Breaking Free
by Laura Spudzmom
Chapter 04
He rose early the next day, careful not to disturb his sleeping mate.
Dressing quietly, he headed out to find his Captain. There was much he needed to see to and plan for, number one on that list being their move from this place.
Pete had taken care of any suspicion from his mate's father by staging a wreck with her truck, running it over the cliff side and down into the shallows of the ocean.
That may appease the humans, Jasper knew, but the shifters were a whole different story and he had no desire to have to wipe out an entire pack of them. He growled, thinking about their interference and knew that he would if he had to. If they showed up before they made it out of here, he'd take out every last one of them.
He found his Captain in the living room along with Char, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett.
"Report Captain." He relaxed back into a chair as Pete faced him.
"We're expecting the Volturi contingent any time now Major. They called from the airport this morning to let us know they were in Seattle. They were going to feed and then make their way here."
Jasper gave a sharp nod. "Good. Have you copied all the documentation that we found in the good Doctor's office?"
Pete nodded. "Yes sir, I have. It's quite the list. It's good that they'll be able to move on these cells before the Romanians get a clue. At least I'm hoping that's the case. I was able to catch the scent of Eleazar in the woods where you left the mind reader's pieces, so he may have contacted them. It depends on how stupid he is where you're concerned and how loyal he was to the Romanian's cause."
Jasper smirked. "No matter. Once my mate is mobile again, they will all burn eventually. I'll see to it personally if need be. None of these fuckers will escape me. Any of them that had anything to do with me being caged for the last sixty years will burn, slowly. The whole vampire world is gonna know better than to fuck with me ever again."
Jasper looked over at his former coven mates. "And what of you three? Any plans for the future now that you're free?"
Emmett nodded. "Rose and I would like to follow you and help where we can. We would like nothing better than to see these assholes pay and if we can help make that happen, then all's the better."
Jasper inclined his head. "That's acceptable to me." He pinned Esme with his red gaze. "And you Esme? Any plans?"
She wrung her hands nervously. "I really don't know. You know that I'm not really one for fighting. I don't know how for one thing. For another, it's just not in my personality. I would just like to live quietly somewhere." She shrugged, staring down into her lap. "Just somewhere I could have a garden and my art." She looked up, profound sadness in her eyes. "I've never wanted much from this life, just a peaceful existence and love. I would love to really love someone and be loved in return. Not like the facade of a marriage that I've been in all these many years."
Jasper sighed, actively blocking the waves of sadness that were rolling off of her. He felt for her. He really did, but he couldn't let himself get caught up in her emotional turmoil. He had shit to do and coddling the depressed wasn't high on the list.
"It'll all work out Esme. There's someone out there for you. Until then, you've been left very well off my dear.
You need to make calls and get your affairs in order. Try to concentrate on that for now. Keep your mind occupied with something productive."
She smiled a wan smile. "Very good advice dear. Thank you. I'll do that."
With that, she rose and made her way upstairs to the office, the door closing quietly behind her.
They all perked up when they heard the sounds of tires on gravel as someone turned onto their driveway. Jasper looked at Char and didn't even have to utter a word. She nodded. "I'll watch over her with my life Major."
He rose and hugged her. "Thank you Char."
She slapped him on his butt on her way out. "No need Major."
Jasper raised a brow, looking at a smirking Pete. "Your mate's pretty cheeky these days Captain."
Pete chuckled as he fell into step beside his Major, both heading for the door. "These days? Hell, she always has been. She's just especially happy to have you back with us as am I. We missed ya Major."
Jasper smirked. "Yeah well, I missed me too. It's good to have you with me though. Ain't many left in this world that are gonna be glad to see me comin', that's for damn sure."
They stood on the front deck, waiting for the Volturi to pull in and park. Pete glanced at the Major. "I wouldn't be so sure of that. All those others that are bein' kept captive as you were are gonna be damned grateful, I'd wager."
Jasper widened his stance, clasping his hands behind his back, looking every inch the officer he was. "We'll see Captain. We'll see.”
They both watched as the black SUV's of the Volturi parked in front of them, the three Kings and their Elite Guard exiting the vehicles and approaching them, Aro in the lead. "Major Whitlock. Thank you for contacting us. I am understandably concerned by the report we received from your Captain. It's also my understanding that you have already dispatched Carlisle Cullen, correct?"
Jasper inclined his head in assent. "That would be correct with just a bit of an exception. You see, I know of your gift and so we saved his head so that you could ascertain the extent of his involvement for yourself without having to rely on paperwork alone."
Aro smiled widely, clapping his hands together. "Ah bless you and your foresight Major! This is a boon that I hadn't expected! But it is much appreciated, I assure you."
Jasper stepped to the side, gesturing inside. "Excellent. Would you all care to come inside and we can get started with the briefing? I would ask though that you all avoid approaching the stairs. I have a newly changing mate in an upstairs bedroom and I will not tolerate anyone getting close to her."
He scanned over the faces of all those present, noting their nods of assent, Aro responding verbally. "Perfectly understandable Major, and may I congratulate you on finding your mate? What a wonderful event for you."
Jasper led them all inside where they took seats around the living room.
Pete retrieved the file and handed it to Aro who immediately began to look through it, passing the documents to his brothers in turn. They relaxed back in their seats when they were finished, grim looks on their faces. "This is a grave and complex plot indeed. Years in the making, if these documents are reliable." Aro turned to Jasper.
"Where is Cullen's head Major? I would like to have a look inside his mind if I may?"
Jasper rose, retrieving the head from a box in the corner. "Of course Aro. It's all yours. We'll burn it when you're through though. I'd rather not have to look at it any longer than necessary. It pisses me off every time I do and bad things tend to happen every time I get pissed off."
Aro smirked. "I would say that you're totally justified in your anger Major." His eyes darkened as he growled out, "I'm just a bit pissed off myself and I know my brothers are as well."
Caius scoffed. "That's the understatement of the century Aro. I say we dispense with all the talking as quickly as possible so that we may commence with the waging of war."
Aro nodded, placing his hands on Carlisle's head. "For once dear brother, we are in complete agreement."
He was silent then as he stared off into the room, seeing things that no one else could see, all from the memories of Carlisle Cullen.
When he came back to himself, he growled and made a perfect basket with Carlisle's head into the box.
"Traitorous bastard! He's been planning this for over a hundred years with Vladimir and Stefan, the scum that they are."
He looked to Jasper. "They told you that Alice had used her visions to find this coven?"
"That's correct."
Aro scoffed. "It was complete horse shit. Carlisle found her and had her assessed by Eleazar in the psychiatric hospital she was in. Eleazar confirmed Carlisle's suspicions of her being gifted and so he turned her. He did this with all of his progeny, the only disappointment, as he saw it, being Rosalie. She was supposed to have been gifted according to Eleazar, but she never manifested a gift even after giving her a few years to do so. He never got rid of her because by that time, he had already found and turned Emmett who turned out to be Rosalie's mate."
Rosalie held up a hand. "Wait, I found Emmett."
Aro shook his head. "No, I'm afraid that whole story was a fabrication my dear, implanted during a session of hypnotherapy with the good Doctor. You see, he wanted to make sure that his growing coven was seen as merely being added to by chance and benevolence, not careful planning. No, he found Emmett and wanted him because he rivaled our Felix in size and strength.
He located Edward in the hospital with his parents who were both ill with spanish influenza. Edward, however, was not. He was perfectly healthy, but again Eleazar detected his gift and so it was just a matter of taking him and turning him as his parents died in the hospital."
Jasper growled. "It seems that Eleazar has been very busy through the years."
Aro nodded. "Yes, but as soon as Carlisle set his sights on obtaining you, he distanced himself and they haven't really worked together since. Eleazar has worked with other coven leaders all over the world to gain gifted members, but he would not work with Carlisle again. It seems that he was wary of anything having to do with you Major and warned Carlisle not to undertake trying to subdue you. Carlisle had been quite smug for the last sixty years, thinking that he had succeeded where his friend had told him he would fail. He never counted on time catching up with him in such a spectacular way."
Pete spoke up, shaking his head at all he'd heard. "Time and the Major's strength of will once he'd located his mate."
Aro smiled. "Yes, quite so Captain, and fortuitous for all of us, though regrettable that you had to experience the captivity that you did Major."
Jasper growled, his jaw clenching before he answered. "While it pisses me off to no end Aro, this whole experience allowed me to be in a place to find my mate and for that I am grateful. It has also allowed us to uncover this conspiracy which I am also grateful for. Now, besides the obvious reasons, did you get any other goals that they had in mind for undertaking such an enormous plot?"
Aro smiled. "Yes! Now that you mention it, they do have an agenda. They want to expose the existence of vampires to the human world and essentially take over. It's a ridiculous plan of course. They obviously don't watch the fucking news do they? An all-out war with the humans, who greatly outnumber us, would be a worldwide blood bath for both sides, being that the humans have weapons that can wipe out entire countries in seconds. It would be a monumental disaster, even if vampire kind tried to accomplish it peacefully. Just finding out about vampire kind would cause mass hysteria in the human population, even if we did nothing in the way of moving against them."
Jasper nodded. "I agree. It would be a disaster." He looked at the three Kings in turn. "I have a little over three weeks wait until my mate will be ready to really travel with me and be at my side when I fight. Until then, I plan to take her to a safe location and care for her. I cannot be away from her for any length of time due to her feeding from me."
Aro clapped his hands, a smile on his face. "How wonderful Major! You are going to be a father then?"
Jasper smiled. "Yes, to twins if I am hearing the heartbeats correctly."
"Absolutely wonderful! Well then, let me propose something that would be mutually beneficial to us. I would like for you and yours to come and stay with us in Volterra for the time that your mate is transitioning to the next phase of her pregnancy. While there, we would consider it an honor if you would assist in training our guard members. This would leave your evenings free to care for your mate and in the meantime, she would be in the very safest of environments."
Jasper considered this for moments and had to admit that it was the best option he had. He would still have Char stay with Bella, but they would both be much safer within the confines of the castle than any other place he could go in the world.
Decision made, he leaned over and shook Aro's hand. "I find this to be an agreeable arrangement. We'll be ready to leave with you as soon as we finish rigging this place to burn thoroughly."
Aro grinned, his glee at his good fortune visible in his red eyes. "Splendid Major! Just splendid!"
He rose early the next day, careful not to disturb his sleeping mate.
Dressing quietly, he headed out to find his Captain. There was much he needed to see to and plan for, number one on that list being their move from this place.
Pete had taken care of any suspicion from his mate's father by staging a wreck with her truck, running it over the cliff side and down into the shallows of the ocean.
That may appease the humans, Jasper knew, but the shifters were a whole different story and he had no desire to have to wipe out an entire pack of them. He growled, thinking about their interference and knew that he would if he had to. If they showed up before they made it out of here, he'd take out every last one of them.
He found his Captain in the living room along with Char, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett.
"Report Captain." He relaxed back into a chair as Pete faced him.
"We're expecting the Volturi contingent any time now Major. They called from the airport this morning to let us know they were in Seattle. They were going to feed and then make their way here."
Jasper gave a sharp nod. "Good. Have you copied all the documentation that we found in the good Doctor's office?"
Pete nodded. "Yes sir, I have. It's quite the list. It's good that they'll be able to move on these cells before the Romanians get a clue. At least I'm hoping that's the case. I was able to catch the scent of Eleazar in the woods where you left the mind reader's pieces, so he may have contacted them. It depends on how stupid he is where you're concerned and how loyal he was to the Romanian's cause."
Jasper smirked. "No matter. Once my mate is mobile again, they will all burn eventually. I'll see to it personally if need be. None of these fuckers will escape me. Any of them that had anything to do with me being caged for the last sixty years will burn, slowly. The whole vampire world is gonna know better than to fuck with me ever again."
Jasper looked over at his former coven mates. "And what of you three? Any plans for the future now that you're free?"
Emmett nodded. "Rose and I would like to follow you and help where we can. We would like nothing better than to see these assholes pay and if we can help make that happen, then all's the better."
Jasper inclined his head. "That's acceptable to me." He pinned Esme with his red gaze. "And you Esme? Any plans?"
She wrung her hands nervously. "I really don't know. You know that I'm not really one for fighting. I don't know how for one thing. For another, it's just not in my personality. I would just like to live quietly somewhere." She shrugged, staring down into her lap. "Just somewhere I could have a garden and my art." She looked up, profound sadness in her eyes. "I've never wanted much from this life, just a peaceful existence and love. I would love to really love someone and be loved in return. Not like the facade of a marriage that I've been in all these many years."
Jasper sighed, actively blocking the waves of sadness that were rolling off of her. He felt for her. He really did, but he couldn't let himself get caught up in her emotional turmoil. He had shit to do and coddling the depressed wasn't high on the list.
"It'll all work out Esme. There's someone out there for you. Until then, you've been left very well off my dear.
You need to make calls and get your affairs in order. Try to concentrate on that for now. Keep your mind occupied with something productive."
She smiled a wan smile. "Very good advice dear. Thank you. I'll do that."
With that, she rose and made her way upstairs to the office, the door closing quietly behind her.
They all perked up when they heard the sounds of tires on gravel as someone turned onto their driveway. Jasper looked at Char and didn't even have to utter a word. She nodded. "I'll watch over her with my life Major."
He rose and hugged her. "Thank you Char."
She slapped him on his butt on her way out. "No need Major."
Jasper raised a brow, looking at a smirking Pete. "Your mate's pretty cheeky these days Captain."
Pete chuckled as he fell into step beside his Major, both heading for the door. "These days? Hell, she always has been. She's just especially happy to have you back with us as am I. We missed ya Major."
Jasper smirked. "Yeah well, I missed me too. It's good to have you with me though. Ain't many left in this world that are gonna be glad to see me comin', that's for damn sure."
They stood on the front deck, waiting for the Volturi to pull in and park. Pete glanced at the Major. "I wouldn't be so sure of that. All those others that are bein' kept captive as you were are gonna be damned grateful, I'd wager."
Jasper widened his stance, clasping his hands behind his back, looking every inch the officer he was. "We'll see Captain. We'll see.”
They both watched as the black SUV's of the Volturi parked in front of them, the three Kings and their Elite Guard exiting the vehicles and approaching them, Aro in the lead. "Major Whitlock. Thank you for contacting us. I am understandably concerned by the report we received from your Captain. It's also my understanding that you have already dispatched Carlisle Cullen, correct?"
Jasper inclined his head in assent. "That would be correct with just a bit of an exception. You see, I know of your gift and so we saved his head so that you could ascertain the extent of his involvement for yourself without having to rely on paperwork alone."
Aro smiled widely, clapping his hands together. "Ah bless you and your foresight Major! This is a boon that I hadn't expected! But it is much appreciated, I assure you."
Jasper stepped to the side, gesturing inside. "Excellent. Would you all care to come inside and we can get started with the briefing? I would ask though that you all avoid approaching the stairs. I have a newly changing mate in an upstairs bedroom and I will not tolerate anyone getting close to her."
He scanned over the faces of all those present, noting their nods of assent, Aro responding verbally. "Perfectly understandable Major, and may I congratulate you on finding your mate? What a wonderful event for you."
Jasper led them all inside where they took seats around the living room.
Pete retrieved the file and handed it to Aro who immediately began to look through it, passing the documents to his brothers in turn. They relaxed back in their seats when they were finished, grim looks on their faces. "This is a grave and complex plot indeed. Years in the making, if these documents are reliable." Aro turned to Jasper.
"Where is Cullen's head Major? I would like to have a look inside his mind if I may?"
Jasper rose, retrieving the head from a box in the corner. "Of course Aro. It's all yours. We'll burn it when you're through though. I'd rather not have to look at it any longer than necessary. It pisses me off every time I do and bad things tend to happen every time I get pissed off."
Aro smirked. "I would say that you're totally justified in your anger Major." His eyes darkened as he growled out, "I'm just a bit pissed off myself and I know my brothers are as well."
Caius scoffed. "That's the understatement of the century Aro. I say we dispense with all the talking as quickly as possible so that we may commence with the waging of war."
Aro nodded, placing his hands on Carlisle's head. "For once dear brother, we are in complete agreement."
He was silent then as he stared off into the room, seeing things that no one else could see, all from the memories of Carlisle Cullen.
When he came back to himself, he growled and made a perfect basket with Carlisle's head into the box.
"Traitorous bastard! He's been planning this for over a hundred years with Vladimir and Stefan, the scum that they are."
He looked to Jasper. "They told you that Alice had used her visions to find this coven?"
"That's correct."
Aro scoffed. "It was complete horse shit. Carlisle found her and had her assessed by Eleazar in the psychiatric hospital she was in. Eleazar confirmed Carlisle's suspicions of her being gifted and so he turned her. He did this with all of his progeny, the only disappointment, as he saw it, being Rosalie. She was supposed to have been gifted according to Eleazar, but she never manifested a gift even after giving her a few years to do so. He never got rid of her because by that time, he had already found and turned Emmett who turned out to be Rosalie's mate."
Rosalie held up a hand. "Wait, I found Emmett."
Aro shook his head. "No, I'm afraid that whole story was a fabrication my dear, implanted during a session of hypnotherapy with the good Doctor. You see, he wanted to make sure that his growing coven was seen as merely being added to by chance and benevolence, not careful planning. No, he found Emmett and wanted him because he rivaled our Felix in size and strength.
He located Edward in the hospital with his parents who were both ill with spanish influenza. Edward, however, was not. He was perfectly healthy, but again Eleazar detected his gift and so it was just a matter of taking him and turning him as his parents died in the hospital."
Jasper growled. "It seems that Eleazar has been very busy through the years."
Aro nodded. "Yes, but as soon as Carlisle set his sights on obtaining you, he distanced himself and they haven't really worked together since. Eleazar has worked with other coven leaders all over the world to gain gifted members, but he would not work with Carlisle again. It seems that he was wary of anything having to do with you Major and warned Carlisle not to undertake trying to subdue you. Carlisle had been quite smug for the last sixty years, thinking that he had succeeded where his friend had told him he would fail. He never counted on time catching up with him in such a spectacular way."
Pete spoke up, shaking his head at all he'd heard. "Time and the Major's strength of will once he'd located his mate."
Aro smiled. "Yes, quite so Captain, and fortuitous for all of us, though regrettable that you had to experience the captivity that you did Major."
Jasper growled, his jaw clenching before he answered. "While it pisses me off to no end Aro, this whole experience allowed me to be in a place to find my mate and for that I am grateful. It has also allowed us to uncover this conspiracy which I am also grateful for. Now, besides the obvious reasons, did you get any other goals that they had in mind for undertaking such an enormous plot?"
Aro smiled. "Yes! Now that you mention it, they do have an agenda. They want to expose the existence of vampires to the human world and essentially take over. It's a ridiculous plan of course. They obviously don't watch the fucking news do they? An all-out war with the humans, who greatly outnumber us, would be a worldwide blood bath for both sides, being that the humans have weapons that can wipe out entire countries in seconds. It would be a monumental disaster, even if vampire kind tried to accomplish it peacefully. Just finding out about vampire kind would cause mass hysteria in the human population, even if we did nothing in the way of moving against them."
Jasper nodded. "I agree. It would be a disaster." He looked at the three Kings in turn. "I have a little over three weeks wait until my mate will be ready to really travel with me and be at my side when I fight. Until then, I plan to take her to a safe location and care for her. I cannot be away from her for any length of time due to her feeding from me."
Aro clapped his hands, a smile on his face. "How wonderful Major! You are going to be a father then?"
Jasper smiled. "Yes, to twins if I am hearing the heartbeats correctly."
"Absolutely wonderful! Well then, let me propose something that would be mutually beneficial to us. I would like for you and yours to come and stay with us in Volterra for the time that your mate is transitioning to the next phase of her pregnancy. While there, we would consider it an honor if you would assist in training our guard members. This would leave your evenings free to care for your mate and in the meantime, she would be in the very safest of environments."
Jasper considered this for moments and had to admit that it was the best option he had. He would still have Char stay with Bella, but they would both be much safer within the confines of the castle than any other place he could go in the world.
Decision made, he leaned over and shook Aro's hand. "I find this to be an agreeable arrangement. We'll be ready to leave with you as soon as we finish rigging this place to burn thoroughly."
Aro grinned, his glee at his good fortune visible in his red eyes. "Splendid Major! Just splendid!"
DISCLAIMER: Twilight and its inclusive material is copyright to Stephenie Meyer. Original creation, including but not limited to plot and characters, is copyright to the respective authors of each story. No copyright infringement is intended.