Keeping Up With The Cullens 2

“Professor Denali could I speak to you for a minute?”Rosalie asked Irina as they were standing on the curb in front of the school waiting for their ride to the Swan Compound. Rosalie was beyond excited for the vehicle to show up because Irina had told them Isabella had sent it for them. Rosalie was predicting to be pleasantly surprised with what showed up. What she had been unsurprised with that morning was finding two cameras attached to her jacket and her purse. She had confronted Esme but the woman refused to admit she was responsible. The look of disappointment when Rosalie stated that she found them was proof enough for Rosalie to believe Esme was in fact responsible. It was finding the cameras that had Rosalie engaging in this uncomfortable conversation with her professor. Rosalie wanted to make sure there were no more cameras before she entered the vehicle for fear of getting kicked off the tour. If that happened Rosalie was cutting all ties with her family. No matter what excuses they had for doing it.

“Of course Rosalie what do you need?”Irina asked.

“This is somewhat embarrassing but I was wondering if you would be willing to check me for cameras and recoding equipment.”Seeing the startled expression she was receiving Rosalie quickly explained.”My family is dead set on getting footage of inside the compound or getting Isabella’s voice recorded. I have told them no hundreds of times but this morning I found cameras hidden in my jacket and my purse. I want to make sure that there are no other ones that I missed.”

Irina smiled.”Things like this are the reason I was confident that you were the perfect person to take on this tour.”

“What do you mean?”Rosalie didn’t understand what Irina meant.

“I mean that you have more motivation than anyone on this trip to want to record inside the compound but you are to honorable to do it. Whereas three people in the group right now are breaking that rule. That said you have a recording device in your right shoe and the third button down on your shirt is a camera. Other than that you are clear.”Irina told her.

Rosalie cursed under her breath. She immediately took off her sneaker and looked it over only to find that Irina was right there was a small microphone in the heal. Ripping it out she put her shoe back on then removed the button Irina told her about finding a small camera. She put the button on the ground and smashed it with her shoe.”How did you know they were there and why aren’t you calling out the other three people?”

“That’s a trade secret I’m afraid. As for the reason I’m not calling out the other people you will see soon.”Irina said.

“Why do I have a feeling that we are going to be seeing something amazing when the vehicle shows up?”Rosalie thought the three people would be made an example of.

“Because you are the smartest person in my class.”Irina told her.

“I try my best to be.”Rosalie worked twice as hard as everyone else to be taken serious.

“Your efforts will be rewarded eventually.”Irina said.

“How so?”Rosalie felt that Irina was hinting at something but she wasn’t sure what.

“Just know that I’ve bragged about you to some very important people and once you graduate you will be in the running for some lucrative positions in the industry. Positions that many that come from better programs would kill for.”Irina motioned to the road.”It looks like our ride is here.”

Rosalie’s questions got stuck in her throat when she caught sight of what she wanted to call a van but it didn’t look like any van she had ever seen before. If anything it looked like a spaceship due to its irregular shape and the way it’s tires were positioned. All the windows were blacked out so Rosalie couldn’t see who the driver was either.”Is that our ride?”

“Yes it is.”Irina confirmed.

“What the heck?”Rosalie stared in shock when she saw the door to the side of the van open and there was no driver. She had heard of self driving cars before but they weren’t the most reliable. Rosalie had no doubt that this vehicle would get them exactly where they needed to go and get them there completely safe.

“One at a time enter the van.”Irina told them.

Rosalie held back wanting to see the outside of the van when all of a sudden an alarm sounded. She looked to the door just in time to see it close quickly causing one of her classmates to tumble to the ground.”What happened?”

“James Gordon you are prohibited from this vehicle due to the four cameras and three recording devices you are carrying on your person. As of this moment you are denied from having access to any Isabella Swan owned businesses or properties.”A female voice said.

“I don’t have any cameras.”James denied when he got to his feet.

“James you have a camera in your hat, belt, tie clip, and the American flag pin on your suit jacket. As for recording devices you have one in your tie knot, one next to the camera on your belt and in the tongue of your left shoe. That being said you will be notified to appear before the dean to discuss your future at this school for trying to commit corporate espionage.”Irina told him.

“I’m not a spy!!”James yelled his voice laced with panic.

“And yet you are carrying spy equipment to the most secure place on earth.”Irina reminded him.”Now please leave and the next person get on the van.”

Rosalie smiled as James huffed and stomped off.”Is he really going to get in trouble?”

“He is likely going to get blacklisted from the industry for this stunt.”Irina said.

“I’m extra glad that I had you check me for things.”Rosalie was very pissed that her family put her in the position of almost losing out on a career in her dream job because of their greed. She had left the proposal Carlisle gave her for Isabella in the car having no plans to pass it onto the woman. Rosalie had taken a minute to look it over and was very unimpressed with what her father had written. The entire thing was about how great he would be as the face of her medical technology brand. It offered her no benefit to work with him because Carlisle was offering nothing in return for the partnership. He was the only one gaining. It made Rosalie understand why Isabella wouldn’t work with him before. Now with his license being revoked Isabella had no reason to even take a meeting with him let alone make him a spokesperson for her company. It would do more harm than good to have Carlisle linked to her.

“Here comes our next taker.”Irina whispered.

Rosalie notice the guy looked extremely cocky. She wondered why he thought he would be the one to get passed the security but he was proven wrong when he made a move to step into the van and the door closed before he could. Seeing him fall Rosalie laughed.”He actually thought he would be let in.”

“There is always someone who thinks they can beat the system.”Irina told her.

“Peter Killian you are hereby banned from any Isabella Swan owned businesses or properties for the reason of the four cameras and three recording devices you are carrying.”The female voice said.

“What the fuck?! I’m not carrying anything.”Peter tried to deny.

“You have a camera in two different buttons of your shirt, one in your belt, one in the pocket square of your suit jacket. You have a recording device in each of your cufflinks and one in the fake hearing aide you are wearing.”Irina listed off.

“That is a real hearing aide. I was born deaf in that ear.”Peter was obviously lying with the way he sputtered out his words.

“It’s not but that doesn’t matter either way. What matters is that you were trying to bring recording equipment and cameras to the Swan Compound when you were told you were not allowed to. You like James will be getting a notice from the dean to speak about your future at this college.”Irina said.

“You can’t do this!! Do you know who my father is?!”Peter asked.

“I doubt the dean will care who your father is when comparing him to someone like Isabella Swan. A woman who is doing this college a big favor and asked only one condition to letting the elven of us visit her compound. That condition you broke and have likely put the fragile relationship the college has with her at risk. So no Peter I don’t know who your father is because he is insignificant in this situation. Unless Isabella Swan vouches for you then you aren’t going to be getting daddy to bail you out.”Irina told him.

“I’m going to get your job for this!”Peter yelled before storming off.

“Next in the van.”Irina called out.

Rosalie lowered her voice so only Irina could hear her.”Do you think the last person will bother trying?”

“Seeing as they are smiling smugly and not nervous at all I am confident they think they can beat the security. Which of course they can not.”Irina said.

Rosalie paid close attention to the rest of the group trying to figure out who the last one was. It was when the fourth to last person tried to get on the van that Rosalie got her answer.”I really didn’t think they would do it.”

“Debra Grady you are hereby banned from any Isabella Swan owned businesses and properties for carrying 2 cameras and 1 recording device.”The female voice said.

“I’m surprised that the voice says different things. I would expect it to say the same scrip every single time.”Rosalie smiled when she saw Debra burst into obviously fake tears. It seemed the girl was trying for the sympathy card.

“You will learn why that is if you impress a few people first.”Irina told her.”Debra you like the other two gentlemen can expect a notice to meet with the dean about your future in this school.”

“Professor I didn’t know that I was carrying anything. Someone must have planted it on me.”Debra said in-between tearless sobs.

“Then you must be the most oblivious person in the world because you are wired with a camera that is taped to your body. That and the a recording device that was woven into your hair with the battery pack in your bun. Now collect yourself and leave.”Irina held up a hand to stop Debra’s reply.”You will be given a chance to plead your case when you are before the dean.”

“Fine.”Debra huffed before walking away.

“I really want to know how you could tell what everyone was wired with.”Rosalie was beyond curious how Irina knew that everyone was carrying the equipment and what it was and where it was. Rosalie didn’t even notice anything in Debra’s hair.

“Play your cards right and you will not only be told that secret but you will get the ability to do it yourself.”Irina told her.

“What do you mean?”Rosalie was convinced that Irina knew something that Rosalie didn’t that would benefit her future in some way.

“You’ll see. Now get in the van Isabella is expecting us and she doesn’t abide by people being late.”Irina said.

“Alright.”Rosalie took that to mean that Irina knew Isabella personally but it wasn’t the right setting to ask. Taking a step into the van Rosalie was almost overwhelmed with the many unfamiliar things on display. Her fellow students were already seated playing with the features that were offered. Rosalie took a seat towards the front with Irina sitting in the passenger’s seat. Looking around Rosalie noticed that most of the people had floating screens in front of them. Seeing a button on the arm of the seat that said screen Rosalie pushed it causing a realistic screen to appear. Rosalie put her finger out to touch it only to be surprised that her finger went right through the screen. The screen offered a tutorial of the options available from the seat. Rosalie spent the entire ride to the compound trying every one out and found herself disappointed when it was time to get out of the van. The only thing that made it better was that they were going to be seeing the compound.

“We are almost there so I would like to go over the rules one more time. Do not touch anything unless given permission. Anyone who does will be detained by security and banned from everything Isabella Swan related like the three students that tried to spy. Another rule is do not ask Isabella questions. If you have a question tell me what it is and I will bring it up to her. She will end the tour if she feels overwhelmed and the easiest way to do that is to ask her questions. I want to remind everyone that this is a once and a lifetime experience. One that neither you or anyone else will ever get again. So be respectful and don’t act stupid. Not only is your school career on the line if you do but Isabella is the most influential person in the world one bad word about you by her will tank any kind of future you wish to have in any field.”Irina warned.

“Does that mean we are going to meet Isabella?”Penny one of Rosalie’s classmates asked.

“Yes and she isn’t happy about it so don’t take her surly attitude personally. She just doesn’t enjoy being around people.”Irina explained.

“Do you know her personally?”Rosalie was taking everything Irina was saying as her knowing Isabella personally.

“I know her as much as anyone can know Isabella personally.”Irina told her.

“I see.”Rosalie didn’t but hoped she would find out more about it in the future. Turning her attention out the window Rosalie saw the familiar sight of the outside of the Swan Compound. It had been photographed thousands of times but no one had seen what was on the other side of the fifty foot walls. Even drones and planes flying over it couldn’t get pictures of what it was hiding. Rosalie held her breath when she noticed the gates opening. She released it when the van pulled through and she was met with what she could only be described as a scene out of a fairytale. The area was a large field that had immaculately kept lawns, flowerbeds, hedges and a garden off to the side. There was a large water fountain with a woman dressed in robes holding a pitcher that poured water into the small pool. The surprising part wasn’t the beautifully carved sculpture it was that a family of deer were drinking out of the pool. Rosalie also saw other animals all living in harmony running across the lawns and into the heavily wooded forest that surrounded the area.

“Holy shit that’s a big house.”Gabe another one of Rosalie’s classmates said.

Rosalie had been so focused on the lawns she hadn’t looked at the house. Seeing it Rosalie amended that thought. It wasn’t a house it was the biggest private home Rosalie had ever seen. It was built like a midivil castle complete with towers and drawbridge all of which was surrounded by a moat.”I love it.”

“Isabella has a thing for history and this was built in the exact way that the castle Queen Elizabeth the first lived in. Isabella of course added onto it so that she would have room for her various labs and workrooms.”Irina told them.

“Does Isabella live alone?”Harry another classmate asked.

“That isn’t my place to tell you. I will tell you that we are here. So remember be polite, don’t touch anything and don’t take offense if Isabella is rude. She just isn’t used to people.”Irina reminded them.

“We will be good.”Rosalie would kill anyone who screwed up this trip for her.

“Then let’s go.”Irina said before exiting the vehicle.

Rosalie was the first one out the door. As soon as she took a step outside she inhaled a deep breath.”The air is so clean here I don’t even realize we are so close to L.A.”

“It’s because of how Isabella keeps the property as close to natural as she can.”Irina told her.

“How does she get all this stuff to grow? Especially the trees?”Kent asked.

“Highly regulated watering schedule and special soil.”Irina explained. Before anyone could ask anything else a blond woman who looked a lot like Irina walked up to the group and gave Irina a hug.”Hello Kate.”

“Hey Rina. Is this the group that is so exceptional that Isabella just had to meet them?”Kate asked.

“Yes they are. Everyone this is my sister Kate.”Irina introduced the woman.

“Nice to meet you.”Rosalie took Kate being there as more proof Irina had a personal relationship with Isabella.

“Where is Isabella?”Irina asked.

“Tanya went to get her. Apparently she had a breakthrough and is refusing to leave her lab.”Kate explained.

”More like she doesn’t want to do this. No matter why don’t we take everyone to the grand hall.”Irina suggested.

“I’ll tell them to meet us there.”Kate pulled out a phone and began typing.

Rosalie looked at the phone in interest noticing it was a lot more advanced than what was currently on the market. It had Rosalie feeling excited for what else they were going to see on the tour. Following along after Kate and Irina Rosalie took in the decor that all seemed to be original antiques that fit the design of the castle. There were even suits of armor spaced out throughout the hall along with tapestries hanging on the walls of random topics.”Are these all original pieces?”

“Isabella doesn’t own reproductions. She is extremely passionate about history and preserving it. All her antiques are well taken care of and if they need to be repaired they are using the methods that they were originally made with.”Kate told her.

“Does she have only midivil antiques?”Derek asked.

“No she has antiques from all throughout history. She has multiple rooms in the home that are dedicated to certain time periods that are set up like museums.”Irina said.

“That’s kind of cool.”Rosalie herself was a huge history buff and liked that she and Isabella had that in common. Making their way out of the entry hallway the group entered a large room. Rosalie looked around in awe at all the stone work. She had thought that just the outside of the castle would be stone but that wasn’t the case at all. Even the grand staircase was made of stone. At the top of it was a large stain glass window that depicted a woman holding a baby with a man standing next to them.”Who are those people?”

“That is Isabella with her parents.”Kate’s voice held a tinge of sadness.

“I see.”Rosalie could tell it was a sensitive subject so she refrained from pushing. Taking in the rest of the room Rosalie could see many doors off to both sides of the staircase. There were more wall hangings and random sculptures as well. Plus a large fountain this one with another woman wearing robes holding a pitcher watering stone flowers. The water was flowing off the flowers into the pool at the bottom. Rosalie thought it was beautiful work.

“Are these sculptures antiques as well? I have never seen any of them before.”Penny said.

“No Isabella made all of them including the fountain we passed coming here and all the other ones on the grounds.”Irina told her.

“Speak of the devil.”Kate said.

Rosalie looked to the side of the room just in time to see two women walking out of one the doors. One was a blond woman who looked liked Kate and Irina and the other was a brunette. A brunette that was probably the most beautiful woman Rosalie had ever seen. She was about Rosalie’s height with a fit body that was curvy in all the right places. The clothing she was wearing was fashionable but Rosalie couldn’t place the designer or as the woman got closer the fabric it was made out of because Rosalie saw no seams. All that was interesting but when Rosalie got to the woman’s face her jaw dropped open in shock. The woman was beyond gorgeous with her high cheek bones, perfect jaw structure, cute nose and very kissable lips. It was her eyes that most caught Rosalie’s attention though. One of them was silver with a purple iris and a pupil that moved on its own. It caused Rosalie to have hundreds of questions because she didn’t think the eye was some kind of contact. It seemed like it was the woman’s actual eyeball. Seeing Irina walk up to the pair Rosalie tuned into them not wanting to miss anything.

“Thank you for doing this.”Irina gave the woman a hug.

“I would do anything for you and you said that these were the most deserving class you have had so far. Minus the three I was alerted about.”The woman replied.

“Well they will suffer the consequences of their actions when they are expelled and blacklisted from the industry.”Irina said.

“We are doing the industry a favor by catching them before they are allowed near sensitive information.”The woman told her.

“Very true. Now then let me introduce you to everyone.”Irina turned her attention to the group.”Everyone the blond woman is my sister Tanya and this is Isabella Swan. She has been nice enough to give us a tour of some of the grounds and show you some of her achievements that she has yet to release to the public.”

“Against my better judgement.”Isabella mumbled.

Kate slung her arm around Isabella.”It’s time you talk to people and what better setting than with a bunch of grad students who will hang on your every word.”

“Anyway. Where do you want to start?”Irina asked.

“I figured the entertainment room would be a good place to start.”Isabella suggested.

“If you start there they will never want to leave.”Tanya said.

“Everyone follow us.”Irina took her place in front of the group and followed Isabella, Kate and Tanya.

Rosalie happily followed after them trying to see in the many rooms they passed along the way but most weren’t open and the ones that were didn’t have anything important in them. When they stopped outside of large double doors she eagerly walked into the room after everyone only to stop suddenly when she got a glimpse of what was inside.”Holy fuck.”

“I know right.”Kate agreed.

“This is considered the entertainment room. As you can see we have a large screen to watch movies and tv shows plus play video games on. The screen is something I came up with to eliminate the need for glass, plastics, wires and other materials to make a regular television. There is no projector the screen is linked to this tablet.”Isabella picked up a tablet.”As you can see it has it’s own screen on it. Using that screen you can pick what you want to watch and whether you want to watch it on the tablet or the large screen. To watch outside sources like video game consoles or anything else there are different attachments that link to the tablet. As for the screen itself it can be adjusted to any size using specific censors hanging on the wall.”

“You dealt with a smaller more limited version of these screens in the van.”Irina told them.

Rosalie walked over to Irina.”Why aren’t these on the market yet?”

“The reason they aren’t on the market yet is Isabella hasn’t gotten around to setting up the manufacturing plant to make them. She has been busy with other projects. Before you ask she doesn’t trust anyone but herself to make them or any of her other products so that’s why she won’t sell her patents to other people and companies.”Irina explained.

“Show them the speakers and explain the stereo equipment.”Kate said.

Isabella walked over to the wall and pointed up.”The speakers are hanging every ten feet on the walls. They are the size of a penny and can play sound loud enough to break your eardrum. They are wireless and are powered by a battery I invented that lasts for three years no matter how much you use it.”

“Again these are not on the market because Isabella hasn’t gotten to it. She prioritizes medical research over other things.”Irina told them.

“As for the stereo system. It’s this device right here.”Isabella walked over to the back corner of the room and pointed to a stand near a wall covered in vinyl. She pulled one of the records off the shelf and put the vinyl on top of a small black box. She then pushed a red button causing the record to began floating in the air and music filled the room along with the sounds of shock from the students.

Kate laughed.”You will probably be more shocked as the tour goes on depending on where she decides to take you.”

“The player also works with cds. How it works is that a laser skims across the vinyl or disk and replaces the need for a needle. That way preserving the record keeping it in mint condition. Also the laser cleans and repairs the items as it plays them so your music is always maintained without you having to do anything.”Isabella explained.

“I need this for my record collection.”Rosalie would love to have such a thing so she could actually play all of her records. Some of the ones she owned she didn’t dare taking the chance of ruining them.

“Do you have a large collection?”Isabella asked Rosalie.

Rosalie looked to Irina to see if she should answer and got a nod in reply.”I have a modest sized collection but I don’t play a lot of them because they are older and I know I won’t be able to replace them in the condition I have if they got ruined.”

“Interesting.”Isabella said and then moved on.

“Ok.”Rosalie mumbled not sure what that exchange meant. She really wanted to know about Isabella’s eye because it seemed that it glowed a couple times since they had met up with the woman.

“Why doesn’t everyone try the furniture.”Tanya suggested.

“Is there something special about the furniture?”Gabe asked.

“Just try it.”Kate said.

Rosalie took a seat on one of the many couches feeling surprised at how comfortable it was. Seeing a touchscreen in the arm rest Rosalie played with the settings feeling the couch become even more comfortable. It also had a foot rest and a massage setting.”This is amazing.”

“Isabella makes all her own furniture unless it’s a special piece or an antique.”Irina told them.

“Seriously what doesn’t she do.”Penny said.

Kate laughed again.”She doesn’t cook.”

“That’s because she has robots that do it for her.”Irina told her.

“She has robots that cook?”Rosalie was very interested in learning about robots that cooked.

“Let’s move on to the next room.”Tanya said changing the subject.

“I doubt it will be as cool as this one.”Gabe said.

“I think this was just the warmup.”Rosalie reluctantly stood from her seat and followed the group out of the room, back down the hallway to the grand hallway and across the way to a different hallway. This one started out stone then as they got further down the hallway the walls changed to some type of white material. Rosalie was guessing they were now in one of Isabella’s labs. She was proven right when Isabella went through a bunch of security procedures and led them into a viewing room attached to a lab. It seemed to be where she made prosthetic limbs.

“This is one of the areas that I work on my advancements in artificial limbs. The specific room we are in is a room that let’s people spend time with me in a way that gives them space to relax or do other things that they are safe incase something goes wrong.”Isabella told them.

“Not that things go wrong but it’s better to be safe then sorry.”Irina added.

“That’s true.”Isabella walked over to a table that had various models of legs on it. She held one up.”This is the first model of leg I created. It was bulky and didn’t work smoothly causing the user to have a limp. Over the years I have improved on that first design to get to the point that I am now working on an artificial leg that will have better attachments and options for what to use the leg for. It always seemed silly to me to just have a fake limb. Why shouldn’t we be using the extra space to benefit ourselves? That’s why I will be adding things like this.”

Rosalie watched as Isabella pushed on the shin of a different limb and a compartment opened revealing survival equipment.”That’s like a Swiss Army Knife for artificial limbs.”

“Would you be offended if I use that to pitch the idea to people?”Tanya asked.

“No I would be honored if you did.”Rosalie would love it if she contributed in some way to Isabella’s projects.

“That said other parts of each limb will be able to do things all based on what the user orders when they are fitted for a limb. I want artificial limbs to stop being something to be ashamed of and become something to be embraced for how extraordinary they can truly be. With the way that technology is advancing the possibilities are endless on how the artificial limb industry is shaped.”Isabella said.

“How does somebody get into the artificial limb industry?”Penny asked Irina.

“Is that the industry you are thinking about going into?”Irina asked.

“Yes, my father lost his arm when he was a teenager and it limited what opportunities he had in life. I want to help make it so no one has the obstacles that he had.”Penny told her.

“Getting into any industry starts with getting your foot in the door of a good company. Our program isn’t one of the best in the country but we still have some fame. That being said the group that came with me today are the best in your year. If you can graduate with good grades then I am willing to give you recommendations to companies that I have personal relationships with to get you each a job. That said you have to maintain your current work ethic. No job recommendations will be given if you slack off.”Irina warned.

“Thank you professor.”Rosalie wondered if she could get Irina to give her a recommendation to get a job working for Isabella. It had been Isabella who had got Rosalie interested in technology in the first place. It was also Isabella that got Rosalie into her love of cars because Isabella’s final project for one of her classes at MIT was she restored a 1930 Auburn Speedster. Seeing pictures of the car before and during the restoration memorized Rosalie and she wanted to be just like eight year old Isabella making something broken and forgotten alive and new again.

“Let’s move on to something more fun.”Kate suggested.

“Like what?”Isabella asked.

“Let’s take them to your garage.”Kate said.

Isabella rolled her eyes.”You aren’t driving it.”

“Come on you need to test it out. I’m the perfect person for the job.”Kate told her.

“It hasn’t passed the safety tests yet. That being the case you aren’t touching it until it does.”Tanya held up a hand.”My word is final. If you keep bringing it up you will be forbidden from ever touching it.”

Kate huffed.”We can still see it.”

“Alright let’s go to my mechanic’s garage.”Isabella said.

“I’m very excited for this.”Rosalie was hoping they would get to see what vehicles Isabella was working on based on how cool the van was. Following after the group Rosalie tried to stay up in the front of everyone so she could hear if Isabella talked. The woman was turning out better than Rosalie imagined in her head. Rosalie had pictured a mousy frumpy woman who was pale, overweight, shy and wouldn’t look anyone in the eye. That wasn’t the case at all. Isabella took really good care of her body, was well spoken and looked everyone in the eye. Rosalie really hated that she couldn’t ask Isabella about her eye. Not only were they told not to ask Isabella questions it would be horribly impolite because Rosalie had a feeling that whatever was done to Isabella’s eye was needed for the woman to see out of that eye. How it worked was the big question. Nothing on the market could aide a person in getting their sight back. Another question was how did Isabella have it installed? No doctor in the world would keep such a huge achievement to themselves. It would make their career. Rosalie gave an internal sigh. All she could hope is that the topic came up before the visit was over. In the mean time she was going to take in all the wonders of Isabella’s compound.