Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
Story: Scarlet
Storylink: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5432277/1/
Category: Twilight
Genre: Crime/Romance
Author: archer24
Authorlink: https://www.fanfiction.net/u/1692740/
Last updated: 03/12/2011
Words: 147185
Rating: M
Status: Complete
Content: Chapter 1 to 28 of 28 chapters
Source: FanFiction.net
Summary: Bella is the greatest thief the world's never seen; she is only recognized by her scarlet calling card. Edward is
FBI, and has been able to catch every criminal he's come across. Little do they know, they are both about to meet their
match. AH, OOC, AU
The feeling of achievement that I had felt since the alarms first started ringing was instantly gone.
There, handcuffed to the desk and to each other, were the police officer I had previously set up. They had tape over their
mouths.
My eyes widened in astonishment and horror.
I quickly spun around, my eyes shifting to the spot where the painting should have been.
Instead, in its place, was an empty frame, cracked open and hanging off its hinges, with a piece of scarlet silk hanging
from the frame.
The scarlet thief's calling card.
I strode over to the tied up men in rage and disappointment. I ripped the tape off of one of their mouths; he winced.
"What the hell happened!?!" I yelled.
He was breathing heavily when he answered, "He came out of nowhere. 'Wasn't even in here for a minute." He sounded
frustrated and ashamed.
"How long ago did he leave!?!" I shouted.
"'bout ten seconds before you came in." He told me, nodding towards the door.
I bolted out the door, yelling to the rest of the police to untie them then get down to the bottom floor and cover all the exits.
I was not about to let them get away.
The police were covering the lobby; there was no way the thief could get through; maybe hope wasn't lost after all.
My finger was an inch from the down button for the elevator when I heard it.
A door slamming shut.
My gaze snapped to my left, my eyes catching the door that read 'Stairs, Up'.
My eyes widened, I abandoned the elevator and wrenched open the stairwell door and started sprinting up the stairs.
I rounded a corner on the stairs and just caught sight of a boot heel slipping out the roof's door.
'Where could they possib ly b e going?'
Holding my gun firmly in one hand, I chased after the thief.
I bursted onto the roof, letting the door slam against the outer wall.
There, casually standing in the middle of the roof, was the thief.
He was wearing a hood casting a shadow over his face, disguising himself.
"Freeze!" I yelled over the wind, pointing my gun at him with both hands.
My words seemed to have no effect on him, for he just started walking towards the opposite end of the roof.
"I said freeze!" I yelled louder.
He just kept walking further.
He raised something from his hand and slung it over his back. It was a tube-shaped container.
My eyes widened.
'The painting'
"Stop! There's nowhere for you to go!" I yelled again, inching closer, my gun still firmly pointed at them.
Again, they didn't even seem to hear me, just edged back further until they were standing about a half of a foot away from
the ledge.
"Sir! Stop and hand over the painting!" I inched closer, keeping my eyes on them. There was no way he was getting away.
What I said seemed to finally get their attention.
He picked up his head and looked in my direction as if noticing me for the first time. I watched as his gloved hand came
up and pushed the hood back off his face.
I felt my jaw drop as I saw tendrils of silky brown locks tumble out.
'Holy shit'
The scarlet thief was no man.
My gun lowered of its own accord, I still couldn't see the exact features of her face because of the darkness, but that didn't
stop me from noticing that she was attractive.
She unzipped the trench coat she was wearing, revealing a pair of black tight-fitting pants and a black wife-beater.
Over that, she was wearing what looked like a harness with many straps and carabineers.
With the painting still strung across her back, she bent down and retrieved a carabineer with rope, which she promptly
hooked to herself with precision.
The wind was whipping her hair across her face, as I saw her glance up at me again; the only feature of her that I could
make out was the small amount of light that reflected off her teeth as she grinned.
Everything came rushing back to me.
"Stop!" My voice, and mind, seemed to finally start functioning; I started sprinting across the rooftop towards her.
When I was only about fifteen feet away; she gave me a crooked grin, saluted me with two fingers, and stepped
backwards over the side of the building.
"Shit!" I yelled, narrowly stopping myself from tumbling over the edge as my hands grabbed where she had been just a
moment before.
My eyes searched the dark night below me, seeing nothing but the rope she was using to jump as it kept turning through
the pulley she had set up on the roof. There was no way I could stop it.
"Damn it!" I cursed, but the wind muffled it.
I whipped open my cell phone to call and see if any of the police had been able to grab her when she reached the street,
but then remembered that I had set everyone up in the lobby to stop the thief when they went down.
The rope stopped running through the pulley.
The scarlet thief was gone.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
A/N: Hey, so here is the start of another story. Those of you who have read Guardian Agent, my other story, are
probably starting to notice a theme to my stories. However, if you liked my other story, then this one is going to be
just as action packed and exciting. Feel free to ask questions, I'll answer them as long as they don't give too much
away. Hopefully this one will be just as, if not more, successful then Guardian Agent because I've got tons of ideas
and I'm really excited about writing this one. :P
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
EPOV (the next morning)
I ran my hand over my face in exhaustion as I headed into the FBI building. I was in so much trouble.
I sat down at the desk in my office and put my head in my hands. I was letting out a long breath when I heard a knock on
my door.
I picked my head up and saw Jasper poke his head into my office.
"Long night?" He asked.
I just gave him a look.
"Alright, alright." He said, motioning with his hands for me to calm down, "The captain wants to see you in his office
ASAP."
I groaned but nodded my head. He knew me well enough to just leave me be at the moment.
After a few more deep breaths I forced myself to pick my head up and drag my feet out of my office and down the hall to
the captain's office.
I paused for a moment to prepare before I knocked three times on the door.
I heard a gruff 'come in' before I turned the handle and entered.
Aro looked up when I walked in and put down the papers he was holding and motioned for me to sit down in the chair
opposite him.
I took the seat tentatively.
"So, Edward." He started linking his fingers together, "Let me see if I got this correctly."
I nodded at him to continue.
"You set up a trap for the scarlet thief in a location where you assumed they would strike next. Your assumption was
correct, and they managed to get inside the building. And then, when you got inside to arrest them, where you had fifteen
police officers positioned, the painting was already stolen. And then, you chased him up to the roof, where he managed
to get away by jumping off the roofwith the million dollar painting. Does that sound about right?"
I swallowed hard
"Well sir, there's actually a few things you should know..." I started.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
BPOV
I rolled out of bed and walked downstairs, throwing a robe around myself in the process.
I grabbed the newspaper and sat down on the couch. I started flipping through it, but I didn't see any headlines that read
somewhere along the lines of 'Scarlet Thief Strikes Again!' or 'Another Painting Stolen!'. Disappointed, I refolded it and
went upstairs to change.
A few hours later I was trying not to check my watch every few minutes as I waited for her to show up. It was when I was
drumming my fingertips on the marble countertops in my kitchen that there was a knock on the door.
"Finally!" I said, throwing my arms up in exaggerated exaggeration.
I went over to the door and swung it open.
"I know, I know I'm late." She said as she brushed past me and into the house.
I closed the door behind her and followed her back into the house.
"Can we do this?" I asked, gesturing with my hand down the hallway.
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed; it's bad enough that you woke me up early." She grumbled.
"You know, it could be a lot worse. You could go back to the museum, working for minimum wage." I told her over my
shoulder as we went down the basement stairs.
"And miss out on all the fun and money you bring me? No way." She said, laughing a little bit.
I punched in the code for the security pad on the basement door and opened it.
"The people you were working for had no idea what to do with your expertise." I told her, chuckling a little.
"Yeah, well. Let's just get this over with." She said, pulling on a rubber glove.
I walked over to one of the doors and unlocked the manual locks before opening it and stepping through.
Alice walked in behind me; she was trying to suppress her excitement, but I could see it in her eyes.
On the table which was lit up from the bottom with luminescent lights, was the million dollar painting that I had stolen
last night.
I leaned against the wall with my arms crossed as I watched Alice approach the piece of artwork with a critical eye.
"You just need me to verify it, correct?" She asked.
I nodded at her, and she resumed her observing.
Alice was the person I called in whenever I needed to have a piece of artwork verified, or even an expensive gem. I would
then pay her ten percent of whatever amount I sold it for on the black market. She also knows that that amount of money
also pays for her silence. I chose to hire her because she is the only one who I deemed smart enough, both to have the
right credentials for the job and not be stupid enough to go to the police. She knows that if she did, I would be able to
make it seem as if the only guilty person is her.
"So, how did it go last night?" She asked, trying to break the silence.
"Same as usual." I replied nonchalantly.
She nodded but gave no other opinion.
"Actually, now that I think about it; I think the FBI has a new person taking the lead." I told her.
"Well, that's no surprise. The last one was an idiot." She said inspecting the painting with a confused look.
I chuckled in agreement.
"But apparentlythis one isn't" She said looking at me.
I met her gaze quickly.
"It's a forgery." She said.
"Excuse me?" I asked, leaning in a little bit.
"This painting is a fake. It's not the original." She said
I grabbed the magnifying glass from her hand and stepped close to the painting.
"See right there." She said, pointing with her finger to a specific spot, "The crack is painted over. That wouldn't have be
present in the original." She said.
"Dammit!" I yelled, angry at myself. "No wonder there wasn't an article in the newspaper."
"So, the FBI already knew that you were planning on swiping this one. This new guy has definitely got me impressed."
She said.
I sent a glare in her direction.
"What?" She said, raising her arms defensively, "Anybody who can ruffle your feathers must be pretty good."
I leaned back against the wall and ran a hand down my face, trying to think.
"Well, I guess there's only one thing left for me to do." I said, making up my mind.
"What's that?" She asked, lifting her head back up from the painting.
"Go find and steal the real one." I said, no tremor of doubt in my voice as I tossed the magnifying glass back to her and
started heading out of the room.
"How are you going to do that?" She yelled after me, her interest obviously piqued.
"I'm not only a thief you know; I'm also a pretty decent grifter." I told her over my shoulder.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(Later that night, still BPOV)
My heels clicked on the sidewalk as I made my way towards the front of the line.
The bouncer took one look at me before raising the velvet rope and letting me through, much to the irritation of the people
waiting in line.
I sent a smile in his direction as I entered the club.
I knew that I was attracting a lot of attention from the opposite gender as I strode my way through the crowd of people in a
blue skin tight Chanel dress, with a very low cut back, and a large blue diamond hanging around my neck.
I only dressed like this when I was on a mission and it was absolutely necessary, otherwise I was most comfortable in a
sweatshirt and jeans.
I saw my target at the bar, drinking what I assumed was a vodka tonic. I took a deep breath to get the right character in
mind and started making my way over there.
I leaned over the bar in the spot next of him, immediately gaining the bartenders attention.
"Cosmo, please." I told him, he nodded and started working on my drink.
Step one in working a good con: let the mark (the person you're conning) approach you first.
"I would be careful, they make those strong here."
I almost smiled.
I turned my head to my left over my shoulder and looked at him.
"I'm Henry, Henry Jackson." He said, holding out his hand.
I already knew exactly who he was. This man was the CEO of BYS Insurance, the owner of the painting that I was
planning on stealing tonight.
"Anna, Anna Marino." I said, placing my hand in his.
He smiled, I gave him a small one back.
"Here you are." I turned and accepted my drink from the bartender.
I took a sip from it, but kept my eyes on my Mark. It was important to keep eye contact.
He lifted his own up in a toast before taking a sip.
I put mine down and smiled again.
"So what do you do for a living, Ms. Marino?" He asked, putting his drink down on the bar once again.
"I work at the Art Institute of Chicago. I work in the restoration room mostly. What about you?" I asked as if I didn't have a
clue in the world and that this was the most fascinating information I had ever heard.
"I work in insurance." He made the motion with his hand as if it was no big deal "But I'm also a vast collector of artwork."
He said.
'No kidding' I thought, but instead said, "Really? That's incredible, anything I may know?"
"Maybe." He said with a coy smile, obviously happy to think that he had me hooked. "Let me buy you another drink and we
can discuss this some more."
I nodded my head enthusiastically, but inside I was trying not to gag.
He ordered another drink for himself, then gestured at me; I ordered the same drink as him but with twice the alcohol. He
smiled at my action. I wanted to roll my eyes; he obviously thought he was getting lucky tonight.
Step two in working a good con: Alcohol can come in handy.
After a few minutes of pointless chatter, I "accidentally" dropped my purse on the floor, he of course being the *cough*
perfect gentleman *cough* bent down to retrieve it.
At the same moment I switched our drinks, giving him the one with twice the alcohol.
An hour passed, I kept switching his drink with mine every time the bartender gave us new ones and Henry wasn't
looking.
He was getting flat out drunk and didn't even know it. While I just pretended to be.
Over the years I've picked up a few things. Like how to drink without getting drunk, you have to start with a lot of ice to
dilute the alcohol, order new drinks before finishing the old, and spilloften.
My seemingly drunken state seemed to be passing off as an explanation for my clumsiness.
I must have been quite a sight to see. Playing the drunk chic whose I.Q. was not the highest was not one of my favorites,
but sometimes it could be fun, especially when it worked.
"Why don't you come back to my place and I can fix us up some drinks there." He said with a slight slur, placing his
slightly sweaty hand on my exposed leg. "Maybe I'll even let you see my art collection."
I sent him a coy smile before getting off the bar stool and just to play my part, I added a little bit of a swagger to my step
as I led him out of the club.
On the outside I looked like a girl who had obviously had one too many and was one shot of vodka away from passing
out. But on the inside, I was alert and focused on the task at hand; and right now, that was getting this man to lead me
back to his home so that I could steal a million dollar piece of artwork.
I threw my hand up to hail a cab once we were outside; I felt him lean into me and throw his arm around my waist.
It took all of my willpower not to grimace and shove him off me.
Soon however we were in the cab and on our way.
Twenty minutes later I breathed a sigh of relief when the cab pulled over and jumped out, his hands were starting to
wander and I had no intention of giving him what he wanted.
I wasn't surprised at the size of his house-scratch that-mansion that he called home.
He threw a heavy arm around my shoulder and started leading me up to the front door.
It took him a few tries to get the key in the door, but eventually he swung it open and I helped him stumble inside.
The inside was as immaculate as it was large. I spotted a bar in the corner, obviously where he entertained his guests.
Perfect.
I turned to him, "Why don't you go and freshen up, while I make us some drinks, then we can have a look at some of your
artwork." I told him, playing with his tie flirtatiously.
"Sure, and then I think I can find something fun for us to do." He slurred with a wink.
I tried not to shudder as I sent him a smile that could mean so many things from a male perspective.
As soon as he left the room, I went behind the bar and started mixing my special drink concoction.
It contained mainly vodka, but as soon as I had both of them ready, I grabbed my purse off the counter and pulled out a
small vial that I had.
I flipped open the lid and poured it into the drink on the left.
I quickly slipped the empty vial back in my purse when he came back into the room.
I strode over to him and placed the drink in his hand, making sure that it was the correct one.
I sent him another smile over the drink as we toasted each other before taking a sip, though his was more of a swig.
He sent me a look that said he liked the taste of the drink and he started leading me in the other direction.
I started counting down in my head, there was still about a minute left.
He started leading me down the hallway, sending a drunken smile over his shoulder every few moments.
"You're very lucky I'm showing you this." He slurred as he started punching in a number into the security panel next to one
of the doors.
"Well I'll just have to repay you somehow." I told him with a wink, gagging on the inside.
He smiled; obviously getting the innuendo I had intended and opened the door.
181716
He placed his hand on the small of my back and guided me inside.
He flipped on the lights, illuminating a room with paintings all along the walls.
I smiled as I took it all in.
This was too easy.
I turned around to face him.
1098his eyes were starting to droop.
I lifted my drink again and pretended to keep a sip while still keeping my eyes on him.
543he dropped to the ground.
Oh well, I was close.
The Ketamine I had spiked his drink with had obviously taken affect. He was out cold, with enough alcohol in his system
to keep him knocked out until morning. The Ketamine wouldn't cause any permanent damage with the amount that I
gave him, but he would have no memory of any part of tonight, which was exactly what I needed.
I put my drink down and looked over at him, deciding that I would deal with him later; I wanted to look around first.
I looked over the other paintings first, just to see if any of them were worth taking, but none of them even came close.
Besides I was here mainly to prove a point to the new FBI agent on my case.
I turned to look at the painting I wanted and set to work.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
EPOV (the next morning)
It was finally Friday, almost the start of the weekend.
I was in a pretty good mood when I walked into the bureau. I had a feeling it was going to be a good day.
That feeling only last for about ten minutes, it all seemed to start sliding downhill when Jasper informed me that Henry
Jackson had called about some kind of emergency.
I regrettably picked up the phone to take his call, his frantic voice instantly filling my ear.
I couldn't understand a word he was saying, it was mainly a jumble of swear words.
"Relax Henry, I'll be there in a sec." I told him before hanging up the phone and grabbing my jacket off the back of my
chair.
In no time I was pulling up to the multi-million dollar home and walking up to the front door.
I was about to knock when the door was swung open by a very disgruntled Henry.
He was a mess. His eyes were bloodshot and he could hardly stand straight.
"What happened?" I asked, he started to open his mouth to answer when I smelled the alcohol, "Are you drunk?" I asked.
"Not anymore." He mumbled before ushering me inside.
"Are you going to tell me what happened?" I asked impatiently.
He didn't answer; instead he just started walking down the hallway, and led me into another room where the door was
ajar.
"What?" I asked, not understanding what he was getting at and really wanting him to just tell me so I could get back to
the bureau.
He just pointed.
I followed the direction of his finger to the opposite wall.
There was an empty frame.
I blanched.
"That's not" I started, but he nodded his head and put his head in his hand, confirming my worst fears.
"But that's impossible! No one but you knew where it was! Was there a break in?" I asked, still stunned.
He picked up his head to look at me, "I can't remember."
"This cannot be happening" I said, talking to myself.
"It's worse, they left a noteand I think it's for you." He said, pointing once again in the direction of the frame.
I tentatively strode over to the frame.
There, stuck to the wall in the middle of the frame, was a post-it note.
It only had two words:
'Nice try.'
Written in scarlet ink.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A/N: Hey, so just in case you guys don't know; a grifter is a con artist, and a mark is the person they are conning. I'll
probably be using those two words a lot in this story so I thought I'd make sure you all knew what they meant. Oh, try
not to yell at me for grammar mistakes if you spot any; I really do try to make sure that it's all correct, but
occasionally one slips through; besides, I really don't care if you think I have bad grammar because people seem to
like reading this story even if there is a comma out of place. Anyways, let me know what you think about this
chapter. The next one is going to have action in it, it should be pretty good. Oh and before you ask, 'Yes, I do watch
Burn Notice'; a lot of people have been asking. Other than that, I think the only other thing I want to say is: please
review! :P
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
EPOV
I watched confused as she practically ran out of the coffee shop, her brown hair flowing behind her.
"Hey Mike, do you know who that was?" I asked the employee behind the counter while still looking out the door.
"Nope, but I sure would like to." He said, looking at me.
"So, she's not a regular?" I asked. Most of the people who came here were regulars; it was rare for people to come here
randomly, opting for a starbucks across the street instead.
"Nope, and she made sure to stress the point." He said, by the tone in his voice I had a feeling that wasn't all she
stressed towards him.
I chuckled a little to myself; any girl who could rattle Mike and resist his "charm" was alright with me.
"Think she'll come back?" I asked with an amused smile.
"Hopefully, I didn't even get to give her my number." He told me.
"Well, I guess we'll both just have to wait and see." I told him over my shoulder as I left the shop.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
BPOV (later that day)
I stood on the sidewalk and stared up at the skyscrapers above me, my breath swirling into the chilly air.
It was now or never.
I flipped open my cell phone and dialed the number.
It picked up right away.
"911, what's your emergency?" The operator said.
I took a deep breath before starting, "Hi- yes. I'm at 1344 Columbus Drive, a-and I think there's a b-bomb." I said, adding
a stutter to make it convincing.
"Okay, stay calm. The police are on their way." The operator replied in the regulated calm voice.
"Please hurry!" I said snapping my phone shut.
With my plan set in motion, I tossed the phone into the garbage can next to me and started walking towards my actual
destination 1345 Columbus Drive; the building next door.
The easiest way to clear a building: alert the police of a false bomb in the building next door. Once they and the bomb
squad arrive, the first thing they do is clear the area within a five-hundred meter radius of people.
I pushed open the glass door and strode inside the building.
I flashed my fake ID badge that I had replicated after swiping one of the employee's the day before.
I walked into the stairwell without any obstruction, all the while keeping a cool expression on my face.
I walked into the hallway of the second floor, and after making sure that it was clear, I slipped into one of the supply
closets off the hallway.
My timing could not have been more perfect, as soon as I closed the door the building alarms began going off.
I could hear sirens going off outside. By now I'm sure the police were closing off the area and were evacuating buildings
within the measured radius.
Now it was time to wait.
I kept absolutely silent as I heard dozens of pairs of footsteps rush past my door, no doubt employees heading for the
stairwell.
After a few minutes, I stopped hearing footsteps outside.
I pulled out the extra cell phone that I packed and checked it.
I smiled when it came up with a blank screen.
The bomb squad had arrived.
Which meant it was time for me to get moving.
I put my ear to the door to make sure that there was in fact no one outside, before opening it and slipping out.
Bomb squads were trained with specific guidelines when dealing with a bomb threat.
First, they had to make sure that everyone was safe and clear of the supposed blast area. And by the looks of it, they did
a good job.
Second, they had to stop anyone from executing the bomb remotely.
For this, they usually bring in a wireless jammer. When turned on, it blocks any wireless frequencies for about three
hundred yards. Not only does this stop a person from using a wireless device to detonate the bomb, it blocks anything
wireless, including cell phones, wireless internetand wireless security cameras.
I strolled down the deserted hallway and got into the elevator.
I looked at the security camera inside, the little light on it that usually would have lit up red, was now a dead black.
I pressed the button for the forty-sixth floor and was soon on my way.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
EPOV
I was sitting in the lounge area at the office when a few agents I recognized started running by.
This piqued my interest.
I got up and grabbed one of them as they were running by.
"What's happening?" I asked.
"There's a bomb threat at 1344 Columbus Drive, the local leos decided to call us in just in case it turns out to be a
hostage situation.
I nodded and let him go.
'Wait a second'
"What did you say that address was?" I called after him.
He turned around and started jogging backwards. "1344 Columbus Drive." He called back before turning back around
and running out of sight.
'It can't b e'
I ran down the hallway and burst into my office.
I opened my drawers and started searching for it, rushing in my attempt to access my notes faster.
When I finally found what I was looking for: My list of possible locations that the Scarlet Thief might strike, I started
scanning it with my eyes as quick as I could.
I skipped over it in my haste and had to double back with my eyes.
Interestingly, one of my locations was 1345 Columbus drive, the building next door to the bomb threat.
I set the paper down.
'What are the chances of a b omb threat in the b uilding exactly next door to a location where the Scarlet Thief was likely to
strike?'
I started sprinting out of my office when I realized that the chances were close to none.
I had sprinted to my car and floored it a majority of the way. And before long I was parking my car and lifting the police
caution tape over my head.
Multiple police officers approached me immediately, gesturing with both their words and their hands that I was not to be
in this area.
I quickly flashed them by badge, but they were still reluctant to let me go further.
"Listen, I need to talk to the other FBI agents, I have critical information they need to hear.
They still didn't seem to like it, but they led me to the area that the FBI had set up.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
BPOV
I had just broken the code on the vaults dial when I cracked the door open.
Then, with a practiced hand that was covered in an elbow length polyester glove, I reached inside and sprayed hairspray
over the exact spot where I knew the heat-sensor was.
The polyester was one of the materials that could mask heat that your body gives off. The hairspray that I sprayed over
the infrared sensor worked as a shield to block any heat waves from reaching the sensor. Which meant I was in the
clear.
I opened the vault door the remainder of the way and stepped inside.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
EPOV
"You need to stop what you're doing, we have a problem." I said as I approached the other federal agents
"Damn right we have a problem, but there is no way we're going to just get up and leave." Said one of the agents I
recognized as Agent Ryans.
"No, you don't understand-" I started but was cut off.
"No, you don't understand! We have a serious bomb threat here and you need to leave the premises." He said, pointing
back the way I came.
"There is no bomb!" I yelled angrily, pushing my way back towards him.
My outburst caught the attention of another agent who stepped in, "What do you mean there's no bomb?"
"I mean, this is all fake! There is no bomb! But there is a serious crime going on. See that building right there?" I said,
pointing to the skyscraper next door, "Inside that building is vault that holds the largest blue diamond in the city."
I had the attention of the rest of the agents now.
"I have been tracking the Scarlet Thief long enough to know how she works. Think about it; the entire building is clear
and empty, no security anywhere, it's the perfect plan to be able to get inside without being noticed." I told them, piecing it
all together in my head as I went along.
"I don't know Edward; that seems a little farfetched." One of them said, but I didn't hear them, I was on a roll.
"And then, when the bomb squad arrives, they block all wireless signalsall the security cameras." I continued, though I
was mainly talking to myself. The plan was brilliant. While everyone is focused on the building in front of them, the one
next door is getting robbed. It was so perfect I almost wanted to laugh at the insanity.
"We need to turn off the cell phone jammer." I told them, no doubt in my mind that it was the Scarlet Thief.
"There is no way in hell that I'm going to do that based on some insane theory of yours." I threw my arms up in frustration,
There was a flurry of movement, I watched as the security manager of the building started typing furiously into the
keyboard as soon as the wireless was turned back on.
I watched with satisfaction as the elevator on the diagram came to a standstill in-between the twelfth and eleventh floor.
I breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Alright, we're following my lead now!" I yelled to the surrounding FBI agents and police officers.
Agent Ryans didn't look happy, but he had no choice but to relent. I had the knowledge and the upper hand here, not him.
"There is no bomb threat!" I yelled over the crowd of law enforcement officers, "But we do have a serious situation on our
hands. We need to apprehend a criminal that is inside that building." I yelled, pointing to the other building.
With that said, I led them, including the FBI agents and the security manager, into the lobby of the other building. He was
able to bring the lap top now that it no longer had to be connected and could work wirelessly.
"Alright, so what's our plan?" Agent Ryans asked, following me inside.
"Well, currently we have the Scarlet Thief hanging inside a metal box roughly around the twelfth floor. We can control the
elevator however we want to, all we have to do is bring it down here and surround the thief, and there'll be no where for
them to go." I told him.
I turned to the security manager, "Can you turn on the security camera inside the elevator?" He nodded and typed
something into the computer again.
I looked over his shoulder as an image came up on the screen.
You could just make out the edge of some article of clothing in the corner of the screen. She was standing directly
underneath the camera, keeping her identity hidden. Her effort was futile; I would be able to see her face to face
momentarily.
We were still setting up the police officers in front of the elevator; it would be a few minutes before we would bring the
elevator down.
I was still watching the screen when a phone rang somewhere.
"Agent Cullen, it's for you." I looked up at one of the FBI agents who was holding a phone from the front desk.
"From who?" I asked, bewildered.
The security manager cleared his throat and pointed at the screen which had a new light flashing, "It's coming from
inside the elevator."
I suspiciously took the phone from his hand,
"Hello?"
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
BPOV (Several minutes earlier)
With everything in my bag I stepped into the elevator and pushed the button with the number one on it.
As soon as the doors closed, I opened my bag and pulled out what I needed.
I pulled my shirt off over my head and stepped out of the pants I had been wearing. I then proceeded to change into the
legitimate police uniform that I had gotten for situations just like this.
There were going to be so many police officers outside, seeing another one would be nothing unusual.
I was watching the numbers above the door count down as I tied my hair up into a ponytail and slipped into the correct
shoes.
I re-zipped my bag and put it back on my back.
I watched as each number lit up as the elevator dropped past each floor.
'15141312..-'
The elevator stopped, I stumbled a bit.
'Uh-oh'
I regained my balance and looked around, as if the answer to why the elevator stopped moving was written on the walls.
This was not good.
I knew that I didn't stop it, and I knew that no one inside the building could have stopped it because there was no one
inside the building. Which only left
"Shit!" Not only was the wireless back on, but someone knew that I was in here.
My eyes widened and my gaze snapped to the security camera above.
The light was still black, meaning that they hadn't turned it back on yet, but I was sure that they would soon.
I flattened myself to the wall directly underneath it.
The camera was stationed in the corner where the buttons and emergency phone were, I had a hard time trying to keep
as much of my body as possible underneath it.
'How could they possib ly know?'
My plan was perfect; I could detect no flaws in it. Only someone who really knew me would be able to anticipate-
'The new FBI agent'
I wanted to slap my hand to my forehead, but it might have exposed me.
After a few moments, a new set of mind overcame me.
Moving carefully so that I could still stay out of the camera's range, I opened up the emergency phone compartment and
picked it up.
The note on the inside gave multiple numbers; I pushed the one for the front desk.
It rang twice before someone picked up, I didn't even let them talk, "Put the main Agent on the phone."
There was some rustling and a few murmurs, but eventually I got what I wanted.
"Hello?" came a male voice.
"I must say, I am impressed." I said, pressing myself further to the wall, knowing that he was probably watching the video
feed by now.
There was a pause.
"And why is that?" He replied.
"You are the only agent who has ever gotten this close to catching me; I thought I just had to congratulate you." I smiled.
"Don't you mean I'm the first agent who's ever caught you? I'm sure that you are aware by now that you are hanging in a
metal box twelve floors up, which I have the controls for." He said.
I paused, and looked around the elevator as if considering what he said.
"True, true. But you are forgetting one thing." I said.
He paused again.
"What's that?" He asked.
The elevator restarted and I felt it start moving.
"That I'm the Scarlet Thief." I said before using the phone to hit the video camera, effectively breaking it.
I had about twenty seconds before the elevator reached the bottom floor. I would have to act fast.
I stepped onto the handlebar that covered the sides of the elevator and propelled myself up.
The ceilings of elevators were generally pretty weak, they weren't worried about people falling up, so they were generally
made of thin plywood, or as this one happened to be plastic.
The ceiling was made of thin squares that were held up by strips of metal running across them. It took a few tries, but I
was able to break one of the squares with the heel of my hand, opening a square large enough for me to climb through.
I pushed the square out and used my arms to lift myself through.
I was standing on top of the elevator as it continued dropping. The wind being pushed up through the elevator shaft was
whipping my hair out of its ponytail as I started rummaging through my bag.
'Where is it? Where is it!?!'
"Oh, thank god!" I pulled out the small round container made of aluminum foil.
I learned long ago that you never know when you'll need to make a quick escape.
So, I started making my own flash grenades. By grinding together aluminum foil and other items from the pharmacy, and
then wrapping it in more foil, I was able to take an escape with me wherever I went.
I pulled out the lighter I had in my bag and started trying to light the string fuse that was attached to the grenade.
'Come on!' The wind preventing me from lighting it.
The elevator began slowing down when the string caught fire.
I immediately dropped it into the elevator through the hole I had created. I quickly grabbed the square I had forced out of
the top of the elevator and put it back in place.
As soon as the flame on the string reached the mixture inside of the foil, it would let out an extremely bright flash,
blinding anyone looking directly at it for at least a few minutes.
The elevator came to a stop.
'Here we go.' I thought with a deep breath.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
EPOV
The elevator was almost to the first floor.
It seemed like all the police officers and agents were holding their breath, nearly as tense as I was.
The elevator dinged as it reached the lobby.
We all raised our weapons.
The elevator doors crept open, my heart beat loudly in my chest.
I should have known that it would never be so easy.
We all stepped closer when we saw no one inside.
By the time I noticed it, it was too late.
The next thing I knew, I bright flash illuminated the room, and I couldn't see a thing.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
BPOV
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A/N: Hey, so there is the action I promised. I thought this chapter was fun to write; hopefully it was just as fun to read.
I'm going to try and throw just as much, if not more action into each chapter. I've got some cool ideas. So I'm
curious, what do you guys think is going to happen in this story? Those reviews are always fun to read. So click the
green button right there! :P
I choked on the coffee I had just swallowed, causing myself to go into a coughing fit for a few moments.
"Are you okay?" He asked, a concerned look on his face.
I nodded, trying to put a convincing smile on my face but wasn't quite succeeding..
I coughed a few more times, "Yeah, I've heard of that one."
'Oh my god,' I thought looking at the man in front of me with a whole new interest, 'This is the Agent who is personally in
charge of making sure that I end up in jail as soon as possib le.'
The stone he was talking about was one of the first precious gems that got my hands on.
If only he knew that the person he was having polite conversation and drinking coffee with was the very thief we were
discussing.
"What?" He asked, making me realize that I was still staring at him.
"Sorry" I said, shaking my head a little and taking another sip of my coffee.
My eyes still seemed to go back to his face against my own accord, still not believing the information I had just
uncovered.
"I should get going." I told him
"Do you have to get to work?" He asked.
I smiled, standing up, "Something like that."
He returned the smile and said, "Will I see you here tomorrow?"
My smile turned into more of a sly grin as I leaned over near his ear and whispered, "Oh, don't worry. I think we'll be
seeing a lot of each other, Edward."
I walked out the front door and slid on my sunglasses. I glanced over my shoulder one last time where I could see
Edward looking in my direction, before walking away.
I strode up to the front door where two men stood guarding it. They were obviously armed and could easily snap
someone in two by the size of their arms. But, like I said, I was very well known.
"Evening, boys." I greeted them. My voice was as recognizable as my face. One of them nodded towards me and opened
the door quickly.
I stepped inside, it was lit dimly and music flowing all around.
I walked down the hallway and opened the door to the main room.
It was similar to a lounge; there was a bar on one side and tables and booths on the other.
It got a little quieter when I stepped inside and people started recognizing me; I even saw a few slipping back into the
shadows.
I walked without hesitating to the back table. Without asking permission I sat down in the chair opposite a man I knew
very well.
"Hello Felix." I said leaning back in the chair.
"Long time no see, Scarlet." He said, taking a sip of what I assumed was scotch.
"Sorry to be rude, but let's cut to the chase here. Do you have what you owe me?" I asked.
He sighed and put his drink down; "Fine, come on."
We both stood up and I followed him into one of the back rooms, his two guards following as well.
I shut the door behind us, cutting off the noise from the music in the other room.
There was another table in here, he sat in the chair on the other side and his two guards stood near the back wall.
"So I hear you didn't get out as clean as usual." He said, starting the conversation up again.
"You must have heard wrong then, because if that was the case then I would probably be in a jail cell right now instead of
here." Was my response to his ridiculous assumption as I sat down as well.
"So you have it with you then?" He asked, leaning forward.
I reached into the pocket of my jacket and pulled out the small box.
His eyes snapped to it greedily.
I cleared my throat. "And your part of the deal?"
His head snapped up to look at me. "Oh, right. Of course."
He turned around in his chair and gestured to one of the guards, who stepped forward and placed a laptop on the table
in front of Felix.
"Five hundred thousand, just like we agreed." He said typing something into the computer.
I detected a hint of reluctance in his voice.
"You know Felix, if you don't like my price, you can always go get the product yourself." I said with an almost mocking
smile.
We both knew that I was one of the select few people in the world who was able to retrieve these items and get out
clean.
He turned the computer screen towards me; I leaned forward and looked at it. He had pulled up his bank account and
had set up a transaction.
I looked everything over twice before I was satisfied. Noticing this, Felix gestured towards the box.
I picked it up and undid the manual combination on it then swiped my finger to undo the final securities.
I reached into my pocket and pulled on one of my leather gloves before opening the box and pulling out the blue
diamond.
All eyes in the room seemed to follow my hand as I handed it across the table and put it in Felix's gloved hand.
Felix was the man I usually sold my diamonds to. He would line up the buyers and resell it to them. I did it this way so
that I wouldn't have to worry about selling it to someone who would turn on me. I preferred to have fewer connections.
That way I could count the number of people who knew what I did on one hand, and I'm able to keep track of them. I
selected those people not only because of their expertise, but also because they know the price of turning on me.
He was turning the diamond over and over in his hand, checking to make sure that everything was exactly how it was
supposed to be.
"Satisfied?" I asked, drumming my gloved fingertips on the tabletop.
"Very." He said before carefully placing the diamond in his own protected box.
I pointedly looked at the computer, indicating that he should get a move on with transferring the money.
"I know, I know." He pushed the enter button on the computer and turned it towards me again.
I flipped open my phone and opened my own account through the internet.
Once it read that five hundred thousand dollars had been transferred into my account, I flipped it closed with a satisfied
smile.
"Pleasure doing business with you." I told him standing up and taking my now empty box off the table and returning it to
my pocket.
He nodded towards me.
"Try not to sell it to someone who wants to cut it up, just for a few extra bucks." I told him.
"You know I wouldn't do that." He said, looking at me.
"And therein lies another reason why I work with you." I told him, placing my phone back in my pocket.
"See you around Scarlet." He said with a small smile.
I smiled back and walked out of the room; stepping into the same hushed silence that seemed to follow my presence.
I wove in-between bank robbers, scam artists, and counterfeiters on my way out; many of whom made way for me in
respect of a higher level of criminal.
The world of thieves was completely separate from the outside world. It has its own law system, and levels of society.
The guy who robs a drug store with a pocket knife is at the bottom lower class, while thieves like me who make it seem
almost like a work of art, are at the top. I was among the few at the top who were good enough at what they did that their
crimes made it to the FBI's most wanted list, but not their names.
I stepped outside into the cool air and breathed deeply.
I walked over to my bike, which still sat untouched, and got on. I took one last look at the club where the diamond would
be staying behind, then put my helmet on and sped into the shadowy night.
A/N: Hey, sorry about the lack of EPOV in this chapter, there'll be more in the next chapter. I know this wasn't the
most exciting chapter, but there were some things I needed to get in there before I can throw in more action. And
believe me; if you like action, then you will definitely like the next chapter. So how do you guys like Bella's choice of
vehicle. It's a pretty cool motorcycle, very fast, very expensive. If you want to check it out it's called an MV Agusta
F4CC. Just search for a picture of it and let me know that you think. :P
EPOV
I pushed open the coffee shop door and immediately looked to the far back corner where Alexis had been sitting the last
couple times I had run into her.
But the table was empty.
I swept my gaze throughout the rest of the shop to make sure that I hadn't missed her. My search came up empty.
I stepped up to the counter where Mike nodded at me in greeting.
"Did she come earlier today?" I asked him.
He shook his head, "She hasn't come in at all yet." He said.
I was slightly disappointed and decided to wait around for a few minutes just to see if she showed up late.
A half-hour later I was cutting it close to being late to work when I decided that it was time to leave; she was probably just
wasn't in the mood for coffee today.
Or, at least that's what I told myself.
I took a few deep breaths, perfect timing was mandatory. Without it I was as good as dead.
I checked my watch, twenty seconds roughly.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw my target approaching.
I took another few quick, deep breaths watching as it came closer and closer.
I did the physics in my head, then I jumped.
Jumping off high places is nothing like in the movies. There is no slow motion where the actor has time to do a cool
stunt before landing perfectly with ease.
No, you fall quickly and you fall hard.
I landed on the top of the armored vehicle with a painful 'thud'. The force of my impact shook up my legs, rattling my
bones. If I had landed at any other angle I would surely have at least one broken ankle.
I immediately placed my gloved hands on the top of the car with my palms spread out as far as possible.
The gloves had slivers of strong magnets sown into the fingers and palm. It wasn't strong enough to hold my weight, but
it was strong enough to make sure that I wouldn't go flying off by the force of the wind.
I dug the tips of my shoes into a crevice in the metal to keep from slipping and I lay as flat as possible as the car kept
moving down the busy downtown street.
The car was large and armored, which meant that it had the same outer coating as a tank, but the structure of an SUV. I
would be insane to try and get inside. There were so many security measures and locks with dead bolts that It would
take me hours to crack them all, all while trying to hang onto a vehicle moving at over forty miles per hour and trying not to
get noticed by people in other cars.
But thankfully, the items in this armored transport vehicle were not what I was after.
I was after the place the vehicle was heading. This vehicle was used to transport valuables or large sums of money from
one secure location to another.
Often banks will own these vehicles when they need to move millions of dollars and don't want to risk it getting stolen. It
takes a lot planning and timing. The people in charge of guarding these valuables take their job very seriously. They
leave at an exact time and take an exact route.
They plan it out this way to reduce any chance of unknown surprises. Unfortunately for them, it also means that if
someone gets a hold of those plans, then they can estimate exactly where the vehicle will be driving by at a specific time.
As it happens, the vehicle that I was currently riding on top of was transporting thirty million dollars in cash to a secure
location that was supposedly unknown.
The location was essentially a giant safe where valuables were stored within separate vaults, each with their own
security mechanisms. Even I wouldn't be able to get past the main security measures to get inside without tripping some
sort of alarm system.
So, instead of hammering away at it from the outside, I was going to let them take me inside where the security was
more along the lines of cracking safes, rather than dodging cameras and motion detectors.
I tucked my head down as far as I could to minimize the amount of ice, cold wind that was blowing in my face.
I was wearing a pair of form fitting black pants and a long-sleeve shirt that stuck to my skin like a glove. I wasn't going to
risk my clothing catching on anything or slowing me down.
Soon, the amount of traffic noise began to decrease and I realized we were out of the downtown area and into a quieter
area away from all the people.
It was about an hour after sunset, darkness was completely covering everything like a thick blanket.
The vehicle rumbled through the gate once the guard at the post opened it.
I pressed myself to the vehicle below me as much as possible. All I needed was for one person to spot me before all the
EPOV
I was sitting in my office, staring at the whiteboard that was set up.
It was covered with pictures of jewels and paintings that had both been stolen or were at risk of being stolen.
I took a sip of my now cold coffee and grimaced at the taste.
I rubbed my eyes with the heel of my hand and held back a yawn.
I got up to dump out my coffee and stretch my legs. The office was beyond empty. The only other person here was the
janitor and I'm sure that even he would leave before I did.
'So this is what it's come to.' I thought to myself, 'hanging out at work on a Friday night rather than doing something that a
normal person would. Like sleep'
There was something about this case that compelled me. No matter how hard I tried, which wasn't very hard, I couldn't
pull myself away. I was constantly being hit with new clues or ideas on how to solve it, how to catch her. It was starting to
posses me.
It was after that last thought went through my mind that I began to think I was in desperate need of sleep before I started
to hallucinate.
I walked back into my office and was about to turn off my desk lamp to head home when my cell rang.
I blinked the sleepiness out of my eyes as I glanced at the caller ID. I didn't recognize the number but flipped it open and
answered it anyways.
"Agent Cullen." I answered in my usual greeting.
"Hi, yes. I'm the head of security for the Northern Trust Bank secure storage location. You said that we were holding
some items that could possibly be targeted, and that we should call you whenever we get any sort of alarm going." He
said.
My tiredness was immediately wiped away. "Which section?" I asked quickly, flipping through the notes that were
scattered across my desk.
"Listen, I don't think it's anything serious. We're sending guards over there to check it out. It was one of our silent alarms
that got tripped, but nothing else went off and there's been no activity on our exterior security cameras." He continued.
"Could you please tell me which section the alarm was tripped in?" I asked, my urgency slipping into my voice.
I heard him sigh before saying, "It was the motion detector set up outside vault two-hundred and thirteen in section D. It's
like I said, probably I false alarm. We just put that alarm in not too long ago; we haven't even been able to put it on our
security layout yet."
I ran my finger down the list on the piece of paper I was holding, nodding to myself when the same vault came up on my
list of possible locations.
"I'll be there in a few minutes." I said, before hanging up on his cries of protest.
Soon I was sitting in my car, flooring it down the streets in the direction of the storage location.
Slower then I would have liked I was flashing my badge to the guy at the gate, who then proceeded to wave me through.
BPOV
Something was wrong.
There was a feeling in my gut that told me it was time to get out of there. Now.
I swiped the ruby quickly before retracing my carefully placed steps out of the vault.
I placed the gem in my pocket after slipping it into a protective bag. I wasn't going to risk it getting damaged in my
backpack.
My gut feeling was correct when I heard a few voices down the hall coming in my direction.
I listened for a fraction of a second, their conversation was casual. It didn't make any sense; if they were coming for me,
they would be running and yelling.
Either way I wasn't going to stick around here. Because I'm sure the yelling would start once they realized they'd been
robbed.
'But why were they coming through here anyways? Security rounds aren't part of these guards job .' I thought, puzzled.
My desire to find the answer to that question overcame my instinct to leave. I trusted myself to be able to get out of any
situation that I might come across.
Instead of heading for an exit, I headed in the direction of the surveillance room.
I eventually found it and put my ear to the door, when I heard no sound I cracked it open and slipped inside.
Like I expected, it was empty. Probably the same guards who were walking down the hall were the ones who had just
vacated this very room.
I walked over to the computer screens that displayed each of the vaults and their securities.
"Damn" I said quietly to myself when I say a small square on the screen flashing next to the vault I was just in.
'Why the hell wasn't that on the b lueprints?' I thought to myself. It was a silent alarm, probably either motion or sound
activated.
I was about to head out when a screen on the far right caught my eye.
It was the security camera feed.
I walked over to it and couldn't stop the smile that stretched on my face when I saw who was on it.
This opportunity was way too good to pass up.
EPOV
I followed the guards into the building.
He kept on assuring me that it was a false alarm and that the guards he sent found no one.
I was still relentless though and insisted that he take me to the vault.
Once there he took a few minutes to unlock the vault, and then let me step through before him.
I stepped carefully, looking everywhere to make sure I wouldn't miss anything.
"I don't understand why you're all worried. None of the other alarms were tripped." Said the guard as he stepped in
behind me.
"Exactly." I said, turning to look at him for a second before turning back to the different compartments within the vault.
"What's the most valuable item in this vault?" I asked, turning back to look at him.
"Ummm" He started, flipping through his papers, "I believe that there is a ruby being stored and some large sums of
cash.
"Will you please unlock the compartment that holds the ruby?" I asked, getting more anxious with every second.
I think it was only because I was FBI that made him comply with my request.
He pulled out the key and opened the lock to the small compartment.
It was after he pulled open the small door that I heard the expected strangled sound coming from his mouth.
I let out a deep breath, "I take it its empty." I rubbed my temple with my fingertips.
When he didn't respond I took it as a yes.
"Alright, here's what we're going to do. She may still be in the facility. Gather your guards and cover the east wing while I
go and cover the west. Hopefully we'll drive her out where your guards on the outside can grab her.
My words seemed to snap him into action and he immediately started talking into his radio, letting his co-worker know
what was happening.
We both ran out of the vault, him turning left and me turning right.
I picked up my speed and started running down the deserted hallway, trying to keep my instincts on high alert, able to
react to anything.
I threw open a few doors along the way, hoping to get lucky and catch sight of her.
It was only after I threw open one of the large doors toward the end of the hall that I heard something.
A person clearing their throat.
I stopped in my tracks and drew my gun from its holster on my belt.
She paused a moment before asking, "Can you fight without your gun?"
By the time I processed what she said, her foot had already swung around and come in contact with my hand, sending
my gun flying across the room.
My gaze snapped in the direction it flew, and when I turned my head back to her in surprise, I had to duck to avoid a fist
coming at me.
'Of course she can fight.' I was starting to think that there was nothing this woman can't do.
When her fist came again, I blocked it with my forearm, keeping my face protected.
I quickly realized that her weak attempt at a punch was not meant to do damage. It was meant to distract. And distract it
did. I groaned a little when her knee came up in contact with my stomach, sure that there was going to be a bruise there
in the morning.
She may not have been stronger than me, but she could still pack one hell of a hit.
"Are you not fighting back because I'm a girl?" She said, stepping back slightly breathless, "Or because you don't want to
embarrass yourself for your lack of fighting skills without a gun."
I narrowed my eyes and she smiled.
She held her hands up in front of her, curling the tips of her fingers in rather than creating a fist.
I raised my own fists and gestured that the first move was her's.
She smirked and swung her leg up and around faster than anyone I've ever seen, it barely clipped the side of my chin,
but I managed to block most of it from doing any real damage.
Training for being an FBI agent required the ability to fight without a weapon. It was instinctual for me to respond to her
attack with a return.
She ducked quickly and my swing went over her head with a 'whoosh'.
I followed up with my left hand which she blocked with the side of her arm. While her side was exposed my right hand
came in contact with her shoulder hitting her with the heel of my hand, definitely hard enough to leave a bruise.
She only stumbled back slightly before she jumped right back into the fight.
She threw out her arm in a punch that was aimed at my jugular, but I blocked it then grabbed onto her arm, pulling her
forward.
Before she could try to hit me again, I had both her arms pinned to her side, her back against my chest; her body
pressing into mine.
We were both breathing heavily.
"Jiu-Jitsu?" She asked slightly breathless, recognizing my fighting style.
"Brazilian." I grunted
"Me too." She said, before swinging one of her legs out backwards, knocking one of mine out from under me so that I
went tumbling forward; then she slipped out from under my body while it was cascading towards the ground.
I rolled into the fall to lessen the impact.
"Well, it's been fun Edward, but I really should get going. The police probably coming for me and all." She said.
I saw my gun on the ground a few feet in front of me, I dove for it. Grabbing it in my hands I turned towards her direction,
but was met with an empty room.
"Damn it!" I yelled into the empty room, lifting myself off the floor and sprinting out of the room.
I ran down the hallway, heading for the door that would lead outside.
My gun was still drawn as I busted out the door into the open area of concrete that was between the gates and the
building, I could hear many different alarms going off all around me.
I looked in every direction, only spotting guards that were running around trying to get as many security measures up and
working as possible.
I didn't know things could have gotten any worse until I saw my Mercedes pass me and head for the gate, Alexis- I mean
Scarlet behind the wheel.
"That's my car!" I started sprinting after it, because for some reason I felt that I could catch it. I started yelling them to stop
it, lock down the gate, something, anything.
But, as usual that night, nothing seemed to want to go my way.
The idiots at the gate must have thought that it was me driving, since it was after all, you know, my car.
I was nearly tearing my hair out by the time I ran up to the head of security.
He seemed to do a double take between me and the direction the car went in, realization dawning on him, his face
paling slightly.
"This is not good." He said.
I looked at him like he was insane, "You think!?!" I was bent over breathing heavily, both from the fight and the run.
"She got the ruby, she got my car." I was ticking the things off on my fingertips.
I froze.
I immediately reached into my jacket pocket, feeling the emptiness where my ID should have been.
"And she got my FBI I.D.. Fantastic. She must have slipped it out when we were fighting."
The memory of her body pressed against mine rose up and I ran a hand through my hair and cleared my throat. I
probably shouldn't divulge that exact detail.
I was staring in the direction where my car had been driven away, groaning in disbelief at my bad luck.
I raised a hand to my chin where her foot had made contact; it was already starting to bruise.
"So." He said, gaining my attention, "I guess you need a ride?"
A/N: Hey, so I hope you guys liked that fight scene, I thought it was kind of fun. Let me know if you liked it. The next
chapter will be good to, or, at least I think it will be. Anyways, reviews inspire me to write, so please click the green
button below! :P
And, since he didn't have the ability to crawl through air vents and practically disappear into thin air; he called me.
He knew that the favor I had just asked him didn't make us even; I would probably be calling him again in the future.
I glanced at the clock on the wall and estimated that I had a while before Seth would be getting back to me.
It was while pondering what to do to waste my time when a bright idea struck me.
Smiling, I grabbed a key off the table and headed out the door.
EPOV
I dragged my feet into the office, automatically reaching into my pocket for my ID Badge.
My scowl deepened when my fingers met nothing but the soft fabric of my pocket.
I held up the line getting inside as I instead went through the process of trying to convince the same security guard that I
see every single day that I was FBI; eventually he seemed to remember me and let me through.
After a few unkind comments from the fellow coworkers who were behind me in line; I got on the elevator and headed up
to the correct level.
I shouldered my way past the other people in the elevator and grumbled at those who didn't get out of my way fast
enough.
There were lots of stares and whispers as I tried to make my way to my office without attracting attention. I was failing
miserably.
I slipped into my office and closed the door behind me.
I threw my briefcase onto the floor near my chair and sat down, resting my face in my hands.
I heard the door open and picked my head up.
Jasper, one of my only friends, came in and closed the door behind him.
His eyes rose to look at me and he stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening in surprise.
"Don't-" I started, but he ignored me.
"You look like crap." Was his blunt observation.
I growled at him.
He held his hands up in mock surrender.
"So I guess your evening was exciting. Care to share?" He asked, sitting in one of the chairs opposite my desk.
I let out a deep breath. "Well, I lost my car, my ID badge, a ruby, and my ego took a pretty good hit as well."
"Ouch." Was his reply.
"You can say that again." I said, I touched my lip with my fingertips, feeling the swelling.
"And you know what the worst part of it is?" I asked him rhetorically.
He raised his eyebrows, obviously enjoying my story.
"It turns out; the same girl that I've been having coffee with is the scarlet thief." I leaned back in my chair and let my head
fall back. I almost wanted to laugh at the irony.
"Are you able to ID her?" Jasper asked.
I shook my head, "I'm going to see if I can borrow a car from someone and run back to the coffee shop, see if they got
any footage of her on their security tapes. I know that the Northern Trust Bank secure storage location doesn't have any
footage, I checked last night."
I had to admit, Rosalie was very pretty, but she wasn't my type. I preferred brunettes.
"Alright, why don't you get yourself caught up on the case while I'm gone; then we can watch the video tapes together." I
said as I grabbed the jacket that was on the back of my chair.
She nodded and followed me as I headed out the door.
I was about to start asking around for a car to borrow when one of the trainee interns came up to me and said, "Agent
Cullen, there's a situation downstairs. They sent me up here to get you."
I groaned, "What now?"
He just shrugged and went on to do whatever pointless task he was assigned next.
Rosalie followed me as I took the elevator downstairs and went to go talk to the people working security and at the front
desk.
Instead, however my attention was diverted by a large group of people gathered around something outside.
I pushed open the glass doors and shouldered my way through the crowd.
I stopped short and my jaw practically hit the floor when I saw my car parked on the side of the road. There was a large
piece of paper taped to the window that said: 'To Agent Edward Cullen'. And there was large red bow stuck to the top.'
There were tons of other agents and bystanders chuckling at the sight in front of them.
I stepped forward and pulled the piece of paper off the window; there was an envelope attached to the back.
I opened it up and looked inside, pulling out the key to the car and a letter.
I unfolded the letter and read through it.
It said:
Thanks for the ride, but I prefer my own.
P.S. I'm keeping the badge though.
~Scarlet~
I didn't know what to think about that, so I just refolded the letter and put it back in the envelope.
I turned to one of the interns and said, "Get this to the lab; they're going to need to do a full checkup before I'm able to
drive it." He nodded and ran off to do what I asked.
It was when I felt her tap my shoulder that I realized Rosalie had been with me the entire time.
She gestured to the envelope and I handed to her.
She pulled out the letter again and read through it a few times.
Once she got to the end she smiled and let out a small laugh.
"I can tell this is going to be fun." She said before putting the letter away and heading back inside.
I let out a deep breath and turned back to my car, shaking my head in exhaustion as I leaned against it.
BPOV
"Thanks Seth." I said into the phone as I pulled up the files on my computer.
I would scan through them later; there was a lot of information to go through.
Another idea hit me as I was pulling up a map on my computer.
"Hey Seth, are you doing anything else this afternoon?" I asked him.
He pause, obviously confused. "No, why?" His tone was curious and cautious.
"I need another favor. And if you help me with this, I'll consider us even." I said.
He immediately jumped at the chance, "Name it."
"Meet me in an hour at the corner of First Street and Clark Avenue. And bring your gear." I told him, checking my watch.
"You got it. I'll see you then." He said before hanging up.
I hung up my own phone and turned my attention to the map on my computer screen. I watched the blinking red dot as it
moved down the street a small distance before stopping.
I smiled and sipped the cup of tea that was sitting on my desk.
I had placed a GPS tracker inside Agent Edward's car before I dropped it off. They would have to take the entire vehicle
apart to find it, and I doubt they would do that.
No, I'm sure that they would sweep it for bombs and make sure that the brakes were still intact. But I doubt they would
take it apart piece by piece.
It was a while before I watched the dot leave the area it was in.
That was my cue to leave. I got up from my desk and grabbed the badge from the table.
Twenty minutes later I was standing on the corner of First Street and Clark Avenue standing next to Seth.
"Are you ready?" I asked him.
"Yeah, what are we doing?" He asked, trying to warm his hands up by rubbing them together.
"You" I said, pointing at him, "Are going to hack into the FBI's database and erase some specific stuff from the system."
He stopped short, "I would need to have direct access to their system. I can't do it remotely; even I'm not that good."
"Ahhh, but you see. That's what you have me for." I said as I started walking.
Ten minutes later I had my sunglasses on as I led a handcuffed Seth through the front doors of the FBI building.
I didn't hesitate as I flashed Agent Edward's badge to security quickly as I escorted Seth through. I flashed it quickly
enough that they wouldn't get a good look at the picture.
To everyone else, I was an FBI agent leading an arrested criminal in for booking.
Which was actually half true, since Seth was in fact a criminal. And he wasn't hesitating to play his part; he was
struggling as much as possible in his handcuffs which I'm sure were starting to chafe his wrists.
I had swiped the cuffs from another Agents pocket outside the building; I had pretended to bump into them while my
quick fingers grabbed the cuffs.
The elevator was empty when we got on, so Seth took that opportunity to talk.
"How can you act so calm?" He asked, turning to look at me with a look of disbelief.
I just smiled and brushed my sunglasses to the top of my head, "Lots of practice."
I looked up at the numbers above the doors, we were almost there.
"And you're sure Agent what's-his-name isn't here?" He asked for the fifth time, nervousness leaking into his tone.
"For the last time, yes. He's out trying to get the video tapes with me on them; but I took care of those a few hours ago." I
said, smirking as I replaced my sunglasses back on my face.
EPOV
"What do you mean, 'they're gone'?" I asked Mike over the counter at the coffee shop.
I came here to collect the security tapes from the times the thief was here; but discovered they were no longer available.
"I mean they're gone. I don't have them anymore." He said, not understanding why I was so upset with him.
"Did you throw them out?" I asked, hoping that I could salvage them somehow.
"No, I gave them to your partner a few hours ago." He said, still confused.
I froze at the word 'partner', "What? Did you just say my partner picked them up?"
"Yeah, she came in here waving her ID badge around, saying that she was FBI and whatnot and that she needed the
security tapes. So I gave them to her." He said, as if he couldn't find anything wrong with what he was saying.
"Who was she?" I asked him, still in disbelief.
"What do you mean 'who was she', she's your partner. She's the girl you were sitting in here with a few days ago."
I closed my eyes and sighed. 'of course Scarlet'
"Listen Mike, that girl is not my partner. She's not even real FBI. If you see her again, call me." I told him before putting on
my sunglasses and heading outside.
BPOV
"How much longer." I whispered to Seth.
We were inside one of the small rooms that housed all the mainframes for the computers. He had his laptop on his lap
and wires were running everywhere.
His fingers were flying across the keys when he said, "Not much longer. I've just got a couple left. Remind me again why
I'm doing this?" He glanced up at me before going back to his computer.
"The new FBI Agent on my case is good. Too good. Sooner or later he's bound to find my prints somewhere, and even
though I'm sure I've slowed him down, I'm sure that it won't take him long to find a picture of me somewhere. You are
going through and erasing any trace of me that's in the system." I told him.
That way, when he runs my fingerprints, he'll have a harder time connecting me to anything. Not that I'm in the system for
anything big, but in my early days I had a few slip ups. There should be dozens of unidentified fingerprints that were
found at crime scenes and whatnot. I can't have him matching mine to any of those.
A few minutes later he shut his laptop and smiled at me. "Done. Now, can we get out of here? It's starting to make me
nervous."
I nodded and peeked out the door before slipping out with Seth behind me.
"Actually," I said, pausing for a second as an idea struck me, "you go ahead, there's something I want to do before
leaving. I doubt I'll ever get the chance again."
Seth looked dubious; I decided to take pity on him and told him the best way to get out without running into anyone.
He didn't stick around long and soon I was walking the halls of the FBI headquarters by myself.
My senses were on high alert; I was essentially in enemy territory.
A small part of me was telling me to leave, to not risk it.
But the bigger, less wise, danger-seeking part of my mind was egging me on and was the part that made me keep
putting one foot after the other.
When I finally came to what I was looking for, I hesitated for a split second before opening the door that read Agent
Cullen and slipped inside.
I closed the door behind me and looked around.
It was a fairly generic office. A large desk, a few chairs here and there.
The one thing that did catch my eye though, was the large whiteboard on the side.
I strode over to it and smiled as I looked it over.
It was essentially a map out of my work over the past few years. There were photos of safes and museums along with
diamonds and pieces of artwork that had at some point been in my hands.
It was fascinating in a way; almost like reading a biography about yourself that you didn't even know had been written.
I scanned my eyes over lists of gems and locations where I had supposedly struck, along with the date.
I was even more impressed now. It was almost flattering how much work Agent Edward has put into catching me and
studying my case.
I glanced at my watch and realized I was cutting it extremely close and that I was definitely overstaying my welcome.
With one last glance at the whiteboard I opened the door and stepped out of the office.
I spun around quickly when I came in contact with someone's body.
It was a guy with dirty blonde hair and a small smile, "Sorry about that." He said, steadying me. "Are you waiting to see
Edward?"
I glanced at the door once before clearing my throat and saying, "No, I'm not."
"Well then I'll just get out of your way." He said, laughing a little before sidestepping out of the way.
I gave him a small smile, one that didn't show my anxiety.
"I'll see you around." He said.
I didn't know what to say to that, so I just nodded and turned to walk down the hallway, trying not to let the feeling that I
was in a hurry to leave show on my face.
I pressed the button for the elevator and waited, trying not to look over my shoulder every second.
The elevator doors opened and I let out a small gasp. Edward was standing in the middle of the elevator staring at a
piece of paper in his hands. I slipped into the nearest door before he looked up and recognized me.
I was now in the stairwell and had my back pressed against the wall. My heart was beating faster than normal; I told
myself that it was from my narrow escape, but part of me thought it was for a different reason.
EPOV
I heard a small gasp and looked up from the paper I was reading, but the space in front of me was empty.
Thinking that I was imagining things, I stepped out of the elevator and was soon joined by Rosalie.
"So, did you get the tapes?" She asked.
"Don't ask." I said, as I stepped into my office.
I was barely in my office for two seconds before Jasper knocked on the open door with a smile on his face and said,
"Hey Eddie, there was a girl here to see you."
I looked back at the papers in my hands and absentmindedly said, "Who was it?"
He shrugged, "Dunno, she didn't tell me. She was really pretty though, brown hair, brown eyes.
I looked up at him, my attention officially caught.
"She said that she wasn't waiting for you, but I ran into her while she was coming out of your office. And she had this
smile that was more of a smirk." He said, he was about to elaborate but I cut him off; the smirk component telling me
exactly who it was.
"How long ago was this?" I asked.
"I dunno, a couple minutes. She just left-" He said as I tossed my papers on my desk and ran out of my office.
I didn't bother with the elevator, and instead opted for taking the stairs two at a time.
I burst into the lobby and ran out the front door, looking in every direction. My eyes catching onto every person with brown
hair. But none of them matched the image of her that would be permanently in my mind.
I heard a breathless Rosalie come up behind me and say, "She's here?"
I took one last look over the mass amount of people bustling down the busy Chicago streets before turning around and
walking past Rosalie.
"Not anymore."
A/N: Alright, so I know that wasn't the most exciting chapter; but I needed to get some things in there before more
action can come. Which it will. Anyways, let me know what you think. And remember, reviews make me smile :P
EPOV
I drummed my fingers on the desk as I absentmindedly looked through my email on my computer.
There were a million thoughts on my mind and I was having trouble organizing them all.
How did she get in here?
What did she do while she was in here?
Why did she come into my office?
There were so many questions and, so far, no answers.
There was a light knock on my door, followed by Rosalie poking her head in.
I waved her in and she pulled herself through the rest of the way.
She sat down in one of the chairs opposite me on the other side of my desk.
"How can I help you Ms. Hale?" I said politely, though still slightly bitter about the fact that I was being forced to work with
The bell chimed as I pushed open the door and the aroma of coffee beans assaulted me immediately. I breathed deeply;
wondering if it would be wrong of me to grab a cup of coffee while still on the job.
"Hey Edward." Mike greeted me from the other side of the counter.
"Hey Mike." I greeted back, stepping up to the counter.
"Are you here for coffee or official business?" He asked with a smile as he readied another customer's latte.
"Both actually." I said.
"Alright, what can I get you while you do your job? The usual?" He said, grabbing a cup after I nodded at him.
After he got started on my drink, I said, "So has she come in at all since the last time I saw you?"
"Who?" He asked, glancing up at me before going back to the drink.
"The girl I had coffee with a few weeks ago." I said, trying to keep him focused.
"Oh!" He said, the light bulb going off in his head, "You mean your partner."
"No Mike. We've already gone over this. She's not my partner." I said exasperated, resisting the impulse to run a hand
over my forehead in exhaustion.
"Oh, right right. Sois she your girlfriend then?" He asked, handing me my drink.
"No Mike. It has to do with work; we just need to find out where she is. Have you seen her?" I asked, trying to keep the
question simple.
"Nope." He said popping the 'p'. After a few silent moments he said, "Sodoes that mean she's available?"
I ignored him and handed over a five dollar bill and told him to keep the change.
With my coffee in hand, I decided that this was a dead end and that I had gotten as much information as I was going to.
As I was walking out the door I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket. I switched my coffee to my other hand so that I could
reach into the inner pocket of my jacket and pull it out.
I put it up to my ear, "Agent Cullen."
"Hey, they wanted me to call you." A voice that I recognized as Jasper's said.
"About what?" I asked, attempting to hold my phone up with my shoulder as I tried to unlock my car without spilling my
coffee.
"The tech guys found out the reason your thief was here yesterday, there was a hack. They found out where it came from
and were able to pinpoint what they were after." He said.
"What was it?" I asked, my attention piqued.
"I don't know, they haven't given me specifics. But, you better get over here and talk to them." He said.
"I'll be there in a few minutes." I said, snapping my phone shut and starting my car.
BPOV
I finished up at the book store and decided to walk around downtown.
Being practically wintertime, there were lights in the windows and everyone was hustling and bustling from one store to
the next.
There were piles of snow on the sides of the road from where it had been cleared for the cars, and there was a light layer
of ice on the sidewalk, so I treaded carefully.
My motorcycle was parked a few blocks away; I let my feet carry me on their own accord, not really paying attention to
where I was going, but not really caring anyways.
Before I knew it, I was standing across the street from the FBI Building, staring at the cop cars that were coming and
going.
The fact that one of their most wanted criminals was standing fifty feet away, yet they were ignorant of the opportunity was
still amusing to me.
My amusement and curiosity grew when a very familiar, silver Lincoln parked in one of the spots on the street in front of
the building and Agent Cullen himself got out.
I stood and watched, captivated being the closest word to describe my emotions.
EPOV
I got out of my Lincoln, being careful as to not get hit by passing cars.
I began walking up the steps towards the entrance when I felt a tingling on the back of my neck.
The sense of being watched was something that a Federal Agent developed with time. But even I had been working for
the FBI long enough to recognize the feeling.
I placed my palm on the back of my neck to cover the tingling sensation and slowly turned to look behind me.
I couldn't hold back my gasp.
It was her.
Scarlet.
My first instinct was to start yelling and pointing, but I hesitated, and soon the feeling passed when I realized she would
be long gone even before I opened my mouth.
She was staring right at me, she knew I saw her, but she didn't move an inch.
Our eyes were connected for probably no more than a few seconds, but it felt like hours.
I blinked and the connection was gone.
Even from where I was standing, I could see the slight pull in her lips as she sent me a smile that was almost a smirk.
A moving truck drove by, blocking my view of her.
When it passed and my vision was restored of the opposite sidewalk, she was no longer there.
Practically disappearing into thin air.
I looked around but couldn't spot her anywhere, not that I really expected to.
After a few minutes of looking, I gave up and went inside, reminding myself that I was here for a reason.
I rode in the elevator up to the right floor and stepped out.
The entire office was in a flurry of activity. Needless to say, some people were a little upset about the fact that someone
was able to get in here and hack our system directly.
Most, if not all, of our department's energy went into tracking down the breach today.
Jasper caught sight of me and quickly jogged over to lead me to wherever the techs where that had figured this whole
thing out.
They were in one of the conference rooms leaning over the table, staring at their computer screens intensely. There were
about six of them; each of them looked up when I opened the door.
"Is this him?" The one at the head of the table asked.
Jasper nodded.
He stood up and held out his hand. "I'm Eric, Eric Yorkie."
"Agent Cullen." I responded, shaking his hand.
"So we finally detected the breach that happened yesterday. It came from the secure mainframe room that's on this level.
Somehow they hacked through our firewall and managed to delete some files." He said.
"Which ones?" I asked, looking over his shoulder at the computer even though I couldn't make sense of the code that
was one it.
"We don't know." He said, sounding bitter. "All we can tell is that they've been wiped from the system."
"Yeah, and whoever they are, they did a hell of a job." Said another one a few chairs down.
My gaze looked to him; "What makes you say that?"
"Well, not only did they wipe the files, but the only trace we could find of them is this." He said, gesturing to the computer
in front of him.
I leaned in closer and watched the screen of the computer.
He pulled up a folder where deleted files went, just in case they were erased by accident.
"Our computer traced a few files going through here at the same time of the hack, before they too were deleted." He said,
turning away from the computer and looking at me.
"So, what you're saying is that when they deleted the files, the files went here first but then they deleted those too?" I
asked and he nodded.
"How could they delete the files in the first place, don't you need an access code?" I asked.
He shrugged his shoulders. "They got past it somehow."
"Whoever this guy is, they're good. I mean, really good. Like, they have training and resources that I can't even begin to
dream of." He said, bitterness seeping into his tone.
"Does that sound like anyone you know?" Another one of the techs asked me.
"The really good part, definitely. But not so much the computer part. The person I have in mind is pretty good with
computers, but from what you guys are telling me, this is really high end." I said.
The ability to get in here sounded exactly like Scarlet. But the computer skills seemed beyond even her capabilities.
Which meant that she brought someone in with her
"Thanks guys." I said absentmindedly as I left the conference room.
Jasper caught up with me just as I reached my office.
"Hey, what'd you find out?" He asked.
"I think Scarlet might have hired someone to hack the system for her. I'm going to go around to a few of the spots where I
think she may have picked someone up. There aren't many places where you can hire a criminal with computer skills of
that level. Who knows, maybe I'll manage to get a name or something." I told him as I grabbed my coat off the back of my
chair and grabbed my keys off the desk.
"Good luck." He said laughing, obviously not wanting to stand in my way when I was in such an active mood.
"Thanks." I said, rushing past him and out the door, wanting to seize the opportunity while I still had it.
BPOV
I watched with curiosity as Agent Cullen rushed out of the FBI building and got in his car. Something had obviously
caught his attention.
So subsequently, it had caught mine.
I got on my motorcycle and pulled onto the road a few car spaces behind him.
I had my helmet on with a face shield, so even if he were to look in the rearview mirror, he wouldn't recognize me.
I trailed him for a few miles until he took one of the side streets to the highway and got on going south.
'Where is he going?' I thought to myself. Ever since I had Seth retrieve all the files on Agent Edward Cullen, I had found
out a lot about him.
I knew for a fact that he lived in an apartment north of downtown, completely in the opposite direction.
His file had listed no other cases other than mine, which meant that wherever he was going had to do with something I
did.
When he took the Glenwood exit, I followed at a distance and tried to run different places in this area that I had been to,
but nothing came up.
He started going down less busy streets so I had to hang back further to reduce the risk of being spotted.
I stopped a few blocks away when I saw him park his car, only creeping up once he got out and walked towards a
building I didn't recognize.
I drove by but didn't stop, not wanting anyone to spot me.
I pulled around the closest corner and watched, just to see if anything was going to happen.
About twenty minutes later he came out with a disappointed look on his face and got in his car, driving off once again.
Even more confused and interested, I followed him once again, keeping as close as I dared.
EPOV
As I was driving I got the same prickling feeling on the back of my neck.
I started looking in my rearview mirror more often, and could have sworn that I saw the same motorcycle that I saw
earlier.
I thought I must have been seeing things, but checked my mirrors more often regardless.
I still had a few stops to go before I headed back; I didn't have any luck so far, but hopefully one of the next places would
be worthwhile.
BPOV
This time after getting back on the highway, he went back north.
I thought he was heading back to the bureau, but he took an exit only a few minutes after getting on the highway.
Yet again, I followed him to another building I didn't recognize and watched as he entered and came out twenty minutes
later, disappointed.
'What is he doing?' My curiosity was ruling my actions, and I decided to keep following him.
At one point I saw his eyes flicker up in the rearview mirror, I was sure that I had been made and that he had recognized
my motorcycle, but he kept driving.
So I kept following.
Three more times he went to buildings I didn't recognize and went in. I still had no idea what he was doing and I was
longing to find out.
The sun was starting to set when he got back on the highway once again and started heading north towards the city.
Along with the sun, the temperature was also dropping.
This was a reminder to me about the fact that I was riding a motorcycle.
It's dangerous to ride a motorcycle on ice, unless you know what you're doing.
If you weren't careful, your wheels could slip out from under you and send you flying.
Lucky for me, I knew what I was doing.
The street lights flickered on as the sun finally disappeared and darkness shrouded the city.
I drove slightly slower because it was harder to see the patches of ice on the street and avoid them, but I still managed to
keep Agent Cullen in view.
This time, when he took an exit off the highway, I recognized it.
'This can't b e good.' I thought, as I followed him down a familiar street.
He was beginning to get into an area of the city that was, for lack of a better word, criminal.
I knew this, because this was where I did a lot of my sales and got in touch with a lot of my contacts.
It was much more alive here than at any of the other spots he had been to. This was more similar to the main downtown
area where the bureau was but there were no holiday shoppers.
Most of the people that were around here were either lost tourists or criminals going to hang out at one of the lounges
that doubled as a poker room for high end criminals.
I wasn't the only one that did business in this area, so naturally the FBI knew all about this area.
'He must b e looking for one of my connections.' I thought, and then it clicked.
He was after Seth. Seth's talents were usually found in someone who graduated MIT and works for the pentagon, not in
a criminal.
Agent Cullen must have realized that someone like that would be easily noticeable in the criminal world since talent like
that was so uncommon.
And by finding Seth, he would ultimately find me.
I watched as he pulled his car into a parking garage, but I didn't follow him in. Instead I waited on the street a block over
and waited for him to walk out.
While I was waiting it started to snow and I'm sure temperatures were dropping below freezing.
I could practically see the water on the streets freezing into ice.
I finally saw him exit the parking garage and start walking down the side of the street.
I didn't know what he was planning on doing; people around here weren't just going to let an FBI agent in.
I decided to follow slowly.
There was hardly anyone walking the street, choosing to drive instead and keep warm, making it easy to keep track of
him.
I watched in amusement and curiosity as he got turned away from most of the places.
His entire demeanor screamed 'cop' and I'm sure a lot of the people working the doors were trained to keep an eye out
for them.
The people watching the door where always in charge of guarding the secrets that were behind the doors, whether they
were illegal poker games or something else.
I watched him walk further and further down the block; he seemed to know exactly which buildings were criminal
hangouts and which were not because he didn't waste any time knocking on pointless doors.
I was curious to know what he could possibly be saying to the people watching the door, it wasn't like he could offer them
anything.
We were quite a few blocks away from the parking garage that he had initially started at. I was both amused and
impressed with his relentlessness. Most people would have given up by now.
I chuckled once again when one of the bars that was often used as a place to exchange items on the black market,
turned him away. Not even letting him get a word out. Since he had no warrant, he had no choice but to walk away. I
shook my head in amusement, sure that he would give up now.
My smile disappeared though when he turned the corner.
Whether he knew it or not, he was heading into dangerous territory.
The place he was trying to get into was a place even I avoided when I could.
They weren't criminals you liked to work with unless you had no other choice.
And they wouldn't care if he was a cop or not. If he tried to get past them, it wasn't going to end well.
I waited a few moments, just to see if he would come around the corner again, hoping that they had simply turned him
away.
When he didn't reappear I knew I had no choice.
I quickly accelerated and rode around the corner.
EPOV
"Listen, I don't see why we have to have a problem here." I told them, my hand automatically reaching for my holster.
"Don't even think about it." One of the guys said, pulling out his own gun and directing it at me.
I let my hands fall back to my sides.
"Listen, I'm a Federal Agent; I just want to go in and maybe have a talk with your boss." I told them, backing up an inch.
"Federal Agent my ass. You just look like a cop to me." The one not holding the gun said.
I started reaching into my inner pocket to pull out my badge, but stopped my movements once I remembered that my
badge was still not there.
'Damn it, Scarlet!'
"Listen, why don't I just go back and we can all pretend none of this even happened." I said, taking a few slow steps
black towards the main street.
The one without the gun whispered something to the other, I took another step back.
The one holding the gun noticed this and raised it a little, halting me in my movements.
"On second thought." He said, "Why don't you come with us. I'm sure there are a few people inside who wouldn't mind
meeting you."
His smile made an uncomfortable tingle go up my spine. I was running out of options.
I could run.
But they'd probably shoot me.
I could try to pull out my own gun.
But they'd probably shoot me.
I could go with them.
But someone would definitely shoot me.
All of the sudden I was starting to regret checking out this last place.
Apparently they had no problem with killing a cop.
I was about to go with my first choice when a motorcycle sped around the corner, nearly hitting me. It was the same
motorcycle that I had seen earlier.
"Get on." Said the owner of the motorcycle.
Their helmet had a black face mask, so I couldn't see who they were. But I wasn't about to let this opportunity go to
waste.
I swung my leg over quickly.
I scrambled to grab onto something once the driver accelerated at an alarming rate, I eventually settled for holding onto
the driver in front of me.
There was a commotion of some sort behind us, but I didn't look back.
The driver pulled onto the main street, going at speeds that would be considered a criminal offense.
They wove through cars, missing them by inches.
They had obviously had some practice on a motorcycle by the way they were just narrowly avoiding ice patches on the
road.
I nearly yelled out a few times when I spotted large patched of ice, only to have the person turn the motorcycle at the last
second and avoid it. I gripped tighter to avoid falling off.
Adrenaline was pumping through my system, keeping my eyes wide open to all the cars and buildings flying by.
We had gone for a few blocks at the same insane speed; I saw a patch of ice up ahead, my eyes widened when the
driver didn't start turning away from it.
Instead, they rode right over it; I could immediately feel the instability of the motorcycle.
Then, much to my horror, the insane driver leaned to one side and made a hundred and eighty degree turn on the ice. If
course because I had not been expecting it, and had not held on, I went flying in the direction that we had been going
before they made the insane turn.
I landed in one of the piles of snow on the side of the road that was left over when they cleared the streets.
I propped myself and saw the motorcyclist speeding around the corner.
I turned my head around and saw that I was in front of the parking garage that I had originally left my car in.
'Well, at least Rosalie will b e amused b y the situation.' I thought, picking myself and dusting the snow off of my pants.
A/N: Alright, so let me know what you think. Unfortunately, I am leaving soon to spend the holidays away from home
and I cannot bring my computer with me, meaning that this will be the last chapter for a couple weeks. However, if I
get a lot of reviews, I may be motivated enough to find some way to post another chapter while I'm gone. And trust
me, I'm really excited about the next one, it's going to be good. :P
BPOV
My back was pressed up against the concrete wall as the wind blew the few strands of hair that were loose from my
ponytail across my face. I habitually tucked them behind me ear as I took a couple breaths and cleared my throat to get
into character.
I readjusted the black tie that I had on over my white button up shirt and strode around the corner.
I knocked on the metal door that was the service entrance to the building. I heard keys jangling, followed by a lock turning
and stepped quickly out of the way when the door swung open.
I started talking right away, "Hi. Yeah-um, I know I'm really really late and that I was supposed to be here like a half hour
ago before all the guests started arriving and-and I was supposed to check in with someone but I got really lost because
I haven't been here before and I wasn't sure where to go, please please I am so so sorry, I really need this job or I'm
going to be evicted from my apartment if I don't make the payments soon." I said all in one breath, in a desperate voice
with tears in my eyes.
The guy stared at me for a moment. I could tell when he caved by the shift in his eyes and when one of the creases in his
forehead undid itself. He sighed and waved me in, taking pity on the poor hopeless girl in front of him.
"Thank you, thank you so much." I said, walking inside behind him.
"I'll go tell the event manager that you're here." He said walking in front of me.
The only change in my appearance that showed panic at his words was the slight dilation of my pupils.
My hand quickly reached out and grabbed his wrist to stop him from walking further.
"Um-maybe I should go tell them by myself instead. I want to take responsibility and I've already taken up so much of
your time I don't want to cause you any more trouble then I already have. Besides, if things go south, I don't want to get
you into trouble for trying to help me out." I said with large innocent eyes.
The lies came naturally to me, it was impulsive and necessary. Besides, it was natural for people to look out for
themselves before other people.
I saw the same traces on his face when he believed the first lie that I told him at the door.
He took one last look at my sad, yet hopeful, face before sighing and nodding.
"Alright, she's down the hall, to the right and through the second door on the left. She's in the kitchen talking to the cooks
so you may want to make it quick." He said, pointing in the direction he said to go.
I nodded enthusiastically and waited for him to go into a different door down the hall before letting out a small breath and
dropping the needy, desperate look on my face, obtaining one of pure concentration.
I swept the loose hairs out of my eyes again and readjusted my bag on my shoulder.
I ignored his instructions and pulled up the image of the blueprints in my mind, remembering to take the third door on my
right and slipped inside.
It was a large closet filled with cleaning supplies. I pulled on the chord to turn on the overhead light, illuminating all the
brooms and dustpans.
I set my bag down in the corner, I would come back for it later, I just needed somewhere to stash it for a little while.
I cracked the door open and poked my head out; I waited until a few people walked by before slipping out and going into
the door across the hall.
I walked in on utter chaos. This room was connected to the kitchen, there were at least two dozen other waiters dressed
identically to me running back and forth with trays. They were going through a swinging door taking trays filled with
glasses of champagne and food. Another door beside it swung the opposite way as waiters strode in bearing empty
trays or ones with now-empty dishes.
I took all of this in quickly before jumping into the flow of people. Immediately, I was handed a tray of champagne and
herded towards the door that was going out.
During events as big as these, the event manager hires so many waiters that I wouldn't need to worry about being
recognized. As long as I looked the part and kept handing out drinks, they could care less.
As the door swung shut behind me I took in the sight in front of me. There were about a hundred people, all dressed in
tuxedos and thousand dollar dresses, mingling with one another in what I assume could be considered as the great
hall.
Above all the people lucky enough to be on the list for this party was a large banner hanging that read: Art Institute of
Chicago's Fifty Sixth Annual Winter Fundraiser.
The Art Institute of Chicago was in fact the largest museum in the city, holding over three hundred thousand works of art.
All of the people in this room toasting champagne would soon be writing checks to the museum worth an average man's
yearly salary.
I wove in-between all the people who would pay anything to have their name painted on one of those exhibit walls,
keeping my tray of champagne balanced with one hand as I sought out the man I was after.
I had to turn and look around for a few minutes before I spotted him, hanging out by the table of food. He was the
museum manager in charge of organizing all of the exhibits and deciding which pieces of art will be on display when.
It took me a while to make my way through the crowd of people without completely spilling all the drinks on my tray and
drawing attention to myself.
It would look suspicious if I just walked right up to him, so I took my time mingling among the people around him,
offering glasses of champagne and taking empty ones away.
I put on my most charming smile for the guests, a look of innocence coating my features.
Once I estimated it had been a decent amount of time I took the few steps separating me and my target.
I took one of the full glasses off the tray and held it in my hand while the other one was supporting the tray, once I got in
range I stumbled forward, keeping the tray upright but splashing the contents of the glass in my hand all over the front of
the museum manager's coat.
"Oh my god! I am so sorry!" I said, panic prominent on my face.
He didn't seem angry so much as surprised. Though I'm sure anyone would be shocked to find themselves suddenly
soaked with champagne.
Though, as he seemed to get over the initial shock, some anger seemed to leak into his emotions.
He glanced up at my frantic look angrily and quickly set his champagne glass down on the table before trying to wipe off
the champagne with his hands.
"I am so sorry. Here, let me help." I said, setting down my tray and grabbing some napkins off the table.
I had attracted the attention of the surrounding people, some of whom were giving me looks of repugnance. I ignored
them. Besides, I had more money than they could ever have in a lifetime.
I went forward with the napkins and started dabbing at the spill, still wearing my desperate for forgiveness look.
I put my other hand under the flap of coat and held it as if to get better leverage to wipe off the champagne.
I let out a frustrated sound that still came out with a hint of desperation, "This isn't working very well, let me just run into
the kitchen really quick and come back with a towel. Again, I am really really sorry."
Without giving him a chance to answer I picked up my tray, put the wet napkins on them and rushed in the direction of the
door I had originally come through.
Once I was sure I was out of his sight, I stopped walking and slid the keycard I had hidden in-between the napkins and
pocketed it.
If someone had looked closely during the short encounter I just had with the museum manager, they would have seen
my skilled fingers slip the keycard out of his inner pocket while I was lifting it up to get better access to the stain. He was
too focused on trying to get the stain out, that he didn't notice me slide the keycard into the stack of napkins I was using
to wipe up the champagne.
A woman clearing her throat brought me out of my train of thought; I returned my gaze to my surroundings to see a
woman in a purple dress gesturing at the tray in my hands.
"Could I have a glass of champagne?" She asked; I looked at her weird, it took me a second to remember that I was still
supposed to be a waiter.
"What?" I looked at the tray, then back at her, "Sure, knock yourself out." I told her, placing the whole tray in her hands and
walking away.
By the time she regained her composure, I was already at the door to the waiter's room.
I pushed the door open, but got out the way of the waiter's coming in behind me to refill their trays.
Now was the time for haste.
Before anyone could order me to get out there and continue serving champagne to people with more money than they
knew what to do with, I slipped back into the hall that originally led me to this room.
I passed a few waiters rushing back the way I came from, most likely hurrying to get back to the kitchens. This was a
large event, if they didn't do their job, it wasn't likely they would get re-hired next year.
I checked over both shoulders, listening for any sound that could mean someone was watching.
After a few moments, when I was sure there was no one, I put my ear to the door in front of me, holding my breath and
listening. Silence. I took the keycard out of my pocket and swiped it. I heard the mechanical lock switch and I turned the
handle.
I decided to steal the access card from the museum manager tonight, rather than a few days ago for many reasons; one
of which being the fact that if he had noticed it was gone before tonight, the museum would have freaked out and
changed all the locks. Which would mean that the card I had stolen was then useless.
I slid inside before someone could spot me; even though I was sure that there was no one in the hall I wasn't going to
blow this by being under-cautious.
I knew the room would be empty from the research I did a few weeks ago on the event. The museum reorganized their
security for this event since it was such a big occasion and they needed to make sure that all the donators saw how
good their security looked.
Therefore, a large majority of the security was manning the front entrance, stopping unwanted guests and looking
intimidating.
The rest of the security that did not have the good luck to be chosen to attend the party outside, was rotating between the
stations that the whole security would have ordinarily filled.
Thus, leading to this room being empty.
'Well, at least for the next ten minutes' I thought to myself as I stepped further inside the room.
The walls of the room were covered with five-foot tall computer hardrives
There was a single computer screen at the far side of the room, after spotting it I made my way over.
There was a small thumbprint screen that was used to gain access to the system; anybody who wasn't on the security
team or belonged to the museum was denied.
The funny thing about screens used to scan fingerprints is that nine times out of ten the thing left on them is a fingerprint.
I leaned forward and breathed onto the screen, effectively fogging it up, revealing the print of an index finger.
I pulled on a glove and quickly pressed my finger onto the screen.
A smile graced my lips when a window popped up on the computer screen that said: Access Granted
Now was not the time to celebrate though. I immediately started clicking away at the computer.
Every single exhibit room in the museum has a box that is used to measure and record humidity in the room.
When the room gets too humid, the paintings get damaged. In order to prevent that from happening, they have vents that
open up and pump in dryer air to regulate it.
In order to spread the dry air throughout the large exhibits quickly the air vents have to be big.
If someone were to trick the automatic humidity system into thinking that it was humid in one of the exhibits
'Got it!'
With one final click I had what I needed.
I glanced at the watch on my wrist, it was time to leave. I didn't want to run into security when they came and checked in.
I retraced my steps on the computer, removing any trace that I was even there.
I gathered everything that I had brought in and headed for the door, flipping the light switch before opening the door a
crack, making sure no one was in the hall, then slipped out.
Now onto step three.
I went back down the hall and entered the kitchen connected to the waiter's room, immediately feeling the temperature
rise from all the open flames.
All of the cooks were too busy concentrating on their meals to notice some waitress passing through.
I pulled a sealable plastic bag out of my pocket and opened the large freezer door, immediately feeling counteractive
effects to the open flames behind me. I started grabbing ice cubes, filling the bag two thirds of the way.
"What are you doing?" I looked up into the face of a chef who couldn't have been more then twenty-three years old.
I looked at the bag of ice in my hand, then back up to his face; already spinning a lie in my mind.
"One of the guests sprained an ankle. They told me to come here and get some ice out of the freezer for them." I said, the
lie rolling off my tongue like second nature.
He gave me one last look of suspicion, but seemed to finally come to the conclusion that dealing with me was more
trouble then he cared to involve himself with.
I sent him a dazzling smile and wove past him and out the door.
I had no time to waste as I rushed down the hall.
I dipped into the closet where I had first stored my stuff, grabbing the bag I had stashed in there.
I could hear the sound of dishes clanking and people talking as I rushed swiftly passed the entrance to both the kitchen
and the main room once again.
I picked up my speed when I heard a door shut behind me, just as I rounded a corner.
I saw the marble staircase ahead of me that I needed to use; I took the steps two at a time.
If I hadn't already mapped out my course, I would have easily gotten lost in the many different floors and hallways.
'Up two flights, turn left, down the hall, turn right around the corner.' I chanted in my head as I reached the top of the
second stairwell.
This was the only path I could take that avoided security cameras. When I finally got to where I wanted to be, I was
standing in front of an elevator that was only used by museum workers.
This security was a little tighter, but I was prepared.
I swiped the card that I had taken off the museum manager, then reached into my bag and pulled out a piece of paper.
Facial recognition systems are often used to replace human guards, since they don't sleep on the job and they can't be
bribed. They have a big weakness though, computers can't tell the difference between a photocopy of a face and a real
one.
I had gone online a few days ago and found the picture of the museum manager under their employee section and
printed it out.
I held the photocopy in front of my face while it scanned.
I couldn't have used just any museum member's photo; part of the security system was that both the keycard and the
facial scan had to match the same person.
I knew I succeeded when I heard a 'ding' followed by the elevator doors opening.
'I am way too good at this.' I thought to myself as I stepped inside.
I didn't have to worry about security cameras inside the elevator, the facial scanner already tells them who's in the
elevator, so another camera would be pointless.
As the elevator rose higher and higher I busied myself with pulling on my very familiar black gloves and pulled the tie
loose from around my neck, it would just get in the way if I left it on.
Shaking myself loose, I didn't hesitate for a second when the thick metal doors reopened, this time on the top floor of the
museum.
I strode out of the elevator into the silent hallway. The idea of getting caught that usually makes people think twice about
what they're doing is one of things I relish about heists, it's thrilling yet terrifying at the same time and forces constant
amounts of adrenaline to pour through your system.
'Here we go.' I thought as stood facing the wall I needed.
I grabbed one of the ornate tables that were against the wall and pulled it over. After hoisting myself on top, I pulled a
screwdriver out of my bag and set to work on the screws holding the metal screen for the air duct.
My fingers worked quickly and soon I had to catch the screen before it crashed on the ground.
I threw my bag in first, then put my arms in and hoisted myself up using pure arm strength.
The vent was about two feet wide and tall, but stretched far ahead; when I eventually managed to pull my entire body
inside, the only thought that went through my head was, 'Thank god I'm not claustrophob ic.'
The gallery I was heading towards was in the northeast corner; I army crawled through vents, sliding and pushing my
bag along with me. The system was like a maze of tunnels, leading off into many different directions.
This path I had also mapped out when I had first scouted the museum. One wrong turn could lead me to a gallery on the
opposite side I wanted to be.
I knew I was in the right place when I felt air pushing from behind me, into the gallery that I wanted.
This was the same gallery that I had tricked the computer into thinking that it was overly humid.
I smiled from both relief and success when I got to the end of the tunnel I was in.
The opening of the vent was like the screen I had earlier climbed through. I reached into my bag and pulled out the
carabineer which was attached to a rope. I latched the carabineer to one of the bars in the vent screen, then attached the
other carabineer at the other end of the rope to the belt at my waist.
I took a second to go over exactly what I had to do; there was a time limit here, the vents only stay open so long as the
gallery's humidity level remains high. I tricked the computer into thinking it was at the highest level it could be at without
setting off alarms that would bring unwanted attention. The humidity level I set fell just beneath the line of heat that could
be considered usual or coincidental, any higher and it would be obvious that something strange was happening.
With one last breath, I pushed at the screen with all my force, sending it flying open, but still latched at the top to the vent.
Without hesitation I grabbed onto the sides and pulled myself through, letting myself fall into the space above the gallery.
There was however more security I had to worry about in here. I only had about thirty seconds before the heat sensor
picked up my body heat and the alarms started ringing.
The rope and catch that I was connected to I designed myself, complete with auto-brakes and a way to stop the rope
from letting me go any further then I wanted it to.
This particular gallery was twenty feet high, at fifteen feet up from the floor were white screens that ran from wall to wall in
five by three foot squares. These screens hid all the wires and vents from those viewing the gallery and makes
everything more presentable; 'though I'm sure they didn't have this in mind when they thought ab out how it looks to the
museum visitor.'
Another use for the screens, it hides the camera wires that hand from them.
I twisted my body until I was hanging upside down, keeping myself in that position by holding the rope with my feet.
I reached into my bag which I had slung around my shoulder and pulled out the wire cutters.
I made short work of the camera wire, then released the catch on the rope. I started falling smoothly, catching myself
quickly once again for a brief second so that I could furl one of the screens and get by.
The mental clock in my head told me I only had about thirteen seconds.
I released the catch, as the ground rushed closer and closer I returned my body to an upright position just in time to have
my feet touch the ground softly.
I unclipped the carabineer and ran over to the other wall at the entrance to the gallery; I only had roughly six seconds.
I reached into my bag once again and pulled out the bag of ice. I opened the bag and pulled out a small piece of clay that
I had nestled inside the ice after my trip to the kitchen.
I loosened it up with my fingers, then placed it on the sensor of the heat scanner in the last remaining second.
I released the breath I had been holding.
The ice had brought the temperature of the clay down to a level that, when placed over the sensor, masked any heat
waves.
I preferred to use clay in situations like this, but if I was ever in a pinch, gum would probably work just as well.
The camera I had cut off left me able to roam the eastern side of the gallery, as long as I stayed over where I was, I
wouldn't have to worry.
Here was another moment where hesitation was not an option.
This gallery was filled with Van Gogh from top to bottom; I didn't doddle though and turned to the one I wanted.
My first time, it took me close to twenty minutes to get a painting out of a frame. My record now was around eight minutes.
As I finished with the last corner, I glanced at my watch quickly.
'Damn, nine minutes and sixteen seconds.'
I pulled the tube shaped container that I had used so many times before and carefully placed the rolled up canvas
inside.
Finally, after stringing the container over my back, I pulled the scarlet ribbon out of my pocket and tied it to the top of the
empty frame hanging on the wall.
I wasted no time in returning to the rope hanging on the side of the room.
I re-attached the carabineer to my belt and took a strong grip on the rope.
I pressed the bottom of my feet against the wall of the gallery and, while hoisting up with my hands, I essentially walked
up the walls of the gallery, past the screen and up to the air vent.
It took my remaining arm strength to grab onto the opening of the vent and climb inside, breathing heavily.
The air was blowing more lightly now, I didn't have much time until the air vents closed off altogether.
I used that as motivation to get my tired arms moving as I crawled back the way I came.
I finally got back to the beginning; I had only made one wrong turn, and had to backtrack after realizing my mistake.
I pulled myself through the gap, breathing in fresh air and relishing the non-compressing feeling that came with being
out of the vent.
I pulled the tie out of my pocket, wiped the small amount of perspiration off my forehead before retying it around my neck,
adjusting it until it was perfect.
I performed the same measures to get past the elevator's security once again. I spent my short trip in the elevator as
time to make myself look presentable once again, also remembering to remove my gloves.
As soon as the doors dinged, I stepped out and rushed through the deserted halls until I started hearing noise.
In my haste, I nearly forgot to put the container holding the painting inside my bag, concealing it from view. I stuffed it
inside and closed the zipper just as people came into my line of sight.
Still following my well thought out plan, I opened the door to the kitchen.
Yet again, my appearance there was ignored as the chefs were still cooking away, this time it seemed to be on bite sized
desserts, as the evening was coming to a close.
I grabbed a garbage bag from the roll on one of the counters, opened it and put my bag inside.
I went over to one of the cooks who was leaning over the stove, stirring what looked like melted chocolate, and tapped
him on the shoulder.
I almost laughed when it turned out to be the same cook that caught me taking ice out of the freezer earlier.
"Hi again. Listen, I'm supposed to be doing a trash run, but no one gave me the key to unlock the service door, could
you?" I trailed off, smiling at him sheepishly.
He rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh, before walking over to one of the counters and opening a drawer.
He took a ring of keys out and handed them to me. "Just make sure to bring them back here when you're done." He said
slowly, as if not expecting me to understand.
I nodded enthusiastically and took them from his outstretched hand.
"Thank you!" I said.
His response was to grumble something then return to his cooking.
I didn't stop once as I made my way toward the service entrance that I had originally come through.
I stopped short though when the guy that originally let me in came out of one of the doors and spotted me.
'You have got to b e kidding me.'
"Where you headed?" He asked as I walked by him.
I turned and started walking backwards, "Oh, just doing another trash run. Who knew these people could eat so much." I
said, slapping a smile onto my face.
He chuckled, "Do you need me to unlock the door for you?"
I turned back around, "No thanks! I got it!" I called over my shoulder, jingling the keys in the hand that wasn't holding the
trash bag.
I heard a faint chuckle as he left my hearing range.
I picked up my speed to avoid any more interruptions.
I sighed in success when I turned the key in the lock and stepped out into the cold air.
I pulled my bag out of the trash bag and slung it over my shoulder.
Soon they would find the vacant spot on their wall, and by tomorrow morning the headlines would read: Scarlet Thief
Strikes Again!
But the thing I was looking forward to most about tomorrow: the fact that Agent Cullen would be spending the entire day
trying to figure out exactly how I did it.
A/N: So I know it's felt like forever since I updated, sorry about that. I was out of town and did not have a computer.
Actually, I was in Chicago (where this story takes place) and I went to this museum. So everything I wrote about the
gallery with the cameras and humidity controllers was in fact accurate. This chapter took me a long long time to
write, it's my longest chapter for this story yet, so I hoped you enjoyed it. I got a lot of reviews for the last chapter
which was great, I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story. If you keep it up, I'll be inspired to not only write more, but
also write more exciting chapters. :P
"That doesn't make any sense." Rosalie said from where she stood beside me.
I turned my head and raised an eyebrow, gesturing her to explain.
"This painting is worth around a million dollars, look around." I did as she instructed, glancing over the other paintings, "I
can count at least five other paintings in here that would fetch for at least ten times as much if not more on the black
market."
"That's the funny thing about Scarlet; she never does what you expect." I said.
"Any why do you think that is?" Rosalie asked, she probably meant for the question to be rhetorical, but I decided to
answer anyways.
"Because she's different. It's like you said," I turned to her, "she has an ulterior motive for her heists. Most criminals take
the most valuable item and run. Scarlet thoughshe thinks before she moves, calculates each step and prepares for
any anything that could pose as a challenge. It's almost like a game of chess to her; someone who's mastered the
game can think fifteen moves ahead, predicting and adapting. She calculates each second of her crime, canceling out
the variable of surprise, slipping through the tiniest cracks and ultimatelydisappearing into thin air." I concluded. The
room was silent; I hadn't realized that my audience had grown while I was talking.
"Aren't I supposed to be the criminal psychologist?" Rosalie asked, obviously impressed by my dissection of Scarlet's
psyche.
"I'm just saying that there is a very real and specific reason that she took that painting. But I'm also saying that, no matter
how much research we do on it including who owns it, who put it up, who did the frame, how much it's actually worth, why
it's in this gallery, et cetera, et cetera, we will never find out what that specific reason is. Scarlet is the only one who
knows, and it's not likely that she's going to give us the one detail that would give us a chance, even a small one, at
catching her." I realized that I was staring at the piece of silk again; I tore my eyes away and looked at Rosalie.
Her brow was furrowed; her mind was processing my words. "What about known associates, perhaps a partner? Maybe
they would know" But I was already shaking my head at her.
"She works alone, no exceptions." I said, I had gathered that much in my time on the case.
"You know, now that I think about it. The more you describe talk about her, the more I'm noticing that you could easily be
talking about yourself." She said, a smirk in her tone.
I sent her a look to which she shrugged and said, "Just sayin'. You two seem to have a lot in common."
I decided to change the topic before Rosalie started psycho analyzing me.
"Have we found out her point of entry and how she got past the securities?" I asked to whoever could answer.
"What do you mean?" Rosalie asked, "There's only one way in." She pointed to the door we entered through.
I chuckled, "Trust me, she found another way other then the door."
A different CSU personnel joined us and said, "Your right, the locks on the gallery doors are electric, there's no record of
the doors opening until a little after seven this morning when the manager came through."
"What security mechanisms are in the room?" I asked.
"Well, electro-magnetic lock on the door that is on a timer. An alarm goes off if they're opened before seven o'clock; there
are two-security cameras, anda heat scanner." He said.
"Alright, let's start with the cameras. How did she deal with that?" I asked, my gaze looking up, searching for them.
"Only one of them points in the direction of the painting," He said, pointing at what looked like one of the lights hanging
from the ceiling. I squinted my eyes and could just make out a lens. "A pair of wire cutters took care of that."
"Alright. And you said there was a heat sensor, correct?" He nodded and pointed to the wall near the gallery entrance. I
walked over and saw the piece of clay that was still covering the sensor. 'Well, if something works the first time'
This was the third time I'd seen her use this method to get past a heat sensor.
"What is it?" Rosalie asked, taking a closer look.
"It's just some simple modeling clay. She uses it to block heat waves from being detected." I smiled at the familiarity.
I stepped back again; I could almost see Scarlet covering the sensor, then making her way over to the painting.
The image faded away when Rosalie spoke, "That still doesn't explain how she got inside without setting off the door
alarms."
I thought for a second, then smiled. "I'm just going to go out on a limb here and assume that there is no footage on the
camera of her before she cut the wire." The CSU guy nodded, "And there's no way she could have avoided the cameras if
she came through the door." He nodded again.
"Which only leaves" I let my gaze look up, my smile stretched a little more.
Rosalie looked at me before following my gaze. "You don't mean" I nodded, she did a double-take, "You have got to be
kidding me. How the hell could she have gotten up there?"
I chuckled, "That's what we're here to find out."
BPOV
I was lying on my back on my couch, using my arm as a pillow, staring at the skylight high above me.
It was pouring. The individual drops were hitting the glass with tremendous force, creating the only noise in the room.
My mind was wandering, an activity that was normal for most, but could be potentially dangerous for me.
Different images of a forest covered in green, a cold ocean front, and a house flashed across my mind rapidly, just
showing each image for less than a second, not dwelling on any individual one.
When I felt like I was diving too deep into memories that are best left unperturbed, I resurfaced.
"Scarlet!"
I jumped up, my fists raised.
I lowered them an inch when I saw it was just Alice.
Her eyes were wide and her palms were held up, "Whoa! It's just me, just wanted to let you know that I'm all done, your
good to go."
"Ohsorry." I lowered my fists the remainder of the way and relaxed from my rigid posture, "You shouldn't do that." I said,
turning away to look out the window.
"I'll keep that in mind" She said, following my gaze.
"What were you thinking about anyways? I must have called your name a dozen times." She asked.
"Nothing important..." My voice trailed off.
She decided not to pry, "Alright, well like I said, the painting is fine; so I'm going to head out." She gestured over her
shoulder with her thumb.
It took a moment for my mind to process what she said.
"Hey," I said, stopping her as she started to turn away, "I'm probably going to go out for a drink later tonight, you wanna
come?"
"Seriously?" She asked, just as surprised as I was; I don't usually do much with her.
"Yeah." I shrugged.
"Sure." She said smiling, but still with a look of surprise, "I'll come back eight-ish?"
I nodded.
"Great! I guess I'll see you then." She said enthusiastically.
EPOV
"So, what exactly is up there? All I can see is screens." I asked, letting my eyes wander over the entire ceiling.
"Mainly the wires to the cameras, and the humidity unit." Said the museum security manager, who had joined us from
downstairs. "But it's blocked off almost ninety-percent of the time."
"How big is it?" I asked.
"Excuse me?" He asked.
"How big is the humidity unit?" I asked, tearing my gaze away from the ceiling to look at him.
He looked at me, obviously thinking that I was joking, when my facial expression told him I was not he hurriedly flipped
through the papers on his clipboard and said, "It's about two feet wide and just as tall. We use it to pump in dry air when
the gallery gets to humid. But, like I said, it's closed off ninety percent of the time."
"What are you thinking Edward?" Rosalie asked.
"I'm thinkingthat I found how she got in here." I said, walking closer to the wall.
"Where exactly is the humidity unit above us?" I asked him.
He pointed up a few feet over.
I stood in front of the wall and looked up. "Cody, can you come here for a sec?"
"What's up?" He asked, joining me in looking up.
"Can you use your fingerprint duster on this wall? Right here." I asked, pointing to a spot roughly three feet off the ground.
"Sure." He said, shrugging; not quite understanding why, but willing to go along with it.
I watched with bated breath as he brushed on the black powder. Rosalie came to stand next to me, joining me in staring
at the spot on the wall.
A smile stretched on my face, when a perfect shoeprint appeared where he dusted.
Rosalie turned her head to look at me, giving me a look that blatantly asked how the hell I knew that was there, and how
the hell it got there.
My eyes wandered up again.
"Are you telling me she walked up the walls?" She asked in amazement.
"Yes." Was my simple answer, as I rose back up to my usual height.
I turned to the head of security, "How many elevators do you have without cameras?"
"Just two. One takes art down to the restoration rooms and the other is for museum personnel, it's used to transfer art
from each level, we use it when we reorganize galleries." He said.
"The second one. Can you show me where it is on this level?" I asked, I was now on a roll.
He nodded and gestured for me to follow him; immediately Rosalie and I were on his heels.
We went down a few hallways, before he turned one corner and pointed to an elevator door.
'Here we go.' I thought as I noticed a vent screen on the wall next to the elevator.
I pointed to it, "This is the point of entry."
I turned around to find both of their faces looking between me and the vent.
"Who the hell are we after? Spiderman!" Rosalie cried out.
I chuckled and looked closer at the screen, noticing scratches on the screws holding it in place, most likely from the
screwdriver she used to undo them.
"Alright, so now that we have our point of entry; how did she get up here?" I said, talking more to myself then to the
security manager.
I went over to the elevator, noticing a camera lens next to it.
"What is this?" I asked him.
"It's a facial recognition system. Very few people have access. Oh! And a keycard scanner." He said.
"So, how did she get past that?" Rosalie asked.
I took a closer look at the face scanner; the screen was flashing red, the computer was scanning my face and denying
me access.
"I have no idea." I told her.
I would have to think about it more later; for now, I needed to look at a different aspect.
I turned to the security manager, "You said the vents were closed ninety percent of the time"
He nodded.
"Then how could she have gotten through?" Rosalie said, finishing my thought for me.
I didn't let him answer; instead I asked a different question, "Is there a room that manages all this stuff? I assume the
humidity is all regulated by computers?"
"Yeah, it's on our main floor, near the security room. I'll show you." He said, gesturing me to follow once again.
He held his face in front of the scanner then swiped a card, the screen flashed green and the doors opened.
A few seconds passed and soon we were exiting the elevator on the floor level.
We went down a small set of steps and around a few corners before the security manager unlocked a door and led us
inside.
He strode over to the computer and started clicking away, Rosalie and I waited patiently until I heard the same words that
someone always seems to say when Scarlet steals something, "But that's impossible."
"Yeah, it always is." I let out a sigh, "I'm going to go over to the camera room." I said, leaving him to grieve over whatever
was left of his job.
I knocked on the correct door and waited for someone to open it from the inside since I didn't have the keycard.
As I entered I noticed the museum manager was inside, staring up at one of the many screens that showed security
camera footage.
I cleared my throat to get their attention.
"I noticed that the elevator that the thief used needs a face scanner and a keycard to work, can you guys find out which
keycard it was?" I asked one of the many security guards.
He nodded and began typing furiously at the computer.
"Here it is, the computer says that someone used their keycard at ten fifty-one last night. Give me a sec and I can find out
who" He clicked a few more times before I saw his movements freeze and his eyes darted to the museum manager
who stood oblivious, still watching the screen.
"Oh god" I said with a sigh when I understood.
"Sir," I said, tapping on the museum manager's shoulder, causing him to turn around.
"Did you use your access card to use the personnel elevator last night?" I asked.
"No, I was at the fundraiser all night." I gestured to the screen, he blanched.
"That is not me." He said, immediately defending himself. I was trying to think of some way that Scarlet could have done
it, but with the facial scanner confirming that it was him in the elevator; it wasn't looking good for him. I had no doubt that
Scarlet did it, but I was going to have to take him in anyways, it was protocol.
"I'm going to need you to come with me sir." I said, stepping toward him.
He backed up quickly, "No I assure you it wasn't me. My keycard is missing and I can prove I was at the event! We have
footage!" He said, gesturing wildly at the screens behind him
I stopped, "Wait, you recorded the event?" I asked.
"Yes, last year there were some discrepancies, so we decided to put up camera's this year to avoid any lawsuits."
"When did you realize your card was missing?" I asked him urgently.
"Uhhh" He tried to think quickly, "after the event, I thought I had misplaced it in one of my jackets when I changed
midway through the event, my first jacket was stained by a waitress."
"Show me." I said, pointing to the screens.
He nodded at one of the security guards who pulled up a screen that showed a high up view of the event.
It was in fast forward for a while until they stopped it and the museum manager pointed at a scene.
I stepped closer and watched the scene go through quickly, I had to squint, but I could just make out someone stumbling
and splashing champagne on who I assumed was the museum manager then helping him wipe it up.
"Can you play that back? And zoom in." I told the guy operating the feed.
He nodded and did as I said.
The view was much closer as we watched from behind the same waitress as she stumbled and splashed the
champagne.
My eyes were following the waitress as she went forward and tried to clean the champagne off his jacket. We still
couldn't see her face.
"Come on, come on." I said, silently begging her to turn around.
My heart was beating quickly in anticipation.
"What is she saying right there?" I asked the museum manager.
"She said that she was going to bring me a towel. Which she never actually did now that I think about it." He said.
I could now see a little bit of her face, but it wasn't enough.
"Come on, turn around just a little more." I begged.
I watched as she grabbed her tray; put the napkins on, and
"Stop!" I said, effectively making the security guard press the pause button, freezing the scene in front of me.
"That's her." I said.
"Are you sure?" Rosalie asked quickly, coming up to stand next to me.
"I would know that face anywhere." I said, not taking my eyes off the screen.
It was the same brown hair, same deep brown eyes and the same smirk that covered her lips.
It was her.
We both stared at the screen in silence until Rosalie seemed to come to the same realization that I did.
"This is huge." Rosalie said in awe; she was the only one in the room who understood just how valuable that picture
was.
"So, am I off the hook?" The museum manager asked, not realizing the gravity of the situation. The intensity of what we
just uncovered.
"Yeah, you could say that." I said, staring at the face of The Scarlet Thief.
BPOV
I stepped into the bar and Alice followed a few steps behind me.
We walked over to the counter and took a seat on a couple of the stools.
She ordered a long island ice tea, I settled for a vodka tonic.
I tapped on the counter absentmindedly while we waited for our drinks.
I could talk to people when it was part of an act; but I rarely ever talked to people as myself.
"So" Alice said, attempting to start a conversation.
"Yeah?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I've got a question that's been bugging me ever since we started working together." She started.
"Shoot." I said, gesturing for her to continue talking.
"Well I was wondering why you chose to work with me specifically." She said, taking a sip of the drink that had just
been placed on the counter.
"Hmmm. I did not see that coming." I said, expecting a question more along the lines of 'have you ever killed someone'
"Well." I started, thinking it over in my head, "I did my research." I took a sip of my drink. "I guess you could say that you fit
all the credentials for the person I needed."
"How so?" She asked.
"Well, for starters, you're good at what you do. Really good. I needed the best. And second, not only are you book smart,
your also street smart. You think things through to the fullest extent before making a decision, and you ultimately make
the one that serves you best." I said
"Did you just call me shallow?" She asked with a small laugh.
"Not at all, I'm just saying that you look out for yourself first, then others. A shallow person wouldn't care about the latter." I
said.
"So, how much do you know about me exactly?" She asked, curiosity in her voice.
"Well, like I said, I did my research. You went to Michigan State University where you majored in art history, you had a
three point eight gpa throughout all four years, you took an internship at a gallery in New York before deciding to move out
here and work at the museum, which is where I found you." I took a long sip of my drink, watching her over my glass.
She opened her mouth a few times, but in the end just decided to take a drink.
"Sorry." I said.
"About what? I'm the one that asked." She said, smiling again, but I could see in her eyes that she was still processing
the information I gave her, deciding what to do with it.
I flagged down the bartender, "I think we're going to need another round." He nodded.
EPOV
I was back at the office now, sitting in my desk chair.
Rosalie was sitting in the chair across from me, holding a print out of the picture of Scarlet.
Neither of us had said anything in a while, we were still trying to absorb the enormity of what we had uncovered.
I had gotten dozens of handshakes and pats on the back from colleagues all afternoon. Director Aro had called me into
his office to congratulate me.
Rosalie got a share of the glory as well, but she didn't seem to know what to do with it.
From the agents who hunted after the thief before me, I received mixed responses.
Some congratulated me greatly, understanding how difficult it must have been for me to get as far as I have.
Otherswell, they envied me for being able to succeed where they failed. I tried not to let it get to me.
I was pulled out of my thoughts when the silence was broken.
"She is very pretty." Rosalie said.
I looked up at her, "YeahI suppose."
"What do you mean, 'you suppose', she's gorgeous. Pretty girls do not grow up to become thieves. They grow up to
become lawyers and doctors. Not someone who ends up on the FBI's most wanted list." She said, looking back at the
photo.
"So why do you think she did?" I asked.
She shrugged, "Could be any number of reasons, something could have happened to her that completely turned her life
around. That would be the most likely."
She looked at the picture, as if the answer would somehow come to her if she stared at it hard enough.
"Anyways," She said, readjusting herself and putting the picture down on my desk, "I'm just saying, that when we catch
her, and we will catch her, that I want be able to talk to her." She said, giving me a look that said it was not optional.
"Sure." I said, "But just because we have her picture, does not mean it's going to be any easier to catch her."
"Well, they've got it running through the data base, and if she's been arrested before or is in the system, we'll find her.
And maybe we can release the picture to the media." She suggested.
"We can't put it on the news. If she sees that, if she knows that we have her picture, she'll disappear faster than anyone
can spot her, and then we'll have no chance at catching her." I said, looking at the picture that was smirking up from
where it rested on my desk.
"Well, at least today we are one step closer." She said, standing up from her seat, to which I followed.
I followed her out my office door, flicking off the light switch as I went.
"Are you coming?" She asked from where she stood inside the elevator.
"I just want to check something really quick, then I'm going to leave. I swear." I said.
She didn't seem to believe me, but decided that she didn't want to stick around to make sure that I left the office at a
decent time.
It was quiet in the office as I walked over to the wall that housed the pictures of the most wanted criminals.
For the first time in many years, the frame above the title, The Scarlet Thief, had a picture.
BPOV
"I'll look into it, but I'm not promising anything." Seth said.
"That's all I ask." I said, rising from my chair.
"I'll let you know when I've got it or not." He said, I nodded.
"Thanks." I said.
"I'm just curious. Why do you want this so bad? It doesn't seem like something that would be that useful to you." He
asked, looking up at me from his seat.
"It's personal, and important. So, please try." I said, my tone serious.
A/N: Alright, so this chapter was more filler then excitement, but I assure you it was a very important chapter, it had
a lot of important information vital to the story. A lot of you have been asking me if there is going to be romance in
this story, so here is my answer: Have patience, this story is labeled as a crime/romance story, so naturally the
crime comes first and then there will be romance. So if your reading this story for the exciting crimes, you won't be
disappointed, if you are reading it purely for the romance, you won't be disappointed either, you're just going to have
to wait a little longer. I know exactly where I'm going to go with it, and as an avid reader of this story you're just going
to have to trust me. :P
Rosalie noticed my look, took pity on me and slid her coffee across the table.
I gave her a thankful look and wasted no time in gulping it down.
"We just made a huge break on our case." Rose said.
"Oh?" Emmett asked, "How big?"
"We got a picture." She said, excitement in her tone.
He looked back and forth between us like we were insane; obviously not understanding how long it's taken us to get that
far.
"This case has been going on for over three years; I'm the fifth agent that's been assigned to it. And I'm the only one that
seems to have made any progress." I said, trying to explain.
"Yeah, so far we're the only ones to be able to get a picture of her. Edward's actually talked to her." Rose said.
"Wait, it's a girl thief?" He smiled, a look in his eyes, "nice."
"I think Edward has a thing for her." Rose said, throwing me a look, to which I narrowed my eyes.
"So, what's her name?" Emmett asked, looking between us.
"No idea. She just goes by Scarlet." I said, swishing the cup of coffee around.
"But you have a picture, so if she's in the system" He started, but Rosalie and I both started shaking our heads.
"There are thousands upon thousands of pictures in there, and we have no other information that could somehow
categorize the pictures and make the process go faster. So far, nothing has come up and it's not looking good." I said.
"Wow, this girl must be pretty good, what has she stolen?" Emmett asked, curiosity evident in his tone.
"More like, what hasn't she stolen?" Rosalie said.
"Over three dozen paintings, and around sixteen precious gems, adding up to well over two hundred million dollars." I
said.
He whistled, obviously impressed.
He checked his watch, "Damn, I gotta get going, we're still wrapping up the finer details on the case."
He kissed Rose on the cheek and said, "Nice to meet you Edward; good luck with your case, if you need any undercover
help, give me a call, I'm sure organized crimes wouldn't mind loaning me to your division." He chuckled.
I nodded in farewell, and he left the room.
"He seems nice." I said, drinking the last of the coffee in my hand.
She nodded, a small smile on her face. "Yeah, we've only been dating for a few weeks, but he's nice. I don't usually date
nice."
I got up and threw the empty coffee cup away, "We should get going." I said.
"Where?" She asked, turning in her chair to look at me.
"We should go and show the picture around in a few spots, see what we can dig up." I said, putting on my jacket.
"But if we do get somewhere she's been, who says they'll tell us anything?" She asked, following me as I walked down
the hall to the elevator.
"That's why you're coming along. You are going to do your whole psychological mojo and see if anybody looks like they're
lying." I said with a small laugh, stepping into the elevator as the doors dinged.
"Well I'm so glad that my 'mojo' can be useful to you." She said rolling her eyes, as she stepped inside beside me.
I pressed the button for the ground floor.
"So how do we know that Scarlet doesn't already know about the picture and that she's long gone?" She asked, turning
her head to look at me.
I watched the doors close, "We don't."
BPOV
I walked past the bay windows in my living room where I briefly noticed storm clouds growing in the distance over the
water.
I walked over to the door in the corner of the room and punched in the sixteen digit number that would allow me access
to my basement.
The lights flickered on as I walked down each step until I reached the bottom, I stopped walking and watched as the
lights continues flickering on, illuminating the long stretch of hallway before me.
As I walked down the hall, I looked over some of the paintings hanging on the walls. A majority of them were forgeries,
simply kept as a reminder of my accomplishments; but some of them were real. An untrained eye wouldn't be able to tell
which were and which weren't.
I stopped in front of the newest one, the Van Gogh. I had decided to keep this one, at least for the moment.
If I wanted to sell it, I could always move it later. The important part was that it was in my possession.
I spent some time looking it over, memorizing the finer details, practically seeing the paint being brushed on.
After I just about had each paint stroke memorized, I decided to head back upstairs and try to do something more
productive.
It was as I was making sure that the alarms were set that my phone started ringing.
When I saw the caller ID I quickly answered.
"Seth. Do you have it?" I asked, not even bothering with small talk.
When I heard him sigh, I knew the answer.
"I looked into what you asked" He started, I could sense the hesitation in his voice.
"And?" I prompted.
"It's not good. The file you want isn't in the system. The crime happened before they began storing all the files on
computers. It's all on physical papers; I can't hack papers. I don't think I can help you. I'm sorry." He said solemnly.
I sank into the closest chair, my eyes closed of their own accord and my head hung forward.
My hand that was holding the cell phone to my ear dropped to rest on my knee.
I let out a breath, I reopened my eyes and heard my name coming from the phone and remembered Seth.
I put the phone to my ear again, "Yeah, I'm here. Sorry." I ran a hand through my hair, my mind turning over the news.
"What is so important about that file that makes you want it so bad?" He asked, his attempt at subtly curiosity failing.
I heard his question but didn't process what he said.
"What can you tell me about the location of the file?" I asked, my mind set.
"I know what you're thinking Scarlet, don't do it." He said.
"Where is the file?" I repeated more firmly.
He sighed, "Listen to me Scarlet. The filethe file you want is locked away, deep in the FBI. The only place I could think
that they would keep something like that would be in the lowest levels below the FBI building. It's the same level that
holds all their collected evidence from all the cases."
EPOV
"How many more places are there?" Rosalie asked, boredom leaking into her tone.
"Just one more today." I said as I threw the car into park and opened my door.
"Thank god." She said as she followed suit and got out on her side.
I laughed, we had been going from bar to bar and from club to club, the day was slowly coming to an end and we had
come up with nothing.
"From now on, I'll stay at the office and you can bring the suspects to me, I can do my 'mojo' from there." She said, pulling
open the door to the bar and stepping inside, not bothering to hold it for me.
I shrugged to myself and followed behind her.
We wove in-between the tables before we got to the bar.
I pulled my badge out from the inside of my jacket and held it up to the bartender.
"Hi, I'm agent Cullen with the FBI, I was wondering if we could ask you a few questions." I said, leaning against the bar
with one hand.
His eyes switched between Rosalie and I for a moment before he grudgingly said, "Sure." And set down the drink he
was mixing.
"We were wondering if you've seen this girl around here." I said, fishing out the picture of Scarlet from my pocket and
holding it up for him to see.
"Nope, haven't seen her." He said, picking up the drink again.
"Are you sure? Take a good look." I said, holding it out for him.
He shrugged, leaned closer and held the picture up close to his face. "Yep, I'm sure."
I saw his eyes flick past my shoulder, before quickly returning to me. I turned my head to follow his line of sight, but there
was no one there.
Slightly confused, I returned my gaze to him.
He was looking at me, "Now if you don't mind, I have to get back to work." He said, clearly wanting me gone.
It didn't take a psychologist to figure out that there was something he wasn't telling us.
"Yeah, we're all done. Thanks for the help." I said, replacing the image in my pocket.
"That's it?" Rosalie asked in surprise as we started walking away. "He's clearly lying."
"Yeah, that may be, but it's not like I can arrest him. We don't have much choice." I said as I reopened the door and
stepped outside.
BPOV
I stepped out of the shadows in the back of the bar.
The bartender had been talking to a couple people when I walked in. I hadn't thought anything of it until I caught the look
he sent me over one of their shoulders.
I had immediately melted into one of the darker corners of the bar and waited for them to leave.
I walked over to the counter and gave the bartender a look that plainly said, 'what was that all about?'
"Those two were cops, they were looking for you." He said.
I nodded in understanding, "Thanks," I took a seat on one of the stools, "can I get gin and tonic?"
"Sure" He said, obviously wondering why the news that the cops were looking for me didn't surprise me and have me
running for the nearest exit.
It didn't take him long to get my drink together, and I didn't waste time in drinking it.
He helped out a few other customers who probably didn't have outstanding warrants on their heads, but weren't
completely honest either, before returning to me.
He noticed my now empty glass and said, "Can I get you another?"
I was resting my elbow on the bar and using my hand to prop my head up, my eyes shifted to him when he spoke, "Sure,
"You have to run." Alice said, looking at me from the other couch in the living room.
I was leaning back in the armchair; I had been staring at nothing in particular, propping my head up with my arm.
My eyes flicked up to her, but I didn't say anything.
"Scarlet, this is insane. They have your picture for god's sake. I'm surprised you're not gone already." She said, sitting up
I reached out before I could stop myself and picked up the statue.
Alarms began ringing all around me. I put the statue back down on the stand.
The damage was done.
The same part of my mind that had warned me before was now screaming at me to run. Hide. Anything
Instead of listening to it, I slowly sat down on the gallery floor, bent my knees up into my chest and leaned back against
the stand.
Then I waited.
EPOV
"So how many places do we have to go tomorrow?" Rosalie asked from the chair on the other side of my desk.
"At least five or six. I think we should also-" I started, but the phone started ringing, cutting me off.
I picked it up, "Agent Cullen."
"Yes, hi; we have a break in at the gallery on East Madison. Our local cops are on the way, but you were on our call list if
anyone ever broke in, so you may want to get down there." Said the police operator on the other end of the line.
"Thanks." I said, hanging up the phone in a rush and standing up.
"What happened?" Rosalie asked, standing up as well.
"We've gotta go." I said, grabbing my jacket off the back of my chair and rushing out of the room. "There's been a break in
at a gallery."
BPOV
I opened my eyes when I heard footsteps.
'Here we go.'
A security guard came running through the door, wielding a small gun.
"Freeze!" He yelled, standing near the door, pointing his gun at me.
"I'm not moving." I said, leaning my head back against the stand as I looked at him. He was young for a security guard;
and by the looks of it, he didn't have much experience with criminals.
I sighed, "I guess this is your lucky day. Not many security guards ever get the opportunity to catch a thief."
He shuffled forward a few steps, using a terrible stance and holding his gun at an awkward angle.
"Don't move and I won't shoot." He said, attempting to be forceful in his command, but I could detect a small quiver.
I looked at him, "The safety is on." I said, gesturing to the gun with my head.
He did a poor job at hiding his embarrassment, before flicking the safety off and re-pointing the gun at me.
I sighed again, "I assume the cops and the FBI are on their way by now?"
He looked at me for a second, still probably trying to figure out what I was up to, before nodding.
"Well then I guess we have a few more minutes of quiet before they get here." I said.
I started hearing sirens a few minutes later, I reopened my eyes for the second time, the security guard was in the exact
same position.
I looked at him, "Do you mind if I stand up, it looks lesssubmissive.
I didn't wait for him to answer before standing up, crossing my arms and leaning back against the stand.
I heard at least a dozen sets of footsteps pounding louder and louder toward us.
I took a deep breath.
My eyes were trained on the gallery doors as they burst open and police officers flooded in.
EPOV
I ran inside the front doors of the building, there were a few police officers, I assumed the rest were inside the gallery.
I flashed my badge around, waiting for someone to point me in the direction of the gallery.
"Oh good, you're agent Cullen with the FBI?" One of them asked, to which I nodded.
"Yeah, we got the thief; some of our guys are going to bring her out soon." He said.
"What?" I asked, my eyes widening, I must have heard wrong.
"We got the thief." He repeated, giving me a weird look.
I looked at Rosalie; she had the same look of unbelief on her face.
There was no way. It wasn't possible.
We both made our way toward the correct gallery, neither of us willing to believe it until we saw it.
Thousands of thoughts were flying across my mind.
But all of them stopped short when I opened the door to the gallery and noticed all the police officers standing around
one person: Scarlet.
BPOV
The police officers obviously had more practice with criminals then the security guard. One of them came over and forced
me onto my knees with my arms behind my head as he handcuffed me.
He brought me to my feet again, he was reading me my rights but I wasn't listening.
I was looking at Agent Cullen.
He was standing on the other side of the room, staring directly at me.
His eyes were surprised, but also confused.
I looked at him for one more long moment before the cop who had handcuffed me started leading me toward the door at
the other side of the room, breaking my gaze with him.
EPOV
I could see the deep brown of her eyes from where I stood, before she was pulled away.
I didn't know what to think.
It didn't make any sense.
I didn't even notice Rosalie standing beside me until she spoke, "So I guess she decided to turn herself in."
"No. This isn't like her. She wouldn't do this." I said, still starting after her.
"What do you mean?"
"Idon't know. I mean I've been after her for long enough to know that she is not the kind to just surrender." I said, briefly
A/N: Alright, how badly do you want the next chapter? Because it all depends on you guys clicking that green button
below. :P
"No, I'm not talking about going to lock up; I'm talking about the psychologist."
"Oh." He said, opening the door, "It's not optional, apparently there are some people that want to talk to you before you go
in."
"Great, that's just great." I said putting my head in my hands as the door closed.
EPOV
The only notion of time passing in my office was the hurried footsteps from the other side of the door, and the minute
hand on my clock slowly turning.
Rosalie was sitting in her usual seat in the chair across from me, her chin in her hand.
Neither of us said anything, because neither of us knew what to say.
The last thing I remember either of us saying was something along the lines of "It doesn't make any sense."
Rosalie was especially confused, which was making her angry, which in turn was making her more confused about why
she couldn't figure it out.
It would be pretty comical if I wasn't so confused about the matter myself.
I jumped a little when her phone started ringing.
"Hello?" She answered.
My eyes flicked over to her.
"Alright, great; I'll meet you down there soon. Thanks." She shut her phone and put it in her pocket before standing up, a
smile now present on her face.
"Care to share?" I asked, looking up at her.
"They finished up the paperwork with Scarlet; they're going to let me talk to her." She said, excitement obvious in her tone.
I perked up, interested.
"You wanna come?" She asked, as she pulled on her jacket.
I thought it over, "SureI'll watch, but I'll leave the psycho analyzing to you; I can't stay for long though, I have to get all my
paperwork done and filed by today."
She nodded and we started walking down the hall, she turned to look at me over her shoulder.
"Do you mind if I ask you to look from the observation room, you might be a distraction." She asked.
"How could I be a distraction?" I asked.
She threw me a look.
"Don't you remember the last time you had a conversation with her? She nearly dislocated your jaw.
I subconsciously rubbed the spot on my chin where she had kicked me, it felt like a lifetime ago.
"Oh yeah." I said, bringing myself back to the present. "Alright, I'll stay behind the glass."
"Good, this is definitely going to be interesting." She said as we stepped into the elevator.
BPOV
I was lying on my back, my fingers interlocked behind my head.
I sighed.
I realized that I had been doing a lot of that lately without knowing it.
Not that there was much else to do at the moment.
I was in temporary lockup, lying on one of the benches they had.
I opened my eyes when I heard some noises. The guard was unlocking the cell door, I looked at him curiously.
"Come on." He said, gesturing with his hand, "We're taking you over to the FBI building."
I grimaced, "Time for my psychologist appointment, I assume?" I asked.
"I don't know, I was just told to get you to the FBI building." He said, getting frustrated, "Would you rather stay here?" He
asked, obviously meaning for the question to be rhetorical, but the thought of meeting a psychologist was actually
making me consider his offer.
He put the handcuffs back on, this time behind my back. I grimaced when they started chaffing again.
I stepped out of the cell, and four male police officers stepped into line with me.
"Seriously?" I said, turning to the guy who had unlocked my cell.
"FBI's orders." He said, walking away.
I decided to take it as a compliment and started walking, trying not to laugh when they formed a box around me.
Our party arrived at the FBI swiftly; many onlookers stared openly at me as I walked by in my bright orange jumpsuit.
I ignored them; staring right ahead as I was escorted inside the building from the side entrance.
We stepped into the elevator, my eyes flicked over to the buttons that led down to the lower levels; it was hard to believe
that I was this close to the thing I wanted most, and yet I couldn't have it. Not yet.
I sighed when one of the police escorts pushed the button for the ninth floor and the elevator jumped into motion,
carrying us upward.
The four officers didn't say much, they all held a strict look on their face, telling me that they had escorted more
dangerous criminals before and that they took their job very seriously.
We exited the elevators onto a floor that had a lot less activity.
One of the armed escorts left and went to talk to someone, I assumed to tell them I was here.
He came back with another guy who made us follow him until he unlocked a door and I was escorted inside.
The room was very similar to the interrogation room I had been in before except not as oppressive. There were still a
table and two chairs, but they were nicer then the cold, hard metal I had sat on before. The walls were painted a dark
navy blue instead of the off white. I assumed that this was one of the FBI's nicer interrogation rooms, when I saw the
same type of two-way mirror on the wall.
"Sit." One of them ordered, pointing to a chair.
I complied and sat in the chair opposite the mirror.
I moved my shoulders around a little, trying to get the stiffness out from where my hands were handcuffed together
behind my back.
Once they made sure that I wasn't going to move, they left the room, leaving me alone once again.
A few silent minutes later, I heard movement behind the door followed by it opening.
A woman walked in and closed the door behind her; I recognized her from when I was being arrested. She had been
standing next to agent Cullen.
She sent me a warm smile, I just looked back uninterested.
"Hi, I'm Rosalie Hale. I'm a psychologist for the FBI. I was wondering if we could talk?" She asked, though I knew that I
didn't actually have a say in whether or not I wanted to talk to her.
When I didn't say anything, she took it as a yes and sat down in the chair opposite me.
I just stared at her, a look of defiance in my eyes. It didn't take a psychologist to figure out that I didn't want to be there.
"So, tell me about yourself Scarlet." She said, still smiling.
I narrowed my eyes a fraction, but kept my silence.
"Alright, how about starting with where you grew up?" She asked.
I furrowed my eyebrows a fraction, deciding to completely ignore her question.
"I'm not going to like you, am I?" I said, watching with satisfaction as the corner of her lip twitched; the only sign that I was
getting to her.
She sighed. "Fine, what would you like to talk about, because we're not leaving here until we talk about something." She
said, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair, trying to show that she was in control of the situation, not me.
I sighed again, she was serious, I could see it in her eyes.
"Alright fine, you wanna talk, pick a different topic." I said, readjusting my shoulders once again.
She regained her smile once again, "Great!"
My brows furrowed once again at her peppy attitude.
"Sowhy don't we talk about why you turned yourself in?" She asked.
I let out a large breath, deciding what a suitable answer would be.
"I guess I just thought it was the right thing to do." I said, figuring that that was close enough to the truth.
"Mhhmm." She said, obviously unconvinced but not about to call me out on it.
"So, how long have you been working on my case?" I asked her, turning the tables.
"A while." Was her vague answer; she obviously wanted to be the one asking questions.
I didn't let her.
"So, the FBI must have been pretty desperate to catch me if they brought a psychologist on to hunt for me." I said, a small
smile on my face as I took control of the conversation.
"Not desperate so much as determined." She said, her smile turning slightly stiffer. I was assuming that she was only
deciding to answer my questions in a way to keep me talking.
"Yeah, but you have to admit, asking a psychologist to join the team makes you wonder if the agents are capable of
capturing criminals such as myself on their own." I said, the smile still in place on my face.
"They have caught many criminals before you without the help of psychologists." She said, trying not to let me see that
she was getting slightly bitter.
"Yes, but not of my standard." I said.
"They caught you." She said, a flicker of defiance in her eyes.
"Ah, no. Remember, I surrendered. There's a difference." I said.
"That's right, you did. Why don't we get back on topic and discuss that some more." She said, trying yet again to gain
control of the conversation.
"We already talked about that." I said, knowing that the only reason she brought it up again was because she wasn't
satisfied with my previous answer.
"Alright, why don't we talk about your family or friends." She said, linking her fingers and resting her elbows on the table.
"Don't have any." I said quickly, the smile no longer on my face.
"Which one?" She asked.
I hesitated, debating whether or not to answer truthfully.
"Both." I said slowly.
"Oh come on, you must have at least one friend helping you out with all the stuff you do." She said, smiling to herself
because she was able to get a concrete answer out of me.
"Nope." I said, defiant. Knowing that she was trying to get me to talk while also trying to get me to incriminate other
people.
"You're telling me that you managed to do all of the things you did by yourself? Even you're not that good." She said,
narrowing her eyes a fraction in challenge.
I took the bait, narrowing my eyes back, "Oh yes. I am."
"I don't believe you." She said, the smile had left her mouth but was now hiding in her eyes. I knew that she was
manipulating me, yet I couldn't help but defend my credibility.
"If you want proof, hook me up to a lie detector." I said, leaning back in the chair.
I never thought for a second that she would go for it; I assumed that she knew I could cheat one and that she wouldn't get
any real answers out of me.
That's why I was surprised when she smiled and said, "Alright, I'll have them set out up. You're already incriminated, so
you can't do any more damage to yourself."
She seemed triumphant about something, it made me edgy. But not edgy enough to make me believe that I couldn't get
past whatever she decided to throw at me.
She got up and left the room for a few minutes, when she came back, she was followed by a man pushing a cart with a
lot of expensive looking equipment.
One of the guards that had brought me in here followed after them. He walked over to where I was sitting and unlocked
the cuffs from behind my back.
I let out a sigh of relief when they came off and rubbed my wrist where a prominent red mark was now present.
He left the room, closing the door behind him.
I watched in curiosity as the tech guy set up the whole system. There were a lot of wires and flat computer screen.
Some polygraphs have gone digital, I guess the FBI has enough pull to afford one.
He adjusted the screen away from me so that I couldn't see the reading once he hooked me up to it.
He grabbed something that looked like one of the clips they put over patients fingers at hospitals and gestured for my
right hand.
I reluctantly gave it to him, letting him put the clip over my index finger.
I only had a few moments before he turned on the machine and it started recording my heart rate.
Being a criminal, teaching myself how to fool a polygraph was one of the first things I did in case I ever got caught.
True, I did not expect the situation to be quite like this, but it was a good thing I trained myself anyways.
I took several deep breaths, filling my lungs to the brim, steadying my intake of air.
I concentrated, focused on feeling each one of my muscles move. Soon I could feel the beat of my heart in my fingertips.
The first part was done, my breathing was regulated and I could feel each beat of my heart.
He flicked the machine on, watched the recording of my heart beat for a few seconds, and then nodded at Rosalie.
The trick to deceiving a polygraph is not so much in making your lies seem like true words, but rather making your true
words seem like lies.
The purpose for those watching your heartbeat is that when your heart rate increases, it is because of extra activity and
stress happening in your mind that causes your heart to race. Creating a lie is stressful and takes a lot of mind power,
telling the truth does not.
By looking at the difference in your heart rate from when they know you're telling the truth and when you're not, they can
tell you're lying.
The trick is to increase your heart rate for the control questions that they know the answers to, that way when you do tell a
lie; there is no noticeable difference in your blood pressure.
There are many ways to do this.
If you know that you are going to be taking a polygraph test, putting a tack in your shoe and stepping on it during the
control questions will increase your heart rate in your body's response to the pain.
Since I didn't have that advantage, I would have to use other methods.
The guy who set up the equipment left the room, leaving the two of us alone once again.
She looked straight at me, the essence of triumph still in her eyes.
"Let's start with something basic." She said.
I nodded, accepting her challenge.
"Are you a citizen of the United States?" She asked, watching me very carefully.
I subtly bit hard on my tongue.
"Yes."
Her eyes flicked over to the screen, I could see no reaction on her face.
"Is your real name Scarlet?" she asked. She may have tried to hide it, but I could see the want in her eyes for the real
answer to that question.
Too bad I wasn't going to give it to her.
My answer was a lie, so I answered normally without doing anything.
"Yes."
Her eyes flicked to the screen again, I could see no visible disappointment on her face.
Another way to increase your heart rate is to do math in your head, long division is one of the ones that works the best,
the only problem is that you have to keep doing it as you answer.
I started rambling off the Fibonacci sequence in my head as quickly as I could.
'Zero, one, one, two, three, five, eight, thirteen, twenty-one, thirty-four, fifty-five, eighty-nine, one hundred-forty four'
"Are you twenty-seven years old?" she asked.
"Yes." I answered truthfully.
I kept going back and forth between biting my tongue and doing math in my head to raise my blood pressure every time
she asked a question that I could answer truthfully.
She asked dozens of questions, all ranging from favorite color to whether I really did have help during my heists.
I answered back accordingly, my heart rate being recorded at the same beat for each question.
We had been going at it for at least twenty minutes and so far I had hit back everything she had thrown me; the triumph
was gone from her eyes but she was still defiant, not willing to let me win our silent competition.
She knew that I was lying in response to some of these questions, yet there was no physical reaction. She was trying to
make me slip up.
A look of calculation came into her eyes, like someone trying to decide what their next move would be in a game of
chess.
Then there was a spark. I was immediately suspicious.
Her eyes flicked back toward the two-way mirror on the wall.
I was still doing math in my head to keep my heart rate up.
'The square root of one thousand five hundred and twenty one isthirty-nine'
"Do you think Agent Edward Cullen is a good federal agent?"
'Three hundred and sixty fi-'
"What?" I asked, my mind stopping its mathematical progression once it processed her question, not understanding
how it could be relevant.
My mind automatically pulled up an image of his face against my attempts to block it out.
There was a trace of a smile on her lips, "Please answer 'yes' or 'no'."
I attempted to reign my pulse back in to the controlled one I had it at before.
"YesI suppose, but I still don't see how that is relevant." I said, taking a deep breath.
She smiled a little more and the triumph was once again in her eyes.
"Is agent Cullen more interesting to you then the other federal agents that worked your case in the past years?" She
asked.
This was not good; she was going off the books, stepping completely away from the scripted questions that they were
supposed to ask during a polygraph.
"No." I answered, my eyes narrowing.
But she saw right through me.
I didn't have to be looking at the screen to know that my pulse jumped a fraction, I felt it.
I might as well have just said that I was lying.
I unclipped the instrument from my finger as quickly as I could without being obvious that I wanted it off immediately.
She didn't stop me and attempted to reign her smile back in, but was failing pretty miserably. I was using all my restraint
to keep my emotions in check and stay calm.
She stood up from her chair, "I think that's enough for now."
It was then that I remembered my original intention; I figured that she would work as well as anybody to get the message
through.
"Actually, I do feel like talking." I said.
She raised an eyebrow, curiosity in her eyes. She began to sit down again but I shook my head.
"Not with you. With your boss, the director of this agency branch. Tell him that I have a proposition he should consider." I
said, leaning back in my chair.
She looked at me for a second, trying to figure out what I was up to.
I knew that she would deliver the message, she was too curious not to.
She opened the door and stepped out.
"I'll just wait here!" I called as she closed the door behind her.
The same security guard came back in and re-handcuffed me, much to my obvious protest and reluctance.
He took the cart with the polygraph equipment with him as he left, leaving me by myself once again.
I leaned back in my chair and put my feet up on the table as I waited the man I wanted to talk with to get here.
EPOV
It was strange seeing Scarlet sitting there in handcuffs, almost like it wasn't real.
She didn't look different from the few times I'd seen her before.
She still had the wavy locks of chestnut brown hair, and the deep brown eyes that seemed to have flecks of gold in them
when they caught the light.
I was only able to watch a couple minutes of Rose's psychological analysis. It was pretty amusing watching her struggle
to get the upper hand over Scarlet.
All too soon I had to leave and finish up my paperwork.
I had been getting handshakes and pats on the back all day from people who were impressed with my achievements.
I didn't feel like I deserved them though since I didn't technically catch her.
I was still overwhelmed with the whole situation. I still couldn't believe it.
I had spent every moment of every day for months hunting and searching for her, and now it was over.
I didn't really know what to do with myself.
I finished up all of the paperwork that needed to be completed and walked out of my office, nearly running into Rosalie.
She had on an interesting expression, she was both excited and confused, it was an interesting combination to see on
someone's face.
"What happened?" I asked, gaining her attention.
She seemed to return to the present moment and realize I was standing there.
"She's verycryptic. The second I think I have her figured out; she turns around and does something completely
unexpected, throwing everything I thought I knew out the window." She said with frustration.
She was holding a stack of papers in her hand.
"Did you take notes?" I asked, pointing to them.
"What? No, these are the polygraph results, I printed them out." She said distractedly, her mind still thinking about
something else.
"You made her take a polygraph?" I asked, bewildered.
She shrugged, "She offered, and my curiosity got the better of me."
"Wellhow'd it go?" I asked, wondering if she'd let me take a look.
She handed over the papers and I started flipping through them, all the rates were the same.
"She's very good, one of the best I've seen." Rosalie said, a sliver of reluctance in her tone.
I was flipping through all the pages and stopped when I got to the last one; there was a large spike in the heart beat.
"Whoa, what did you ask her here?" I asked, extremely interested.
Someone this trained at fooling polygraphs wouldn't slip up unless they were completely caught off guard.
Rosalie noticed what I was asking about and snatched the papers back.
"Wouldn't you like to know." She smiled, laughter in her eyes at some private joke that I obviously was not meant to be
included in on.
I narrowed my eyes at her, "I guess I should have done my paperwork another time. I would have been able to hear for
myself."
Her eyes widened, "Oh my god, I just remembered." She said before running off down the hall towards Aro's office and
started knocking on the door furiously.
I watched from a distance, confused.
She slipped inside and I waited a few minutes for her to come out, throwing her a look that clearly asked 'what was that
all about?'
Aro came out of his office behind her and started walking toward the elevator.
Rosalie strode over to me quickly and grabbed onto my arm, pulling me in the direction of the elevator as well.
"It's Scarlet. She asked to talk to him specifically. I don't know why." It was clearly bothering her, and now it had me
curious.
We had to wait for another elevator to follow him to where Scarlet was being held, but when it finally stopped on our floor
we rushed inside.
After a few stops to let other people off on their floors, the elevator came to a stop on the interrogation floor, we
impatiently walked out, our curiosity taking hold of our actions.
We headed for the door that led to the observation room, but there was an officer at the door that denied us entrance.
"Sorry, director Aro's orders. The detainee would only talk to him, no observers except for the usual officer. I've been told
to tell anyone who wants to get inside that they'll have to wait until the conversation is over." He said.
I looked at him like he was insane, debating whether or not it was worth it to try and force my way past him.
Rosalie obviously had the same thought going through her head by the way she was grinding her teeth. This must have
been even more excruciating for her then it was for me.
I sighed, relenting.
"Come on Rose," I said, pulling on her arm, "We'll find out soon enough, why don't we just go wait in my office."
With one last glare at the door blocker she gave in and followed me back toward the elevators.
We had been sitting in my office for a good half hour, trying to wait patiently.
I soon found out that patience was not one of Rosalie's virtues when it came to something she really wanted.
She paced back and forth for about ten minutes, talking both to me and herself about what Scarlet could be talking to the
director about.
Neither of us had any ideas that sounded logical.
She finally decided to sit down but didn't stop talking.
After a while, there was a knock on my door and one of the interns poked their heads in.
"Agent Cullen, Director Aro wants a word with you." He said.
Rosalie jumped up and I followed quickly.
A/N: Alright, so judging from the amount of reviews I got for the last chapter, I figure that a lot more of you seem to be
able to press that green button. So, I'm going to ask again, how badly do you want the next chapter? :P
I stood on one side of the elevator, rocking back and forth on my heels, practically feeling the irritation roll off of Agent
Cullen who stood next to me.
It was quiet, he was obviously brooding. I let him do it, he was going to need to get it out of his system if we were going to
work together.
A few moments later the elevator doors 'dinged' open and he stepped out briskly.
I quickly followed, making sure to stay a step behind him.
He didn't bother knocking on the door when we got to the office where we were headed.
"Ah, Agent Cullen, I've been expecting you." Said the guy sitting behind the desk as he put down the phone.
There was another person sitting in the chair on the opposite side of the desk. He got one glance at the look on Agent
Cullen's face and said, "I'll talk to you later Ted." Before quickly getting up from his chair and leaving the room.
"So Edward, I hear you have a new partner." Said the guy who I assumed was Ted. It was obvious that he was trying not
to laugh, but failing miserably.
I heard Agent Cullen grumbling under his breath.
"Ah! And this must be her!" He said with a smile as he stood up and offered his hand.
I stepped forward and took his outstretched hand with a smile in return, briefly aware of Agent Cullen rolling his eyes.
"Ted, Ted Culligan." He said as he shook my hand.
"Scarlet." I replied.
"I know." Was his response. At my strange look he elaborated, "Word travels fast around here; I doubt you could find
someone that doesn't know who you are in this building. I mean, everybody knows how obsessed Eddie here is with
you."
This time the waves of emotion I felt coming off Agent Cullen were no longer annoyance, but pure hatred.
Ted saw his look and laughed, "I'm just joking around." He held his palms up in defense.
"Can you just tell me what I need so I can go?" Agent Cullen said, obviously refraining himself.
"Sure sure." He said, still chuckling as he sat down again at his desk.
He clicked a few things on his computer, before looking at us again.
"Alright, so basically she stays with you at all times. If we check her anklet and she's not with you, then we send people
out. If she tries tampering with her anklet, we send people out. Basically, if anything happens that's not supposed to, we
send people out." He said, looking at me slightly apologetically.
I shrugged, it's not like I didn't expect it.
"She gets enough money for food and board, and for any other necessary purchases." He said, pausing for a moment,
"I'll also need her to sign some paperwork, liability stuff, and then you should be good to go." He ended cheerfully.
He started typing on his computer again.
"Wait, where is she staying?" Agent Cullen asked.
"Hhmm?" Ted said, his focus on his computer.
"Where is she staying?" Agent Cullen said once again, this time with more authority, leaning on the desk with his palms.
Ted turned to look at him, "Oh, right. He clicked a few more things on his computer." He chuckled again.
"You're not going to like it." He said.
"Just tell me where." He said.
"I just heard the news, are you really-" He, like Emmett, stopped short when he spotted me.
"Hello, again." He said, smiling at me.
It took me a moment before it clicked; he was the agent I ran into when I had broken into Agent Cullen's office.
"Jasper this is Scarlet, Scarlet this is Jasper. Alright, introductions over. Let's go." Agent Cullen said, as he tried to lead
me back the way we came.
"What's the rush, Edward?" Jasper said, smiling at me once again.
He grumbled, but stopped trying to pull me away.
I understood quickly why it was that he wanted to pull me away. Both Emmett and Jasper asked question after question,
trying to poke fun at Edward every chance they got.
Rosalie and Agent Cullen sulked a few feet away, both obviously wanting this conversation to end as quickly as possible.
Soon, they both lost patience and I was being escorted toward the elevator by Agent Cullen, while Rosalie was making
the other two go back to their offices, or wherever they were before I showed up.
It was silent in the elevator.
"They seem nice" I said, breaking the silence. "Though, I think Rosalie may be a little hostile towards me for a while."
He didn't respond, just stared ahead at the metal doors, obviously still angry.
EPOV
"Come on." I said to myself, as I knocked on the door for the second time.
I looked at my watch, tapped my foot impatiently.
"They just had to give me a partner. And it just had to be her." I mumbled to myself.
"Come on Scarlet! I called you twenty minutes ago, we have to go!" I yelled through the door as I knocked again.
The door swung open suddenly and she stepped out, locking the door behind her quickly.
"Finally." I muttered, walking down the hall to the stairs.
"I'm coming, I'm coming." I heard her mutter, followed by quick footsteps.
"So, what's the big rush?" She asked as we stepped out the door into the bright light, making us both squint.
Light was reflecting off the snow as we began walking down the sidewalk.
"There's been a break in." I said.
She nodded, but said nothing else.
She had no problem keeping up with my longer strides, as we both avoided patches of ice.
We walked into the much drier parking structure and I walked toward my car, pulling my keys out of my pocket.
I heard her chuckle from a few steps behind me.
I threw her a look that blatantly said, 'what's so funny?'
"I have good memories about this car." She said with a smile, reminding me of the situation where she stole my car.
I grumbled something incomprehensible and got into the driver's seat.
I waited a moment for her to get in. Still not able to fully grasp the fact that she was here, actually here. After spending
almost a year chasing her, to have her be sitting a foot away, out of the handcuffs I had spent so long trying to put her in.
I didn't believe her when she said she wanted to help, I didn't trust that she was doing this out of the goodness in her
heart.
She had some ulterior motive, there was something she wanted, or somethingI didn't even know what because I
couldn't think of something that she would feel was worth turning herself in for.
But for the moment, I had no choice. Aro was my boss, what he said goes.
No matter how much I protested or tried to convince him that she wasn't to be trusted, that she belonged in jail for all the
things she did.
But he didn't agree, he thought that she could help. He said that she wasn't considered a violent criminal, and that she
might actually do some good. I distinctly remembered that I had laughed when he said that.
And so, here I was, driving through traffic in the busy Chicago downtown area, a thief in my passenger seat.
She didn't say anything, I couldn't stop my eyes from occasionally flicking over to look at her, but she didn't do anything
but stare out the window.
I was angry; not only because of the fact that I was receiving a partner without my consent, but because that partner was
Scarlet.
My eyes flicked over to her again, but she was still either deep in thought, or wasn't in the mood for talking for the first
time since Aro had first assigned her to me, not that I was complaining, the quiet was refreshing.
A few minutes later we were there, I pulled the car over and put in park before unbuckling my seatbelt, it took Scarlet a
moment to realize we had stopped. She started scrambling to undo her seatbelt, but I shook my head and stopped her.
"No, sorry. You're not coming in. Aro said I had to bring you with me, but I don't need your help and I don't want it. So you're
staying in the car." I said, getting out on my own side and walking around the front of my car to the sidewalk.
"Oh, come on." She said, unbuckling her seatbelt and started opening the door.
"I said no."I pushed her door closed again, glaring at her.
She glared back at me and threw it open for the second time, I had to move back to avoid being hit.
"I'm coming in no matter what you say, and you can't stop me." She said fiercely, still glaring.
I narrowed my eyes, "Actually, I can." I said, pulling out my handcuffs and snapping one to her wrist quickly from where it
was holding onto the top of the door, and then snapping the other onto the door handle.
"Hey! Come on!" She said, pulling at it uselessly before glaring at me even more and letting out a sound that was close
to a growl.
"Bye." I said as I turned around and began walking towards the front door of the building.
I walked inside and was immediately greeted by some of the police officers that recognized me.
The cops pointed me to the back room when I asked where I was needed; I lifted the crime scene tape up and ducked
underneath.
I walked into the room; there was even more broken glass, and a few scattered jewels here and there.
"So, can anyone tell me what happened here?" I asked, letting my voice carry throughout the room.
"Well," One of them started, walking up to me, "The alarms went off at around two o'clock this morning, cops responded,
but when they got here, this was all they found."
"How long did it take for them to get here?" I asked, my eyes still scanning over all the damage.
"Less than five minutes." He said.
"So the criminals got in and out in less than five minutes, destroying the security cameras without being seen." I said,
pausing for a moment, letting my eyes wander, "Impressive."
I let my eyes wander around the room for a few minutes, taking closer looks at certain things before standing back up
and looking at one of the cops.
"So, do we know what all was stolen?" I asked, looking around for the owner, but only spotting police officers.
One of them noticed this and said, "He's already been taken back to the bureau for questioning."
"And none of you thought to ask him to go over his inventory before he left?" I said.
They looked slightly abashed.
"Is there any way we can figure this out for ourselves, without his help?" I asked, looking around.
A couple of them shook their heads, "They closed the safe after they got what they needed, only the owner knows the
combination" He said.
"Damn it, when can we get him back here, or the person who runs security to open it?" I asked.
I heard someone coughing behind me.
Both I and the police officer turned around to see Scarlet walking into the room with her hand raised.
"Why don't I just do it?" she asked, looking between me and the cop.
She noticed my speechless look at her presence, probably guessing that I was wondering how she got out of the car.
She pulled the cuffs out of her pocket and tossed them to me, along with a look that showed she obviously thought I was
an idiot.
I still had a surprised look on my face so she elaborated, "Hello. Renowned thief here, master of stealth and picking
locks." She said, pointing to herself.
When I said nothing she kept talking, "So you guys need to get into a safe, that's definitely within my area of expertise."
"No, absolutely not." I said, as I put the cuffs away on my belt.
"Why not?" She argued.
"Because I'm not about to let a known thief break into a safe at a crime scene." I said strongly , "How the hell did you even
get in here?" I asked, changing the topic as the thought hit me.
"I told the cops in front that I was with you." She said, waving off the question with her hand as if it was no big deal as she
looked around the room, taking the destruction in. "So, am I doing this or what?" She asked, gesturing to the safe.
We had gained the attention of most of the officers by now, they were watching out argument like a tennis match, their
heads switching back and forth.
almost frozen.
It was obvious when she had it.
A small smile stretched on her face, and her eyes shot open, they were dancing with triumph.
She threw the door of the safe open as she stood up.
Everyone was speechless for a few moments, still in awe of what they had just witnessed.
She stepped back from the safe as all the officers crowded forward, anxious to see what she uncovered.
I was impressed, but didn't show it.
I was not about to admit that she had been helpful.
I watched as she stepped back and started observing quietly from the back of the room.
I tore my eyes away from her and advanced toward the now-open safe.
"So, what all's missing?" I asked to anybody who could answer.
They were pulling a few things out at a time, placing them on one of the few counters that weren't damaged.
There wasn't much left.
There were about five pieces left of what was probably originally fifty or more.
I grabbed a pair of latex gloves and stepped forward to the table.
I noticed Scarlet start to come forward in my peripheral vision and immediately sent her a look.
She stopped moving and held her hands up in surrender and went back to leaning against the wall; for once, listening to
me.
I picked up one of the pieces; it was a diamond necklace, at least thirty karats, probably more. Definitely valuable.
"So why'd they leave it behind?" I said to myself.
"Maybe they ran out of time?" One of the cops answered anyways.
I heard Scarlet cough behind me, obviously disagreeing.
I ignored her.
"It's possible." I said, putting the necklace back down, "but we won't know for sure until we get more information."
I looked over the other pieces briefly, they weren't as valuable as the necklace, but they were still fairly nice.
"Alright, why don't we get CSU in here to dust everything down, see if we can get any prints off the countertops." I said,
leaning up from the table and pulling off my rubber glove with a 'snap'.
They nodded at me and I started heading for the door.
Scarlet pushed herself off the wall she was leaning against and said, "That's it?"
"Yep." I said, walking past her out the door.
She hurried to catch up with me.
"Do you usually spend so little time at crime scenes?" She asked, confused.
"I like to get more facts until I start making theories." Was the only answer I gave her as I unlocked the car and got into the
driver's seat.
I looked over and saw that my glove box was open, all the contents spilled out over the floor, I threw her a look.
She shrugged, "I needed to find something to pick the lock."
BPOV
I sighed and rested my head in palm as I watched the downtown area rush by.
My eyes flickered over to Edward; his hands were tense as he gripped the wheel.
My eyes trailed up to his face to notice his jaw was tense as well.
His eyes glanced over to me and I looked away quickly.
It was obvious that he didn't want me here.
I didn't blame him.
He spent a majority of his FBI career trying to put me in jail, and even when he catches me, I get to essentially go free.
I decided not to bother him for the remainder of the car ride and soon we were pulling into the parking garage next to the
FBI building.
He got out quickly and I had to hurry to follow him so that I wouldn't get locked in.
I followed him into the building, up to the same interrogation floor that I had been to previously.
Except this time, I wasn't the one being questioned.
"Where's the jewelry shop owner?" Edward asked one of the guards.
"Ummmnumber three I believe." He said, pointing to one of the doors.
Edward thanked him and opened the door then walked inside, I made sure to keep up because I wasn't sure if he forgot
I was there and would close the door before I got inside.
Apparently my thoughts of him forgetting I was there were wrong because he turned around and stopped me when I tried
to go inside the actual interrogation room.
"No." He said.
I narrowed my eyes.
"Oh come on. I won't even say anything." I said.
"Great, then you don't even need to be in there at all, you can watch from out here." He said, gesturing to the observation
room, where there was a single guard who was monitoring the recording system.
I ground my teeth together in frustration.
I was still glaring at him as I sat in one of the few seats. He took the earpiece that was handed to him and placed it in his
ear. They were used so that he could talk to the guard out here if he needed to, without having to come out of the
interrogation room.
He looked at me, "Stay." He said, pointing at me.
"You make sure she stays in here." He said, turning to the guard who nodded. I just glared harder.
He went inside the door to the interrogation room and I watched through the window that was the opposite side of a twoway mirror.
"Hello Mr. Carter." I heard Edward say, slightly muffled through the glass, "I'm Agent Cullen, the agent handling the case
pertaining to the break in at your business."
"Am I under arrest?" Was the first thing the man said.
"Of course not, we're just talking; you're free to go at any time. We want to catch the people who did this just as badly as
I'm sure you do. But to do that, we need your help." Edward said, the generic response for such a question.
I stood up from my seat and came closer to glass, getting a better look.
The man looked older then he probably was, probably mid-forties.
What amount of hair he had left was receding quickly and his face held a look that told me he was often pretentious. It
bothered me.
"Alright, so what do you need?" He asked.
He was awfully calm and unworried for just having been robbed.
"We will need a list of all your merchandise so that we can determine what was stolen and we will also need a list of you
employees and places where we can contact them." Edward said.
"Oh, of course. Yes, I was at home during the incident, my wife can corroborate." He said confidently.
I couldn't tell if he was lying exactly, but there was something about the way he said it that made me instantly suspicious.
I was liking this man less and less.
"Okay, thank you." Edward said, "Could you tell me about your collection?"
"Well, a majority of the collection was crafted within the last ten years or so. Their value is quite substantial when put
together." He said, rubbing his forehead with his index and thumb, showing the image of worry. I didn't believe it for a
second.
"How substantial?" Edward asked, "Please, if you could at least estimate it would help us."
"Around four hundred and six thousand." Was his answer.
He didn't even pause. He didn't even have to think about the answer to that question, which meant that he expected it and
had an answer ready. But the fact that he was that specific about the amount when he could have easily have said
'roughly five hundred thousand', was making me think he was hiding something.
I thought for a second, 'how could it b e profitab le for him if all of his jewels were stolen?'
Then it hit me.
I quickly walked over to the guard who was controlling the recording leaned around him and pressed the microphone
button.
"He did it! He's the one that did it!" I said into the microphone, knowing that Edward was hearing this in his ear.
The guard quickly tried to stop me, but I grabbed the microphone and ducked away, watching through the glass window.
Edward seemed to have no reaction.
"He's guilty!" I yelled louder into the microphone, still seeing no reaction from Edward. I wanted to pull my hair out or
pound on the glass.
The guard was trying to grab the microphone back from me, but I kept him at bay with one hand and used the other to
hold the microphone.
"Do any of your employees know about the amount that all of the jewels are worth?" Edward asked him. I gaped at the
mirror; I couldn't believe he was just ignoring me.
"No Edward, it wasn't one of his employees, well he may have had one of them do it for him, but he's definitely guilty! Ask
him how much insurance he had on the jewels! If he had all of the gems that were stolen insured, then the insurance
company would have to pay the full amount they were insured for and then he could sell the actual jewels on the black
market! I'm telling you he's-"
I watched as Edward ripped the earpiece out of his ear, effectively silencing my input.
I growled and glared at the back of Edward's head through the glass.
The guard snatched the microphone out of my hand and went back to his desk, throwing a mean look my way, but I was
too busy glaring at the glass to notice.
He asked more pointless questions and received answers that were now obviously lies or half truths while I brooded
from behind the glass.
About twenty minutes later he came out of the interrogation room and ignored my looks as he handed over the earpiece
to the guard.
He opened the door leading out into the hall and stepped out, I followed behind, furious.
"Are you kidding me!?!" I yelled at his back as he walked down the hall.
He stopped and turned around; his expression was similar to my own.
"No! I'm not! Sorry, but I don't want someone screaming in my ear when I'm trying to ask someone questions!" He yelled
back, taking a step toward me.
"Well, I wouldn't have had to scream in your ear if you had let me come inside!" I rebutted.
"I didn't want you inside! I don't even want you here at all!" He yelled back.
"That doesn't matter! He's guilty as hell and you're too stubborn to even consider that I might be right!" I yelled.
He laughed, but it wasn't because the situation was particularly funny, "You think that I don't know he probably did it!?!" He
said.
That stopped my train of thought right in its tracks.
"Wait. What?" I asked, no longer yelling; thinking that I must have heard wrong.
"Yeah; it was one of the first thoughts that went through my head after he provided a perfect alibi when I didn't even ask
for one. How could he have known what time the crime happened if he wasn't there and we didn't tell him?" He said,
looking at me intensely.
I said nothing.
"See. I don't need you. I can solve the puzzles on my own, without your help." He said, giving me one last hard look to my
silent face before turning around and continuing to walk down the hall, away from me.
"You're wrong." I said to his retreating back, stopping him.
He didn't turn around.
"So you can figure out why he did it all on your own. That's great. Until that's not enough. Tell me Edward, how many
criminals have you seen walk because your case isn't strong enough against them?"
He turned around to look at me but didn't answer.
"You do need me. You need me because I can give you the one piece that's missing from your puzzle." I said as I started
walking towards him until I was right in front of him.
"The how." I said, looking up at him.
"It's your job to find the motive; to find the 'why' within the crime. You need someone that can tell you how they did it. And
unless you have someone else volunteering to tell you what the average width of an air conditioning vent is, or someone
who knows what kind of micro laser you'd need to get inside a steel vault, I'm your only option, so you're just going to
have to deal with it." I said, my eyes still narrowed as I walked past him, just as furious as before.
So far, this was not going the way I had imagined.
But there was no turning back.
A/N: So, lots of reviews for that last chapter, I'm hoping to receive just as many for this chapter (hint hint). I'm really
happy that so many people are enjoying this story so much. Many of you have asked, so I'm just going to make it
official, 'Yes, I do watch White Collar'. You guys know what to do, press that green button and make me smile! :P
It wasn't working.
There was a knock on my door and I let out a breath of exertion and cracked one eye open.
Jasper poked his head in, silently asking for permission to enter.
"Come on in." I told him, gesturing with my hand and sitting up in my chair..
He came in the remainder of the way and plopped into the seat across from me.
"Anything I can help you with Jasper?" I asked, rubbing the sleepiness out of my eyes.
"Nah, I'm just hiding and avoiding the paperwork that's waiting on my desk. 'You mind?" He said.
I shook my head and he visibly relaxed.
He took in my demeanor and raised an eyebrow.
"So what's up with you? You look like crap." He said blatantly.
I narrowed my eyes at him before rubbing my brow.
"It's been a long morning, and my new partner isn't exactly working out." I said, my anger once again rising.
"Well, the morning's not over yet. What's wrong with you and Scarlet?" He asked absentmindedly, looking at his
fingernails.
"I don't want or need her here; she should be in prison." I said vehemently, my brow creasing.
He looked up, surprised by my tone, "Wow, I remember when you were practically obsessed with her. What happened to
that side of you?" He asked.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Alright, I think you need to leave." I said instead of answering.
He looked as if he was going to argue, but saw my look and thought better of it.
"Alright, I'll talk to you later." He stood up from his chair and went over to the door.
He opened it to step out, but Scarlet was standing outside, her fist raised to knock.
I saw him smile and step to the side, "After you." He said, gesturing inside the room.
I rolled my eyes as she smiled at him and stepped into the room.
Her smile disappeared and a look of indignation overcame her face when she looked at me.
Without asking permission, she sat in the chair that Jasper just vacated.
"Yes?" I asked impatiently. It wasn't long ago that we had our argument and I was still feeling petulant. She obviously saw
BPOV
I was sitting in the passenger seat of Edward's car as we sped toward the bank, warrant in hand.
He hadn't said anything to me in a while, I had a feeling that the anger was returning.
I looked over and saw his hands flexing where they gripped the steering wheel; I decided not to bother him for the
moment.
He swung the car into a parking spot once we got there and got out of the car, to which I followed.
I trotted behind him as he walked inside and walked past the people in line to the counter, much to their protest.
He leaned over and flashed his badge, "Can I speak to the manager please?" He asked, a sense of urgency in his tone.
The man's eyes flickered to Edward's badge then he quickly told the customers to wait a moment and slipped into one of
the back areas.
He came back with an older man who I assumed was the manager.
They both quickly came over; the manager didn't look too thrilled to see Edward.
"Hello, I'm agent Cullen with the FBI; I have a warrant to get into a safety deposit box." He said, reaching into the inside of
his suit to pull out the piece of paper.
"And you are?" The manager asked me as he took the piece of paper from Edward.
"I'm his partner." I said, holding out my hand for him to shake.
"Actually she's a consultant on the case." Edward corrected, narrowing his eyes slightly at me.
The manager looked between us, obviously confused. I noticed the original bank worker go back to helping the line of
customers.
"Regardless, do we have to do this right at this moment? You people come busting in here, disrupt our customers"
The manager began complaining and I quickly lost interest, positive that his ranting wasn't going to come to a stop
anytime soon.
I turned around and leaned my back against the counter while Edward sorted it all out.
I was watching all the people come and go, many of whom were standing in multiple lines sown the entire length of the
bank were checking their watches, obviously having somewhere better to be then standing in line at a bank.
I yawned, understanding their boredom.
Then there was a prickly feeling on the back of my neck. I didn't like it.
My gaze immediately started sweeping across the entire lobby, taking in every face, trying to pinpoint where the feeling
was coming from.
My eyes traveled over the front door, then snapped back once my brain processed what I saw.
"Hey Edward" I said, watching as two men came through the door.
"Edward." I said again, since the first time seemed to have no reaction.
He ignored me once again and I turned back around and shook his arm, saying his name one more time, my gaze still
on the front of the bank.
"What!?" Edward said, finally turning to look at me.
"We may have a problem." I said, unfazed by his outburst.
"Listen, I'm going to go and see which vault this box is located and I'll be right back." Said the manager, oblivious to the
small argument that Edward and I were having.
Edward nodded to him, and then turned to me once more.
"What are you talking about Scarlet? What is so important that you couldn't wait?" He said, throwing his arms up in
frustration and looking at me, his eyes aflame.
I was getting really tired of him yelling at me.
I reached out gripped his shoulder and turned him around, pointing over his shoulder to the two men.
"Watch." I commanded, lowering my arm.
We both watched as the two men approached one of the workers at the counter at the far end of the bank, one who didn't
have a customer.
We were both silent. My theory was confirmed as the two men started talking to the bank worker; soon a look of terror
overcame his face and he began walking backwards.
They followed him toward the back room; the two mysterious men glanced around the lobby and Edward and I looked
away quickly.
It didn't take a federal agent to figure out that something was terribly wrong.
"See." I said, he nodded. He had a slightly worried look on his face; I could tell his mind was spinning theories.
"Stay here." He said, his hand going to rest on his gun holster as he started walking toward the far end of the bank where
the men just were.
"Screw that; I'm coming with you." I said, stepping forward.
I assumed that he thought about what happened the last time he tried to stop me from going somewhere, because he
didn't say anything else and continued walking across the room.
"Here." He said, handing me his phone, "Call the bureau, tell them to send some people over now, but to keep it under
the radar; if these guys are dangerous, we don't want to spook them and get someone hurt because they're most likely
armed."
I nodded and flipped the phone open.
"We've got another problem." I said as I looked at the screen on the phone.
"What?" He asked.
I showed him the screen. No bars.
"They must have a cell blocker up." I said.
"How could they get their hands on one of those; their government issued." Edward asked.
I threw him a look, "You're kidding, right? Edward, if there's one thing you should know, it's that if you have enough money,
you can pretty much get anything you want. Chances are, if they managed to take out the cell lines, they also managed to
take out the land lines. The bank will figure it out soon enough, but the robbers will most likely be long gone before they
figure out how."
"Damn it. How far do you think the cell blocker stretches?" He asked, his face getting more worried.
"Depends on the quality, could be anywhere between one hundred to seven hundred feet." I said, thinking it over in my
head.
We were standing in front of the entrance to the back office area.
"So there's no help coming, and if you start flashing your badge they may begin hurting people until they get what they
want, did I get that right?." I asked.
"Pretty much." He said.
"Great" I said.
"Welcome to the other side of the law." Edward said without looking at me as he glanced around and started walking into
the back area. A few people noticed him and tried to stop him, but they quickly went back to their work when he flashed
his badge.
I followed behind him closely.
Edward didn't pull his gun out, he didn't want to scare all of the people working at the desks who had no idea what was
going on; he was trying to keep the situation calm.
"It's a silent robbery." Edward said randomly.
"We couldn't go down through the elevator, even if we did have access. They'd see us coming and it would be no
problem for them to get at us. We need to find another way in." I said.
"What other way in could there possible be?" he asked, following my gaze.
I chuckled, "Don't worry, if there's another way in, I'll find it." I said, looking at him over my shoulder as I continued walking
down the hall.
I heard his footsteps behind me as I walked around, looking at all the walls until I finally spotted what I was looking for
with a smile.
"Here." I said, pointing to a vent around the next corner above some empty cubicles.
"Here, what?" Edward said, coming up behind me.
"Here's our way in." I said, turning to see him looking at me with a look of disbelief.
EPOV
She had to be joking.
There was no way.
"Find me something to unscrew the bolts." She said, still looking at the vent.
I grumbled something incomprehensible and went looking, I started rifling through drawers. She obviously didn't think I
was going fast enough because soon she was searching with me.
"So, why aren't we just waiting until they come back up, there's only one exit." She asked.
"Because, chances are they want to destroy the document as soon as possible, and leave no witnesses" I replied,
letting her understand my meaning.
We were searching through drawers quickly, trying to find anything to open the vent.
"Here!" She said, holding up a pair of scissors.
We ran quietly back over to the vent, she handed me the pair of scissors since I was taller and could more easily reach
the vent.
She stood back and watched.
I set to work, my arms straining as I attempted to unscrew it.
"There's something about what you said that's bugging me" I heard her say from behind me as I continued working.
"Oh yeah? What's that?" I asked gruffly as I forced the first screw out.
"You said that you saw one guy taking the two bank employees down, right?" She asked, her voice trailing off.
"Yeah...?" I responded, not sure where she was going; I set to work on the next screw.
'come on.' I thought to myself, the second screw wasn't budging. Then my mind caught up with what she said.
"Wait a second" I started.
I heard her quick intake of breath behind me and was about to turn around when there was a loud shatter above my
head, my legs were taken out from under me and I was tackled to the ground.
My breath was knocked out of me and it took me a moment to think clearly, trying to stop everything from swirling before
my eyes.
I could feel Scarlet's body still on top of me from where she tackled me to the ground. "Well, I guess we found the second
robber." She said gruffly.
I took me a few moments to regain my thoughts through the overwhelming scent of freesia as some of her hair swept
across my face.
I opened my eyes to discover her brown ones about an inch from my own.
She rolled off of me before I could say anything and I was able to think clearly once again, the freesia now no longer
clouding everything; my mind sprang into action.
I pulled out my gun and began army crawling around the cubicle, away from the direction of the gunfire.
"Stay behind me." I whispered, looking over my shoulder, but she was already crawling in the opposite direction.
"Scarlet!" I hissed, but it was useless.
"Damn it!" I whispered to myself angrily.
'If she gets shot, I swear to god'
I poked my head around the corner of the cubicle, and heard two more shots go off; I pulled my head back quickly.
He was using a silencer, most likely to avoid alerting anyone in the front of the bank.
I heard a lot of shuffling and stood up quickly, but hunched over to remain covered.
'What the hell is going on?'
BPOV
I crept around the spot where the gunfire came from. It would be easier to get an advantage from behind. Well, at least
that was what I thought.
I finally saw him; he was looking over to where Edward was still crouching.
Honestly I didn't know how Edward managed to live through gun fights before; there was no way he was going to be able
to get a shot off from the angle he was at.
Lucky for him, he had me.
The robber was about ten feet in front of me, his back turned.
I was going to start creeping forward slowly so that I could get a better advantage, maybe surprise him; but he started
walking toward the corner that Edward was crouching behind, his gun pointed forward.
'Oh damn' I thought to myself; my plan going out the window.
I needed to do something quickly, Edward had no idea that the guy was coming. I grabbed the first thing I could get my
hands on, a stapler, and threw it.
As I was diving to the side, I saw my throw hit its mark, followed by the robber letting out a string of curses.
There was the sound of gunfire where I had previously been standing.
I was now under one of the desks, out of sight.; but it wasn't exactly fort Knox and I doubted I could defend myself for long.
'Alright, so mayb e not one of my smarter ideas.' I thought to myself, as I tried to avoid hitting my head.
I heard his footsteps getting louder, heading in my direction.
My mind was spinning ideas; formulating plans on how to best handle the situation.
Turns out I didn't have to, because soon there was another pair of heavy footsteps, followed by the sounds of a struggle.
'Edward! Of course, as soon as I stop the rob b er from coming towards him, he runs right b ack into the line of fire.' I
grumbled.
I pulled myself out from under the desk and found them in a fierce fight. Edward had the guy's hand that was holding the
gun by the wrist and was holding it up to avoid being shot while he used his other arms to block and punches that were
The vent was sloping downward and was getting more difficult to go slowly.
We finally reached a part that was completely vertical.
It took Edward a second longer before he saw it.
"How the hell are we supposed to get down that without breaking our ankles?" He said.
I looked over my shoulder, my face automatically forming its natural smirk, "Watch and learn."
EPOV
I watched as she expertly slid forward, the epitome of ease.
She placed both of her palms on the sides of the vent and tucked her body under so that she was going down feet first.
She bent her right knee so that the bottom of her shoe was pressed against the back side of the vent, inducing friction.
Instead of doing the same with her left knee she tucked it into her chest and pressed the bottom of her foot against the
opposite side. This way she had some amount of support on every side of the vent. Hands on the sides, and one foot on
the front and one on the back.
Then, slowly but quietly she began sliding down; pressing her feet against the side harder when she needed to slow
down.
It was mesmerizing the way she was able to do it all without a sound, using pure muscle and friction to keep her body
from falling.
I was knocked out of my gaping when she said, "You better not be staring at my ass."
I shook my head to clear it, realizing that that is exactly what I had been doing.
With a deep breath, I followed after her; thinking that I must be insane the entire time.
BPOV
We got to the bottom, not without many curses on Edward's part, and there was enough room for me to turn back over so
that I was on my stomach again.
Edward followed suit.
We reached the end of the vent and I looked through the slits to make sure the coast was clear before turning over and
kicking it out with my feet.
I jumped out and landed softly on the floor seven feet below.
I turned around and watched Edward attempt to do the same, but didn't quite succeed.
I shushed him when he made some noise, rolling my eyes when he finally seemed to stand up right.
"Come on." I whispered. We were standing in a room that served as a lobby to the safes and vaults, there were different
doors leading out to different ones.
I listened hard.
There was noise coming from the doors on the left.
I looked at Edward and he had a similar look on his face, he heard it too.
He drew his gun once again; I gave it an unhappy look, the edginess returning. But I guess it was necessary.
We started walking towards where the noise was coming from.
It was around a corner, there was a large vault door cracked open about a foot.
"Where is it!?!" We heard a guy who I assumed was the robber, yell.
Edward motioned for me to get behind him, I complied and he started edging forward.
"How am I supposed to know? You dragged both of us down here without telling me what you were looking for; all of the
records are stored upstairs on the ground level." Came a quivering voice who I assumed belonged to the manager.
'Well, at least we know one of them is still alive.' I thought to myself.
I looked at Edward, the look on his face giving away that he was debating about what was the best way to handle the
situation.
This was taking too long, we were wasting time.
I had a plan. Edward wasn't going to like it.
EPOV
"Edward, I'm going to need you to follow my lead." She whispered in my ear from behind, her voice unknowingly sultry.
I had to shake my head to get rid of the effect, "What are you talking about?" I whispered back, my mind finally returning to
what it was thinking before she invaded my mind.
"Justfollow my lead, I've got an idea." She whispered and strode past my left shoulder.
My mind finally caught up with her movements, 'Damn it!' I thought as I tried to reach for her to drag her back but she was
already out of reach, my fingers closed on air.
I did a small mental debate, finally deciding to follow after her because I didn't have much of a choice.
'I swear to god, if she gets one of us shot I'm going to kill her.' Was the only thought going through my mind as I took a
deep breath and followed her into the vault, trying to slow my erratic heartbeat.
I took in the room quickly as I took the few strides to catch up with Scarlet, holding my gun strategically hidden behind my
back, but in a way that didn't look completely obvious.
There were safety deposit boxes busted open everywhere, their contents spewed all across the room, papers and boxes
scattered everywhere. The robber was pointing the gun at the manager who was rifling through one of the safety deposit
boxes. I looked around for the other bank worker that he took down as well and swallowed hard when I spotted him. He
was sitting in the corner clutching his leg which was obviously wounded. He looked like he was doing as well as anyone
in his situation could be, his face was pale and sweating; he was probably close to passing out. Scarlet's plan had
better work, or there were going to be a lot more injuries.
I returned my gaze to her, hoping that she knew what she was doing.
"Hey!" She called out, immediately gaining the attention of everyone in the room.
The robber swung his gun up and pointed it directly at her with a surprised face, his eyes slid to me for a second.
The muscles I was using to hold my gun flexed, instinctively wanting to raise it.
"Who the hell are you and how the hell did you get down here!?!" He yelled in our general direction.
The bank manager had noticed us, his eyes widening as he stopped what he was doing.
The robber noticed this and looked at him, "Keep looking!" before returning his attention to Scarlet, who had taken a step
closer without him noticing.
"Who I am doesn't matter. What does matter is that you chose a bad day to come to this bank. See, I planned this day out
for months, and then what do I find when I get here, some punk ass wannabe bank robber who is way over his head in a
heist, messing up my own plans." Scarlet said, circling around, looking entirely at ease. She was completely in her
element.
He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"You were going to rob this bank?" He asked, unbelieving, taking in her small frame no doubt.
'She's tougher then she looks b uddy.' I thought to myself, remembering the bruised jaw she gave me when we first met.
I noticed her raise an eyebrow in challenge. "Yes, but now that I see that I have to deal with you; maybe we can help each
other." she suggested, a smile on her face that I was sure had swayed greater opponents in the past, making their
efforts just as futile as his were soon sure to be. "I was in one of the other vaults, one digit away when I hear you come
crashing in. I'm not about to risk getting caught because of you."
"Who's he?" The guy asked, his gun still raised but gesturing to me.
She didn't even have to hesitate "He's nobody, just some extra muscle in case I needed it. You have two choices here,
one: You step aside and let me get on with what I came here to do. Or two: You can end up like your buddy upstairs." She
said, ice lacing her words as they played the effect she intended.
I saw his eyes widen a fraction before he quickly concealed it, but not quickly enough, "May I remind you that I'm the one
holding the gun here." He said, emphasizing his point by raising it level with her head, trying to regain control over the
situation.
I couldn't stop the instincts that took over when my arm raised of its own accord and I pointed my own gun at him in a
flash.
Scarlet didn't even have to look back at me to know that I had drawn my gun.
"Easy, we're just talking here. No need for your male egos to get in the way of my payday." She said, subtly taking another
step closer. She was trying to close the distance between them.
His eyes were flicking back and forth between both Scarlet and me, unsure where to keep them, finally deciding on
Scarlet.
"I'm only here for one thing, once I've got it, I'm out of here." He said.
"Oh? And how am I supposed to know you aren't just going to run to the police? Leaving me here to deal with the mess
you made." She said, gesturing to the injured bank worker.
She was stalling.
But he didn't seem to have a plausible answer for that.
The bank manager was still looking through all the papers in a particular box, too nervous and afraid to really pay
attention to what they were talking about.
There was a moment of silence that left me wondering what Scarlet had left up her sleeve.
My eyes flickered between her and the robber.
"I know what you're after." She said.
His gaze snapped back to her, his expression dubious, but his eyes gave away his alarm.
"It's not there anymore. Your boss set you up." She said, spinning the story on the spot. I would be lying if I said I wasn't
impressed.
He laughed.
"You don't believe me? Think about it. You're a loose end; he had you steal the jewels from his store, and now he needs
a fall guy. So then he sends you here to 'destroy the evidence', when in actuality he's setting you up to be caught. The
feds swoop in, find you busting into his safety deposit box and bam, you're in lockup for twenty years give or take." She
said; her tone so convincing that even I was slightly swayed.
I could see the hint of self doubt in his eyes; Scarlet noticed it too and pounced on it.
"Actually, now that I think about it, I should probably be going. Thanks to you, the feds are probably on their way here now.
Well, that is if they're not here already" She said, a thoughtful look on her face.
She had him.
A/N: First off, I would like to apologize a hundred fold for the lack of updates over the past few weeks. My schedule is
currently trying to kill me and I literally have no time to write whatsoever; I'm lucky I managed to get this chapter
done. So please be patient, I really am trying hard to find time to write so that I can get more chapters out there, but
don't be surprised if it takes me a little while. But other than that, let me know what you think of the chapter! :P
Twenty minutes later I pushed open the door to my usual coffee shop, inhaling the familiar smell of fresh ground coffee
beans with a smile.
"Hey Eddie!" Mike called from the other side of the counter when he noticed me.
"I've told you before Mike, its Edward. Never Eddie." I stated, feeling like a broken record.
He shrugged in a way that made me think he didn't actually hear me. I held back my sigh of frustration.
Scarlet stepped out from behind me and I noticed a look appear in Mike's eyes.
"Mike, this is-"
"I know, I know, you're going to say she's not your partner and that I shouldn't trust her and all that stuff." He started,
adding in hand motions for emphasis. I was surprised that he was actually able to remember what I told him last time I
was in here.
I coughed. "Actually, this time she is my partner." I said with slight awkwardness, rubbing the back of my neck.
He had a look on his face that made it seem as if he were waiting for me to tell him I was joking.
"Justcall me Scarlet." She said, trying to break the moment by giving him a small smile.
He smiled again, no trace of his previous expression, obviously delighted that she was talking to him. I rolled my eyes at
his quick change in mood.
I distinctly recalled that the last time she was here she stole video tapes, and the time before that she rebuffed all of his
attempts, yet here he was, trying harder than ever to keep her attention.
"So, what can I get you, besides my number?" He asked her, even though I was standing in front of the line.
I rolled my eyes for the second time. I stepped to the side so that she could approach the counter and order.
She placed a finger on her lips, tapping them, and looked at the menu above his head, presumably looking over her
options.
Both Mike's and my own eyes were immediately drawn to her lips, mesmerized by the small action.
I snapped my eyes away once I realized I was staring, but the smirk that was on her face showed that she had seen me.
asked.
"What is this, twenty questions?" I asked with a small smile.
She shrugged, surprising me, "Sure, why not?"
I thought it over for a few moments, I had to admit that I was slightly intrigued, "Alright, on one condition, we switch off, ten
each."
I watched her face but there was no change in expression, her natural expression a poker face. "Alright, but I don't have
to answer any I don't want to." She said, carefully laying down a defense.
"Deal." I said, allowing myself a small smile.
'This should b e interesting.'
"So, to answer your question, yes. FBI agents always drink coffee." I said, taking a sip of my own for emphasis. "Alright,
my turn."
"Shoot." She said, gesturing for me to talk.
I thought for a moment, "I know it's not your real name, so why call yourself Scarlet?"
For a second I thought she was going to refuse to answer, but she surprised me, as usual.
"Well, besides the fact that it's a name, the color scarlet is usually affiliated with fire, and is generally the color for
passion" She said, examining her fingernails which were painted scarlet. Her voice was low, sultry, a voice that could
draw in whoever was listening, whether they wanted to be drawn in or not.
"Besides," She said abruptly, breaking the spell, "It rolls off the tongue better then crimson or maroon. Alright, my turn."
She said, her voice slightly excited.
I braced myself for the worst.
"What was the first thought that went through your mind when you saw me for the first time on the roof of the BYS
insurance building?" She said, tucking her feet underneath herself like an excited toddler.
I thought about it for a second, remembering back to that night. We had both been standing on the roof; she had been
wearing a hood
"Oh, that's the time you jumped off the roof." I said.
"Wellone of them." She said, making me wonder how many times she had done it overall.
"I think the first thing that went through my head was 'Holy shit, the thief is a girl.'" I said after thinking about it for a
moment, smiling at the memory.
She returned the smile and it immediately brightened her face, highlighting her natural beauty.
If she had any thoughts about my answer to her question, she didn't voice them.
Now it was my turn.
I thought over all the questions running through my mind, grasping the one that I wanted to ask.
"Where did you learn to fight?" I asked, truly curious. She fought better than most FBI agents, though I wasn't about to tell
her that.
"I've had a few good teachers in my time." She answered vaguely, her eyes distant.
I raised an eyebrow at her attempt to dodge the question, but let it slide.
She got a faraway look in her eyes and there were a few long moments of silence as I watched her.
"It's your turn." I said, stirring her from her thoughts, her eyes returning to the present.
"Right, ummmever been married?" She asked, taking another sip of her drink.
The question threw me off guard, "No. That's a strange question to ask." I responded, still trying to figure out her logic.
She shrugged, "You seem like the type." She said, leaving me with more questions than answers.
"Wait, what is that supposed to mean?" I asked.
She smirked, "Is that your next question?"
"No. Nevermind, let me think for a second." I had to choose my questions carefully, I wasn't sure when the next time
would be that I would get an opportunity like this..
I still had a million questions, but I was pretty sure that she wouldn't answer a majority of them. Then I had it. I looked at
her and smiled.
"Were you the one on the motorcycle?" I asked blatantly, looking her directly in the eye; I was pretty sure I already knew
the answer but I wanted to see her reaction.
She stared right back, her brown eyes giving nothing away.
"What motorcycle?"
A smile slowly crept onto my face as I continued to look her directly in the eyes.
She was good. But she had given me the answer I had expected.
'Well, I guess to b e a good thief; one has to naturally b e a good liar.'
"Is that your next question?" I asked, feeling the discussion tip in my favor.
"No." She said quickly, she stared at her coffee as she thought over her next question.
It was a few more moments before she spoke.
"Ever been in love?" she asked quietly, looking up at me, her question seeming to hang in the silence between us.
"You already asked me if I've been married." I responded, slightly confused by her choice of question.
"Love and marriage aren't mutually inclusive." She said, and for some reason I got the feeling that there was more story
behind that claim.
"I suppose" I said.
"So? Have you?" She asked, sitting cross legged on her chair. She circled the rim of her coffee cup as she waited for me
to respond.
"No. Not as far as I can tell anyways." I said, finally answering her question after running through my past.
She nodded, almost as if to herself.
"What about you?" I asked, making her glance up from her coffee cup.
"Have I ever been in love?" She asked, though I was positive that she had heard correctly.
I nodded.
She leaned back with a sigh, her mind delving into her past.
"I thought I was at the time." She said cryptically.
There was a pause.
"But now?" I asked, well aware that I was asking a second question, not sure if she would answer.
"Now?no, I don't think it was." She confessed, covering her lapse in composure by taking a long sip of coffee.
I didn't know what to think about what she told me, I decided to store away that information for later.
"Why were you so averse to having me for a partner?" She asked, changing topics completely. I let her.
"Well," I sighed, trying to find the best way to word it, "I guess it was because after chasing you for so long, watching you
get away scot free made me angry."
"Well, I wouldn't say scot-free, I'm practically handcuffed to you." She said with a small laugh, brightening the solemn
mood hanging in the air. I couldn't help but laugh as well, the sound was contagious.
I glanced at my watch, "Alright, last question for right now, we can pick up where we left off later." I said once I realized that
I had been away from work for too long already.
"Go for it." She said with a small smile, wondering what I would ask.
I thought for a moment, choosing my last question carefully.
"Why won't you tell me your real name? I mean, I understand not giving up your full name, but why not just your first?" I
leaned forward, anxious to hear her answer.
She sighed, making me think that she had been asked the question before and that it had a complicated answer.
Her change in facial expressions gave away that she was trying to figure out the right wording in her head.
After a few moments of hesitation she spoke, "You have to remember that my world is different than yours. Names and
identities are used up and discarded like tissues; I'm constantly changing who I am and what I do as necessary. And
once my mask has had its use, it's discarded, never to be used again for fear of recognition. I haven't used my real name
in a long time" She concluded quietly before abruptly rising from her seat and throwing away her now empty coffee
cup, not wanting to face whatever she thought I was going to say.
She needn't have worried, I had no clue what to say.
It was definitely not the answer I was expecting.
Part of me, the federal agent part, wondered if the reason she hid her true identity had anything to do with the person she
thought she had loved.
I was still thinking over my theory when she returned and began digging in her small bag for something.
Rather than saying my first theory, I voiced another, "So, I'll probably never get to hear it then." I said, not sure whether I
was asking a question as I looked up at her.
I watched as her hands stopped their movements.
"No. Probably not." She said without looking at me as she grabbed her bag and walked away toward the door.
BPOV
Edward was driving away from the caf, the remnants of his coffee sitting in the cup-holder.
I tapped my fingers without a beat on the arm rest, while I listened to him talk on the phone, only hearing half of the
conversation.
"Yeah." He said, "Got it."
I sighed.
"Alright. Bye." He concluded, snapping his phone shut.
"New case?" I asked, breaking the silence between us.
He shook his head, but kept his eyes on the road, "No, but I have to stop at the office to turn in some case paperwork and
talk to Aro."
I continued to drum my fingers absentmindedly; my eyes glanced over to Edward.
My eyes drifted from his hands where they gripped the steering wheel, to his forearms where the trace of strong muscles
"How the hell could you not have told me!?!" She yelled, attracting the attention of the pedestrians passing by.
I smiled and regained my seat, happy to have finally brought out the reaction I was expecting.
I looked at Alice for the first time, "What would you have done if I had told you?"
I could see her struggling with the answer, her mouth opening to speak multiple times.
"I would have tried to talk some sense into you and stop you from being an idiot." She finally said with a glare.
I chuckled at her expression, "Well, there's no turning back now." There wasn't much humor in the situation.
She ran a hand over her brow, as if coming to terms with the situation we were both in and sighed.
"Are you going to tell me why you did it?" She asked in a voice that made me sad that I had made her worried. I wasn't
used to the idea of having a friend and having to think about the hurt I may be causing.
I sighed and sat back the bench, looking forward again.
"There's something I need to do, and this is the only way I can do it." Was the only explanation I would give her.
Trust was still something that I had not quite accomplished.
She seemed to understand that this was the only explanation she was going to get out of me and nodded to herself.
Then she stopped and got a look in her eye.
"Are you sure it's not just because you want to get close to a certain federal agent?" She asked with a coy smile.
I glared at her.
"I'm not going to dignify that question with a response." I said. She continued on, paying no heed to my glare.
"Wait. Does that mean you're..?" She asked.
I didn't know what she was talking about, and threw her a confused look.
She looked at me for a second then her eyes widened, "Oh I knew it! You totally are!!!" She was smirking.
I didn't like it.
"Are what?" My eyes were still narrowed but confused.
She just held her smirk. Then it clicked and I understood what she was insinuating.
"Oh my god, you need to get your head out of the gutter." I told her.
She just continued smirking, the expression of someone who knew they had won the argument or thought they figured
something out.
I sighed, "Okay, if you can stop smirking for a second, I need your help."
After a few moments to bring her expressions under control, she looked at me, her expression completely serious
except for a small look in her eye that I would let slide for the moment.
"Alright, what do you need?" She asked, excited.
"There are a few things I need you to grab from my house." I said.
"Name it." She said.
I told her everything I needed, including the codes she would need to get by my security.
I wasn't worried about her stealing anything. The security for everything valuable was much stronger.
She finished writing down everything I needed and I glanced over my shoulder.
"You should go." I said, knowing that Edward would be out here any second.
She knew what I was worried about and smirked as she stood up.
"I'll pick the stuff up, but then we really 'got to talk." She said.
I glanced over my shoulder again, this time my worries confirmed as I saw Edward approaching the glass door from the
other side.
Alice looked at him with the same smirk then back at me.
"Have fun." She said suggestively, to which I narrowed my eyes.
She walked down the marble steps and melted into the flow of pedestrians.
I turned around when I heard his footsteps behind me.
EPOV
I walked over to the bench where Scarlet told me she would be, half surprised that she was still there.
She turned around when I was a couple steps behind her.
She had a flushed look on her face, which was gone as soon as I noticed it.
"Are you ready?" I asked her, gesturing with my thumb back toward the parking garage.
She shook herself a little and tucked a hair behind her ear, "Yeah." She stood up, "So do we have a new case?"
I shook my head, "No, Aro wants us to go get a physical workout." I said absentmindedly as I pulled my keys out of my
pocket.
I could have sworn I saw her blush before I turned around immediately making me curious about what her thoughts
were circulating around.
BPOV
I followed behind Edward with only a few steps between us.
He pushed open the front door to the gym, forgetting I was behind him and letting it swing closed, nearly hitting me in the
face.
"Whoops, sorry. I keep forgetting that I'm not traveling alone anymore." He said, holding the door open.
"Mhhmm." I responded doubtfully, sliding past him.
He followed behind me and placed his hand on the small of my back, leading me inside.
"Right, so I'm going to go get changed and then I'm going to head over to the warm-up area, feel free to do whatever you
want." He said looking around before returning his gaze to me.
"Alright, I'll find something to do." I said, slightly happy that I was getting some amount of freedom. I had a small smile on
my face and rocked back and forth on my heels as I watched him walk away.
The bureau had provided me with a set of workout clothes that included a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, both labeled with
the FBI logo; I quickly went and got changed.
I was excited to get a workout, I hadn't gotten much exercise lately and it would be good to get my heart rate up.
I passed the treadmills and bikes without a second glance and headed straight for the back area that contained the
boxing and wrestling rings.
There was a group of about a dozen or so circled around one guy who was talking. As I stepped closer I realized they
were FBI trainees and the man was an instructor.
They were all around twenty years old, fresh out of the Academy. Each one of them listening to the senior agent intently
He wasted no time in taking the offense and charged, attempting to use the same tactic that worked against the others,
except this time I knew what was coming.
Rather than engaging, I sidestepped and grabbed his outstretched arm, pulling with just enough force that he toppled
forward, but not enough to make me fall with him.
He wasn't expecting the shift in equilibrium, and lack of training made him do a face plant into the mat.
I kept light on my feet as I took a few steps back and waited for him to get up.
I glanced up and saw the instructor's shoulders shaking with silent laughter; his students were not so modest.
The guy got up rather quickly, the smirk now completely gone from his face, replaced instead with anger.
Anger was a large mistake that many fighters made; they allowed their emotions to control their actions, rather than
stepping back and assessing the situation.
There was humiliation in his eyes that was covered with a thin veil of hatred.
I would have laughed, but if history had taught me one thing, it was to never ever drop my guard during a fight.
He charged again, this time leaving no opening for me to do another sidestep.
I bent my knees, once again opting to use momentum to my advantage, but from a different angle.
His arms were closer to his body as he got within a step of me.
I always liked fights.
They were about strategy, turning your opponent's forces against them. Leading them into a trap that they wouldn't
recognize until it was too late.
And that's exactly what happened.
In the junior agent's assumption that through my standing still he would simply be able to overpower me, he failed to
notice my swift movement before it was too late.
My outstretched hand pushed into his femoral pressure point and I curved my upper body forward so that my shoulder
met his stomach.
Through pure leg and shoulder muscle, I turned his forward momentum upward as his body sailed over my shoulder.
This all passed in less than a second, but from my view it always seemed to happen in slow motion.
I saw out of the corner of my eye as he landed on his back hard enough to knock the wind out of his lungs.
This one would take him a little longer to recover from.
The onlookers were shocked into a stunned silence, except for the instructor who was smiling.
"See, now that is what I'm talking about!" He said, clapping. "Who's next?"
Even I raised my eyebrows in surprise at the amount of hands that shot up.
EPOV
I had been at the punching bag for about fifteen minutes when one of the gym workers wandered over and got my
attention.
"Hey, is that girl you're partner over in the ring?" He asked, gesturing over his shoulder to something I couldn't see.
"I dunno, what does she look like?" I asked, wiping sweat off my forehead with a towel.
"She's slim, brown hair, really hot." I narrowed my eyes at his blatant description.
"Yeah, that's her. Why?"
"Oh, well you should go take a look, she's gaining quite the crowd." He said as he began to walk away.
"Crowd? Wait, what?" I called after him, confused.
He turned around and started walking backwards, "Basically, she's kicking ass."
'Scarlet, what the hell are you doing.'
My bare feet padded on the matted floor as I made my way to the back area where the ring was.
What I came across made me stop short.
There were about two dozen people standing around the ring, watching Scarlet take on a younger agent.
I winced when she threw him to the floor with ease, feeling his pain. I had experienced it myself when I had first fought
her.
I would be lying if I said I didn't want a re-match.
I walked forward just as she delivered the final blow to a shoulder pressure point with her elbow, forcing him to collapse.
It didn't take me long to figure out why all the younger agents were willing to get beat up and have their pride destroyed.
She was sweating, a few strands of hair that had come out of her ponytail were sticking to her forehead, and there was
no trace of makeup on her face.
I agreed with the gym workers previous statement, she was definitely 'hot'.
I immediately berated myself for that thought and shook my head to clear the images that popped up on their own
accord.
The now-bruised junior agent stumbled out of the ring, but when he turned away, he had a small smile on his face. I
could practically read the thought that was going through his mind, 'definitely worth it'.
I rolled my eyes.
If Scarlet noticed the hungry looks in the remaining junior agents, she ignored them.
She leaned against one of the ropes, then took a long swig of water from a cup that had been provided by one of the
junior agents.
She thanked him and he nearly tripped over himself, a broad smile covering his face. I felt like I was experiencing this
morning's scene with Mike at the coffee shop all over again.
She had to know what she was doing to these guys.
I decided that I wanted that rematch now. I shouldered my way through the crowd and ducked under the rope.
Scarlet noted my appearance with a raised eyebrow. Her arms were folded over her chest, one leg tucked behind the
other, the epitome of calm.
"Up for one last round before we go?" I asked.
"With you?" she asked, an interesting expression on her face.
I shrugged, "Why not? We may be able to teach them something." I said, gesturing to the younger agents watching our
conversation with eager faces.
She glanced over at them for a second before returning her attention to me, "Are you sure you want to get beaten by me
again? There's an audience this time."
She smirked and my decision was made.
"Oh, but this time I'm ready." I said with a smile of my own.
She looked at me for a second longer, most likely trying to figure out my tactic, before pushing herself off the side of the
ring.
"Bring it."
My smile grew.
I noticed the anticipating looks of the junior agents out of the corner of my eye. They were as eager to see how this turned
out as I was.
We stood a good five feet apart, staring each other down.
"This bringing back some memories agent Cullen?" She asked with her smirk, baiting me.
It didn't go unnoticed by me that she had purposely called me Agent Cullen rather than Edward, I didn't like it. There was
something about the way 'Edward' seemed to roll off her tongue that made it sound much better than any way I had ever
heard anyone say it.
I couldn't put my finger on the exact reason for that.
I heard a whistle blow somewhere on the edge of my conscious mind. Its significance only registered when Scarlet
started moving toward me.
I reacted instinctively and planted my feet firmly, my equilibrium set, my arms coming up.
Her fist came in an arch for my abdomen, I blocked it easily with my forearm and she followed up with her other fist for
the same area.
My other arm came up just in time and her throw was redirected past my torso.
I swung my leg around in an attempt to knock her's out from under her, but she jumped back out of my range.
"I see you've picked up a couple things since the last time we faced off." She said, the smirk turning into an amicable
smile.
I shrugged and felt the corner of my lips pull upward.
"I felt that it was necessary." I said, telling the truth.
She gave me an appreciative look before quickly diving back into the fight.
As each punch was thrown and we each tried to gain an advantage over one another, the surrounding seemed to slip
away until the only thing I could hear was the inconsistent pattern of our labored breathing.
My eyes were too busy tracking her movements and watching out for anything that might slip by my defenses, that I could
no longer see our audience.
It was just me and Scarlet.
Our dance of swings and dodges continued for several minutes, her breathing was getting heavier and I was sure that
mine was the same.
I could no longer tell how long we had been fighting, most likely having been only a few minutes but it felt like hours.
I ignored the strain in my arms, and resisted the urge to wipe the sweat from my brow.
She was standing a couple feet away, trying to cover up however tired she was. I resisted the urge to smirk, but held it
back because it would most likely prove fatal if she saw me.
Some sort of understanding clicked between us and we engaged in the fight once again.
I had to try to throw her off balance somehow. She was too quick, and she knew how to slip through holes too well for me
to gain an advantage any other way.
Instead of merely deflecting her blow, I gripped her wrist as it narrowly missed my head. I watched her eyes widen
slightly in shock before she covered it up and twisted her body into me, her back to my chest.
Our bodies seemed to mold together, I could feel her hair tickling my cheek as my surroundings were engulfed in
freesia.
I felt her arm muscles moving and gripped her elbow an inch away from my abdomen where it would have knocked the
wind out of me.
We were in an interesting position. I was gripping her right wrist to the side and was holding her body flush against my
front by her elbow.
I was trying to figure out a way to go from the position we were in to one where I wouldn't have to release one of her
arms.
Before I could come up with a suitable plan, she raised her right arm above our heads and twisted her body until our
faces were an inch apart.
I could feel her breath fan across my face, I blinked slowly.
A smile crawled onto her lips, inches from my own.
"I never got to thank you for the coffee this morning." She said, just loud enough for both of us to hear.
My expression showed my confusion, 'How the hell can she possib ly b e thinking ab out that right now?'
I tilted my head to the side in my confusion, "You're welcome...?"
I didn't know how it was possible, but somehow her face seemed to come even closer, her brown eyes smoldering.
Everything seemed to be in slow motion, I was drawn in.
By the time I realized that my captivation was all part of her plan, my back was already slamming down onto the mat, my
legs having been taken out from under me with a sweep of her own.
'oh no, she's not getting away that easily.'
In her confidence, she didn't expect me to retaliate. That's why, when I made a sweeping kick of my own, her own legs
slipped out from under her and she tumbled on top of me with an 'oomph'.
I couldn't hold back the chuckle that burst from my lips.
I lifted myself up by the elbows and looked at her, she was glaring at me.
The chuckle then turned into a full out laugh and my shoulders shook as I tried to contain it.
I could see her composure begin to crack as a small smile graced her lips. For the third time that day, my eyes were
drawn to them.
She shifted her position and soon the laugh faded and I became very aware of her hand on my chest, her leg draped
over mine. Miniscule shockwaves spread up my body against my will. I could practically feel my pupils dilating. Yet again
timed seemed to still in a moment of electric friction.
The moment was shattered when I heard a cough distantly.
Reality decided to choose that moment to smack me in the face and remind me that we had an audience. I jumped up
quickly, lending a hand down to pull Scarlet up.
She gripped my hand and joined me in standing, the small smile still adorning her features.
She didn't seem effected at all by the situation and promptly climbed out of the ring without pause. I watched her leave
while I rubbed the back of my neck, abashed.
"SoI guess we'll just call that one a draw?" I called after her even though I was pretty sure she had won the situation in
every way except the actual fight.
A/N: If you are reading this author's note, it probably means that you are still enjoying this story enough to be patient
with my updating. This was my longest chapter yet and I felt that you all deserve it for waiting so long. Please stick
around, the slow updates are not from my lack of trying, but stem more from a lack of time. I will try to update
sooner, but for now I will only ask that you review and be patient. Let me know what you think is going to happen, it
may give me some ideas or at least some inspiration. :P
"Virgovirgohere we go!"
I placed the painting on the hook, not listening.
She cleared her throat, "The full moon is just over a week away and many new opportunities are going to present
themselves before it gets here"
I stepped back from the painting, tapping my lips with my index finger as I decided whether I liked where I put it.
"the stars in the Virgo constellation are shining brighter than ever and" She noticed I wasn't paying attention, "an
attractive federal agent with a name that begins with the letter 'E' will make you to confess your love for him and run into
his arms and-"
'Mayb e I should put it closer -' "What!?" I turned around quickly as my brain finally processed what she had said.
She was smirking.
"Not funny." I glared.
"Oh, I have to disagree, it was quite hilarious." She responded, still smiling.
My eyes were still narrowed, but there was a small smile on my lips as I turned away.
"Alright, what do you think?" I said, swinging my arms around.
"It looks great, much better than before." She said, her gaze sweeping around the entire room.
"Well that's not saying much, it was pretty much a dump before." I said, joining her as I looked over my newly refurbished
apartment.
"True." She said, nodding.
"Thanks again for bringing the stuff over." I said, truly meaning it.
"Yeah, no problem. The other stuff is in your room." She said absentmindedly, straightening out a painting, "Perfect."
I went and sat on the couch and she soon joined me as we looked over our work. Instead of the boring apartment that
was here before, the main room was now decorated with an array of paintings and other decorations that gave it some
personality.
There was a soft knock on the open door, making both of our heads snap quickly in its direction.
Edward poked his head in and looked at me for a second before noticing Alice, his features immediately adorning a
question at her presence.
"Well if it isn't Mr. FBI agent." Alice said, smiling.
"Hi?" He said, still obviously confused, his expression giving away the fact that he was trying to remember if he knew her.
I sighed and took pity on him, "Edward this is Alice, don't bother introducing yourself, she already knows everything about
you." I said, getting up from the couch and walking over to stand in front of him.
"Case?" I asked.
"Not yet, but we're still on call if one comes up." He said, still looking at Alice with a confused expression, while she just
smiled back from where she sat on the couch.
"Sowhat's up then?" I asked, confused as to why he was here.
"I just wanted to let you know I was going to head out to the shooting range with Jasper and was wondering if you wanted
to come along?" His gaze swept over my apartment, "Did you redecorate?"
"Yeah." I said absentmindedly, thinking over his offer, "Don't I have to go? With you I mean." I asked, referring to my GPS
anklet.
"The bureau worked it out so that you can stay here if you want, and you have a one mile radius to wander around in. But
other than that you have to stick with me. So, it's up to you." He said.
I was taken aback by the sudden small amount of trust and freedom I was granted, not sure what to do with it.
Alice got up from her seat on the couch and said, "Well, I better head out. I've got stuff to do and people to see. You two
play nice." I sent her a glare.
"Hey, what's the hold up?" Came a voice as Jasper poked his head in.
He smiled at me politely, then his eyes shifted to Alice and froze.
"Hi." He said smoothly, shouldering his way past Edward and holding out his hand to her.
"Hey yourself." She said with a small smile, placing her hand in his and shaking it
Edward and I shared a look and rolled our eyes in synchronization.
"You know what; I think I will go with you." I said, grabbing my coat and pulling it over my shoulders.
"Are you coming Jasper?" Edward asked, but received no answer, "Jasper!"
"Ummm" Jasper looked back and forth between Edward and Alice, obviously torn.
"Forget it, just leave him." I said, tugging on Edward's arm.
"I was going to head out for coffee, care to come with?"Alice asked Jasper as she pulled her coat on.
With Edward and the shooting range completely forgotten, he nodded vigorously and sent her a dazzling smile.
I stood there watching them smile at one another for a few moments before my patience broke, "Alright, you all really
have got to get out of my apartment."
EPOV
I fired another three shots at the stationary target thirty feet away. Three holes were punched through, all within the outer
rings.
I was usually very focused whenever I was at the shooting range. I needed to be in control of my thoughts or I might slip
up. And slipping up was not an option in a profession where your life was often put on the line.
But today
Today, for some reason I couldn't stop thinking about that sparring match with Scarlet that we had the day before.
The memory kept replaying over and over in my mind.
I put in another clip and racked the slide before taking aim. I squinted at my target and pulled the trigger, making an
unhappy sound as it punched a hole through one of the outer rings. The memory started over again as I adjusted my
stance, no matter how hard I tried to stop it.
'The smell of freesia...'
I fired again, missing completely.
'Her b reath fanning my face...'
Another shot fired, another miss.
"Do you usually suck this bad?"
'Her voice'
It took me a second to realize that last one was not pulled from my memory.
I spun around, and saw her looking past me at the target with one eyebrow raised.
I turned my head to look at the target; it did look pretty bad. But I wasn't about to give her the satisfaction of telling her I
agreed.
"Well, you're one to talk; you've been here for almost twenty minutes and haven't done a thing." I said.
"I don't like guns. And it's not like the FBI is going to be giving me a weapon to use anytime soon." She said, crossing her
arms, leaning against the wall and inspecting a fingernail.
"Afraid you'll be bad at it and ruin the image of perfection?" I said, baiting her, knowing that she wouldn't be able to resist.
I wasn't disappointed. She looked up from her nails quickly and sent me an icy glare.
"Hand it over." She said.
I smirked and placed it in her hand as she brushed past me.
"Now, don't be surprised with how you do, it takes years of training to even-"
She racked the slide with an expert hand, making my eyes widen, and without hesitation raised the gun with both hands
and let five bullets fly in rapid fire.
I watched as two holes were punched through the forehead of the paper target and three went straight through where the
heart would be.
She placed the weapon in my hand forcefully, "Just because I don't like guns, doesn't mean I don't know how to use
them." She said. Her tone of voice gave me the impression that I would do well not to test her like that again.
"Duly noted." I said with a nervous chuckle, trying to lighten the mood. I turned to her, about to say something else but
stopped.
Her eyes were distant, seeing something that I couldn't. Without knowing it, I had unintentionally brought up a memory.
Whether it had to do with her dislike of firearms or how she learned to shoot like that, I doubted I would gain privilege to
her thoughts.
She shook her head, her eyes returning to the present, and looked at me with a smile covering her features once again,
the mask back up.
Maybe one day she would trust me enough to tell me what she was trying so hard to conceal.
BPOV
I was playing with the radio on Edward's car, trying to find a good station when his phone rang.
He answered and I leaned closer to try and listen in, but heard nothing except what Edward was saying.
"Alright, we'll head over there right now. Thanks." He closed it with a 'snap'.
"Where're we headed?" I asked, my interest piqued.
"Near Oak Park." He said, glancing over his shoulder before swerving the car until we were going in the opposite
direction. "There's been a jewelry heist at one of the auction centers."
I couldn't stop the smile that lit up my face, happy to finally have another case.
Edward noticed my smile and chuckled, "Don't get so excited, it's probably going to be pretty basic. Believe it or not, not
all criminals go to the lengths that you did to remain unnoticed."
"True, but that doesn't mean I can't get excited over a new case. I thought we were going to be stuck doing paperwork or
working out at the gym forever." I said, finding a new source of energy. Though after a second thought, I realized I didn't
mind the gym so much.
We walked into the highly decorated museum-like building, filled with marble floors and gold-encrusted chandeliers.
"Wow, I think someone had a little too much money when decorating." I said, letting my gaze take in the gilded room.
"Well, they have to look impressive. This is an auction house for items worth a lot of money. No one wants to bid millions
of dollars in a place that looks cheap." Edward said as we strode up to the front counter.
The man behind the counter looked up at us with an expression that told us we weren't worth his time.
"Hi." Edward said cheerfully, seeming to be trying to piss off the supercilious worker.
"Can I help you?" He forced out, obviously believing that we were beyond helping.
"I need to speak to Mr. Waltman." He said, still smiling.
"Well I'm sorry, but he is busy at the moment. You are going to have to make an appointment for another day." He said,
already turning back to his computer.
"I think he can find some time." Edward said, holding his badge up for the guy to see.
He begrudgingly stopped what he was doing and gestured for us to follow him.
A few minutes later we were standing in front of a man who was wiping his forehead with a handkerchief whom I
immediately assumed to be Mr. Waltman.
Edward flashed his badge for the second time and the man before us immediately became even livelier.
"Hello, I'm agent Cullen and this is my partner, she's a consultant for the FBI."
He put his handkerchief in his pocket and quickly shook both of our hands, which I wiped on my jeans when he wasn't
looking.
"Hello, I'm George Waltman, I called about the ummrob b ery." He whispered the last part, making Edward and I glance
at each other.
"Is something wrong?" Edward asked.
The man glanced over his shoulder as if afraid someone might overhear, "Well, the truth isno one knows yet about
what happened. I'm trying to keep this quiet and am hoping you will be able to recover the item beforewellbefore
anyone finds out." He said, his voice still just above a whisper.
I snorted.
Edward threw me a look, "Mr. Waltman, if you don't mind me saying, that is never going to work. We need to do a full
investigation and keeping things quiet will not be our main concern. You must know, sooner or later these things
inevitably see the light of day."
"Well, I have to try." He said, sweat once again coating his forehead as he turned and led us through a hallway.
Edward and I shared another look before following a few steps behind him.
He led us through a few doors without locks and then into an elevator that took us up to the fifth floor where security was
more intense.
Here the doors required keycards and had magnetic locks. He ushered us in quickly, once again glancing over his
shoulder. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
"Mr. Waltman, if we're going to help you, you're going to need to start telling us what happened." Edward said, his
patience wearing thin as we exited the elevator and through another locked door.
"Very well." He said, exasperated, "Last night one of our most valuable pieces was stolen from the collection."
"What was it?" Edward asked as we watched him turn the large handle on the vault.
"It was a seventeen carat Burmese ruby necklace encrusted with white diamonds. It's worth quite a lot." He said, pulling
at his collar as if it was suffocating him. It occurred to me then that these may not be his jewels to lose.
"What exactly is your official title here?" I asked, his answer would confirm my theory.
"I am the auctioneer and make all of the transactions here, and am in charge of security and authentication." He said.
"So, the jewels are not actually yours." Edward said, catching on to my train of thought.
"No, I am just the middle man in charge of making the transactions for my clients. They bring their jewels here and I
auction them off to the highest bidder during one of our tri-annual events."
He finally got the vault open and we stepped inside.
He pressed a button and dim lights flickered on, illuminating each set of jewelry individually. They were organized in
rows, set on dark blue velvet, making the bright jewels stand out in contrast and sparkle in the light. He stood in front of
the one glass box that was empty.
I walked in-between the rows and looked over each piece, it was a very impressive collection.
"Do you have a picture of the stolen piece?" Edward asked, making me look up from a diamond necklace.
I returned to his side and looked over his shoulder at the picture that was handed to him.
"How much was this piece worth?" Edward asked, turning the picture.
"About five-hundred thousand." Both I and Mr. Waltman said at the same time.
"Give or take." I added. Mr. Waltman was now looking at me with interest.
"How can you tell so quickly?" Edward asked, looking at me over his shoulder.
I cleared my throat, "Well, he said earlier that it was seventeen carats, which is rather large for a ruby. And he also said it
was Burmese, rubies from Burma are generally the most valuable. So estimated that rubies from Burma can go for
about fifteen thousand per carat, plus add on the fact that it's going to be sold at an auction, where people are likely to
pay more to uphold their wealthy image, and the fact that it's encrusted with at least a dozen white diamonds, it adds up
to roughly five-hundred thousand." I finished, they were both looking at me. I shifted from one foot to the other, "Give or
take."
"I'm impressed, you told me you were a consultant for the FBI, is your profession fine gems?" Mr. Waltman asked.
I opened my mouth several times before eventually saying, "No, but I've spent enough time around them to be well
educated."
Edward snorted but covered it up with a cough.
"Well regardless, I have been entrusted with this rare piece of jewelry, so you can understand my desire for discretion."
He said.
"We can understand it, but we are not necessarily going to adhere to it." Edward said.
I was looking at Mr. Waltman, there was something he wasn't telling us, I could see it in his eyes.
"Besides the fact that the owners of the jewelry will hold you responsible for the robbery, most likely claiming poor
security, what aren't you telling us?" I asked.
He blanched and swallowed hard, his eyes shifting between Edward and me.
"Wellas I mentioned before, this auction house has three annual auctions for jewels of large value, they are two-night
events and the first of the three started last night." He said, but I was still waiting for what had him so worried.
"So, the auction has another event tonight for the remaining items." I prompted, wanting him to get to the point.
"Wellummmthis particular itemwas sold last night." He said.
"Ouch." I said as I understood, feeling his pain.
"So, a guest bid and paid half a million dollars for this necklace, which then got stolen, and now you have no necklace to
give them and you're on the line unless we somehow catch the thief and retrieve the jewelry all before the end of the
auction event tonight. Does that sound about right?" Edward said, his tone slightly humorous.
Mr. Waltman didn't say anything, but he didn't have to, the look on his face told us that he fairly close to being sick. I
resisted the urge to take a step back.
"Mr. Waltman, the probability of us retrieving the jewelry in approximately" He looked at his watch, "twelve hours, is slim
and none. By now, it's likely that the thief, who is most likely a professional, has taken the necklace out of the city, even
perhaps out of the state."
"Wellunless" I started to say, my mind already turning different ideas.
"What?" Edward turned to me.
"Well, I was just thinking, how did they know it was here? They stole a very specific piece, but the inventory of items isn't
released until the actual auction, correct?" I asked, turning to Mr. Waltman who nodded thoughtfully.
"So that means, the thief is either an employee who works here-" Edward started but Mr. Waltman interrupted him.
"Not possible, I'm the only one with the vault codes and all of our employees are screened and-and wellno-there's just
no way." He said adamantly.
"Orit's someone at the auction." I said, finishing Edward's initial statement.
"Which means they'll be on the list of list of invited guests." Edward said, enthusiasm in his tone, he turned to Mr.
Waltman "Can you get that for us?"
"Yes, but don't you need to see the vault?" He said, pointing behind him.
"I'm going to call CSU, get them to see if there's anything to go off of, but it's unlikely. We'll come back to it, for now we
need to see that list." He said.
We stepped out of the vault and watched as he closed it and reset the locks.
We retraced the same path down each hallway and into the elevator where we returned the main floor.
Mr. Waltman ushered away the man behind the desk with impatience and began clicking away at the computer.
"So this guest listit must have some pretty esteemed people on it, guessing from the price range of the items." I said.
Mr. Waltman glanced up briefly, "Yes, our facility is known for confidentiality and prestige." He said quickly before returning
to looking at the screen.
"So, if it gets out that a piece of jewelry was stolen from your collection, right under your nose, during an event that had
hundreds of witnesseswell you're pretty much screwed." I said, voicing my train of thought.
Edward threw me a look that told me to stop talking.
"Well he is! Think about it, who would trust him or his company with their jewels? And forget being able to auction off
anything ever again, if people think that the items they pay for will be stolen, no one's going to bid on them. No wonder he
wants to keep this quiet, if it gets out I can think of at least three different people that would want to sue him." I finished.
I hadn't noticed that as I was talking Mr. Waltman had gotten more and more pale and now looked like he was on the
verge of a panic attack.
With a shaky hand he handed us the large list of names that he had just printed.
My eyes scanned over the list briefly, only a few familiar ones popping up.
A phone rang somewhere and Mr. Waltman excused himself.
I looked away from the list and turned to Edward.
His expression gave away that he was thinking hard about something.
"What?" I asked.
He looked at me for a few moments, turning something over in his mind.
"Say you were the thief, how would you have done it?" He eventually asked.
I looked at him, deciding whether he was serious or not. When his expression told me he was, I actually thought about it.
I let my gaze wander over the lobby, imagining it as it looked last night, and how it would look again tonight. There would
be men in tuxes and women in long flowing dresses, sipping champagne and making idle chit chat while they waited for
the auction to begin.
"Well, if I were a guest, I would make sure that I talked to as many people as possible, try to provide myself with
witnesses if I needed them later. Then I would watch the auction and decide which piece was worth taking. They don't
bring the actual gems up to the auction stage, just project photographs on a slide. Then"
My gaze wandered some more as I tried to put myself in the thief's shoe's, "Then I would make some excuse to leave, or
I would wait until there was an item that had a lot of bidders, either way I would make sure I got out of the room without
arousing suspicion"
"And then" Edward prompted, he was staring at me intently.
"This is where it doesn't make any sense, I would need the code for the vault, and there wouldn't be enough time to
break in. It would require large, heavy tools that would have left marks on the vault. No, I would definitely need the
combination, there's no way around it. But thenhow did I get it? Mr. Waltman said that he was the only one that knows it,
not even the security or any employees know it." I drifted off, puzzled.
"Skip that part for now, what would you do once you had the necklace, would you run?" He asked.
I raised an eyebrow at him, "In all the time you've been on my case, have I ever once snatched an item and run out of the
city?"
He looked at me, thinking it over, "Good pointso what would you do?"
His gaze was intense as he waited anxiously for my answer.
A smile crept onto my face as it hit me, "I would come back. I would know that if the police were involved by now, they
would look for someone who didn't come for the second part of the event. And even if the police weren't involved yet,
because I know the auctioneer would want to keep things under wraps, I wouldn't be able to help but come back
becausethe only thing greater than stealing a jewel, is being able to come back to the place I've stolen it from and
watch as everyone searches for someone that's standing right in front of them" I said, "you know what this means
right?"
Edward looked at me, "That the thief is going to be in this room tonight?" Edward said, but I shook my head.
"That's not the only thing. It also means that you and Iget to go undercover." I said, a smile of anticipation stretching
onto my face.
A/N: Trust me when I say that I am writing as fast as I can, I am not postponing updating just to torture you. I work on
the chapters the entire time between updates, whether it's one week or three. Just please be patient and I will try to
update as fast as I can. On another note, reviews make me smile. And I've decided that it might be fun if in your
review you tell me what song you would pick if you had to choose a theme song for Scarlet. That should lead to
some interesting results. :P
"Why do you want to know so badly?" He asked, a knowing smile on his face. I was immediately reminded of the fact that
he was around Rosalie half the time, and who knows what ideas she's put into his mind.
"No reason." I shrugged.
I saw the look on his face out of the corner of my eye and it told me that he didn't believe me for a second. I just stared
straight ahead.
'Does the elevator always take this long?'
I was slightly surprise when he started to answer my question, "Well, let me thinkI remember Matt talking about the
heist she pulled at the Field Museum,in the break room the other day I heard Greg asking about how she convinced
Aro to let her work with you"
I was nodding, so far nothing he said really bothered me.
"Oh yeah and I almost forgot," The elevator dinged and the doors began to creak open slowly. "I heard Will and some of
his buddies talking about some sort of bet."
With that he walked right out the now-open doors, leaving me in my state of shock.
"Wait a sec! What bet!" I called after him.
BPOV
I leaned closer to the mirror and applied a layer of mascara. My eyes shifted in the reflection when I noticed someone
leaning against the wall.
"Hey." I said, turning to face her.
She just nodded and continued to lean against the wall. We were in the women's locker room, it was the only decent
place I could find to get ready.
There were a few moments of awkward silence.
"Ummm, do you need something?" I asked into the silence.
"No, Emmett just wanted me to help get you ready and make sure you're on time." Rosalie said.
I nodded, not sure what to say.
I could tell she didn't want to help me and that the only reason she was down here was for Emmett.
"Well, I'm pretty much ready." I said, trying to relieve the awkwardness of the situation by giving her an opening to leave.
She raised one eyebrow, her face taking on an interesting expression. "You're going to go with your hair like that?" She
asked.
"What's wrong with my hair?" I asked, all politeness gone. I glanced in the mirror out of the corner of my eye, trying to see
what she could possibly be talking about.
"Well, to put it frankly, everything." She said, pushing herself off the wall.
I glared at her reflection in the mirror before looking over my hair. I had it straight with a slight curl at the end. I had worn it
a million times like this and couldn't see anything wrong with it.
She could see that I wasn't getting the picture and huffed before grabbing a folding chair and forcing me into it.
"Wait here." She ordered, I raised my eyebrow at the command. Part of me wanted to move just to piss her off.
She came back with a bag and a curling iron and I was immediately skeptical of what she planned to do.
"I don't think we have enough time" I started to say.
"It'll take me five minutes. I can't stand by and watch this injustice take place." She said, looking at my hair in the mirror.
By 'injustice' I assumed she was talking about my hair. I had to bite my tongue to hold back the retort that threatened to
break through.
Sure enough, five minutes, thirteen bobby pins, and three dozen swear words later, she was done.
I opened my eyes from where they had been squinted shut and took in my reflection.
"Wow." I said simply. "thanks."
"Yeah wellyou'll fit in with the crowd better this way." She said, looking away from the reflection to put something in her
bag.
I was still in shock, both at the fact that she was actually taking a break from the constant hostility she's had toward me
since our psych session, and at the reflection I saw in the mirror.
I looked at her in the mirror, she was still avoiding eye contact.
"You really don't like me do you?" I asked, her eyes glanced up and finally met mine.
She pursed her lips and didn't say anything, opting for silence rather than the truth. But I could see it on her face.
"It's okay, really. I can understand why." I said, getting up from the chair with another glance in the mirror.
Hostility never bothered me much, it came with the job. Or at least it came with what used to be my job. Putting forth the
effort to get someone to like you if there was no beneficial outcome, is irrational in my handbook. There are always going
to be people who dislike you, whether it's from jealousy, something you did, or for no apparent reason. I guess Rosalie's
hostility stemmed from a combination of those.
"I just have a hard time trusting you." She said, her eyes darting away, telling me that she was ashamed of her
admission.
It didn't faze me though, I didn't blame her.
She cleared her throat, "So, your all set for tonight? Any questions or anything?" She asked.
"I didn't think they let psych analysts undercover." I asked, pulling back the smirk that threatened to crawl onto my lips.
"They don't." She said, her lips tightening once again, "But unlike you, I've been with the FBI for years and know how
these things go."
I begrudgingly had to admit she had a point.
"So I'll ask again, any questions before we send you out on a potentially dangerous operation?" She asked, this time
with her hands on her hips. I got the feeling that that particular stance was common for her.
As tempting as it was to pick another fight with her, I decided to cut her a break.
"No, I'm good. Thanks though." I said, making sure I hadn't left anything behind.
I saw her face visibly soften; obviously she had expected a retort of a different tone. "Alright, wellwe should get going
then." She said, rubbing the back of her neck and turning towards the door.
I followed behind, my stilettos clicking on the linoleum flooring between the locker room and the elevator.
If I had been paying attention, I would have noticed all of the heads turning as I walked by.
EPOV
"Stop fidgeting, you're fine." Emmett said, noticing me pulling at my bow tie for the hundredth time.
"Alright, so let's go over it one more time. Scarlet and I go in, observe the auction, attempt to identify the thief or possibly
thieves, and your team will be parked around the corner for backup if we need it." I said, leaning against the ridiculously
expensive Mercedes, before standing up quickly at the thought of getting my tux dirty.
"Yep, pretty much. Here's your earpiece." He said, pulling a box out of the back of the black van and opening it to reveal
the small skin colored piece of technology. I took it from its case and put it in my ear, adjusting it until it was secure and
out of sight. He climbed into the back of the surveillance van.
"Alright, let's get going." Edward said, looking at his watch and opening the door to the back of the Mercedes for me.
I smiled at the gesture and slipped inside, watching through the tinted window as he closed it. My eyes followed him as
he walked around the front of the car and opened the opposite door, sliding into the seat next to me.
"Alright, go." He said to the FBI Agent/fake driver in the front of the car.
The agent nodded and put the car in drive, soon we were pulling out of the FBI garage with Emmett and another van
following.
I let my mind wander as I stared out the window. Often it kept returning to my tracker-free ankle.
"Are you nervous?" I heard Edward ask.
I pulled my gaze away from the scenery flying by and looked at him.
"Not really. You?" I asked with a small pull in my lips.
He returned the smile, "Not nervous justslightly uneasy."
"About what?" I asked, my eyes searching his.
"I'm not sure I guess it's just one of those feelings. Do you ever get those? It's like a tingling on the back of your neck
that you can't seem to get rid of." He said.
"Can't say I have." I responded. It was true, I almost never found myself in a situation I could never get myself out of, and
therefore I never really felt nervous before heists or in this case undercover operations.
I glanced out the back window once, quickly spotting the two FBI vans that were following us discreetly from a few cars
away.
I returned my gaze to the front and noticed the worried look still on Edward's face.
"It'll be fine, don't worry." Without thinking, I reached out and placed my hand on top of his. He looked down at it with mild
surprise; I immediately pulled it away realizing my mistake.
I continued looking out the window for the remainder of the ride.
EPOV
"Alright, we're here." I said, looking out the window at the line of Mercedes and limos in front of us. It was the same
building as this afternoon, but now it was decorated with white lights that gave the building a glowing look.
When it was our turn, I got out the car, narrowing my eyes at the valet in the red suit who was about to open Scarlet's
door, and went around to do it myself. I put my finger to my ear subtly, "Alright Emmett, are we set to go?"
"Yep, good luck." I heard from my ear.
I opened her door, taking her hand and helping her out, "Emmett and the other team are in place around each corner." I
whispered as she accepted my hand and got out of the car.
Without any guidance on my part, she linked her arm with mine and painted a perfect smile on her face. I got the feeling
that this was not her first time going to a party uninvited.
"How many times have you done this exactly?" I asked her quietly through my own smile.
"Oh only a few times." She responded without looking at me.
I resisted the urge to snort, not believing her for a second.
We smiled politely at the two dozen or so other couples who were all dressed accordingly in gowns and designer tuxes.
I hid my discomfort, where Scarlet was able to adapt, I could only attempt to camouflage my true self and hope that no
one would look close enough to notice just how out of place I was.
We made our way to the entrance, I slowed our pace to give Scarlet an easier time to walk up the few steps in her
stilettos, but she just continued walking without any hesitation. 'Ob viously this isn't the first time she's worn heels either.'
"Name, sir." The man with clipboard asked when it was our turn.
"Evan Wallace." I responded.
I watched his eyes scan the list up and down, a moment of worry overcame me and I worried that Mr. Waltman hadn't put
our names on the list, but my worries were quelled when he looked up and smiled, "Please enjoy the auction."
I thanked him and Scarlet and I continued walking through the two large doors.
The room we walked into was very different from the one we had been in this afternoon. They must have began
decorating very soon after we left, because now the room was flowing with waiters and lights were everywhere, giving the
room a dazzling look. I had to hand it to them, they definitely knew how to throw a party.
"I'll be right back." Scarlet said, disengaging her arm from mine and immediately slipping through the throng of people. It
took me about two seconds to lost sight of her.
"Damn it." I cursed under my breath, craning my neck to try and spot her.
I got more worried when she didn't come back after a couple minutes.
I put my finger to my ear, "Emmett, we may have a problem."
Just then Scarlet reappeared with two drinks in hand. I resisted rolling my eyes.
"Never mind." I said to Emmett, my eyes narrowing at her.
"Here." she said, handing me what looked like a vodka tonic with lime.
I was still looking at her incredulously, "What part of 'you never leave my sight' don't you understand?"
She just shrugged and sipped her drink, making me even more exasperated.
My mind finally caught up with what it was seeing and I grabbed the drink from her, "Are you serious, we can't be drinking.
We're on the clock." I whispered fiercely, looking for somewhere to put the drinks.
"Relax" She said, snatching her drink back. "There's no alcohol in these, strictly tonic water. We have to blend in though,
which means we have to look like we're drinking."
I eyed her suspiciously as I took a small sip of my drink, tasting no alcohol I drank more, I didn't want to admit it, but it
was a good idea.
"Are you seeing anything?" I asked her as I let my gaze wander around the room, lingering briefly on each person's face
to see if anything popped out at me. There was nothing.
"I'm not getting anything, but then again, the auction doesn't start for a little while." She said, her gaze wandering too.
More people were starting to walk in and I was having a hard time looking over them all without seeming completely
obvious. I noticed Scarlet was having an even harder time than I was, every time she would look over at a guy, they would
see her and immediately assume she was interested in them.
I was starting to wish she had worn something that wasn't quite sorevealing.
After she had to assure a third guy that she was not trying to gain his attention, I rolled my eyes and grabbed her drink
from her. Putting both of the glasses on a nearby table I grabbed her hand and pulled her over to where people were
dancing.
I swung her around and her hands automatically went to my shoulders, "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She
asked.
"It's easier to blend in this way, plus we can get a better look around than if we were standing in one place." I said,
placing my hands on the small of her back and looking over her shoulder.
"Riiight." She said dubiously, but didn't remove her hands from where they were resting on my shoulders.
"There's Mr. Waltman." I said quietly, watching him over her shoulder. He wasn't doing a very good job of concealing his
worry. His smile was strained and he kept wiping his forehead with a handkerchief that he kept inside his pocket. I
watched him greet various guests, they didn't appear to notice any strain in his demeanor.
The song that was playing picked up a faster tempo that was similar to a tango and we were forced to actually start
moving.
I took one of her hands in mine and started spinning around the floor with the rest of the couples.
Her hand fit perfectly in mine, and I even saw a small smile on her face when I spun her the first time. She continued to
follow my lead without hesitation, and I smiled back at her.
I soon realized that she was just as smooth on the dance floor as she was off. We moved well together, and all too soon
the moment overcame me and my surroundings faded a little. Micro electric shocks emanating from her hand spread
through my arm and down my spine, I resisted the urge to shiver. I spun her once again and then her arm came to drape
behind my neck, while the other was still gripping my hand. Freesia wafted around me, and my eyes felt heavy as I
breathed it in. My arms pulled her closer automatically until her face was inches from my own. It felt like one long
timeless moment that seemed to grasp us, bending us to its will and giving us no choice but to submit to it and let it take
its own course.
"So how's the search coming Edward?" Came the voice of Emmett in my ear, effectively snapping me back into reality.
I cleared my throat and wiped the smile off my face, "Great." I responded gruffly, I suddenly found it more difficult to talk.
Scarlet threw me a confused look until she realized that I was talking through my earpiece.
I gave her a wary smile and led her off the dance floor, realizing that it wasn't the safest place for me.
"I think the auction is starting." I said in explanation, praying that it was.
Sure enough, Mr. Waltman was ushering people into the adjacent room and the music was starting to lower. I offered my
arm to Scarlet, telling myself that it was to uphold our cover, but I knew that I was lying to myself. I smiled when she
accepted and we began walking along with the rest of the crowd.
It was as we walked through the doors that I winced as there was a loud screeching in my ear, coming from the
earpiece.
"Ah!" I ripped it out of my ear, cringing as my ear continued to ring.
"What happened?" Scarlet asked quietly, looking over my face.
"There's something messing with the signal." I said, looking around.
"The auction is now starting, if you could all take your seats so we can begin." Mr. Waltman said with a smile plastered
on his face.
"Come on." She said, linking her arm with mine as people began to take seats.
I tucked the earpiece in my pocket before anyone saw, 'I guess we're on our own now.'
We took seats near the back so that it would be easier to keep an eye on everybody. My eyes were still looking for
anything that could be interfering with the wireless signal, but couldn't spot anything.
"Wait, this is an invitation only event, correct?" Scarlet asked, looking at me.
"Yeah, it's really exclusive. These people have been on the list for years, it's nearly impossible to gain access if you're
someone new. Most of the time people buy their way in, or as they like to call it 'donate to the auction house.'" I said,
looking over some of the people in the crowd.
"Well there's you answer, they must cut off wireless to discourage outsiders from contributing to the auction. And it also
encourages the real members to come themselves, that way they won't just send someone in their place and tell them
which items to bid on using cell phones. Think about it, if the real members come they're more likely to cut checks for
donations and bid higher to uphold their image. It keeps the auction event from becoming one large anonymous event."
She said.
"Makes sense" I said, trying to follow her logic.
"We'll start the bidding at ten thousand for this gold encrusted wristwatch." Mr. Waltman said, pulling up a photo on the
slide of a chunky watch that wouldn't look flattering on anybody. Yet, immediately hands were raised and thousands of
dollars were called out without hesitation.
Item after item was brought up. Thousands of dollars were bid, but I couldn't spot anything suspicious.
"So what exactly are we looking for?" I whispered to Scarlet next to me about twenty minutes into the auction.
"Well, we're looking for someone who'll pay for something far over what it should sell for. And the item will have to be
fairly small, most likely a piece of jewelry, definitely something over twenty grand." She said, her voice trailing off, "Hold on
second."
A picture of a ring was brought onto the screen.
She began watching the crowd closely.
There were about a dozen bidders at the beginning, but then it quickly dwindled to three, each time the same guy was
raising it.
"I think this may be it." Scarlet said.
"How can you be sure?" I asked, trying to see what she saw.
"We need to bid." She said without looking at me.
"What?" I asked
She turned her head to look at me, "If he's not the guy, then he'll stop bidding once the price gets absolutely ridiculous.
But if he is the guy, than he needs to win the auction no matter what, otherwise he can't get the insurance pay out when
the item goes 'missing'." She used air quotes around 'missing'.
"Twenty thousand dollars going once." Mr. Waltman said, looking over the crowd.
I tore my eyes away from her, 'I am so getting fired for this.'
"Twenty one thousand!" I yelled as I raised my finger in the air, trying and failing to keep the wince off my face.
The man's head whipped around and his eyes met mine.
"Thirty thousand!" He yelled without looking away from me.
"Thirty-two thousand!" I countered.
He stared at me for a few moments, the crowd was looking back and forth between us.
"Fifty thousand!" He finally yelled out.
I gulped.
"Bid again." Scarlet whispered, nudging me.
"I don't have fifty thousand dollars." I said out of the corner of my mouth.
"He'll bid again." She said. "The item isn't worth over fifty thousand. He'll keep going."
"Fifty thousand going once!" Mr. Waltman said
"And if he doesn't?" I whispered frantically.
"He will." She said, looking me in the eye, "Trust me."
"Fifty thousand going twice!" Mr. Waltman said.
I searched her brown eyes for a moment longer before slowly nodding.
"Fifty five thousand!" I yelled, resisting the urge to close my eyes.
I glanced over my shoulder to make sure we weren't spotted and then opened the door labeled 'Employees Only' and
motioning for her to follow me.
I was trying to remember which path we took to the vault this afternoon, making a couple wrong turns to dead-end
hallways. I was beginning to get frustrated until I recognized the right door, I immediately tried the handle, but it was
locked.
"Pick it." I said, stepping back.
She raised one eyebrow at me.
"Come on, we don't have time for you to be sarcastic." I said, gesturing to the door.
She smiled and pulled something from her hair; it took me a moment to recognize it as a bobby pin.
"Thank you Rosalie." I heard her say under her breath as she bent over and started tinkering away at the doorknob.
My eyes widened a fraction when I heard a 'click' after about ten seconds.
'She is good, I'll give her that'
"Let's go." She said, breaking me from my stupor. I followed in after her, closing the door behind me, I heard it lock again
automatically.
We stepped forward cautiously into the empty hallway. There was a corner up ahead that wasn't far off.
I motioned for Scarlet to follow me, but placed a finger over my lips in the universal gesture for 'silent'.
We only got a few steps closer when we heard it.
"Let's hurry it up, they can't have more than a few items left to auction off."
We froze where we stood, and shared a fearful glance. I pressed my back to the wall and quickly peeked around the
corner. I spotted a larger man just outside the vault, talking to whoever was inside of it before turning and walking in our
direction.
I stepped away from the corner and looked at Scarlet, "If he thinks we're cops we're done for, I don't know how many guys
are in there, but chances are they're armed, and if he spots us, he'll be able to warn them before we even have a
chance." I whispered, glancing up and down the small hallway for somewhere to duck into, finding nothing.
"Can you pick the lock again?" I asked frantically in a hushed tone.
She shook her head, "I'm fast, but I'm not that fast."
I got a worried expression on my face, I didn't want this to become a shootout, but that was looking like the only option
left.
"Edward"
I barely heard her, I was too busy concentrating on the sound of footsteps coming closer, trying desperately to think of
some way to make us disappear.
"Edward, follow my lead."
My mind caught up with what she said, "What-?"
Before I could react, she pulled me down to her by the lapels of my jacket and connected her lips to mine.
I was immediately lost, my mind swirling and blurry. It felt like every one of my nerves was on fire, consuming me and
making it impossible to concentrate on anything except how soft her lips felt on mine. I could feel my heart beating in my
ears, beating faster and faster.
Without thinking I backed her up until her back was pressed to the wall and my hands were resting on either side of her
face, my palms flat against the wall.
She reacted and our lips moved in perfect synchronization, and for the second time that night, freesia consumed my
I swallowed, and my heartbeat seemed to echo in my ears and the room, my breathing seemed unusually loud and I
quickly stifled it.
We reached the vault and we both took a deep breath before he took the final stride, "FBI, freeze!"
The man dropped whatever he was holding and his hand shot for his gun which was lying on the glass counter.
"Ah ah ah." Edward said, stepping forward and snatching the gun off the counter before he could reach it.
"You are under arrest for attempted robbery, you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used
against you in a court of law."
"Here." He said, handing the gun to me absentmindedly.
"What am I supposed to do with this?" I asked, holding it at a distance.
"I don't know, hang onto it. I'm going to take care of him. You go out into the auction area and get a hold of Emmett; the
auction will hopefully be over by now. Just take it and go. Now." He said without looking at me as he resumed reading the
thief his rights and pulling out his cuffs.
"You told me not to leave your sight." I interrupted him, reminding him of what he had specifically told me.
"Scarlet, we don't have time for this. Go now." He said, still not looking at me.
He was unusually bitter, my eyes narrowed and I bit back my retort. There was something he was angry at me for. I would
find out what that was later.
"Oh yeah I'll just stick it in my dress, that won't be totally obvious." I told him sarcastically, my anger rising. I left the room
without looking at him, holding onto the gun loosely.
I walked down the hallway, back the way we came, muttering to myself along the way and resisting the urge to growl and
utter swear words with every step.
'He's acting like a child. The last time I checked we were supposed to b e a team. He has to learn to stop ordering me
around when I'm trying to help.'
I came to the end of the hallway and was met with the unconscious thief on the floor and three doors that all looked
identical.
I hesitated, my eyes shifting from one door to the next.
I couldn't remember which one we had originally come through, they all looked the same.
I pulled a bobby pin from my hair once again and started on one at random, quickly realizing that it wasn't locked.
'Strange, I could have sworn it had locked b ehind us.'
I turned the knob and stepped through.
'This is definitely not the way we came through.' I thought to myself.
The room was filled with file cabinets but that's not what caught my attention.
There was a window. And it was open, my eyes widened. I strode over to it, placing the gun on one of the cabinets and
saw a rope tied off, ready to be used as a means of escape. Elated, I turned back to call to Edward, to tell him I found
how they were going to get out of the building.
Just then a breeze streamed into the room and my body froze. I turned slowly back to the window; the breeze pushed the
loose tendrils from my face, tickling my neck and cheeks softly.
My eyes closed at the feeling.
I was rooted to the spot.
'Freedom.' My mind echoed.
It was within my grasp. Right in front of me.
There was no more tracking anklet. No one was watching. There was nothing stopping me. The FBI didn't know about
this exit. And Edward was'Edward'
At that moment I heard the tremendous crash of glass shattering from beyond the door behind me.
My head snapped back to the door in the direction of the noise, my brow snapped together.
I could feel the breeze on my cheek again.
I looked back at the window.
The darkness beyond seemed to be beckoning me into its familiar arms. Calling to me, telling me to succumb to it and
slip into its shadowy crevices.
'You can find another way to get the file you need.' One half of my mind echoed softly in my mind, cajoling me to follow its
advice and return to the life I lived before.
'You can easily slip away. You've done it hundreds of times b efore. The FBI would never b e ab le to catch you. Now's your
chance.' The voice was my own, and yet it wasn't.
There was another large shattering crash from behind me followed by yelling.
My expression was pained as I looked between the window and the door.
'Just run, no one can catch you.'
My window of opportunity was shrinking.
'Just run.'
My heart was beating in my ears, faster and faster.
'Run.'
A/N: I know it's been a while since I've updated, you don't have to tell me. This past month has been hell and on top of
that my computer crashed. So I made this chapter extra long and hopefully you are satisfied. Reviews are always
appreciated, but I'm sure you already are aware of that. They really do make me smile. I got some great ones last
time with song recommendations, a lot of you seem to be Mission Impossible and James Bond fans (But that isn't
really such a big surprise when you think about the content of this story). Anyways, I will try to update faster, but
please have patience. :P
EPOV
I waited until Scarlet left before I finished reading the Miranda rights to the criminal.
I cleared my throat, "As I was saying, you have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be
appointed to you. Do you understand these rights that have been read to you?"
He said nothing and I turned him around to face me, I was greeted with a scowl.
I smiled without the warmth that would usually accompany it. "Silence huh? Never heard that before. Or I guess, not
heard, would be the correct phrase." I said, crossing my arms while keeping my eyes on him.
It would be better to wait for Emmett and the rest of the team to come to me rather than dragging this guy through the
whole building. There was less chance of escape for him.
"So I guess you figured that Mr. Waltman would keep his mouth shut about the robberies. That he'd rather suffer a
monetary loss than lose his entire list of clientele by admitting that he was robbed. I guess it's a decent plan, but still
risky when you think about all the variables that could-or I guess I should say did go wrong." I said, smiling a little. His
scowl deepened at the sign of my increased enjoyment.
He sneered, "The plan was perfect, that idiot curator doesn't know a thing about security. The three of us would have
been set for life because of his idiocy." He said, breaking his silence.
Something he said made me stop what I was doing.
"Wait, did you just say 'three of us'?" I asked urgently, my eyes slightly wider.
But he said nothing. He didn't have to; I heard a creak from behind me, followed by the thud of a heavy footstep that
sounded extremely close.
In a fraction of a second my eyes widened and I spun, pulling my weapon from its holster simultaneously.
No later had I pulled it out was it knocked from my grip and sent flying across the room where it smashed into one of the
glass jewelry cases, effectively shattering it.
My eyes followed it automatically, and when I turned back I was met with a large fist approaching my face at an alarming
speed. I ducked and practically heard the 'whoosh' above my head as it missed its target.
I brought myself up to normal height once again, but this time with my palms held outward to block anything else.
A small part of my mind wondered why there was no alarm ringing in my ears. A state of the art vault like this one would
ordinarily have been blaring with sounds by now.
I got a split second to size up the person attacking me and didn't like what I was met with. The man was even larger than
Emmett in stature and the look on his face gave off the idea that things would not bode well for me if the fight were to
continue.
I continued to hold my palms facing outward, cautious. "Sir, I'm a federal agent, I'm going to need you to stop." I said, my
voice even. It was my last shot at ending this before it became an all-out fistfight.
"Kick his ass Joey!" Yelled the handcuffed thief from behind me. He was not helping things.
"Joey's" only response was to send another fist flying. My physical combat training immediately took the forefront of my
mind; my right palm shot out and met his approaching fist.
My eyes widened at the amount of force I felt behind his throw and a small grunt escaped me. He followed up with his left
hand faster than I anticipated and I wasn't lucky enough to duck.
It met my jaw and I stumbled back, cursing in my head as I could immediately feel the shockwaves of pain trembling up
my jawbone.
I could taste blood but ignored it, deciding that the rhino of a guy barreling toward me was something that I should be
more concerned with.
I sidestepped, barely remaining out of his grasp, twisting around him and bringing my right elbow down on a pressure
point on his back.
If I was worried before, it was nothing compared to the feeling that consumed me when a jab that would have caused a
normal opponent to crumble, had no effect.
He turned quickly and I gulped when I saw an even more hostile expression on his face.
'Oh shit.'
Before I could react his hand shot out and grabbed me by the front of my shirt with an iron grip. My hands gripped his
wrist in an attempt to pry myself from his grasp. I could feel less and less of my weight being held by my own feet and
more of it being transferred to his arm.
It didn't take much for him to toss me; soon I found myself thrown into a glass display counter, feeling it crack and shatter
under me. I held back a groan; I was going to be thoroughly bruised tomorrow. I didn't dwell on the fact that my tux just
saved me from hundreds of stitches and focused more on the fact that I had to think of another tactic. Fast.
My focus was torn away from my opponent when I caught a glimpse of the thief I had handcuffed running out the door.
I was about to yell to him to stop but I was instead forced to roll out of the way when something metal flew into my line of
vision and hit the spot I had just vacated.
It took me a second to recognize the metal object as a thin bar that had been used to hold together the now-destroyed
display case.
I was supporting myself on my elbows and looked up just in time to see him swinging the metal bar down towards me
like an axe at a spectacular speed.
I rush of breath escaped me and I reflexively held my forearm up to protect my face, my eyes squinting shut as I awaited
the blow.
But it never came.
Confused, I opened my eyes. They widened when I was met with the sight in front of me.
Instead of the menacing rhino-sized attacker swinging four feet of metal down on me, I saw the same guy, except this
time he had Scarlet clinging to his back, her arms wrapped around his neck in a ferocious chokehold.
My mouth hung agape for a moment.
"Go after him!" she yelled gruffly referring to the other thief while trying to maintain her grip.
I hesitated for a moment, torn between doing what was logical and what my emotions were telling me to do.
"Just go Edward!" She yelled again.
After one last millisecond of torn decision I pushed myself off the ground, sprinting out of the room after the first thief.
I had to grab him quickly; I wasn't sure how long Scarlet could hold up. The sooner I stopped him, the sooner I could get
back to her.
I rounded the corner of the hallway and found him trying to kick open one of the doors with his hands still tied behind his
back.
He glanced in my direction as I sprinted toward him and redoubled his efforts to break the door open.
"I don't think so." I said, grabbing his shirt by the shoulder and pulling him back from the door.
He started struggling, yelling profanities and various things about my mother, trying to kick me any chance he got.
My eyes searched quickly, I opened various doors while keeping a firm grip on him. I finally found what I was looking fora broom closet.
"You have the right to remain silent, so just shut up already." I said as I shoved him inside, slamming the door behind
him.
I pulled a nearby table in front of the door, locking him in for the time being.
With no time to lose, I turned back towards the direction of the vault and ran.
BPOV
My grip was iron tight around his neck; I bent my elbow until I had him in a chokehold. He began twisting and turning and
it was getting increasingly harder to maintain my grip.
A brief thought flew across my mind, 'Yep, definitely should have jumped out the window when I had the chance.' Before I
regained my focus.
If I didn't keep constant pressure on the arteries in his neck he wouldn't go down and I would be in trouble.
He swung around once more and before I could figure out what he was doing the air was ripped from my lungs as he
slammed backwards into a wall.
I saw stars for a few moments as I tried to take in air. I was disoriented enough that my grip loosened as I tried to refocus
myself.
He reached a hand back and the next thing I knew I was being pulled from his back and thrown forward over his
shoulder onto the ground below.
I felt my skin sting as I landed on broken glass and tried not to wince.
I didn't have long to recover and sucked in air as I felt a blow to my abdomen and rolled in an attempt to get out of the
range of his kicks.
'Son of a-'
I gasped as I felt another blow hit me in the lower black, close to my kidney. I cracked my eyes open and saw something
through blurry eyes. Edward's gun.
I crawled forward quickly trying to close the distance between myself and the weapon I didn't get very far before I felt a
hand wrap around my ankle and I was dragged backwards.
'I am getting so sick of this!'
I flipped myself over onto my back and swung my other leg around, kicking him effectively over the side of the head with
my stiletto clad foot, satisfied when his grip loosened and I was able to pull my leg free.
I wasted no time in picking myself and putting distance between us. I ran, hoisting myself over one of the countertops
and sliding across the glass until I was able to drop to the other side.
Enough adrenaline was pumping through my body that I couldn't yet feel the pain that was sure to come.
I ducked when a large shard of glass came flying at me, whizzing by and implanting itself into the wall behind me.
"Oh come on already!" I growled, watching as he grabbed a few more large shards of glass and sent them flying at me. I
dodged, weaved and ducked multiple times, barely avoiding each piece.
It was as he was bending down to grab more pieces that a tuxedo-clad Edward tackled him by the midsection.
"About damn time!" I yelled.
"Well sorry, I was a little busy." He said, his voice strained as he attempted to pin down the assailant, but not quite
succeeding.
Pretty soon they were wrestling on the ground and I jumped into action. I placed my hands on the counter again and
EPOV
"You know, you really do have terrible timing." I said as one of the thieves was being put into the back of a cop car.
"Sorry about that, it took us a while to secure the room outside after the earpiece signal went fuzzy." He said, shutting the
car door behind the criminal and tapping twice on the top of the car which then proceeded to pull away from the curb.
"Yeah, at least you came at all, though I think Scarlet is still a little bitter." I said with a smile.
He chuckled, "Yeah, so where is Ms. Kickass?" He said, straining his neck to try and spot her.
"She's near the ambulance, the paramedics are checking out the guy she knocked out." I said my gaze looking in that
direction.
He nodded and got an interesting look on his face, "So what happened exactly after the earpiece stopped working?" He
said, looking at me with one eyebrow raised.
I cleared my throat awkwardly and pushed myself off the van, "I'm going to head over there." and started heading for the
paramedics.
"Oh, so something did happen?" He said, a large smile on his face as I walked away.
"Hey Ed hold up a sec." I reluctantly turned around and saw Emmett rummaging through the back of the FBI van for
something, when he found what he was looking for he turned around and tossed it to me.
I caught it easily, immediately recognizing it as a new anklet tracker for Scarlet.
"Thanks." I said, completely forgetting about the fact that she wasn't wearing one, my mind elsewhere.
I fiddled with the piece of plastic as I walked, my mind wandering back to what it was that I was so reluctant to tell
Emmett.
My mind was trying to analyze it, pick it apart until I could understand it. But by the time I got over to the paramedics I was
still just as lost as before.
"Hey." She said when I reached the back of the ambulance.
I looked up from the anklet that I had been inadvertently looking at on my walk over.
I responded with a short smile, my gaze shifting over to the paramedics who were measuring the pulse of the
unconscious thief.
"Is he going to be okay?" I asked them warily.
One of them looked up at me, "Yeah, he'll be fine, just a little light-headed." He said, his eyes shifting to Scarlet briefly in
suspicion.
I looked back at Scarlet, but she wasn't looking at me, she was looking at the anklet in my hands.
I watched her eyes for a moment, there was something turning in them that I didn't understand.
I cleared my throat, causing her eyes to meet mine and I noticed that the previous look had been wiped away.
It was then that I noticed she was standing strangely. Her weight was shifted to her right side and her left hand was
crossed in front of her chest, wrapped around the upper part of her arm.
"Are you okay?" I asked, watching her carefully.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She answered briskly, "Did you want me to put that on?" She asked, it took me a moment to realize she
was talking about the anklet.
"Yeah." I said, shaking my head a little bit to clear it, hesitating for a second before bending down and reattaching it to her
ankle.
I returned to my normal height after making sure that it was secure and was about to say something to her when I
noticed she was rather pale.
My eyes zeroed in on her hand covering her arm.
"We should probably get going," She turned and took a step away from me, "We don't-"
My eyes narrowed in suspicion and my hand reached out and pulled her hand from where it was covering her arm, my
eyes widening when I saw blood.
"Scarlet!" I yelled, using my other hand to turn her back around.
"What?" She said, trying to cover her arm again, barely managing to cover her wince.
"What do you mean 'what?', you're bleeding!" I said, turning her more so I could see her arm.
My outburst gained the attention of the paramedics who immediately dropped what they were doing and hurried over to
us.
"It's nothing." She said, I noticed that her skin was even more pale than usual.
"That is definitely not nothing." I said, "Will you guys help her out?" I said, looking at the paramedics and gesturing to
Scarlet who was eyeing them with skepticism.
They made her sit down on the back of the ambulance and immediately got to work on the large cut on her upper arm.
"How did that happen?" I asked her, watching as the guys took a pair of tweezers and pulled a tiny shard of glass from
the wound, answering my question.
"I landed on some glass." She said, trying to shrug it off but quickly decided that wasn't the best idea while the
paramedic was digging for glass.
"Why didn't you tell me? Or anyone for that matter?" I asked, wondering why on earth she would try to hide it and refuse
medical attention.
She winced as he applied an alcohol swab to the wound.
"Does she need stitches?" I asked him, my eyebrows pulled together in worry.
Her face snapped to meet mine, her eyes wide, before looking at the paramedic.
"No, she'll be fine with a bandage wrap." He said, and I saw Scarlet instantly relax.
He rummaged in his medic bag, and soon came up with a roll of white bandage. I watched carefully as he took her arm
and wrapped the bandage around it until the cut was completely covered. She watched him with hawk-eyes, she was
extremely tense, but color was returning to her face. As soon as he finished she stood up quickly from her seat and
came to stand beside me, anxious to leave.
"Alright? Can we go now?" She asked, both eyebrows raised, looking back and forth between the paramedic and me.
"Well that depends." I said, my arms crossed.
"On what!" She yelled, an expression of disbelief on her face.
"On whether or not you have any other injuries that constitute a stop at the emergency room on our way home." I said,
looking at her with my arms still crossed and my eyes narrowed.
"Nothing you need to worry about." She said with an expression that clearly said, 'why do you care so much?', and walked
past me toward the car.
I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding.
'But that's just the question isn't it.'
Why did I care so much?
Her eyes shifted to something on my face and I saw a smile crack on her face.
"He got you pretty good." She said and reached her free hand out slowly and before I realized what she was doing, she
placed her fingertips on my jaw, lightly touching the large bruise there. I felt a small shiver go through me, realizing that it
wasn't from being outside.
I swallowed, part of my brain reveling in the fact that her touch felt extremely soothing on the sensitive skin, the other part
was telling me that I was heading into a dangerous situation at an alarming rate.
Her thumb traced my jaw line with a feather light touch and my eyes closed at the sensation.
All of the sudden I felt her hand stop.
"I should go."
My eyes shot open and I cleared my throat. Watching as she began to stand up.
'Don't go.' Thought one part of my mind.
I could have a said a million different things to try and make her stay but I hesitated.
'This is dangerous territory.' Thought another part of my mind.
In the end I would have settled for saying anything.
But the words stuck in my throat and I sat there and watched her slip through the roof's door.
'You're an idiot.'
I couldn't argue with that one.
BPOV
I slipped through the roof's door and closed it behind me, leaning back against it and closing my eyes.
I let out the breath I had been holding.
'Scarlet, what the hell are you doing?' My thoughts asked.
That was one question I wish I knew the answer to.
A/N: I managed to update faster than last time, go me. How is it that every time I post a new chapter for this story,
over five thousand people read it that day and yet only about three percent review? I must sound like a broken
record by now, but reviews really are a good incentive for me to keep writing. For those of you who review every
time, you're awesome. For those of you who don't I'm not liking you as much right now. If you can't think of
anything to say, how about telling me what you would like to see in the next chapter?
BPOV
I rolled over in my bed, tossing and turning. My mattress seemed unusually uncomfortable and the comforter was
suffocating.
With a huff of annoyance I peeled back the blanket from my body, immediately feeling the soothing effects of the cool air
that was blowing in from the window.
My eyes were open. I looked at my window; the white curtains billowed softly inward, almost as if they were sighing. I
could hear the noise that was affiliated with city traffic softly streaming in.
I let the breeze wash over me, begging it to erase the confusion that was permeating my conscious mind. It was like a
wall had been built in my mentality, blocking me from getting to sleep or thinking straight. And until I found a way over it,
around it, through it, whatever, I would be stuck with the trouble it caused.
I rolled away from the window, shutting my eyes once again, attempting to calm my mind and succumb to the sleep I
desperately needed and wanted.
Eventually, the sounds of Chicago faded away and the surreality of dreams swept in. I soon realized that my dream was
more memory than imagination. I was whisked away to a place that I had been before, but never wanted to go back to
"Jake stop!" I laughed as he tickled my sides, I was having a hard time b reathing. I saw the walls of my dorm room
through crinkled eyes.
His smile matched my own as he laughed and continued to tickle the exposed skin where my shirt had ridden up on the
sides.
"I'm serious!" I laughed, trying to push him away. There was somewhere I needed to b e, b ut I was having a hard time
rememb ering what it was at the moment. "Seriously, I have to go!"
"Are you sure you can't stay an extra day?" He asked, poking his b ottom lip out.
"Your puppy-dog pout has no affect on me." I said, sitting up on my b ed and straightening my shirt.
"Are you sure?..." He asked with a knowing smile, his eyes dancing with mirth.
I narrowed my eyes at him b ut the false hostility was soon b roken with a smile of my own that crept up on its own volition.
"I'm only going home to see my parents for a week, so it's not like I'm going to b e gone that long." I said, knowing fully
well that it would feel like forever until I saw him again.
"I suppose" He said, his lips turned downward.
I leaned in and quickly b rushed my mouth against his, we were b oth wearing matching smiles when I pulled away.
"I'll b e b ack b efore you know it."
The walls of my dorm faded and morphed into a new scene. An older memory that I would have rather left unperturbed.
"Ten b ucks says she can't do it." Emb y said, looking at Quil and Jacob as we all walked side b y side.
"You're on!" Jacob said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder and tugging me closer.
"You really think she can open it?" Quil asked incredulously.
"Well, what kind of b oyfriend would I b e if I didn't support her?" He said, tugging me even closer. I smiled up at him.
When I told him ab out how I was pretty nifty with locks, I hadn't given it a second thought.
But then he asked if I would show him.
'Why not?' I had thought. This was a time b efore my gut instinct was what I listened to.
His dad had an old safe in his office that Jacob said I could use. So we all walked down to Jake's house and he showed
me into the office and pulled a small cab inet out of the way to reveal a small wall safe.
"Go for it." He said with a smile, his eyes crinkling.
I smiled b ack at him and got to work, feeling elated that he had so much faith in me.
Soon my cheek was pressed against the cold unrelenting metal of the safe. My hands were holding onto it softly. The last
thing I wanted to do was let Jake down.
I b reathed in, allowing everything around me to fade until it was just me and the safe.
I had asked Jake earlier, so I already knew that there were three numb ers I had to uncover, meaning that there were
three wheels to the safe.
I placed my right hand on the dial softly, and let myself feel exactly what was happening.
It took me a moment of turning, b ut soon I found the contact area, feeling where the lever was coming into contact with
the notch on the drive cam.
Then, with a practiced hand, I spun the dial until I had all three internal wheels resting at zero.
I b reathed in deeply.
Here comes the hard part
I b egan spinning the dial in the opposite direction, my eyes closing, my b reath holding, I listened.
I don't know how I felt it, b ut I did. The dip was so miniscule, b ut it was there. Anyone else would have assumed I was
insane, that there was no notch in the wheel, b ut they would b e wrong. I didn't know how I could tell, b ut I could.
I opened my eyes and looked at the numb er I was at: Fourteen.
'One down, two to go.'
I went b ack to contact and b egan turning in the opposite direction once again, slowly, so slowly.
My eyes opened when I felt the second notch: Fifty-seven.
I b reathed out again b efore closing my eyes once more.
For the last time I spun the dial b ack to the contact area and crossed over, spinning once again in the opposite direction.
Silence
Silence
'Click.'
I smiled as I opened my eyes once again: Twenty-Eight.
From here it was guesswork. I had the correct numb ers, b ut I didn't have the order they went in. With a three numb er
comb ination there are only six possib le comb inations. With four numb ers there are twenty-four possib ilities. I was lucky
in this case, b ecause if this safe had had six numb ers, I would have to run through seven hundred and twenty
comb inations until I found the right one.
I started first in the order that I found them.
'fourteen' I spun the dial clockwise
'fifty-seven' I spun it counterclockwise.
'twenty-eight' I continued spinning until I hit the numb er.
I tried the handle
Nothing.
'Alright, next comb ination.'
I kept spinning and turning, trying out each ordered pair until finally
The handle turned.
I let out a satisfied sigh at the sound.
I opened the safe's door and stepped b ack, allowing those standing b ehind me to see my accomplishment.
Quil and Emb ry b oth showed signs of shock and awe, immediately coming forward to take a closer look.
I looked to Jacob , he sent me a dazzling smile that made b utterflies flutter in my stomach. He had that kind of effect on
me.
I didn't know it then, b ut I would come to regret revealing to him what I had.
There are some talents that you can't take b ack once someone knows you have them.
I woke up with a gasp, taking in lungfuls of air. I sat up in bed, running a hand through my hair, my hand shaking slightly.
The amount of relief that poured through me the moment my apartment came into focus calmed me beyond measure.
'Get a grip! You've jumped off sixty-foot b uildings, hung from cars going over sixty miles an hour and now a stupid dream
has you rattled! Get. A. Grip.'
I let myself fall back onto the bed, covering my eyes with my hand and breathing deeply.
"Why now? I thought I put all of that behind me." I groaned into the darkness, but received no answer.
After a moment I returned my hand to my side, telling myself not to look at the alarm clock on my nightstand because it
would only make it all too clear how little sleep I was getting.
I rolled away from it so as not to tempt myself, closing my eyes for what I hoped would be the last time until morning
EPOV
It was rare when I dreamed. Or at least it was rare when I remembered having a dream.
Usually I was so completely exhausted when I went to bed that the only thing I ever saw was the back of my eyelids.
But for some reason tonight was definitely different
Green arose out of the darkness surrounding me, covering everything. It took a while b efore leaves and tall trees b egan
etching themselves out into realistic shapes.
I looked up and squinted at the b rightness seeping in through the trees, it gave wherever I was a soft glow.
It was the 'wherever' part of that statement that worried me. I looked around some more, b ewildered.
Eventually my surroundings came into focus enough for me to recognize that I was standing at the edge of some sort of
meadow.
There was grass b eneath my b are feet-why I wasn't wearing shoes seemed oddly unimportant at the moment-and I felt
its softness that I often missed in the urb an setting of my everyday life.
The longer I stood there the more details appeared to come into focus. Tree after tree filled my vision, some adorning
large amounts of moss. I turned my and noticed there were flowers scattered randomly in the grass, sometimes clustered
in small b unches- purple and a light b lue dots poking up through the grass daintily. The meadow itself couldn't have
b een more than thirty feet across, b ut it seemed like a never-ending sea of green.
'Where am I?' I asked, b ut I wasn't sure if I was actually saying it out loud or if I was thinking it. I could hear it, b ut it
seemed to echo in the way that you hear your own thoughts in your mind.
I turned around over and over again, b ut for some reason I was unworried. It was just me and the endless amount of
trees. I b egan to notice b irds chirping somewhere high up, b ut no matter how I craned my neck I couldn't spot them.
I shrugged and b egan walking into the center of the meadow, my feet leaving evanescent impressions in the grass.
I looked up once again when I got to the center, feeling the warm rays of soft sunlight hitting my face I smiled.
It was serene and peaceful, unlike anything I had ever seen b efore. Most of my life I had b een surrounded b y the
concrete and stone of the city, b eing here was a refreshing change. I b reathed deeply, filling my lungs to the b rim with the
fresh air.
Because it felt like the most natural thing to do at the moment, I decided to lie down for a while.
I closed my eyes, now feeling the sun warming my eyelids and lay with my hands b ehind my head-completely at ease.
I b reathed deeply, feeling my skin tingle from the warmth.
"It's called lucid dreaming."
My eyes shot open at the voice. My head turned to the side and I saw Scarlet laying in the same position I was a few feet
to my right. Her face was directed upward b ut her eyes were closed against the sun's rays, b asking in its warmth.
"What?"
Her eyes opened and she rolled her head toward me.
"Lucid dreaming. It's where you're aware that you're dreaming and you can manipulate your surroundings however you
want." She said, turning her head b ack once again to the sun and closing her eyes.
"So this is a dream?" I asked.
"Well I don't think those trees are indigenous to downtown Chicago." She said with her usual sarcastic smile.
I let that sink in. I could hear the b irds chirping once again.
"So let me get this straight." I said, causing her to look at me once again. "I can change this dream any way I want?"
She nodded.
I looked to my side and plucked one of the b lue flowers from the grass.
"So say I wanted to change the color of this flower, I can just-" I watched as the b lue drained from the flower and b ecame
a deep shade of orange. I smiled, spinning the new flower b y its stem b efore placing it b eside me.
"So if this is my dreamwhy are you here?" I asked her.
She smiled, "I guess your mind couldn't wait until morning to see her."
"Who?"
"Scarlet."
"Aren't you-"
"No, I'm just a figment your sub conscious created for this dream. So the extent of my knowledge in this situation stretches
only as far as yours does."
"So I'm b asically just talking to myself here." I concluded.
"Yeah, pretty much." She answered.
I wasn't sure what to do with that so I just let my eyes wander over my surroundings.
"So, what is this place? I mean, where are we?" I asked, letting my eyes trail over the trees once again.
She looked around at everything, as if thinking it over. "I think this is the place on that postcard you saw in the drugstore
that one time. Rememb er, you were stuck in that long line where it seemed like everyone chose that day to move
ridiculously slow. You started flipping through the postcard rack and this one caught your eye. I guess it stuck for some
reason." She said, "Though you seem to have added some of your own details."
"Yeah, I didn't think I was creative enough to create this place." I said, slightly disappointed.
"Well if it's any consolation, you got practically every single detail of Scarlet down pat." She said with that same knowing
smile. "Doesn't that tell you something?"
"Well I'm around you-her practically every second of every day." I retorted. "And I have a good memory."
She just rose her eyeb row a fraction, holding the 'you're full of crap' expression expertly.
I sighed and returned my gaze to the sky ab ove me, not liking where the conversation was heading.
"You can't keep denying it forever." She said in a know-it-all voice.
"Denying what?" I asked.
"Well for starters, the fact that you're attracted to a criminal. Which pretty much goes against every rule in your moral
ruleb ook." She said.
"I'm not denying the fact that she's attractive." I said, my tone defensive.
"Oh, I think your level of attraction is a little more intense than flirting over a cup of coffee." She said, a hint of a smile
b ehind her tone.
I swallowed hard.
"I mean come on, you're dreaming ab out her- a girl that you're pining after b ut don't actually have the guts to do anything
ab out it."
"Who says I don't have the guts, I'm a federal agent for god's sake." I retorted quickly.
"Do I need to remind you that I'm just a figment of your sub conscious? Meaning that when I call you a coward, it's actually
your own mind that's admitting to it."
I narrowed my eyes at her.
"It's not that easy."
"It's only hard if you want it to b e." She said, closing her eyes and facing the sun ab ove with a soft smile adorning her lips,
soaking in the warmth that was offered.
"Well what am I supposed to do?"
"How am I supposed to know, I'm just here so that you can have someone to deb ate your conflicted feelings with." She
said, pausing for a moment b efore continuing with a smile, "Though it does say something ab out you."
"Like what?"
She rolled her head to look at me, "When most men dream ab out a woman, the situation usually does not involve much
talking."
It grew quiet for a moment as my mind thought ab out what that could entail.
Before I could react, she rolled on top of me, supporting herself b y placing either hand b eside each of my shoulders. Her
hair was hanging down in soft tendrils, the downcast sunlight making it shimmer.
"You should really b e careful ab out where you let your mind wander to in a dream." She whispered.
Her b rown eyes danced as she smiled and I saw small gold flecks illuminate and sparkle.
She leaned down until her lips were hovering centimeters from mine, her hair tickling my face.
"If you want her" She whispered.
My eyes closed automatically as the scent of freesia and vanilla b attled for dominance in the forefront of my mind,
mingling and messing with all of my senses until the ab ility to think straight was completely ob literated.
"Do something ab out it" She whispered, her b reath fanning across my lips.
I opened my eyes expecting to see her sparkling amber eyes above me, but instead saw the poor paint job of my ceiling.
I growled at it. Who knows where that dream would have gone if I had remained asleep.
Then after a second thought, 'mayb e it's b etter that it didn't' I wouldn't have been able to think about anything else the
entire day.
One thing's for sure.
I would definitely remember that dream.
BPOV
My fingers on my right hand drummed on the table while my left hand gripped my cup of coffee tighter than was
necessary.
I realized how hard I was clenching and immediately released my grip, pursing my lips when I saw that my cup was
slightly bent out of shape.
My eyes rose when I heard footsteps behind me, deep thuds that dragged slightly.
I closed my eyes with a sigh, not even bothering to turn around when I said, "No Mike, I'm not interested."
He came around to face me, dusting his hands off on his apron. "Are you sure? I could buy you another coffeeor
dinner?" He asked, his face bright and hopeful with the exuberant smile that I had come accustomed to seeing on his
face.
"Mike, we've been over this multiple times." I said, my eyes narrowing, "My answer is still no."
"Oh come on, I bet we could have a lot of fun." He smiled, obviously not getting the idea.
"No." I said with finality.
"We could-"
"No."
"Are you su-"
"Leave." I said, my tone holding a tremendous weight. "Now."
His eyes widened in surprise, but he listened nonetheless, backing away slowly.
I released the sigh that had been threatening to escape, feeling slightly guilty for snapping at him. I doubt it really affected
him though; I wouldn't be surprised if he was just as determined the next time I walked in there.
I rubbed my eyes then grabbed my distorted cup and sipped cautiously at the scalding liquid inside, grumbling when I
felt the tip of my tongue burn.
The fact that I felt like I had no clue what I was doing anymore, was not comforting. I was so used to everything being
meticulously planned out to the second, where there were no longer any variables that could harm me. Now though
'Focus! You're just supposed to get in, get out, and b e done with it.' My mind reminded me. 'This is too important to let
something stupid get in the way.'
I felt like slamming my forehead down on the table in exasperation.
"Sorry I'm late." I looked up to see Alice sliding into the seat across from me, a huge smile stretched on her face
practically radiating sunlight onto those surrounding her-whether they wanted it or not.
However, that same ray of sunshine was swept away once she caught sight of me.
"You look like hell."
My eyes narrowed even though she was right, I did look like hell.
I had dark circles under my eyes from lack of sleep, my hair was frizzy and unkempt, and I was bruised enough that even
the slightest instances of contact felt like new blows. Plus I had the stylish white bandage wrapped around my arm that
would be my constant ever-irritating companion until the wound healed.
"What happened?" She asked, her eyes wide.
I let out a short breath and shifted position at the table so that I was supporting my head with my hand.
"It's a long story that involves a lot of fighting." I said, taking a small, cautious sip of my drink. The fact that my caffeine
was still not drinking temperature did little to help my mood.
"Well, I'm not seeing Jasper until later tonight so we've got plenty of time." She said with a smile.
'So that's why she's so happy.' I thought to myself.
"So I guess things with Jasper are going well." I said.
She smiled the second I mentioned his name and I knew right that second that she was long gone.
I rolled my eyes; the look did not escape her.
"Oh come one Scarlet, I can't help it. He's justperfect." She gushed.
"Of course he is." I said sarcastically. I brought my cup to my lips, no longer caring if it burned my tongue, the need for
caffeine outweighed everything else.
"Well it doesn't matter what you think about my relationship, because I want to hear about what happened last night." She
said, looking straight at me.
I went back and forth with my decision about whether or not I wanted to delve into the lengthy story. After a moment or two
I thought 'Why not? It'll get my mind off other things.'
"Alright." I sighed and started telling her what had happened from the second Edward and I set out for the auction event
to the end of it. I decided to leave out what happened on the rooftop, for some reason I didn't feel like sharing that
particular moment.
When I finally finished the story, my coffee cup was empty and the morning rush was now gone from the coffee shop,
leaving only a handful of people scattered among the tables.
She was silent for a few moments, letting everything I told her sink in.
I began drumming my fingers on the table, still waiting for some type of reaction.
"So let me get this straight." She said, looking at my with a look of disbelief, "You kissed him? You actually kissed him?"
"Seriously? I tell you that entire story and that's the only part you're interested in?" I said, wondering why I was even
surprised.
She had a smug smile on her face, one that blatantly said 'I knew it.'
"Would you stop giving me that look, it's really unattractive." I said.
She tried to quell her smile but was having some difficulty.
"Alright, yeah I kissed him, only because I was trying to keep our cover and it was my only option if I didn't want to get
shot." I said, defending myself.
"You keep telling yourself that." She smirked over her coffee cup; I could still see the corner of her lip twitching.
It was a few moments before she said, "So when are you going to see him again?"
I leaned back in my chair, "Not sure. He's just working on paperwork today, but as soon as we get a new case he'll come
get me." I said, my finger tracing the rim of my coffee cup.
"Great, then you guys can get back to 'working'." She said, using air quotes around the last word.
My eyes narrowed automatically as my mind thought of what she could mean by that.
EPOV
"Hold the door!" I heard faintly and I quickly pushed the button to keep the elevator doors open.
A guy roughly my age rushed in, trying to balance a few cups of coffee in one hand and files in the other.
"Thanks." He said breathlessly, I could tell he really meant it.
"No problem, where are you headed?" I asked him, my fingers hovering over the buttons.
"Thirty-sixth floor."
My brow drew together. That was my floor.
Regardless, I pushed the button.
It was silent for a few floors before curiosity got the better of me.
"So what brings you up to Major Crimes? I haven't seen you around before, are you new?" I asked, turning my head to
look at him.
He smiled, "Well no actually I work in the records department. The only reason I'm up here is to drop off these files." He
raised the arm with the folders "But to tell you the truth, I'm mainly going up there because of a girl that works there.
When I heard that some files needed to be taken there I jumped at the chance, I thought I might bring her coffee, you
know?"
I smiled back but I was instantly suspicious.
A few floors later I broke the silence once again, clearing my throat.
"Which girl?" I asked nonchalantly.
"What?" He asked, not having heard me.
I shrugged, "I know most of the people on the floor, maybe I know her."
"UmmmI think I heard someone call her Scarlet." He said.
My mind halted and my eyes narrowed automatically.
I tried to get a good look at this guy out of the corner of my eye. Sizing him up. It didn't really matter whether he was any
competition to me, as far as my mind was concerned, he needed to go.
The door let out a 'ding' at our floor and the doors eased open.
He began walking forward and I strode by, bumping his arm with the coffee, sending the scalding liquid out of balance
and effectively onto his clean-pressed shirt.
"Oooh, sorry about that man. You gotta be more careful with hot liquids, you wouldn't want to burn yourself." I said,
slipping out of the elevator. I smiled in satisfaction as the doors closed on him attempting to wipe coffee off of his shirt,
cursing abundantly.
I probably could have just told him that Scarlet wasn't here today, but then he probably would have just come back
tomorrow.
I was whistling happily as I walked into my office, not noticing the strange looks I was receiving by those I passed.
It couldn't have been more than two seconds after I sat down that Jasper opened my door and came in.
"Knock much?" I asked, referring to him barging in.
He was looking at me strangely, completely ignoring my previous comment as he sat in the chair across from me.
I was shuffling through the papers and envelopes on my desk and when I looked up he was still wearing the same
confused/suspicious expression.
"What?" I asked, my eyebrows rose in annoyance as I put down the papers I was holding.
"You seemhappy today." He said.
"So?" I said, still annoyed that he was acting strangely.
"Sois there something you haven't told me?" He asked.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Edward, for god's sake you were whistling when you walking in here. Whistling!" He said, shaking his head a little. I half
expected him to throw his hands up in the air for emphasis. "And you expect me to believe that nothing has changed?"
I glanced up at him then returned to flipping through my mail pointlessly. "Yeah, I do." I said briskly.
He just shook his head sadly, not believing me for a second.
A few more moments passed by in silence as I rifled through a few folders, my mind elsewhere. Before I could stop it my
mind was replaying my dream in my mind and a small smile pulled at my lips.
"See. That. Right there." Jasper said, standing up and pointing a finger at my face. I quickly dropped the smile and
looked up at him.
"Right where?" I asked, showing him a look of innocence.
His eyes narrowed as he began walking toward the door. "You know what, I'm going to go talk to Emmett. Maybe he
knows something about what's going on."
I chuckled as he closed the door behind him and looked down at all the paperwork on my desk.
I sighed and looked at the clock before allowing my gaze to turn to the cell phone on my desk. I spent a good five minutes
hoping it would ring so that I could have a good excuse to go get Scarlet.
But instead, I was forced to continue filling out paperwork and wait until someone in the city decided to break the law.
A/N: I swear, sometimes I wish I could lock myself in a Starbucks with my laptop. That way I could write without
interruptions and update as quickly as you guys are demanding it. But sadly, that's not an option and I can only write
so quickly. But, reviews really do help, they make me smile and give me inspiration to keep writing. It literally takes
two seconds. Here, I'll make it easy, just copy and paste one of these into the review :) or :(
Now there are no excuses for not reviewing. :P
BPOV
"Remind me again why I agreed to do this?" I said under my breath as I leaned against the marble counter.
I heard crackling in my ear from the earpiece followed by Edward's voice, "Because we needed eyes in the restaurant
and they don't have any male waiters."
"Well that's sexist. And I guess there aren't any other females working for the FBI who could do this." I said, grumbling
slightly.
I could hear the smile behind his voice when he answered, "Nope. Just you."
"Are you sure this isn't just some ploy to be in my company?" I asked, allowing a small smile to grace my lips.
"I'm not technically in your company. There's a good hundred feet between us." He said, I could hear the smile in his
voice.
"True." I said. He was sitting in an unmarked van across the street with two other agents as backup, listening to the many
bugs they had strategically placed inside the restaurant.
I quickly snapped to attention whenever someone would pass, pretending to organize a stack of menus.
"Alright, remind me again what it is I'm looking for." I said, my eyes looking up from the menus covertly.
"Well, according to our source, the guy we're after frequents this restaurant every Tuesday afternoon around one. So your
job is to keep an eye out for anything that doesn't feel right, someone who looks suspicious, et cetera." He said.
"How do you know the source is good?" I asked, smiling at a customer who was starting to stare. I turned my back to
them and began arranging glasses in no particular order.
"Just a hunch. We don't have much more to go off of."He said.
I nodded to myself and turned around once again, resuming my previous stance of leaning against the counter.
My gaze swept across the restaurant once, twice, nothing was jumping out at me.
I sighed, 'this is going to b e a long afternoon.'
Ten minutes later I was still trying to make myself look inconspicuous while keeping an eye on the restaurant.
"Excuse me." I heard from my right, but ignored it.
"Excuse me." Came the voice again.
I heard static in my ear before Edward's voice, "I think she's talking to you."
It took me a second before I realized he was talking about the woman at the table and I shook my head to clear it.
I looked over to my right to see a woman in her early forties dressed in a clean cut blouse with two other women who
held the same air about them. I didn't like them already.
"Oh no, being stuck in here as a lookout is one thing, but there is no way in hell I'm actually going to work as a waitress."
I said under my breath.
"Come on, we need you to keep your cover." He said.
I was still trying to ignore the woman when I saw her raise her hand out of the corner of my eye, followed by a 'snap'
sound.
"Oh no, she did not just snap her fingers at me." I hissed under my breath.
"You better get over there or she's going to start causing a scene, and we can't have you drawing attention to yourself."
He said.
"Fine. But if she snaps her fingers at me again I'm going to break them." I said, walking around the counter and over to
their table, slapping a smile on my face.
"Can I help you?" I asked, my tone sickly sweet.
"Finally, we've been sitting here for ten minutes." She grumbled.
I swallowed hard, biting my tongue for a moment before talking, "Sorry about that, we're a little short handed this
afternoon."
"Well that's no excuse. We come here often and we deserve better service." She said.
"Well, I'm here now, what can I get you?" I said, gritting my teeth.
Her eyes narrowed, "I don't appreciate that tone."
My smile was tight when I responded in a nicer tone, "My apologies, is there anything I can get you to make your lunch
more enjoyable?"
I heard the front door of the restaurant open and shut.
"Are you mocking me?"
I looked up from the pad of paper in my hand and glanced at the man entering the restaurant.
"What?" I asked the woman, having not heard what she said, though I honestly didn't care. I only glanced at her for a
second before my gaze returned to the man. He was now sitting at one of the tables near the back. Something felt off
about him.
"This is ridiculous. Not only are you mocking me, but you are completely ignoring me." She said, I resisted sighing in
annoyance.
"Could you excuse me for a second?" I said, not waiting for her response before turning away.
"Edward, I think our guy is here." I said under my breath, glancing over my shoulder at him.
"Alright, stay where you are. Don't do anything. Do you hear me? Stay put. We're coming in." He said.
I honestly had every intention of listening to him, but then the situation changed.
Maybe it was the fact that I wasn't being as discreet as I should have been in my observing. Or maybe it was the fact that
just about anybody could tell just by looking at me that I hadn't worked a day as a waitress in my life. Whatever it was, the
man I was supposed to be watching started standing up slowly, his body tense.
"Wait, hold on Edward. Something's happening." I said under my breath.
My gaze was locked with the guy. Seconds passed that felt like eternities.
"Don't do anything Scarlet. Just let us handle it."
I blinked.
He ran.
I chased.
Shoving people out of the way he ran through the swinging door of the kitchen, the sounds of dishes shattering and
outcries following him.
I pursued him through the door, seeing him shoving cooks and various waiters in his attempt to escape.
I avoided open-flames and sharp cooking instruments in my pursuit, hoisting myself over a burnished steel countertop,
a bowl of what appeared to be Bolognese crashing to the floor below me.
"Out of the way!" I shouted, hoping to gain some speed and cut the distance between myself and my target.
My heart was pounding loudly in my ears, completely muffling the orders that were being barked at me through the
earpiece, telling me to cease was I was doing immediately.
"Stop! FBI!" I yelled. Okay, so I wasn't technically FBI, but at this point I was going to yell anything to get him to stop
running. I gotta say, it's a little frustrating from the other side of the law.
Light poured into the kitchen as he shouldered his way through the emergency exit at the far end.
I grumbled and continued chasing after him.
I pushed through the door, hearing it slam against the outside wall.
I let out a gasp and bent over backwards as something came flying towards my head like a scene cut straight from The
Matrix.
After regaining my balance and attempting to take in my surroundings, I noticed two things: one, that he no longer had
any intention of running; and two, the thing he was trying to kill me with was a piece of broken pipe that he had probably
found next to the trash bin.
I jumped back, avoiding another wild swing, fighting the instinct to put my hands up. They would be cut to pieces the
minute I did so.
I kept light on my feet; jumping back like a kickboxer the second I saw him tense up for another swing, hearing the
'swish' radiate around me as the metal pipe cut through the air.
"You really don't want to do this." I said, but my warning was unheeded as another blur of silver flew above my head as I
ducked.
"Seriously, the rest of the FBI is right on my heels." I said, leaning away from another swing that missed my neck by
inches.
The smart thing to do would probably be to high-tail it out of there and wait for the real FBI- the ones with guns- to arrest
this guy. But I wasn't the type of person to run away from a fight.
I glanced over my shoulder quickly and I could practically see the light bulb illuminate over my head.
I ducked, weaved and jumped my way back until I was standing where I wanted to be.
This time when he swung, the pipe came in contact with the fencing to my left, stopping him mid-swing.
Without hesitation I gripped his wrist with my right hand and drove my left elbow into his face, hearing the sickening
'crack' of a broken nose.
He cried out and clutched his bleeding nose and I wrenched the pipe from his grip, a satisfied smile on my face.
He was understandably furious and I remained light on my feet, taking a step back.
He growled something incomprehensible and came at me. I spun the pipe in my hand ready to use it if I needed. My
muscles were tensed up, ready to block anything he threw at me. But I never got the chance.
Out of nowhere a figure I later identified as Edward side-tackled the bleeding man in front of me and shoved him face
first against the brick wall of the alley. Then, while he still had him pinned down, he snapped the handcuffs on.
I smiled and spun the pipe in my hand once more before tossing it beside me, "Took you long enough. You know, you
should really add some cardio to your workout Edward." I said, still smiling.
Edward roughly handed off the handcuffed criminal to the fellow agents who had just joined us moments before.
My smile dropped when Edward turned around and I caught the look on his face.
"What the hell was that!" He yelled.
"What?"
It was a few hours later that we were back at headquarters, separately grumbling about one another.
While he was in his office on the thirty-sixth floor, I was leaning against the railing out near the top of the open stairway on
the second floor, looking below to the people on the lower level.
My anger was calmed on the outside, but my mind was a still a tumult of fury and confusion.
I was knocked from my reverie when I heard my name being called out. I turned to see Jasper holding the elevator door
with a box tucked under his arm.
My brow drew together in confusion; it was rare when he spoke to me. I could probably count the number of
conversations we've had on one hand. Nevertheless I stood upright and strode over to the elevator.
"Come on. I've got to drop these off and I could use the company." He said, gesturing into the elevator with his head.
I glanced over both shoulders, checking to see if it was in fact me that he was talking to.
"I can't hold the elevator forever." He said.
After a moment I shrugged and stepped over the elevators threshold, standing in the empty space beside him.
He pressed the button for the doors to close then his finger pressed a button that made my pupils dilate momentarily.
The basement.
I cleared my throat, upholding my poker face when saying, "We're going to the basement?"
"Yeah, I need to store these." He said, adjusting the box of files that was tucked under his arm.
I swallowed hard and nodded my head, my heartbeat increasing a fraction as I watched the numbers light up above the
elevator door one by one.
A million things began running through my mind. Plans were formulating themselves with each passing second.
It was thudding in my ears by the time the 'ding' resonated around us and the doors crept open.
I let out the breath I was holding the moment we stepped out of the elevator, trying to control my erratic heartbeat.
'Remain calm. Just see what you're up against here. If it's worth it, take the shot. If not, you'll at least know what you'll
need to get b y in the future.'
My eyes swept from side to side, taking in everything before me.
Immediately I spotted three security cameras capturing every angle of the small concrete room. There were florescent
lights above that illuminated the steel door at the far end.
Steps echoed in the hollow room as we approached the far end. I glanced over my shoulder once at the security camera
that was pointed towards us before turning my attention to Jasper.
His movements were smooth-I got the idea that he had done this many times before and now the actions were
committed to memory.
First he slid his keycard out and swiped it in the card-reader then he followed that up by punching in a code the keypad
on the wall, too fast for me to figure out which numbers he was pressing.
I knew what came next even before it happened. He took a step closer to a silver plaque shaped object on the wall. The
retinal scanner.
He stood absolutely still as the machine did its magic. After a few seconds it beeped, the light switched to green and I
heard the sound of the magnetic lock on the door switching off.
I heard the sound of air decompressing when he opened the door and swung it open. It was absolutely silent until we
walked inside and I could hear Jasper's footsteps, mine were automatically silent.
My breath escaped me once again and my eyes widened as row upon row of ten-foot high shelves were lit up by the
lights overhead.
I swallowed hard.
It was worse than I had anticipated.
Somewhere within one of these hundreds of boxes, written in one of the thousands of files was the thing I wanted most.
I took a deep breath that was slightly shaky, my eyes trailing back and forth over the rows.
"It's pretty impressive."
I was immediately reminded of the fact that I was not alone.
After shaking my head to clear it, I turned to Jasper who was looking over the boxes of files and evidence.
"Almost all the files and boxes of collected evidence are stored down here for safe-keeping." He continued
I nodded in response and followed behind him as he continued to walk down one of the many aisles.
"Here we go." He said, finding the empty shelf and hoisting the box on top.
He pulled a clipboard out and started writing down the case number that was labeled on the box along with some other
commonplace data.
I cleared my throat before speaking up, "How do you keep track of all these boxes?"
"Well, each case has an ID number, everything pertaining to that case gets labeled with it. We have a database that
keeps track of where each box is." He said, gesturing to the clipboard.
"So if you were down here and didn't have the number?" I asked.
He smiled, "Then you would be sorting through a lot of boxes."
I turned away so that he wouldn't notice the hopeless expression on my face.
I couldn't believe that I could literally be standing mere feet away from the one thing that I wanted most, but I couldn't have
it. Not yet.
'Just relax Scarlet, nothing good ever comes out of trying to rush into something you're not prepared for.'
In an attempt to distract myself I began walking down the aisle, looking over random boxes that held years of cases.
"So I heard about what happened today." Jasper said.
I rose an eyebrow as I continued walking slowly, I could still see him through the gaps between the boxes.
"Great." I said sarcastically.
He chuckled.
"I take it you two are always at each other's throats?" He asked.
"It's definitely not uncommon." Was my response, I was still trying to get my mind off of my disappointment.
He chuckled again at that, as if he expected as much.
It was quiet between us for a few minutes. Him writing down information, while I continued to peruse the area.
"He really likes you, you know."
I froze.
I turned to him, my mind completely forgetting about everything else.
"What?"
He finished writing with the ballpoint pen, and then turned to me.
"Edward. He really likes you." He repeated nonchalantly, like it was the most obvious news in the world.
I just looked at him until he elaborated.
"I see the way he looks at you. That outburst today wasn't because you didn't follow orders; it was because he was
scared."
"Of what?" I asked with a snort, thinking that he must have been joking.
He clicked the pen closed and put it in his pocket. Then he laughed lightly to himself before looking up at me with a
smile.
"Losing you."
For the second time that day I was caught off guard.
He began walking away, "Come on." He waved for me to follow after him.
With one last glance at the endless files behind me I strode to catch up with him. Soon we were standing in the elevator
once again, silence between us.
The elevator dinged once more and we both watched the doors open slowly.
"Just, don't hurt him. Okay?" He said, glancing at me once before stepping off the elevator on the floor he needed.
"How could I hurt him?" I asked, still confused.
He just smiled, as if there was something I really didn't understand but would find out soon enough.
He was still smiling when the doors closed.
It was many hours later that I was leaning against his door, my foot tucked back, pressing against it to keep my balance. I
had managed to catch a ride home with a different agent who had been heading my direction, not quite ready to face
Edward yet. But now I was.
I let out a breath in a huff, blowing stray hairs out of my face momentarily before they just fell back in place.
I looked up when I heard footsteps coming up the stairs which slowed when they approached me.
Edward looked at me in silence for a few seconds, his keys hanging in a loose grip in his hand.
I gave him a short smile, trying to gauge his reaction.
"I guess I should be grateful that you didn't just break in. But I doubt you would have listened to me if I had told you not to."
He said, breaking the silence.
'Annnd there it is.'
I bit my tongue before the retort that threatened to escape was unleashed.
"I don't suppose you could move so that I could get into my apartment." He said, making a point of jangling the keys in
his hand.
I pushed myself off the door and stepped aside, watching as he stepped forward and inserted the correct key into the
lock.
I kept close examination of his face.
'Mayb e Jasper was just pulling my leg.'
His brow was constricted in muffled anger and his jaw was set. Though it may just have been because he was having a
hard time turning the key in the lock.
As soon as he got it going though he turned the knob and stepped through. I quickly slipped in behind him before he
could lock me out.
"So, is there a reason you're following me?" He asked, slight hint of bitterness in his tone.
'Yeah, there's no way. Jasper must have b een seeing something completely different, b ecause all I'm seeing here is
anger.'
"Well?" He prompted, looking at me as I continued to stand near the door.
'I mean, come on. He would throw me b ack in jail in an instant if it was up to him.'
The look he was giving me reminded me of the fact that he was waiting for some sort of response on my part.
I cleared my throat, "I thought we could talk about what happened today, because obviously you think I did something
wrong."
That was partially true; I wanted us to get past this rough patch that had been brought up earlier today. The other reason I
was here was to try to make sense of what Jasper had said, because from what I was seeing so far, he was way off.
"You did do something wrong. You completely ignored me and did what I told you not to do." He said, his jaw set.
"What I did was catch the criminal." I said as calmly as I could.
I really didn't want this to turn into another fight. I took a deep breath to stop the irritation that was growing quickly.
"And like I told you before, that's not your job. Your job is to give us insight into the criminal mind, it's my job to chase
them down and arrest them."
"What's the difference whether it's me or you that catches them if it leads to the same result?" I asked, bewildered.
"The difference is that I'm armed and trained to take these people down whereas as you just run after them without
thinking." His voice was starting to grow louder, angrier.
My tone was starting to match his when I responded, "What's there to think about? The criminal runs, you chase them. If
you don't, they get away. And the last time I checked, letting the criminal get away was something we were trying not to
do."
I saw him swallow hard; his eyes were narrowing in anger.
"You haven't been on this side of the law long enough to know what the right thing to do is." He said, his voice on the
brink of a yell.
"I don't need a stupid badge and a weapon to be able to do what I know is right." I snapped, "And if you took your head
out of your ass for two seconds you would know that I'm right. I can take care of myself Edward. I've been doing it for a
long time."
I turned to storm out, my hand inches from the knob.
"How would you know anything about what's right? You're a criminal and always will be. I'm sure your parents would be
proud if they were alive. Knowing that the daughter they raised is a professional thief and is taking stupid risks so that
she can get herself killed just like they probably were."
Everything in my mind and body halted. I felt like I had been slapped.
I turned back to him, flames in my eyes.
"Wait. I'm sorry. I didn't mean that Scarlet." He said, holding his hands up, all traces of anger gone from his eyes.
'Screw calm.'
"Scarlet...look I'm sorry, I really didn't mean it. Just calm down and we can-" He warned, but I was far past being calmed
down.
I closed the distance between us quickly my fist already swinging towards him.
It made contact with the bone below his eye and I ignored the pain that spread through my hand.
I let the anger and hate and pain that I was feeling drive me as I continued to throw everything I had at him, holding
nothing back.
He grabbed one of my wrists trying to get me to stop.
"I'm sorry okay! Just stop!" He said, I drove the elbow on my other arm into his stomach, I could hear the air being driven
from his lungs as he groaned.
I freed my wrist and continued my assault.
He blocked my right fist; but when my left followed up, not only did he misguide it past his torso, but his own hand made
an offensive move.
I saw it start to swing toward me, the movement mechanical and instinctual on his part.
He seemed to realize what he was doing and in the instant before he made contact he opened his fist, a last second
attempt to lessen the blow.
I stumbled back a step or two as I felt the pain spread over my cheek.
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean that, it was an accident." He held up his hands towards me, his palms held up, his expression
genuinely sorry.
My eyes narrowed as the pain in my cheek began to throb.
"Scarlet" He warned.
I went at him again, this time with as much fury as I could muster.
He blocked and avoided my first few throws, but I made contact with the follow ups, hitting his abdomen multiple times.
He was focused on stopping my hands so much that he didn't even notice my leg sweeping under him until it was too
late.
Unfortunately, at the same instant he managed to get a good grip on one of my wrists and pulled me down with him.
I heard something crash and shatter as we hit the floor.
Before I could react he rolled and pinned me beneath him with his body weight and gripped my wrists above my head.
We were both breathing heavily as he looked straight at me while I struggled, his face inches from mine, "I'm sorry." He
said firmly.
As he looked at me I could see the sincerity in his eyesalong with something else.
After a few moments I could feel the hatred flowing away more and more with each passing second. My brow relaxed
and I stopped struggling to free my hands.
"I'm sorry." He repeated, this time slightly softer.
Moments passed in silence.
His grip had loosened on my wrists. I could have moved them and gotten him off me if I wanted to. But for some reason I
found that I really didn't want to move.
I was still looking in his eyes, the deep green drawing me in as I attempted to make sense of what I saw in them. I could
feel his breath fanning my face softly.
At this point I really wasn't sure how long we had been laying there, him on top of me. It felt like both an eternity and a few
seconds.
I saw his eyes briefly glance down at my lips before returning to mine.
I watched as his face slowly came closer and closer, his eyes never leaving mine.
And then he was kissing me.
My eyes fluttered closed automatically and I was immediately lost in the feeling of his lips caressing mine.
The reaction of anger that we had both been expecting from me never came, instead something else arose that I couldn't
stop.
My hands slid out of his grip and trailed down until they were wrapped around his neck, holding him to me.
It was exactly as I remembered except also entirely different from the first time.
This was not a life or death situation where it was the only option.
No, this was something completely different.
My breathing sped up along with my heart rate. I ignored the need for oxygen, even when my body demanded it and I felt
myself get slightly light headed.
Edward pulled away first and I opened my eyes to find his searching mine, attempting to gauge my reaction.
I had to take in a few lungfuls of air before I could think clearly, but I don't think the disorientation was purely from lack of
oxygen.
When I didn't say anything he got a worried look in his eyes, my lips twitched in the beginning of a smile. I could feel him
starting to shift his weight off of me and immediately took hold of his shirt and brought him back, connecting our lips
once again.
Apparently that was all the confirmation he needed because I felt him smile against my lips and mine compliantly did the
same.
Feelings I couldn't identify were rushing to the surface of my mind, controlling my actions and causing me do things I
ordinarily wouldn't have.
Everything that I had ignored previously and pushed aside because I didn't know how to deal with it, was now being
unleashed in the space of a few moments.
All I wanted to feel and could feel at that moment was him. Something that had been there all along had taken over me
and was now making me do things that I had always subconsciously desired.
There was silence between us; the only sound I could hear was my heart beating in my ears increasing to pace that
could be considered a sprint.
I gripped tightly to him and rolled us so that I was straddling his waist, all the while never losing contact. Believing that
the second I did so I would be lost.
It was electric, magnetic and compulsive. Both of us moving in complete synch until it was difficult to determine what
exactly was happening.
Either way, I don't think either of us were strong enough to stop it even if we had wanted to.
At some point we managed to get off the floor, though I can't recollect how. But soon what we were doing wasn't enough
for either of us. A sort of frenzy was beginning to ensue that soon led to buttons skittering against the hardwood floor
along with a belt, shoes and other irritating pieces of clothing that were the only obstacles left between us.
I felt my back hit a wall and he continued his assault on my neck while his hand gripped the newly exposed flesh on my
waist. His fingers drawing inconsistent patterns that caused a shiver to tear through me.
His pupils were dilating as if he was experiencing some sort of high, I'm sure mine were the same.
Something was gripping us, an indescribable force with so much built up tension that the second it snapped, there was
no hope of going back.
I pushed him back and we stumbled into the next room, twisting and turning all the while, still no break in contact. I felt
the back of my knees hit something and I fell backwards onto what felt like his bed. He wordlessly fell with me and the
vertigo swept us up once more.
What remained of the barriers between us was soon shed until the only thing remaining was the plastic tracking anklet.
There was no turning back. That indescribable force continued to push and pull, we were helpless against it. We never
really stood a chance.
A/N: I have finally discovered my limit of caffeine. It turns out that three cups of espresso, a grande white mocha, two
cups of jasmine tea and a large glass of ice coffee all within the space of about six hours makes me too jittery to
type because I'm jumping at practically every single sound. So perhaps locking myself in a Starbucks would not be
the best thing. Anyways, I got some really creative smiley faces as reviews last time, a lot of you seem to like
mustaches. So, same deal as last time, it takes two seconds, just copy and paste :) or :(
BPOV
There were a few things I noticed when my mind finally decided to return to the living.
One: The bed I was currently lying in was definitely not my own.
It was far too comfortable.
Two: Someone had their arm wrapped around my waist.
It was responsible for a majority of said comfort.
Three: That arm that was so snugly encasing me in its warmth was Edward's.
My back was pressed against his chest, his arm holding me flush against him. I waited a few moments for the morning
fogginess to clear from my mind so that I could think properly.
I looked around a bit. I hadn't really been interested in the dcor of the room when I had initially entered and now I had
the chance to take it in. After a few moments I spotted a window. It was covered by a thin curtain but I could still tell that it
was early by the absence of light pouring through.
My curiosity for exactly how early it was made me crane my neck in search of a clock. I grimaced when I spotted one,
realizing that it wasn't even six in the morning.
I laid my head back down. I was surprised by my lack of desire to go back to sleep, especially when considering the lack
of sleep I received last night.
And that's when my mind began heading straight into the thing that I wanted to put off thinking about until much much
laterlike never.
But most things I didn't want to think about, they came anyways.
'Alright, well I might as well try to figure out what happened that eventually led to this situation.'
By 'this situation' I was of course referring to the fact that I was currently lying in Edward's bed with nothing between us
except a thin layer of sweat.
I breathed deeply and thought for a moment, 'Well I'm not hungover, so I guess I wasn't drunk last night.'
'Though there was definitely some intoxication.'
I rolled my eyes at myself and covered my eyes with my palm in exasperation.
My movement caused Edward's arm to tighten around me, pulling me even closer. For a moment I thought he was
awake and I froze.
But no, I could still feel his gentle breath on the back of my neck, causing the occasional shiver to course down my spine.
I smiled for a second, reveling in both the warmth of his body and coolness his breath was providing. For a moment I let
myself imagine what it would be like waking up like this everyday, encased in the protection of his arms.
After a moment I snapped out of it, 'Who am I kidding? It's like he said, I'm a criminal and he's a fed. Nothing will ever
change that. Last night was just'
Spectacular.
Amazing.
Incredible.
EPOV
It was still early when I awoke with a smile on my face, my eyes still shut, the sound of birds chirping outside my window.
I could smell freesia with a small hint of vanilla, a scent that would always be engraved in my mind as Scarlet's. I
breathed it in deeply.
Memories of her smooth skin sliding against mine arose, further elating my tranquil mood.
I was in utter bliss.
Until I opened my eyes.
The bed was empty.
My smile melted.
I immediately sat up and looked in every direction. I'll admit it; I started to panic a little.
"Scarlet?" I called out, hoping that she was just in the bathroom or in the kitchen.
I heard no response.
'Crap, this cannot b e happening. What if she thinks this was just a one-time thing? Was that all she wanted? Was that all I
wanted?'
It didn't take me long to answer that question.
No, I didn't want to go back to what we had before, which was nothing. I didn't think I could stand it.
I had to find her. Talk to her. Something.
I had to go now.
I quickly peeled the sheets from my body and scrambled from my bed.
Five minutes later I was still picking up clothes, 'Where the hell are my pants!'
I cursed as I stepped on a piece of glass from my broken lamp, another thing I mentally added to my shopping list along
with a new shirt.
After hopping around and pulling on my jeans I darted back into my room to slip on a clean shirt.
I barely had both arms through the sleeves before I grabbed my keys, my cell phone and was out the door.
I took the stairs down three at a time, and I was breathing heavily by the time I made it to her door a few floors below
mine. I took a few lungfuls of air to calm myself before I knocked on her door.
"Scarlet?"
Nothing.
I tried again, this time a little louder, "Scarlet?"
Was she ignoring me? Did she think it was a mistake?
I ran a hand through my hair in exasperation, still breathing a little heavily from my short run.
I knocked again loudly.
The door to the next apartment over opened and a man poked him head out.
"Would you pipe down! Some of us are still trying to get some sleep!" He yelled, disappearing inside once more before
slamming the door behind him.
That just proved how out of it I was at the moment, I wasn't even sure what time it was.
I flipped open my phone and my eyes widened when I got my answer.
I looked back at her door, 'Mayb e she's not here.'
That was a more pleasing idea than one where she was just ignoring me.
I spent a few moment thinking of places where she might have gone, and then I had it.
I swung open the door for the stairwell, this time taking them up three at a time.
When I arrived at my destination I took a deep breath, then pushed the door open with a small 'creak'.
Air rushed out of me in relief when I spotted her leaning against the railing on the far side of the roof, staring out at the
city stretched out in front of her.
She was wearing the same blouse from last night which confirmed my theory that she had never gone back to her
apartment. I closed the door softly and began walking toward her.
The sun was just beginning to rise; the small sun beams making her hair seem almost golden in color as the wind
swept it back softly.
BPOV
It was a while later that we were in the car, both of us in clothing that was neither torn nor missing buttons.
I glanced over at Edward occasionally, each time I did so I saw the same thing written all over his face. Disappointment.
I bit my lip-a nervous habit.
I felt bad for lying to him on the roof, but the truth was terrifying to me. I had realized during my time spent alone on the
roof that what had happened between us was definitely more than just pent up emotions. I knew that I had felt something
from the beginning, some spark that most people don't get the chance to experience in their lifetime. But the more I felt
that spark, felt its electric shockwaves radiate through my fingertips whenever his presence was nearest, the more I
denied its existence.
I saw the look in his eyes this morning, the barely concealed crushed expression that appeared when I told him what I
wanted to believe, not necessarily what I did believe. Where he saw an opportunity I saw entrapment. I had already
trusted my heart with someone before, and after that experience I vowed to never allow that to happen to me again.
Part of me thought I was a fool for wanting to forget about something so incredible, that this time it would be different.
Another part, the part that had been the main part for a majority of my criminal career told me that it wouldn't end well and
it would just be better for everyone if we forgot it ever happened.
'Yeah right.' I thought to myself, resisting the urge to laugh without humor.
Last night was a lot of things, and memorable was definitely one of them.
I let my mind drift back.
It was different than it had been with Jacob.
Jacob and I had been equals, practically two halves of the same whole. Same stubbornness and determination, same
unwillingness to relent to anyone-especially each other. We were both criminals, we thought the same way, moved the
same way. It had been easy, and that was comforting.
But Edward
Edward was different. He was kind, compassionate, patient
In other words, he was my complete opposite. And for some reason that was intriguing to me. God only knows why. If
someone had told me a few years ago that I would be falling for a fed, the fed who caught me no less, I would think they
were insane.
It took us about an hour in the early morning traffic to get to the jail where the rest of the team was gathered.
Just the thought of stepping inside made me uneasy. Nevertheless, I followed a few steps behind Edward as we made
our way past all of the security stations.
He flashed his badge when it was necessary and soon we were standing outside and empty cell surrounded by many
men who all seemed to be scratching their heads.
"So, any leads?" Edward asked the men in general as we approached them.
A few shook their heads and continued to stare at the empty cell as if the answer would appear if they stood there long
enough.
The largest man of the group stepped forward and began talking, I quickly gathered that this man was the warden by the
way he started shifting the blame to anyone but himself.
"He was taken to the hospital wing earlier this morning when he appeared to be having a seizure. Security isn't as tight
there. We believe that that is where he managed to escape from." His eyes glanced quickly over to another man before
returning to Edward. Just from that look I gathered that the man he looked at was the man who was receiving a majority
of the blame.
"Alright, why don't we start there?" Edward said, looking to anyone who would point him in the direction of the hospital
wing.
Our party soon shuffled along until we entered a large room that reeked of bleach and was decorated stark white.
It didn't take Edward and me long to figure out what had happened after talking to the prison's doctor.
He had faked the seizure, and then managed to disguise that he didn't take the pills that were given to him that would
have knocked him out. So when everyone expected him to be knocked out cold, he managed to somehow get free, get
his hands on a guard's uniform and ID and then found a hole in the security.
We left figuring out the rest of his escape to the warden. Our objective now was to find him and bring him back.
Edward turned to me, completely focusing on the task at hand as we exited the jail.
"Alright, so they've got his picture circulating the news and practically every cop in the city is on the lookout for him. It's
their job to basically sweep through the city and dig through it until they find him. Our job is to help them narrow their
search. So where would you go if you broke out of jail?" He asked, speaking loudly to me over the crowd of officers.
I thought for a few moments, going through how I would do it, where I would go, what I would need, et cetera.
"Well, if he's found a car, then that opens up a lot of possibilities." I said.
"Okay, let's assume he has." He said as he opened the door to the passenger side of his car for me, the gesture did not
go unnoticed by me.
I waited until he took his seat behind the wheel before I continued talking.
"Alright, we'll need a list of people he knew. People that would help him out no matter what crap he got himself into." I
said.
"Like this one." He said, holding up a piece of paper he had fished from his pocket.
I grabbed it from him and threw him a look, "What can I say, great minds think alike." He said with a grin before pressing
down on the gas.
"This is ridiculous." I said, closing my door for what felt like the millionth time before reaching back for my seatbelt.
We had been to seven different places already, asking around to make sure that no one had seen anything.
Edward sighed as he put the car in gear, I could sense the same frustration I was feeling. "Alright, what's the next one on
the list?" he asked. I relayed the address to him and he started driving.
"We've been at this all day and have come up with nothing. You know, I think they just wanted us on the case so that they
wouldn't have to do the boring work themselves." I said.
He laughed a little, "You're probably right."
A few minutes later the silence between us was cut by the ringing of a cell phone.
"Cullen." He said into the phone once he picked it up.
I could just make out what the person on the other end of the line was saying, "We have a witness that says they've
spotted your guy in a building on Federal Street."
"Got it, thanks. We'll head over there now." He replied, snapping the phone shut after she gave him the exact address.
He glanced over at me, "Is an address on Federal Street on the list?"
I scanned the list and nodded, "Yeah, but it's near the bottom."
"Well, it just moved to the top." He said as I flipped on the siren and swerved around the traffic.
Edward and I approached the crowd of police officers that were gathered around the base of the building.
"What've you got?" He asked them.
The one he asked got a look of recognition when he spotted us and said, "We got a tip from one of the people in the
building that they spotted someone matching our guy's exact description heading up the stairs. We've got all exits
blocked off and we're now just waiting for SWAT to arrive."
"You called SWAT?" Edward asked, slight annoyance in his tone.
"Protocol. Besides, we don't know if he's armed or not up there." The cop said.
"He's not dangerous. Has anyone tried to go up there and talk to him?" Edward asked.
"Listen Cullen, you may know him and believe he isn't dangerous, but that doesn't mean I know that."
Edward sighed and looked up at the building, shading his eyes from the sun.
"Do we know which floor our potential guy is on? Maybe I can try to get contact over a phone, that way we can know if
we're dealing with the right person or if we're all just wasting our time."
The cop checked with one of the guys around him before responding, "Witness spotted him near the top of the stairwell.
She lives on the floor beneath the penthouse, so we assume that's where he is. According to the landlord, he hasn't
seen the guy that lives there in weeks, but the power's still hooked up for the time being."
Edward nodded and returned his gaze to the cop, "Great, you wanna work on getting that set up. The sooner I figure out
what we're dealing with, the better."
The cop nodded reluctantly, seeming not to like taking orders from someone younger than him.
It was fifteen minutes later that we finally got someone who seemed to know what they were doing and had a phone set
up in the back of one of the many FBI vans that had recently arrived.
There were about seven federal agents crammed into the back of the van, hovering over the speaker phone that was
soon going to be put to use.
"Whenever you're ready Agent Cullen." The tech guy said, nodding at him.
"Alright, put me through." Edward said.
It was silent in the back of the vehicle, each of us listening to the phone ring.
After four rings there was a 'click', "This wouldn't happen to be the FBI, would it?"
Edward smiled, "Hello Lance, it's been a while."
"Agent Cullen, you sound just as young as you did when we last spoke." He said, chuckling a little.
I smirked when I saw Edward grimace a little; I got the feeling that his age was something people poked at often.
"Listen Lance, our SWAT teams are all in place and ready to come in and get you." He bluffed smoothly, I was slightly
impressed as I continued listening to him, "I'm sure it would just be better for everyone if you just came down yourself
and-"
"Agent Cullen, is it true that you have a new partner since the last time we spoke?" Lance said, cutting him off.
Every eye in the van looked at me; I continued to stare at the microphone in bewilderment.
There were a few moments as Edward thought of how to respond, "Why don't you come down here and you can meet
paintings I believe."
I was slightly impressed; few people knew that I was the one who did that.
Nevertheless, I wasn't about to admit to it, "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure to what you are referring."
He seemed to expect this answer and smiled, as if what I had said was confession enough. Is this all he really wanted
to talk about. Did he really just want to meet me?
"I doubt I could have pulled that job off with my entire crew, let alone by myself. If I were you I would be gloating and
praising my abilities. But I guess you are more modest than I am." He was still smiling in appreciation, his eyes crinkling
in the corners. He was older than I was but he still had a face that was trustworthy, another tool that thieves used oftenmyself included.
A few moments passed in silence, he was admiring the late afternoon light pouring in through the large bay window on
the wall.
"There was a rumor going around that you had been caught. But I always assumed it was just that- a rumor. I always
believed that if we ever did meet face to face, it would be in the dead of night in front of a Picasso or Renoir, never in my
wildest imagination did I see this." There was a slight sadness in his eyes; as if he were either disappointed in me or
himself, I wasn't sure which. The sudden desire to not disappoint this man alarmed me.
I decided to change the subject, "If you don't mind me asking, why did you break out of jail, only to give yourself up now?" I
asked, because I truly was curious.
He swallowed and took a moment as if collecting his thoughts, "Back on the night of my last heist, one of my crew turned
on the rest of us. Trust was a big thing for me at the time, I was the one who came up with plan and I was the one who
was responsible for getting everyone out. They all put their trust in me and I let them down by not being careful enough,
by not keeping a close enough eye on one person particularly."
I waited until he continued.
"When you sit in a cell and realize that you'll be there for the rest of your life, you tend to think about what is important to
you. For me, that's answers. I wanted to know why. Why one of my closest friends set the rest of us up to get caught. Why
after years of camaraderie and working together he could so easily turn on us." He sighed, his eyes floating around the
room, "This was the last place I saw him."
The look in his eyes told me that he was seeing something entirely different than I was.
He shook his head slightly, as if to himself, "I think I am getting too old for this pastime, running is a younger person's
game." He said. Even though he couldn't have been more than forty years old, his eyes showed that he had seen
lifetimes.
He returned his gaze to me, "You have a good thing going for you with Agent Cullen. A second chance. Perhaps you have
not grown tired of running the way I have, but eventually you will. I don't know if you need my advice or even want itbut
this second chance of yours, hold onto it. I guarantee you, it won't come again. Once you start running, you'll be running
forever."
He seemed satisfied with the advice he gave me and nodded to himself.
I swallowed hard. Why did it seem like this man who I had known for all of ten minutes, knew me better than I knew
myself.
I wasn't sure whether I would take his advice or not. I was already running, I'd been doing it for so long I wasn't really sure
how to do anything else.
He looked to the window again, "So, how bad does it look out there for me?"
"Pretty bad." I responded, referring to the police officers, federal agents and now probably SWAT teams that were waiting
for him to take one step out of line.
"I suppose we should get going then, wouldn't want them to get antsy and come up here- I don't think I could handle
having my pride crushed twice by being dragged out in handcuffs again. No, I'm going back to jail with as much dignity
as I can." He said, standing up straight with a smile.
"I guess pride is another thing you treasure." I said with a small smile.
"You are very correct there; I doubt I will ever manage to let it go." He chuckled.
He was about to reach the door when I spoke up, "Did you get your answer, by coming here?" I asked, referring to our
previous conversation about his motive for escape.
He stopped.
"In a way, yes. I did." He turned to look at me, a sad smile on his face. "I guess I just discovered that the world is just as
greedy as it was when I was caught. I guess I was hoping it would have changed." His eyes trailed over the ornate
penthouse, lavished in elegant fixtures. Someone had obviously spent a large amount of money on it, money that wasn't
theirs.
"Sadly, I don't think it ever will." I responded, following behind him as we shut the door to the home of the criminal who
had betrayed the man in front of me.
We left the room and began walking down the endless flight of stairs.
Right before we reached the exit, he turned to look at me.
"It was an honor meeting you. Hopefully I will never see you again, for that would mean that you met the same fate as
me."
With one last smile he pushed open the doors and stepped through. After that there was a flurry of commotion, similar to
what happened when I had been arrested.
Soon he was handcuffed and handed off, placed in a large car that would escort him back to the cell where he would be
for many years to come.
Through all the commotion, I could barely make out Edward as he attempted to push his way through the crowd.
The advice that had been given to me was flying through my mind, by the time Edward reached me I was still thinking
about it.
There was relief in his eyes as he realized I was still in one piece.
Before I would have found his concern unnecessary and irritating, now for some reason I found it oddly comforting.
"Are you okay?" He asked, even though he could see that I was fine.
I nodded, "Thanks."
"For what?" He asked.
"Trusting me. It probably wasn't easy." I said, watching as he smiled at me that same smile that was uniquely his.
It was much later that day that we had finally headed back to the apartment building.
Edward kept glancing at me occasionally with that damn smile. Every time I would just look away and remind myself of
what I had berated into my mind that morning.
It was as we were turning the last corner from the parking garage that the storm that had been gathering that morning
finally broke and water began to pour down upon us.
We made a break for our building, both of us trying to cover our heads uselessly. We were fully drenched by the time we
made it under the overhand of our apartment building.
I looked at Edward; his hair was sticking to his head, dripping water down his face. I probably didn't look much better. It
would have been more amusing had Edward not been looking at me with those damn smoldering eyes.
I swallowed; we hadn't said much to one another on the car ride back. Both of us lost in our own thoughts.
The look he was giving me was the same look I had seen last night. The same look that made something flutter in my
stomach against my will and made my face heat up. The same look that told me I was in a potential danger zone.
"Do you really think that last night was a mistake?" He asked abruptly.
The question caught me off guard and I was slightly startled as I looked at him.
The look in his eyes told me that he was completely serious in his asking.
"Well" I trailed off. I had no clue what to say.
"I don't think it was." He said, he had to speak up a little over the noise of the downpour around us.
If I was caught off guard before, I was far past that now.
I avoided his eyes, my mind spinning ideas as to how to get out of this situation. Postpone it so that I could have time to
think up a response that didn't suck.
"Tell me this is nothing, that you don't feel anything. And I'll try to forget it ever happened. Tell me this is just a one way
street and I'll stop." He said, trying to get me to look at him.
I swallowed hard.
"But if not, then tell me now. Tell me you felt the same spark that I did, tell me that it wasn't just pent up emotions that led
to what happened last night. Tell me that you feel the same thing I do." He concluded, his hands were gripping my
shoulders and his eyes seemed to be looking so deeply into mine that I felt exposed.
He was making me decide-right then and there. Just like that. It was probably the first real decision of my own that I had
been granted since I was arrested.
I realized that it was more than just his body that he was offering-a lot more. Though neither of us were admitting to it,
both of us understood it.
Millions of thoughts flew across my mind as both sides of me fought for control. Words like 'criminal', 'federal agent', and
'second chance' were coming up most prominently.
I tried to quiet all of the thoughts buzzing in my mind so that I could think clearly, pushing them all to the side so that I
could just focus on what I was feeling right now.
What I felt was the electrical current that seemed to be running out of his fingertips where he was gripping my shoulders.
I felt his proximity as his eyes engulfed me. I felt the fluttering feeling in the pit of my stomach that I couldn't ignore
whenever he looked at me. I realized that all of these things I was feeling at that moment were my constant companion
whenever he was within my presence.
It was at that moment that I realized I was gone. Long gone. Too far gone to turn back without causing permanent
damage to him and myself.
I thought about what it would mean if I accepted what he was offering. Maybe it wouldn't quite be the second chance that
Lance had talked about, but it was like he said, I wasn't going to get another shot at it. Something in that moment told me
to remove a small portion of the armor I had carried for a majority of my life. Just enough to let a little bit of trust in.
I came out of my thoughts to see his bright green eyes staring into mine, drips of rainwater running down his forehead.
A small smile crept onto my face.
He reciprocated the smile, "Is that a yes?"
I nodded slightly.
"To which part?" He asked, seeming to double check and see if this would be my final answer.
I smirked, "To whichever part gets you to kiss me already."
His smile stretched farther as he pulled me close and captured my lips with his, drawing me back into memories from
the night before.
I wasn't sure whether this was the smart move, or the right one.
A/N: I switched to tea mainly this week as my source of caffeine, it replaced a few cups of my coffee. My favorite so
far is jasmine for those who were wondering, or care. Anyways, I am continuing with what I've said before in terms
of reviewing. If you don't want to write something, just copy and paste one of the smiley faces, it takes two seconds.
This time I've even added more variety to choose from.
:) or :( or :P or ;D or :{D
BPOV
I sighed contentedly as I felt his lips trail up my spine, closing my eyes and allowing myself to doze slightly with my head
on his pillow, my arms folded underneath.
I felt his lips pause, "I didn't know you had a tattoo." He murmured softly.
I smiled with my eyes still closed, "Well, I guess that's because you've been preoccupied with other things whenever
we've been in this type of situation." I murmured back sleepily.
"I always thought you would have more of a tiger or a dragon." He said, a smile in his voice.
I laughed a little and craned my neck to look back at him, "You expected me to have a tattoo?"
He smirked a little, "It's crossed my mind more than once."
I smiled back before returning my head to the pillow. There were a few moments of comfortable silence between us.
"Does it mean anything?" I didn't have to ask if he was talking about the tattoo.
Still keeping my eyes closed, I answered, "It used to."
"It doesn't anymore?" He paused again as he waited for my answer.
"In a way." Was the only answer I gave him.
The tattoo he was referring to was one I got years ago. It was in the center of my back, to the left of my spine. It held more
meaning for me than he could ever guess.
The tattoo was of a swan.
I let out a deep breath and turned my head to look out the window, noticing that it had stopped raining sometime earlier
this morning.
The moment was shattered by Edward's cell phone ringing. He let out a groan, and I felt the bed shift as he reached for
it.
"Cullen." He answered. "Alright. We'll be in soon." He finished, closing the phone with a 'snap'.
"Back to work?" I sighed, stretching my arms above my head. Even though my eyes were closed I could tell he was
watching me. My theory was confirmed when I felt his arms wrap around me and his lips on my shoulder.
"I should quit." He murmured against my skin.
"But then you wouldn't see me at all." I said with a smile.
"True." He admitted reluctantly.
I twisted and gave him a lazy kiss and said, "Then we should probably get going." Before slipping out of bed, leaving a
smiling Edward in my wake.
"Alright, what do we know?" Edward asked as he strolled into the small meeting room with me a few steps behind.
I closed the door behind me and took one of the empty seats next to Jasper who smiled at me politely.
I watched as Edward absentmindedly accepted the cup of coffee that was handed to him as his eyes scanned over the
other paper in his hand.
One of the other agents cleared his throat, "Well, we received an anonymous tip that a small crew is looking to go after
A couple hours later I was alone in the conference room when Edward strolled in wearing a clean pressed Devore suit.
I let out an appreciative whistle, "Nice suit."
He sent me the dazzling smile I had expected.
"I only get to borrow it; a suit like this would cost me a month's salary." He said, pulling at the cuffs self-consciously.
I smiled and gripped the lapels, pulling him closer.
"Maybe I can get you one." I said in a low voice, my lips ghosting over his jaw. When I met his eyes they were smoldering.
He was an inch from connecting our lips when there was a knock on the door, startling both of us. We jumped apart just
as the door opened and Jasper strode in.
"Alright, we're good to go. Here's the ID that we got for you, just as a precaution. I doubt they'll ask for it, but it's better to be
safe." He said, handing the card over to Edward who accepted it and tucked it into a new wallet. You could tell he was
slightly disgruntled about the interruption, but otherwise he seemed fine.
Jasper looked back and forth at both of us, sensing that something was off but remaining silent. He turned to look at the
board that was marked up with information pertaining to Clayton Holloman.
After a moment, Edward and I joined him, trying to see if there was anything else we could be missing before we set out.
"So if they're going in during the daytime, how are they planning on going in unnoticed?" Edward asked no one in
particular.
"They might have a passkey, or pretend that they're going in as a maintenance crew if they've got the right credentials."
Jasper said.
"I would use the air ducts." I said, pitching in.
"Edward and I could never understand how you managed to get through those, they're tiny." Jasper said without looking
at me.
"Oh, I'm very flexible." I said looking closely at the board, I was aware of both their head snapping to look at me, Edward
with a smile. I could only imagine what scenario was going through his head but I was sure I would find out later.
Jasper cleared his throat uncomfortably, "We should probably get going."
Edward and I shared a smile before following behind him out the door.
"Let me grab your earbud." Jasper said before walking away.
I looked at Edward, observing how his hair was slicked into submission with some expensive gel.
"I think I like your hair better when it looks like you just rolled out of bed." I said.
A smile crept onto his face, "Well, you would know what that would look like." He said in a hushed tone.
He was smiling but I could tell he was nervous, "Are you ready for this?" I asked.
"As I'll ever be." Was his response.
I looked at his face for a few seconds, trying to read what was going on in his head.
I glanced around to make sure that no one was looking before grabbing his arm and pulling him into a supply closet.
"Scarlet? What are you-" I interrupted his query by pulling his face down to mine and pressing my lips to his.
After a moment I pulled away, "For good luck." Was my explanation before I opened the door of the closet and poked my
head out. Once I saw the coast was clear I dragged a very happy Edward out behind me.
Jasper strolled around the corner just then, "Here." He said, handing something to Edward, who proceeded to place the
bud in his ear. He took one look at the poorly concealed smile on Edward's face before rolling his eyes and looking at
me suspiciously. I just smiled back innocently.
EPOV
I was standing in the parking garage, feeling slightly apprehensive despite Scarlet's wish of good luck. The memory of
which immediately put a smile on my face.
Mine had a 'V' on is and said visitor in red writing, I put it around my neck.
We approached the check-point, and I watched to see what Luke would do.
Calmly he showed his badge to the security officer who nodded us through. We proceeded forward and walked into the
elevator. The ride up was silent; all the while I was trying to figure out what we were doing here.
Soon enough the elevator dinged and I followed behind as he walked down a hallway and slid his badge through the
card reader on a door before gesturing me through.
He locked it manually behind us and led me to the back of the room where there was a safe.
"Open it." He said.
"Excuse me?" I asked, trying not to panic.
"Open the safe. According to the person who recommended you, this should be a cakewalk." He crossed his arms and I
could see the outline of a firearm beneath his jacket.
I swallowed hard and turned to look at the safe.
"Tell me what's going on in there Edward." Jasper said, a tremor of worry in his voice.
I cleared my throat and said, "I'm sorry, but if you brought me on to open a small office safe, you're wasting my time." I
took on the expression of annoyance.
"Oh perfect." Said Jasper sarcastically, "Let me get Scarlet."
"Humor me." Said Luke.
There were some shuffling noises in my ear, "He's testing you Edward, tell me what kind of safe it is."
Her voice gave me some reassurance; I turned to look at the safe, "You brought me on to open a Cobalt office safe?"
"I want to make sure you're qualified before we go any further." He answered.
"Alright Edward, listen carefully, I need to know the specific model number and installation year." She said.
I swallowed and bent closer to the safe, placing my hand on it.
"What make and year is it?" I asked, praying that he knew.
"It's an S874C, installed last year." He said, thankfully not surprised that I asked.
"Alright Edward, listen. Place your ear to the left of the dial." I did as she said.
'Is she seriously going to talk me through b reaking into safe?'
As if reading my mind, she said, "Don't worry, I couldn't tell you how to crack a safe over an earpiece even if I wanted to.
Right now, you're just going to let him think you're listening for the pins."
I tried not to grimace and pretended to look like I knew what she was talking about.
"Start spinning the dial counterclockwise slowly." She said, and I did.
"Spin slowly while you listen to me. All safes come with a standard combination pre-installed that the owner is supposed
to change. Most owners don't out of either laziness or stupidity. We're going to go out on a limb here and hope that the
owner of the safe is one or the other." She said.
"Stop and begin spinning in the other direction." She directed, "The safe he has is not an uncommon safe. If he didn't
change the combination, it should either be 18-42-21 or 12-36-28. Don't try it out for a couple minutes though, it would be
suspicious if you opened the safe that quickly."
I reminded myself to ask her how she had those numbers memorized if I got the chance. If the numbers she gave me
didn't work, things wouldn't end well for me.
I took a deep breath and after a few minutes of mindless dial spinning, I opened my eyes and put in the first set of
numbers slowly.
I tried the handle.
Nothing.
I swallowed hard.
"Problem?" The man asked.
"Nope." I responded, acting business as usual.
I began spinning again, this time putting in the second combination.
'Please work.'
I cringed as I placed my hand on the handle and turned.
There was a sound of a lock disengaging and I let out my breath in a 'whoosh'.
I stood up with a smile and stepped aside.
He stepped past me and swiped a card from inside the safe before closing it and wiping it down with a cloth, removing
all fingerprints.
"Alright, let's go." He said, offering no other comment on my accomplishment.
With one last look around the office, we left.
He pulled out his cell phone and hit a speed dial button, "Yeah, bring the car up front, we're coming down."
He closed it with a snap and led me out of the building. As soon as we stepped through the doors, the same black SUV
came up and we climbed in.
"All set?" Asked the driver, to which the man nodded.
The car began moving to another unknown destination.
"Good job with the safe Edward, we're still tracking you to where you're going." Came Jasper's voice in my ear.
'I just wish I knew where that was.' I thought to myself as I looked at the scenery passing by.
BPOV
Jasper turned away from the microphone to look at me.
"He'll be okay." He said.
I swallowed and hid whatever he had seen on my face, "Yeah, I know."
"You wish you were out there with him though." Jasper said, though there wasn't so much of a question in his words as a
personal confirmation.
"Yeah." I responded, watching the blinking indicator on the computer as it continued to move on the map.
EPOV
We were driving down a fairly busy street, I saw Luke glance in the rearview mirror.
He leaned over to the driver and muttered, "Black van, five cars back. It's made the last three turns with us."
He had spotted the FBI van; I would have to warn them to hang back further.
"Is there someone following us?" I spoke up.
"Well, I'm not opening it until I know what's in it." I argued back.
"Well, I'm not giving you a choice." He said, pulling the gun from inside his coat.
There was fear in his eyes as he pointed the gun at me. Fear and reluctance. He really didn't want to do this.
"Open it." He demanded, his voice wavering slightly.
I looked at him for a moment, trying to put the puzzle pieces together.
'Why is he so scared?'
And then it clicked
"You were the anonymous tip. You were the one who called the FBI about the heist."
He swallowed hard and the gun became slightly shaky in his hand as he looked at me with wide eyes.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He lied; I could see it all over his face. He obviously hadn't been a criminal long
enough to really learn how to lie.
"Listen to me, my name is Agent Cullen, I'm a federal agent with the FBI." I said, holding my hands up defensively.
"Oh crap." He looked at me with wide eyes glancing around for an exit.
"Hold on. Why are you doing this if you called the FBI?" I asked him.
"If Luke finds out there's a fed, he's going to kill both of us." He said, starting to panic.
"No one's going to get killed. If you didn't want to do it, why didn't you just refuse the job?" I asked him, trying to keep him
calm.
"You don't get it, I can't refuse. If I say no to a job, he'll kill me. He thinks that I'll turn him in. I was hoping that when you
guys picked up Clayton that Luke would call it off when no one showed. But then you came, and now I have to go through
with it." He said, pacing back and forth.
"The FBI is on the way. Jasper, how close are you guys?" I asked, pointing to my ear when he looked at me strangely.
"Close." He responded nonspecifically.
I turned to the guy, "Put the gun down and I can help you."
He just shook his head, shakier than ever.
"Listen to me. This is not going to end well if you don't put that down. The FBI is going to swarm this place soon. Luke
and the rest of his team are going to jail, without your help he's not going to get put away for very long and then you'll be
right back where you are now. We can help you make sure that that doesn't happen." I said, standing up and holding my
hand out for the weapon.
"Come on." I urged, taking a step closer. "I can tell you're not a criminal."
He looked at me warily for a few moments before shakily handing it over.
I let out the breath I had been holding and tucked the gun into a pocket.
"How did you manage to get mixed up with Luke in the first place?" I asked, trying to keep him calm.
He leaned against the wall of metal boxes and slid to the floor. "He bailed me out of a sticky situation a while ago. I've
been helping him out on his heists trying to pay him back ever since."
"So you don't even get a cut of the payout?" I asked, referring to the money they would get from the heist.
He shook his head, I felt bad for him.
I leaned against the wall and slid down next to him. He looked like he was going to be sick, so I just kept talking to try
and distract him.
It was many hours later that I took a long swig of the beer in front of me.
The FBI had come in as promised at the bank, Lance and the rest of his crew were locked up, and Peter was preparing
to testify against them and was getting a good deal from the DA for it. Turns out, the item in the box had been a stolen
artifact. Luke was planning on blackmailing the owner for a huge payout. Overall, it was a very long day.
"I need a vacation." I muttered to myself.
"Can I come?" Scarlet asked with a smile, sliding onto the stool next to me. I didn't realize how much I had missed
having her at my side all day until that moment.
"Of course." I said, smiling back, all weariness gone.
"Where are we going?" She asked, raising an eyebrow suggestively.
"Where would you like to go?" I asked.
She appeared to think it over, "Well, I don't think the FBI would take too kindly to me leaving the country."
"We could smuggle you out." I offered with a small laugh.
"I've done it before, trust me; it's not as fun as you think it would be." She said, taking a sip of the drink that was placed in
front of her.
I laughed a little uneasily, wondering if she was joking but knowing I wouldn't get a real answer if I asked.
"Hey Edward." I turned to see Jasper trying to flag down the bartender on my other side, "What are you two talking
about?"
"Edward and I are going to take a vacation." Scarlet said with a smile.
His eyebrows rose and he looked at me, "Really? When was the last time you took any time off Edward, let alone a
vacation?"
I looked away and took another swig, "It's been a while."
"Well, if anybody can convince you to take some time off your job it's her." Jasper said, gesturing to Scarlet before
collecting his drink and leaving us.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Scarlet said, "So, did you enjoy your short-lived career as a felon?"
"More than I probably should have." I replied with a smile, swirling what remained of my drink.
She rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless, after a few moment my curiosity got the better of me.
"Were you ever part of a crew?" I asked her.
She got that same faraway look in her eyes that arose whenever I asked her something personal.
"Yeah, I was." She said, tracing the rim of her drink.
The words were out of my mouth before I even realized I was saying them, "Why did you stop working with them?"
"It's complicated." She said quickly, the shield back up.
A/N: I got quite a few tea recommendations from the last chapter, I have yet to try them all out though. Anyways, let
me know what you think of this chapter. Same deal as before, if you don't feel like writing out a review, just copy and
paste a smiley face from below. It's simple and easy. The one with the mustache seems to be a clear favorite
judging from last week's reviews.
:) or :( or :P or ;D or :{D
"Trust me, it'll be fun. Please?" He said, gripping my shoulders and giving me that damn smile.
I sighed, caving.
"When do we leave?"
"Tomorrow morning." he responded, I made an unhappy face at him.
He just smiled that damn smile.
EPOV
I honked the horn twice at the never-ending line of traffic before me.
I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel and looked over at Scarlet in the passenger seat.
She was staring out the window and her hand was resting in her lap, her fingers were clenched.
"'You okay?" I asked her.
She seemed to snap out of whatever place her mind had been, "What? Oh, yeah I'm fine."
I was unconvinced.
"Don't worry, it'll be a lot of fun. Besides, we're only going to be there today and tomorrow." I said, sending her a soft
smile. She hesitated a moment before giving one back. I could still see the worry behind her expression.
"Well, we will if we actually get there today." I grumbled and resisted the urge to honk my horn again. She just went back
to staring out the window.
It was a couple hours later that the six lane highway turned into a dirt road and concrete turned into trees.
"Where did you say your parents live?" Scarlet asked me.
"I didn't, they moved out here a while ago, they wanted to get away from all the hustle and bustle of the city." I said.
"Well, they definitely accomplished that." She mumbled, her gaze sweeping over the endless expanse of trees.
I followed the path in my memory until I was pulling up in front of the house.
I put the car in park and got out, circling around quickly to open Scarlet's door for her.
She raised an eyebrow at my action and gave me a disapproving look.
"What?" I asked, giving her a smile.
"I can open my own door." She said.
"I know." I said, "But I wanted to do it."
She didn't say anything else and I watched as her eyes left my face and traveled over her surroundings.
I smiled when I saw her jaw drop slightly.
"I know it's not what you're used to, but I think you'll still like it." I said.
If she'd lived in the city her entire life like I suspected, than this was definitely going to be a new experience for her.
She seemed to be in awe as she continued to take in her surroundings.
I chuckled and she shook her head to clear it. She looked at me with a look that obviously held a question.
"What?" I asked, confused.
Her eyes shifted back to the house, "When were you planning on telling me that you were rich?"
"What are you talking about?" I asked, glancing at the house but obviously not seeing whatever she was.
"Edward, your parents own a mansion, on a lake, with like an acre of forest attached to the backyard." She said.
"Well, it's more like an acre and a half." I said absentmindedly as I circled around the car to grab our bags from the trunk.
I shouldered the two bags and shut the trunk.
"Come on." I said, sending her another smile and walking toward the house.
After a couple seconds of hesitation I heard her following behind me.
I adjusted the bags on my shoulder and climbed the front steps before knocking on the large mahogany door. Scarlet's
footsteps were slower as she caught up with me.
I was looking over my shoulder to send her a reassuring smile when the door opened.
I turned back and was met with the sight of my mother sending me the same bright smile she had been giving me since
I was born.
I was immediately pulled into a tight hug, "It's so good to see you. You don't visit often enough." She said.
I laughed, "You could always come down and visit me."
"You're always called into work whenever we do." She said, pulling back and holding me at arm's length.
I saw her eyes glance behind me and an excited look came over her face, telling me that she had spotted Scarlet.
I took a step back and gestured to Scarlet, "Mom, this is Scarlet, she's my partner at the bureau."
Out of all the situations Scarlet and I had been in, I had never seen her as nervous as she was in that moment.
She stepped forward and extended her hand, "Hi Mrs. Cullen, I'm-"
She didn't get to continue what she was going to say because she was immediately pulled into a bone-crushing hug that
prevented her from saying anything more.
Scarlet sent me a wide-eyed look to which I merely chuckled.
When they finally separated we were both ushered inside quickly. My mother kept sending me bright smiles and not so
subtle gestures to Scarlet who pretended not to notice.
"Good to see you Edward." My father said as he strolled into the entryway.
I watched his eyes widen as well when he spotted Scarlet.
"Dad, this is Scarlet. Scarlet, this is my father Carlisle." I said, stepping back to let Scarlet step forward. She shook his
extended hand with a smile, but I could still see the nervousness in her eyes.
My mother must have sensed it too and said, "Why don't I show you the guest room so that you can have somewhere to
put your stuff."
I sent Scarlet a small smile that was meant to be encouraging, but she didn't seem any more at ease.
BPOV
It was later as the day was coming to a close when we were all sitting down at the ornately decorated dining room table
for dinner.
Everything was going smoothly, Edward was answering a majority of the questions for me-making me eternally gratefuluntil they got to my work for the FBI.
"So, are you an agent too? Edward hasn't told us much." Esme said, giving Edward a look.
I swallowed hard as I took a sip of water.
Placing my cup back on the table I cleared my throat and said, "No, actually I'm working as a consultant for the FBI."
"What do you consult on?" Carlisle asked, his tone interested.
"Oh, this and that, whatever my expertise can help on." I said, attempting to be vague.
"Do you have a degree in criminology?" Esme asked, taking a bite of food.
I swallowed again, and glanced at Edward with a quick worried look, "Not quite."
Edward cleared his throat and said, "Scarlet has had a lot of up-close looks at the criminal world and helps us spot
things we may have ordinarily missed."
I sent him a look of relief and was thankful when the topic was changed.
The rest of the conversations went smoothly and I managed to avoid anything too personal. It was only after dinner was
finished and dessert was consumed that we each went our separate ways for the night.
As I made my way to the guest room I tried to figure out what it was that had me so anxious about being there. By the
time I made it to my room I put it down to the fact that I hadn't been in a situation that involves family in a long time and
that I was unfamiliar with the associated behavior. Or at least that's what I told myself when placed my head on the pillow.
I had been tossing and turning for an hour before I realized that I wasn't going to be able to fall asleep. Something was
missing, and as soon as I realized what it was, I peeled the covers back and slipped out bed.
It didn't take me long and soon I was climbing through Edward's open window.
"Wha..? How did you get in here?"
"Through the window."
"My room is on the second story."
"I used the tree."
"There's no tree outside my window."
"Are you really complaining? Because I can go back." I gestured over my shoulder with my thumb.
His only response was to wrap his arms around my waist and pull me onto the bed with him, making me laugh.
Soon his arms were wrapped snuggly around me and I was swept into the shadowy vertigo of dreams.
EPOV
I awoke to a bright light hitting my face, streaming in from the window beside my bed.
I squinted and adjusted myself so that it was no longer blinding me. I looked down and smiled when I saw Scarlet still
sound asleep tucked under my arm. She was sleeping peacefully, her chest rising and falling with each intake of breath,
the epitome of tranquility.
I smoothed a hair back behind her ear, marveling at the smoothness of her skin. Her face held none of the stress or
worry lines that were usually present.
The idea of breakfast in bed hit me and I smiled. Rather than wake her, I carefully extracted my arm and got up from the
bed slowly, trying not to make a sound.
I crept across the room and closed the door softly behind me.
I was making my way down the hall and was about to turn the corner into the kitchen when I nearly jumped out of my
skin.
"Good morning Edward!" My mother said cheerily as she flipped another pancake.
"'morning" I replied, still trying to recover from the scare she had unintentionally given me.
After grabbing a mug of coffee, I took a seat at the table and watched her hum to herself as she continued making
breakfast.
"So, what are you doing up so early? I thought you would have wanted to sleep in on your days off." She said, glancing at
me before returning to her cooking.
I shrugged even though she didn't see me, "I guess I'm just used to waking up at this time." I said with a yawn.
It was silent for a while, a comfortable silence.
"You know, it's funny." She said, "I walked by the guest room this morning, and it was surprisingly empty."
She turned and gave me a small smile that had a hint of a smirk in it; I just avoided her eyes and took a sip from my
mug, a smile of my own tugging at my lips.
"She's good for you. I haven't seen you smile as much as you do when she's next to you." She said.
She put some of the pancakes on a plate and handed me another mug of coffee. I accepted it with a thank you, not even
bothering to ask how she read my mind. She gestured me out of the room, but stopped me right before I left. "I need to
pick up a few things from downtown this afternoon, I was wondering if you and Scarlet would like to come with me."
"Sure." I said, replicating her smile before leaving the room, looking forward to spending the entire day with Scarlet
without being called into work.
BPOV
I walked beside Edward a few hours later, both of us following behind Esme as she decided which stores were worth
stopping in.
I pretended not to notice how every once in a while I'd feel Edward's hand brush against mine more and more as we
walked. I smirked when we stopped and the full back of his hand was resting against mine.
I was beginning to wonder how much longer it would take him to gain the courage to hold it completely.
I got my answer a few minutes later when he ventured out and clasped it. It was about as subtle as the yawn move guys
make when they want to put their arm around you.
I rolled my eyes but didn't withdraw my hand and soon I noticed that his smile was a little bit brighter.
At one point, when his mother was inside one of the shops, he spotted something and said, "Wait here, I'll be right back."
Before I could say anything, he was crossing the street and I was left on the sidewalk at a loss of what to do.
I wasn't by myself for long; Esme soon came out of the shop with two more bags added to her collection.
"Here, let me help you." I said, taking some of the bags for her.
"Thank you." She said, I noticed that her eyes crinkled in the same way Edward's did whenever she smiled.
"Where did Edward run off to?" She asked, looking around to see if she could spot him.
I shrugged, "I have absolutely no idea."
I stood there for a few moments, having no idea what I was supposed to say to the mother of mywhatever Edward was
to me.
That thought made me stop short because I really didn't know what he was. I doubt there was an accurate label for what
we had.
"I'm so glad you decided to come along with Edward." She smiled at me, completely unaffected by the awkwardness of
the situation.
I nodded in agreement but still had no idea what to say.
I was about to comment on how nice the weather was when she spoke up, "I'm glad you've started working with my son,
he acts a lot different around you-in a better way."
I did a double-take and ended up looking at her in surprise, I had absolutely no idea what she meant by that.
Just then Edward returned, baring two flowers; a rose for his mother and a freesia for me. I rolled my eyes at him but
accepted the flower, fully aware that his small gestures were making me go soft whether I wanted to or not.
I was also fully aware of Esme giving me a pointed look as she accepted her flower, making me think that this was not
normal behavior for Edward.
My feet trailed in the warm water as I sat on the dock many hours later, my mind wandering.
I hadn't corrected Edward earlier when he'd assumed that I had always lived in the city. The truth was, coming out here
threw me straight back into my childhood. It wasn't exactly like the place I had called home once, but it was similar
enough to get my mind spinning.
The sunset scenery before me faded away as my memories overtook me.
I was looking out my b edroom window, pretending not to hear the raging argument that was growing on the other side of
the wall. I was counting down the days until I would b e ab le to drive b ack to the university with Jacob .
Eventually the argument sub sided and I b reathed out a sigh of relief, happy that the storm was over for the moment.
A few hours later there was a knock on my b edroom door followed b y the sound of it opening, "Alright, well you're father
and I are ab out to head to the airport. No matter how much he doesn't want to." She mumb led the last part to herself
b itterly as she stepped into my room.
I turned from the window and sent her a small smile to let her know that everything was okay.
She glanced at her watch and then looked b ack up at me, "Are you sure you'll b e alright b y yourself for a few days. I don't
like leaving you here, b ut your father and I really need this. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important." She said. There was a
sad and desperate depth to her eyes that I always hated seeing.
I nodded, "Yeah, don't worry, It'll b e fine. Besides, Jake's coming over later today so I won't b e alone."
"Good." She said ab sentmindedly, making me think that she hadn't actually heard a word I said.
She glanced at her watch again, impatient as ever.
Just then my father poked his head in the door, "Renee, are we ready to go?"
His tone was cautious, telling me that he hadn't b een the victor of their fight and that he was currently on thin ice.
I saw her lips purse at his presence b ut she nodded nonetheless. He turned to look at me and I gave him the same smile
I had given her.
Minutes later we were all downstairs and I was giving them hugs goodb ye. Soon the front door was closed b ehind them
and I was watching through the window as they packed their luggage into the car and proceeded to drive away.
I wouldn't find out until much later that that would b e the last memory I would have with them.
I was pulled from my reminiscence by the sound of footsteps behind me on the dock. I soon recognized them as
Edward's. He came to stand beside me and smiled down at me.
"Hey." He said.
"Hey." I replied, looking up at him for a few moments before gazing out at the sunset before me. He followed my line of
sight and watched with me.
I could hear the waves lapping against the shore softly, I breathed in the tranquility around me.
"You've been out here a while. What've you been thinking about?" He asked.
"Nothing in particular."
He nodded, choosing not to pry.
Moments later he spoke up again, "How's the water?"
"It's nice." I said, emphasizing my point by swinging my legs and splashing the water.
"Maybe I'll go for a swim." He said with a smile, "Care to join me?"
I shook my head, "I don't think so. I'd rather-"
My answer was cut off when he quickly bent down and scooped me up, making me immediately start trying to struggle
out of his grasp.
"Edward, put me down!" I yelled, trying to keep the laugh out of my voice but failing miserably.
He just smiled and jumped into the water, still holding onto me.
The water rushed all around me, and it was deep enough that I had to kick a few times before I came gasping to the
surface.
Edward broke the surface a moment after with a wide smile.
"Oh, you are sooo dead." I said, wiping the wet strands of hair from my face and working to tread water.
He chuckled and I noticed that his hair was sticking up in different places and sticking to his face in others.
I narrowed my eyes and dove at him, trying to grab onto him but the water made it hard to move quickly. I was out of my
element.
He just laughed harder and swam to avoid me. Every time I got close he would slip away and soon that turned into a
splashing match that somehow ended with him kissing me.
He pulled back a few inches and his breath was short when he asked me, "So what were you really thinking about when
I came along?"
"Just some memories. Nothing really important." I said vaguely, not wanting to get into it.
He nodded. I could tell that he knew I was lying, and the fact that he just smiled and brushed a wet strand of hair from my
face made something inside me melt a little more.
The drive took us longer back than it did to get there, but I really didn't mind. I was in a good mood despite taking an
involuntary swim earlier.
I smirked to myself at the memory. I looked over at Edward and saw that part of his hair was still wet.
As I continued to look at him I realized how much I was falling for him. And what amazed me more was how that no
longer terrified me as much as I thought it would.
I was happier now than I could remember being in a long time, and it was all because of the man sitting in the car next to
me.
It was late when he finally pulled the car into the parking space at our building. He put it in park and turned it off but
neither of us moved.
Both of us realized that once we got out of that car the vacation would be over, that things would immediately go back to
how they were before we left.
I turned to look at him with a smile, "Thanks for the vacation, I'm glad I went."
He smiled back, looking just as happy as I felt. "Me too. My parents absolutely loved you."
We sat there for a few moments more.
"We should probably head in. Have to get up bright and early tomorrow." I said.
He nodded in agreement but neither of us moved.
After a few moments I let out a sigh and leaned over, lightly brushing my lips against his briefly.
"Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for exactly?" He asked with a smile.
I was still close to him when I shrugged and smirked a little, "Do I need a reason?" I said before quickly pulling away and
getting out of the car.
We grabbed our bags and headed for the building. Edward struggled with finding the keyhole in the dark but eventually
we got inside.
BPOV
My breathing felt constricted as my mind attempted to take in what was before me.
I attempted to swallow, but my throat was too dry, adding to my already considerable amount of discomfort. 'Say
something you idiot! Don't let yourself appear vulnerab le.' My mind yelled at me and I concentrated all my energy on
taking in oxygen.
My breath was still shaky as I exhaled, but my voice was relatively strong and unwavering when I said, "What are you
doing here Jacob?"
His smile stretched a fraction wider at my finally addressing him.
"I wanted to see you." Was the response I received as he pushed himself off the car. I reacted without thinking and took a
step back, and judging from the new smile on his face, he realized exactly how trepid I was.
"I thought you were-"
"In prison?" He chuckled, staring into me, "Got out early. Good behavior."
I attempted to swallow again.
"How did you find me?"
"You don't give me as much credit as you used to." He said, releasing a faux sigh.
I just waited for him to answer the question.
He seemed to realize that I was waiting for him to elaborate and sighed using his hands as he spoke, "I know a guy who
knows a guy who knows someone who heard a rumor that you were here. I gotta say, you chose pretty well for a place to
settle. Couldn't have done much better myself, though I think anything would have been better than that hell hole we
came from." He chuckled, his eyes glancing around.
I quickly glanced over my shoulder, expecting more figures from my past to crawl from the shadows. But from what I
could see at that moment, it just appeared to be the two of us, though it did nothing to lessen my worries.
I jumped at the sound of a car backfiring a ways away and chided myself for scaring so easily.
I kept my eyes on him, still trying to figure out what was happening.
He just continued to smile and I began to wonder if the maliciousness I had seen at first was my own mind conjuring up
images that I expected to see.
I wanted to know what he was thinking, not knowing what his motives towards me could prove to be dangerous.
It was only when I was sure that I had a proper grip on myself and was convinced that if he was going to do anything he
would have already done it, that I spoke again.
"What do you want Jacob?"
His smile wavered slightly at my blunt question, perhaps expecting me to be more welcoming, though I had no idea why
he would think I would be.
"I just wanted to see you. I haven't seen you in years, I was curious to see how you were doing on your own." He seemed
to look around a bit more and nodded to himself as if in confirmation of something.
"I think it would be best if you just left Jacob. Now." I said, trying to lace the authority my mind wanted me to have, into my
voice.
The look that proceeded to coat his features was heartrending and it made something pull inside me that I immediately
I closed the apartment door behind me and leaned against it, closing my eyes with a sigh. There were too many
thoughts flying through my head at the moment to think properly.
I heard footsteps and my eyes shot open, my hands coming up defensively.
"Whoa, didn't mean to startle you." Edward said, a soft smile on his face as he held his hands up in a calming gesture.
I ran a hand through my hair, trying to relax my erratic heartbeat.
"So, did you find it?" Edward asked as I stopped leaning against the door and began to walk past him.
"What?" I shook my head a little in an attempt to focus.
"Your phone. Did you find it?" He asked, raising his eyebrows a little.
"Oh, right. Yeah, it was under the seat. Here are your keys." I fished them out of my pocket and placed them in his
outstretched palm.
I gave him a soft smile when the suspicious look on his face didn't fade. It must have been convincing enough because
he returned it and walked away.
The smile faded as soon as he was out of sight and I was left to the destructive thoughts of my past.
EPOV
"You've got a new case." Jasper said, dropping the file on my desk the next morning.
"Already?" I asked, I had literally been back at work for an hour or two at the most.
"Welcome back." He said with a sarcastic smile and left, closing the door behind him.
I sighed and picked up the manila folder, flipping it open to see its contents.
I browsed through the notes that the original FBI agent had scribbled down but didn't take in much other than what was
necessary. From the looks of it, someone called in the theft and is still waiting for some action on our part.
I noted the address and closed the folder before standing up. My eyes went to the chair that I could usually find Scarlet
sitting in but noticed its emptiness.
My brow contracted a fraction and I left my office to check the most likely places she would be.
When I came up dry I stopped one of the interns in the hallway that was rushing by, "Have you seen my partner?"
"Scarlet." I said in response to the blank look I received as an answer.
"Oh, the criminal girl. I think I saw her in the break room." She said and hurried off to continue whatever mindless task
she had been assigned.
I made a face at the nickname but was happy that I now had a location.
I strolled around the corner of the hallway and into the break room. Sure enough, there was Scarlet, grumbling angrily at
the coffee machine that did not appear to be cooperating with her and her demands for caffeine.
Twenty minutes later we were cruising down the busy streets, my cup of coffee sitting in the cup holder yet to be touched
while her's was comfortably gripped in her hands for easier access.
"So, two shots of espresso. New taste you're trying out?" I asked, trying to start any conversation.
She blinked a few times and finally seemed to realize that I had asked her something.
"No, I just didn't get much sleep last night." Her tone laced with fatigue.
"How little?" I asked, concerned without thinking to be.
"None."
"Oh." Was my brilliant response.
She just took another long swig of her drink.
Twenty silence-filled minutes later we turned onto a much less busy street that was speckled with townhouses.
I parallel parked between a Mercedes and a Bentley-obvious signs of the neighborhoods wealth-and we got out of the
car.
"So what's the story?" Scarlet asked as she walked beside me on my approach to the door.
"MrHayward." I said, glancing at the file, "Filed a report this morning, claiming that part of his multi-million dollar art
collection was stolen from his home last night."
"And?" She asked.
"That's all we've got so far." I said, stepping onto the front steps and ringing the doorbell.
There were a half-dozen seconds of silence between us until she said, "Who keeps their multi-million dollar art
collection in a place like this and is then surprised when it's stolen?"
Before I had a chance to respond the door was opened and I was forced to present my shield for identification.
"Oh, right this way. I'll go get Mr. Hayward for you." She said, ushering us inside and closing the door behind us.
We were led into a posh room that was ornate with antique wood and had a wet bar in the corner next to a handful of
bookshelves that were overflowing with novels and manuscripts.
Scarlet let out an appreciative whistle and I nodded in agreement. Someone was enjoying a comfortable lifestyle.
A throat cleared behind me and I turned to notice a man in his late sixties entering the room with a solemn expression.
He shook my hand then Scarlet's, nodding for us both to sit down in the burgundy colored armchairs.
"Mr. Hayward, my name is Agent Edward Cullen and this is my associate Scarlet. The bureau got your call that there was
a theft here last night?" I said, trying to get the conversation rolling.
He nodded, "Yes, four of my paintings were taken from my collection, works that have been in my family for decades."
I nodded and began scribbling down the important things. "What time did you notice the paintings were stolen?"
"One of my cleaners found the empty frames this morning around seven a.m." He said after a moment of recollecting.
I nodded and wrote it down, "Can you think of how theft may have occurred without your knowledge at the time?"
"I was at a fundraiser for my charity until the early hours of this morning and went straight to bed, I'm sure if I had checked
the paintings would have been gone when I returned." He said, his eyes distant.
I wrote down the approximate time frame and said, "It would be very helpful if I could get a list of everyone who knew you
were going to be at the event all night, and also a list of your house workers. It will help us narrow down possible
suspects."
He nodded and said he would get it to me soon and then proceeded to lead us to the room with the missing paintings.
This room was similar to the last in its dcor, and done with the same amount of taste that was regal and antique except
for the four frames with scraps of canvas still hanging from them.
"They just cut it from the frame?" I asked, astonished. Even I knew that you weren't supposed to do that to priceless art.
I could tell that it bothered Scarlet too because she said, "I guess they valued time more than the entire painting."
"The frames are bolted into the wall; I was assured that they would be next to impossible to remove." Mr. Hayward
commented bitterly.
"Well, I guess they thought around that." I said, taking a closer look at one of them.
After a few more moments of close examination I turned to him and said, "I'll be sending someone from our crime scene
unit here to see if there is any tangible evidence left behind. They'll also need a set of your prints and those of your house
workers to distinguish between the ones they find."
He nodded, but my words did not seem to console him in any amount.
"It would be very helpful if you left it as it is, it will be easier if everything is left untouched." I continued.
"Of course." He said, taking a step back from the paintings as if temptation would have gotten the better of him at some
point had he not.
I nodded once more, trying to remember if there was anything else I needed to discuss with him before I left and couldn't
think of anything.
I looked over at Scarlet to see if she had any questions or thoughts on the matter but she seemed to be just as
distracted and lost in her own world as earlier this morning.
It was a few hours later that we were sitting in my office with Jasper. He had decided to tag along to the investigation after
all and was now sitting in one of my few office chairs tossing a ball between his hands.
"So, they're still running the list of names?" He asked.
I nodded and caught the ball when he tossed it to me. "Yeah, no hits yet. There are still a lot of names to run through
though so hopefully we'll get something out of it."
He nodded slowly to himself as if he had had the same thought.
"We could go check out the charity." Scarlet said, chipping in for the first time since we got back.
Jasper and I both turned to look at her, both of us thinking over her proposition.
"Sure. Why not?" I said, tossing the ball to Jasper as I got up, followed by Scarlet.
"Jasper, why don't you go and see if you can't get them to run through those names any faster." I said, opening my door.
He mumbled something unintelligible but otherwise said nothing as we left.
When Scarlet and I arrived at the location of the previous night's fundraiser, it was all hands on deck.
We saw the person barking orders and correctly assumed that she was the one in charge of the situation.
We sidled up to her and were only able to gain her attention when I waved my badge. She made a face at the
interruption, but ushered us to a quieter office.
"Will this take long, we're trying to get things set up for our second night of the event." She said, leaning back against the
large wooden desk.
"I think we can get through this relatively quickly. As soon as our questions are answered we'll be out of your hair." I said,
sending a smile to hopefully get her to agree to my terms.
She seemed to realize that she didn't have much choice in the matter and leaned back into the desk a little more,
enough resignation to let me know to start my questioning.
"This charity belongs to Mr. Hayward, correct?" I asked.
She nodded, "Yes, technically it is his charity."
Her wording was questionable; I decided to pick at it, "Technically?"
"Yes. Technically it is his charity and his name is the one on the logo. But everyone knows that it's me and a few others
that run the show." She said, a bitterness in her tone that detracted from her looks.
"So, Mr. Hayward doesn't partake in the company much?" I asked, an attempt to get her to elaborate.
"Not when he can help it. He shows up for the big events just to claim the work that the rest of the company has done in
his name." She said, looking out the window at the view.
I could tell that she still wasn't saying everything and waited.
"Oh, and he also shows up when he feels like shutting down any new ideas that anyone else might have. God forbid they
might save some more lives even if someone else gets the credit for thinking of it other than Hayward."
Soon after writing down the important aspects of what she had said, I thanked her, and we left.
On our way out, I stopped at the desk of the secretary, "Excuse me. I was wondering if you could get me a list of people
who were recently let go."
She smiled, her eyes darted to the badge I was holding and proceeded to type something into the keyboard.
Her eyes darted to me twice as she was typing, the small smile still present as a blush coated her cheeks.
I heard Scarlet clear her throat beside me and the woman's smile faded as she caught Scarlet's eye.
I turned my head to look at Scarlet, but whatever spiteful look she had been giving the overly helpful secretary was wiped
from her face, replaced with a look of nonchalance as she found her fingernails to be very interesting.
When I turned again, the secretary was holding out a piece of paper that I accepted with a thank you, very aware of
Scarlet's eyes on me.
BPOV
Edward had a smug look on his face as we rode the elevator up to the floor of his office.
My annoyance was stronger than my curiosity; it was the only thing that was preventing me from asking him what he was
smiling about.
Of course, I found out anyways.
"You were jealous." He said, no longer able to hold it in any longer.
I rolled my eyes. "Get over yourself Edward."
He just continued to smile smugly.
After three more floors of silence, he chuckled softly and said, "I think it's cute. I've never seen you jealous before."
"I wasn't jealous." I said briskly, hoping that was the end of it.
Two more floors of silence.
"Were too." He said quietly.
"Were not. Why should I care if you flirt shamelessly with a girl?" I said, trying to keep my voice even.
Both of us were still facing the doors, neither of us daring to look at the other.
"Definitely jealous." He said, the smile still in his tone as the elevator reached our floor and we stepped out.
"You're impossible." I grumbled, lengthening my stride to get ahead of him so that I wouldn't deck him.
I was almost clear when I felt his hand on my forearm and I was pulled back.
Before I could even protest, he pulled me into the nearest conference room and shut the door.
"You can't ju-"
But my anger was put on hold for the moment because he interrupted me with a deep kiss.
I berated myself mentally as my body immediately gave in and leaned into him without hesitation.
He pulled back, smoothing my cheek with his thumb. "You have nothing to be jealous of."
He gave me a chaste kiss and a smile before he slipped out the door.
I cursed as the fuzziness finally cleared from my mind enough for me to realize how much influence he had over my
emotions.
It was only moments after I walked into Edward's office that Jasper threw the door open quickly, nearly knocking into me.
"Sorry." He mumbled, before striding quickly over to Edward's desk and throwing another file onto it.
"We got a hit." He said, his excitement evident.
Edward looked up at him for a second before flipping open the folder and letting his eyes trail over its contents.
It must have been pretty good because his eyebrows rose quite a bit.
"What's it say?" I asked, craning my neck even though it didn't help.
"We ran the prints from the list of charity workers and one of them isn't who they say they are." He said, his eyes returning
to the folder.
"Oh?" I asked, getting up from my usual chair to stand behind him, reading over his shoulder.
"It turns out that a Mr. Jason Newman is actually Robert Stradley. His file says that he did a few years for a B & E a while
back." He paused, "B & E stands for 'breaking and entering'. He clarified, glancing at me.
"I know what it means. Trust me." I said, not taking my eyes off the folder though I felt his glance at me.
He closed the folder with a 'snap' and said, "Do we have the warrant yet?" This question was directed at Jasper who held
up a folded piece of paper.
"Let's go get him." I said with a smile.
EPOV
"Robert Stradley, this is the FBI! We have a warrant, open the door!" I said, pounding on the apartment door with my
closed fist, letting out a frustrated sigh.
"You know, just once I'd like them to actually open the door." I muttered, stepping back.
"Maybe you should consider not yelling that you're with the FBI, it's not exactly a welcome greeting for felons." Scarlet
said, shrugging.
I sent her a quick look before gesturing for the landlord to unlock the door.
When we heard the lock turn, we gestured for the landlord to move and entered the apartment.
We immediately heard noises coming from one of the back rooms and I drew my gun.
"Get behind me." I ordered, glad that she didn't hesitate to listen.
I pointed to the two uniformed officers with us and then pointed to the doors.
They nodded in understanding and went to make sure that the other rooms were clear. While they did that, Scarlet and I
continued to shuffle forward quietly but quickly.
We heard more noises and increased our pace, "Robert Stradley, this is the FBI!" I yelled again, but got the same
response.
Then we heard a noise that made us stop and glance at each other. It was the unmistakable sound of a window
opening.
Our footsteps pounded faster as we sprinted around the corner of the hallway and spotted a leg disappearing out the
window and onto the fire escape.
We both ran for him. I was fast. But Scarlet was faster.
She slipped through the open window a second ahead of me, "Scarlet, this is not to time to play hero. Get back here." I
said, looking at her through the open window.
"Edward, you and I both know that I have more experience navigating on rooftops and scaling buildings. Go cut him off at
the bottom." She said quickly before turning around and taking the steps of the fire escape down three at a time.
I swore before holstering my gun and running out of the apartment, also taking the stairs a few at a time.
"I'm going to kill her. I swear to god, I'm going to kill her." I said to myself, as I reached the bottom.
I drew my gun once more as I pushed open the fire exit into the alley.
I heard someone crying out and ran around the corner around the building, afraid of what I might find.
I stopped short at the sight I found.
"Would you get her off of me!" Robert Stradley yelled, his face contorting in pain as she bent his arm back at an awkward
angle as she pushed his face against the brick side of the building.
I holstered my weapon and walked forward, taking my handcuffs out in the process.
He was panting hard, obviously not a consistent exerciser. He attempted to struggle out of her grasp, but she just bent
his elbow a little more and he quickly put a stop to it.
"Listen, whatever you think I did. I didn't do it!" He said, his eyes darting between both of us.
"Wow, never heard that before." I said, slapping the handcuffs on his wrists and relieving Scarlet from her guard duty.
She stepped back and I briefly registered that she was paler than usual, before returning my attention to the arrested.
"Robert Stradley, you are under arrest for larceny, more specifically, the theft of a majority of the Hayward art collection."
"I didn't do that!" He yelled, looking at both of us for any signs of kindness.
We walked him back around the corner and handed him off to the uniformed officers who had finally caught up.
"I swear, I didn't do it! If anyone it was that asshole Newman! He's hated Hayward from the beginning!" He yelled to me
before he was placed inside the back of the police cruiser.
The car pulled away soon after and we stood on the sidewalk and watched it.
"Do you believe him?" Scarlet asked without looking at me.
"I don't know. With his record, it doesn't look good for him. He's our best lead at the moment, so I'm not about to let him
go anywhere." I responded.
"But you're still going to check out whoever Newman is." She said, it wasn't a question.
"Yep." I said, pulling out my phone to make the call.
BPOV
I lagged behind a little bit as we climbed up the steps of the front porch of Gregory Newman's home many hours later.
The caffeine from that morning was now out of my system, the adrenaline rush I had experienced while running down
the fire escape was now gone, and I was experiencing all the wonderful effects that accompanied the crashes that
followed both of those things.
If anything, I was just as tired as that morning, except that when I woke up I didn't have a baseball sized bruise on my hip
from miscalculating a jump while chasing a criminal down a fire escape.
I hadn't yet told Edward about the bruise. I didn't see a need to worry him. Plus, the depth of concern his eyes always
seemed to make me feel things I wasn't used to feeling.
So I trudged behind him, my face a mask against the pain that each step caused to tremble up my body.
I held my eyes open even wider to stop them from falling closed like they ached to do. As soon as we were done there, I
was looking forward to a very very long nap.
Edward raised his fist and knocked on the door three times.
No answer.
He waited a few more minutes before he tried knocking again.
Still no answer.
"Well, this is ridiculous. He's obviously not home." I said.
Edward sighed, "Yeah, we'll have to come back tomorrow, see if we can't catch him at a better time." He started walking
back down the steps.
"That's it?" I said, taking a double take from him to the door, "We just drove almost an hour to get here. And now we're
just going to leave?"
"What do you want me to do? He's technically not even a suspect, just a name that was thrown out by a criminal as a last
ditch effort to take the blame off of him." Edward said.
"Why don't we just take a quick look inside? We can rule him out as a suspect and we won't have to come back
tomorrow." I said, really just wanting to get it over with. I pulled out a hairpin a set to work.
"We don't have any probable cause, Scarlet." He said, climbing up the steps again.
I heard the lock click and swung the door open, stepping across the threshold and onto the burgundy carpet.
"Scarlet, stop. We can't just break into people's homes, we're the FBI- we don't do that."
"No, you're the FBI. I'm just a consultant. Go wait in the car if you're worried." I said, taking in the entryway and all that it
held.
I smiled to myself when I heard him curse and follow me inside, closing the door behind him.
"Five minutes. No more. Then we turn around and head back to the bureau so I can prosecute my prime suspect." He
said, looking around as well.
A/N: I tried to put a lot of action into this chapter since the previous one didn't have much. You all know how much I
love reviews and if you're looking for something to write about you can tell me what you thought of that last scene.
Or, if you would prefer to continue to copy and paste a smiley face from below, I am more than happy to receive
those too.
:) or :( or :P or ;D or :{D
BPOV
I cupped lukewarm water in my hands and splashed it onto my face, squeezing my eyes shut as droplets trickled down
my cheeks.
Placing my hands on the sides of the sink, I stared at my bedraggled reflection in the mirror and cringed.
With tentative fingers I gently touched the purple bruised skin on my neck, the only remaining evidence of the previous
day's struggle.
I winced at how tender the skin was. I took in a large breath and let it out in a 'whoosh'.
'What am I doing?' My mind asked itself.
But I got no answer.
I didn't have one.
I had absolutely no idea what I was doing anymore. I was supposed to get in, get out, move on. 'It was never supposed to
get this complicated.'
I was angry at myself. I had spent years purposely building up a wall to prevent myself from getting into this type of
situation again.
My fingers were gripping the sides of the sink so hard that when I pulled them away I had to flex them to get blood
flowing.
A soft knock at the door returned me to reality.
"Are you alright?" Edward's muffled voice asked me through the door. Concerned as always.
I blew the stray hairs out my face with huff and cleared my throat, "I'm fine. I'll be out in a minute."
I heard his soft footsteps retreating and wiped the water from my. Taking one last hard look in the mirror I turned and left.
EPOV
Something was wrong with Scarlet. More than what could be accounted for by almost dying.
'Almost dying.' My mind echoed and I placed a hand to my forehead as the images rushed back to me.
Running into that room and seeing her just lying there. The mixture of fear and anger propelling my forward until I
knocked him off of her and had him pinned under me.
I could have killed him. I wanted to kill him. Instead I handcuffed him and called the paramedics for Scarlet, concern for
her outweighing my hatred for him.
I shook my head, trying to disperse the images.
The enormity of that fear that I had felt made me grasp how deep my feelings ran for her. I was falling hard, and it took
me up until yesterday to fully grasp that.
I heard a door opening down the hall followed by her soft footsteps as she walked in my direction. I looked up at her from
where I sat on the couch and sent her a smile as I stood up. The one she tried to sent me back made it seem as if she
was one blow away from falling apart.
I gripped her shoulders and searched her eyes, looking for the source of her hurt but only finding the cover she put up.
I leaned in and placed a soft kiss on her lips, hearing and feeling her sigh into me.
My phone rang.
"Ignore that." I said.
She smiled against my lips, "You should answer that. It could be important"
I sighed and gave her one more chaste kiss before turning and grabbing the phone and answering with reluctance.
BPOV
Hours later I sloshed the remaining inch of ice cold coffee around in my cup, wondering if they would let me go in search
of a shop for fresh coffee.
The rest of them probably would, but I couldn't see Edward letting me out of his sight after the incident the other night.
I put my cup down on the corner of the desk that wasn't covered in papers. I watched Edward as he scribbled in his
messy scrawl, trying to tackle the insurmountable amount of paperwork that he was doing after wrapping up the case.
My eyes traced over him, from the stubble on his chin to the disarray of his hair, the aftereffect of him running his hands
through it. As if he heard my thoughts, his hand ran through it once more as he read over what he had just written.
Signing his name at the bottom with a flourish he pulled another sheet toward him to repeat the entire process.
After a few scribbles he paused, and without looking up said, "Is there a reason you're staring at me?" A hint of a smile
dangling on his lips.
"What can I say; you're fun to stare at." I said with a small smile of my own as I propped my head up with my hand.
He glanced up at me then, the deep green of his eyes making my stomach clench. He smirked as if he knew exactly
what I was thinking about, before dropping his eyes and writing with a new intensity.
'I'm going to miss those eyes.' I thought to myself, overcome with a wave of sadness that caused the smile to fade from
my lips.
I had realized at some point that day that the time was slowly coming to an end where I could pretend and be there on
false purposes.
I had already stayed too long as it was. Between my attachment to Edward, and the fact that Jacob was somewhere out
there, it was time for me to do what I always did: get what I needed and move on.
But the more I sat in that chair, looking at the man across the desk, the more I realized that my initial plan to get what I
needed wasn't going to work. I didn't think that I could involve him and use him any more than I already had. I couldn't do
that to him anymore.
As I watched him, a stray strand of hair fell in front of his eyes, he ran a hand through his hair once more, causing parts
of it stand straight up.
He looked up again as I tried to cover my smile.
The sky was dark when Edward unlocked the door to his apartment.
"Are you hungry?" He asked over his shoulder, "We could still go out, or I could order something in?"
I closed the door behind me with an audible 'click'.
I slid my coat off quickly and strode towards him with a purpose. He turned around as he heard me approach, "Or I can-"
But I quickly cut him off by wrapping my arms behind his neck and pulling him down to me, covering his mouth in a
searing kiss.
He mumbled something but didn't seem to mind my actions as he readily kissed me back; wrapping his hands around
my waist and pulling me closer.
We stumbled in the direction of the bedroom, taking familiar steps and being careful to avoid bumping into anything that
could break.
Eventually we made it into the bedroom, Edward's jacket and both of our shoes lying on the floor behind us.
I tackled him onto the bed, my leg straddling his waist as I kissed him again, gripping his face on either side.
'god I'm going to miss these lips.' I thought to myself, my hands trailing down to begin unbuttoning his shirt with practiced
fingers.
I was only a button away from my goal when I felt him grip me around the waist and roll so that I was pinned beneath
him.
His fingers continued to grip my hips as his emerald eyes peered down at me. I reached a hand out to rub my thumb
along his jaw, feeling the short bristles under my fingers.
"You okay?" He asked, worry lining his brow.
"Yeah." I said, producing a smile for his benefit, "Of course."
After a moment of hesitation he ran his lips lightly across mine, leaving them tingling in anticipation.
Soft morning light was streaming in through the small window when I blinked awake.
Edward was lying beside me, still in a deep sleep, breathing even breaths. His arm was thrown across my waist
haphazardly.
I sighed as I stared at his restful state, my hand smoothing his hair back from his forehead.
I would have been lying to myself if I said I didn't want to leave. But I didn't have a choice if I wanted to get what I came for.
The silence was broken by the shrill sound of his cellphone, causing his eyes to open sleepily.
He smiled at me and I realized my hand was still touching his face, I pulled it back.
His phone rang once more and he grumbled, shifting so that he could grab it from the nightstand behind him.
Flipping it open, he said, "Cullen", though his eyes continued to stay transfixed on me.
"Alright. Sure. 6th Street? We'll meet you there." He closed the phone with a 'snap' but continued to look at me.
"Case?" I asked. He nodded but neither of us made any inclination to move.
A few moments passed where we just continued to lay there.
"We should probably get moving." I said.
"Probably." He said, a trace of humor as we continued to lie there. "How 'bout this. I'll go start on the coffee, you can get in
the shower, and I'll join you soon."
"If you join me, you know that we won't be getting out of here anytime soon." I said with a laugh.
"I can behave myself." He said with a smile that held so many meanings.
I stood, letting the silk sheet cascade to the bed behind me as I strode out of the room, very aware of his eyes following
me, "We'll see".
In a longer amount of time than was obviously necessary, Edward and I finally managed to get our stuff together and
head over to the crime scene.
"You two get lost on your way over here?" Was Jasper's way of greeting us as he opened the front door for us with a roll of
the eyes.
"As a matter of fact-we did." Edward said without hesitation, though his eyes were on me when he said it.
I pretended not to see him. 'I prob ab ly shouldn't have done that last nightor this morning.'
It was selfish, when in the end I was just going to leave. 'The sooner I'm gone, the b etter.' I thought, glancing at Edward,
EPOV
It was nearly dark out when I stepped off the elevator on the correct floor of the FBI building.
I had dropped Scarlet off near our apartment building. It had taken nearly a half an hour for her to convince me that she
did not need an armed escort to grab dinner for us and then head to the apartment while I dropped off some paperwork.
I still wasn't happy about it, but I realized that the sooner I got rid of the paperwork, the sooner I could get back to her. With
that thought in mind I quickened my stride toward the correct office and dumped a few selected papers in the correct box
before throwing the rest in another.
I was only a few steps from the elevator when I heard Aro, "Edward, can I speak to you in my office for a minute."
I glanced at the elevator again before letting out a sigh of reluctance as I made my way to his office.
I cleared my throat as I stood there, hesitating in the doorway momentarily before he waved me inside.
He shuffled some papers and looked up at me, a calculating look on his face.
I swallowed hard in the uncomfortable silence, shifting from foot to foot as I awaited whatever he was about to say.
"Edward, can you account for your consultant's whereabouts last night?" He asked.
"Excuse me?" I asked, not understanding what he was getting at.
"Your criminal tag-along, Scarlet. Can you definitively tell me her location between 10:00 PM and 2:00 AM last night?" He
asked.
Words seemed to stick in my throat as multiple thoughts competed for the forefront of my mind. "Sir I- I'm not sure- what
do you-"
His tone was angry now, "Agent Cullen, we have strong proof that your consultant, Scarlet, was the very person who
committed the robbery last night that you yourself are currently investigating."
"What proof? What are you talking about?" I asked, my thoughts began to run wilder.
He handed me a paper across the table, my eyes scanned over it quickly.
On it was a log of an ankle tracker, including the time, location, and identification. The number that was on it was
Scarlet's and the location was the museum we were at this morning. But the time
The time read just a little bit after eleven o'clock. 'That's not possib le! She was with mewe were'
Somebody was setting her up, and whoever it was had no idea that we were together most nights. It had to be someone
in the FBI, someone who could mess with the data that recorded her tracking anklet.
I was crinkling the paper in my hand, my grip was so tight.
I had two options. I could admit that she was with me last night, which would end with my immediate dismissal from the
FBI and she would go back to jail for the remainder of her sentence, allowing the person responsible to get away with it.
Or, I could lie. If I were to say that I didn't know where she was last night, she would be taken into custody, but I would still
have my job, and the resources I would need to find out who did this, and clear her name.
Just saying that I was with her last night without admitting to anything, would arouse suspicion. What else could we be
possibly doing during the early hours of the morning?
All of these thoughts went through my head in a matter of seconds as I stared at the piece of paper in my hands. Neither
decision was appealing, but I knew which one I was going to have to make.
"I can't believe this." My voice was grave, "I can't believe she did this."
"I know you didn't get along with her for a while, but did you notice anything else that could lead us to believe that she's
responsible for more than just this." He said.
I didn't want to make them think she committed other crimes, but I was going to have to misdirect this away from
anything about us being together. The harsher I was, the more likely they'd let me be part of the group that looked into it.
Which meant I would be more likely to run into the person behind all this.
"How am I supposed to know, everything she does looks like a crime to me. I'm surprised it took her this long to go back
to being a thief." My tone was angry enough, but I had to clear my throat to cover a tremor at the end.
He just looked at me, seeming to be waiting to see if I was going to say anything else.
"I don't know why you let her out of jail in the first place! She's a criminal, nothing is ever going to change that."
I was starting to feel sick to my stomach.
"So, you're willing to help us? We're not sure if she's on to us, but if she is, I'm sure she's already planned her escape.
We don't know what she's likely to do in retaliation. The guard at the museum was badly beaten; she may have decided
to escalate to something more extreme. It could end badly if we don't tread carefully." He said, standing and dialing
something on his phone.
I felt some of the blood drain from my face. If they thought she was dangeroussomething told me that it wouldn't be for
the FBI that things would turn out badly.
'Oh my god, I have to go warn her. If she tries to runoh my god.'
I swallowed dryly. "Sir, let me go try and bring her in first. She may listen to me, less chance of someone getting hurt."
He paused, looking up at me as he held the phone to his ear.
"Very well, but if you can't do it quickly, we'll have no choice." He said, hanging up his phone.
I didn't hesitate another second before sprinting out of the room, the thought of not being able to convince her making
panic course through my system as my mind produced images of how that would turn out.
BPOV
I juggled the bag of food while I sifted through the minimal amount of keys I had, my attempt to rush only ended up with
them landing on the ground.
I let out a grumble of frustration and crouched to get them, attempting to wipe off the grime as I stood back up.
I was at wits end. I had come to the conclusion that I was going to have to leave within the next few days, as soon as I put
my plan in motion I was going to have to make a run for it.
I really didn't have much choice if I was going to get what I came for.
I had just grabbed the correct key and inserted into the lock when a gloved hand covered my mouth.
I dropped the bag of food as my first instinct of panic kicked in and I threw my elbow back, but my assailant must have
been expecting it because they gripped my arm and bent it backwards at a painful angle.
It was as I continued to struggle that I realized that it wasn't a glove covering my mouth, but a piece of cloth. My confusion
battled with my aggression as I kept trying to turn, but the arm that was gripping my elbow was adding pressure to a
joint, preventing me from doing it without dislocating my arm. A sweet smell met my senses as I inhaled slightly and tried
to kick back but missed wildly.
'Wait. Sweet? I know that smell' I thought, trying to sort my thoughts that suddenly felt muffled.
My eyelids began to feel extraordinarily heavy. My body soon followed and I felt like I was trying to move through water.
And then it hit me.
'Chloroform' I thought as my body went limp and darkness invaded every corner of my vision.
'Damn'
A/N: I know it has been a very long time between updates and I apologize for the delay. For those of you who are still
out there, I would love to know what you thought of this chapter and if you guys have any guesses/predictions about
the next one. But, if you would rather copy and paste a smiley face from below, I am more than happy to receive
those as well.
:) or :( or :P or ;D or :{D
BPOV
The regaining of consciousness came with a mixture of things.
The first and most prominent one was the throbbing headache that seemed to echo and rebound in every crevice of my
mind.
Accompanying that, were what felt like scrapes on my elbows that result from skin and concrete meeting
unceremoniously. Which meant the person responsible for my predicament let me fall after knocking me out.
' Bastard.'
I let my annoyance dissipate for the moment; it would be no help to me. After a few slow breaths I continued to try and
figure out my surroundings. I listened for a few moments, but as far as I could tell, I was alone.
There was a blindfold tied around my eyes, giving me absolutely no visibility. And to top it all off, my hands were bound
behind my back with what felt like plastic zip ties.
'Well, at least it's not duct tape. That stuff hurts like hell to take off.'
I tested the strength of the ties; they didn't budge in the slightest. That immediately crossed out the idea of slipping out of
them. No, I was going to have to break through them.
Plastic zip ties are made of sturdy nylon tape that is effective in the fact that the more you pull on it, the tighter they get.
I flexed my fingers and felt around for what I was sitting on. Cool metal met my fingertips.
I shifted so that the metal bar from the top of the chair was perpendicular to the zip tie.
I leaned up as high as possible, stretching my arms up and behind my back as far as I could before bringing them down
with as much force as I could muster. I grumbled and bit my tongue when I hit my hand more than the ties, something
that would definitely be a bruise later.
'Damn b lindfold.'
I took a deep breath, gathering determination and brought the tie down once more, smiling when I heard the loud 'snap'
followed by the sweet release of my hands.
With no hesitation I reached up and ripped the blindfold from my in front of my eyes and stood up from the chair.
My head whipped from side to side, seeking a door, window, or any other thing that could serve as an exit.
I had only taken a step when a voice behind me caused me to spin around.
"That only took you a few minutes. I told them they shouldn't have bothered."
"Jacob." I seethed. My eyes were narrowed to dangerous slits as I glared at him.
He was leaning in the doorway, looking at me with the same smile he always gave me.
I swallowed, controlling the urge to beat the crap out of him.
A few moments of tense silence passed while I continued to size him up and run through my options.
"Why?" I asked, rubbing my wrist where the binds had chaffed.
His smile dropped a little bit and he pushed himself off the wall, taking a few steps toward me. I took a few steps back.
"I needed to talk to you away from your FBI shadow, and I knew after our history you wouldn't take meeting me lightly."
My brow constricted at what he said, and then something clicked. I looked down at my ankle, and just as I guessed, there
was no tracking anklet to be seen. I was absolutely alone. I tried not to let that bother me.
"So why the chloroform, blindfold, and zip ties?" I asked, trying to keep things going.
He chuckled a little, "Sorry, it's the new guys I'm working with. I tried to convince them that the zip ties were pointless, and
the blindfold was unnecessary because of the chloroform. They knew enough about you to believe that if you woke up
early that someone was bound to end up hurt if you could see and have your hands free." He ended his line with a
headshake of exasperation.
"So it was your idea to drug me and drag me to god knows where against my will?" I asked, mildly surprised even
though I knew I shouldn't have been.
He shrugged, his eyes downcast. "Like I said, I needed to talk to you and there was no other way that I could think of to
get you here without holding you at gunpoint; and I think we both know that you could have easily gotten yourself out of a
situation like that."
When I continued to stare at him menacingly he gave me a soft smile, "I'm sorry. I know you don't trust me, I'm trying to
show that I'm a lot different from the last time we saw each other." He cleared his throat, "Prison gave me a lot of time to
think."
I crossed my arms in front of me, impassive and unbelieving.
"Look, you can at least believe me when I say that I'm not holding you hostage. If I was, I would have given you something
stronger than chloroform and would have done a better job tying you up." He said, that same smile back on his face as if
he expected me to laugh or smile in return.
There were a few more moments of silence from me until I succeeded in making the smile slide from his face.
He sighed, "Come on, sit down. We need to talk and this is as good as any place to do it." He said with a grim face,
pulling a fold-out chair that was leaning against the wall and placing it to face the once I had previously vacated. The
chair scraped against the cement as he sat down, and he looked at me expectantly. Without taking my eyes off of him I
sank into the metal chair.
He leaned forward, placing his forearms on his knees and clasping his hands together. His look was somber while
mine continued to retain its suspicion.
"I think I know why you're here. In Chicago I mean." He said.
I raised an eyebrow in response, not willing to give anything away until I knew how much he knew.
"This is where it happened, so this is where they must have the records." He said, his expression understanding. For a
moment I saw a similar expression in his face that appeared to be taken from when we were younger, when things were
less complicated.
He leaned back in his chair, "Alright, I'm just going to try and sort through all this, you just stop me if I get something
wrong, alright?"
When I didn't respond he started talking again.
"You moved here a while ago and started doing what you do best. Hopping from museum to museum, not forgetting
private collections either. Then someone in the FBI comes along and begins to catch on.
He's smarter than most of them, so it didn't take him long to track you down and corner you. You were essentially
trapped, you could have easily run, but something made you stay. You saw an opportunity; you were hoping that he would
give you the access you needed to get what you wanted most.
So you let yourself get caught. Somehow you were able to convince them not to send you to jail, and to let you tag along
with the very agent who was hunting you." He said, obviously having done his research.
"You haven't interrupted me yet so I'm going to assume that I'm on the right track." He said, clearing his throat after a
pause.
"Your plan was perfect, no one knew about your history, so no one saw any reason to suspect you of wanting to steal files
from their evidence room.
But what I want to know is, what happened? If everything went like I expect you planned, you should have had the file in
your hands and been on another continent by now." He concluded, staring at me expectantly.
I let out a deep breath, the first real movement since we started talking. 'What did happen?' I thought to myself.
'Oh right. Edward happened.'
Without recalling them, memories from the last few months began flooding into my mind.
He must have seen something in my eyes, "You feel something for him don't you?"
My head whipped up to look at him, "Excuse me?"
His expression was still solemn as he stared at me, "Face it, if this was any other guy or situation you would have been
in and out, gone before any emotions could come into play." He said, looking at me as if he expected an answer.
He sighed again, "Look, I brought you here because I did some digging. And the stuff I foundI think you should hear it.
That agent that you're so fond of, Cullen, he's not as good a guy as you seem to think he is."
I stared at him as I waited for him to elaborate, ready to contradict the lie he was about to tell me.
"He's been using you. He wants you back in jail, you shouldn't trust him." He said.
I scoffed, "If there's anyone I shouldn't trust, it's the person sitting in front of me who drugged me. Why should I believe a
word you-"
He silenced me by holding up a finger and pulling something out of his pocket. A tape recorder.
He pressed play.
"Jake, whatever is on that tape is not going to convince-"
"I can't b elieve this. I can't b elieve she did this."
I froze, my eyes glued to the tape recorder. That was Edward's voice.
"I know you didn't get along with her for a while, b ut did you notice anything else that could lead us to b elieve that she's
responsib le for more than just this."
And that was Aro
"How am I supposed to know, everything she does looks like a crime to me. I'm surprised it took her this long to go b ack
to b eing a thief."
A picture of Edward's face drawn up in anger rose in my mind. A nauseating feeling was creeping through my abdomen,
my breath felt like it was being ripped from my lungs.
"I don't know why you let her out of jail in the first place! She's a criminal, nothing is ever going to change that."
I continued to stare at the tape long after the recording finished. Thoughts buzzing through my mind at an alarming
speed.
The nausea I was feeling seemed to spread further until the urge to throw-up was barely containable, and my head was
throbbing more than ever.
The feeling was worse than any beating I had ever received and it was soon that I realized what it was.
Betrayal.
I tried to swallow, but the dryness in my throat just made it feel like I'd swallowed a piece of sandpaper.
"What are they talking about?" I asked. My voice raspy, looking up, my eyes wide and brimming with unshed tears.
"You. Aro believes that you were responsible for the theft of the jewels taken from the museum the other night. And
apparently, Edward does too." He said, observing my reaction."I got that recording last night, when he went back to the
office. It started out with Aro asking Edward for your alibi from the night of the robbery."
EPOV
I was sitting on the concrete steps to my apartment with my head in my hands, completely at a loss.
"Agent Cullen, they need your help inside."
I raised my head to look at the CSU worker who had been searching the outside for evidence. I nodded and stood up,
trudging up the stairs.
I had been there for almost seven hours, my lack of sleep was openly apparent and my movements were sluggish as a
result.
As I continued to walk up the stairs I thought over the night before.
Immediately after talking to Aro I had raced home, needing to explain what was happening to Scarlet.
My plan was to convince her to come in, and then I would find proof that someone had messed with her tracking anklet
and clear her name. I was going to explain to her that I cared about her and that she would need to trust me in order for
everything to work out.
I had expected to say all of that, I never expected her to be gone when I got there.
When I had arrived at the apartment building, I had found her tracking anklet on the ground, the band that would have
wrapped around her ankle completely severed.
Beside that was a small bag of food that I assume was the dinner she had picked up for the two of us.
Several police cruisers appeared not long after I did, responding to the alarm from her anklet going off. And soon after
them came the federal agents, ready to jump to conclusions. After a quick glance, they surmised that she had somehow
caught wind of the fact that she was suspected for the robbery, cut her anklet and made a run for it.
I didn't know what to think.
I thought I knew her well enough to believe that she wouldn't just take off like this. She must know, if in fact she was
aware of the accusations and evidence against her, that running would just prove them right.
I knew that she was innocent; apparently that wasn't enough for her. I guess she didn't believe that I would be able to
protect her from being wrongly accused.
But there was one particular question that appeared to be on everyone's mind.
'Where is she?'
BPOV
My mind was set firmly on determination. It was as if a flip had been switched somewhere in the crevices of my mind that
was now causing me to propel one foot forward after the other as I strode behind Jacob.
We had spent the afternoon pouring over blueprints and plans, he told me the planned route and I would occasionally
give insight when I saw a possible snag. He would ask me questions about specific sections of the building, and I
would try my best to give accurate responses from what I had picked up during my time at the bureau.
Darkness was settling on the horizon as I continued to follow him down the hallway.
"So you know what the plan is already." He said over his shoulder to me, "But I need to know that you're willing to let me
call the shots on this one."
He looked back at me and I nodded in affirmation.
"Good." He said, swinging open the door we had finally reached and striding through.
"Evening boys." He called out, "I believe you are acquainted with Miss Scarlet. Scarlet, these are the boys." Jacob said,
gesturing with his hand to three muscular guys lounging in the room.
I nodded at them in greeting, my gaze cold and unfeeling.
I was numb to the core. If I hadn't been, an alarm of sorts would have gone off in my head when I saw Jacob tucking a
gun into his belt. Instead, I just looked the other way.
"Alright, we all know the plan. The key to it is to be fast, we're in and out before they know what hit them." Jacob said,
looking primarily at me.
He sent me a smile but I didn't reciprocate it. I found that it was easier to do this by feeling nothing; I learned the hard way
that emotions put you at risk. I wasn't going to let myself be the made the fool again.
"Ready?" Jacob asked.
I nodded, "Ready."
We split our team up, the three others in one car and Jacob and I slid into a Mercedes that was as dark as midnight.
The engine purred as he pulled out of the garage, the tires squealing against the pavement.
I let my mind go blank for the car ride, afraid of where it might go to if I didn't. Every few minutes I would notice that my
hands were clenched into tight fists and I would have to stretch my fingers.
"How are you feeling?" Jacob asked, breaking the silence.
I shrugged and kept my eyes straight ahead of me, "Looking forward to finally getting what I need."
He nodded in understanding.
The remainder of the ride was filled with silence, both of us set in concentration for what awaited us.
We parked in a lot across the street and a block down and walked the remainder of the distance to the building.
We stood for a moment outside the glass doors, "Remember the plan and everything will run smoothly." He said to me.
I nodded once, "I'm finishing this regardless of how smooth things go."
"Alright, then let's go." He said, pushing open the doors and striding inside with me close behind.
We strode across the marble entryway; the security guard sitting at the desk rose and began to approach us.
"Excuse me, you're going to need to show badges and identification-"
He was cut off when we reached him by Jacob's fist meeting his right temple with a sickening force.
The man fell to the ground unconscious and Jacob quickly dragged him behind the desk. I remained vigilant for anyone
that could have seen.
Jacob looked to me and I nodded. All clear.
He swiped the security access card from the guard and we headed for the elevator.
"Cameras?" I asked.
"The others already took care of it." He said without looking at me as the doors slid open and we got on. He slid the
security card where it asked for it and pressed the button for the basement level.
The ride was filled with absolute silence, only sounds of the elevator met my ears.
The elevator came to a stop a few floors early. Jacob and I shared a look and readied ourselves. The doors slid open
and revealed a man checking trying to check his watch while balancing a box of files.
"Here, let me help." Jake said, stepping forward and acting as if to take the box from him.
"Thanks, I appreciate it-" The man got out before Jacob kicked his knees out from under him. Unlike the guard, this one
didn't go down easy.
He threw a few punches on his way down, hitting Jacob on the jaw, causing him to stumble slightly. I had to look away
from Jacob's next few punches which weren't restrained in the least.
I swallowed, willing myself to detach my mind from the situation. This was the only way to get what I needed.
Jacob dragged him into a closet quickly before another late-night worker found us.
"I could have used your help there." He said, slightly out of breath as he massaged his jaw.
I didn't respond.
He punched the button for the elevator with more force than necessary, the muscles in his arms flexing.
After a tense ride down, we finally reached the basement. Once the elevator doors slid open I noticed the three other
guys waiting patiently for us.
"How did they get down here?" I asked, truly curious.
"They entered the building through the back entrance loading docks in order to get access to the security room to knock
out the cameras." He responded as we walked down the concrete hall toward them. "Also, I needed them to pick
someone up for us."
It was only when we reached them that I noticed there was an extra person to the party. He was slumped against the
wall, nursing a bruised cheek.
"Alright, go." Jacob said to the three guys. Without a word they took a keycard they had picked up somewhere and
disappeared into the elevator, off to prepare our getaway.
The man slumped against the wall watched all of it pass in silence, his eyes cautious and suspicious all at once.
Once the sound of the elevator was a distant whirr, Jacob turned to the man.
"Open it." He ordered, gesturing to the door.
The man didn't move, his eyes slid to me.
Jake must have been getting exasperated because he sighed and pulled the gun from his belt and pointed it at the man
whose eyes were immediately drawn to it.
"That was not a suggestion. Open. The. Door." He repeated.
I stared at the gun as well, my throat going dry.
There was that same tiny alarm ringing somewhere in the back of my mind. Trying to remind me that this wasn't right, I
had a strict no-gun policy, guns always added unnecessary complications to things. So why was I letting Jacob do this?
"She's a criminal, nothing is ever going to change that."
That's why.
I took a deep breath and silenced the alarm going off in my mind, my eyes set in determination once again. I let all the
anger and betrayal I felt fill me until the same numbness consumed me.
It was that same numbness that allowed me to look on passively as Jacob held the man at gunpoint as he used his
keycard, access code, and the retina scanner, allowing the door to unlock.
It was barely open when the man received the same treatment as the first security guard, falling to the floor like a
marionette with its strings cut.
We stepped through the metal door and took in the sight before us. I let out a deep breath. I had been here once before,
but this was a very different situation.
"Here. The guys got the number from the database." Jacob said.
I took the piece of paper from his hand, a slight tremor in mine.
He nodded at me in encouragement and I saw the same smile he used to give me when we were younger.
I turned and faced the innumerable rows of boxes and sucked as much air into my lungs as I could muster.
I glanced down at the paper once more to make sure before I set off.
The case numbers were in chronological order and I glanced at the ones flying past me as I ran.
As I got closer and closer my feet ran faster and faster, my heart matching its pace.
Finally, when I got to the right row, I stopped.
I was breathing heavily from my sprint. I spun as my eyes read over every number, searching for the one I had been
looking for year after year. The very item I wanted most in the world.
And then I saw it.
Everything stopped. I glanced down at the number in my hand to double check. My throat became dry once more when I
saw it was accurate. I approached it as I suppose one would approach a mirage, afraid that it might disappear any
second.
Placing my hands on either side, I slid the box from the shelf with slow deliberation.
Taking a deep, concentrating breath I opened the lid and reached inside, grasping the only folder before replacing the lid
and sliding the box back into place.
My grip was like a vice as I held the folder before me, staring at it.
Years. It had taken me years to get me to that moment. To be able to hold it in my hands.
But we would need to get moving if I wanted to get a chance to study its contents.
"Jacob I've got it!" I yelled, tearing my eyes away to look up.
The feeling of accomplishment that I had gained momentarily evaporated like a fine mist. Jacob wasn't waiting for me by
the door, ready to help me get to an exit; he was a few feet away, pointing his loaded gun at me.
A/N: In case you have not been able to tell from the recent content, this story is beginning to wind down and we are
now heading into the final few chapters. I would love to know what you thought of this last chapter (even though it
had another cliff hanger at the end). Or you may choose to copy and paste a smiley face of your choice from the
ones below.
:) or :( or :P or ;D or :{D
EPOV
My feet dragged as I pushed the glass door of the building open, my palm leaving an evanescent print as I walked
inside.
Even though millions of thoughts were treating the forefront of my mind like a freeway, I wasn't out of sorts enough to
realize that something was off.
My feet slowed as I looked around the bare lobby. It wasn't as if I expected a lot of people to be here during that hour, but I
did expect a few security guards at the very least.
My hand automatically shifted to my holster as a precaution as I let my gaze fall on the empty guard post.
After walking over slowly, I peered over the edge of the desk.
My eyes widened as I rushed to the other side to the unconscious security guard. He had a large bruise on the side of
his head, obviously the source of his unconscious state. He wasn't going to wake up anytime soon.
I looked at the computer on his desk and saw that the alarm was originating from the basement evidence room.
I drew my gun as I headed for the elevator.
The alarms were ringing loudly in my ears and I resisted the need to cover them, my teeth grinding as I cringed.
However, any and all annoyance aimed towards the alarm was gone when I saw her. She was lying lifeless on the
ground, completely still and unresponsive to anything I was yelling at her as I sprinted towards her.
"Scarlet!" I yelled again dropping to my knees beside her as I checked to see if she was breathing. "Scarlet, wake up!"
She had a gash on her temple that was bleeding, causing a flash of terror to run through me.
I ran a hand through my hair as I thought through my options. The alarm had been ringing long enough that they would
be on their way down here, and the second they found her here they would arrest her first and ask questions later, and
with the evidence they've got on her she wouldn't see the outside of a jail cell for who knows how long.
In the end it wasn't even a hard choice.
Placing one arm beneath her knees and the other behind her back I stood with her in my arms.
She was incredibly light and I was able to carry her easily as I jogged to the elevator doors as quickly as I could, swiping
my card and telling myself that I would worry about them identifying me by my ID later.
I punched the number for one of the lower levels beneath the ground floor while hanging on to Scarlet, pressing my back
against the wall under the camera. I was going to try and keep this going without them seeing my every move for as long
as possible.
The elevator shuttered and began its ascent.
I leaned my head back against the wall, closing my eyes and releasing a deep breath, trying to figure out what I was
going to do.
My eyes opened with the ring of the elevator and I straightened again, readjusting her body in my arms. I glanced out of
the elevator before ducking out of it and jogging down the hall.
I was one floor beneath the lobby of the building, beneath street level. I was heading towards the back of the building,
hoping to be able to slip out one of the delivery entrances without being scene.
The pounding of feet and raised voices heading in my direction caused me to make a quick dive into the nearest
unlocked door, closing it behind me.
I laid Scarlet down on the floor gently and pressed my ear to the door, waiting for the footsteps to fade away before I
opened the door a crack and peered out. I wasn't used to being on the opposite side of a manhunt. Usually I was the one
who was doing the chasing. I let out a deep breath. 'I guess I'm just going to have to think like Scarlet then.'
BPOV
The first thing I felt was an enormous ache in my head.
It was like dj vu from the last time.
My eyes were shut tight as I brought one hand to my temple, feeling the gash. The memory of Jacob striking me came
back to me.
"Son of a bitch." I groaned as a wave of nausea overtook me and I rolled onto my side a little.
"Whoa, don't move too much, you're pretty banged up." Came a voice as a hand softly pressed on my shoulder in an
attempt to get me to lie back down on my back.
I cracked my eyes open at the voice but the blurriness just caused my head to ache more and I quickly squeezed them
shut.
'That sounded like'
"Edward?"
"Yeah" He whispered, "Just lie still for a moment while I try to figure out how to get us out of here."
I didn't hear the second part of what he said; I was trying to remember something. The pounding in my head was making
it difficult for me to remember. I knew there was a reason that Edward's presence should bother me. Something I heard.
And then it came snapping back and my eyes shot open, the pounding in my head momentarily ignored as I pushed him
away and stood up, slightly unbalanced.
"Whoa, what's wrong?" He asked, concern and confusion etched across his face as he stood and approached me.
"Get the hell away from me." I said in a low voice, taking another step back.
His expression was all confusion now as he looked at me, "What's wrong?" He asked, his voice only a little louder than a
whisper.
I was looking around, trying to figure out where I was. It appeared to be some sort of conference room. And as far as I
could tell there was only one exit, the door behind Edward.
But then I caught sight of the file on the floor where I had just been laying and my eyes locked on it.
"Scarlet, we need to get out of here." He said, glancing over his shoulder.
"We?" I said, my eyes darting up to him, "I'm not going anywhere with you!"
The confused look was back.
"How could you do that to me?" I asked, anger flowing through me.
"What? I don't know what-" He began to say but I cut him off.
"I heard you!" I yelled.
"Heard me? Heard me do what?" He asked, the fact that he was lying to my face, feigning ignorance, cut me deep.
"Talking to Aro about how much of a thief and a criminal I am!" I yelled.
His eyes widened and some of the color left his face. He visibly swallowed, "Scarlet, it's not what you think," he said as
he approached me with his palms up.
"No, I am done having you lie to me!" I said, seeing my opening and taking it. I pushed him to the side and ran past him,
scooping up the folder quickly as I ran out the door.
I looked to either side of the hallway and took a chance, turning left and sprinting as fast as my legs would carry me with
a pounding headache.
I looked over my shoulder when I heard footsteps pounding after me and saw Edward chasing after me. He was
catching up quickly due to the fact that I was concentrating more on not running into walls than on speed.
I was almost to the end of the hallway when I felt his hand grab onto my upper arm and pull me back.
"Let go of me!" I yelled, trying to pull my arm loose.
"Scarlet, listen to me. I don't know how you heard what you did, but it wasn't what it sounded like." He said in a hushed
tone, looking around.
I pulled my arm out of his grip, still angry. "Then explain." I spat bitterly.
"I promise, I will. But right now we are in the middle of the FBI while they are tearing the place apart looking for an
intruder. The second they see you all hell's going to break loose and they're going to take us both down." He said.
"Then leave, I can handle myself." I said, pushing him away and walking past him, looking for another way out.
"I'm not leaving you." I heard him say behind me.
An onslaught of pain assaulted my head and I reached out a hand for balance against the wall. The blaring alarm that
was ringing in the hallway wasn't helping things either.
My head shot up when I heard at least a dozen footsteps heading our way from down the hall.
I turned around and ran past where Edward was standing, drawing his attention as I pushed open the door he had
stopped me from running through before.
"Wait, Scarlet don't-" He tried to stop me but I was already through the door.
I froze for a second in the opening of the large lobby type area, most likely the level beneath the front entrance. There
were at least a half a dozen guys carrying a variety of weapons, discussing something.
One of them looked up at my entrance, confusion and then recognition flashed across his face.
I started running before he yelled out, making a mad dash for the door on the opposite side of the hall.
One of them grabbed my arm and I reacted automatically, using his own movement to throw him off balance before
taking his knees out from under him.
I heard the rest of them drawing their weapons and knew that now was the time to get out of there.
My eyes scanned my choice of doors and I slipped inside the closest one. Now that they knew my location the entire
bureau was probably headed my way that very moment.
I locked the door behind me and kept running, hearing them trying to get through behind me.
I was in what appeared to be a loading dock, a tunnel that went from the ground level to where I was standing. Loading
docks like this were used for evidence transfers so that they wouldn't have to happen insecurely outside.
I ran past the armored trucks that were idling side by side. I saw the open gate at the end next to an armed guard and
started to make a break for it when an arm grabbed me and pulled me back, putting a hand over my mouth. I was about
to just kick the crap out of whoever it was until I saw it was Edward and then I wanted to kill him. He must have taken an
alternate hallway around the locked door.
"I'm trying to help you." He said in a hushed town.
I ripped his hand from my mouth and pushed him away before making a break for it. The guard saw me coming when I
was only a few feet away and raised his radio. I knocked it from his hand and crushed it with my foot.
He grabbed me from behind, a lot stronger than he looked and threw me against the brick wall, pain shot up my spine
and resonated in my head.
His weight was thrown against me and I was finding it difficult to move. I was struggling to free my hands from where he
had them pinned when suddenly the weight was gone and I was free to move.
I turned and saw Edward standing over the unconscious body of the guard. He was breathing heavily when he said, "We
need to move. Now."
"I don't need or want your help Edward!" I yelled, continuing to run towards the gate, my previous anger returning.
I glanced over my shoulder nervously when I heard shouting. I felt the open air meet my face and breathed deeply, letting
it clear my head.
I needed a car.
I spotted the parking lot across the road and ran for it. I glanced over my shoulder half way across the street and heard
the alarms ringing. Cop cars were beginning to appear around the corner near the front entrance, I didn't have much
time.
I ran a hand through my hair in exasperation as I entered the parking lot, cringing and taking it away quickly when I
touched the gash. I rubbed the blood off on my shirt as I stumbled around, looking for a suitable vehicle.
I was bleeding, my head was pounding, and I was exhausted. The file in my hand was crushed from me clenching my
hand so tightly around it. I was close to tears and just wanted to leave, go anywhere but stay where I was.
"Scarlet." Edward said softly, making me turn around.
"What? Why can't you just leave me alone? You've done enough already." Exhaustion was seeping through me and I
reached out a hand to steady myself.
"I want to explain." He said, talking softly when he saw my disheveled state.
"No." I shook my head, "I am done with you lying to me. Betraying me."
He looked over his shoulder as the noise level rose.
"Listen, someone inside the FBI is framing you for the jewel heist we investigated a few days ago. They have enough
clearance that they were able to mess with the GPS on your tracking anklet." He said, talking quickly.
"That night, Aro asked me to come to his office. He told me about the GPS and how they had enough proof that they were
going to bring you in and lock you up in maximum security. "
"I didn't have time to think of a plan, or at least a good one. What you heard was me telling him what I needed to. If I had
said that you and I were together that night, it would have looked like I was covering up your crime and I would
immediately be taken off the case due to the fact that they had what they believe to be irrefutable evidence. And if they
started looking into my life it wouldn't take them long to figure out that we were together and I would immediately get
fired."
I was seething now, "So you were more worried about your job than my innocence?"
He was shaking his head, "No, I told Aro what he needed to hear because I am the only one who knows without a doubt
that you are innocent. If I got kicked off the case or fired, I would lose all access to the resources I would need to prove
that you were innocent." He concluded, staring at me.
I looked up at him, still gritting my teeth with anger, "I don't believe you." Swallowing hard I walked around the garage, still
looking for a way out.
I was stumbling a bit and he reached out an arm to steady me.
"Scarlet."
I ripped my arm from his grip and turned, flames in my eyes. "No! I am tired of you lying to me! I trusted you and you used
that against me!" Now unshed tears were in my eyes from both the exhaustion and the anger.
"Scarlet, I know I hurt you, but you have to believe me when I say that I never meant for that to happen!" He yelled back.
"Stop lying to me!" I yelled, my hands clenching.
"I'm not lying!" He yelled, reaching out to me, but I took a step back and turned around, continuing my search for a car.
I tried the door of a nearby car with no luck, pounding my hand against it in frustration. "Why should I believe you!" I yelled,
growing more helpless and angry as one of the tears in my eyes escaped and I wiped it away furiously from my cheek as
I rested my forehead against the car.
"Because I love you."
He said it so quietly I almost missed it.
Time seemed to stand still.
I was still resting my forehead against the car's cool metal, my eyes closed. "What?" I whispered, hoping that I had
misheard, or that the blow to my head was far worse than I thought and I was hearing things.
I felt his hand on my shoulder, warm and comforting, "If you don't believe anything else, believe that."
I let out the breath I hadn't known I was holding.
"Scarlet, please look at me." He asked quietly.
I debated the idea in my mind for a few moments before slowly turning my head to peek at him.
He was looking at me intently, searching my face for my reaction.
I knew I shouldn't believe him. There was no reason that I could see that would cause me to think he was telling the
truth. Then why did I?
I stared at him for a few moments that seemed to stretch on forever until I closed my eyes again, at a loss. I felt him push
a piece of hair back behind my ear, "Please say something."
I opened my eyes again and swallowed; I cleared my throat and was about to say something when a sudden noise
increase across the street caused us both to turn our heads.
"Edward-" I started but he interrupted me.
"Later, right now we have to move." He said, grabbing my hand and pulling me from the car.
There were raised voices coming towards us, and as I stared at Edward I realized I was going to need his help to get out
of there.
I looked around and spotted something that would work.
I put a hand to my forehead as I said, "Edward, the motorcycle."
"What?"
"You can break the steering lock with your foot; use your pocket knife in exchange for a key." I said.
He threw me a look but did as I said and I soon heard him kick the steering wheel, affectively breaking the parking lock.
I watched him flip open his pocket knife and throw me a doubtful look before jamming it into the key slot and turning it, a
surprised look on his face when the bike actually came to life.
The noise wasn't quiet and I could see people running over.
"Time to go, hop on." Edward said, straddling the bike with his hand held out to me.
I glanced over my shoulder once more, hesitating for a second before taking his hand and climbing on behind him.
He sped forward and I quickly wrapped my arms around his waist.
There was only one exit to the garage meaning we had to head towards the very people who were trying to stop us.
I could hear yelling and saw people pointing at us. I tightened my grip on Edward as he sped up to get away from them,
heading away from the bureau building.
I glanced over my shoulder and saw numerous police cruisers in pursuit behind us, their blue and red lights reflecting
off the surrounding buildings.
"Edward we've got company!" I yelled over the wind, "Head for the busy streets, they won't be able to set up a road block
and we can lose them in the traffic!"
I felt him nod and he sped up more, turning a corner at a sharp angle.
The bitter cold wasn't helping my situation and pressed my face into the back of Edward's jacket as he continued to fly
down the road.
EPOV
I felt her grip tighten as I sped up more, glancing over my shoulder to see how many cruisers were following. I counted
four and I was sure there would be at least a half a dozen more that were en route.
It took about five minutes at the rate I was going to get to the busier streets of downtown and I had to slow down in order
to avoid running into things or people.
I wove in-between taxis and other cars, trying to put distance between us and the cops, knowing fully well that the traffic
would be their downfall.
However, I didn't want to chance it and figured that we would be safer if we ditched the bike.
When I didn't see any cops for over a minute I pulled the bike into a small alley and turned it off. I had to yank the knife out
of it in order to pocket it again.
Scarlet had yet to remove her arms from around me. "Scarlet?" I said softly and felt her moving, realizing that she had
been hiding her face in the back of my jacket for the entire ride.
She removed her arms and I immediately missed the feeling.
We both got off the bike and came to the end of the alley.
"What now?" she asked quietly, putting a hand to her forehead.
"Now we get you fixed up." I said spotting a drug store and heading for it.
Fifteen minutes later we walked out with band aids and pain killers. We walked for a bit to put distance between us and
the deserted motorcycle before I spotted a bar and thought that it would be as good a place as any.
I opened the door and followed her inside.
It was warm inside and I immediately felt less exposed than when we had been walking on the street.
Scarlet cleared her throat and glanced at me, "I'm going to go clean up." She said, nodding towards the restroom in
back.
I nodded and told her I would grab us a table, sending her a small smile that she didn't return.
The bar only had a few other people inside given the hour so I was able to grab a booth easily and ordered water for both
of us.
I sipped mine nervously, expecting the police and the FBI to come busting in through the door at any moment.
I ran a hand through my hair and thought about everything that had happened in the last few hours.
I realized then that I had been in having feelings about her for a while, but it had only occurred to me within the past few
days that it was love I was feeling.
If I learned anything that day, it was that nothing was more important to me than her.
BPOV
I winced as dabbed at the cut on my forehead with a wet paper towel, grimacing when it came away red.
I both looked and felt like crap.
I continued to wipe away as much dried blood as I could from the wound before placing a band aid over it.
The crumpled and twisted folder was sitting on the counter beside me and it caught my eye. I hadn't opened it yet and
part of me didn't want to.
I dumped the pile of paper towels in the trash before heading back out into the bar, turning my head this way and that
before I spotted Edward sitting in a booth contemplating his glass of water.
I slid into the booth in the side opposite him and threw the bag on the seat next to me. I fished inside of it and snagged a
couple of pain killers, downing them with the water in front of me.
We sat there for a few moments, both thinking about what we would like to say and what we should say, knowing that
they're not the same thing.
He let out a sigh and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Do you believe me?"
My eyes glanced up at him as I played with the cup of water in my hands, "Which part? The part about you lying to protect
me, or the part about you thinking you love me?"
I watched the condensation dripping down the side of the glass.
There was a pause, "Both."
Another pause, I continued to stare at my glass of water.
When I didn't respond he said, "Maybe we should talk about what led you to be unconscious on the evidence room floor
with a gash on your forehead."
I sighed and touched my forehead where the band aid was. It was then that it hit me, I was going to have to tell him
everything. And not just about Jacob, about my past, about my parents. Everything.
I stared at the man before me, the debate in my mind going back and forth like a tennis match.
I let out the breath I had been holding when I realized that I did trust him, I really didn't have much of a choice but to.
"Okay." I said.
"Okay what?" He asked, leaning forward a little more.
"I'm going to tell you." I said, taking a long sip of water.
I thought about where I should start, I cleared my throat, "When I was growing up, I had a group of friends. We used to get
into trouble every now and then, just kid stuff, nothing serious. I was friends with them for a long time, and especially
close with one of them, Jake, even through college."
I glanced up for a moment and saw that he was listening intently.
"It was during my last year at college when it happened. My parents were on a trip to Chicago, their marriage had been
on the rocks for a while and they were hoping that a second honeymoon of sorts would help."
I took a long swig from the glass, my throat had become dry.
"They were out late at night one evening, in a bad area that they shouldn't have been in, or so I'm told. They witnessed a
drug deal that went wrong, one of the guys shot the other at point blank range. Of course, being the good citizens that
they were they immediately went to the police and told them what they saw." I let out a shaky breath, realizing that now I
that I had started, I wouldn't be able to stop.
"Something went wrong in the investigation when it got turned over to the FBI. Somehow the guy they identified as the
shooter that should have been locked up had to be let go because of a legal fault that was made. The killer found out that
my parents were the ones that witnessed him shooting the other man and-" I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Their car
was broadsided on their way to their hotel. They both died instantly."
I felt Edward's fingertips touch mine as a sign of reassurance and I glanced up at him briefly before continuing my story.
"Everybody knew it wasn't an accident, but they had no proof. When I learned that it was a stupid mistake that the FBI
made that led to the murder of my parentsI was angry. Angry at anything that resembled the government. I was tired of
following rules; I wanted to take some sort of action. Jake helped me with that. Jake found the safes, I cracked them. We
took what we did as kids to the next level. We were untouchable. My anger had turned to numbness; I didn't care about
anything anymore."
I paused, realizing that Edward was now holding my hand completely; I also realized I didn't mind.
"I continued like that for years. It wasn't the money for me, it was the fact that every time I pulled off a heist was another
blow against the government. I finally woke up one day during a heist, I had finished with the safe faster than we thought
and walked in on Jacob beating up the security guard. I was horrified, I don't hurt people when I can help it, I knew then
that I had been blind to how out of control Jacob and the rest of the guys had been. He needed to be stopped, and I knew
that I was the only one that could do it. I trapped them inside the museum; the police found them and they were put in
jail."
I was surprised that he hadn't asked a single question yet, or interrupted me in any way. He was listening intently and I
was thankful for it.
"I was without a family, I had just turned all of my closest friends in to the police, I had nothing left where I was, so I
headed for Chicago. I decided that since I couldn't count on the government to catch the person responsible for the death
of my parents, it was up to me. I had no money and a very specific set of skills, so I started doing what I did best, hitting
one museum at a time. My goal was to make connections, get to know the right people in order to get information." I
paused and licked my dry lips, "I finally tracked the guy down, the drug dealer. I was too late though, someone else had
gotten to him first for another reason. Apparently he tried to screw someone over and they didn't take it very well. I didn't
know what to do then, I had enough money and connections that I didn't need to go anywhere. I wasn't distraught, but
there was a sense of failure that seemed to follow me everywhere, a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach that
stemmed from a lack of closure concerning the death of my parents. I thought I would have to live with that for the rest of
my life."
I was seeing my entire story play out before my eyes, recalling memories like they occurred yesterday.
"But then one of my connections came forward with some news that they had stumbled upon that they weren't supposed
to. It turns out that there was no mistake on the case that my parents were witnesses for." I laughed without humor as I
continued to stare at my cup of water, "It just so happens, the FBI agent on the case let the drug dealer go on purpose.
He probably even gave him the information on where to find my parents and framed someone else on the bureau for
what was later called a 'mistake'. The connection that told me all this was one of the guys helping me track down the
drug dealer; he personally overheard the guy talking about it. The agent made an under the table agreement with the
criminal. In exchange for freedom and the location of eye witnesses, the drug dealer gave the FBI agent information on a
huge case that would put his entire career on the fast track. So the drug dealer went free, the FBI agent got a promotion
for cracking an impossible case, and my parents were killed."
I paused and cleared my throat, glad that my story was almost done.
"After learning this, I tried to get access to the file on the case. To try and find the person behind it all so that I could finally
get the revenge I craved. They wouldn't let me have it. I didn't know what to do, I couldn't give them my real name because
that would lead to questions I couldn't answer. They couldn't give me any names of agents because the case had
somehow been an undercover operation. If any of the info leaked out, the agent who had been part of the operation could
be put in danger since the case hadn't been closed. So I basically had nothing. No name and no way of getting it. So I
decided to bide my time until I could find a way to get it, doing what I did best." I took a deep breath and let it out, "And this
is where you come into the story." I smiled a little bit. "I knew that if I became your partner that you would give me the
access I needed, and it worked. I found where the file was, I just didn't know how I was going to get it." I glanced up at
him, "and then things changed between us, things that made me question whether what I was going after was worth it." I
paused again in my story, "And then Jacob paid me a visit-kidnapped me, I should say. He played that tape of you saying
those things and I was angry. I let that anger cloud my judgment and I put my trust in the wrong person." I let out my
breath in a 'whoosh', "Turns out, he wanted revenge just about as bad as I do."
I looked up at him, "And the next thing I know I'm waking up next to you with a headache and a bloody forehead." I said
with an actual smile even though there wasn't much humor in the situation.
He was staring at me, tapping his fingers against his own glass as he thought over everything I told him.
"So, still think you love me?" I asked him with a nervous smile.
The smile I had come to know so well broke out across his face, "I know I do."
I laughed lightly for the first time in days and realized that I had missed the feeling.
His expression became solemn as he looked at me, "I'm sorry about your parents."
I nodded and felt him rub hum thumb across the back of my hand.
There were a few quiet moments between us that was eventually broken by his voice.
"I'm going to help you catch him." He said with determination and I could see the anger he was trying hard to conceal. I
smiled across at him softly, only then realizing how much I had missed him.
After a moment I reached down onto the seat next to me and grabbed the roll of papers that was the folder and placed it
on the table between us.
His eyes locked on it.
"You got it?"
I nodded.
"Have you looked inside yet?"
I shook my head.
He seemed to realize what was going through my head and gave my hand a squeeze.
I placed my hand on top of the crumpled folder and slid it towards myself, pausing for a moment to look up at him, "Do
you believe my story?"
He met my eyes squarely, "Yes."
I nodded and opened the file.
I scanned through line after line as I flipped through the few pages, working my way through the useless information with
intensity.
It was halfway through flipping to another page that I froze. What I had first assumed to be something else turned out to
be exactly what I was looking for. I stopped breathing as I read the line over and over again, hoping that it wasn't true. But
it was true, and it made my job a suicide mission.
I swallowed as I sat back in my seat. Edward was watching me intently, trying to understand my hopelessness.
I looked at him for a moment before holding out the open folder to him.
He took it with careful hands and read the same line I had. He too froze and I watched as some of the color drained from
his face.
He looked up and met my gaze.
"Aro."
A/N: I apologize for the delayed update, it is partially due to the fact that I was out of town without a computer and the
fact that I found this chapter difficult to write. Questions that you have been asking throughout the entire story have
finally been answered. So tell me, how surprised were you guys with this chapter? I'd really like to know what you
thought of it, either through a written review of a smiley face chosen from below.
:) or :( or :P or ;D or :{D
BPOV
Edward glanced in both directions nervously once we stepped out the door into the frigid air.
"We need to go somewhere safe where we can get some rest." He said, still looking for any sign of police activity.
As much as my mind was reeling from the new information I had just taken in, the fatigue seeping through me was
enough to make me agree with his suggestion of rest.
"Maybe we can find a hotel or something, but we'll need to find a way to scrape enough cash together because our credit
cards are no doubt being closely monitored already." He continued, a crease forming between his brows, a telltale sign
of how worried he was.
I let out a small sigh and cleared my throat, "I've got a place we can go."
I read the look on his face and answered his question before he even got a chance to ask it, "No, neither you nor the rest
of the FBI knows about it."
He just raised an eyebrow at me with a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. I rolled my eyes as I stepped past
him, "We're going to need a cab."
"You sure that's a good idea?" He asked, coming to join me in facing the street.
"We don't have much choice. I think that boosting a car would attract more attention anyways." I said, catching sight of a
taxi. Edward beat me to flagging it down and opened the door for me after the car had slowed to a stop in front of us. With
another roll of my eyes I climbed inside and slid over to make room.
I could tell Edward was listening intently when I gave the driver the address and caught a look of surprise on his face
when he realized where we were headed.
"Never would have figured you for a suburb girl." He said with another smile.
"It's quiet." Was my response as the cab pulled away from the curb.
When the car pulled onto the right street I said, "You can stop here."
Edward dug some cash out of his pocket and handed it to the driver before we climbed out. I watched the cab drive off
before turning to see Edward looking around at all the houses, their porch lights glowing faintly.
"So which one's yours?" He asked, looking at each one slowly.
"None of these, I figured it would be better to walk the rest of the way than to have someone see exactly where they were
dropping us off."
He nodded and said, "Lead the way."
I let out a sigh and started walking down the sidewalk, very aware of Edward's presence a step behind me.
We had only made it halfway down the block when I felt his hand grasp mine in a gentle grip.
I bit my tongue to stop the sigh that was threatening to leak out. I glanced down at our entwined hands but didn't pull my
hand from his. I would have to think about and deal with his feelings when I didn't have more pressing issues.
A few turned corners and blocks later I stopped walking in front of a two story home and let my eyes travel over it.
"It's nice." I heard Edward say beside me.
After another beat of silence I tugged on his hand and said, "Come on."
Approaching the door I let go of Edward's hand and headed for the planter beside the porch, looking around for the rock
which hid the key to the front door. Upon finding it I snagged the key and went to open the door.
"You know, that's not very sneaky. I would have expected something way more high-tech to hide the key to your house."
He said, trying to lighten the gloomy mood.
I gave him a half hearted smile and said, "Most of the security is inside." I said, swinging the door open and walking over
to the alarm keypad which had started beeping.
Edward looked around and gave an appreciative whistle as I shut the alarm off.
"Are you sure this place is safe?" He asked, craning his neck to get a better look around.
"Did you know I had this place?" I asked.
"No." He said, glancing back at me.
"Then I think we'll be okay." I said, stifling a yawn.
"We should go get some rest." He said, looking around for a bedroom. I nodded and motioned for him to follow me as I
trudged upstairs.
He was watching me carefully, most likely expecting me to fall asleep mid-step and tumble down the stairs.
I didn't waste any time and just kicked my shoes off before crawling into the bed I hadn't slept in in a long time.
The day was catching up with me rapidly and my eyes drooped quickly.
Right before my eyes closed completely, I was faintly aware of Edward saying, "We'll figure this thing out in the morning.
Just get some sleep."
EPOV
I awoke to the sun streaming through the window, telling me immediately that it was well past morning and most likely
approaching early afternoon.
I blinked heavily a few times and looked down at Scarlet who appeared to have curled into my side at some point during
the night.
In the light of day I was able to see the wound on her upper forehead more easily and frowned. The bandaid was still
covering most of it, but now a circular bruise had formed around it and it looked painful. I gritted my teeth at the anger that
arose suddenly.
She was snoring lightly and the tense demeanor she had when she was awake was nowhere to be found.
I would have to remember to tease her about the snoring later.
After a while I got up, slowly disentangling myself from her side so as not to wake her. Stretching my arms above my
head I realized that sleeping in regular clothing was not as comfortable as I had originally thought.
I headed downstairs and took a look around the house, seeing things I missed last night in the dark.
There were a few hallways with at least a half dozen doors in each one. The only ones that weren't locked ended up
being spare bedrooms or closets.
I walked into the kitchen and rummaged around for food or coffee, not finding much to work with.
"Sorry, I don't think there's going to be much in there." I heard her say when I opened the fridge to find it empty.
"No kidding." I said, closing it and turning to look at her.
Her hair was sticking up at an odd angle and her clothing was completely wrinkled from sleeping with it on. She was
rubbing the sleep out of her eyes as her toes curled against the cold tile floor.
"How are you feeling?" I asked her.
She shrugged and touched her forehead with a small wince, "I've been better."
I glanced around the empty kitchen one more time. "Since there doesn't appear to be any food here, why don't we grab a
bite to eat somewhere and talk about what you want to do." I suggested.
She nodded slowly with a yawn and trudged back upstairs to change.
An hour later we were sitting in a booth at a local breakfast place discussing options over pancakes and coffee.
"Are you sure that would work?" She asked after swallowing a rather large bite of pancake.
I shrugged, "As sure as I am of any of the plans we've come up with so far. What I like the most about this one is that
there are less guns involved, and the building won't be as full."
She thought it over as she took a sip of her coffee, making a face when it burned her tongue.
"I don't think I should even bring my gun." I said.
"Why?" She speared another piece of pancake.
"If I have to run interference with security, having a gun on me would not look good if they decide to arrest me." I said,
thinking it over.
"How am I going to deal with security?" She asked.
"You can get past them easily enough; it's the cameras we have to worry about. Someone spots you and the alarm is
raised and we're blown." I said.
"I can do that. I'm not that rusty." She said with an attempted smile that came out more as a grimace.
"Then we go in tonight?" She asked.
I nodded, "The longer we wait, the more time they have to find you. If they got a hold of you before this, no matter what you
say, no one will believe you, excluding me of course." I smiled, trying to lighten the mood.
"Tonight it is then." She said, sipping at her coffee with an apprehensive look in her eyes.
"Are you ready?" I asked her, watching her face for any signs of worry or hesitation. I saw none.
She nodded, "Yeah, I'm ready."
"Good luck" I said, kissing her cheek as we both got out of the car. I watched her jog over to the side of the building to use
a back entrance.
Night was settling in by the time I reached the front doors of the building and a chill was gripping the air.
I took deep breath before pushing the doors open and walked into the FBI lobby.
I smiled at the group of Internal Affairs officers that were huddled around the security desk. They didn't look happy about
being called in to the office this late and told me as much with their expressions.
"Agent Cullen." One of them stepped forward and shook my hand.
Once the formalities were over another stepped forward and said, "You called us in here and said you have some
knowledge as to the whereabouts of your consultant."
"Yes." I said, "Why don't we head upstairs so that we can talk more comfortably and privately." I gestured to the elevator
with a smile.
I breathed a small sigh of relief when they nodded and headed for the elevator without me having to force them.
The bureau was still unaware of the fact that it was me that was helping Scarlet. They assumed that it was one of her
unknown associates that helped her break into the building the other night and get out. At least I assumed they haven't
put the pieces together, if they had then things would end very badly for me in the next few minutes.
The elevator seemed to be moving exceptionally slow as it crawled to the second floor.
I cleared my throat and led the way to a conference room at the end of the hall, opened the door and ushered them all
inside.
I made sure no one was looking directly at me as they settled into their seats and made my way over to the phone on the
counter. Looking it over I pressed the button I was looking for.
"You may begin Agent Cullen." One of them said.
I turned around quickly, "Yes of course."
I looked as f I was about to begin and then slapped a hand to my forehead, "I'm sorry, I forgot to grab the folder from my
car. You stay here; I'll be back in less than five minutes."
Before they could answer I slipped out the door and closed it behind me. The rest was up to Scarlet.
BPOV
While Edward worked with the Internal Affairs agents I slipped around the back of the building and found another way
inside that could bypass security.
Once inside I stuck to the shadows and quickly slipped inside rooms when someone would walk down the hallway in
my direction.
I kept to the stairs to avoid cameras and made my way to the second level.
If Edward's guess was correct, he should be sitting in his office signing papers right about now.
'I guess I'm going to find out'
Without knocking I turned the handle, threw the door open and strode in.
He only looked slightly surprised to see me as he set down the papers he was holding.
"I thought you might try to worm your way back in here." Aro said, shaking his head "Everyone thinks you're smart, and yet
you walk right back into the hands of the people that want to lock you up for life."
"If anyone is going to be locked up for life, it's you." I said, relieved that my voice did not betray my nerves.
He reached for his phone and at the look on my face said, "Oh, I'm not calling security just yet, I feel like this conversation
could be entertaining and I don't want them to interrupt until I need them."
I watched as he pressed a button and waited for someone on the other line to pick up, "Yeah, he's here somewhere.
Take care of it." And then hung up the phone. "Where were we? Oh right, you were telling me that I'm going to jail." He
said, his tone amused as he stood from his desk and made his way to the window, looking outside even though there
was nothing to see, his demeanor completely relaxed.
I was tense with anger but still thinking clearly enough to remember why I was there. I took the opportunity he gave me
and strode over to the phone on his desk to press the 'conference' button. I jumped back to my original position when he
began talking once more.
"You know, I never would have known who you were unless your friend Jake hadn't come and tipped me off. He wanted
his revenge and saw me as a means to get rid of you. He came up with the jewel heist plan and said he'd take care of it.
I did my part with your tracking anklet." His expression was one of pride. Even though I had assumed what he was telling
me already, it still made me grind my teeth.
"And then once he told me about that file you wanted, I couldn't resist. I have to take credit for that plan, though if he had
done what I told him to do you would have ended up dead instead of just bruised." He smiled with a sad shake of the
head, "I guess you really can never trust a criminal to get anything done right. I suppose he wanted you to rot in jail like
he did."
My fingers were itching to wrap around his neck.
"It's been a long time since I've been bested, I truly did not see the depth of Agent Cullen's feeling for you. I really never
expected him to sacrifice his career for you." Here he gave an all out chuckle and I gritted my teeth and continued to
watch the man that killed my parents.
EPOV
I glanced down the hallway at things I couldn't see, hoping that Scarlet was doing alright. She was at the other end of the
floor and I longed to go and make sure that she was still okay. But I couldn't, I had to stay near the elevator and stairwell
in case I needed to divert security.
I was walking down the hall in a finally sweep when a door opened and I was pulled inside and thrown to the ground in a
small office.
The wind was knocked out of me temporarily as I looked to see who threw me.
He stood in the door way and looked at me with malice in his eyes. I coughed and rose to me feet, trying to pull air into
my lungs.
"And you are...?" I asked.
His smile was cruel, "Jake."
My eyes narrowed, "You're Jake?" His smile grew in confirmation. This was the guy that hit Scarlet. I was going to kill
him.
He noticed my change in expression and laughed, "So I guess she did tell you about me."
"She told me enough." I slammed into his stomach and threw him against the wall. He threw a few punches at my
stomach and I grunted.
We continued to grapple until he forced me back and threw me into the desk where I topple across it, taking the
computer and lamp with me as I crashed to the floor.
Before I could get up I received multiple kicks to my ribs and I sucked in air as I heard a cracking sound followed by pain
and a difficulty in breathing.
I grabbed the lamp that had crashed to the floor beside me and threw it at him, ducked, giving me enough time to
scramble to my feet and put a little bit of distance between us.
When I looked up he had a switchblade in his hand.
I felt for the gun that wasn't there, 'Why did I decide to leave it b ehind?' I thought angrily.
I let out my breath in a huff and watched him carefully as he approached, I did not like how comfortable that knife looked
in his hand.
'I guess Aro doesn't want me around now that I know the truth. I prob ab ly should have seen this coming.'
Jake lunged with the knife and I dodged away from it, hearing it slice through the air by my head.
He jabbed for my stomach and I jumped back and hit the desk.
It went on like that, him jabbing and slashing at me while I dodged, jumped and wove.
One time I wasn't quick enough and he opened a cut on my palm. Cradling it I realized that I would have to make my
move at some point or he was going to cut me to shreds as soon as I got tired.
Gritting my teeth against the pain I waited for him to lunge again. When he did, I twisted and gripped the wrist of the knife
hand and drove him back against the wall. I slammed his hand against the wall behind him repeatedly, trying to get him
to release the knife.
He kicked at me relentlessly as we struggled until finally he lost his grip and the knife fell to the floor and I managed to
kick it away.
His now-empty hand closed into a fist and met my jaw once, but it wasn't as strong as before. He had lost his advantage
and now I was angry.
I thought about how he left Scarlet bleeding on the floor of the basement and let that thought fuel my rage.
I leaned back and hit him multiple times wherever I could reach. I then gripped the front of his shirt and threw him to the
ground where I had better leverage.
I continued to hit him until my knuckles were bloody and he was unconscious.
I was breathing heavily and stared down at him, I would never let him hurt her again.
I made my way out of the room cradling my bleeding hand. I walked down the hall in search of a break room that might
have items that could serve as medical supplies.
The 'ding' of the elevator didn't register in my mind until the doors opened and a security guard let out a gasp at the sight
of me.
'Ah crap. I really hope Scarlet's almost finished b ecause I think things are ab out to get crowded around here.'
He ran up to me and managed to recognize me despite what I'm sure was a serious amount of swelling on my face,
"Agent Cullen, what happened?"
"Can we get to the lobby; I think there's a medical supply kit somewhere down there." I said, thinking quickly to try and get
him away from this floor for as long as possible.
He nodded and helped me get into the elevator.
BPOV
He walked over to the wet bar in the corner of his office and began pouring amber liquid into a crystal glass.
"I suppose you also want me to talk about what happened to your parents all those years ago." He said, swirling the
liquid in his glass.
My hands clenched by my sides.
"The information that drug dealer gave me for your parent's location put my career on the fast track. And look where I am
now!" He gestured to his lavish office with a smile. He took another sip from his drink and said, "I really should thank
them, I couldn't have gotten here without them." He held up his glass as if toasting them. At that moment I completely
forgot about the real reason I was there. I allowed the anger that had been building up for years course through me.
A sound that resembled both a strangled cry and a growl erupted from me as I threw myself at him. I heard glass shatter
and realized later that I must have crashed into one of the vases that adorned his office as I felt a piece of it cut into upper
arm with a sting I didn't notice.
I rolled and connected my fist wherever I could reach, hitting him at least once on the cheek and jaw. He brought his foot
up and kicked me away from him. As he was getting back on his feet I crashed into him and slammed his back against
the wall, gripping the lapels of his jacket.
"Why would you do it!"
"I didn't kill them. I-"
My grip tightened and I slammed him against the wall again.
"Didn't kill them! They never would have died if it wasn't for you! You told that drug dealer where to find them when you
were supposed to be protecting them! They trusted you and the FBI to help them stay safe when they did the right thing
and what did you do! You had them killed!"
I was still gripping him with white knuckles and he was silent.
I was shaking with anger, "Say something!" I screamed at him, pulling him back and slamming him against the wall
again.
He looked at me with a curl to his lip for a few moments while I restrained from bashing his head in.
Then he began to laugh, the cut on his lip began to bleed. I let my grip go and stepped away from him.
When his laughter subsided he said, "How did you expect this little charade to go? Did you think that you would come in
here and we'd have a nice talk and I would cry and admit that I'm sorry for their deaths and that it was all my fault? That I
would feel remorse?" He let out another laugh.
I said nothing.
"Let me tell you how this is conversation is going to be reported later. You- a criminal with a warrant out on your headbroke into the FBI and then proceeded to assault the head of the FBI." He walked behind his desk. "I am going to call
security up here and they are going to take you into custody and I am going to make sure that you are thrown into the
darkest hole I can find so that no one will ever hear this elaborate yet false story that you have woven about me killing
your parents."
He picked up the phone and looked up at me as if he just remembered something.
"It really is too bad about Agent Cullen. I'm sure the report will say something like 'Rogue agent killed while attempting to
help a known criminal.' Or at least that's how it's going to look. Your friend Jacob is taking care of that right now. Security
will be here any second so I would run now if you want to catch one last glimpse of him before they find you. Maybe I'll get
lucky and they'll be forced to shoot you."
I was already sprinting out of his office after Edward and didn't see him look down at his phone and notice that the
conference speaker light was on, anyone who was in that conference room would have been able to hear our entire
conversation.
It was as I was sprinting down the deserted hallways that my injuries made themselves known.
I had a shallow cut on my upper arm that was still bleeding slightly and I had a bruise on my stomach that was making it
difficult and uncomfortable to run.
I ducked into an office when security ran past accompanied by a few Internal Affairs agents. I took that as a good sign
that Edward pulled through on his part and waited until they were out of sight before I took off running again.
I was getting more and more worried the longer I went without knowing that he was okay. Various scenarios were playing
in my mind, all of which ended with Edward lying on the floor dead. I ran faster.
When I got to the area where he was supposed to be I was met with utter destruction. Broken glass was strewn among
the damage, painting an ugly picture of the fight that took place there.
I looked to make sure that Edward wasn't lying unconscious under one of the tables and was both relieved and more
anxious when I didn't find him.
I continued to search until noise drew me to the lobby on the ground floor.
It wasn't packed but there were enough people present that I wasn't noticed when I slipped out of the stairwell.
The relief that coursed through me when I saw him was staggering. I was caught up in all of the feelings that I had been
suppressing for months.
I realized then that I should be happy and filled with a sense that something that has been missing was finally there. I got
what I wanted, Aro would be removed from his position and thrown in jail and would never be able to hurt anyone
anymore. I should be ecstatic and overjoyed.
I realized that I should feel all of these things, yet I didn't.
I looked at Edward at the far end of the lobby as he was questioned by officers and Internal Affairs agents. Someone was
using an emergency kit until paramedics arrived to bandage a cut on his hand, he also had a black eye and a split lip. By
the way he sat I guessed that he had at least one cracked rib. He also got all those things trying to help me.
'He doesn't deserve this. He nearly got killed b ecause of me.' I thought as I saw him stretch his arm with a wince.
'He thinks he loves me and look what good it does him.'
I had never thought past the point of bringing Aro down. 'And now that's donewhat am I supposed to do? There are
more people out there who have scores to settle with me, I can't drag him into the middle of that.'
'This was always supposed to b e temporary thing. What, did I think I could stay here with him? The plan was get in, get
the job done, and get out. His job and life are here, mine aren't.'
And then I asked myself the question I already knew the answer to, 'So what good is there in staying?'
'There isn't any.' My mind answered.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and blinked back the tears that had risen up as I realized what conclusion I had
ultimately come to.
He must have sensed someone staring at him because he looked up and glanced around before his eyes settled on
me.
He smiled until he saw something on my face that made it fade.
Even from where I was standing I could see his eyes searching my face, trying to figure out my thoughts with a worried
expression.
I gave him a watery smile and mouthed one word: 'goodbye'.
Even from the faraway distance I saw him blanch and shake his head, he tried to stand up but the crowd around him
quickly forced him back down before he could injure himself more.
I met his eyes one last time before my smile faded and I slipped away.
EPOV
It was days before I was able to get away from the bureau and look for her.
I had been questioned relentlessly asked the same questions over and over again. In the end it wasn't as bad as I
originally thought. I was on leave while internal affairs went through everything and decided what they wanted to do with
me after they got through with Aro and Jacob.
I took it as a good sign that I wasn't fired on the spot and carted off to jail once they figured out that I had been helping
Scarlet. I assumed the bureau was just trying to sweep the whole mess under the rug as best they could.
The paramedics confirmed what I had suspected to be two cracked ribs and had treated the cut on my hand. They had
told me to take it easy with the ribs and not do anything that could slow down the healing process.
I didn't care about any of it at the moment though. I needed to find Scarlet.
The first place I went to as soon as the bureau released me was the apartment the FBI gave her while she worked with
me.
There was no one there.
I spent hours going to different places we had been to together, hoping that someone had at least seen her but they all
came to the same conclusion, no one could remember her being there.
The FBI was already trying to find her; they couldn't just let criminals run away. But they were running into problems as
well, without her real name there was no real way to effectively track her down.
It was late afternoon when I drove through the neighborhood where her house was. I finally spotted it and threw the car
into park, running up to the front door I pounded on it. "Scarlet!" I yelled, praying that she would open the door.
No answer.
Stepping off the porch I looked through the front window and blanched, there was nothing there.
All of the furniture, decorations, everything. It was all gone.
I hunted around for the rock that she had hid the key under and lifted it. There was no key.
I ran a hand through my hair as the realization hit me: she was gone.
I sank onto the front steps with my head in my hands. 'Why would she just leave?'
I don't know how long I sat there wallowing but it must have been a long time because when I looked up quickly at the
sound of footsteps the sun was much lower in the sky.
My heart sank when it wasn't her but her friend Alice.
She was stopped a few feet in front of me, a set of keys in one hand and an empty box under her arm.
She looked just as sad as I felt.
After a moment or two she shifted the box under her arm and walked up the steps past me to open the door. I stood up
and followed her inside.
I let my eyes trail over the naked room, astounded at its size now that there was nothing inside of it to make it appear
smaller.
"Why are you here Edward?" She asked, setting the box on the counter.
I cleared my throat, "I'm looking for her. I thought she might still be here."
She just shook her head.
"She had it cleared out over the last two days. I'm just here to pick up a couple of things that she left behind and didn't
want." She said.
"So she left, just like that?" I said, not wanting to believe it.
She avoided my eyes and said, "Look, I'm just as upset about this as you are. I tried my best to convince her to stay."
"Why did she leave?" I asked, though I had some idea.
Alice had been packing some things into the box and sighed.
"She wouldn't tell me. But from what I gathered she doesn't think that she's doing you any good staying here and
probably thinks everything would be better for everyone if she were to just disappear." She said, shoving something into
the box with more force than was necessary.
"How could she think that! After everything we've done together!" I was pacing now.
Alice made a face at me, "I'm not happy that she's leaving either, but maybe she's right. She might be better off
somewhere else. What does she have here that would make her stay?"
"Me." I said after a moment.
She stopped what she was doing and looked at me, searching my face for something.
There was silence for a few moments as we both sorted through our thoughts.
"Why would she just leave like that without saying something to me?" I asked quietly.
"Because she loves you and wants to pretend she doesn't." Alice said matter-of-factly.
I didn't know how to respond to that.
"She was trying to keep it off her face when I talked to her but she wasn't doing a very good job." She continued.
There was silence for a while as Alice returned to sorting her box and I tried to absorb what she told me.
Suddenly she stopped and turned around.
She seemed to fight with herself for a moment before letting out a huff, "Screw it, I thought I would be able to be okay with
her leaving as long as she was better off that way but I don't think that's the case."
"What?" I asked, not understanding the message she was trying to convey.
"I'm sure that if you can't convince her to stay than no one can." She said.
I finally caught on and my eyes widened, I stepped forward and gripped Alice's shoulders, "She hasn't left yet?"
I saw her walking towards the plane, bag slung over her shoulder, a determined stride.
My jog had slowed when I spotted her but now I was sprinting after her.
When I was no more than fifteen feet away I called out to her, watching as she froze mid-step at hearing my voice.
My breathing was slightly labored as I slowed to a walk and shortened the distance between us. Stopping a few feet
away I waited for her to turn around.
When she finally did, it was slowly and laced with reluctance.
We stood and stared at each other, moments passing by with nothing said.
I glanced at the bag she clutched in her hand and then at the private plane behind her.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
She bit her lip and looked away; the wind blew her hair lightly.
"So you were just going to leave without saying anything?" I asked, trying to keep the hurt out of my voice the best I could,
but I could tell she caught it anyways by the small cringe she showed.
After a few moments of silence she said, "I thought it would be easier that way."
The wind whistled in my ears for a moment as I thought about what she said. "Easier for who?"
"I got what I came here for, now it's time for me to clear out and move on. You can't convince me to stay, so don't try." She
said with a determined tone, hoisting her bag over her shoulder once more and turning away.
She had gotten about five steps away when I called after her, "See, I think that's the reason you left without saying
anything. You knew that I was the only person that could convince you to stay."
She stopped again and turned around, "Don't do this, Edward." She said, slightly exasperated. "Don't make this harder
than it already is."
When she saw my determined look a crease formed between her eyes, "In a few minutes that plane is taking off and I'm
going to be on it." She pointed at the plane behind her. "It's going to take me far away from here and you're going to let
me go."
I was shaking my head and opened my mouth to protest but she held up a hand to stop me, "No Edward let me finish
because this is how it's going to go. You're going to forget you saw me get on that plane, you'll go on with your life here
doing what you did before you met me, and over time you will realize that what you felt wasn't love and be able to go on
with your life and I will be able to go on with mine."
I was staring at her intently, trying to read what was going on behind her eyes. "Do you really believe that? That we'll just
forget everything that's happened, just like that?"
She looked away, giving me my answer.
Moments passed in which I stared at her and she refused to look at me.
"You could stay, you know." I said quietly, watching as she finally looked at me.
"And do what? There's nothing here for me anymore." She said, gesturing to our surroundings.
"I'm here." I stated, watched her eyes dart away as if that was the very thing she hadn't wanted me to say.
We both heard the plane's engines start behind her and she glanced over her shoulder.
"Goodbye, Edward." She said, giving me one last look before turning around and heading to the plane's stairs.
I was at a loss, running out of options.
"You can't just leave." I yelled after her, panic in my voice.
"Give me a reason to stay." She called loudly over the roar of the plane's engine as she walked backwards towards it,
shrugging her shoulders.
When I didn't say anything, she turned and kept walking to the stairs.
"Because you love me." I yelled over the noise.
She froze with her hand on the railing and I waited a moment before following after her and stood as close as I dared.
I could see her release the breath she had been holding as she turned and looked at me. The combination of the look
on her face and fact that she hadn't refuted it told me that it was true.
"I'm not leaving you, Scarlet. So either we're both getting on that plane and flying to Monaco, Paraguay or wherever the
hell it's going. Or you stay herewith me." I said softly.
I was watching the battle in her eyes as she sorted through what I said and tried to decide whether I was serious. She
seemed at a loss, she looked between me and the plane, I could see the thoughts racing in her mind, she seemed torn.
I don't know how long we stood there, but the sun was just starting to dip below the horizon when something shifted in
her eyes and a smile slowly graced her lips.
I reciprocated it and watched as she looked at the bag in her hand and dropped it to the ground beside her.
That was all the confirmation I needed as I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her to me, attempting to convey my
feelings through actions as I captured her lips in a searing kiss.
She had a soft smile on her face when I pulled away and rested my forehead against hers, her eyes closed as she
absorbed the moment.
"I guess I must love you." She said with a small chuckle, opening her eyes.
I brushed my lips against her's lightly, never tiring of the sensation. I wrapped my arms around her and held on tightly,
never wanting to let go.
"I love you too, Scarlet." I said as I held her to me.
I laced my fingers through her's and bent down to pick up her bag as turned to lead her away from the plane in case she
changed her mind.
"Bella."
Confused, I turned to look at her; she had a nervous look on her face.
"What?" I asked, seeing her bite her lip.
She cleared her throat and tucked loose hairs behind her ear, "My name-my real name. It'sBella."
She nervously watched as I rolled the name around in my head.
"Bella?" I asked, tasting the way it felt on my tongue.
She nodded, her eyes searching mine for a response.
I smiled, "I like it."
The smile I received was brilliant and I pulled her to me so that I could wrap my arm around her shoulder as we walked.
"Fits perfectly." I told her, talking both about the name and the way she was pressed into my side.
It was like we had been walking that way for our entire lives, and I was going to make sure to keep it that way.
THE END
A/N: We have reached the end of another story. But I do have some good news, I will be posting an epilogue fairly
soon. I found this last chapter difficult to write even though I've had the main idea planned out since the beginning
and that is why it took so long to post. I hope you will let me know what you thought of it and will stick around for the
epilogue.
:) or :( or :P or ;D or :{D
He laughed, "It was a good try though. I don't think they were expecting that move on the eighth floor, they'll definitely have
to do something about that."
"They should have listened when you told them to put in the retinal scanner. But that's what they get for being stingy with
security." I said, taking a step closer.
There were a few moments of silence between us as we both absorbed the moment separately.
I took another step towards him, "So, how did you know I'd come up here instead of some other way?"
He smiled.
"Because I know you." He said, taking the final step until he was inches away, looking down at me.
His green eyes were staring into me as he leaned forward and captured me in a deep kiss, obliterating all previous or
current thoughts.
When he pulled away he smoothed a strand of hair behind my ear with the same soft smile I'd come to see often on his
face.
However, I wasn't so distracted that I didn't notice his watch and what time was on it.
I grabbed his wrist and pulled it in front of my eyes, "Oh my god, is it that late already. Crap, I've got to go pick up Erin from
his friend's house."
I placed a hand on my forehead, sorting out the route I would need to take and the lights I would need to run.
Edward laughed at me furrowed expression, "I'm sure it'll be fine if you're a few minutes late."
I shook my head as I laughed, "It's times like this that I wish I had a normal job."
Edward laughed, "I can't see you working in a cubicle from nine to five every day."
"Good point." I said, hearing footsteps pounding on the opposite side of the door.
I gave him a chaste kiss, "I'll see you at home." I said.
I glanced once more towards the door, the sounds getting louder.
As soon as Edward followed my gaze I swiped the container from his hands and sprinted across the rooftop with a
smirk.
I looked back a foot from the edge, "love you!" I yelled, as I leapt off the edge.
As I began to fall I saw the smile stretch on his face and the door open behind him.
EPOV
I shook my head in wonder as I continued to watch the spot that my wife had just disappeared from.
There was a commotion behind me and I turned to greet the men that had just joined me on the roof.
They were breathing heavily from their long sprint and bending over to catch their breath.
"So who can tell me what they learned this evening?" I started out.
I opened the front door and slipped inside, shaking the coat off my shoulders and throwing it over the back of the couch.
I could hear talking coming from the kitchen and smiled. Placing each step carefully I crept across the room and around
the corner.
She had her back turned to me as she worked on chopping something and Erin was sitting on top of the counter facing
me. I saw him eyeing the plate of cookies within his reach, but then his eyes would glance to his mother and I could see
him weighing the risk.
His face lit up when he spotted me but I placed a finger over my lips and pointed to Bella. He smiled and giggled, happy
to be in on my evil plan.
Our movements must have woken Edward up because he said, "Goodnight Erin. Goodnight Bella." The last word was
said with a kiss on the back my neck, making me smile.
I was somewhere between sleep and wakefulness when my thoughts drifted to the past.
After the evidence we had on him, Aro had been removed from his position and was prosecuted for his crimes. The fact
that the bureau wanted to keep the whole situation quiet allowed Edward to keep his job and after a lot of persuading,
allowed me to continue to work with him.
It had been eight years since I made the decision to stay. Five since I finished serving the time I owed for my crimes and
was released from the tracking anklet. Priceless pieces of stolen art had seemed to miraculously show up at museums
soon after.
Since that day with the plane, the thought of leaving Edward never crossed my mind again.
I was there to stay, and always would be.
A/N: I want to thank all of my readers who have been reading and reviewing since this story started, it means a lot to
me and I really appreciate it. I had a lot of fun writing Scarlet and I hope it lived up to all of your expectations.