The Hunt
Lilith Knight
[email protected]
Disclaimer: None of the people you recognize belong to me. I'm just borrowing
them for my own nefarious purposes.
Summary: Edward has long wondered whether he or Anita is better. He decides to
find out the answer once and for all... How will it end?
Rating: It's the same as the books. Violence, blood, gore, etc., etc.
Spoilers: Probably the entire series, especially Obsidian Butterfly
Feedback: Comments would be appreciated even if it's just to tell me I'm in
desperate need of therapy. :)
Comments: Alright this is more than a little twisted and I know I'm too
obsessed with Edward for my own good but this idea just wouldn't leave me
alone. Also this is from his POV and believe me it disturbed the shit out of me
as I was writing this.
Dedication: A big thank-you goes out to Rusalka, my beta reader, who took the
time to go through this and make corrections and to Trace who threatened me
when I told her I was thinking of not finishing this. *grins* You guys rock!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was very little trouble to break into her house. I shook my head. You'd
think after all she's been through that she would have had better security, but
no, it took me less than five minutes to get past the locks.
Her pet leopards were out tonight. They didn't actually live with her but you
wouldn't know it by the amount of time they spent around her. Tonight was a
full moon, however, and they would be gone until morning. There was a contract
out on her life. Apparently there were certain people who were NOT happy with
the triumvirate and were willing to pay an extremely large sum even by my
standards to destroy it.
I would only have to kill one and the other two would follow. If I killed the
wolf or the corpse I would never know if Anita could have beaten me and that
would annoy me - possibly enough to be a distraction that I can't afford in my
line
of work.
I moved into her bedroom, careful not to make any noise, knowing her first
instinct would be to shoot me. She was curled up on her side one arm clutching
one of her stuffed penguins. It must have been a stressful week.
I'd only been following her movements for the last few days and noted that
she'd gotten very little sleep. I figured that since today was her day off
(chatty secretaries are so convenient) she'd be using the time to sleep. What
do you know, I was right.
I pulled a rag soaked in chloroform from my pocket and pressed it over her
mouth and nose. Her eyes snapped open and she went for her gun but I caught her
wrist before she could reach it. She tried to push me off then but the vapors
had already begun to take effect.
Anita looked at me and I saw the recognition, confusion, and betrayal flash
through her eyes before she fell unconscious. I dressed her in black jeans,
shirt, socks, and Nikes, wasting no time in case she woke up early. I'd noticed
that the marks she'd taken let her heal a LOT faster than any normal human.
Then again, she had never really been normal. I pulled her arms behind her back
and duct-taped them together. I did the same to her ankles, and after grabbing
her weapons and her jacket I threw her over my shoulder and carried her to the
car.
Once there, I belted her into the seat and several hours later we were in a
private cabin I owned located deep in the woods. A syringe full of a mild
depressant had kept her asleep. Now it was just a matter of waiting for her to
wake up.
I watched her. She looked so sweet and innocent asleep. Only the scars revealed
the predator within. It was that predator that attracted me... there is nothing
so exciting as risking your life to make the kill. It's what I live for. The
more dangerous the prey, the better, and there no prey more dangerous than the
petite woman lying on the bed.
She stirred, pulling me from my thoughts. Almost instantly she slowed her
breathing once again trying to get her bearings while still appearing
unconscious. Not many would have noticed, save perhaps the monsters she played
with, but I did.
"I know you're awake, Anita," I told her. She stopped acting and
focused on me.
"Edward? What-"
"There's a contract out on you." Understanding sped through her gaze
along with a brief, almost unnoticeable flicker of fear before her expression went
blank.
"Killing defenseless women? That doesn't seem like you, Edward." I
laughed. Still so brave, even now... that's what I loved about her.
"Would I go to all this trouble if I merely wanted to shoot you?"
"You want to hunt me..." Anita stated, and even though she knew she
was right I could tell some part of her was still shocked. It was the part that
still believed in happy endings and human decency. I nodded and tossed one of
her knives onto the bed next to her, carefully keeping one of my guns trained
on her. She cut the tape and I gestured toward the other weapons on the table.
She put them on, adjusting them. The atmosphere was thick with tension.
"I'll give you a ten-minute head start. I wouldn't recommend you waiting
for me to come out that door because I won't be. Use your time wisely."
She tilted her head to the side in acknowledgement and turned to go, knowing
even then that I wouldn't shoot her in the back.
"Anita..." She glanced over her shoulder at me. "I'll miss you,
whatever the outcome."
"You pushed the button."
"I know." There was a moment of silence before she spoke again.
"I'll miss you too," and with that she walked out of the cabin and
the hunt began.
I waited the promised ten minutes before slipping through another exit, gun
drawn and senses alert. Dusk was nearing and the shadows deepened. I scanned
the nearby area, knowing better than to underestimate her but unsure as to what
exactly her plan would be.
I heard a soft snap and jerked my head toward the sound. I'd bet my life, and
in fact I was, that it had been a rock she'd thrown. Now the only question was
where had she thrown it from? I wasn't leaving the cover of the bushes until I
knew for sure where she was.
I saw a flash of black but I couldn't get a proper bead on her. Smart girl. I
sprinted into the trees, moving in a serpentine fashion. I heard two shots but
neither hit me though one came close, slamming into the tree above my head. I
lay on the ground watching for my prey... my very deadly prey. I smiled at the
thought.
I waited. Her impatience would get the best of her eventually. Sure enough,
soon there was some movement in the underbrush. I crawled closer, commando
fashion, then aimed and shot; hearing a curse as the bullet hit her.
She tried to take cover behind a nearby stone but never made it. I fired again
and this time there was no sound as she slumped to the ground. I felt a strange
feeling as I walked toward her corspe... Disappointment? Sadness? I stood above
her for a moment and moving faster than I would have thought possible for a
human, let alone one that was so severely wounded, she turned and pulled the
trigger.
I fell and suddenly it was as if everything was in slow motion. I had all the
time in the world to feel the pain in my gut soon followed by that strange
numbness of shock as well as the grim satisfaction on Anita's face as it slowly
lost its color.
"Well, it seems like we both lost," she commented from where she was
lying on the ground before a coughing fit struck her. There was blood on her
hand when she took it away from her mouth.
"I prefer to think of it as a tie." I responded making an effort to
sit up and face her. She laughed weakly. I felt the life slowly draining out of
me and I realized if I were to die at anyone's hand I would prefer it to be
hers. She was my true match, my soul mate...
"Well, you'll finally get to meet your namesake."
"We both will."
The darkness closed in on me.
I sat straight up, breathing hard and covered with sweat. My eyes took in the
tastefully decorated bedroom and I glanced over to see the peacefully sleeping
figure of Donna. It had been a dream, nothing more. Just a dream...