Bad Company
Strange People
After almost a hundred years of life, one would think that Edward Cullen was used to being bored; especially since he spent a lot of his time doing nothing more than staring out his window, but they’d be wrong.
The bronze haired vampire had been sitting in a fowl smelling medical room for hours. The floors and metal tables shined from being scrubbed thoroughly with some kind of industrial sanitizer that made Edward’s nose itch and burn.
“Carlisle, are you done yet?” He asked and told himself that he wasn’t whining, really he wasn’t.
“No,” replied his foster father without lifting his head from the bowed position it had been in for more than three hours. The blonde doctor was inspecting a body that had been brought in several days ago and had already been inspected by the usual human staff. They had dubbed it an animal attack but in Forks, animal attacks had a reputation for being so much more.
“Can I at least help?” The younger man asked and hit his head against the wall repeatedly when Carlisle refused to acknowledge him. He knew it wasn’t personal and that his father was simply distracted by the medical mystery before him, but that didn’t make the silence any less frustrating.
“Why yes Edward, I would love to see what your brilliant mind will come up with.” Sighed Edward as he stood up and walked over to Carlisle who immediately looked up at him with a questioning expression.
“Did you say something?” He asked but didn’t wait for Edward to answer before turning his attention back to the body of a dark haired woman in her late twenties.
“Of course not,” Edward mumbled and pulled a pair of latex gloves from the box on a table to his left and pulled them on before leaning over to peer at whatever held Carlisle’s fascination. He found himself looking at an empty chest cavity, nothing strange about it as far as Edward could tell.
“There’s nothing there,” he said and had to lean back in order to avoid a concussion as the blonde whipped his head up.
“Exactly,” whispered the doctor, forcing Edward to admit that his father may have spent too long fighting the temptation of human blood. It was driving the poor guy over the edge.
“Carlisle, do we need to go hunting?” asked Edward seriously. He knew that the blonde man often started losing his ability to think coherently whenever he hadn’t fed in a while and Edward had the nagging suspicion that this is what was going on here.
“No, I’m serious, Edward.” Carlisle said sternly as he motioned to the gaping hole in the woman’s chest. “She came in like this, the morgue didn’t remove it.” Edward still didn’t see what had Carlisle all riled up. If this had been an animal attack then it was within the realm of possibility that whatever animal did this, just happened to have eaten the poor woman’s heart. Disgusting, yes. Strange, not so much.
“Okay,” He said slowly. “A bear could have done that.” Whatever he said must have sparked something within the doctor, his eyes started to sparkled with curiosity, and he immediately ran over the counter in the back of the room and picked up a large manila folder.
“But it wasn’t a bear; we just said that to the press for lack of a better conclusion.” The folder was held out to Edward and he slowly reached out to take it from his father. The vampire had no idea what the blonde expected to get out of this, Edward wasn’t a doctor, and even though he had joked about helping the older man earlier, that’s all it was, a joke.
“Then what the hell was it?” He asked as he placed the thin folder on the table beside him, he wasn’t going to bother reading it when he could simply let Carlisle explain.
“The saliva and hair we found belonged to a human.” No sooner had the words left the vampire’s mouth; two well-dressed men barged through the double doors as if they had the right to do so. Edward had never seen these people before and from the look on Carlisle’s face, neither had he, meaning they were more than likely from out of town. If this was the case, then what in the world were they doing here?
“What’s the meaning of this interruption, gentlemen?” asked Carlisle as he mentally ordered Edward to help him find the reason for the intrusion.
“I’m Daniel Stevens from the FBI; this is my partner Jamison Aubrey.” Said the shorter man as he and his “partner” pulled two badges from the inside pocket of their jackets. The blonde’s eyes casually shifted in Edward’s direction to watch as he shook his head in a way that anyone one else would have thought it a natural movement or twitch. Carlisle knew instantly what it meant; these men weren’t who they said they were.
“We were sent to investigate the recent bear attacks in the area,” the man continued. Edward was immediately assaulted with the knowledge that “Daniel” wasn’t completely lying, he was here to investigate the attacks, but they were in no way sent.
“Why would the FBI send two agents all the way to the tiny town of Forks because of a few animal encounters?” asked Edward, just barely controlling his smirk at the subtle worried looks, the men exchanged before the taller of the two took over.
“We have reason to believe this ‘bear’ has been steadily working it’s way across the country, the agency wants it taken care of as soon as possible. Now please stop with the interrogation of federal employees and let us get to work with examining the body. It shouldn’t take long, and we’ll be out of the way before you know it.” The two men stepped forward as if to move past the vampires but stopped when they blocked their movements.
“I’m currently leading this medical examination, and since I was not notified by the correct authorities, I’m afraid I can’t allow you any closer to this individual.” Carlisle wasn’t lying or twisting the truth in his favor, Daniel and Jamison knew this almost as well as Edward did.
“Understood.” Daniel said with a tight smile and a nod to both Carlisle and Edward. “We’ll be in touch.” He gripped Jamison’s arm and without sparing either of the vampires a second look, he turned on his heel and left the medical room, the taller man being towed behind, his mouth open as if to protest.
“Strange people,” said Carlisle with a shake of his head. “Did you find anything?” He looked over at Edward who was staring at the double doors as if he expected someone else to barge through them.
“A little. Nothing too important, but I have the strange feeling we’re going to be seeing more of them.” Whoever the men were, they were fairly skilled at blocking off their minds, Edward had only been able to read their immediate thoughts and it frustrated him that he didn’t have access to anything that would be located deeper within the sub-conscious; such as personal information name, date of birth, and other useful pieces of information.
“The question’s not whether or not they’re staying in town, people don’t go through the hassle of trying to pass themselves off as FBI agents to just give up without getting what they want,” Carlisle told him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s why.”
The bronze haired vampire had been sitting in a fowl smelling medical room for hours. The floors and metal tables shined from being scrubbed thoroughly with some kind of industrial sanitizer that made Edward’s nose itch and burn.
“Carlisle, are you done yet?” He asked and told himself that he wasn’t whining, really he wasn’t.
“No,” replied his foster father without lifting his head from the bowed position it had been in for more than three hours. The blonde doctor was inspecting a body that had been brought in several days ago and had already been inspected by the usual human staff. They had dubbed it an animal attack but in Forks, animal attacks had a reputation for being so much more.
“Can I at least help?” The younger man asked and hit his head against the wall repeatedly when Carlisle refused to acknowledge him. He knew it wasn’t personal and that his father was simply distracted by the medical mystery before him, but that didn’t make the silence any less frustrating.
“Why yes Edward, I would love to see what your brilliant mind will come up with.” Sighed Edward as he stood up and walked over to Carlisle who immediately looked up at him with a questioning expression.
“Did you say something?” He asked but didn’t wait for Edward to answer before turning his attention back to the body of a dark haired woman in her late twenties.
“Of course not,” Edward mumbled and pulled a pair of latex gloves from the box on a table to his left and pulled them on before leaning over to peer at whatever held Carlisle’s fascination. He found himself looking at an empty chest cavity, nothing strange about it as far as Edward could tell.
“There’s nothing there,” he said and had to lean back in order to avoid a concussion as the blonde whipped his head up.
“Exactly,” whispered the doctor, forcing Edward to admit that his father may have spent too long fighting the temptation of human blood. It was driving the poor guy over the edge.
“Carlisle, do we need to go hunting?” asked Edward seriously. He knew that the blonde man often started losing his ability to think coherently whenever he hadn’t fed in a while and Edward had the nagging suspicion that this is what was going on here.
“No, I’m serious, Edward.” Carlisle said sternly as he motioned to the gaping hole in the woman’s chest. “She came in like this, the morgue didn’t remove it.” Edward still didn’t see what had Carlisle all riled up. If this had been an animal attack then it was within the realm of possibility that whatever animal did this, just happened to have eaten the poor woman’s heart. Disgusting, yes. Strange, not so much.
“Okay,” He said slowly. “A bear could have done that.” Whatever he said must have sparked something within the doctor, his eyes started to sparkled with curiosity, and he immediately ran over the counter in the back of the room and picked up a large manila folder.
“But it wasn’t a bear; we just said that to the press for lack of a better conclusion.” The folder was held out to Edward and he slowly reached out to take it from his father. The vampire had no idea what the blonde expected to get out of this, Edward wasn’t a doctor, and even though he had joked about helping the older man earlier, that’s all it was, a joke.
“Then what the hell was it?” He asked as he placed the thin folder on the table beside him, he wasn’t going to bother reading it when he could simply let Carlisle explain.
“The saliva and hair we found belonged to a human.” No sooner had the words left the vampire’s mouth; two well-dressed men barged through the double doors as if they had the right to do so. Edward had never seen these people before and from the look on Carlisle’s face, neither had he, meaning they were more than likely from out of town. If this was the case, then what in the world were they doing here?
“What’s the meaning of this interruption, gentlemen?” asked Carlisle as he mentally ordered Edward to help him find the reason for the intrusion.
“I’m Daniel Stevens from the FBI; this is my partner Jamison Aubrey.” Said the shorter man as he and his “partner” pulled two badges from the inside pocket of their jackets. The blonde’s eyes casually shifted in Edward’s direction to watch as he shook his head in a way that anyone one else would have thought it a natural movement or twitch. Carlisle knew instantly what it meant; these men weren’t who they said they were.
“We were sent to investigate the recent bear attacks in the area,” the man continued. Edward was immediately assaulted with the knowledge that “Daniel” wasn’t completely lying, he was here to investigate the attacks, but they were in no way sent.
“Why would the FBI send two agents all the way to the tiny town of Forks because of a few animal encounters?” asked Edward, just barely controlling his smirk at the subtle worried looks, the men exchanged before the taller of the two took over.
“We have reason to believe this ‘bear’ has been steadily working it’s way across the country, the agency wants it taken care of as soon as possible. Now please stop with the interrogation of federal employees and let us get to work with examining the body. It shouldn’t take long, and we’ll be out of the way before you know it.” The two men stepped forward as if to move past the vampires but stopped when they blocked their movements.
“I’m currently leading this medical examination, and since I was not notified by the correct authorities, I’m afraid I can’t allow you any closer to this individual.” Carlisle wasn’t lying or twisting the truth in his favor, Daniel and Jamison knew this almost as well as Edward did.
“Understood.” Daniel said with a tight smile and a nod to both Carlisle and Edward. “We’ll be in touch.” He gripped Jamison’s arm and without sparing either of the vampires a second look, he turned on his heel and left the medical room, the taller man being towed behind, his mouth open as if to protest.
“Strange people,” said Carlisle with a shake of his head. “Did you find anything?” He looked over at Edward who was staring at the double doors as if he expected someone else to barge through them.
“A little. Nothing too important, but I have the strange feeling we’re going to be seeing more of them.” Whoever the men were, they were fairly skilled at blocking off their minds, Edward had only been able to read their immediate thoughts and it frustrated him that he didn’t have access to anything that would be located deeper within the sub-conscious; such as personal information name, date of birth, and other useful pieces of information.
“The question’s not whether or not they’re staying in town, people don’t go through the hassle of trying to pass themselves off as FBI agents to just give up without getting what they want,” Carlisle told him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s why.”