of the harpoons. The sound of high powered engines revved and soon the kitchen walls of the small house were gone.

The three were sitting in direct sunlight surrounded by men dressed completely in black holding rifles to their heads.

Jasper was unsurprised to see them. He had been waiting for a week.

Peter turned into a defensive position in front of Charlotte. Hawk hit him in the face and he stumbled back, weakened by the direct sunlight.

“Calm down Peter. If they meant to kill us they would have already.” Jasper said coolly.

“Jury is still out Whitlock. Or is it Hale? Or Cullen?”

The man pulled off his black mask to reveal Jason Connolly’s face.

“Yeah but you need me right? To test Bella’s Swan. See if she can protect others from vampire gifts?”

Jasper sensed fear and anger at the mention of her name.

“You love her huh? Don’t like me sayin her name?”

Connolly pulled a sidearm and placed it up to Jasper’s head.

“I start to feel the least bit strange off I am blowing your fucking head off and your friends go down too. Understand?”

“Yeah. We mean you no harm. Hell I been waitin on you. Why you think I told Jenks where I was? You think I don’t know you got him in your back pocket. I hope Bella told you I wasn’t stupid.”

Jasper felt it again from the man. Best not to say her name or he might be getting one of those bullets in his head.

“Leave it alone Jason. He means her no harm. He can be of some help. All three can.”

“We will see.” Connolly said quietly. “You so much look at Bella sideways I’ll blow your fucking head off.”

For the first time since the harpoons came through the walls Jasper was surprised.

“Garrett?”

“Peter, Charlotte, Jasper. Good to see you. I do hope you won’t cause any trouble. These boys are a bit trigger happy.”

“I can see that. So where are we going?” Jasper asked.

“Dugway Proving Grounds.” Garrett told them.

“And what will we be doing there?” Peter asked.

“Proving you can be of some use to us. Because if you can’t I will hold you down while Bella cuts your fucking head off.” Connolly told Jasper.

Jasper could feel the emotions rolling off the man. He had no doubt Connolly would do exactly that. This man was a stone cold killer.

Jasper liked him already.