Author's note: New multi-chap Klaroline story! In this AU Klaroline multi-chap, Caroline is the commander of an elite special forces unit. She receives a distress call from a highly classified research base and must lead her team on a rescue mission to save a group of scientists (including a particularly irritating know-it-all with dimples) after one of their experiments gets loose.

Warning: Some violence

Chapter 1: Family Obligations

See the blue mist on the mountain peak. Caroline carefully controlled her breathing — in and out, in and out, smooth, even breaths that helped regulate her heartbeat as she remained hidden among the thick clumps of desert bunchgrass. The breathable camouflage fabric she wore did little to cool down her body as the relentless sun baked the sand dunes that towered over her crouched position. She heard the unmistakable rumble of the armored luxury SUV as it made its way out of the desert compound and she started applying just a whisper of pressure onto the trigger of her .300 Win Mag. The sniper rifle, celebrated for its superb accuracy, had been her constant companion on this latest mission to take out President Arcadius.

Under Arcadius' rule, this small African country had witnessed one of the worst genocides in modern history. Despite his outstanding arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, he had gone unpunished, and continued to travel throughout Africa, the Middle East and select European countries with impunity. Because of her own country's bureaucratic red tape and trade agreement hypocrisy, standard military actions were out of the question.

That was where Caroline came in. As commander of an elite special forces unit known as Hunters, they were hired by various government officials as a "final solution" to the impossible diplomatic situations in which they often found themselves. Her team of four were already in place, ready to simultaneously disable the dictator's vehicle and take out his entourage while Caroline eliminated a modern-day monster with one clean shot.

An expert marksman, she had been recruited straight out of the U.S. Army Sniper School and her training had served her well as she led her team to countless victories as they toppled puppet states, serial killers the world never knew about, and corrupt CEOs whose flagrant exploitation of loopholes in child labor laws would sicken even the most jaded. Katherine, her captain and second-in-command, landed her mark flawlessly and blew out the engine block while the rest of her officers began efficiently shooting out the darkly tinted glass.

She took a measured breath as Arcadius' familiar scowl came into view. She employed her calming mantra she used before she made a kill: See the blue mist on the mountain peak. Blue eyes narrowed, the soft whoosh of the silencer was a comforting sound in the chaos happening around her. She felt a cold thrill of satisfaction as the brass-jacketed bullet pierced his forehead, exiting cleanly with the precision of a high-caliber round. A cleaner death than you deserved, Arcadius.

Once the dictator's caravan was eliminated, Caroline's earpiece crackled to life as each of her team members checked in with their codenames used during all clandestine missions:

"Tomb Dodger, all clear."

"Lab Rat, clear."

"Spell Slinger, clear."

"Mischief Maker, clear."

A small smile stretched across Caroline's face as she signed off with, "Fearless, all clear." Shaking off the carefully placed grains of sand that helped her blend in with the dunes, she shouldered her rifle and started the trek to the ruined SUV 700 meters away. Conscious of the sun's intense rays and her dwindling water supply, she forced herself to take long, even strides through the desert scrub brush so that she wasn't expending more energy than necessary.

Once the engagement site was sanitized, the team would begin the journey back to their hidden transport and return to their base of operations in approximately six hours. She suspected her team was planning an epic victory celebration as this latest assignment lasted just under four weeks and everyone was ecstatic to see it end.

However, their plans were about to change. Just as she reached the site to assist her officers with body disposal and cleanup, her phone vibrated. Normally while on mission, she went dark until her team had safely cleared the sector of engagement, but a quick glance showed her that it was a number she was incapable of ignoring — her brother, Stefan.

Especially since he'd failed to check in with her for more than a month. A renowned geneticist, he currently headed a team of scientists doing cutting-edge research in a remote facility run by the Augustine Corporation. The site and its research was classified to the extent that even the employees' families were unaware of their involvement. Of course, Caroline and her team's security clearance circumvented such restrictions; which is why she was well-aware of Stefan's unique employment.

She had told herself she would give her brother one more week before she broke protocol and used her vast intelligence resources to ascertain why Stefan had been conspicuously out of touch. She inwardly breathed a sigh of relief as she answered with a teasing voice, "You'd better have a good excuse for the radio silence, Stefan. Did that innocent little lab assistant of yours finally succumb to your ridiculous pickup line about science giving you a hadron?"

Instead of her brother's sarcastic reply, a shrieking alarm greeted her, so loud that she had to pull out her earpiece to escape the deafening noise. Narrowing her blue eyes as she registered the significance of the sound, she said sharply, "Stefan — do you copy? What is your position?"

"Caroline," he gasped, breathless, "You have to help me...us!" Heavy footsteps followed by a cacophony of glass breaking and multiple people cursing and screaming muffled his next few words. "...got loose...Don't...they escaped. And they're hunting us..." The rest of his words were cut off by a loud crash that seemingly severed the line.

Panic blooming in her chest, she couldn't help her knee-jerk reaction as she uselessly shouted, "Stefan! I'm on my way!"

Unused to Caroline sounding distressed, her four team members' heads snapped up in unison, instinctively scouring the desolate area for hostile activity. Seeing that the perimeter was still secure, Kol stepped forward, concern marring his boyish features as he bluntly stated, "So, there's trouble at the Augustine lab. Is my brother still alive?"

Exchanging grim looks with the rest of her team, Caroline answered stoically, "Let's go find out."