Marriage is Murder

Edward did not question Jack's loyalty but he needed Jack elsewhere.

"Jack, do not think for one moment I am protecting you. You dont need it," Edward said. "But if it comes to that, I will need you to leave that ugly task to me. I will need your strength in dealing with the adults that will try to do whatever it takes to protect the children. A protective parent's rage is like no other. I will need your strength there instead. Leave the much more foul tasks to me."

"And to me," Robert said, coming in from the kitchen, with a cup of French Roast in his hand. Robert knew he could dispatch the children without any pain or suffering or terror. "Edward and I will depend on you lot to protect us while we take care of that nasty business. If they get by you, Edward and I will surely die. Now--look at me, all of you, and tell me I can place both our lives in your hands and that you'll be able to focus on that and not on what Edward and I will be needing to do."

"Robert, I am not about to spend all these years with you to abandon you now," Kate said. "Whatever fire we need to walk through, lets just do this."

"Agreed," Michael said. Angus nodded, putting the rest of the plates on the table. dinner was ready for them as soon as they could take their seats.

Jess looked at Edward and smiled as did Jack relaxing at each word he said to him and finally nodding his head. " you can depend on me Edward, Robert. " he told them both seeing Robert walk out of the kitchen. He was glad he didn't have that thankless task to do he was a father and he could not harm children. Jess lead Jack to the table as Steven and Cassidy lead the children to the table sitting each one in their chairs not showing any sign of the carnage that was to come.

Jess sat at the table and looked at Kate as she spoke softly " Jack and I will both fight and protect with our last breath" she said softly. Cassidy looked at them both and spoke up.

"Steven and I will make sure all the children get to safety as quickly as possible" she told her and Steven nodded he agreed.

"Yes, we'll take them straight to Edwards " he said as he strapped James into his high chair and sat down.

Robert motioned them to the dinner table. It was a virtual Tuscan seafood feast. "Edward, you always make sure we have the very finest," Robert smiled. "Thank you."

"Its just fish, unless you have someone to prepare it halfways decently," Edward shrugged.

"Your boy has never ever let us down," Robert said.

"He'd better not, or his mama will make him answer for it," Edward said.

"Either that or his culinary school professor," Robert laughed.

"What?" Edward frowned.

"You didn't know?" Robert asked.

"Know what?"

"Your grandson is a certified executive chef," Robert said.

"He's a what?" Edward asked.

"You didn't tell him?" Robert looked at Angus.

"It just never came up," Angus shrugged. Robert accio'd Angus's certificate and handed it to Edward. Edward read it.

"Well! And here I thought you were just reading cookbooks in your spare time," Edward laughed. "Well done, Son. If we survive this, perhaps we ought to celebrate this."

"Just having all my family in one piece is celebration enough," Angus said.

"I will provide you that," Robert promised. Kate looked at him. Robert rarely promised something he didn't know if he could keep. Kate knew for Robert to make that promise, he was promising to lay his own life on the line if he needed to, to make that happen. She kicked him hard with the toe of her black boot. He winced at her and scowled.

"Don't do anything stupid," Kate told him. "Or I swear I will make you regret it, Robert."

Jack relaxed as much as he could with a village of wears so close Jess fed James and Jaylen as he fed Alex and Steven fed Catlin. Cassidy sat and listened almost laughing as Robert got kicked under the table by Kate. Jess chuckled softly," yeah hes a wonder chef" she said and smiled as she gave James the last bit of his food then his cup to drink. Finishing Jack stood up moving back to his place by the window.

Jess sighed and finished her food but waited for the others to finish eating. Cassidy gave Catlin her cup and started to clear hers and Jacks plates up and taking them through to the kitchen as normal. She returned and helped take Fallon to play back on the floor with her toys.

Brian had taken Khaat to Tobias's shop and his sister, Nicolette saw quickly that Khaat was wheelchair bound, mute and resorting to sign language, and was deathly thin. There was no spark of recognition in her eyes. Tobias gave no expression, but for Khaat to get in that condition, there had been something that had even been out of Robert's hands. And that rarely happened.

"Tobias, I want to take her to dinner," Brian said. "Can you dress a princess?"

"I certainly can," Tobias smiled. "And I think I know just the thing." He went to a rack of dresses that had just arrived. He thumbed through the rack of petite sizes and found a dress. It was in an unusual rich caramel color, and was tea length. It was slim cut, and Brian knew that the unusual caramel color would make Khaat's beautiful hair stand out.

"That is extraordinary," Brian said softly. "Can we try it?"

"Of course, I'll have Nicolette help her," Tobias said. "A bit of tailoring, a few accessories, and she'll be fit for any palace in the world." Nicolette took Khaat and the dress to a fitting room.

After dinner, Robert told them all to take turns going down to the gym and stretching and warming up. He had to leave for a moment. He went to London to be off the property when he summoned the rest of the organization. Kate's medallion fired first, at the same instant that Brian's did. Brian took a moment totake a deep breath to regain himself. He wanted to be there with them, but he understood that Robert had made Brian's prime directive to take care of Khaat. That had been his primary assignment long before he'd fallen in love with her or married her. That mission had never changed. He had to force himself to refocus. Kate looked at her own medallion. So--it had begun. Robert wasn't giving the werewolves any more time to settle in even one more night.

Angus and Michael felt their medallions fire a moment later. They'd known it was coming,but the signal for the entire organization was never one that anyone quite got used to. Michael knew what Robert was doing. He was gathering them off site grounds and then he would bring them all at once.

"Get the children to safety," Edward ordered quietly. "Then return and meet us at the location. When you come, report to the very northwest corner of the property. You'll find us fairly easily from there, I believe. The rest of you, come with me. Michael, you remain behind and bring in some of the others from the northeastern edge of the village. Angus will show you. Robert and Kieran will bring in the rest from the southwestern edge of the village. Jack, take someone with you and come in from the southeastern corner. No one gets past us. You cannot afford to show any quarter. Anyone who lives will be spending the rest of their lives in Azkaban at best. But we cannot let them run free to murder again. If there are any questions, ask now. Otherwise, I'll see you there."

Jack nodded and moved to leave the house sneaking quietly down to the southeastern corner. Cassidy and Steven stood up gathering the kids as their medallions lit up around their necks. taking hold of all the bags and children they ported to Edwards home greeted by several woman and young children who quickly took them and told them they would be fine . Steven took Cassidy hand and ported back to the northwest corner seeing Edward and the others the slowly walked over " their all safe " Steven told Kate and drew his wand.

Cassidy drew her own and stood with Edward her wand drawn ready for the battle that would come. to protect the grounds and Khaat " so whats the plan wait or just take them down?" Jim asked walking over his wand now out and clenched in his hand.

"Wait for it," Edward said very softly. "We'll know. Robert will not come in quietly. He will use himself as bait to draw the fire to himself. We'll have to be on our game or they'll kill him quickly."

And that was precisely his plan. He gathered every fighter he had and he dispatched them around the perimeter of the village. Then he fired a fireball into the center of the village and walked in, using a sonorus to amplify his voice.

"How dare you!" he bellowed angrily. "How dare you steal from my children and my grandchildren! Now you face me!"

A young man, in his 20's, stood up, a lit cigarette pinched in his lips. He was young and arrogant. "I answer to no mere human," he replied, exhaling. "I take what I please. And, I think, it would please me to take you."

"Not tonight," Robert said, responding with lightening like reflexes, disarming the young man. The man was outraged and transformed into his full werewolf form, howling to alert the others to a full attack.

"Now might be a good time," Edward said to Jim. "Let's try to keep them from killing him, shall we?"

Jim and Steven ran firing as they saw Jack come in from the south crying out as he swiped at the young man rolling with him into a hut knocking it down as he rolled with him Steven , Cassidy and Jim fired taking down adults that lunged for them and Robert. Jack moved jumping to his left to avoid a clawed hand that swiped at him as he jumped and crashed into another structure sending it into a fire that was burning it went up in flames and he swiped at a woman her blood spurting from the open gaping gash on her neck.

Jess fired at one woman who ran for Jack another went for Robert and she grabbed her throwing her to land on a spike before Steven blasted her. son no adults remained and the village was in shambles and some buildings a blaze but no adult remained. " I think that's them all" Jim called to Robert as he wiped his hands on a hankie. Steven just got the last male as he jumped for him they wrestled for a moment but he managed to blast him off him and he flew into the fire screaming as he burned. Jack on the other hand moved around the camp pulling wood to one side to check no adults had survived the clearing out. He moved to Edward still with his eyes yellowed " I don't smell any living" he said his voice still low and gravely.

Robert had dodged a full on attack from the young male and when the others had backed him up, Robert had headed into a shack, found a trap door down into a root cellar, and had been followed by Edward. They had taken care of the foul deeds that needed to be done, involving no one else. Just the two of them. And then they had taken care of any and all traces. They said nothing to each other, not needing words to do what needed to be done. And when they came up and out of the hut, Robert turned and set the ramshackle building ablaze. Edward fired and ignited the building next to it. Angus and Michael followed suit, setting the buildings ablaze one at a time, not wanting a single trace of the encampment to remain.

In Tuscany, Brian had purchased the caramel colored lace dress for Khaat and a beautiful shawl in emerald green and gold and tan in a warm velvet. He had taken her for a candlelight dinner and a gondola ride. It was so far away from what Brian surmised could only be lifethreatening danger at home. But to take Khaat home into that would have been pointless. He kept a smile on his face and found that she was so utterly mesmerized by the beauty of Venice that she knew little. It was like she was seeing Venice, and him, all over again with fresh eyes. And there was something magical in it because he saw that, memory or not, they appeared to be falling in love with each other all over again. He didnt' understand how that was happening, but if he had had any doubts about their relationship before they were disappearing fast here in the moonlight.

Jack walked around the no blazing village and smelt nothing but scorched earth he kicked some wood into a fire and continued until he was stood with Robert and Edward " clear" he said simply his eyes still searching the area for any missed wares he saw Cassidy and Steven walk over and Jess her coat waving behind her like a black flag as she walked over to him taking his hand in her own making him calm down. Seeing nobody was hurt apart from some bruises and soot Jack moved to hold Jess close to him glad inside he didn't have to do the worst job.

"The areas clear" Steven reported walking over with seven men behind him each nodded " we spanned out to the edge of the grounds no more settlements" he said to Robert as he stood next to Cassidy who slipped away her wand into its leather embossed holder that sat tied to her thigh. Jess brushed her hair from her face and looked up at Jack who smiled and lent down to kiss her quickly.

" I vote we go back and shower before the kids, Brian and Khaat return, we smell like a barbeque gone wrong" she said chuckling as Jack slipped his arm around her waist.