Entrapment
A/N: Second TVD Klaroline story! I just love this pairing. Comments make me happy so don't hesitate to review!
Stage 1
"You have a mission."
She tilted her head sideways as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, checking her appearance for the last time.
"Two weeks ago, a Faustlinnex painting was stolen from the Callahan-Barrell Museum in broad daylight. A group of men passed as museum personnel, isolated the section where the painting was displayed, disarmed the security systems and tried to escape via a helicopter waiting at the rooftop."
She thought she looked fine, except that her lips needed a bit more color. So she opened her purse and took out a light-colored pink lipstick.
"Notice that I used the word 'tried'. They were caught before they could escape, but the painting is still missing. Apparently, somewhere along the way the man who was tasked to pick up the briefcase containing the painting was conned into getting the wrong briefcase. Of course the government is infuriated because there are only three Faustlinnex paintings in the country and one of them was stolen."
She leaned a little in front of the mirror as she applied the chosen cosmetic. Soon her lips were coated with a glossy pink sparkle.
"After interrogation, it was learned that the thieves were hired by a man who called himself Orion. He spoke to them only through phone calls and they never saw him. He was the one who came up with the plan and supplied everything needed for the heist, including the disarming paraphernalia and the helicopter. We suspect that Orion intentionally set up the plan so his men would fail, to blow the authorities off track while he walked away with the briefcase containing the painting."
She puckered her lips and then pressed them together to make sure the lipstick was applied evenly.
"Based on the information we hold, Orion is no other than Stefan Salvatore, son of shipping mogul Giuseppe Salvatore whose family has repeatedly been linked to organized crime. Stefan is a known art enthusiast, owning a large collection of expensive paintings, and he was in the museum the day the theft happened. The pressing fact is that the museum's security cameras showed that he left the museum carrying a briefcase whilst he entered it without carrying one. His alibi is that he accidentally left his briefcase at the museum the day before and he went back to get it. Surveillance videos support what he says, but we still think he's connected to this theft."
Finally, she drew back and tilted her head again so she could see her reflection once more.
"Your mission is to hit two birds with one stone: confirm that Stefan indeed has the painting, and his family business is simply a front for smuggling drugs and firearms. You will go undercover as a businessman's sister accompanying her brother who wants to strike a deal with the Salvatores."
She smirked satisfactorily at her image. The light make-up, her wheat blonde hair fashioned into wavy coils and the blue empire dress and matching stilettos she wore were all she needed tonight.
"We'll take care of everything about the identity you'll be assuming; after all the details are final, I will call for you again and you will be given the comprehensive briefing. But in a nutshell, what you have to do is to mole your way into his most intimate circle. Gain his trust, and once we have proof, we'll bust him. He currently has a girlfriend, but that won't be any problem, right?"
She left the ladies room and walked straight down the hall, where a tall blond man in an all-black tux was waiting for her.
"You will work with a partner in this mission. Because of the fragile nature of this assignment, Administrator Matthew Donovan is temporarily relieved of his duties in the office and he will join you under cover as your brother."
She grinned at him, leaning closer and standing on tiptoe so she could whisper in his ear.
"You know, you look like one of the guys from The Vampire Diaries." She commented.
"That is very funny, my dear sister." He said, smiling at her.
"One more thing, Special Agent For… Caroline. Before you leave…"
She continued to grin as she stood in front of him and gently tightened his black silk bowtie. "That was a compliment. I love TVD. But after all I shouldn't have expected you to even know what TVD is."
His eyes swept from her face, to the stunning evening dress, and finally down to the glittering heels. "You're ready?"
She nodded.
The controller of the reconnaissance division smiled weakly, a hint of sadness obvious in his tired face. "Take care of yourself, okay?"
She smiled back gratefully. She had little regrets about working for Central Intelligence. One of them was having to work for such a dear person, having to see him worry about her all the time. She knew that if it was up to him, he wouldn't let her work here, but…
She leaned forward and kissed his cheek lightly. "I will, Daddy."
She took the arm her 'brother' offered.
"Let's go."
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to welcome you all to the Callahan-Barrell Museum's fifty second annual Summer Ball."
The finely decorated hall was filled with applause, and Abby Bennett paused to smile gratefully at her socialite guests. The painting theft two weeks ago had left her strained, and she thought she would not be able to pull off this year's museum ball. But now she was actually standing on the podium, about to officially open the museum for summer and present its new art acquisitions. She couldn't remember feeling more relieved in her whole life.
She glanced at a covered canvass in the middle of the podium and her smiled grew wider.
"As we all know, the Summer Ball is a yearly social gathering that celebrates the museum's opening for summer and its newly acquired artworks." The museum's spokesperson continued. "This year we are grateful to have as our hosts one of the most distinguished families in our city, and one of our museum's foremost benefactors. I would like to acknowledge the presence of the Mikaelson family, who are here with us today. Seated on the left front table are Mr. Mikael and Mrs. Esther Mikaelson, joined by their children Elijah, Finn, Niklaus, Rebekah and Kol."
Another round of applause. The Mikaelson patriarch briefly stood up to be recognized and sat back on his seat.
"Five children." Caroline said, taking a leisurely sip of champagne from the wine glass she held.
Matt nodded. "The more the merrier."
Abby continued to speak.
"Two weeks ago, the museum met the misfortune of losing Afternoon Columbines, one of the sixteen paintings made by Lord Cedric Faustlinnex during the Victorian Era. While we grieve for the theft of the precious art work, I am happy to share to all of you that the Callahan-Barrell Museum will not be bereft of Faustlinnex paintings. Our guest of honor, in his kindness, offered to loan the museum a Faustlinnex painting from his own collection, which we gratefully accepted. Tonight, it will be unveiled with the rest of the museum's newest acquisitions. Please welcome our guest of honor, Mr. Stefan Salvatore, joined by his inamorata, Ms. Katherine Pierce."
A blond haired man and a brown haired woman, linked by the arms, ascended to the podium. The man wore a navy blue tuxedo while the woman wore a strapless ruched dress of the same color. Both smiled warmly at the audience.
That's the man I'm supposed to seduce, and that's the woman I'm supposed to push out of the picture, Caroline thought, eyes still on the couple.
The 'seduce Stefan Salvatore' part was easy, because the man had been profiled Central Intelligence. Caroline virtually had all the information she needed to string together the character that would bring the Salvatore to his knees.
Getting rid of Katherine Pierce was going to be more difficult because she was a budding movie actress. One mistake and the world would know about Caroline as the woman who came between the rich guy and his hot girl, and she didn't need nosy entertainment reporters digging into her identity.
"Pay attention now. It's almost out turn." Matt said when he noticed Caroline's reflectiveness.
Abby motioned for silence.
"Before letting Mr. Salvatore do the honor of unveiling the Faustlinnex Painting, I would like to take the pleasure of making this announcement first. Following the recent painting theft, the Callahan-Barrell Museum Foundation received much support from our benevolent patrons. We are very grateful to all of you, but tonight we would like to honor in particular the man, who although new to our community, has shown us much kindness and generosity by donating twenty thousand dollars to our humble cause. As a symbol of our gratitude, we would like to present this plaque of appreciation to Mr. Mark Atticus Parker, who joins us today with his sister, Ms. Carol Irene Parker."
The sound of clapping hands filled the venue as Reconnaissance Administrator Matt Donovan and Special Agent Caroline Forbes, undercover as Mark Atticus and Carol Irene Parker respectively, joined the museum spokesperson and the celebrated couple on stage.
"It is our honor to be receiving this symbol of appreciation. Thank you." Matt said curtly as he received the plaque Abby handed. Flashes of light came from all directions as the event photographers did their job. He posed patiently for the cameras, and as planned, covertly waited for the target to practice his social graces. He didn't have to wait long.
"I am Stefan Salvatore, Mr. Parker. Very pleased to meet you." Stefan said, extending a hand.
Matt took it, returning a cordial smile. "Matt will do, Stefan. Please meet my sister, Caroline."
"My pleasure to meet you, Caroline." Stefan said, his eyes briefly fixing on Caroline before he took her hand and softly kissed it. "Forgive my candor, but I find you faintly familiar. Have we been introduced before?"
Introduced before? Caroline kept a calm disposition, but her mind was flashing a thousand different images of places she had been to. She was sure she didn't know Stefan prior to the mission, but could Stefan have seen her somewhere before?
Her 'brother' looked at her expectantly, waiting for an answer. A split second later she decided that the safest thing to do was to feign innocence.
"I think not, Mr. Salvatore. I'm sure I would have remembered you if we had been introduced before, but I do not recall having been acquainted to you in the past."
Stefan's green eyes locked on her again, and he looked like he was torn between being certain that he had seen her before and wanting to believe her words.
After a moment of silence, he gave up. "Please call me Stefan. I must have been mistaken; again, forgive me. I guess too many people in the world have blonde hair and blue eyes. I would like you to meet my girlfriend, Katherine."
Matt bowed courteously. "Pleased make your acquaintance, Katherine."
His 'sister' smiled at the actress. "Yes, lovely to meet you. My brother and I saw your most recent movie last week, and we were very entertained." She said, carefully choosing her words.
"Thank you, Caroline. That is very kind of you to say. Stefan himself has not seen the film, because he says I look portly in the billings." The actress warmly replied, casting an affectionate glance at the man she was with.
Stefan chuckled and wrapped an arm around Katherine's waist. "Women can never seem to accept that statement easily."
The blonde undercover agent smiled a bit more freely, but noted Stefan's arm around his girlfriend's waist.
Looks like this mission was going to be more difficult than she expected.
Abby took her place at the lectern once again and cleared her throat before she spoke. "And now we proceed to the unveiling of the masterpiece that, through Mr. Salvatore's benevolence, will soon be shared to all of us. Accounts state that the art work was painted by Lord Cedric Faustlinnex, Duke of Stotsenborough, in 1842. Like almost all Faustlinnex paintings, the subject of this work is Lady Sarah Spencer, who later became Lord Faustlinnex' s wife. The sfumato technique was employed to create the oil painting, which measures twenty four inches in length and thirty six inches in width. It will be on display at the Heritage Room of the museum from tomorrow to the fifth of February the next year." She said. "To finally unveil the painting, we now have Mr. Stefan Salvatore, to be assisted by Mr. Mark Parker."
Stefan smiled graciously at the applauding audience as he took his place near the cloth-covered art work, with Matt standing politely beside him. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is both an honor and a pleasure to present to you… Cornflower by Lord Cedric Faustlinnex."
Applause resounded as the cloth covering the art work was finally lifted, revealing a painting of a beautiful woman looking out into the morning sky from a balcony of a Victorian home. Her lush blonde hair pleasantly contrasted with the cornflower blue dress she wore, and her graceful face framed a pair of ice blue eyes that were impossible not to notice. Between the beauty of the subject and the fine play of light and colors, the painting was absolutely magnificent.
Stefan turned to Caroline, whose eyes were still on the newly revealed painting, and grinned. "Now I think I know why you looked familiar, Caroline."
"I have to say, you do resemble the woman in that painting." Matt told Caroline as he downed the remaining sparking wine in his glass after they returned to their seats. On stage, Abby continued to officially present to the audience the new art works that the museum procured.
"And it seems you are not the only person who thinks so." Caroline replied.
"And so, ladies and gentlemen, that is the last painting to be presented tonight. All the art works will be on display starting tomorrow, so please feel free to visit the Callahan-Barrell Museum this weekend. Thank you all for coming and enjoy the rest of this lovely evening." Abby finally said.
The spokesperson made a grateful bow and descended from the podium while as the orchestra began to play a soft, light melody, indicating that it was now time for the dance. Slowly, the floor was filled with men in suits and tuxedos and women in fashionable evening ensembles, couples dancing a slow waltz.
Matt looked at Caroline and adjusted his glasses. "I'll see you later, my dear sister."
She watched silently as Matt stood up and made his way across the room to the table where Stefan sat. She saw Stefan rise from his seat to welcome Matt, and a few moments later a dark-haired man in an all black suit shook Matt's hand.
Caroline turned her eyes back to the dance floor. She knew that Stefan was quite conventional and followed common social practices, so the easiest way to get him to approach Caroline was for Matt to ask Katherine to dance.
Soon she saw her 'brother' and the actress approach the waltzing crowd. When the next music began, Matt held Katherine's hand with one arm and put the other on her waist. They began to dance.
Caroline grinned to herself and made a mental note to tease Matt about it later – she had known her mission partner since childhood because her father and his father were close friends, and she knew that Matt hated dancing and avoided it as much as he could. In fact, Matt was disgusted when he was told in the comprehensive briefing that in the early stage of the plan, he had to dance and with a partner too. He didn't dare complain in front of Bill Forbes but Caroline later overheard Matt telling Trevor the strategist that he would have been more relieved if he was told that he had to cross Palestinian borderlines as part of the mission.
In the corner of her eye, she also saw Stefan leave the table where he was seated. The Salvatore began to make his way towards her.
She kept her eyes on Matt and Katherine and waited for Stefan to come up to her. It was only a few moments before Stefan would ask her to dance too. She would accept his invitation and take the opportunity to make a deeper impression on him. The rest of the mission's success depended on how she was going to string him during this dance.
A few seconds later, she finally felt a presence approach her.
"Good Evening, Ms. Parker."
Caroline looked up, surprised at the English accent of the man who spoke to her. Sandy blonde-hair, sky blue eyes. Yes, she was sure that the man in front of her was one of the people that Abby introduced earlier that evening. Niklaus Mikaelson, wasn't it?
But where was Stefan?
Caroline's eyes moved inconspicuously in search of the target. She saw him standing a few feet away, looking at her and Niklaus. Two seconds later Stefan turned around and headed back to his table.
Dammit! They couldn't afford to fail this early in the mission, it was –
Her eyes returned to Niklaus, whose presence apparently drove Stefan away.
He smiled at her coolly. "May I have this dance?"