A Dangerous Game
by Erin Salvatore
Disclaimer: I don't own the Vampire Diaries. I'm just borrowing. Only the story belongs to me.
Note: I've had this story in mind for a while now, and I wanted to write it now. It's another Klaroline AU/AH story (I'm OBSESSED with this couple!) and the plot centers around Klaus being a detective on the trail of a beautiful cat burglar named Caroline Forbes, who has been sneaking into homes and taking their jewels. Every time it seems that he is close to catching her, she eludes him. When he finally does corner her, he finds himself beguiled by her.
Don't ask, just take it as it comes.
Chapter 1
Garden District, New Orleans, Louisiana...
Detective Klaus Mikaelson tried not to be frustrated as he looked over the scene of yet another burglary. This was the seventeenth mansion that was robbed in the past three months and although the owners weren't home at the time of the robbery, it was still frustrating. Klaus knew who was behind the crime spree, a sultry little cat burglar named Caroline Forbes. With every robbery he got called to, he hoped to catch her, but to no avail. What the hell was Caroline playing at? And why was she making a fool out of him like this? Come hell or high water, he was going to find her and when that happened, she was going to wish she never messed with him, or the New Orleans Police for that matter.
As he continued to survey the room, Klaus saw that the jewelry box on the dresser had been opened, emptied of its contents. Strange, why would she take the contents of the box, but leave the box itself behind? That was what she did in the previous burglaries, so why leave this one? This certainly wasn't Caroline's style.
Why change her style now? Caroline is smarter than this. Unless, of course, she did it on purpose, knowing that I've been tracking her.
"Anything else out of the ordinary?"
Klaus was startled out of his reverie by his partner/brother-in-law, Stefan Salvatore. The two had been working together for the past ten years, and Stefan had married Klaus' sister, Rebekah, two years ago.
"Other than the jewelry box that got left behind, no," he replied. "Caroline never leaves the jewelry boxes behind. In her previous burglaries, she took the boxes, but this time, she only took the contents. It seems odd to change her routine. A skilled thief like Caroline Forbes sticks to routines."
"It could be deliberate," said Stefan. "She might be sending you a message."
"I was thinking the exact same thing," said Klaus. "The question is, what kind of a message?"
"Let me guess, you're going to obsess over it until you figure out what it is?"
"I wouldn't put it like that, Stefan," said Klaus. "I'm simply not going to give up until I find a way to crack this case wide open."
"Same difference," said Stefan. "Klaus, I know you, you never let things go. You're going to pursue this and pursue this until it consumes you completely. As your partner, as well as your brother-in-law, I'm trying to look out for you. You've been looking out for me during the course of our partnership, so it's time I returned the favor and looked out for you for a change."
Klaus forced a smile at that. He admired the younger man's enthusiasm, but at times, it seemed a little extreme. Still, the whole change in Caroline's routine was going to bother him. Whether it was to send a message or not was something that he didn't want to ignore. If she was trying to send him a message, what was it she was trying to tell him other than the usual "I'll always be one step ahead of you"?
Elsewhere...
Caroline Forbes spread all the jewels from her latest heist on the table of an old warehouse in the Warehouse District that she had chosen as her base of operations. She smiled to herself as she thought about the jewelry box she left for Klaus to find. Although it was highly unusual for her to change her routine, she wanted to give him something to play with while trying to figure out whether or not she was sending him a message.
"Quite a haul you've got, Caroline. I knew I was right to hire you."
The new voice in the room startled her and Caroline turned to see Katherine Pierce coming toward her. Like Caroline, Katherine was a skilled thief. She was also conning the Mikaelson family by posing as the fiancee of Klaus' brother, Elijah. So far, the dear man had no idea that he was being played. The only thing he knew was that he was hopelessly, desperately, and madly in love with her.
"Katherine, I told you not to bother me while I'm gloating about evading Detective Mikaelson," she said. "Speaking of, shouldn't you be with Elijah? I'm sure he's wondering where his beautiful bride-to-be is keeping herself."
"Oh, he can do without me for a few hours," said Katherine. "He thinks I'm at the florist discussing what I want for my bouquet, as well as the centerpieces at the reception and to decorate the pews at the church."
Caroline raised an eyebrow. "He still thinks you're going to go through with the wedding? Shit, he must really be in love with you if that's where his head is."
"That's the beauty of the con, Caroline," said Katherine. "The person being conned gets so wrapped up in the lies that they actually think it's real." She smiled. "I really like how you left that jewelry box for Klaus to find. He'll be trying to figure out what message you're sending him for days, which could give you plenty of opportunity to plan your next heist."
"That's true," said Caroline. "The message I'm sending with the empty jewelry box is a very coquettish one. In other words, I'm flirting with him, only he doesn't know I'm flirting with him. Well, not yet, anyway."
"Flirting with him?" said Katherine. "That's the message?" Another smile appeared. "Ooooh, that's so sneaky. I like it."
"I figured you would," said Caroline. "Klaus is a smart boy, he'll figure it out. Until then, I'll just continue to flirt and see how he reacts."
Note: I know, I'm weird and evil, but I wanted to do something different. Eventually, our leads will meet. Until then, here's the first chapter!
Enjoy and reviews are love!
