Bella MacLeod's Twilight Fanfiction

Claws

By BetterInTexas

Chapter 02:

Bella followed Connolly into the house and took in as much as she could, wishing in her heart that she could stay at a place like this.

The girl had never lived in a house or an apartment. She rarely left the headquarters other than missions. Running drills in the Rainforest was the closest she had ever come to feeling free.

Now she was in Forks Washington with her strange support team who would be living in this house and one like it at the end of the street. Bella herself would be living in a house but it wouldn’t be the same. Even after the short tie she had spent among this group, the brunette knew she would rather stay with them than her residence for the next two years, assuming she lived that long.

The group began unloading bags and checking the place out. Connolly and Jack Webb would be staying in this house and Gavin and Hawk would be at the end of the street. Dante would be posing as a Game Warden and would have his own cabin in the wild reserved for the department.

Bella said nothing, sitting on the couch and taking it all in. Her eyes drifted to the television and she considered for a moment turning it on. She had never sat in front of one for hours watching for pure entertainment. The videos they watched at their hidden dormitory in their free time were usually dry documentaries or instructional videos on tactics. Bella and Julie preferred to spend their personal tie with each other in silence. Despite her distaste for her new residence she was a bit excited about having unmonitored personal time for the first time in her life. This was a new area for her, far from the jungle, far from the men she could not stand who ran her life as well as her friends and lover.

“Listen up guys.” Connolly called out. The group sat down around the room and listened to their commanding officer.

“Everyone know the covers?”

“Covers?” Ty asked. “We wait for Bella to find something nasty and we take it out. What the hell do we need covers for?”

Connolly closed his eyes and groaned. “Did you read the files on the flight here, Ty?”

Ty smiled and shook his head. “Why the hell would I read a file? Job is simple. We find something and Ty shoots it. How hard can this be?”

Connolly looked at Webb hoping for help. Seeing none he looked Dante’s way.

“This is all you.” the Cherokee told him.

Connolly noticed that a grin was on Bella’s face that she desperately tried to hide. He had not had an opportunity to get to know her, not trusting the plane had not been bugged. She was quiet but pleasant, almost as if she had gone through hostess training at some socialite school.

He knew better though. The man had seen her file. The girls she grew up with followed her for a reason. Jaguars may be solitary creatures but she was an alpha, same as he was.

“Ty, we are here for the next 18 to 24 months. We are going to blend in, be a part of the community. Bella isn’t the only one undercover. We all have roles to play.”

“A role?” Ty asked. “You mean like a secret identity?”

“I mean a job.” Connolly told him.

“I have a job. I shoot people. I’ve shot a lot of people for you. Have you forgotten this? I haven’t. I like my job and was under the impression I would keep doing my job.”

“Should have read the file dumbass.” Hawk told him.

“We each have a role to play. Bella will be entering high school as a junior when the spring semester begins. I will be working out of the police department as a consulting detective on an exchange program from Seattle. Dante will be working as a Game Warden. As such he will have access to the wildland in the state and know of any strange activity that may occur in other states. Jack will be here at all times, monitoring the field, taking care of any coms and organizing assaults or responses if they are needed immediately.”

Ty stated at Connolly, knowing whatever was coming was not something he would want to hear.

“Ty, you and Hawk will be Bella’s primary backup. That means you have to be around her. Hawk will be the new gym teacher at Forks High. Ty…”

“Don’t you say it man. I am not going to be no janitor.”

“Of course not.” Connolly assured him. “You are going to be the new history teacher, junior and senior level.”

The room was silent while Connolly waited for the blow up and the other three men tried not laugh.

“You expect me to be a damn teacher?! I am no teacher! I joined up to serve my country in battle, not babysit some damn pampered brats! Hell no. You can be the teacher and I’ll be the cop.”

Connolly shook his head. “Sorry, too late. They are expecting you. Look at it this way, you have a chance to take pampered kids and expand their young minds. Doesn’t that sound like… okay I knew you wouldn’t like this, I just don’t give a damn. History is easy. Just follow the notes in the file. There is a whole damn lesson plan already done for you. All it takes is reading a book. It can’t be that hard.”

Ty looked around and saw he would be getting no help from his so called brothers. “Ya’ll are assholes. What are we supposed to do if she gets into something and we have to leave our little students?”

“Call in a sub. Your primary objective is to back her up if somehow an enemy tracks her down and attacks her at school. We each will have a small earpiece we must wear at all times. It is barely noticeable. Should we run across any vampires it will negate any special powers they may have… in theory. I understand these devices have never been tested in the field. It emits the same scrambler signals as the one in Bella’s…” Connolly stopped, wishing he had not brought that up.

“My brain. I have a large one embedded in my head.” Bella helped him out. “Yours won’t be as powerful but I hope they will be enough. If we run into more enemies than I can handle vampire wise I will call for back up. I would like to avoid that if necessary.”

The men all looked at the floor, none of them wanting to think about the girl with a device for combat planted in her brain.

“Guys, I’m a living weapon, genetically modified at birth to fight supernatural creatures.” Bella told them. “There is no need to step around the issue. Yes, they put a kill switch inside me. Yes, it has worked so far against gifted vampires. If you want to ask me questions about my abilities, feel free. We can’t hold secrets from each other or be uncomfortable around each other. The only thing I ask is you do not pity me. I won’t stand for it.”

Connolly let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. She was 17 years old. No 17 year old should be so… he didn’t have the words. She didn’t sound depressed or angry. She spoke almost robotically and the man wished she would show enough emotion that he could at least get a read on her.

“Let’s start unpacking men.”

“One thing first.” Bella told the men then looked at her future gym teacher. “I will need a reason to sit out gym. I can’t shower with the rest of the girls. Too many questions would be asked.”

“I thought you could control your… fingers and toes. You don’t have a tail, do you? Its cool if you do.” Hawk told her quickly. “I just wasn’t sure.”

Bella stood up and took off her shirt, standing in jeans and a sports bra.

They all flinched seeing her.

Bella’s torso was covered in thin scars and multiple bite marks.

“These would be hard to explain and my legs are just as bad. As you can see, they aren’t normal jagged scars. Vampire fingernails are like scalpels. The bite marks don’t go away. Our healing abilities erase many of them, but even our bodies can only take so much. I understand gym is a requirement. We are just going to let me sit and study while the rest of the kids get their workout, right Mr. Hawk?”

“Yeah kid,” he agreed, looking closely at her. She was pale naturally but the white stripes that crisscrossed her torso stood out. The bite marks were brutal from the front and he didn’t want to know where else they might be. Despite her not wanting pity, the man felt a huge rage building in him. “No gym for you. I’ll tell them you got gonorrhea or something.”

Bella winked at him. “At least I won’t be bothered by boys asking me out.”

The men dispersed to their assigned tasks leaving Connolly and Bella behind.

“Think we can talk outside?” Bella asked after putting her long sleeved shirt back on.

Connolly had never given any thought to what she wore but thinking on it now it made sense that she always wore long sleeves.

Without waiting for an answer she walked out, leaving him following her to the street.

Connolly joined her and the two began walking down the street. She seemed deep in thought about something, not that he was surprised.

A block away she stopped and turned to face him.

“I’ve known evil manipulative assholes my whole life. You and your team, I can tell you are different. I wasn’t sure why you wanted any part of this. I had read your files and you have pulled off some amazing things in the field. Your men though, they are disgusted by this.”

Connolly shook his head. “They aren’t disgusted…”

“By me. I know. They are disgusted by the Organization. I get it. So why get involved? Then I realized you want to save me. Don’t do it. You can’t stop them. No one government would even try, not even the United States, home of the brave and land of the free.”

Connolly looked down on the shorter girl and stepped closer. As usual she spoke with no emotion, just sitting what she believed to be facts.

“Look,” he whispered, “is this really the life you want? What does it matter if we try to get you out of this? Worst can happen is they try and kill us if they find out. We will figure out someway around that hunk of metal in your skull. Just give me time and let us help you stay alive, okay? We will work something out.”

Bella smiled at him, appreciating his intentions.

“Italy was supposed to be a suicide mission.” the girl told him. “We all knew it. Our class was the best but we shouldn’t have been that good. They needed us to thin the herd so to speak. Take out as many as they could before their precious Devil Dogs came in.”

“What is a Devil Dog?” the man asked, not having read about this in any briefing.

“They are the ones who will come after me and you if you try to help me escape. They are males, taken like us from birth. They don’t reach full maturity until 20. They are part Lycan but have more vampire venom running through their veins, enough that some prefer to feed in the wild so they can taste the blood. Their bones, jaws, everything about them is designed to be the perfect killing machines.” Bella explained. Connolly did not miss the slight tremor in her voice.

“Why don’t they just use these guys instead of you girls?” he asked, worried about where this was headed and having a suspicion he didn’t care for.

“They are harder to control for one. They have to be brought up trained like dogs, shock collars and all. There has to be a support team around them at all times, fingers on the trigger if they go feral. They also cost a lot of money and not many survive the process, usually dying before they hit puberty. Because of this there are less of them than us and they are rare weapons. They only go in after we have attacked. Our job was to attack the Italian Coven. I have no doubt they weren’t far behind.”

The man closed his eyes hoping to control his anger. They really did treat these kids like weapons and nothing else. They sent girls into situations to die hoping to… damn it. If he hadn’t been intent on taking the whole organization down before he was now. Saving Bella would be the first part. He would have to go further though.

“Julie, I suppose you read about her. She is… was my girlfriend but she was more than that. All the girls were close but as we grew older… we loved each other. We knew we were going on a suicide mission and made peace with that. This life kind of sucked and we hoped we would find each other in the next one, you know? It didn’t work out, but I have to believe I will see her again one day. I know I will because not one of us has reached the age of 21. We get thrown into situations where we can win but eventually, we all get sent on that mission. The mission we aren’t supposed to walk away from. I will keep fighting. I don’t have a death wish but I will do what I was made to do until I join her again. If you want to save me, just do your job. Help me take as many bastards as I can out before I fall. If they ask you to volunteer for another job, don’t. Get out, go back to doing what you were doing.”

“I make no promises.” Connolly told her. He would be damned if he let this kid fight until she died for this organization.

“I would rather be killed by you or your men than try to run and be tracked by the Devil Dogs. We saw them once, a couple of them. I think it was to scare us and it worked. What they would do to me if I ever tried to escape… let’s just say some things are worse than death and that would be one of those things. Has my bike arrived?”

“Black Harley Sportster should be in the garage with the keys in it. Your weapons have already been delivered to your house in coded containers. You are going to need school clothes.” he reminded her, doing his best to not ask any more questions about these acts, already having a good idea what they were.

“I can handle shopping, probably. I’ve never done it before so it should be fun. I might ask one of your guys to come with me. I have no idea what girls wear to high school. I would hate to be unfashionable.”

Connolly didn’t think this was a good idea considering his guys but he would deal with that later.

“You want me to go over with you? To meet… you know…”

Bella shook her head.

“Chief Swan knows his role. I will remind him of what is expected in regard to cover. He simply has to stay out of the way and pretend I am his daughter. It shouldn’t be that hard for him. Thank you for the offer though.”

Bella was happy to see that her bike was in the garage. It would serve her needs in regard to blending in somewhat. She could run for the most part as fast as a bike could take her but sprinting around town at superhuman speed did not sound like a wise plan. Once she had her weapons and combat suits at her knew residence in her possession the girl would feel much better.

The girl followed the mounted GPS to the address given and arrived shortly in front of a small two story house, perhaps built in the fifties or mid-sixties. She was excited to see the inside but her excitement was dimmed thinking of who she would share it with.

Bella stayed on her bike for a few minutes. She knew this wouldn’t be pleasant but it was best to get it over with. He needed to know his role and just how screwed he really was.

She hesitantly knocked on the door and readied herself. This was a day she never thought would come and stopped caring about it ever happening many years ago. She had no parents. She never had. At least her mother had the excuse of dying.

The man opened the door quickly.

The two stared at each other for a moment, neither knowing what to say.

“Bella.” Charlie finally whispered, not believing that his daughter how he had watched grow up in pictures was actually here, within touching distance.

“Chief Swan. May I come in?” Bella asked, her voice neutral and face desperately trying to remain stoic.

“Of… of course.” Charlie stepped aside. He wanted to hug her, touch her in some way, any kind of contact.

Bella moved past him quickly, not giving him a second glance. Charlie hurried behind her.

The girl walked around the living room, taking in the pictures on the walls and on the mantle above the fireplace. Pictures of her growing up adorned the walls.

“I always wondered what you would be like and you are exactly as I thought you would be.” she told him quietly.

“I am?” Charlie asked, following her from behind but keeping a distance from her, not wanting to encroach on her personal space.

Bella turned to him, her facial expression showing barely concealed anger.

“Yes, you are just as much of an idiot as I thought you would be. Do you realize they own you now? Do you understand what you have gotten into?”

“I don’t understand.” he whispered. Charlie knew this wouldn’t be a smooth reunion. He knew next to nothing about her and she had likely never seen his face before a few moments ago. Still he had hoped she would feel some bond to him. They shared blood.

“Girls like me, we don’t live long. What do you think is going to happen to you when I am killed? You know too much. If I die, you die. I have been very lucky but my luck is going to run out one day. They played you. You have to see this. You should have stayed out of it!”

The lack of emotion that concerned Connolly was no longer present. The more she spoke the angrier she felt.

“Bella, I don’t care. I couldn’t pass up a chance to have you back…” Charlie tried to explain.

“You never had me to begin with. You gave me to them. You let them turn me into a monster! I grew up in a lab!”

“You were dying. Your mom died. I was, I didn’t know what to do but I didn’t want to lose you. They said they could save your life.”

Bella snorted and shook her head. “Officer Swan, did you ever ask yourself how they even knew to be there? They knew I would have the perfect genetic makeup to be manipulated when I was born. Have you ever asked yourself why your wife really died? Have you ever asked yourself if I was really dying?”

Charlie hadn’t. Renee had an uncontrollable hemorrhage after birth and Bella’s vitals were falling. The doctor watched her carefully but nothing could be done.

“You were dying. The Doctor…

“The doctor? Did you ever ask yourself who he worked for Officer Swan? The doctor who had run tests on Renee Swan, who knew everything about her and what I could possibly be, who was present at her death with only two nurses as witnesses. A doctor who could have been placed in the same situation you find yourself in now? You should have let me die.” Bella told him.

Her and the girls had spoken many times over the years about their backgrounds and how similar they were. As they became older it was a subject they all began to understand but not speak of. At that point, it simply hadn’t mattered.

Charlie shook his head, fighting back tears. That had been a chaotic time. He and Renee had split up, she had been pregnant and he was desperate to get her back. Then she died and his daughter was dying. Did he ever think to question what was going on around him? At the time, no he hadn’t. Afterward he thought often about it. He knew the timing was strange but the doctor had been nice. He couldn’t imagine the man a murderer. Swan assumed the Organization as they called themselves kept track of all medical records and reports and suspected Renee and Bella may have not lived due to a defect or… he couldn’t let himself believe anything else. They had allowed him to see Bella once through a window, sent him pictures over the years. She looked happy.

“I couldn’t do that Bella. I’m sorry but I couldn’t let my daughter die.” he told her, finally meeting her eyes.

What he saw scared the hell out of him. Bella’s eyes had changed, widened and her pupil’s red tinged with gold. Her jaw seemed lower and her incisors grew, resembling long sharp fangs. She raised her hand in front of him and he saw her nails grow, fill out, and expand into claws where the tips of her fingers had been.

“You let your daughter become this. Death would have been better.”

Bella turned away from him, back towards the fireplace and took a few deep breaths. When she turned back, her appearance was normal once again.

“Your job is to pretend to be my father in public. When I have to leave school suddenly or just miss a couple days it will be your job to make an excuse, cover for me. We both stay low and hope that any creatures I find don’t escape me and follow me back to Forks. I will be in the bedroom when I am present which will not be often. My team as houses in the town where I will be spending the majority of hours except for sleep. In public we are going to be a father and daughter reunited, happy to be with each other. In private, leave me alone. Do you have any questions, Chief Swan?”

Charlie opened his mouth to say something, anything then closed it. He wasn’t sure what to say. Did he have questions? He had a million. What was her favorite color? What foods did she like? Did she have a favorite doll when she was younger? What kind of movies did she like?

“Would you like to see your room?” he finally decided on.

“I’ll find it. Have my two weapons cases arrived?”

Charlie nodded. “They were delivered yesterday and placed in your room. I was told not to touch them.”

“A good rule to follow. You live your life Chief Swan and I will do what I do. We should have no problems cohabitating.”

Bella walked away from the man towards the stairs leaving him alone so his tears could flow freely. The man had not expected a warm reunion, knew she would have a lot of resentment but her matter of fact tone after her initial outburst killed him. He didn’t blame her. He was a stranger and knew that if something happened to her, he would likely follow. He just didn’t care.

Seeing what she had become, the way she could transform, her jaws, her hands even her eyes had spooked him but that was not what bothered him most. It was the knowledge that not only did he not fight for her but willingly allowed her to be turned into something she obviously hated and as a result would most likely always hate him for it.

Bella found her room easily enough but did not pay mind to her surroundings. She opened her two large boxes and moved through the ones with her tactical clothes and the few civilian clothes she was given. At the bottom was the framed photo of her and Julie.

She moved to the headboard of her bed and drew her knees up to her chest, clutching the photo in her hand.

Bella cried, silently but hard, so hard it burnt her inside.

“Julie, what the hell am I doing?” she finally whispered.

She didn’t need an answer from above. Bella knew what she was doing. She would fight and continue to fight to the end and try to hold onto whatever of herself remained until the end. Fighting was all she had ever known and all she had now. Nothing else mattered, not her father, not her new team leader’s ill-conceived plans to rescue her, not the new surroundings.

Standing up she wiped her eyes and walked to the large case filled with her weapons.

She had a job to do and it was time to start.